Look momma... POO!

Last night, my girl was on a scenting streak (which is sometimes normal). Unfortunately, she got overly excited at one point and picked up some dried poo in the process. She looked up at me as if saying "Look momma...POO!". I must say she looked mighty proud of a feat. She dropped the "cat caviar" and licked her own mouth gleefully. I think it was cat poo....and I'm glad she spat it out (my boy would have gobbled it down without a thought). Needless to say, she was shocked by everything I tried to do for her. She stay hidden in the bushes for some time!

We headed straight home thereafter. I tried to clean her mouth with water but she refused to open her mouth. She ran straight to the bushes to hide from me because I was armed with the water hose. Finally, toothbrush-in-hand, I pried open her mouth and gave her a good cleaning with dog toothpaste.

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Taming the mongrel

It now seems that Brownie spends his weekends at our place. He checks in every Friday night. After breakfast, everybody naps. When we go out, he goes off wandering until evening when he comes back to sleep.

At breakfast, I'm still training him to sit and wait for the command to eat. I think he's slowly getting it. At least, he has stopped lunging for his bowl or growling at my kids when they are near his bowl.

Last weekend




This weekend
I've decided to feed him at the porch now because he's getting the notion that there's food indoors and wants to get into the house any chance he can. One good thing so far is he has been polite...maybe too polite... having his meal sitting down! Well, that is not normal so I have to correct him once he starts eating.





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TICKS!!!!

I noticed that there were tiny dots on the floor last Friday each time the girl get up. My worst fears returns....TICKS!!!! So, everybody (including Brownie) had a bath this morning. Everybody got a dose of Frontline (tick) serum. So, I hope it goes away fast.

Well actually, Mariko had a thorough wipe-down last night. She absolutely hates bathing (yet she smells great all the time). Once she gets the hints of this impending detestable act, she's the first to "side-step" slowly away from the scene to hide. Seriously.

She'll eventually (always) end up under the car. Yes, far enough to be "unreachable" and "safe from my hands" but close enough to watch in full view, her brother performing the detestable act.

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Bed and breakfast at 6 Haruki

This is the second weekend that Brownie decided to stay overnight. Last night, we met him during our night walks. He was locked out of his house. Nobody seems to be at home. He followed us back. It rained during the night and so, there wasn't any point to send him home in the rain.

After last week's bad manners, he was fed at the porch every time he came over, while the kids were fed indoor. Aiyoo...his heart-wrenching stares from the windows...

So this morning, I decided to try feeding them indoors again. When the food was put down, he initially lunged forward. I held him back and I think he got the picture that he needed to behave himself at breakfast indoors. So, he sat down like the rest of the kids and waited. Then, I signaled to eat and he didn't move an inch. I tried a few times until he felt that the coast was clear to eat . At first, he ate sitting down! Poor kid...really like a street urchin.

So, now everybody has eaten and are sleeping again at 6 Haruki.

My boy was sent outside to keep him company. He is napping and occassionally swatting flies.

Our guest is sleeping too.

My girl is the most pampered. She prefers to nap indoors.


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The Big Breakfast

So, the morning after, I served them all breakfast in the kitchen.

Brownie looks emancipated in broad daylight. He couldn't wait to have his food. Food comprised of premium dog kibbles, long-grain basmati rice, beef bits, chicken feet (from my lunch doggy bag yesterday) and two omelettes (which my kids didn't touch from their dinner last night). Meanwhile, my boy was waiting patiently on the side, despite being served his food an hour later than usual. After Brownie finished his breakfast, he started to growl and snarl at Ruki having his breakfast next to him. My boy was oblivious about what he was doing...courtesy of privileged upbringing, probably. The food guarding behaviour didn't stop. So, the house broom came out and Brownie was led outdoors.

After that, my kids were hanging around the kitchen looking rather "snooty bored". Riko decided to skip her breakfast. I guess she has never experienced food scarcity a day in her life. We still have to coax her to eat at every meal time! And my boy...well, my boy was "looking after her food". This meant when no one is looking, he'll steal a few bites from Riko's plate.



