Grandpa Planted One Tomato Seedling. His Yorkie Got to Work on Her Own Project.
Two diggers, one garden bed, and very different goals. Earl kneels in the soft brown earth in his denim shirt and overalls, pressing a young tomato seedling into place with a careful, weathered hand. Barely a foot away, Peanut has both front paws in the dirt and is scrabbling away at a hole of her own, ears up, little face set in fierce concentration. Leaves and twigs are scattered across the soil, and behind them a ramshackle backyard holds leaning boards, clay pots, and a few tall tomato plants already reaching for the sun.
Terriers were bred to dig. The word terrier itself comes from the Latin for earth, and Yorkies were originally kept to hunt rats and other small pests, which often meant burrowing after them. That instinct is why many Yorkies happily dig in gardens, beds, and even couch cushions. Rather than fighting it completely, some owners set aside a small digging patch or a sandbox and bury a toy there to make it rewarding. In vegetable gardens, it is worth knowing that tomato leaves and stems can upset a dog's stomach, and garden products like snail bait or certain fertilizers should be kept well away from curious paws.
Earl does not seem worried about his helper. Peanut may be digging in all the wrong places, but she is doing it with total enthusiasm, and that counts for something in a garden this friendly.
