So what’s Winston been up to these days? I worried, at first, that he might be jealous of the K-bird. After all, for some reason, he hates the fish. I think this may be because he can’t sniff them. Any time we watch the fish, the dog comes over and tries to get in between us and the fish, he wants to get petted. Every once in awhile he even barks at them!

And then we got the cat, whose name is still Molly, though we are trying to think of another name for her. But, so far, nothing good has come up. She shows absolutely no interest in any of the birds. I think she’s a little afraid of Kendi. The other day the cat jumped up on the bed where the bird was sitting with me, but the cat couldn’t see the bird before she jumped up – she just wanted me to pet her. EVERYBODY wants me to pet them, all at the same time at home. At times, I feel a little mobbed. But the point is that Kendi leapt into the air and flew backwards – yes, parrots can do that- to the other side of the bed. I think she just did it on the basis of instinct. Even though her wings are clipped she can still make some progress when she really puts her mind to it.

The cat looked at me in absolute terror, as if to say, “Oh, my God, it has a hook bill, razor sharp talons and it can fly?!?” Then she jumped down and hid under the bed for an hour. Of course, we never let the cat and the bird out in the same room together unless we are there to supervise – even though the cat shows no inclination to bother the bird. In that case, I didn’t realize that The Hub had let the cat out of “her” room, aka the laundry room.

With all this commotion going on, it would be easy to overlook Winston. Well, it would be if he wasn’t as big as the sofa.

But, he has distinguished himself by his gentle and tolerant nature. Once he feels that the cat has been sniffed well enough, he leaves her alone, except if she sits too near the bird cages. She’s not paying any attention to the birds, but he’s still paying attention to her. He lifts up his massive head, and, if he doesn’t like the look of things, pads over and gives her a gentle nudge.

If the pair-a-tweeters get into one of their little squabbles, he sometimes goes over and stands, looking into the cage, as if to see if he can figure out what’s wrong. And, often the appearance of his enormous nose, inches away from the bars of their cage brings them into the sudden accord of common cause, or at least, surprises them enough to shut up. If Dorothy Dagwood gets out and lands on the floor, which she almost always does, since she is the worst flier in the parakeet world, Winston stands over her protectively til someone comes over and picks her up.

If the cat goes over to look in the fish tank, however, those fish are on their own!

Nobody is perfect. Besides, one has to have a bit of mischief in oneself to recognize it in others. If our house is the Peaceable Kingdom, then Winston is its sheriff.

Last night, The Hub said, he came home tired and very wet and cold because he had been working with a pressure washer all day, and hadn’t worn enough layers of clothing. When he knelt down in front of the fireplace to start the fire, Winston came up and sat down next to him, then leaned into him putting his head on The Hubs shoulder, and licking his face. The Hub swore that Winston was trying to warm him up. “You’re the best dog in the whole world” he told him.

He certainly continues to be the best dog for us.