Elvis on a leash...
Feb. 11th, 2006 08:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wordinistaOkay, so we're coming up on one week of being sick. I'm definitely better than I was, but I still have some sinus pressure/congestion and The Cough That Will Not Go AWAY. Aside from that, I'm not doing too badly. Trying to drink a lot of tea and basically take care of myself.
Things weren't as bad as I thought they'd be, being sick the first week of having the puppy here. He sleeps a LOT, and I was sleeping a LOT, so we got along fine there. We'd sleep for two or three hours, I'd take him outside for a quick potty-break, then I'd sack out on the couch while he played with some of his toys, and then back to bed we went.
And as for housebreaking, it's been going more or less well, with a few accidents along the way. However, I'm armed with Nature's Miracle, so they've cleaned up rather well.
In fact, things were going remarkably normal until about 11:00 last night. Tora-kun and I were putting sheets on the bed, when we turned around and witnessed Darwin in the midst of one such "accident" (on the carpet, not the sheets). I scolded Darwin and took him out while Tora-kun cleaned up the mess. When we came back inside, he had an attack of the Stubborns, and wouldn't come when I called him (which he usually does really well). Tora-kun came out and Darwin still wouldn't budge, so he picked up the pup and brought him back into the bedroom so we could keep an eye on him while putting sheets on the bed.
Here's where it gets interesting.
When Tora-kun scolds Darwin, he always comes to me for "protection." (He'd apparently missed the part where I was annoyed with him, too.) So, he came trotting toward me, and where I was standing, I was surrounded by a sea of tangled up blankets (you know how it is when you're putting fresh linens on the bed).
Somehow, Darwin misstepped on a tangled blanket, and down he went in a tumble, twisting his right foreleg. He then started yipping and crying like nothing I've ever heard. He couldn't even walk on it.
Tora-kun and Bunneh: *Go into insta-panic mode*
We did not pass go, did not collect $200 -- we went directly to the local 24 hr emergency vet clinic (it's 11:00, mind, and I was in my PJ's -- we left the house without even turning off the lights). We were terrified that he sprained something or, god forbid, broke something
And what do you suppose happened when the vet came in, and did his preliminary exam? Well, he put D-bear on the floor to see how he walked.
Little bugger was FINE. By the time we LEFT the clinic, he was bounding around, jumping up, playing, and basically being a little brat.
However, the damage was done: we'd had the utter crap scared out of us.
So, today we decided to take Darwin out for the day. We had to get his dog license from Animal Services, and we had to go to Petsmart for a few things, so we figured we'd go to Petsmart first, then Animal Services, THEN to Wickham Park (which is dog-friendly).
Seriously -- walking into Petsmart with him on a Saturday was like, as Tora-kun said, "walking in with Elvis on a leash." Everyone -- I mean, like, everyone was asking what kind of breed he was, if they could pet him, anything. It was crazy. (There was also an Aussie mix that wanted to play with Darwin, and it was omgsocute!)
So we got the stuff we needed to get, and were in line to pay when this woman gets in line behind us and says something about how Aussies are such a wonderful breed. So, I smile and open my mouth to agree and make small talk when she looks down at D-bear and says:
"Oh, he's got a little too much white on your face, doesn't he? Are you going to show him?"
Me: *the smile turns into a gritting-of-teeth* "Actually, I couldn't even if I wanted to."
Her: "No, I suppose you couldn't. Where did you get him?"
When I told her the name of the breeder, she gave me this look that... I have no name for, but Tora-kun's mother is an expert at the look. It basically says, "I've never heard of it, and because I haven't, it either doesn't exist, or it's clearly of a very low quality." At that point I had to bite my tongue to tell her that Linda's been breeding champion Aussies for 15 years, and Darwin's pedigree is SPOTLESS, despite his "mismark." I also had the mad urge to trip her. Tora-kun looked like he was ready to elbow her in the face. I mean, really.
Grrr.
Well, then we went off to Animal Control to get D's license, and now he's all legal and stuff. We went to the park afterward, but Darwin was so plum tuckered that we didn't stay very long. Poor thing sprawled out in the back seat all the way home, as you can see:
And, lest anyone think we've gone overboard: http://web.mac.com/siphon/iWeb/
Yeah.
Things weren't as bad as I thought they'd be, being sick the first week of having the puppy here. He sleeps a LOT, and I was sleeping a LOT, so we got along fine there. We'd sleep for two or three hours, I'd take him outside for a quick potty-break, then I'd sack out on the couch while he played with some of his toys, and then back to bed we went.
And as for housebreaking, it's been going more or less well, with a few accidents along the way. However, I'm armed with Nature's Miracle, so they've cleaned up rather well.
