Last night was my bath night, and I was too tired to write afterward. Mummy got some Tropiclean (puppy) shampoo and conditioner as an experiment, since her Coton friend, Dalva, says to change shampoos every now and then. Up to now, we had been using all Vellus products. We liked the Tropiclean stuff too, especially the coconut smell. The instructions didn’t say to dilute the products, but Mummy did it anyway, and that worked out well. We went to 3 stores looking for the face wash, and nobody carried it. In fact,t only one of the stores – 2 were big chains – had the conditioner. I think I looked pretty good afterward. Like all day today.

Before my bath last night, we went for a walk on the Seawalk around 10:00 p.m. Two different men told Mummy I should be on a leash. Mummy did put my leash on after the first man complained, but she got crabby when the second man complained, so she told him I did have a leash on. He then retorted that the leash was supposed to be in her HAND!! She managed to stuff a sock in her mouth; at least, that’s what she said she did! I didn’t see any socks anywhere, because she was wearing thongs!

Anyway, that got Mummy talking to me about politics. She said that it seems as if people have to elect politicians, even if they don’t like any of them. And they get paid a LOT of money to think up more and more laws that restrict people’s freedom and freedom of choice, and to think up more and more ways to spend taxpayers’ money on unnecessary projects that will help them get re-elected in their own ridings. Everything boils down to getting re-elected, so they can make even more laws and keep spending more money to get re-elected!!

 

Mummy has trained me to walk off leash. Since I first came to live here at 11 weeks of age, I have walked at her side and slightly behind her. I understand and obey commands to “Stop”, get “on the sidewalk” if I stray onto the road, “Sit” and “Shake a paw” – the correct, right front paw. When we go out, I like to be able to sniff bushes and chase toys that Mummy throws. I check for cars before I chase a toy onto the street, and I always bring it right back to the sidewalk. I NEVER run away!! Why should I, when I am free to walk or run whenever I want?

 

We have seen quite a few dogs who are never allowed off leash, and who run away the minute their owners loosen their grip on the leash for some reason, or wander into the street. Our friend Taffy got away from her mom, Moira, while she was trying to grab her brother Bean’s leash as he was trying to run away. Just then, Taffy saw another dog across the street, ran right into traffic and was hit. Luckily, she wasn’t hurt, but it was pretty scary. Bean was never allowed off leash, not even to play, but whenever Moira put a collar on him, instead of a harness, he could pull right out of it and run off. That’s when I had to chase him and bring him back!! But we may never see him again. Moira is too sick to take care of 2 demanding dogs, so she had to give Bean away.

We have noticed that almost people who keep their dog on a leash, think they can ignore the dog, and the don’t even notice when the dog wanders into people’s gardens or off the curb and part way into the street. A leash seems to mean to a lot of people that they don’t have to think about their dogs. It's kind of like the young parents who take their babies out for walks and spend the whole time talking and texting on their cell phones.

I’m good on leash, too, though. When we walk on a busy street, or when Mummy is in a hurry to go somewhere, I’m always happy to wear the leash and trot along beside her. But Ciera isn’t. She is really good at dragging along behind us and pulling the collar right over her head. She doesn’t like being on a leash. But she has also been trained and never leaves the sidewalk. She can’t see or hear now, so nothing distracts her, but she also doesn't stop for traffic. Mummy has to go and grab hold of her so Ciera won't wander right into the path of an oncoming car.

Well, that’s how we like to live. Chacun à son goût.... I wear a tag that Mummy pays for every year, I have a microchip that we know works, because we had the vet read it to make sure, and I’m a good, calm girl. We don’t tell other people how to treat their dogs..... although I know I’d be pretty upset if I saw someone with a dog that was being mistreated. I don’t like anyone to be unhappy or afraid, and I always like to go to them and make them feel someone cares.

Eating Well

It was nice and warm (24 C.) today, and even though Ciera and I like to walk and play in the shade, we still enjoyed the weather. We went around the block for our first walk and were joined by a flock of crows who expect us to share our breakfast with them. Breakfast is Ziwi Peak kibble, which is actually my favourite. Mummy uses it for treats, too. She hands out bits to Ciera and me, as we walk, and especially to me, when I refuse to let her have whatever toy she is throwing back!! The crows like it, too, of course, and they give it to their babies, who have been squawking a lot in the last few weeks. Mummy says they will soon be able to eat on their own, and things will quiet down. But I kind of like having all the crows around, because then I can chase them!! Ciera doesn’t do anything, though. She just walks and sits.

