Chie!

Remember this? That was in May.




This is from August.






Jack & Chie are doing well; this month we had some fleas & Chie had tapeworms, but that's been handled. Not too bad. I also don't know what happened to the font option on this editor but whatever.

Doggy futons

There's someone who would, if she was reading my blog, undoubtedly correct my loose use of the term "futon" so I'll apologize now. However, I don't think she reads my stuff any more. I think I've hidden away sufficiently.

Although he has a gorgeous house built by my dad, Jack prefers his old carrier, which was his bed when I first brought him home. It betrayed him by flooding Friday night during a heavy rain, which sent both Jack & Chie into the wooden house. I cleaned out the carrier, but Jack had not gone back into it for any of his naps all day Saturday.

The cloth mats I used to cushion his carrier (thick woven placemats - perfect size) had gotten damp & I'd pulled them out of the carrier & left them piled just outside. When I noticed Jack perched morosely on top of the pile, trying to sleep, it occurred to me that perhaps he liked that cushiony stuff. I needed to launder the placemats, so I'd have to find something else for him. Or... make somethine else.

I raided my grandmother's ample store of rags --- threadbare towels, ripped shirts & other clothing --- & picked out the softest pieces along with a smooth rectangle of linen. I spread the rags around, folded it into the linen, & started sewing the edges. I added intermittent single stitched knots to hold the insides in place. Jack's new futon was just the right size --- slightly too big for the floor of the carrier.

No sooner had I laid it in his carrier than Jack lay down on it.

However, Chie suddenly developed an interest in the previously unappealing carrier. A slight tussle developed & the futon ended up outside on the porch.

Hm.

I returned to the rag box, & sewed another, slightly firmer but more heavily filled, doggy bodypillow. This longer, peanut-shaped futon went into the deluxe doghouse, & Chie immediately nestled up against it. But as soon as she had to pee Jack got up to investigate & ended up possessively hugging the bodypillow in the dog house, & Chie happily collapsed on the first, softer cushion.

I hadn't realized that Jack & Chie would appreciate something soft to sleep on; this is the first time that I've seen Chie sleep inside anything, carrier or doghouse, unless it was raining. I thought all this time that she preferred to sleep just outside my door because it was cooler.

But maybe dogs like sleeping on beds too.

I guess I'll be raiding that rag box more often. I think we'll need more futons. I wonder if I should buy some foam for pillows too, or would that be tempting fate? Who knows how many pieces my hard, finger-poking (yes, I sewed some parts with a needle & thread) work will be in tomorrow morning when cozy sleep is no longer in vogue.

But I guess it's worth it if I can get cute pictures like this.

Chie!

I made thumbnails, so you can click on them for bigger pictures.

I'd told my veterinarian that I hoped to find another dog to keep Jack company, something a little bigger & more watchdog-oriented, to help my grandparents feel like there was some purpose in having dogs (eh, they're old-fashioned.). I'd always loved the way Chows looked, but I felt absolutely comfortable with Akitas, having grown up with them. The vet assistant jotted down some numbers for me.

When I mentioned that it was just really important to me to get another dog that was intelligent & easy to get along with, the veterinarian suggested I consider Australian Shepherd dogs.

As I had in the last few months, I continued checking the Humane Society, Kijiji, Craigslist & the Honolulu Advertiser Classifieds. I called up the numbers the vet assistant had gotten out of the Ilio & threw it away after 4 out-of-services in a row. In the meantime I kept reading about various breeds at Dogluvers & Michele Welton's site. I decided I really wanted a Chow. I still want a Chow. But no Chows are to be had, apparently. There were tons of breeds I didn't want --- I guess pitbulls & chihuahuas really have a lot of sex. It's like canine dysgenics or something.

Then today (well, yesterday), the Advertiser had an ad for the very dogs my veterinarian had suggested. No, they wouldn't be my natural first choice, but then I had never even seen one of these dogs, much less met one. The breeder called me back relatively quickly, & made arrangements to meet me in Kaneohe.

I was suspicious because I would not be able to meet the parents, but I wasn't eager to drive all the way out to the breeder's home in Laie either. I called around for someone to come with me & my faithful cousin Craig agreed to come along. The breeder told me that the puppies' red merle dam had been purchased from a breeder in Kauai, & that she had her blue merle sister as well. The sire was a tri-color working dog at a ranch in Kahaluu. Although she couldn't bring the dam along, she would bring me videos of the dam playing with her pups. We agreed to meet at He'eia Elementary campus, where she had gone through obedience classes.

Short of actually getting to meet the parents, a video & the breeder's testimony would have to do. At 2 years of age, the dam was too young to exhibit any genetic fallbacks anyway outside of personality traits, & I had boned up about judging puppy temperaments. Web images of blue merles fired me up & I drove out to the meeting with some apprehension, but a lot of anticipation as well.

