So today I am taking a  break from clinical dog listening and I will address a couple of mystery developments with our wee girl.  Last week around Thursday I noticed that Stella's right ear was not looking right.  It was droopy and hanging at an odd angle.  Over the last few days I have tried to figure out what is happening and, as near as I can tell, the back of the ear is weak and won't support the ear flap.  Hence, there is a fold on the back of the ear where it should be rigid and the ear is just hanging out to the side.  I have no idea what is causing this, but from the picture I posted today, you can see the difference between it and the left ear.  Our vet (Uncle Hans) has been out of town for a few days but tomorrow I will call and see if he can shed any light on the subject.  And....I want you to know I had to look up the spelling of "diarrhea" in the dictionary before this posting.  Since about Sunday, Stella developed a rather serious case of it.  How any one tiny little dog can emit such an abundance of flatulation I do not know!  I would be more concerned if it had slowed her down at all, but she continues to be a turbo charged version of the "Energizer Bunny".   Her appetite is good  and I will just add it to my list of concerns to address with "Uncle Hans" tomorrow.  My theory is; we have been giving her various rawhide bones to keep her busy little jaws occupied and it might be too much for her tender little digestive system.  However, she seems to be able to digest any number of objects from our yard without much trouble.  Today was a nice afternoon of sunshine and she proceeded to eat some more cat droppings, leaves, dead plants and bark chips.  Gee, do you think that could have anything to do with her tummy troubles?  I try not to be too concerned about these irregularities, but I can tell that I have assumed the position of over protective Alpha.  I don't let that affect my leadership role with Stella but how could you not always be alert to any signs of trouble?
So, on a lighter note, the other photo I posted today was of a scene that was such a delight to witness. The song birds are returning to our valley and while Stella and Gordo were romping about the yard they saw some house finches up in our lilac tree. Gordo was eyeing them and Stella wasn't quite sure what all the fuss was about but she definitely knew that Gordo had something on his mind.  More and more, I see the two of them becoming buddies.