Tuesday, October 23, 2007

The Hard Part About Loving Dogs

The hard part about loving us dogs is that there is a very good chance you will outlive us, and you will have to say goodbye to us. You all know it, in the back of your minds, or sometimes in the forefront. Most of you know people who have lost dogs they loved and said it was so painful they would never bring another dog into their lives. But most humans endure it, and choose to love a dog again - because what we share together, human and dog, two entirely different species who come together, is so special and so pure.

I feel badly for Lesli today, because she's facing the loss of her dog Cali. She's the one in California that Lesli visited in June - the one I wrote about when Lesli got back from the visit. When Lesli moved back to Canada, Cali stayed in San Diego with Jeff.

What Lesli didn't know when she visited in June was that Cali had cancer. They've tried chemo, but she got word from Jeff yesterday that the chemo didn't work. The cancer is in Cali's bones, and she is dying. As hard as she's trying to keep her sad energy from me - she forgets that I am very hard to fool. I know she's hurting. She loves Cali a lot. That's why she has me. If it wasn't for Cali coming into her life, we wouldn't have shared our lives together. Because Cali is the one who made Lesli fall in love with dogs, and what we bring to her life. If you think about it, Cali really changed her life.

I never met Cali. But she sounds like a great dog. Different than me - Lesli tells people she's the sweetest, most gentle dog she's ever known. That's NOT how many people would describe me! Despite that, I think we would have been friends if we'd met.

I wish I could help. I guess I help just by being here. At least she's not mauling me tonight.

I better check on her again. She's probably doing that strange thing where salty water ends up all over her face, and I try to lick it all off. Not because I want to show her I love her. Because of the salt. Mmmmmmmmm....

Sunday, October 21, 2007

A Perfect Weekend With My Human

Or, nearly perfect. Had I caught a rabbit, squirrel, goose or some other assorted prey, the weekend would have been perfect. But it was close.

What did we do?


We snuggled on the couch.

We went for some long walks at Bronte - met up with Cosmo this morning, which was fun. I also met a giant dog - Logan. He was the size of a horse, and made me, a killer German shepherd, look like a Yorkie. It was somewhat humiliating, so I ignored Logan.

We spent some time hanging out in the yard, since it was like summer this weekend. Lesli did some work in the garden, I did some work on improving my lounging capabilities. We spent some time sitting on a rock out on the lake across the street, watching the ducks and geese.

Today I convinced her to feed me dinner just after 3pm. Heh heh heh...some might say that is an indication that I am, in fact, superior to Lesli. I would argue that isn't necessarily the case. I mean, I do this stupid "ohmygodlookhowcuteiampleeeeeasssseeeeeeeeeeefeedme" dance almost every day. She only caves once in awhile - and only if we've had a full day of exercise and we've just come back from a pack migration or hunt. She really is superior. In fact, she's perfect in every way. (she types this for me...what do you expect me to say??? )

Oooooh - I forgot - I got to clean out a nearly empty jar of peanut butter yesterday! That was, perhaps, the highlight of my weekend.

Back to the couch now. I'm wiped out from our hikes today.

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Something evil lurks...

We both saw it - something small, scurrying to the rocks as we walked toward the cove across the street. It's the spot we go to every morning to finish our walk. It looks out over Lake Ontario - really a beautiful spot. We see geese, herons, swans, Bert the river otter. We see sunrises and fog, high waves in windy days, hoards of water fowl huddled in the cove to escape the wind.

I don't know what it was we saw this morning. I think it was too small to be Bert. It ran into the rocks, and we followed it. I sniffed around - it was there - I focused on it, with my tail high and my ears pointing straight to where it was while I listened to what it was doing. I sniffed and sniffed - then all of a sudden, the damned thing made a ridiculous sound from under the rock. I jumped straight into the air, backed up...carefully moved forward again. But whatever it was, it was clear neither of us was going to get a look at it. We walked further and checked out the geese and ducks etc.

On our way back, we stopped at the spot once more to see if the thing was still there. We both peered into the rocks. Couldn't see anything. But my nose told me it was still there. So I got closer to get a better sniff. And, BAM - that loud hissing sound shot out at me again. All four paws into the air, human laughing at me.

