We Visit the Hospice

We went to see Auntie Moira in the hospice the other night. We’ve done that 4-5 times since Moira moved there, and I like the place a lot!! The staff are all really nice and they call me by my name already. They must be really smart to remember it so well. Auntie Moira’s room has now become part of my territory, since – well – she’s my auntie, and I love her!

A week ago, Auntie Moira, 3 other humans – including my mom, of course – went the block and a half to the hospital, because Moira had a craving for an O Henry bar!! We made quite a procession b oth ways, and the woman in the kiosk, that we filled up when we all went in there, was nice too. Nobody looks askance at us when I go into the hospital or the hospice. It’s odd, to me, that there are so many other places where dogs aren’t allowed to visit. Not just stores like the Safeway and Shoppers’ Drug Mart, but – get this? – places like Ikea!! Mummy snuck me in once, and we got thrown out, when she opened the dog carrier bag to see if I was OK. Mummy asked the policewoman why, and she said, because there’s food in this store!! Mummy was, like, what??? The restaurant, which is totally separate from the furniture displays, wasn’t even on the same floor! 

Of course, even the hospice has food in the place!! There is a kitchen with a chef, who Moira says is a really good cook!! Apart from good meals, he also makes home-made chocolate chip cookies and leaves them out on a shelf for anyone who wants one. There is also a nice little kitchenette place near where the cookies are, where mummy gets me ice water and refills Auntie M’s water jug. She was told last night, that patients can have food brought in from elsewhere and kept in the fridge. And if dogs are unsanitary, why did the staff at the hospital ASK Mummy to get me from the car and bring me up to Auntie Moira’s room, when she was there? Dumb de dum dum, I say!! 

While we were visiting Auntie, Cecilia spent the time trying to get Moira’s new iPad, that her son got her, to go online. She didn’t succeed. Moira and Mummy just blathered at each other. Moira came across a picture of a “blonde” Standard Poodle and was impressed. She doesn’t like it when Tony-the-nurse, who was rude to Mummy a few weeks ago, visits. Moira says Tony has done a lot of great things for her, but she has such a strong – Mummy calls it “overbearing”; others might call it “in your face” – personality, that Moira just gets exhausted and wishes she would leave. We don’t know how sick people manage to keep people they don’t like as much as others from either visiting or staying too long.

Mummy doesn’t like Tony, though. Tony was very rude and overbearing with her a few weeks ago and never apologised. BUT, Mummy says she has forgiven Tony. I didn’t know what that meant, but Mummy explained it to me. She realises, now, that Tony must have some “issues” that make her want to be in charge and get all the kudos for the things she does. WE don’t know WHY Tony is the way she is, but we do know that there is some reason... So we have to understand that and make allowances for her.

But – says Mummy – that doesn’t mean we have to like having her around! We don’t have to be friends with everyone, but we still need to treat them with respect and not make scenes, either. We are supposed to treat everyone with respect, whether we really do respect them, or not. And we should be able to expect the same in return. That doesn’t mean we need to point that out to someone who is disrespectful, although we can, if we think saying something will fit the parameters of what is “helpful, kind and healing”. Otherwise, we should just keep our mouths shut and – maybe – walk away. As long as we aren't seeing an injustice being done. In that case, we should intervene or call someone who can help.

But, I didn’t know all that last night, when the night caregiver came to empty Auntie’s “bag”. I saw a stranger standing in Moira’s doorway, holding a tall pitcher about a half hour before bed-time. I didn’t think she should be standing there – she was giving off nervous, embarrassed energy – so I growled at her, to get lost. Mummy told me that was inappropriate and wee needed to let the woman come in and do her job. Besides, the woman wanted to make sure Moira wouldn’t be embarrassed. None of us were, so the woman went ahead.... with my supervision. I made sure to sniff around before and after and watch very closely what the woman was doing. It seemed very odd to me.

Most of the time, though, I was out patrolling the hallway. All the staff seem to know my name and make an effort to greet me and rumple my hair. I would really like to visit some of the other patients, but if they are alone, they are usually asleep.

By the way, we were both encouraged to see that Auntie Moira could sit up more easily than last time we had to help her do that. Also she was able to use her hand to pick things up, and it had been just about dead - no feeling in it at all - for a month. And, when we got to the hospice, Auntie was in a reclining chair, like what men watch TV on, fooling with her iPhone, and not sleeping! She was even awake later than she had been at home for the last 6-8 months!

Mummy thinks that, you never know! We can pray, and Moira might actually get healed. Another of my Aunties, Auntie Debby, who is also a nurse as well as a churchgoing Christian, says it's too late for Auntie Moira to be miraculously healed, but Mummy doesn't agree. God can do whatever He wants, when He wants! And maybe He will heal Moira and maybe He won't, but we can still pray!

There are quite a few new dogs in the neighbourhood now. Some new people moved into our apartment building and brought their dogs along with them. I just love meeting new dogs! We met lots more when we walked to the shopping area just west of here. I’ve noticed that all the human parents have to stop and talk, but they never smell each other. Some of the dogs’ owners get all embarrassed when us dogs sniff each other, as if it was something wrong! Like, dirty!! Yet humans put their paws on each other a lot, which we never do!!

Anyway, tonight we met a 10 week old puppy, who is a Puggle, the owners said. Mummy thought it was a baby English Mastiff, but it – he – was way too small!! He had the buffy coat, black face and sad eyes of a Beagle, but his tail was curled differently. The puppy’s dad was thrilled that Mummy thought Kramer – for that is his name – looked like a Mastiff, because that’s exactly why the man got Kramer!! He wanted a Mastiff but isn’t allowed a dog over 30 lb. I liked him OK. He was nice and quiet.