When we got back home, Mummy threw a small handful of Orijen hard kibble on the floor for Ciera. That’s Ciera’s only game: attacking and killing food that is thrown on the floor, plus it then gives Mummy time to put on the tea kettle and get us some more food!! Occasionally I eat some of the kibble, but usually I’ve had enough Ziwi Peak to keep from starving to death. Once Mummy has her own tea and toast made, she gives us either a couple of small frozen chicken necks, a couple of frozen gizzards or frozen hearts to eat. Gizzards are my very favourite, but I also like a chicken neck or heart every now and then.

Later on, we went out with Moira and Taffy again. Moira and Mummy decided that Taffy needs to learn that her mum can’t always be tossing a ball around for her, and she needs to earn to entertain herself. I’m pretty good at that myself. I love having a toy thrown for me, but I also like to explore the parklet and sniff things out. I also like to bark at everyone and their dog who goes by, which annoys Mummy. Ciera just goes under a bench and falls asleep.

 

Moira went to see her doctor today. Because it's pretty certain she also has cancer in her thyroid, along with more CNS symptoms, they are hoping to move up her chemotherapy as soon as they can. Linda, who is Paco the Chihuahua's mom, thinks Moira should sue the doctors who forgot about the tests she was supposed to have, and gave her the name of a lawyer, but Moira says she doesn't have the energy to do it. (Besides, stress is supposed to be bad for people wth cancer.)

We were all thrilled today when Murray showed up with Zoe, the bitty little Yorkie. She had a really bad bout of collapsed trachea, and Murray and Gage thought she might not make it. Zoe is a neat little girl, 4 years old and 3 lb. Gage always tells people that Zoe is NOT a Teacup Yorkie; she’s the runt of her litter!! We don’t know if that’s the reason she has the breathing problems, but anyway, we were sure glad to see her again.

Her dad was funny. He was dressed up in beige pants, a navy jacket and tie with gold sailboats on it. He had just come from some sort of party at the yacht club and was, so Mummy told me, three sheets to the wind!! I don’t quite understand the reference, but he was talking really loudly and boasting about all his racing wins of many years ago, and his breath smelled funny. He was happy, though, which is always a good thing.

 

 

We went to Whole Foods afterwards to get fresh eggs for our home made dinner. Mummy took 2 large bags into the store, though, and sure enough! She came back to the car with both of them filled!! When we got home, she cooked us dinner, and Ciera and I thought you might like to know what was in it.....

• About 2 tbsp fat: virgin coconut oil – which is suppossed to help the immune system, extra virgin Greek olive oil and dab of butter. (We are temporarily out of krill oil.)
• Enough ground meat for 6 dinners – tonight it was ground turkey, but sometimes it’s pork, chicken or beef.
• Two chicken livers cut into bite sized pieces. Sometimes she adds gizzards or hearts, and sometimes she doesn’t add any other meat.
• Enough frozen veggie ice cubes to almost equal the volume of the meat. The veggies come from the Korna Pet Food store and are a puréed mix of mostly green with squash, carrots and sweet potato, plus some vitamins. Mummy added another handful of frozen kale to the mix, because I really like kale!!
• A tablespoon, more or less, or powdered cranberry extract, for Ciera’s urinary tract. Sometimes she adds a few pinches of dehydrated kelp, too, but she didn’t do that tonight.
• Once all that was cooked, she added 2 organic brown eggs and mixed them in. The eggs kind of scramble with the food and binds it together so it doesn’t all crumble on the plate.
• Once everything was cooked through, she added 1/4 tsp. of Total Health vitamin supplement.
• And tonight, she added a spoonful of yogurt to each of our dishes. Another time, it might be a bit of cottage cheese. We think we might try kefir some time.

It tastes really good, and even Mummy likes to eat a bit of it!!

I don’t really like chicken livers, though, so I didn’t eat mine. Ciera, of course, inhaled every bit of her dinner, so Mummy doesn’t have to wash her dish!!

