Camera Critter #88

Ten years ago, I went back to Illinois and reunited with some old friends.

My sister and her husband were raising Rhodesian Ridgebacks They are large animals, originally bred in Africa to hunt lions...LIONS!?! When I first met their dogs a couple of years earlier, they had two, a male with a long line of champs in his blood named Jacobi and Moxi...a young female. Both animals took to me right away and we became fast buddies.

Jacobi

The next time I visited, they had two more ridgebacks, a female named Safari and another male named Bo. Bo never really took to me and when I showed up, would peak around the corner, roll his eyes and go back to doing whatever it was he was doing before I caused all the excitement. The rest would mob me when I came in and generally, Moxi would wait for me to pet her, then she would go off to her own world somewhere. Even when I confronted the newbies for the first time, they noticed Jacobi and Moxi had no problem with me, so they didn't either.

However, Safari loved being around me. From the moment I arrived, to the moment I left she was right by my side. And I loved having her around. She would growl when any of the other dogs came by me, including the big guy, Jacobi, who would growl right back at her, then look at me with those sad, puppy eyes for moment and sulk away.

The Ridgebacks

In the photo above, Jacobi is the dog standing on the left, and Bo on the right. I was feeding them treats at the time. The one lying down to my left is Moxi and tough, little Safari is at my feet, sniffing the bag of treats.

The dogs were large, but a lot of fun to be around once you got to know them. And I for one, was glad to have had the chance to make them a part of my life.

Misty Dawn's Camera Critter Meme is a great way to see critters of all types. Go to the Meme homepage here and check out more entries. Then join the fun and let the world see your critters!