The quest for power.

There are a lot of people in this world who think that a dog is just a dog, and maybe to a majority of people we are just that.
However, what other animal on the planet is named GOD backwards!

My mama was the leader of our doggy family. She didn't rule with an iron paw as my grandma had before her. My mama was a more gentle pack leader.
When my mommy and daddy learned that my mama had left us for the Rainbow Bridge 4 mornings ago their instant thoughts went to us doggies who were still here and the Quest for Power as pack leader that would take place as we all live and run together when not in our individual dog runs.

Mommy and daddy know of dog breeders in the exact same situation that have had dogs literally rip each other apart in the struggle to establish the new pecking order in a doggy family.
So with baited breath they decided that whatever was the in the future for our doggy pack they would try and get it sorted out as quickly as possible.
They were very relieved the morning mama left us when we elected Holly as our new pack leader after 5 minutes running together in the pasture beside our house.

Holly since then has had a dramatic personality change in that she wants to be just like mama was. She even wants to wear her purple feather boa all the time! Holly has become daddy's shadow, when she was only ever mommy's girl. She doesn't even want to spend her days sleeping in the house on mommy and daddy's big four poster bed anymore - she's got a new spot on the deck beside the swimming pool, or just in front of mama's kennel (none of us will go in there now out of respect of mama). Holly has suddenly decided to become the obedience star of our family in the short space of 4 days and daddy is totally blown away by this change! She has also suddenly left mommy and decided that daddy is her person now.

While this is a good result in that we have a new pack leader, it has also meant that Crystal and I have been battling it out for second place in our pack. We have been constantly fighting and vying for mommy's attention, where we sit and sleep etc.....
Things got really, really bad last night and mommy and daddy had to intervene several times when we were all together in the back yard.
Finally when mommy and daddy were inside eating their dinner Crystal and I launched at each other in the most horrendous manner and I pushed Crystal fair into the swimming pool!
Now Crystal isn't a stupid dog, she's actually very intelligent and I think she decided when I wouldn't let her climb out of the swimming pool that I was officially the second in charge of our doggy pack.

So, now I'm officially "Xena second in charge." We've even changed our dog bed postions inside the house of our own accord, in that Holly now lies and sleeps where mama used to lie, and I now sleep right beside mommy in the exact same spot that Holly used to lie in.
Daddy says that no one would believe it unless they had seen it for themselves!

Last night mommy let me sleep in the bedroom with her daddy and Holly.
Holly doesn't sleep at the bottom of the bed on mommy's side anymore now - she sleeps on the floor in the exact same spot that our mama used to sleep.
As for me, well I walked into the bedroom with mommy and jumped up onto the bed and curled up in a ball in the exact same spot where Holly used to sleep!

One might assume that my days and nights of sleeping on my kennel roof out in all kinds of weather are over now. Although I don't think they are.
Mommy says I'm still too naughty to leave in the house during the day, and I can jump over the yard's six foot high fence with the greatest of ease - I get my jumping ability off my mama who jumped out of our 8 foot high runs on a regular basis when the mood took her!

So, the quest for power is over and it's all official now - I'm Xena, second in charge.