Pendleton + Molly (+ Jasper)

Megan and I decided to introduce Molly the kitten (or Mrs. Weasley as we call her because we are more formal, obviously) to Pendleton. We let them see each other for a few minutes inside and then, because I didn't really like the lighting, we decided to take them outside to the front porch where Jasper the wonder dog (who now lives outside in the back yard and is loving it) couldn't hear us (we thought).

The kitty and hedgehog seemed to get along just fine once Molly realized that pouncing on him wasn't a very smart idea.

We were receiving some spectacular glares from her when this happened:

The brute jumped over the temporary side fence and almost knocked me over in his rush to get to the kitten who he just wants to love. Unfortunately, she does not share his feelings, not even a tiny bit. The poor fellow had quite a scratched up nose for a while. 

Meanwhile, Pendleton just smooshed his face down into the ground because if he can't see them, they can't see him, obviously.

Mrs. Weasley glared at Jasper some more and then decided he was not worth her time.

 Jasper still loves her.

Jasper + Pendleton

We've been working kind of hard to get Jasper (pup) and Pendleton (hedgehog) to exist in the same room together without a)Pendleton having a heart attack or b)Jasper ending up with a mouthful of quills.

Jasper just gets SO excited whenever he discovers that hedgehog in the room. He bounces around sniffing excitedly while Pendleton turns into a ball of really sharp points and hisses ferociously. Inevitably, Jasper gets too close with his sniffing and receives a poke in the nose. By then he has usually had it with all the excitement and starts barking at this frustrating little ball that won't stop hissing at him or hurting him when he tries to play. He's actually kind of terrified of the hedgehog.

Meanwhile, Pendleton wonders why he keeps being prodded (and occasionally licked) and why won't this gigantic nose stop bothering him.

I mean, it's Megan's fault, really. She bought Pendleton a little hedgehog friend stuffed animal when she first got him, which he ignored completely. Eventually it was passed down to Jasper in his early puppyhood. And who would blame him when he tried to pick up his toy which actually happened to be a real live hedgehog?

Thus began the Jasper/Pendleton relationship.

So we decided to try again a few times and finally accomplished something when we managed to have Jasper lay quietly until Pendleton got used to him.

To be fair, Pendleton isn't actually a very nice hedgehog friend to Jasper. When Jasper wasn't paying attention to him, he tried to crawl on him and/or poke him on purpose. This sent Jasper two feet into the air and it was actually really hilarious, but it doesn't really do much for mutual trust, if you know what I mean.

Then Jasper got real protective of his rawhide bone.

At one point, Jasper was actually chasing Pendleton around the room barking. Generally the second Pendleton hears a loud noise, he rolls into a ball, so this was real progress. 

This hedgehog knows who's in charge around here.

Happy Valentine's Day! Love, Pendleton

Pendleton and I wish you a very happy Valentine's Day!