Here at Last.............. I love all your pictures and stories.
Waiting for those of Mira and Eli, Susanne ...
Yeah that! :mrgreen:
I figured since I am home nursing a cold, it is a good time to tell you about "my" critters
In terms of personality, the picture says it all
Eli on the right kind of goofy and Mira more on the dignified side.
I still remember first meeting the two of them. Their parents were a bit nervous, because Eli was a little skittish and shy around people he didn't know. He had had a rather challenging puppy-hood before they adopted him. A dramatic journey from Italy on a plane, and I think two owners that treated him pretty poorly.
He had some issues, and drove his new parents to near complete despair in the beginning. He chewed and destroyed everything he could get his paws on. To illustrate the point that I shouldn't leave anything lying around (that I was interested in keeping) they showed me a piece of plastic that vaguely resembled a cellphone
The leg on the futon had obviously served as a chew bone for him, .....
In any event, while Mira instantly came up to me and had me pet her he stayed in the background. He was okay with me riding along in the car on our way to the Marina to take a walk (with the parents, so we could all get to know each other). I threw his toy a couple of times, and that won me one brownie point I think.
The first time I came into the house by myself when the parents were on vacation, Mira enthusiastically greeted me while Eli sat on the other side of the room and growled
So I just sat down with a book, occasionally playing with Mira. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him reluctantly inch closer until he eventually ended up right in front of me and laid down. He still didn't seem quite ready for physical contact, so I chatted with him (actually I talked and he just kind of looked at me
). After about an hour, I finally got the invitation to pet him
We had a couple of setbacks when I tried to pull his collar over his head, but we all did get to take our walk that day
The second night he joined Mira and the cat Tearne (need to find a picture of her) on my bed. Let me tell you, the bed seemed rather small all of a sudden!
But I loved it! After that we were best buddies. Such a wonderful dog!!!!!!
Unfortunately, his life was cut short by a couple of knee surgeries that led to severe back damage. At the end he couldn't even stand without support. It was heart-breaking!
But he left so many wonderful memories, and I consider myself blessed to have been one of his friends.
Mira went through a phase where she tried to catch gophers. Apparently one came right out of the hole at one point and she got him (fortunately, I didn't see that). After that she kept taking off and digging for as long as she could evade capture (and she was very good at that)
The main concern was that the gopher holes were in the part of the park where they needed to be leashed
Somehow, her parents managed to get her out of that habit. I seem to remember an account of a wrestling match between Mira and her Dad in the mud, which he eventually won!
We still had the occasional game of Tug of War, with the dogs on one end of the leash and me at the other
It made for some comical moments for bystanders
Two determined Mastiffs pulling in the same direction are impossible to beat (at least for me). After I landed face first in the mud once (but I was still holding on to them), I just let go of the leashes. Fortunately, neither one of them was aggressive against people or dogs. And it really only happened a few times. And who can blame them, when they see something so captivating such as a rabbit for example? :?
And one more little tidbit........ At one point Benjamin and I (see a few stories back) were going to meet Mira and her Dad at the dog/ artist park by the bay. A wonderful place with plants, bushes, grass, trees, ... growing wild. In the spring you can smell flowers, and in the summer there is a fragrance of wild herbs in the air. There are some trails and lots of little paths, which are kind of like a maze. And it is possible to get lost in there. I have tried it
Artists have used trash, wood, rocks, .... to create pieces of arts (statues, paintings on wood or rock, even a small castle made out of concrete).
But back to my Mira story........
Intelligently we hadn't agreed on a point to meet up, so I just started walking with Benjamin. Within minutes, Mira appeared out of the bushes dragging her Dad behind. He said she just started pulling him right to where I was. Coincidence :?: :lol: Maybe, but she is a pretty sharp cookie!!!!!!
And there you have it, another chapter in "My Life as a Pet-Sitter -How I survived Grad-School"
! I'm sure they must have some purpose :shock: , and maybe someone thinks they are cute :?: Look at what they gnaw on 
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