Mummy’s sister, Heather, is coming over tomorrow to do something with pictures Mummy took last summer at the golf tournament that Heather set up to raise money to help blind golfers be able to keep playing their favourite sport. It was good fun last year, but there weren’t very many people, so the tournament didn’t make money. Heather decided to do it in the first place, because her darling spouse, Bill, who died of cancer a year and a half ago, was a blind golfer. Bill, like other blind golfers, had played before he was blinded. We were told that it’s almost impossible for someone blind who has never played sighted golf to learn to play, but there are lots of golfers, who were blinded as adults and now cannot make enough money to keep playing.... so Heather wants to help make that possible as well as do something she knows Bill would really like. We are going to do it again this year and hope that more people will come.

That made Mummy think about what we can do to make Auntie Moira feel good. Maybe we should start a foundation or find a way to encourage people to make donations for brain cancer research, especially at our local hospital, which already has a general cancer research foundation, but not one dedicated to glioblastomas. She will probably ask Heather about how to do that, tomorrow.

♬ Catching up is hard to do....♫

Hi everyone! We're having a quiet day here in Snow-couver, so I thought it would be a great time to write in my diary again.

I guess it was a crummy idea for me to think Mummy was no longer in charge, and that I could do what I wanted. We both like me to walk off leash a fair amount, because I like to sniff bushes, and Mummy doesn’t like having her back jerked, every time I stop suddenly to smell something. (Needless to say, I do not walk in front of Mummy! I never have.... unless I’m chasing the crows. Or my Frisbee.) Well, I decided I’d like to cross the street the other day and see what kind of new smells were on the other side. I’m supposed to stay on the sidewalk, but I – like – “forgot”....

That ended my offleash walk for the day.

She also wanted me to “Come” a couple of times, and I said, “In a minute”, which didn’t go over very well.... so it was back on the leash again. Mummy gets really stern, too, when she’s upset: she doesn’t talk to me for a long time!

I decided I’d better do what I’m told, so I won’t have all of my privileges taken away, but.... I probably will forget again. I’m still a puppy, after all. (Some of the time!)

The other day, Mummy got all excited about a play date at the Offleash Beach that she'd set up with some people from North Vancouver.

I was kind of hoping she’d forget about the bath I hadn’t had in a long time – over 2 weeks! – but nope. She got me all spiffied up to go to the beach to meet Maya, the 1 year old Coton monster, and her parents, Stephen and Ayuka. I was keen to go, but Maya was a puppy!!! She was bouncing around - boing, boing, boing - and barking, and running and jumping on everyone, including me. She dug really deep holes in the sand and crawled in after them, she played with my toys and thought my treats were for her!! I’ll admit she was pretty cute – looking – with really long cottony hair that stood up straight around her body, making her look 5 times as big as she really is.

 But, I’m a grown-up now.

Mummy always says I’m not an alpha dog, but her Facebook friend, Birgit, says it’s not about alphas and omegas, it’s about relationships, and I wanted to make that clear to Maya. I’m older than she is, so I get to set the rules!! But boy, it sure wasn’t easy getting through to her! She kept bouncing around me, barking at the top of her lungs and even jumping on top of me!!

Now, I don’t care about most of the dogs we see at the Beach. We may never see them again, and they don’t act like that, anyway. But Maya is a COTON!! And I have the feeling I might have to see her again! So I had to let her know that I would play with her, but only on my terms. That is, for a minute or two... after I’d lain down in the sand with my head turned away from her for a long time, wandered off to say hi to the other dogs, and been as Mummy says, a real prune.....

Mummy also says I acted just like that myself, when I was Maya’s age! I can’t believe that!!! OK, maybe I was a bit bouncier than I am now, but I sure didn’t bark as much! I did jump on bigger dogs, like she does, but I was quickly put in my place.

With all the rain we’ve had lately, it looked as if everyone and their dog had decided to go to the Offleash Beach. I’ve never seen so many dogs in one place in my whole life! And they all came to Mummy as if to a magnet. Everyone thinks it was because she keeps my breakfast in her pocket, but I think they wanted to say hello to me!

It was a nice, almost sunny day, but as we stood around, it got colder and colder and colder! Mummy’s hands turned beet red, because she thought it was spring and didn’t bring her gloves along. We knew it had snowed on Saturday, down at Michelle’s place in Everett, because we saw the photos, but it was so warm here on Saturday, Mummy took her jacket off , when walked along the rocky beach over by 26th Street, and just wore her T-shirt. I don’t have that option. :(

It looked as if Stephen and Ayuka were getting cold too, although Maya certainly wasn’t – all that jumping around!! – so, after an hour or so, we all decided to go home. That was fine with me; there were lots more dogs to say hello to, and of course, their moms and dads like to stop and say hello to Mummy, too.

I wanted to play with my Frisbee once the little ankle biter had left, but when Mummy tried to step up on the ledge beside the beach, where she could throw it, her bad leg gave out and she fell. Not hard enough to hurt, but enough so that she limped all the way home and went to bed afterward. She has decided her problem isn’t the arthritis so much as it is fibromyalgia. And sure enough, today, she hardly hurts at all. It doesn’t make any sense of course....

On the way home, we stopped at the Safeway for some groceries. I always wait outside, because Mummy goes in and just gets a couple of things, and I get lots of pats from everyone. As we were leaving, we met Fred, the homeless man, coming with his cart full of bottles and stuff. He makes money by taking them back to the store. Mummy has known Fred for years, so she asked him if he’d been to our place yet. No, he said, but he’d been hoping to run into us. Our garbage and re-cycling is locked away, so Fred can only get in if someone unlocks it. Well, it was Sunday, and there is always a lot of stuff in the re-cycling bins, and Fred always leaves the place clean, so he came back with us.

