Sunday, January 30, 2011

my stolen dinner

Hello everybody:
 
Have I told you that Chris says this will be our last day of vacation, because the tennis will be over?
Well, there we go, but it hasn#t yet started, so I can paw away on the keys a little.
 
one of these days we went for our evening route. It was nice, we strolled along nd Chris was cold. I am not, because I always wear my fur. Well, I did something cool. I found a dead bird and thought I could carry italong to have it for dinner. Chris seemed to be okay with it, for she did not intervene.
 
We arrived back in the apartment, where Chris took off my collar and signal jacket, and I took my prey to my place, well-mannered as I am. I only have food in my bowl or on my bed.
 
Well, Chris went about to do her own things, and I started testing my teeth on my dinner. Chris came and without a word took the bird away from me - now why was that? I heard her put it in the trash, and then I don't know what happened. She surely took the trash bag out, but I thought I could check if the bird was still in the trash. When she came back she went back into the kitchen to prepare her own dinner. I went to the kitchen door and sniffed for my dinner bird, but Chris calmly sent me back to my place.
 
Do you understand this? I mean I was a good girl, retrieved the bird from outside, providing for my own meal, and it was taken away from me very calmly, and never was returned again. Instead I received my usual food! Allright, it filled me up, but..., but...
 
I was really sad, because I wanted bird! Later I heard Chris say that this was not a pleasant experience, and that Hapoo had only occasionally brought a stick from outside to chew on it. I wanted the bird!
 
Well, Chris tells me that it's long gone and I simply cannot get it back again, but I will get something to chew on instead, and besides, I have my cow hoof - that's true. Where's my cow hoof?
Cheers, Quito.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

a new member

Hello all:

Here we are again with a few stories.

After the run to the bakery I was all hyped up and played with Chris with
the ball, and she even threw my collar for me, before she settled down to
watch tennis again. Later, when she got up from her day sleeping interval,
we went for a walk, and then she unpacked her new but not yet used telephone
again. She wanted to insert a card following the description of a friend.
She managed to open the slot, but when she inserted the card she thought
something was stange. Well, she tried to turn on the phone, and nothing
would happen. She put back the phone and lay down to sleep, when the
doorbell rang. I hurried to the door and waited until Chris was there, too.

in came the good friend Silke with some luggage. After she had put it down
in Chris' and my bedroom, where we are currently not residing, I was
allowed, or rather took the right, to express my joy. Silke was confused,
for I had never been so cheerful towards her again, simply because we had
always met in public and Chris wants me to behave when we are out and about.
Silke received a key and then left, but returned after a few minutes.

then after she had gotten somewhat settled, Chris asked her to help set up
the new phone, and Silke agreed to help. The first thing she discovered was
that the card was inserted wrongly into the phone. So she asked for a safety
pin to pick the card back out of the phone. Chris kept her fingers crossed,
and that helped, for the friend was successful. And then she helped Chris
set it up and the phone started speaking, like all other incredibly useless
devices Chris has.

Then Silke said goodnight and went into the bedroom, while chris got settled
in the livingroom with me, as if nothing had changed. She played with the
new phone a little, before she fell asleep.

The next morning the friend just opened the door a little and said goodbye,
and then she left. A little later we went for the dog walk, and i found that
the friend's shoes were standing there. It appears that she is going to stay
with us, cool thing.

That day, however, saw Chris a little sad. Her favourite tennis ball hitter,
Mr Rafa, or Mr Nadal, i am not sure which is the right way to call him,
dropped out of the turnament. He was hurting, she says, but he fought
anyway. The other man, David, so Chris says, did a great job defeating Mr
Rafa, but she was still sad. then some things at work also made her think,
and finally, another great tennis player, Justine from a place called
Belgium, retired from the favourite sport. She said that she was hurting too
much on her elbow, which she needs to hit balls. So she had to quit from her
job. I don't have to quit mine, I love it, and I love being with Chris, for
sure.

This morning I heard Silke get up before Chris did. I sniffed through the
door, and Chris thought I had smelled some food. Of course not, bzut I want
to know what is going on behind the closed door.

You see, despite the tennis it never gets dull here, we always have a story
or two to tell.
Cheers and best of luck, Quito.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

speedy Quito on the road again!!!

Yippee yay, tailwags and circle runs!

This morning was wonderful! I generally cannot complain, despite her
tennis-mania, Chris tries to keep me busy. We play chase the tennis ball,
fetch the cow hoof or I have to get my food out of the door handle machine,
or I have to look for Chris, who is hiding somewhere in the bedroom.
Sometimes we cuddle, too, which is loads of fun. My barking on command has
also improved, she says, and is pretty impressed with my learning ability.

This morning we went for the walk later than usual, because Chris says she
has to keep the scores, which is another crazy hobby of hers. She writes
down almost every time they take a little break and say it's all about
numbers.

Well, the break came, and Chris says I was pretty playful. It was drizzling
when we came inside. Chris did not take off my collar or signal jacket, but
she sent me to my place and disappeared in the bathroom. When she came out
she did a bit here and a bit there, until she called me. She put on her
jacket and then reached for my harness!

