JD is one tough girl

Barney arrived in Puyallup Washington quiet unexpectedly, having just visited Lincoln, who lives about an hour north of here. Unfortunately, he was a couple of months too late to meet my sweet JD and let her have a crack at de-fluffing him. I would bet that JD would have been the one to make Barney into a Tri-pawd dinosaur! So it is appropriate that Barney’s visit here be chronicled on JD’s Blog. Since I know her spirit is still around me and her newly adopted sisters Serena and Maya, surely she had a paw in some of the torture inflicted upon him during his stay with us.

The Barney box arrived during the Christmas holidays while we had snow on the ground. Barney came wearing nice hand knitted mittens, one brown sock and an eye patch. Now I am not so sure the purple guy really needs an eye patch; his Ginger scar has healed nicely. I suspect it is just a sympathy thing. For their first introduction we all went outside into the backyard.

Now Maya is somewhere around one year old and quite a bundle of energy, to say the least.
She grabbed Barney right away and gave him quite a shaking, and many tosses into the air. He was dragged around the yard and an attempt was made to bury him in the snow.

Serena decided on the non-violent approach and just sat on him; if you look closely, you can see a bit of Barney underneath her rump!

They ‘played’ together for over an hour, and Barney got quite frosty and begged to go in!

Can you see that ‘crutch of an eye patch’ hanging off his cheek?

All of us were a bit chilly and came in to warm up, so after Barney took a ride in the clothes dryer…

He parked himself on the hearth.

Here is Barney warming his bum by the fire.

A few days later, and with a brief break in the weather, we set out for a car ride. Serena and Maya said we needed to take Barney to see “The Mountain” The Mountain is how Washingtonians refer to Mt. Rainier. It is quite a spectacular landmark here in the northwest. The official measurement is 14,410 ft. above sea level. and is an ‘episodically active’ volcano. Unfortunately the weather only allowed a brief window of opportunity to catch it on camera and my photographic skills are quite lacking, so If you look closely maybe you can make it out over Barney’s shoulder.

Barney’s last adventure at Lincoln’s house was marked by drinking and driving and an eventual DUI arrest. Serena and Maya wanted to have a paw in his re-hab so thought a visit to the Puyallup Public Library might be a good idea.

First stop was at the library’s giant Christmas tree, where Barney tried to hide in the branches.

Good luck with that!

Barney found the Children’s area very fun and Maya and Serena gathered many books about dinosaurs for him to look at.

One of the books was very important considering his most recent past.

Yes, there actually was a book about Barney going to the Police Station. Got him thinking!!!

Hey, who is that in the background? He looks familiar!!!

Here is Barney doing some genealogy research.

Applying for a library card

Getting his card – He is so proud!

We lost him for a while and then…wait there he is …what is he reading now?

Oh…let’s leave him alone. Looks serious. Can Re-hab be far behind?

Yippeeee the travel section!-Considering his options!

This was Barney’s last selection-Where will he go next????

On our last outing we all went to the pet store, Barney was convinced that Serena and Maya needed more toys for their stash at home, I was not so sure!

We did stop in front of the lizard habitats.

Barney was remembering his genealogy research at the library and thought they might have found some long lost cousins.

Now as I said, it was very sad for me to not have JD get a crack at the purple guy, but I must admit there is something special about him. He started to grow on us. Having traveled all over North America he has stayed with some of the coolest Tri-Pawds on the planet and so far none of them have done him in. Maya and Serena have managed to destroy every single stuffed toy I have given them since they came to live with me. Even the Tuff-toys . (They have toughness ratings from 1-10 . We had an 8 here and it was made of some Kevlar/bullet proof fabric and they still managed to have my living room carpet look like a Winter Wonderland of fluff and shredded material.)
Yet Barney was unharmed by my girls. One day I had left Barney on the dining room table when I went off to work and came home to find him on the floor, wet and chewed on, but still intact! Almost a miracle I would say. In our time together I have come to believe that maybe the spirit of Jerry is protecting this Barney! Keeping him whole so he can continue to visit many others and spread the fellowship of Tri-pawds. It brings tears to my eyes to think of all the heroes who have crunched and slobbered over him.

We have truly enjoyed our visit with Barney and will be sending him off with love and hoping his adventures continue for a long long time.

Where is he going next?