I picked at mine, which is what I always do. I don’t live to eat, and yet I’m still a comfortable armful!

All of this takes at most 10 minutes, and then we have to let it cook a bit. What didn’t go on our plates tonight is in the fridge now, but when Mummy makes a larger amount, which she might do, she could freeze it. She did that once before and it was easy to get the right amount of crumbled food out without doing any thawing in the microwave.

As you might guess, we are not health food freaks here. We just don’t like too many of the commercial brands of dog food. Mummy doesn’t add grains to our dinner, because we always beg for hers, and she shares some of it with us. Sometimes she even shares a bit of her ice cream with us too!! Mummy thinks that, if she has managed to hang in for nearly 68 years (she will be 68 on the 14th of August!) without eating a “scientifically” balanced diet that has been stuck in a metal or plastic-lined can and cooked to death, we can probably manage on a diet of normal good food, too. Heck, Ciera has survived 13 years eating kibble and hot dogs, greenies and lamb and rice treats! (Granted, she's deaf, nearly blind and a bit gaga.....)+

After dinner tonight, I did a bit more barking practise. Of course, I like to bark at Mummy, when I want her to play with me. I bark when I think a dog I know in this building might be going out for a walk, And I bark at other dogs, and people I see on the street. But tonight, while Mummy was just finishing her dinner, I decided to put on a little barking concert! I just barked and barked and barked...!! It was after 10 pm. – we eat late, like Spaniards – and Mummy thought some of the neighbours might be sleeping, but I was sure they would enjoy my little lullaby of barking.

 

Well!! Mummy was NOT pleased!!! In fact, she put down her tea and went and got the fancy schmancy, small dog citronella bark collar and put it on me!!!

I HATE that collar!! In fact, it really hurts my feelings when Mummy makes me wear it, and after a minute or two on the floor, I scuttled up onto the bed and needed Mummy to reassure me that she still loved me. I curled up on her lap and put my head on the laptop keyboard. Then I started coughing a bit, and panting a lot!! Mummy got worried and felt sorry for me and took it off, so I didn’t need to stay on her lap much longer, after that.

 

Well, I think we are going to go for our bedtime stroll, so I’ll say "bye for now!!"

 

 

Being Nice

We saw a bright shooting star the other night!! Wow, was that ever neat!! Mummy says it was probably a meteorite that couldn’t wait til the Perseid Meteor Shower in August.

I didn’t write in my journal last night, because I was worn out from a play fight with my pal, Reba. I came home with my hair sticking up straight all over, and it took Mummy several hours to get me ready for bed.

We finally heard from Ciera’s mum, that she will be home on September 6th. I’m not sure if I will miss her or be relieved. I sure won’t miss her at grooming time!! She always gets off the bed after we start the procedure, regardless of the time of day, looking for food and then jumps around, panting, whining and hitting things to get our attention, just after I fall asleep.

We haven’t spent any time with Auntie Moira and Taffy, because Auntie is feeling sicker and has tremors. I don’t really play with Taffy, but I know she likes to go out with us and fool around with her own ball, so it must be hard on her. Yesterday, Auntie Moira snuck out and took the Seniors’ Shuttle bus to Dundarave to get some groceries. She forgot to put Taffy’s bark collar on, and Taffy barked for a good hour before Mummy twigged that it was she. So Mummy phoned her – she likes to call Auntie on her iPhone, because Auntie has special ring-tones and Mummy’s sounds like a dog barking!!

It turned out Auntie M. was going to wait with her groceries at the bus stop for the next shuttle bus, which wasn’t going to come along for another half hour, so we decided to drive over and get her. It’s basically a 10 minute walk, or 2 minute bus ride.

When she went inside, Hilton, who lives in an apartment kiddy corner to Auntie’s, came out on his balcony and wanted to know why dogs barked. Mummy said she didn’t know, why didn’t he ask one. She thought he was referring to me, because I had been practising my own barking. The she explained that I had been barking at the black lab I spotted in the apartment next to Hilton’s, barking at a crow, and barking just to keep my vocal chords warmed up... Well, of course, Hilton likes me; that wasn’t the problem ; it was Taffy!!