When I got out there (sheesh, I don't know my way around), it was already getting dark, & so we carried the 3 rambunctious (And beautiful! Fuck it, I was already sold!) puppies to the basketball court lights, where I was mobbed with puppy kisses from 2 out of the 3. I hoped to wait until they lost interest in the humans & started cavorting with eachother, but they didn't. The humans were too fun to... to kiss, I guess.

They all appeared to be in excellent health, perhaps a little rotund, & certainly friendly & happy. The one that hadn't mobbed me was already lying on her back getting a bellyrub from my cousin & had no reservations whatsoever with his excited-by-puppies son. The other 2 just continued to socialize with us, as if we shouldn't be allowed to hold a discussion with other humans.

It occurred to me that any one of these puppies would do, all being beautiful, healthy, & of obviously shining disposition. So, as 14 years ago with Puppy, I chose based on looks. I picked the one with the most striking markings, & the only blue merle with some brown markings on her face & hind legs. Puppy is actually of very similar coloring, & as a kitten he had a few stray patches of orange which I found charming (your dad was a stray orange tabby, wasn't he?).

As soon as I brought her home, Grandma was enchanted. This is an extremely good sign, because Grandma is a self-admitted animal disliker. She likes Jack but only when he is on the other side of the screen door. But she couldn't not pet the new girl. My grandfather was pleased, my cats were pissed (Puppy took a swipe at her immediately.), & Jack was ecstatic.

Initially, after some very in-depth sniffing (can't get used to that), Jack jumped around trying to get her to chase him. Bring disoriented & tired, she refused, but when he began antagonizing her, she snapped back. They tussled for awhile but eventually she was trying to climb up my leg so I took it as a sign to bring her into the house.

Jack got a meaty raw beef bone to celebrate her arrival & the cats got slivers of raw beef. My grandmother looked up Japanese girl names but couldn't choose one, so I've decided on Chie.

Chie is passed out at my feet as I type. She whines when she needs to go outside, which she has twice tonight. Once she gets her bearings & hopefully a little bigger I think she'll be quite comfortable outside with Jack.

I'm going to need another doghouse though. They're not going to both fit in there in a couple of months.

Wanted: more puppies

Dog parks are not enough.

Poor Jack got his face boxed by my boy cat (Puppy --- I know, it's confusing.) the other day; he may be fast enough to pin a mynah bird, but he's no match for a pissed off cat. Fortunately Puppy's smackdowns are more educational than murderous or Jack would be missing an eye by now.

He's got a huge crush on Honeygirl --- & who wouldn't? --- but she doesn't like being jumped on. She's game enough for a little nose-sniffing, but Jack consistently loses his cool & tries to jump on her, causing her to hiss & run away... & then Puppy comes over & lays down the law.

While Jack is being raised with cats, my cats were not raised with anyone else except me. Jack will probably have a rough time fitting in with them, although he's already gotten the knack of breaking eye contact when Puppy gets in his face.

What we need are more dogs. Yes. Jack needs a brother or a sister --- preferably a sister --- & they can jump on eachother. That didn't sound right. They can play together, make dog friendliness together, chase mynah birds together. Right now Jack relies exclusively on me for company since he's not popular in the feline club & my grandparents don't really go out into the yard. Thing is, sometimes I sleep. And there's poor Jack, waiting all morning just for someone to say hello to him.

I've been back & forth to the Humane Society, checked Craigslist, the Advertiser classifieds, & even Kijiji. If I wanted a pit bull or some chihuahua mix I could have an entire pack of dogs by now. Apparently chihuahuas have a lot of sex. Ideally I'd like an Akita or a Chow (as with Basenjis, Chows are one of the breeds I've determined I will own one of in this lifetime.), & was saddened to hear of Henry Kapali's retirement from Akitas; damn his neighbors.

My vet gave me a list of breeders. I've got to remember this some time during daytime hours so I can make some phone calls.

My hibiscus.

Here's a bloom from one of several hibiscus bushes I grew from seed back when... I think I must have been in high school.

I pollinated a single white hibiscus with a single pink/red hibiscus. And somehow got this double with a frilled filament. There are a couple other surviving hybrids in my grandparents' yard, each one a little different from the other in color. Unfortunately hybrids are usually sterile, so there won't be any seeds coming from these guys, although slips can be made.

Sometimes I wonder if my creations were humans rather than flowers, if they would be grotesquely twisted mutants rather than rare & delicate specials. Sometimes I also think I should have gone into botany.

Why did I do it though?

I seem to recall at the time feeling that the plants in our yard, at least, were getting a lot of sex.

You think I'm joking.