In fact, things were going remarkably normal until about 11:00 last night. Tora-kun and I were putting sheets on the bed, when we turned around and witnessed Darwin in the midst of one such "accident" (on the carpet, not the sheets). I scolded Darwin and took him out while Tora-kun cleaned up the mess. When we came back inside, he had an attack of the Stubborns, and wouldn't come when I called him (which he usually does really well). Tora-kun came out and Darwin still wouldn't budge, so he picked up the pup and brought him back into the bedroom so we could keep an eye on him while putting sheets on the bed.
Here's where it gets interesting.
When Tora-kun scolds Darwin, he always comes to me for "protection." (He'd apparently missed the part where I was annoyed with him, too.) So, he came trotting toward me, and where I was standing, I was surrounded by a sea of tangled up blankets (you know how it is when you're putting fresh linens on the bed).
Somehow, Darwin misstepped on a tangled blanket, and down he went in a tumble, twisting his right foreleg. He then started yipping and crying like nothing I've ever heard. He couldn't even walk on it.
Tora-kun and Bunneh: *Go into insta-panic mode*
We did not pass go, did not collect $200 -- we went directly to the local 24 hr emergency vet clinic (it's 11:00, mind, and I was in my PJ's -- we left the house without even turning off the lights). We were terrified that he sprained something or, god forbid, broke something
And what do you suppose happened when the vet came in, and did his preliminary exam? Well, he put D-bear on the floor to see how he walked.
Little bugger was FINE. By the time we LEFT the clinic, he was bounding around, jumping up, playing, and basically being a little brat.
However, the damage was done: we'd had the utter crap scared out of us.
So, today we decided to take Darwin out for the day. We had to get his dog license from Animal Services, and we had to go to Petsmart for a few things, so we figured we'd go to Petsmart first, then Animal Services, THEN to Wickham Park (which is dog-friendly).
Seriously -- walking into Petsmart with him on a Saturday was like, as Tora-kun said, "walking in with Elvis on a leash." Everyone -- I mean, like, everyone was asking what kind of breed he was, if they could pet him, anything. It was crazy. (There was also an Aussie mix that wanted to play with Darwin, and it was omgsocute!)
So we got the stuff we needed to get, and were in line to pay when this woman gets in line behind us and says something about how Aussies are such a wonderful breed. So, I smile and open my mouth to agree and make small talk when she looks down at D-bear and says:
"Oh, he's got a little too much white on your face, doesn't he? Are you going to show him?"
Me: *the smile turns into a gritting-of-teeth* "Actually, I couldn't even if I wanted to."
Her: "No, I suppose you couldn't. Where did you get him?"
When I told her the name of the breeder, she gave me this look that... I have no name for, but Tora-kun's mother is an expert at the look. It basically says, "I've never heard of it, and because I haven't, it either doesn't exist, or it's clearly of a very low quality." At that point I had to bite my tongue to tell her that Linda's been breeding champion Aussies for 15 years, and Darwin's pedigree is SPOTLESS, despite his "mismark." I also had the mad urge to trip her. Tora-kun looked like he was ready to elbow her in the face. I mean, really.
Grrr.
Well, then we went off to Animal Control to get D's license, and now he's all legal and stuff. We went to the park afterward, but Darwin was so plum tuckered that we didn't stay very long. Poor thing sprawled out in the back seat all the way home, as you can see:
And, lest anyone think we've gone overboard: http://web.mac.com/siphon/iWeb/
Yeah.
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no subject
Date: 2006-02-12 02:36 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-12 02:42 am (UTC)This is obviously the way to World Domination. Overpower them with Teh Cute, and they will follow.
no subject
Date: 2006-02-12 08:55 am (UTC)*sighs* Some of those people who get into show are the most pretentious of pretentious assholes, especially about things like breeders and mismarking.
My mom tried showing one of our malamutes a little when he was young (he got best puppy, but missed best breed because his nuts were uneven, isn't that precious?) and someone asked her how she got his coat to look so thick and luxurious.
Mom: Um? Well, he likes to sleep outside in the snow. I imagine that's part of it.
Other shower: You let your dog sleep outside? *shock, horror, ohnoes*
Let's ignore the fact that malamutes are sled dogs, and as a rule, love the cold and snow. Instead, lets brush back their fur and hairspray it there.
no subject
Date: 2006-02-13 10:48 pm (UTC)Never mind. Teh puppi is teh cute.
That said, in all of the photographs he appears to be teetering on the edge of consciousness or flat out. It must be utterly exhausting to be so adorable all of the time. I hope he's settling in well and being horribly spoiled and the cats aren't being wildly territorial.