Fred looks just like what you’d think a homeless man would look like. A shock of unkempt grey hair, a week’s worth of unshaven beard, a red flushed face and a handful of yellow teeth. We had never had a real conversation with him, but he turns out to be a normal person underneath all the booze, drugs and homelessness. As well as collecting bottles, he also, he told us, picks up bric a brac that’s been left out and takes it to a flea market over town, where he can sell it for a small amount. Fred told Mummy he had once been a truck driver, and Mummy asked him which job was harder work: driving a truck or his present “job”, and he said this one was harder. It sure looks as if it is!

We got up early this morning, just to go out to the front lawn, and guess what?? It was snowing.... here!!! Michelle must have sent her Everett weather up to us!! Grrrr. (Mummy says that every single time she has driven to Seattle – and that’s plenty of times – there has been a permanent raincloud over Everett. She always gets lost on the way home, because she either isn’t concentrating, or can’t see the signs because of the rain and the traffic, and inevitably goes off the I5 on the Everett exit.) We don’t think it has EVER snowed here – at sea level too! – in March, much less near the end of the month!! It all melted, of course, but it’s still cold out, and it might snow again tonight....

 So far today, we just went around the block with Auntie Debby and Bubbles, her Chihuahua. We had a good time, though. Down by the park at the foot of the street, we came across Uncle Angus and Molly, a nice Staffy-like dog he was taking care of, and Susy the Min Pin and her elderly owner, Ruth. Ruth has a heavy German accent and a voice like a Steller’s Jay, but she’s awfully nice. She just moved into Auntie Debby’s building last year, and everyone likes her a lot.

Ruth had a really unpleasant thing happen last year. She was living in a nice house, which she’d paid for, in back of her son’s big home. People here call them coach houses. Ruth went away for a holiday in the winter, and when she got back, her son had moved all her furniture out and into Debby’s highrise – meaning from Vancouver over here to West Van – sold Ruth’s house to someone else and taken a year’s lease on the apartment! If that wasn’t bad enough, Ruth thought that meant he had actually paid for the year, but he hadn’t. He’d only paid one month – i.e. $1,000 – it’s not a high end building at all - and her second month there, she got a notice from the landlord that she hadn’t paid her rent.

We all though, oh no! Every time we see Ruth, she’s going to be griping about her sorry lot, but nope. She’s always happy, pointing out nice scenery, talking about flowers and birds and a really pleasant person, despite her voice. Has never mentions how she came to live in our neighbourhood, since.

 One of Auntie Moira’s friends had a similar thing happen to him. Frank, who was living in a waterfront condo at the foot of the street, is in his early 90s, as bright as a penny and very well-to-do. A year and a half ago, his son bought him a condo over in Dundarave – about a 15 minute walk from here. His son is also very well to do. Frank wasn’t sure he wanted to move, but the new place was nice, and he and his wife began to enjoy it. It’s close to nice stores and coffee shops, and there’s a Seniors’ Shuttle Bus which takes him over to the Seniors’ Centre whenever he wants to go” He could take a cab, but he likes the shuttle bus, because he meets lots of people he knows and talks to them.

Well, Frank’s son decided that Mom was too frail to be living in a condo, so he and his sisters got together and decided to move Mom and Dad into a cheap nursing home over in North Van, which is miles away from this neighbourhood and the people!! Frank reminded them that he has plenty of money and can pay for a caregiver to come in, but the son, “Nope! You’re out voted!” Auntie Moira and Mummy are both upset about this – how children can just take over their parents’ life like that. Mummy is glad to know I will never put her in a nursing home!!

 Speaking of Auntie Moira, she learned her brain tumour has grown, so she is back on really heavy duty chemo now. She feels a lot better than she did, though, so we’ve had a few walks with her and Taffy. Taffy has been taking care of her mom and hasn’t had a lot of exercise, so she has actually been rushing up and flinging herself on me, as if she’s actually glad to see me!! It used to be the other way ‘round!

The Bald Eagles who were here last year are back, so Mummy is keeping close to my side. She doesn’t like the way the big one flies right over us at low altitude, as if wondering who she’d like for dinner.... The daffodils and early rhodos are finally in bloom, and the buds on the tulip magnolias are getting bigger every day. Clearly, the plants think it’s spring, even if the Weatherman doesn’t!

Well, as Mummy would probably say, that’s all the news that’s fit to print. For now.....

Hi friends

Mummy reminded me tonight that I hadn’t written in my diary for a long time. I think she may have picked tonight to remind me, because she isn’t feeling well and wants me to stop growling at her to play. Mummy’s arthritic back has been hurting her more and more lately. She fell last night, on the way home from the store, and is sore all over today. She slipped on the wet cement. And then she went to see her favourite plastic surgeon for a bit more “work”. So far, he has worked on her neck, her back, her nose and now her forehead, but she doesn’t look any younger at all! Apparently its skin cancer, but isn’t it a coincidence that the stuff decided to grow right where everyone wants that “work” done?

 

 

Anyway, plastic surgery is no fun at all, apart from kidding around with the doctor. Getting the freezing needles hurts, although not as badly as the ones she got in her nose, and when the freezing wears off, the pain is pretty bad, she tells me. Today’s tumour was 3 cm. across. The one on her nose was... “bigger” the doctor says. I guess that explains why her nose is still swollen after 8 months.

