As promised, the doggie edition!!!
While my parents were on vacation, we also had to take care of their 3 dogs, as well as our dog, in addition to our little feline friends. It was lots of work, but also a lot of fun.
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| Q the Lab |
Q is the eldest of the bunch, at nearly 10 years old. She's soon going to be silver labrador at the rate she's greying! Q loves living at my parents' house - there's people food all over, no shortage of dog snacks, little dogs to play with, and lots and lots of attention. In fact, before she came to live here, we called it HappyLand and she'd leap into the car to come visit.
Q will be going to stay with the family of a friend of ours while we are on our adventure because 4 dogs is a bit much for one household :). We're really going to miss having Q around. She is the most easy-going dog, and so happy to just be with people, but we know she's going be with a loving family while we're away. It's just going to be a bit lonely for a while. No uber waggy tail whacking walls and everything in its path. It's going to be strange indeed!
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| Stanley the Bichon |
Stanley is also an elderly gentleman, having just turned 9 years old. He's also recently lost a bunch of teeth, poor guy! Stanley has a lot of personality rolled up into his little body, and you really need to spend quality time with him in order to really get to know him. He enjoys sleeping in and snuggling on the couch. He also prefers to eat his meals on the deck. It's really funny. You can put his food bowl in the house and he just looks at you with this flabbergasted look, suggesting that he should not be made to dine with the plebeians indoors. Stan also enjoys going for long walks and piddling on vehicle wheels and garbage bags. He's not too big a fan of his little brothers, though, and he'll grumpily grumble at them when they're playing or making noise (damn kids!). It's adorable :)
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| George the Bichon |
George is one half of the puppy duo my parents welcomed into their home two years ago this Thanksgiving. We drove out to a farm in Morinville on a snowy October evening, looking for a new puppy to befriend Stan, following the unfortunate passing of Stan's older companion, Brewski (The-Best-Dog-Ever). When we reached the farm, we peered into the doorway and two little faces peered back at us. George, and his brother Henry (below), were all that remained of the litter and it was heartbreaking to think of separating them. So, lo and behold, we drove back through the wintery night with two cute little furballs in the back seat :).
At first it was really difficult to tell the puppies apart, but their individual personalities quickly shined through. George kind of looks like Snoopy, with his long nose and long ears. He also has an infectiously cute look on his face at all times. George jumps with a four foot plant like a deer, and constantly wags his tail. In the two weeks we took care of him, George was such a cutie. He's the only one that can jump on our bed, and he's super proud of himself for that. He's also a polite little guy, asks gently for things, and never begs. Such a cute little skinny muffin!
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| Henry the Bichon Frise |
Henry. What can I say. Henry is quite the little man. I've never met a dog like him. He observes everything, and always has a deep, thoughtful look in his eyes. Henry is also a very quirky little fellow. He prefers to stay to your left when on walks, he will only eat out of the right side of his bowl, and he's a super demanding little mofo!! But, you just take one look at him, and you melt. Two scratches behind the ear and he's putty in your hands, and the bonus part is that Henry is a tad chubby, which makes him all the more loveable.
George and Henry, since they're brothers, have an amazing relationship and it's really fun to watch them together. Where one goes, the other follows, and they play the most hilarious games. Sometimes they chase each other, other times they wrestle, and lots of times they play keep away with toys/chewies/socks, etc. What's even more interesting is that they rarely get truly angry with each other. On the odd occasion one will snap at the other, but within seconds they're back to running, chasing, or snuggling together. I could watch George and Henry play for hours :).
We had a great time looking after these guys. There were a few sleepless nights since we're not used to having a horde of dogs in our room, but they were always so happy when we woke up that it was difficult to stay frustrated with them. They also tried testing the waters with our adherence to the house rules, but they soon figured out that the rules applied whether mom was home or not :). Plus, we got lots of exercise and spent tonnes of time outside with the pack. Despite how time-intensive taking care of 4 dogs at once is, I'm really glad we got the opportunity to spend a good chunk of time with them all before we left. Now here's to hoping they remember us when we come back :).
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| B chillin' with the gang. |