Well, then Mummy “lost it”! LOL!! She barked back at Hilton - using some very unpleasant but – ah – colourful language to tell him about Auntie Moira’s brain tumour. She suggested, impolitely, that he get a life and stop being such a nosy parker old lady. Hilton is the local complainer; he cannot bear to be made aware of any of his neighbours, or their birds or pets. I think Hilton was upset, because he shouted loudly that “Nobody had told him!!” about Auntie’s brain tumour. Surprise, surprise!! He really IS a nosy parker, Mummy says.

So that was exciting.

Today was Mummy’s Payday #1. It’s when she gets her government cheques, so we walked over to Ambleside Village (another high street) for a treat: the best latté around for Mummy and water for us, and we shared 2 supreme cinnamon buns while Mummy read the free Metro newspaper. Ciera and I fell asleep together on the sidewalk. On our way home, we detoured into the nice park behind the cenotaph – that’s the World War II memorial where a big ceremony is held every year on Remembrance Day, November 11th. WE had fun sniffing around in the park and chasing toys.OK, I was the only one chasing toys. Ciera just sat there.

Mummy is a Pacifist. She says wars never solve anything; they just make people even angrier with each other and want to take revenge. Also a lot of innocent people who have nothing to do with the disagreements get killed, along with their dogs and cats..... She thinks it’s much better to turn the other cheek and be friendly. I agree. I have LOTS of friends, and I’m sure it’s because I’m so friendly, myself!!

Case in point! As we were nearing the park, we saw a big family of many generations leaving a Persian restaurant we were walking past. There were obviously grandparents, aunts and uncles, young women, and a little boy. Mummy decided they must be Afghans, because they were very dark skinned like east Indians, but didn’t look like any she’d ever seen, and because they speak Farsi – thus making a visit to a Persian restaurant a good place to eat out. Well, of course, when I saw an audience like that, I was in 7th heaven, dashing around making sure everyone was greeted and with the proper enthusiasm. The family were all smiling happily, although couple of the women did seem to be a bit afraid of me getting too close. But the little boy, who looked about one year old, REALLY loved me!! He was just thrilled and tottered around trying to touch me. Finally I let him do that and kissed his hand. Oh, what happy cheers went up from the gathered throng!! Then I stood up on my back legs, put my front legs on the boy’s shoulders and kissed him on his face! I’m sorry to say, that scared him, and he began to cry. I felt badly and didn’t chase him any more, but the grownups were now starting to get out their cameras. Mummy decided I should show off a little, so we did me twirling 360 degrees on my back legs, and then shaking a paw. I know that you always shake a paw with your right hand, by the way, not just any old paw!! Well, you’d think the Ringling Brothers Circus had come to town!! There were cheers and smiles all around, and the family thanked us all for the good time we had all had.....

And those are people who are probably refugees from the war in Afghanistan!! At a quick glance, they look like “foreigners”, but after some Coton love and kisses, we were all good friends!! Even the women who were afraid of dogs!!!

“A soft answer turneth away wrath.....” When Mummy started working as a stewardess, she learned that pasting a smile on her face when passengers were boarding always – no exceptions! – made them happy, and they would smile back! When they got on the plane in a bad mood, if she gave them a chance to talk about it and think someone was actually listening to them, instead of getting angry, they would soon cheer up.

Tonight, when we went out with Debbie and Bubbles, Mummy got all soft and teary eyed, remembering some of those passengers, some of whom she only met for a brief time many years ago. She thought about the middle aged man who had stood up in the middle of the 747 cabin, right after the seat belt signs had been turned off, asking what a person had to do to get a drink around here. Even though it was the ‘70s, the man looked silly. He was wearing a maroon shirt with maroon pants, a wide white belt and white shoes.... Mummy talked to him and got him a drink, even though it wasn’t his turn, and eventually asked him if he had, perhaps, been recently divorced. Why yes, how did she know? (It was the loud clothes and the loud behaviour, but she didn’t tell him that.) Mummy was working in the biggest cabin of the 747, and the plane was full, but pretty soon, the recently divorced man was handing out blankets and helping to serve drinks to people. He just needed something to distract him from the loneliness of his new life.