We’ve had a pretty quiet winter. Ciera was over for a few visits, but we’ve also had a lot of rain. I don’t like going outside in the rain, although Mummy tells me I didn’t mind it when I was a puppy. Yeah, well that’s when I had short hair! And I don’t even remember that far back! All I know is, if I get wet, I get cold, and then I get the blow dryer when we get home. So I’d much rather play inside with Mummy!!

 

She loves to throw the frisbee, or the new glow-in-the-dark ball down the hall and then try and beat me to it! Hahaha!! I ALWAYS win!! Then Mummy tries to get it away from me, and I snarl fiercely. Sometimes I even shriek a bit!! That scares her!!! Hahaha!! We also play in the lobby of our building, when it’s late at night. There’s lots of room to throw things, and if I think I need to bark, nobody can hear me. I don’t think!

I’m not really a barky dog, although I do have a very prestigious certificate from the Coton Friends BBB Club. I got it – quite deservedly, too, if I may say so – for scaring off some hoodlums (so-called ‘cause they were wearing hoodies) that were up to no good late one night. I really only bark when I see other dogs, people I know, people I don’t know, good friends, bad guys, squirrels.... Come to think of it, I haven’t seen a squirrel in a long time!! We did see a coyote one night, though. But I didn’t have a chance to bark at it, because Debby – the lady we walk with at night – scared it away! Mummy was upset at first, because she doesn’t like scaring things. She was thinking, “the poor coyote”....

I had a lot of fun last Saturday. A lady had called Sonya Paterson, because she was interested in getting a Coton for her family, but she had never actually seen one in the flesh. Sonya told her to call Mummy, because, she said, I am always kept in show condition.

Mummy and I had a good laugh about that!! Then she gave me a bath.

On Saturday, Leslie, Rob and their two children came to visit. When they rang the doorbell, we ran all the way down the hall to meet them. I was so excited, I ran right up to them and jumped around on my back legs kissing everyone. Mummy says she could tell that, the minute they came through the door, Rob’s face changed. That’s important, because he’s the father and breadwinner, whatever that means, so what he says, goes.

 

 

Rob and Leslie had dogs when they were much younger, but their children – 10 and 12 – have never had one. The little girl enjoyed playing tug of war with me and my mongoose roadkill toy – the one Older and Wiser Auntie Penny E. gave me when we met. (That was a long time ago, and the mongoose has had his leg amputated in the meantime.) I growled fiercely, and the little girl laughed. They all did! Well, maybe not the 12 year old boy. He was pretty quiet and didn’t pay much attention to me. Have you ever seen a 12 year old boy who is 6’ 2” tall? Neither had I. I hope he doesn’t get teased at school.... what they now call bullying.

The little girl picked me up and carried me around right side up, and upside down, and with my legs hanging all over the place, and I didn’t let out one squeak of objection. I pretended I was a stuffed animal, and thanks to my excellent breeding and the bath the night before, I felt even softer and cuddlier than a stuffy!

Rob the Father, is 6’4”, but he’s a grownup, so he doesn’t feel shy about his height. He wanted to play with me too, and somehow got the roadkill mongoose away from his daughter, whose name both Mummy and I have forgotten, if we ever knew it.

 

 

Mummy is quite sure the family will get a Coton soon. The only trouble is, they want a coloured Coton, and there aren’t a lot of them around. Also, Leslie, the mom, has been doing a lot of research, and she wants a puppy from a really good breeder who puts pedigrees on his or her website along with all the results of all the tests. She cannot interpret them, but she wants to see them anyway. Leslie asked Mummy about tests that say “fair” instead of “good” or “excellent”, but she was asking the wrong person. Mummy doesn’t know what those ones mean.

Leslie had brought along a photo of a puppy she really liked. We don’t know where she got it from, but Mummy recognised the puppy right away!! That’s because Mummy would have killed for that puppy, herself!! Leslie thought it was a puppy from a Florida breeder, but Mummy knew it was from her friend Brigitte, who lives in Denmark. Leslie emailed her right away, but wouldn’t you know, someone else got the puppy while we were still talking about it!! Anyway, Leslie has emailed my breeder, Sara France, as well, and promised to let us know whenever she gets the right puppy. We wish her luck.

Mummy says it’s important to get a puppy from a good breeder. One of the easiest ways is to read pedigrees, even though some breeders don’t like to publish that information. (They worry that a puppy mill will steal the pedigree and use it to sell their mill puppies.) Mummy read pedigrees long before she got me and discovered that quite a few American breeders dogs had the name “Cotonnerie” in front of them. That told Mummy that Cotonnerie must be a good breeder, if lots of breeders liked her dogs, too. Of course, since then, Mummy has learned a lot more about Cotons and their pedigrees, and that there are a lot more good breeders than she knew about when she got me. She told Leslie and Rob their names, too and sent them the links to their websites.

 

 

We think that coloured Cotons can be just as beautiful as the white ones, and that the standard should allow coloured dogs to compete too.

Not that anyone asked us.

 

Well, it looks as if Mummy is going to wimp out on my grooming tonight. She says she isn’t “up to it”. And that’s OK with me.

Talk to you later.....

 

Just Catching Up

You’ve probably been wondering what happened to me, since Ciera went back to her parents. Well, we’ve been busy relaxing and getting back into our old routines.

Also, now that we don’t have a car any more, any shopping we do takes a good 40 minutes each way, instead of 5 minutes each way! That’s because we have to walk there and back. This is good for us, though, because we needed to get back in shape.

