Fiesta time; a time for celebration, bands , booze, dancing in the streets and ... fireworks... loads of them All good clean fun but not if you are an abandonado. Fireworks during the day are bad enough but when its dark its a different matter. Thunderflashes akin to Flash-Bangs used by the police and special forces are just too much.
Siouxsie, the last of the Trog Pods and 'Mum,' the mother of our pup Sophie have slowly been coming to terms with the prospect of giving up the daily grind of hunting for scraps, catching and dispatching the occasional rabbit, keeping out of the way of kids and most humans, and last but not least trying to fend off the amourous advances of most of the male dogs in the village now that they have both finished their synchronised 'heat' or season. As I detailed in an earlier post both had camped out on my doorstep during their season and to be fair they had been making a racket especially at night when everyone else is trying to sleep. Neither dog would come into the house for some respite. They were honourary members of our pack, happy to tag along during our various walks but spending the rest of their time as streetdogs.
Until last weekend that is...
Friday night was the first night of Fiesta 2011 and started as always with bands, booze and bangs. Neither dog was to be found... I figured they had crawled back into the cave that Siouxsie used to call home, but if they had gone back there, they certainly weren't responding to food calls. Saturday daytime proved to be a continuation of Friday night, more booze, more bangs etc... This went on well into Saturday night, the bangs seemingly getting louder and louder; my house pack were all upset, two hyperventilating sweating and actually peeing themselves.
I should point out that at the moment, Summer is back in the UK, sorting out some family and personal matters so its just me and the housepack and the two waifs and strays. Struggling a little to stay on top of the situation but managing so far...
Saturdays nights celebrations included as always a firwork display... Instantly the village became like Beirut or Belfast during the troubles or Bush's Shock and Awe tactics in Baghdad. It went on for ages... during one brief lull, I heard frantic scratching at the door and the Banshee sream that Siouxsie can project when she is frightened. I opened the door and she flew in like something possessed, skidded to a standstill and tried to hide in the cupboard under the stair that serves as our computer room.
There she stayed for the next hour, long after the fireworks finale. The little room stank... rank fear and the result of an involuntary pee. Finally she slunk out of her hidey hole, tail tucked up under her so it was almost parallel with her stomach. She came over to me still trembling and sat at my feet. I dropped a hand to her head and ears and slowly coaxed her round quietly talking all the while. The rest of the housepack had also finally settled and they too emerged from their various hiding places, all looking for reassurance. So I finished up surrounded by eight fear-smelly dogs. Eventually they all dispersed back to their various crates, the settee and our bed leaving just Siouxsie and me. I let her sniff around and explore then gave her some food which she wolfed down as if she hadnt eaten for a week; in fact she hadn't been fed by me since Thursday. Sufficiently fed and watered she settled in the kitchen on the floor. I switched off the lights and settled myself on the settee in the living room hopefully to get some sleep.
5am... the house was instantly awakened when the village pissheads left the dance to return home, talking as loudly as necessary to continue five conversations at once. Then, down the street some moron let off a thunderflash... and all hell broke loose in the house as the pack vented their absolute fury at being disturbed.
I suspect that this action was quite deliberate; there is one particular 'lady' (we suspect she is the Chief Witch of the local Coven) who hates dogs with a passion; since we have our own pack we tend to have to absorb a lot of her nasty comments and what better opportunity to have a go than with a well timed thunderflash... in the past she has thrown stones at dogs which dare to walk past her house and Siouxsie and 'Mum' have learned to stay well out of her way. When they were in season, camped out on my doorstep, they were her one topic of conversation. Every village has at least one, I suppose.
Summer and I had often discussed the matter of Siouxsie and Mum especially when they were in season. They wouldn't come into the house and even if they did the housepack has 4 undoctored males so keeping them apart would have been impossible; we decided to leave the decision to completely join the housepack should be theirs. Siouxsie made her decision on Saturday night / Sunday morning.
On Sunday afternoon 'Mum' turned up looking a complete wreck, We were just returning from a walk with Siouxsie, Leo and Izzy and suddenly she was there with us. When Siouxsie entered the house, Mum looked at her, then at me, then tentatively poked her head around the door and then made up her mind. I cant be sure but I 'm sure she shrugged as if to say "Oh what the hell...I'll give it a try..." She latched on to Siouxsie, (they are pretty inseparable anyway) and went off exploring the ground floor.
Its been a long haul with Siouxsie; I've known her fed her and generally looked out for her almost since she was born a year ago. Summer and I are the only humans she will even remotely trust. She has grown into a fine looking dog, especially since I gave her a bath (her first ever) on Sunday afternoon.
Initially Mum was just another street dog until we discovered she was Sophie's mum. She seemed to latch on to Summer more than me, and Summer developed a hell of a soft spot for her. Sophie was directly responsible for Summer's successful recuperation after her hip operation.
That both Siouxsie and Mum may be pregnant is a concern to both Summer and me; there is absolutely no way that we could contend with two lots of puppies. So we have to consider getting them both to the vets for spaying. Given that Sophie is now six months old we also have to think about getting her 'done' too.
Financially this is going to be a nightmare situation, so if Tina or Janice read this, or if anyone else for that matter has any constuctive suggestions I'd love to hear them.
Siouxsie and Mum have found out about cushions and comfort!
This is Mum as of today
Siouxsie as a puppy; she's grown to be a beautiful girl. All of her immediate family have gone; one drowned in an occasional river, her three other siblings and her own Mum were picked up, and never seen again.
Sophie... every inch her 'Mums' daughter... 'Bossy Boots'... pretender to the clan throne..
Guess thats it for now...
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