Yes yes yes, that is wonderful!
I slipped inside, waited for Chris to clip on the guiding leash and sat by
the door as she ran to get her telephone. Outside I saw a dog running free,
but I sat and waited until the lady had managed to call it to her. Chris
returned a little part of the route, but I jumped up to show her that she
was going wrong. She said she knew, and so after a while we turned the right
path.

I spied to my right with suspicion as we were walking along the street, for
there was the other dog again. Chris was insistent, however, that I walk on
and not stand and stare, so I did, picked up speed, and the other dog lost
interest in me. We aproached one traffic light, and I showed it right away.
Chris says it's been a while since I sat down with so much determination. Of
course I loved the little tiiny bit of treat she gave me for a reward. We
went on, and she made me pass the following traffic light.

At another one I spotted two ladies and wanted to greet them, but they moved
out of the way and I showed Chris the light at which she usually wants to
cross. And then I ran to show her the entrance to the bakery - we haven't
been there for ages!

Chris put a few human treats in her bag, and I thought we were going home.
Instead she directed me to our left, and we stood in a shop where it smelled
of fresh and ready made meat and other delicious food. All of a sudden I
realized that I was on slippery ground and put down my breaks. Sometimes
when I remember to dislike it, I remind Chris that I don't like slippery
floors. But she didn't care, she made me sit by her side and wait, while she
asked for a few treats in there, and put them in her bag, too.

When we left that store, I thought we were going to the physiotherapist's,
where Chris relaxes so nicely.This time Chris encouraged me to go home. I
found my usual sniffing stone and ran towards the desired traffic light so
perfectly, that Chris' ar5m hit the button as she was trying to pet me good
girl.

Run across the street, stop at the traffic light where we cross for the
streetcar, and then straight home. O that was a wonderful change, believe
me!

Now, of course, we are back to normal, chris is sitting in her living
square, surrounded by the wall at her back, the TV shelf with the computers
on the left, the bed on the right, and the livingroom table in front of her,
where one of the computers is placed, along with the coffee cup and the
telephones, which do wander back and forth between the head of the bed and
the table, and occasionally the mobile phone is put into the pocket of her
jacket.
I think my life is beautiful, and I think I really like chris, cheers
happily, Quito.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

magical furniture

Hi there, I am back!
Since Chris is not running to work but watching balls fly all the time, I
have some time to update you a little more frequently, if anything happens,
that is.

Well a few days ago something interesting happened. I was lying on my bed,
when Chris started re-arranging the livingroom. She pushed the table towards
the balcony door, rooled the TV shelf back little, and took all covers from
the couch. Then she pulled on the couch, and in only a few seconds there was
a bed where there used to be the couch. It is huge, Chris could share it
with somebody, she says, and it is pretty high, too. She brought bedsheets
and the pillow, and from then on that was her resting place.

Chris takes me out in the morning, at lunch time and in the evening, but
between the lunch walk and the evening route she will turn off the TV and
sleep like a log. And then she returns from the route with me, plays with me
a little and feeds me, does something to her recorder and the computer, and
then falls asleep again, only to wake up in the middle of the night. She
says it is all because of the tennis, and she has seen some extraordinary
stuff already.
I only see balls flying and a large number of humans hitting them as hard as
they can, and that's about all.
Cheers for the moment, Quito.

Monday, January 17, 2011

beds are made for sleeping...

Hi everybody:

 

Before we start the tennis routines, I need to tell you of something else that has happened.

 

I found a dog bed for myself one day. First Micki and Chris and I went shopping, and then she left me upstairs to unpack the dog food that had arrived, and store it in the basement. A neighbour had received it, because Chris wasn't there, and put it in the basement, so Chris could easily find it. She returned upstairs quite a while later and put something down in the bedroom. Then she took me for a walk, and then she vacuum-cleaned the apartment. I had seen her dispose of my dog bed before we started the walk. So when we returned, there was no place for me to lie in the livingroom. But after the apartment had been cleaned, she put down this new dog bed.

It is a thick matress, she says it is memory foam, with some nice soft cushions around the edge. She first placed it so that I would have to look at the wall when turning on one side, which I don't like at all. So she turned the bed around, and now I think it is quite comfortable for me.

Chris is also teaching me a new trick. She puts me down first, then turns her back to me and lures me through between her legs crawling. And when I am through that gap completely, I get the treat she has lured me with. I love these games, they're fun. I can also walk through her legs, return outside one of them and sit down in front or at the side of her, rewarded by a treat, of course. I think I should make Chris fill the cube again, so I can toss it around the room, wouldn't that be fun? Or maybe she gives me another cow hoof!

Cheers for the moment, Quito.

 

Sunday, January 16, 2011

a tennis court at home

Hello all:
 
Before I tell you that strange story, I have to let you know that I really love my toys. One day Daniel was here, and the humans had food. Then I was supposed to have my fresh meat, but Daniel discovered the food dispenser. So Chris put in just a little portion of my kibble, and I had such fun hitting the door handle to let it fall out bit by bit. Daniel says he has put it on his phone in a film clip or so, but so far Chris hasn't seen it. Then they were busy playing with computers, boring for me, for sure.
Chris says she enhanced her PC with a few useful programs - whatever that is.
 