Another time, there was a strange looking woman flying from Calgary to Saskatoon on a DC9. A 55 minute flight, and they are always full! This woman had straight, greasy, mouse coloured hair and was very, very fat. She had 2 children with her, and it turned out she was an American, travelling to Saskatoon, because her dad lived there and had had a stroke. She was pretty upset, needless to say. Mummy let her talk about it, and said she would pray for the woman’s father, which the woman seemed to really appreciate. Well, a week later, she saw the same woman and her children on their way back to Calgary, and it turned out her dad had passed away. Once again, the woman seemed to need the chance to talk to someone about it. Sure, there would be others, too, but sometimes people need a stranger they will never see again to listen to their personal stories.

Another flight was held up waiting for a man who was coming from downtown and whose young son had been killed back in Montreal. When he got on board, he was so angry, he made a spectacle of himself before he even found his seat. (Mummy isn’t part of this story, though; she was just an observer.) The reason he slate had something to do with trying to check out of his hotel and losing his credit card that he was going to need, and etc. etc. One of the other flight attendants got his information and had the pilots radio the hotel to get the card, and got the man to come and sit at the back of the plane where she could talk to him. She didn’t get angry back at the man; she just let him vent, and sympathised. Well, the mans wasn’t happy when he disembarked, but he was a lot less angry!!

Being nice is always the best option.... and even Mummy knows she didn't smooth things over with Hilton by barking at him!!

Maybe I should think more about my own barking, eh?

Night night.....

Mummy is upset with me tonight. I barked so much today that she claims she has gone deaf from the racket!! It's true, I really outdid myself barking at every strange dog I saw - and there were lots - every toy I chased, at Mummy to do various things for me.... and just because I think I have a nice voice!

Besides I wasn't feeling 100%. Had a little throw up this afternoon, while Auntie Moira, Taffy, Mummy and I were at the parklet around the corner. That's as far as Auntie Moira can walk. Taffy bugged Mummy to throw her ball, over and over and over, so I went and sat in the shade under a tree and chewed my own ball. I took the roadkill toy over there, too.

This is the entrance to the parklet

Auntie Moira says she is getting so she doesn't like Ciera any more. She says she feels grumpy from being so tired and out of breath, but I know that it's because Ciera always lags way behind us. Sometimes she wanders off in the wrong direction, without checking where we are. Today, she thought she should go back inside when we had just started out on our walk. Mummy had to go looking for her, and there she was, standing in the middle of the driveway, staring off into space..... Auntie Moira said she's senile. Mummy says she's just got a bit of dementia right now, and not being able to hear anything makes it worse.

Mummy is also wondering if Ciera's presence and/or behaviour is making me behave badly. Especially wrt the barking. Well, like any normal puppy, I do worry about Ciera and like to make sure she's all right - that is, when I don't try and get her to play with me, which never works, anyway. But I do wish we could walk faster and have more fun.....

We haven't heard from Ciera's Mum for 2 months now, and we're beginning to wonder what to do with her if her Mum doesn't come home when she said she would. My Mum says this has been the most stressful 4 months she's had in decades! Maybe I've been picking up on those vibes, eh? We did have more fun before Ciera came to stay, and I didn't have to worry about her stealing my food all the time. And taking the best spot on the bed. And slowing down everything we do. (Fortunately, Mummy and I have managed to sneak some alone time, anyway, even though it means Ciera will bark her head off while we're out!!)

I think it might be time for our bedtime walk now, or maybe Mummy will want to comb me first, I don't know....

Sweet dreams!

A Quiet Day Here

Woof! We finally had a half day of real summer today. We had a quiet day though. Our morning walk was just around the block, which is what we almost always do. We brought the hedgehog toy with us, and I had fun chasing it and making Mummy wrestle me for it. I don’t think she realises that I know this, but when she gets tired of trying to pry the toy from my jaws of steel, I know that she’ll offer me some treats (Ziwi Peak dinner flakes) to distract me. I’m always ready for a treat, and besides we don’t have breakfast until we get home from our walk, so it keeps me from starving to death.