We’ve been walking a lot at night with Auntie Debby and Bubbles, the 8 year old Chihuahua. I don’t happen to like walking at night. Mummy always puts me on the leash at night, because there are so many black and white squirrels out after dark. She always walks ahead, because it’s her job to make sure the coast is clear ahead of us, and I walk behind to check on our rear. It’s my job to make sure there are no bad guys or predators - like coyotes, raccoons and big bad dogs - sneaking up behind us, so I have to keep stopping and looking back. It jerks on Mummy’s bad back, but better safe than sorry, I always say

Well, when we walk with Debby and Bubbles, they rush off ahead with Debby still talking, while I’m dragging Mummy backwards..... I think it bugs Debby. Bubbles doesn’t care, because she’s off leash!! I’d think that wasn’t fair, but Bubbles did get skunked a few weeks ago.... !!! :0)

One night, it began to rain just after we left home, and by the time we got to the halfway point in our route, it was just pouring, and I was soaking wet. Bubbles doesn’t mind the rain, because her coat is really short and has oil in it that repels the rain. I don’t have oil in my coat, so it gets wet and plastered to my back. It doesn’t feel good; I get cold; and then Mummy will have to get the hair dryer out to dry me off when we get home. It just takes too much time late at night.

Anyway, I wasn’t having much fun, so when we got to the exit for our place, I sat down and told Mummy I really didn’t want to walk any further. Auntie Debby was afraid that Mummy was letting me be in charge, but even I know that the human is always supposed to think THEY are in charge!!

Mummy wondered about that for a split second, but, she told me later, if I had been a child instead of a dog, and I was miserable, cold and wet. nobody would be worried about who was in charge!! She just thought picking me up and going inside was the right thing to do – and of course, I agree!!

I’ve seen my BFFF – Best Furry Friend Forever – Reba (see above!) a couple of times, recently. We don’t see each other as often as we’d like, even though she lives in the same building as Debby and Bubbles. Reba and I have known each other most of our lives, and we always love to have a good long play fight when we run into each other.

The other day, Mummy had brought her camera along on our round-the-block walk, in case there were any pretty trees or flowers to photograph, but she decided to try out the videos function on her camera while Reba and I played. She has no idea how to make videos and no program to edit them with, but we’re both pleased with what she got. People think that I have a nice long coat, so I must be a spoiled Princess Frou Frou. Wrong-O!!! Here! Have a look!

　
Speaking of my long coat, Mummy thinks that my hair has finally grown back to the length it was over a year ago, just before I had the dreaded puppy cut. The hair at my shoulders, which is the longest, is exactly the same length it was almost 15 months ago. It is 6.5 inches long. The hair on my rump is shorter, though: it’s just barely 6 inches. And on my tummy, it’s 3.5 inches. My head is still really short, though.


I am one of those tri-colour Cotons, whose colour fades and fades for a year or so.... and then comes back!! Apparently most tri-colour Cotons fade to just about all white, but I’m not one of them! Mummy likes my colours, though: she especially loves the black streaks in my tail and the black collar I’m growing. I still have half of my moustache black, like it’s always been, too.
 

This afternoon, we walked over to the Safeway for some groceries. We ran into a woman and her dog whom we’d met the other day, so I went over to say hello. I don’t know what I did wrong, but the other dog, who was maybe 5lb heavier, decided she didn’t like me today and attacked me.
 
This has only happened a couple of times in my life, but it’s not a good idea for the other dog to try that stuff with me. I’m a pretty mellow dog, and I let other dogs play with my toys, but if someone wants a fight, I don’t back down, and I have really great reflexes. I only weigh 10 lb. under my 6 inch coat, but I’m no pushover!! My teeth are really sharp, and I’m ready to use them if I have to!!

I’m pretty sleepy now, so I’ll shut up for now….

Later ‘Taters!!

How Dogs "Know" Things

Mummy said I should try and explain dogs’ intuitions to you all. That’s a big subject, but I’ll try. (And remember, I’m only 2, so I don’t know everything yet!!)

First of all, everyone knows that Cesar Millan talks a lot about “calm assertive energy”. We dogs pick up on that so fast, we don’t even know we’re doing it! 

But a second factor in the equation – yes, I’m studying math.... ;0) – is the temperament of the dog. In my case, I am described by everyone who has ever known me - from Sara France to my mom, to her friends and the neighbours – as a “laid back” Coton. Of course, we all know there is really no such thing as a laid back Coton, but compared with others, that describes me pretty well. I love to play as much as the next dog, but I don’t mind sitting around looking at the scenery when my mom is talking to someone. If she wants to stay home and read, that’s fine. I’ll have a nap or visit the neighbours. So I have a fairly calm energy myself. I’m also somewhat assertive, but I do give way to older dogs that I should respect, like Ciera. If she tried to eat my food, it kind of ruined my appetite anyway, so I let her. I knew Mummy would give me some more later.

My friend Bean, who is now living with another family, but who used to live with Auntie Moira, was a nervous dog. He had never spent enough time with a family to know the protocols of family living – like where to go potty. Nor had he learned that a human can protect him. He was so used to having to protect himself that he was always on the look-out for trouble, when we went for walks. Trouble is, Auntie Moira was also on the look-out for potential problems, since she was afraid Bean would attack other humans and dogs. It was a case of Auntie Moira being a bit of a worrier anyway, even before she rescued Bean, and Bean being a worrier too. So neither of them ever got relaxed about going out for walks.

The reason I say he didn’t trust his mom to take care of herself is that he “knew” intuitively, that she wasn’t comfortable herself !! Auntie Moira just can’t stand the thought of bothering other people so she was nervous.

