Thursday, Jun. 26, 2003 - 9:23 p.m.

My dog, the performance artist

So my pooch, Abigail, is a four year old west highland terrier whom we never had spayed because we contemplated breeding her. So she goes into heat every year between Christmas and the end of January, bless her little puppy heart.� Then a couple kof months later, she thinks she is a mom. She has a cute little squeaky carrot with a face that we bought for her at PetSmart.� We call it her binky. Now, about once a year, she takes this carrot and carries around with her like its her baby.� This year for whatever reason it happens to be especially bad.� She does not let go of it.� She brings it to bed with her.� She gently puts it down and then curls up around it.� If she loses it in the middle of the night she goes nuts looking for it.� She picks it up, very gently, first thing in the morning, and takes it out side with her for her morning pee.� She brings it back and and tries to eat with it in her mouth.� Of we throw her tennis ball and try to play fetch with her, she will try to pick it up with the carrot in her mouth. She walks around whimpering with it in her mouth.� She jumps up in my lap with it in her mouth and hangs her head over my leg, with it in her mouth.� If you take it away from her and hide it behind your back, she will frantically look for it.� If you present ti back to her she will GENTLY take it from you and make sure its OK.� My hubby (and this is a big ole TMI moment here) will go sit on the potty and she will go right in there with him, and lie at his feet with it in her mouth.� Are you getting the idea that she takes it everywhere and does everything with it?� Its a CARROT for God's sake, not a live puppy or even a stuffed animal, which leads me to think, since this IS a carrot, I am not so much convinced that she thinks she wants a baby as I am that this is just one big performance art piece.