Kimi has taken it upon herself to help me bring in the mail Of course being an apprentice means she doesn't have it down quit right yet so she only gets the pieces of least importance. One day through her hard work and determination to succeed she will get to bring me the really important things. Like cards from home..stuff from friends..the things that warm our hearts and make our souls smile. Today was such a day when Kimi set forth to practice her appointed rounds again.

I could hear the mail van off in the distance, coming toward our home. I called to Kimi, who had obvioulsy heard it too, for she called back to me from the door. "YIP! eeeerrrrrr" I thinks she meant I'm ready....but one never knows for sure. I still haven't mastered the Sheltie language yet. By the time I had gotten to the front door to open it Kimi had impatiently rang the bells twice...each time more urgently then the last. As I opened it, she burst free and ran as fast as her tiny little legs could carry her to the gate where she stood bouncing her yipping little tirade at the mail person. Up and down she bounces on her spring loaded legs, yipping each time she jumps up again. "Yip" "Yip" "Yip' she goes, like she thinks that's going to hurry things along for her. Kim...haven't you ever heard good things come to those who wait? As I opened the gate to go out and retrieve the mail she stops..her ears perk up and her eyes light up. She knows the "games" are about to begin!

As I open the gate and step back inside our yard, Kimi steps up closer to me. Her tiny little head tilts back causing her one defiant ear to flip backwards. Her grin begins to form and from where I am standing I can see a perfect row of tiny pearly whites gleeming in the sunlight. As I stand there in front of her, casually flipping through the mail I can almost feel the excitement quiver through her compact little self. Using her canine levels of unknown intelligence, Kimi knew right away when I came to the piece I was going to give her to carry for me. It was an advertisement letter from a law office. Perfect thing for her to sink her teeth into!

"ErrrrYip!" "EerrrYip!" Kimi says to me as she tries to get me to hurry. Time is of the essence when one is trying to recreate the actions and the high tension of the Pony Express! I lean down to hand her her mail for speedy delivery to the front door and she prances from foot to foot, her eyes bright with anticiaption. One could feel her muscles growing tighter as she reached up to take the mail from my grasp. As her teeth took ahold, the electricity of her excitment vibrated through the snow white paper into me.

And suddenly she was off! Kimi had this piece of mail between her teeth and off she went like a shot from a high powered cannon. Determined that nothing would stop her nor get in the way of her appointed rounds, Kimi kept a tight hold on her treasured possession. Through the back yard she streaked, dodging the tree who dared to jump in her way, out manuvering the plants who seemed to reach out in hopes of stealing this prized item from her teeth. Her tiny white feet flashed in the morning sunlight as she leaped over the down spout, and her acrobatic abilities shined as she quickly ducked to avoid a collision with the swing as she ran under it. This job has it's hazzards, but Kimi knew them well and wouldn't let rain nor sleet nor swing keep her from doing her job.

Knowing full well that the quickest route to your destination is not always the safest one, Kimi made a sharp left turn at the flower barrel and headed down the back side of the house. Ducking low to avoid a branch sweeping at her line of vision, Kimi forgot how close to the ground she already was. Before she knew what had happened, the letter she was entrusted to carry came in contact with the ground, and her foot at the same time.

Not able to let go in time, tail over appetite she went, her furry little body tumbled one direction, the letter flying up and around in the wind. Quick on her feet, Kimi jumped up and took off after her mail. Over and over it bounced in the wind with Kimi hot on it's letterhead! As it lifted into the air, Kimi leaped as high as she could, little jaws snapping the air as she tried to grab it before it could make good it's escape. As the breeze began to die down and the letter began to slowly drift toward her, she slowed. Almost coming to a stop her eyes bright and alert as she watched the letter in it's hypnotic back and forth glide through the air. Timing her move just right you could see her little legs poised for action. Her neck tightened, her mouth dropped open just a tad...her legs began to bunch...and just as the letter floated down to head level Kimi pounced!

Letting out a huge "YIP!" that split through the quiet morning air, she hit the letter at chest level and knocked it to the ground. Her front feet pounced it into the grass and held it there, while her pointy little nose worked it over good! A lesson learned well is a lesson not need repeating and Kimi was going to make sure this particular letter never attempted escape again!

Holding it down to the ground she nipped it a few times for good measure, then pulling upward with a mouth full she lent it a good rip. I figure she intended not to destroy this piece of mail, after all that IS a federal offense, she merely had to let the wind out of it's sails so it could not fly away again! Once more putting her stamp of..uh...approval on the face of this now dead letter Kimi once again picked it up between her teeth and trotted off in a true Sheltie strut.

Continuing on her appointed round, she came to the right front corner of the house. Knowing one particular grey bandit (AKA: Garfield our cat) she slowed her steps to ones of caution. Follwing her every move I watched her go from being a delightful mail carrier to a stealth fighter, equal in cunning and daring to a Navy Seal. Taking a slow step, raising her right front foot slowly....oh so slowly into the air, she carefuly placed it down again so as to make no sound. She edged up to the side of the house so it would afford her the best of protection from her would-be-attacker. Refusing to give up the hold on the paper so entrusted to her fine care, she cautioulsy peeked around the corner.