You might ask, well, who doesn't mind bothering other people? True, but as an example, my mom just doesn’t expect that either one of us is going to upset anyone. It’s not that she doesn’t care; it just doesn’t occur to her. I’m the same way. I have always expected people and other dogs to like me, since I almost always like them, so neither Mummy nor I are worrying about anything when we go out. Normally....

But things were different on Tuesday. Actually before Tuesday, Ciera and I noticed that Mummy was getting a bit tense. She was trying to get our apartment cleaned up and wearing herself out, doing it. Ciera and I knew that the way she was working was unusual - for her. She was pushing herself too hard. Also, we weren’t getting the same walks we normally get. Something was going on!!

When Mummy started unloading the trunk of the car one day, we began to zero in on what was happening. All of a sudden, stuff I’d never seen before was coming out of that trunk, and most of it smelled like Uncle Jim and Auntie Clare!! We hadn’t smelled them in MONTHS!!! And some of the stuff also smelled like Ciera! Some of her stuff turned out to be in the trunk of the car, too. (Mummy had packed a lot of her things in the trunk, since Ciera didn’t need them, and we are short on space at home.)

OK, so this told us that, whatever was going on, it must have something to do with Ciera, and her mom and dad. Of course, Ciera wasn’t sure what it was, so she got worried, and then, so did I. Well, when Mummy took Ciera to the groomer, we both wondered if there was some connection. Was Mummy going to give Ciera away to someone else – like the groomer, or someone who would be visiting him? When she left Ciera there, I was hoping she had just forgotten her..... Boy, was I ever glad when we went back and got her later!!

But we were doing other weird things that day. Getting the car washed. There were a lot of strange looking little people crawling all over the car and shooting us with hoses. It was a bit scary, and Ciera and I were already nervous. We could tell Mummy was nervous too. She was in a hurry and a bit impatient with us. Plus, you know how people – and animals – give off pheromones telling us when they are nervous, angry, happy or even sick. Yep, we were sure getting that message.


We went home, and Mummy was still rushing around. We didn’t even have time for dinner!! And then back we piled into the car and drove out to the airport!!! Well, I was pretty sure I wasn’t going any place, but Ciera and I both began to wonder if maybe she was. 

Neither one of us was expecting what really happened though!!

When Mummy took us over to where the escalator was, we sat very quietly, because we were worried and overwhelmed. People don’t communicate well with dogs, because their human noses don’t work very well, and they don’t know how to read – or give – body language. When I suddenly heard Uncle Jim cry out, “There they are!” I was thrilled, because now I knew that we had a happy reason for being at the airport. I was so thrilled I ran right over to him for a kiss, forgetting all about poor Ciera, who couldn’t see or hear him. It took her a long time to figure things out, because of that, along with all the commotion and smells of other people arriving and meeting their own families.


When she finally realised that her mom and dad had come home, she wasn’t too sure that she was safe yet, even after we all got in the car together. She was “reading” Uncle Jim and Auntie Clare’s vibes, and they were not happy campers. It had been a very long day for them; in fact, it had been a very long 5 1/2 months! Well, you know how it is when you’re already worried and upset and have been rushing around and not having your nap – or even dinner? You’re already psyched for bad news, and nothing that was happening was making things seem better. We had to drive to unfamiliar places and park, and Auntie Clare got out of the car and left us all.... We dogs had no idea that she was going into the Safeway to get groceries!

Finally, however, we did get back to her place, and the first thing Ciera did was sniff her familiar patches of grass while the humans stood around. When we went into her own apartment, it smelled funny, because strangers had sub-let the place for a few months but, since it was after 9:00 at night and the proper time, Mummy tossed bits of lamb and rice treats on the kitchen floor, which turns out to be where Ciera’s parents do it, and she began to feel better. We both did, plus.... we were hungry!! 

Next thing you know, Auntie Clare was making up the bed with fresh sheets and horsing around with Ciera the way she always used to, so Mummy and I felt a whole lot better about things when we left to have Uncle Jim drive us back home. That was last Tuesday.

........................................................................

Today - the next Tuesday - we had a BIG surprise!! (At least, I did!) The doorbell rang, and Mummy told me Ciera was here! I flew off the bed and raced down the hall to meet her. I was so excited to see that she was OK, that I couldn’t stop flinging myself on her and hugging her!! Mummy and Auntie Clare sat around and talked for a while, then we all went to Whole Foods and got lunch to eat outside, the way we always used to. It was just so great to see Ciera and her mom and to know that Ciera is a LOT happier, now she knows her mom didn’t abandon her 5 months ago, and everything is OK after all!!


Anyway, I hope this helps you understand a bit more about how dogs’ “intuition” works, that you will be able to figure out how to communicate better with your dog, or at least learn how to figure out what your dog is thinking....


Well, I need my nap now.....

Ciera has Gone Home

There sure have been a lot of changes around here in the last few days!!

Ciera had to go to the groomer on Tuesday. She was really dirty, because we’d been to the offleash beach 3 times last week! I don’t get quite as dirty as Ciera does, because I don’t have oil in my hair, and the sand and dust just fall out. On Ciera, it sticks. Then it gets on “her” pillowcase”!

Mummy was acting a bit funny that day, and I wasn’t sure what was up. When we left Ciera at the groomer, I waited outside and kept looking back, to tell Mummy we had forgotten her! But Mummy said, no, we’d come back and get her later, which we did. I was so glad to see Ciera – don’t ask me why!! – that I ran up to her and threw my arms around her neck. I don’t think she was quite as glad to see me, though..... But then, she doesn’t see anything very well.

