5 posts tagged “dog”

I'm in love - again. This time it's not my iPod Shuffle (but I still love that). It's a dog. This weekend I went to a dog show. Just like the last time it was cloudy and at some point during the day it rained, but this time I also got to see the dog breed I'd been wanting to see in real life since I was a child. The Bolognese.

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We caught sight of a little white dog and I had a feeling I'd come to the right people. Just in case, I asked and I was right. I had met my first Bolognese. It was a nine-month-old male puppy. He was adorable, and what was more, he seemed to return my feelings. The girl who was holding him pushed him into my arms saying it was a good idea for him to learn to accept being touched by other people. And there I was, in love again. He kissed me and showed me in every way that he liked me a lot, as only very young creatures can. This doesn't mean I love lhasa apsos any less, that wouldn't be possible. I just have another love in my life.

Today when we went to the store to do some shopping - it's a holiday today, so among other things we had to get something nice for this evening - we saw a cute field spaniel puppy. He was brown and playful and had this really endearing way of looking at you. Of course, just like all spaniels he was wagging his tail. Unfortunately, his owner was extremely strict with him. She couldn't seem to tolerate any expression of joy. Why get such a sweet breed, if you intend to crush his zest for life? It made me sad. Poor puppy, all he wanted was to have some fun. 

That's a question an upset person asks in a column in one of our major Swedish daily newspapers.

I can answer that question. Sure you can, but you don't even need to be scared or allergic to harass innocent dog owners. That right is so fundamental that it doesn't even need to be questioned.

We (a dog-owning family since the 1970's) really don't recognize the situation in the question. Maybe it's a typical big city problem?

In our family we never try to get non-dog loving people to pay attention to our babies. Far too many times we've run into animal haters and other intolerant people and we always prefer to stay as far away as possible from those.

This is how it really is in our towns: Seagulls and canada geese are to be shot. Store owners want to follow dog owners home and pee in their mailboxes. (By the way, our female dog would only be able to pee on this store owner's potted plants if we lifted her up and held her above them, in which case she'd never pee at all.) People awake after seven thirty in the evening should be evicted from their homes. (I'm not talking about neighbors partying all night. Far from it. It's more than enough if you sneak downstairs to get a glass of water, once in a while.)

A typical situation:

The dog sits down and does her business. (This is a pleasant, friendly pet dog, not a pit bull type). You stand around patiently waiting, your little black plastic bag in your hand. Suddenly  a concerned citizen pops up out of the blue yelling that we have to pick up after our dog. What do they think the bag is for? Or are they blind? Which leads you to wonder how they were able to tell that the dog sat down at all.

One 'helpful' elderly woman took the opportunity to point out some of the dog's 'business' just in passing, so that we wouldn't forget even one of them, when standing hunched over, holding on to the bag.

My question is this: Is it ok for us to exist? If not, I sincerely hope we'll find a better place to live, somewhere far away from animal haters and intolerant neighbors.

Yesterday was a rather upsetting day. At least the evening.

When I was feeding my cockatiel, he suddenly flew out of the aviary, right into the kitchen, where mom was cooking something on the stove, standing with her back against him. A cat anö a dog were there too. So you can imagine all kinds of horrors.

I just screamed for my sister. That's what I usually do in a crisis (thanks!). She picked him up and deposited him back in his luxurious mansion. He didn't seem at all grateful. :)

Since he's a bird and quite an old one at that, I was naturally worried. What if the shock had caused irreparable damage somehow? But this morning, he was his usual self, so probably I was worrying needlessly.

A little later, when I was going down to feed my cats, and go to bed myself, my sister's keeshond pushed my lhasa apso down the stairs. I was going down and suddenly I heard a loud thud. There she was, my baby, on the step behind me. I had a horrible vision of broken bones and internal injuries.

But lhasa apsos are tough. She didn't seem a bit purturbed by her flight. Today, she's just the same as always.

What a relief. I love them all so much I can't stand to lose them. 

The other day Fiammetta, my lhasa apso, and I were going into my room. To get there, we have to go through a couple of other rooms first. Fiammetta's eyesight isn't 100% and sometimes she sniffs doors and furniture to be able to tell where she's going. I noticed her hesitating about the direction, even though we walk around the house every day, and I said 'a little to your left'.

(She might not have been hesitating as much as thinking or considering whether she needed to sit down and clean up or scratch herself. She tends to stop and ponder matters a lot, which can be irritating at times.)

Guess what she did? She did turn left and walked into our room with no trouble at all. Of course, she hardly ever has trouble, but she usually doesn't get there quite that quickly, mainly because she has so many other things to do, even if I'm in a hurry. I mean, what does human business concern her, right?