Well, then one day the doorbell rang, and somebody said they had a little package for Chris. She opened the door, and somebody came to the door. I didn't go check, I stayed on my mat. She phoned her boss, who needed some cheering up, and unpacked the package with the lady listening. Finally she held a plastic box in her hand and was overjoyed.
Can you believe it? She says she now holds a little section of the tennis court in her hand, on which the current top tennis ball hitters of the world have played just before Christmas. A tennis court - who needs it? I have tennis balls, and I can chase them anywhere!
 
Well the others make fun of her and tell her she's crazy, because that isn't the tennis court they have played on, but another anonymous one instead. Chris insists that Rafa, whom I haven't met yet, would not be cheating, and so she believes that this court section has contributed to making this event a spectacular one.
 
Why does Chris talk about people I haven't met so much? She says tomorrow we will both be moving to the livingroom, and she will be watching them slam the ball across the courts all night, and it will be fun. She says last year this time was the last Australian Open Hapoo watched with her. That was when she also took the picture of Hapoo on the bed, so to have a picture at all. She says she is wondering how I deal with the changing routines. I say it all depends on her keeping me busy and not bored.
Cheers for now, quito.
 
 

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Party time!

Hi everybody:
I meant to write to you earlier, but you know Chris by now. She is going
through another stage of getting up in the middle of the nig,t because she
cannot sleep. So there's no usual computer time for me, and I have to see
when I stick my paws in between her fingers, and when she is willing to get
the message. Sometimes she just pretends she doesn't understand.

Anyway, here I finally am.

I think I have told you about a new way of retrieving my food, haven't I?
Chris fills my food into a hiding place, and then when I hit the door handle
with my paws, the low doorhandle that has nothing to do with Chris' real
doors, then the kibble comes dropping out bit by bit. That's loads of fun,
and I am quite a champ at it now.

So last week Chris walked up to the treat and other stuff containers and
brought out something I couldn't figure out. She had a measuring cup of food
beside her, and she made it disappear slowly. Finally she placed a cube
shaped container in front of me and let me explore it with my nose for a
while. Then she pushed it around with her hands a little, and I discovered
that the kibble came out of hiding little by little.

I got it! Let the cube fly, and the food comes out!

I am a master at using my paws by now. I hit the cube, so it was tossed all
around the little playing area Chris had assigned for the game, and then I
tracked down all the lost kibble. Chris sat on the floor watching, and I
have never heard her laugh so hard.
I think I would be a good ball player. Is there something like dog tennis?
Humans don't play with cubes filled with food, but with balls, boring. The
cube is fun! I tossed it hard so it hit the walls, I maneuvered in and out
of corners where it got stuck, and Chris says she had to be careful the cube
didn't hit her toes.
O that game was so much fun!

Chris says she was sceptical at first, whether I would like it, because
Hapoo wasn't too fond of the cube, despite its food releasing function. For
me it's a hell of a great party. If humans have as much fun at their
carefully planned and designed and set up parties, then I think they're
lucky. Give me a cube and kibble, and I'm thrilled with joy.

She says, by the way, for those interested, that the cube has a name, it's
called buster cube, but I don't care. Whoever has brought it in here is
worth being slobbered all over his face - I'm a pro at that, too!
Cheers, Quito.

Saturday, January 01, 2011

happy new year!!!

Hi all woofs and poofs:


We went to work after the Christmas thing was over, and work was fun for
sure. We met all wonderful people, and I got to play in the snow of the car
parking lot. I really love that.
However, when we came home at night, the noise was awful. Shots and
lightnings were fired all across the place, and at first I was always on
alert, until I found that there was no use, the shots weren't fired at us,
and there were too many to always get a scare.

Well, this afternoon on the evening route, it was the worst. Chris praised
me big time, and so I survived calmly. Then she sat down and played computer
until the noise got bad. i thought I wanted to go to sleep in the bedroom,
but Chris didn't accompany me, and the shots and flashes in the night got
worse yet. Fortunately, Chris came and encouraged me to join her in the
livingroom again, where I positioned myself beside her. Chris was really
relaxed, she kept playing computer, just occasionally petting me. Finally
the noise level decreased, and now there are only a few lonely shots and
flashes, so I can go back to sleep.

Chris calls this New Year's Eve, where one year ends and another year
starts. But she told me not to worry, for it's a human thing to count human
years, it's just that every so often they are nousy and generate lightnings,
and I'll have to deal with it. She herself had a candle, good music on TV
and a glass of wine, and she enjoyed her quiet celebration.
Usually folks gather to have huge parties, but I think I wouldn't want that,
so I am happy we stayed at home. Maybe with Micki and the sister and the
little Gorki dog it would be nicer.
Cheers, and happy new year, as the humans say these days, Quito.