Mummy had been busy un-packing things from the trunk of the car, bringing them upstairs and packing them again. (I don’t understand humans sometimes.) Once the car was completely empty, we took it to the hand car wash. That was kind of fun, because there were a lot of short dark people in red coveralls hosing the car down and smiling at us. After a while, we got out of the car and watched, along with some other people who were doing the same thing. Some little girls came over and played with us, too. Their mom was really pretty and nice. She had 3 little girls and a baby in one arm! Another woman came along, who also liked me. She was waiting for a Volkswagen Beetle convertible. It looked like a car to me, though.

After that, we went home, loaded up the car with all the stuff we’d taken out of it – Mummy said we’d done that, so the dark skinned people could vacuum the trunk – and drove to the airport. I’ve been there once or twice before, and so has Ciera.

There was a sign on the terminal door that said “No Dogs” but Mummy says we aren’t dogs; we’re puppies!! So we all went in and stood around something called a baggage carousel. Lots of people came past and stopped to say hello to me. For some reason, most of them were men. They got right down on my level and messed with my hair! Ciera didn’t pay any attention to them, though. Soon some people began to arrive in that room, so Mummy took us over to a place called an escalator to watch the people coming down stairs without moving their legs! 
Ciera and I stood there politely, wondering why Mummy wanted to be there – and at first we thought it was so the people could stop and say hello to us. Then, out of nowhere, we heard a familiar voice, calling out, “There they are!” and suddenly who did we see?? Why, it was Uncle Jim and Auntie Clare, Ciera’s dad and mom!! I was so thrilled I ran right over to the bottom of the escalator with my tail going in circles, so I could say hello!!

Uncle Jim moved to one side though, so the people behind him could come down. Meanwhile, Ciera sat there, not knowing what was going on!! Mummy took her over to see her mom and dad, and eventually she recognised him.... but not her own mom!!!! I could see that Auntie Clare was really hurt by that, but she was just standing there, and Jim was on the floor with Ciera, so that might be why. Poor Ciera was getting really disoriented! She kept looking for my Mummy, instead of her own. When Auntie Clare finally picked her up, Ciera struggled to get away! But when Uncle Jim picked her up, that was OK. When we were all leaving the terminal, one of those information women came rushing over to us to tell us that dogs aren’t allowed in there!! That’s probably because earlier, Mummy had been a wee bit sneaky, detouring around racks of carts whenever she saw Airport Security or anyone else with a uniform on, and waiting for Jim and Clare behind a pillar.....

Uncle Jim got in our car and drove us all to the Safeway to get some food for their place, since they’d been away 5 1/2 months, then we went back to their place. Ciera was finally feeling a bit better, because she got to sit on her mom’s lap on the way, and she recognised their building and the yard. She was happy to sniff all her favourite clumps of grass, but when Uncle Jim went to the front door and called her to come, she didn’t hear him and carried on walking away, sniffing. Mummy and I are used to that, but Uncle Jim must have forgotten that Ciera is deaf, because the next thing he did was whistle for her! Of course, Ciera kept right on going, and Mummy was mesmerised, she said, and just stood there, until Uncle Jim finally let the door go and went and got Ciera. We had to do that all the time when Ciera was living here!

I was glad we got to go inside and see where Ciera lived. She remembered it well, and went straight to the kitchen, looking for food. Her mom and dad were busy – Jim was turning on lights and checking to see how the place looked after a few people had stayed there, and Clare was putting fresh sheets on the bed. Mummy knew what time it was, though, so she got some of the lamb and rice sticks from the food bag that we’d packed for Ciera’s dinner and breakfast and threw them on the kitchen floor. I thought I’d like some too, though, so Mummy threw 2 sticks. Neither Ciera nor I had had any dinner with all the stuff that was going on.

Then Ciera got to play with her mom who was throwing sheets and pillows around on the bed. I guess they always do that, because Ciera was pouncing on the pillows Clare was shaking into cases, and jumping around under a sheet Clare threw on top of her. Clare tried to do the same thing with me, but Mummy and I don’t play when she’s making the bed, so I was just scared. We play when Mummy and I are in the already made-up bed, instead!! I like to jump on Mummy and lick her to death, and bite her hand under the sheets, and have her wrestle me to the mattress and rub-a-dub-dub my tummy!

We left them there and Uncle Jim drove us home. He was really tired! They had flown from the Canary Islands, but not Tenerife, to Madrid, to Toronto and finally to Vancouver. It took them 21 hours!! And I don’t think either of them was in a good mood when they got home!!

It was weird coming home and having the bed all to myself, but I had never slept on the pillows Ciera took over, anyway. Since then, I get to eat my dinner without “someone” looking over my shoulder and trying to get to it first!! But I kind of liked Mummy feeding me by hand, so I’m holding out for more of that!

Now we don’t have the car any more, we have been walking to the stores to get things. This is fine, though, because we can walk a LOT faster without Ciera! This afternoon, we walked to Dundarave, which – when Ciera was here – took about an hour. Without Ciera, it maybe took 20 minutes! And I got to play with my toys all the way over and back, too!! Mummy said she was so thrilled when we had to cross a busy street, and we didn’t have to stop in the middle and go looking for Ciera, or go and grab her if she was ahead.

So I don’t think I miss Ciera as much as I thought I would. Besides, the night we left Ciera at her own home, we came home and ran into Debby and Bubbles right away! We always go for walks with them at night anyway, so that was no different from usual, except we could walk faster.


The next day after she left us, we had a visit with Moira and Taffy and saw almost every dog we know in the neighbourhood! So the only change in our routine is that we don’t have to keep watching out for Ciera all the time and can have more fun. And.... Mummy can stop and talk to her friends, because I always sit right there and wait while she does it. Ciera always kept wandering off.