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The night Brownie slept over

Ever since Riko found out where her BF lived, she'd make sure we passed his street every time she goes for her night walk. The good trade-off for these visits is that we go round the block and come straight home. The kids will have their play date.

However, Riko got smart in our next visit. She decided that we first head for her BF's place. Pick Brownie up and walk home. Then, leave him at our front gate while she continues with her walk. Serious. She stays rooted to the ground unless we head in any direction except homewards:D

Tonight, we found him standing outside his home while another black lab-like dog was behind the gate. I did hear from my neighbour that Brownie was disfavoured after the owners got another dog. But, I never saw that other dog until today. Anyway, I didn't think much of it because I was happy that some nights he was found behind their gate and one night, he was having his (scrap) dinner. I was somewhat grateful that he's still has a home and being "fed".

Since I found out that he has an owner, I normally let him go home around midnight... so as not to be rude. It's customary that I feed him a cup of dog food just outside the gate (like giving him cookies and milk) before sending him off. He normally quite anxious to eat and go home.

Tonight, I served him his usual dog food outside. For the first time, he stayed firmly behind our gates. He refused to go home and is now sleeping on my (recently-destroyed) zen gravel garden.

It's as if the boy didn't want to go back to his (broken) home. Rather disheartening.

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Back to basics

My boy has been sleeping outdoors for most of August. For a while there, I thought he may have successfully influenced his sister to do the same. But luckily, Riko only lasted a few nights outdoors. That too... she slept mostly on the cushioned patio bench. One blessing for the new sleeping arrangement was I needn't get up at the crack of dawn to let them out to wee. However, my full privilege to sleep in was quickly revoked when my girl decided to whimper incessantly outside my bedroom window every morning like this.



Now one will think that Ruki will have a default comfortable sleeping place outside. Nope. Some nights, he'll plonk himself in the middle of the garden. Other nights, he'll sleep glued to the gate or randomly in driveway. But lately, I noticed that he had settled for my Japanese gravel pit...much to the destruction of the zen-look I tried to achieve in my garden.



After weeks of sleeping in the wilderness, my boy Ruki decided to spend tonight indoors. Why? Because it's a hot night....and he needed the air-con! And, I guess he was too sleepy to walk to his regular nook by the window, he just plonked himself right at the doorway.



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The night my girl took me to her boyfriend's house

My girl and I have always taken the same walking route every night for the past few months. I found that this routine worked the best with the kids because I'd know where the cat zones were, the default Haruki poo plots and cat poo caviar buffet stretches were. For Riko, her route had less houses with dogs and street cats because she tends to react to them by jerking on the leash a lot.

Two things happened in the nights before tonight. For the past week, strangely her toy boy Brownie hasn't been around the block. Gone missing. Riko has been trying to sniff out scents on certain stretches of streets. The night before we had did an extended route which we passed by the house I suspected to be where Brownie lived. No Brownie. There we were standing right in front of a stranger's gate for the longest time because my girl refused to leave.

The next night, we headed out the gate as we always do for months. As usual,my girl zipped a few feet ahead up the road until we reached the first right turn.

There, my girl made an unscheduled right turn and charged forward. I stopped her and tugged her back to our usual direction. Her feet stood rooted to the ground. She refused to budge unless I was going where she wanted to go. So, I followed her ..... to her boyfriend's house.

When we arrived at his doorstep, we found Brownie tied to the gate. She was mighty glad to see him. Tail-wagging and all. Brownie's owner told us that he was in detention for biting someone. She was kind enough to release him and he followed us back home to play for a couple of hours. I think my girl was very happy that night. And I (in a way) meet my in-laws.

Images: "Walk the dog" from my 2011 Sketchbook called "Make mine a double"

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After the nap

It's the long Independence day holiday week...and I'm loving it. It's giving me the time to catch up on my work (unfortunately), my art, my inspirational resources and my kids.

Things are rather simple with the kids. After breakfast, they usually doze off for hours.




It's great because I get to enjoy most of the day peacefully until they wake up.

My boy is usually patient after waking up from his nap. He'll watch me intently until he thinks it's time to go to grandma's.



Notice he moves a couple of feet every couple of minutes until he reaches my feet to nudge me to go.