This afternoon, Mummy called Moira and got her and Taffy to come out with us. Moira is getting really out of breath but doesn’t seem to want to ask any of her scores of doctors about it. She said she was stressed out after lunch with her stock broker on Friday and wasn’t up to calling anyone. At least Moira remembered to bring a toy along for Taffy, but Mummy did most of the toy tossing. I had my favourite roadkill toy, and Taffy had a pink rubber piglet that is holding a rose. We had one like that too, but it got lost. We sure lose a lot of toys! I can hardly wait for payday on Wednesday, so we can replenish our supply!

Mummy has been having a discussion with her former co-worker Jim about how it is that self-professed Christians can ignore all the biblical admonishments about turning the other cheek, loving our neighbours and praying for our enemies. Even though Jim ad Mummy have very different spiritual beliefs, they both agree that most, if not all, wars cannot be spiritually justified and rarely lead to peace. I agree. I prefer to be open and friendly, and it works for me!! Most people and dogs we meet like me a lot!

Auntie Len sent a good article about giving dogs short summer haircuts to Mummy and her Coton e-group. I like it a lot, because I like having long hair and get tired of people who worry that it’s too hot out for me. It’s funny about people: everyone knows better than Mummy and me how we should live our lives. Anyway, here’s the article. We couldn’t find it online, but a famous vet, Dr. Schelling, wrote it.

Shaving A Dog To Keep Cool

Every year when summer arrives and the days grow longer and hotter, you can’t help but notice many people out walking their freshly shaved dogs. Well that’s nice, you think, the folks are helping their pet cool off.

Is it sensible and helpful to shave down a dog’s coat? Does it aid in refreshing them?

No. And it may prove detrimental to not only their comfort, but their health. Nature has seen to it that a dog’s hair affords him protection from the sun, heat, insects, dirt, and water.

Dog’s coats are designed to capture air and use it as an insulator. In the winter it keeps the cold out and holds the heat in. During the summer it holds the heat at bay, and helps him regulate his body temperature. Without this insulating layer of hair he is susceptible to heat stroke. He is also at a greater risk of sunburn and skin cancer. Think of a bald human head at the beach in the sun. That bald head is better protected, and the occupant cooler, wearing a light hat.

Dogs do not cool as we do. When we are overly warm, our skin perspires and the evaporation of the perspiration helps us cool. We have the advantage of perspiring skin over our entire body. Evaporative cooling in canines is limited to a very small area—their footpads, which sweat, and their lungs, where their panting allows for latent heat to be removed through evaporation. Shaving the coat will have no effect on these areas.

Dilated (enlarged, expanded) blood vessels in their ears and on their face carry warm blood closer to the surface of their skin and allows the heat to escape. Again, body shaving will not affect this process.

Not only do we run the risk of causing our dog to overheat, but in many breeds shaving also often results in improper re-growth. Shaving can cause color and texture changes, and may contribute to hair follicle damage and clogging.

Take large northern breed dogs such as Labradors, Shepherds, Huskies, and Golden Retrievers. These dogs have two coats of hair. An insulating downy undercoat that sheds regularly, and the outer-coat, or guard hairs, that are coarser, fewer in number, grow longer, give the dog his color, and tend not to shed readily.

If we shave down a coat such as this, the undercoat will grow out quickly and shed normally. The slow-growing guard hairs are left behind and your dog, or random sections of your dog, will assume the texture of the undercoat and may appear to change color. In many cases the guard hairs become crowded out by the fast growing undercoat and can’t come through the hair follicle at all. Guard hair loss, particularly in large-breed dogs, causes the loss of important foul weather and water protection.

The best way to assist your dog to keep his cool is to tend to his coat by regular brushing. A clean and fluffed coat is his best defense against the heat......

Always remember to have plenty of cool, clean water available for your dog at all times, and provide extra water when he is outside.

Do not leave your dog out all day in hot weather. Remember humans cool more easily and quickly than dogs do, so if it is hot for you it is hotter for them. If your dog is out during the cooler parts of the day in the summer, make sure he has plenty of shade available.

Hi everyone...

“Everyone”.........?? Well, whoever might be reading this.

Yesterday was pretty quiet, so I didn’t write. We did go out with Moira and Taffy, but Moira can’t walk very far, so we just went to the park around the corner and threw the balls around. At night, it began to rain right when we went outside, and I don’t like getting wet, so I managed to persuade Mummy to make it a really short walk. How did I do that, you ask? My usual way: I just refused to go anywhere! Ciera doesn’t mind the rain, but she has short hair.

