Been a while since I added anything so here goes with a couple of pics...
Not all abandonados have four legs....
Update.. Separation Anxiety...
Summer has had a series of visits to a local dentist lately which requires us to be out of the house for maybe an hour. These appointments are always in the evening so we try to make sure the dogs are fed before we go out.
It's always a tough time for them; after all when Summer heads back to the UK every so often they see us leave together and only I return, so separation anxiety sets in almost immediately; normally it's Sox that sets things off, she isn't normally a very demonstrative animal, she is secure in her place in the pecking order of the pack, but if either Summer or I leave the house she is always the first to kick off and the rest join in straightaway. This separation anxiety invariably leads to pee puddles and worse, the chair and settee covers have holes in them from being chewed. At one stage the settee got peed on so we started covering the cushions with pee pads (made by Tena and originally designed as mattress protectors). The settee and or chair covers then go over the top of the pads.
Dogs soon found a new game... the pads are filled with recycled paper waste, pulped and dried,... they make a hell of a mess when shredded... and our lot are past masters at the art of shredding. Can't leave a toilet roll on the holder in the bathroom and can't leave kitchen rolls laying around; this is difficult because said kitchen rolls are our first line of defence for mopping up so there tends to be one in every room...
There are times when its very hard to find a single redeeming factor in favour of any of them; individually they are all gems of course and they all lok to Summer and me for comfort and protection but there are times when collectively they are somewhat more than a pain in the ass.
Elsewhere in this blog I posed a question about whether or not abandonados or street dogs actually want to be rescued; Cesar Milan claims that 'dogs live in the moment' and this was never truer than with Siouxsie. Until she came into our house last August she had never been inside a house, had weathered a cold winter living outside, been through rain, hail, snow and biting winds at one end of the scale and a blistering hot summer at the other, largely fending for herself other than somewhat irregular meals from me. She was to a large extent a wild dog, intensely wary of all humans particularly males. Now an essential part of the house pack she is extremely possessive and protective of me, Summer and the rest of the pack. I can't ask her whether she prefers the outdoor life of course, but she is always near the front of the queue when I get the leads out of the cupboard and she is usually the first back into the house when we return.. Making the best of both worlds perhaps.
She among all of the 7 adoptees that live with Summer, me and the upstairs royalty Izzy and Leo, is the one who has made the most of her stay and the biggest impression on me. She has the looks (and at times the temperament) of a scaled down Doberman. She is feisty, argumentative and 100% lovable. At the opposite end of the size scale Sophie is Summer's favourite adoptee.
We have one of those Lazee-boy type reclining armchairs with a kick out extension at the front, and regardless of the season, in this house siesta time applies between around 1.30pm and 5pm, so whilst Summer busies herself on the computer I normally settle down with a good book after a belated brunch. Immediately, Siouxsie takes her place on my left, laid out alongside me with her head up on my shoulder. Fred, the neutered male takes up a similar position on my right, Spike and Scruffy normally then get engaged in a scuffle to see who is actually going to sit in my lap, and finally little Sophie, the chihuahua lookalike joins the pile wherever she can. Needless to say there isnt a lot of reading to be done fot the next three hours; invariably we are all asleep within minutes.
Wakeup time coincides with Summer prepping their one meal of the day, so come rain or shine at 5pm I will be found out on the street firstly with Izzy, Leo, Sox Fred and Siouxsie taking a walk, then it's the turn of Spike and Scruffy, and finally Pippa and Sophie. Taking 5 big, leashed, dogs out for a walk is a bit of a misnomer really; its more like 5 dogs taking me for a walk; if they are co-operating its a pleasure, if not then it's a real chore and I come back knackered!
Anyway... gotta go... its Walkies time... last one of the day then off to bed..
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