Jan 31, 2002: Action I performed   Today, Riblet and Sarah *played* together! Sarah was on the short leash, so she pretty much lunged back and forth and romped that way. She finally had all she could take and really let Riblet have it. Had her on her back and was snarling at her. I smacked Sarah's behind and told her no, and Riblet went as far away as the long lead would allow her, yelping and crying like she'd been hit by a car. She kept up her loud protests and would not willingly come near Sarah. I finally reeled her in and Sarah walked up to her and gave her a good sniffing over, with Riblet flopping over on her back in a submissive posture. Guess we can tell who's going to be top dog! I'm glad it's Sarah, because she was at the bottom of the totem pole where she grew up, and she's been an only dog since we've had her. I think they'll get a long just fine! I'm so relieved! :) I cleaned inside Riblet's ears with baby wipes today, and it doesn't look like she has ear mites; they were just really, really cruddy in there. She's such a good-natured little gal and let me clean them really well with no protests. One of the employees there said Riblet looks like she has some vitamin deficiency, and that is why she runs the way she does (kind of splay-legged). I need to do some research about this, and I'll ask the vet when we take the dogs there on Monday. A side note: The pups had NO water in their dish when I took Riblet out, and still no water when I brought her back an hour later. I mentioned it at the desk as I was leaving, and the guy said he thinks the kid was back giving the animals water. Why they don't put in either heavy, tip-proof bowls or wall-mounted water dishes, I don't know. It's terrible there. I can't wait to bring Riblet home and give her a good bath and a loving home!