I had to walk away from whatever evil little monster was hiding under that rock.

But I'll be back. And you can bet, I'll head straight for that spot tomorrow to see if the noisy jerk is still there.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Pack Insanity

Things have been weird in my pack lately. First, Lesli's gone all the time. Then, she's back all the time. Next thing I know, Adam comes home. So happy. Then Adam leaves, with a bunch of those bags that tell me he's not coming back in an hour. Next thing I know, Alyson walks through the door. Yipee! I slept with her that night. Then - she left. Just Lesli and me again. Then she's packing bags and we went for a trip to a new place called London. We stopped at a hotel - and guess who was there? Adam! I sniffed a bunch of his friends, then Adam, Lesli and I got into the car and drove to....Kincardine. Yipee! Hung out with grandma, grandpa, Bristol and Piper (Bristol and I weren't allowed to get too close to each other), slept over - then, on the freakin' road again. This time, without Adam. Lesli and I got home. Hung out for a bit. Then...the door opens...and it's Richard! Holy crap! First time he's been to our den! Yipee! Grabbed his shirt, socks. Ran around the house. Thought all was finally settled. But, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Not in this pack. Awhile later, Adam AND grandma showed up. WTF?????? Are they trying to drive me insane? So, last night - Richard, Lesli, Adam, grandma and me hung out at the den. So far, this pack structure remains intact. But I sense it's about to change.

Stupid humans.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

We survived another campaign

Lesli is home. She got home late last night, and gave me the good news. Today is election day - which means, her long days and late nights are over and we are together again. Whew! Just in time, because my stomach is starting to react to the freaky schedule and total pack instability.

I saw Kim yesterday!!!! I wasn't supposed to start walking again until the 11th, but they messed up the schedule so Kim came over - man, it was good to see her. We miss her a lot. And I'm not going to start my five day a week walking schedule again until Lesli is working full time, so it will be awhile before I get to see her on a regular basis. But it will happen. Hopefully soon.

Adam came home the other day - he walked in just after I spent some time with his shoe (picture included). God I love him. I can barely stand how much I love him. He's sleeping right now. I'm outside his door trying to get him to let me in because I need to be near him.

But he's sleeping through the plaintive wails.

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Grey Furry Vermin

Great day today! Lesli and I went for a super rainy walk early this morning. I was kind of bummed - didn't see one bunny or squirrel. Then I went for another walk later on - had a sniff-a-thon, ran a little bit, had some fun. Tonight when Lesli's friend came over to feed me, I brought her a super special gift - I greeted her with a toilet paper roll I stole from the garbage. She seemed grateful.

We went for a short after dinner walk, and I was on a mission. I knew where the squirrels were. I immediately turned right out of our complex and walked with a purpose to their secret squirrel hideout. And I found 'em!! S.Q.U.I.R.R.E.L.S.! Grey ones! Everywhere! So happy!

I cleared the street of grey furry vermin and headed home for a rest. Now I wait for Lesli.

Monday, October 1, 2007

Our Perfect Sunday

Lesli and I had a whole day together yesterday. It was wonderful. We went for a long walk in our neighbourhood in the morning. Then we went to Bronte. We started off at the off leash area. She thought I was a bit bored, and since it was a nice day, decided we would head over to the trails where we'd see lots of new things, and plenty of squirrels and chipmunks to keep me occupied. We hiked for a long time. The leaves were starting to turn, some were on the ground. There were chipmunks and squirrels - I was able to chase them until I hit the end of my flexi. Which hurt. But it was worth it. I went for a swim in Bronte creek, met a couple of nice beagles, and generally had a wonderful time.

For dinner, she added duck to my Evo low-fat high protein organic kibble. One of the things I love about her - she adds a bit of meat to my kibble every night, and always chooses meats I covet on our walks. Rabbit. Duck. Venison. LOVE IT. Too bad Evo doesn't offer squirrel in a can.

We went to the lake later on and sat on a rock out on the water. I laid down beside her. We watched the geese and the waves. It was really nice.

All in all, we had a near perfect human and dog day.