Francis the Circus Elephant

When we first got Belly, he was about 35 lbs. He was 11months old and had apparently gone through a recent growth spurt of length. He didn't know his size, it seemed. He would constantly try to get onto things that were much too small for him. Any footstool, small table, etc.

My petsitter had a round swivel chair at her desk that he decided to make his challenge. It was his sole mission when staying with her, to get his entire body onto that chair. She never got a photo but the stories of all four of his paws basically next to each other, with his back curved and humped into the air ...I had such a vision of this trick. I wish I had seen it for myself.

Four years later ...and at 70 lbs ...he no longer tries such things. He's content to try to get his whole body on the little area rugs. He acts like he might fall off if he isn't completely on it.

Well, have you ever seen those pictures of circus elephants that stand up on those stools? The stool is really small and the huge elephant has all 4 extremities on it? That's what Francis does. It looks crazy.
Another new Francis trick is that he's discovered my braids. (I've got the Heidi look going on in this heat by braiding my hair).
* For the newbies, Francis is completely blind from canine glaucoma*
He likes to wake me up by nuzzling my neck with that big schnozz of his and the other morning when I was particularly unresponsive he kept poking and poking me. I kept mumbling for him to go to sleep and he was relentless, as usual.
He then must have felt the braids (which are new for me) and he started tugging. I don't think he connected what he was pulling with my head since he couldn't see but he knocked it off when I started hollering for him to stop. The little darling must have thought it was cool because he was wagging his tail like mad.
God forbid I should ever be bored with this little guy.