Yesterday, I had a bath, so that took a lot of time. Mummy likes the Tropiclean Puppy Shampoo for me and even more for herself! Mummy has grey hair that she lies to pretend is still blonde, and it makes it look much shinier. We aren’t quite as delighted with the conditioner, though. It does a good job, but it takes a LOT of rinsing to get it out! We learned from Sonya Paterson that you have to rinse the conditioner out really well, or my hair gets sticky really fast. With the Vellus, the shampoo is harder to rinse out, but the conditioner is easy!

This afternoon, Auntie Moira dropped in for a while, then a former neighbour of Mummy’s came for tea. When we went to Dundarave (high street) I met a lady in a wheelchair who was pretty and maybe in her mid-40s, but she had twisted hands and mumbled a bit. Mummy thinks she might have cerebral palsy. I sat on the lady’s lap and got quite comfortable, while she and her handsome boyfriend chatted with Mummy.

We also stopped to talk to Kenya the cat’s mom. She said he was inside eating dinner, but if we waited, she’d see if he wanted to come out and say hi. He did, but then he started to cross the street with a car coming!! Whoa!! I ran out to the middle of the street to get him to come back, but he wouldn’t follow me. Then Mummy ran out and picked ME up instead, while Kenya just strolled to the far side of the street. We felt sorry for the poor driver, who was waiting and waiting, thinking something was wrong with the cat! No, he just goes across the street, his mom said, to catch birds!!
 

Now it’s time for my dinner. It looks OK, but I’m going to see if I can get Mummy to persuade me to eat it!! ;0)

Chanel's 2nd Birthday

My birthday was on September 2nd, and I was 2 years old! Mummy says that means I’m almost a grown-up now! I’m not sure what she meant by that, though. Like, is there something I have to stop doing, or something I have to start doing, or some way I’m supposed to think about the world around me? I guess I’ll find out soon enough, so I won’t worry about it. I’m not really a worrier, anyway. My goal in life is to have a good time, and I don’t think that’s going to change. Mummy says that’s always been her ambition too, and she hasn’t changed even though she’s MUCH older than I am!!

We really celebrated my big day, too!! Mummy told me how important my birthday is, because if it weren’t for my birthday, I wouldn’t be here! First thing we did was get the birthday cakes. I would have been quite happy with the Dairy Queen ice cream log, but Mummy insisted on getting me a real doggie birthday cake. It was a brown layer cake in the shape of a heart, with a little round liver treat on top, and it sure was delicious! We went down to Auntie Moira’s place and got Taffy and Moira to help us eat the goodies. Mummy even put 2 pink candles on one of the cakes. She said she would have put them on MY cake, but it was too hard to get the candles into it, so she put them on the ice cream instead.

After we wore Auntie out, Ciera and I got to go to the beach and strut around. I was wearing my red and white party collar, which looked really great with my red bow and red leash. A lot of people stopped to admire me and say, “Happy Birthday”.

We watched a lot of big dogs running around on the beach and swimming after logs and frisbees their parents threw for them. I have a frisbee too, but I don’t like to get my feet wet. In fact, I don’t like to play fetch very much, either. What I like to do with a frisbee is bring it back near Mummy, but not too close, and then wrestle her for it!! We have lots of fun doing that! We go eyeball to eyeball and growl at each other.... and I think I win more than she does!

Anyway, we weren’t playing frisbee on Thursday, so when I met a Havanese puppy who was in the same mood as I, we had a great time chasing each other around, growling and jumping on each other!! It was lots of fun!

 

 

Ciera was with us, but she never plays. She’s too old, but Mummy says Ciera has never played with a toy in her entire life!! That’s hard to believe! I wonder what she did for all those years, if she never played?? It must have been really boring!

Today, when we went for our first walk, which is always around the block, we came across Uncle Angus, who lives there. He was really happy to see me, and I was just as happy to see him. He even decided to walk with us the rest of the way around the block. He just broke up with his girlfriend, and I think he’s lonely and hurting, so we were glad to cheer him up.

He says he wants to go for more walks with us..... He even tells Mummy how good looking she is, but he’s way younger than she is!! Maybe he thinks she’s rich – hahaha!! Besides, Mummy isn’t very good looking now, because she had a big skin cancer taken off her nose, and it’s still bruised and swollen!! Yuk!!

Later on, we went to the beach again. We never get tired of it, because we always meet lots of other dogs there! Lots of other nice people, too. And tonight, we went for a walk on the Seawalk with Auntie Debbie and Bubbles. Ciera is getting used to me at long last – after 5 1/2 months! She has touched noses with me a couple of times in the last week, and even smelled my bum today!

Trouble is, her mum is coming home from Europe on Tuesday and wants her back. Ciera doesn’t know that yet, though, because she’s deaf. Mummy says Ciera will be really glad to see her mum and dad, even though she hasn’t seen them in such along time. I just don’t know if she’ll be glad when she gets home, and I’m not there.

Actually, I’m not sure if I’ll be glad to get rid of her or not, either. She’s no fun, but I’m kind of used to her company. It’ll be weird being the only dog: getting to sleep on the pillow beside Mummy if I feel like it, not having Ciera eat my food before I get a chance at it, not having to wait all the time when we’re out walking, for Ciera to catch up..... I think I might find myself looking around for her and making sure she’s OK. She can’t see very well, either.....

But, right now, we’re all OK. Ciera is already asleep on the pillow, and the crickets are chirping away outside our window. I’M just waiting for Mummy to turn out the lights, and I can settle in beside her.

Talk to you again soon....