As I mentioned earlier after writing my post "Let’s Pretend," I was accused by some neocons of being a tinfoil hat-wearing paranoid freak.  I can assure you that I do not wear a tinfoil hat.

I cannot, however, speak for all the members of my household:

 
(Please excuse the blurriness and poor quality of the photos.  They were taken with a cameraphone, and getting the pets to sit still tested my fragile grip on sanity to its limit.)

Since I’ve been back online, some of you have asked me how Karter is doing.  For those of you who don’t know, Karter is my Australian Cattle Dog puppy that Buckaroo and I adopted last November.  On September 6th, Karter will be one-year-old.  He is a little taller than Bailey (our other adult Aussie Cattle Dog), but he is still more lanky. 

It’s been challenging for both us and him these past few months as the hot Arizona summer requires that we keep Karter inside most of the day except for small potty or play breaks.  At his age he is full of energy, and we are doing our best to give him ways to work it off.  He loves to run from room to room in an attempt to get Bailey to chase him.  Bailey however has gotten smart and stays in one place, occasionally barking at him, but letting him do all the running.  Our cat Zoe has also learned to tolerate Karter and will often hang out in the same room as him.  She has even tried to lick his face as she does Bailey’s, but unfortunately he won’t sit still for her.  The only time she swats at him is when he sticks his nose into places on her where it doesn’t belong.

Here are a few photos I took with my camera phone, so they aren’t the best quality, but you’ll be able to see just how big he has gotten (remember- some of you asked for more puppy pictures!). If you’re really a glutton for punishment, there are more pictures over on my flickr account.

 
Sad Karter:
 

    

 
 
 
Then of course here are the pictures of Karter feeling better and taunting our other dog Bailey as usual: