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Christina, the Chinese Empress and Rolli Polli

When the refuge was in the Manzano Mountains, I had some part-time neighbors stop by on a winter's day in a panic to ask me to help catch a mama dog and her puppies. I jumped in my little jeep and drove down to the meadow. Christina was having a great time running around and chewing on her three puppies. Her puppies were very timid and took some wrangling to capture. Christina jumped right into the back of the jeep and put her head over the seat and gave me her prettiest smile.
I took them over to my neighbors' place for awhile and the puppies immediately crawled into my lap and went to sleep. No one admitted to owning them so they became part of the herd. My neighbors' kids named the puppies. The next day when I came home from Albuquerque, there was a hole under the fence by the gate. Oh, crap. I called and whistled and they eventually galloped out of the woods. They disappeared again the next day when we went out for a hike. I called and called, and they all came tumbling down the snowy mountain with Christina smiling and the pups out of breath.
I found homes for the smooth coat chow puppies but had to take them back because they were too much for the elderly lady that adopted them. I found their forever home with some college students where I went to visit them when I could. Rolli Polli had some excitement one day when he was out on a run with his mama in the desert. I heard a "yip!" so I called and they came to me. Rollie was limping and there were 2 spots of blood on his leg. Oh, crap, we have Mojave Green Rattlesnakes in the Mojave. I called the vet and while we were talking she said if it had been a Mojave Green, he'd already be gone. The other option was a sidewinder. She said to treat with benadryl and aspirin. Rollie wouldn't eat so I tried dog biscuits. He said, "oh, I'll eat treats!" You'll be fine. Christina and Rolli Polli were inseparable until Christina passed at 17 years old.