We are a bit concerned about Ciera, actually. When she seems to be fast asleep, she will suddenly spring up and dash to the edge of the bed, looking around in shock.... and then go back to her pillow. She does this several times in a couple of hours. We’ve also noticed that she is losing the balance in her back end. Sometimes her legs splay out, and other times, her back end nearly falls over. She didn’t have any trouble going down steps – like to get a drink or eat my dinner before I did – when she came here in March, but now she’s really nervous and careful when she does it. Otherwise she seems pretty fit, though, and nothing’s wrong with her appetite!!! She is hungry 24/7!!

Today we went to the offleash beach! I like going, but there aren’t many small dogs there, and most of them have to walk with their owners, instead of play. We did meet a few small dogs, though. the There was Jack, the black and white long-haired Chihuahua-Jack Russell cross. He was really cute, with mostly coarse white hair and some black splotches, little ears and a really deep bark!! We saw Rupert, the 12 year old Shepherd cross, who was on his last legs last winter. He had a tumour in his forehead, but it’s shrunk, and he was running around like a puppy today! His dad says it’s thanks to Metacam and fish oil. Mummy doesn’t know Rupert’s dad’s name, but she has known them for years. I’ve only known Rupert for almost 2 years!! He’s always nice to me. Some really long haired dogs came along, as we were leaving. They were Lhasa Apsos. I thought I looked better though, because their hair was all stringy and in funny layers, as if they’d been cut at home at some point.

This was a year ago...

Mummy and Rupert’s dad got into a conversation about food, dog food and human food, then Rupert’s dad – who is nice but quite long winded and sort of preachy – started talking about intelligence. He said there are two kinds: organic and technical.... I guess the technically intelligent people are the ones who build the bombs and stuff and kill other people. I don’t know if the organic folks are better or not, because Rupert’s dad concluded that “intelligence” per se is destroying the world. Mummy says we need to think more about that before we come to any conclusions, but she suspects that humans are destroying the very world they live in. That’s why those poor Somalian people are starving to death. They had to cut down all the trees over there for housing food and fuel, and now it doesn’t rain there any more. Still, she reassured me that it won’t happen before we go to heaven, so I felt better after that.
.................................................

Well, our friend Debbie, who owns Bubbles the Chihuahua, just rang and wants us all to go for a walk before sunset.

Since we haven’t seen much of the sun recently, it seems like a good idea. (Mummy didn’t tell Debbie that we just got back from the beach an hour and a half ago.... but I’m certainly ready for another walk. So I’m barking at her to make sure she knows!!

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

Much later......

We went for a nice walk without Ciera tonight! She was sleeping when we left, and we didn’t want to wake her. That meant we could walk at a normal pace and not have to keep looking back and waiting for her. It was a real treat. We met lots of nice dogs on the way, too.

When we got home an hour later, we could hear Ciera barking while we were in the parking lot. No surprise; she always barks when she’s left alone for 2 minutes.

We saw Auntie Marilyn when we got inside, and she and Mummy sat down on the landing to talk.... that is, to try and talk. I just love Auntie Marilyn, and I know she loves it when I jump all over her and give her hundreds of Cotonkisses. I can make her giggle like a schoolgirl!!

Then I barked at Mummy to get out my red rubber ball and throw it around. Marilyn had never seen how I growl and snarl at Mummy when she wrestles me for the ball, and that made her giggle like a schoolgirl too.

Marilyn and Mummy were talking about how, as they got older, injuries to their lower legs take longer to heal. Especially for Auntie Marilyn, who has diabetes and eats lot of sweets!! Then they talked about fitness and Mummy lay on her back on the floor and pretended to be riding a bicycle!! It looked soooo funny that I decided to jump on top of her, which scared her – a little bit – and made Auntie Marilyn giggle like a schoolgirl again!!!

We were all having fun, laughing and growling, when we heard Auntie Carole’s shrill voice calling Mummy and screeching at her about leaving Ciera alone and barking. That kind of spoiled our playtime, and Mummy was angry about being spoken to like a naughty child – a nearly 68 year old naughty child. Anyway, we went and got Ciera and decided to go for another walk!!