Suddenly there it was! A huge grey paw swiping at her nose! The very nose that had sniffed out this hidden danger to begin with! Letting out a shocked "YIP!" the letter fell from her jaws. Kimi quickly jumped back out of harms way and tried to growl menacingly. Which for one so young and tiny it is NOT an easy thing to accomplish! "Grrrrrrrrgrr" was the sound that came from somewhere previously untouched by Kimi's "guard-dogabilty" Stepping up to cover the letter with a small but firm left front paw, Kimi dared the cat to "make her day"!

Garfield stared back at Kimi. Eye to eye and toe to toe they stood their ground. The cats head flipped up in a defiant dare, and Kimi dropped her head low and with ears laid back she returned his challenge. The mail delivers crede may not say anything about protecting your mail from cats but she was NOT going to let that stand in her way of doing her job! Jumping forward quickly in a half step, Kimi tried to fake the cat out. It worked. For a minute. Surprised by her daring nerve, the cat jumped back around the corner of the house to regroup. Perhaps to plot his next move? Kimi wasn't going to play the wait and see game. Never one to wait on someone elses ideas, Kimi took the initiative and jumped the cat!

Taking him totally by surprise as she shouted out a commanding "YIP!" (bonzia!!,) she rounded the corner in one smooth twisting jump and had him by the tail! Garfield jumped up and tried to run away like a true cowardly thief. Kimi hung on for dear life. I'm sorry if this takes some of the excitement out of the air surrounding this, but I had to laugh when I watched the cat throw his weight into his shoulders, head down as he struggles, and literally began dragging Kimi down the sidewalk. His tail in her mouth, her feet digging in tightly to the concrete as she tried to prevent his escape, Kimi kept up a growling tirade she they moved down the length of the sidewalk. She refused to let go until they had reached the front gate and as the cat went to make a wild leap to clear the gate, Kimi let go. Snapping like a rubber band, the cat shot up and over the gate, landing I am sure, further beyond that wall of protection then he had intended.

Kimi's little behind pointed..uh...north when her chin hit the sidewalk to peer under the gate. Making sure the cat was gone...hopefully for good, Kimi stood and turned, her chin held high, ears flopping as she bounced her little Sheltie walk back to find her mail. Her job was not yet finished you know! She tossed her head with laughter and her shiney pink tongue curled from the corner of her mouth as she trotted off down the sidewalk.

When she reached her piece of mail, she nosed it a few times with her pointy little snout. Flipping it over to check it ..for damage maybe? How she could tell who damaged what after all she had put it through I don't know, but that is not my job. Picking it up by one far corner, Kimi turned to start back toward that far away front door. As she trotted off the letter bounced up and down betwen her teeth, the sun still glittering off the not-quite-so-white paper. As she rounded the corner of the sidewalk we both heard that distinctive rattle of the gate. THE CAT WAS BACK!

Dropping her letter, Kimi whirled around to meet her foe head on. Head on was right! The cat was upon her much quicker than we could have imagined he would be and as Kimi turned to meet him they collided! Reaching out to grab her with his front paws as they hit, Kimi's head went up over his shoulders. Taking advantage of this position, Kimi shook her head to the right and knocked the cat off of her. Rolling over to his side, the cat refused to let go of his hold on her and over they went together in a tumbling mass of fur and noise. Kimi's "yip!"'s and growls, and the cats hissing sounds all mixed together. Kimi being the lightest, managed to land on the top of the pile and she quickly scrambled to her fet. By the time our not-so-graceful kitty had done the same, Kimi once again had a mouth full of tail. So she used the same move! So what? Kimi figures if it isn't broken don't fix it!

This time Garfield tried a different plan than just dragging her along with him. This time he figured to shake her loose in a series of twists and turns that should have loosened hard packed clay! Our Kimi is a determined little fighter though, and let go she would not! As the cat turned left, Kimi held on. As he turned right, she twisted with him. Round and round they went and before any of us had realized it, Kimi had the cat twisted into a knot! Well at least his tail was. Letting out a loud screeching hiss, Garfield tried to bat her of of him with a left front hook. More like a Boxer than a Sheltie, Kimi didged this one too. Using left jabs, right hooks, and even the occasional upper cut, the cat ried in vain to loosen this little tiger on his tail. As they moved across the yard, Kimi decided enough was enough and let him go. Garfield took off across the grass to go sit by the flowers and nurse his wounded pride as he licked his chewed on tail.

Kimi returned to her letter after issuing a firm "YIP!" over her left shoulder that sounded much like the world "STAY!" Never one to forget what she was doing, or leave a job undone, she picked it up once again between her delicate little teeth and moved on to the front door. Stepping up to the door Kimi looked at me over her back with all the pride you could ever find shining in her eyes. I leaned down to pat her on her tiny little head and told her "well done Kimi girl...well done!" Giving me a muffled "yimmppf" around her letter, Kimi grinned up at me and almost dropped her mouth full.

Taking the letter from her and doing my best to ignore the dilapidated appearance of what was left of this once pristine but not to important piece of mail, I congratulated her once again for a job well done. Kimi knows that when you accept the responsiblity of doing something for someone you must do your best at all costs.

Any job worth doing, is worth doing well.

walk in beauty
Kristi & Kimi
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