By this time the sun had just set, and when we got around the corner, I saw a suspicious creature moving through the ivy garden.

I knew right away what it was: a black and white squirrel!! And I knew what to do about it, too. I growled at it and was about to chase it, when Mummy almost shouted “Stop!!”

Since I’m a good puppy... most of the time... OK, SOME of the time... I stopped and then Mummy put the leash on me!! She was saying “Good Girl; good stop!” but I felt as if I was being punished!! Then Ciera, who doesn’t notice anything, never plays with anything and never does anything, got interested in the striped squirrel. Mummy sounded a bit put out when she went back to grab Ciera and get her away from there.

We got half way around the block, when I heard familiar barking. Yesss!!! It was my good pal, Reba, the Jack Russell/Chihuahua cross. We’ve been buds since we were little.

We were little in this picture

She is 3 months younger than I am, but about 10 lb. heavier now, but we still have great fights! And Reba’s mom is always glad to see me, because she figures we’ll tire each other out before bed-time. Reba thinks she can beat me up, because she’s so big, but I have a few tricks up my sleeves. Heh heh. I lie on my back and kick her with my nails! If she doesn’t back off a bit, I kick her between her back legs!! LOL!!

After a while, we raced around and around the yard we were in and in and out of bushes until Voytek, who is Reba’s dad, saw a family of striped squirrels heading our way. Bunch of party poopers. WE would have been delighted to have them join the fray!! But the grown-ups made us put on our leashes and leave the area. We did some more World Wide Wrestling, and then said good night to them.

I think Mummy is ready to start cleaning the twigs and grasses out of my hair and doing some post Reba de-tangling, so I’m going to have a nap on her lap. Paris the cat is awake now, and he’s taking over watching out for invaders while I sleep. His particular forte is hunting moths. I like Paris. I like to chase him and scare him!! I think he likes it too.

Night night!!

My New Diary

Hi, My full name is Mlle. Chanel de la Cotonnerie, but most people just call me Chanel. I am 22 months old now, but will be 2 years old on September 1st this year. I love everyone I meet, human or animal and am happy every minute I'm awake.

My human mummy came and got me from my canine mum, Cotonnerie Cookie Oreo, when I was 11 weeks old. We had a 5 hour plane ride home, which was OK, but I was sick to my tummy when we got into the Vancouver Airport terminal. I got to sleep with mummy the first night home in my little crate, but after that, I just slept beside her with no crate. She had a big one all ready for me for crate training, but I didn't need it. We always went everywhere together and still do.

Mummy took lots and lots of puppy pictures of me, because she knew I would change colour as I grew up, but I'm still pretty colourful now! I'm a tri-colour Coton with lots of tri colours!

Right now, we are taking care of a 13 year old Bichon Frisé, named Ciera, as her human parents have gone for a trip across the ocean and won't be back til September. I don't mind Ciera too much, but she's not much fun, and also she eats my dinner if Mummy doesn't hide it from her.

We usually have 3 walks a day, but not as long as when we didn't have Ciera here. We also go to the offleash park from time to time. Today, we've had two of those walks. In the morning, we went around the block, and Mummy threw my Roadkill toy for me to chase. I always like her to wrestle me for it!! This afternoon, we went halfway around the block and back with Auntie Moira and her dog, Taffy. Taffy is a Chihuahua/Corgi cross, but acts mostly like a Corgi. I like her, but she doesn't play with me. That's OK though, because Mummy brought my hedgehog toy for me to chase.

I'm not a really barky dog, but I do like to keep in practice by finding a few people to bark at every day. Most of them aren't afraid of me and they encourage me to come and get patted. I usually stand up and kiss them if I get a chance.

Auntie Moira has been very sick and had to put Taffy in a boarding facility for a couple of weeks. We are very happy to have her home again, but we're worried about the bump on Auntie Moira's face and something called chemotherapy that she has to have near the end of this month. I think Taffy will be able to stay home for that, though.

Well, I'm new at keeping a diary, and I just finished dinner - Mummy had to hand feed me to keep Ciera from stealing it - so I think I'll have a nap now.

Talk to you again, soon.