May 15, 2010

Today Cinn and I went to the dog park early in the morning. We played together for about fifteen minutes, and then another dog owner came along with a pair of dogs-- a collie and a beagle cross by the looks. He walked in with both dogs off leash while I was trying to put Cinn on hers.

"Don't worry," he assured me loudly from across the park, "They're friendly."

Cinn ducked out of my grip before sprinting across the field with the speed of a pup half her age. As she bounded up, the smaller dog shyed away. She started sniffing butts with both of the other pups, as I hurried after her. Almost instantly, the Collie snarled. I told Cinn to back off, and she did. The other owner again repeated his assurances that the collie was a friendly dog, nothing to worry about. He told me that her name was Meadow, and that she just needed to have a minute to acclimatize.

Cinn walked over to the smaller dog, and the two of them got acquainted for a moment. Suddenly Meadow lunged at Cinn, snapping and snarling. Cinn is not a fighter, but it was too much for her. She lunged back at the dog, snapping back and bowling her over with superior size and weight.

Getting between the two combatants, I yelled and snarled. I shouted,"Stop it!"

Cinn backed away and Meadow was startled enough to hop back too. I put the leash over her head. Meadow's human did not grab his dog, but rather kept assuring me that she was a farm dog that was not aggressive. He made a nipping motion with his hand and said that she was only pinching, and it was not a problem.

Uninterested, I looked around to see his smaller dog running outside of the park. I told him that it was getting away, and he responded with, "Damn, that's the last time that I take a friend's dog to the park when I don't know him."

I offered him a treat to try to lure the smaller dog back, but the dog would have none of it. It ran down the street and away. Both of us loaded our dogs into our cars to give chase. We followed the dog down the street in front of the public works yard, but were not able to catch it. I stopped at the insurance office, where Trace had been purchasing insurance. He continued down the street, eventually catching his dog in front of the gym.

I checked Cinn from head to toe, and found that she was not injured in any way. Relieved, we returned home after her adventure. It was a good reminder to be cautious when dealing with other people's dogs.

May 9, 2010

Cinn had a good week. It was cold and wet, so there were a limited number of trips to the dog park. I tried to play with her a lot ot make up the difference. She loves snuggling and wrestling nearly as much as walks and the park. Her biggest issue this week was the cat stealing her bed from her while she laid in it. Apparently, he continuously walked up, meowed, and even climbed in to push her out at one point. He wouldn't even stop when Trace picked him up to let Cinny keep sleeping in peace one day. He's a very stubborn animal.

Today, we went to the park for a picnic. She met a small dog who was quite a bit younger than her. She was fairly hyper, but enjoyed playing with the little guy. The little dog's owners were amazed by how active our eleven year old was. It was a good day all in all, with lots of play and a quarter of a roast beef sandwich for the girl.

April 27, 2010

Cinn has had a good week. She has enjoyed her doggy park and being allowed back onto the deck with the better weather lately. She did not even get too fussed about us being away Saturday night and coming back smelling like Paula and Mark's dogs.

April 19, 2010

Snoobert had a pretty good week. She spent some time at the dog park, but also got to go to the BCTF zone meetings with Tracie and I because the hotel was dog friendly. She stayed in the room with Trace most of the time because she obviously could not sit in on the meetings. She was really well behaved, even on the elevator. She got to meet some of the other social justice reps on the elevator, and even some BCTF royalty in the form of president elect, Susan Lambert.

Her favorite part of the entire trip was walking around town and frequenting several restaurants with Trace and I. I think that she even got some mexi fries from Tracie's meal at Senor Froggies. Being a dog though, the whole trip was fun from drinking out of the toilet to cruising around in the car to pick up breakfast. We just have to teach her not to pee on the sidewalks in downtown Kamloops...

April 11, 2010

We got home yesterday and picked up Cinn at 8:30. She went berserk and ran out to the car without her leash. I let her because I did not think that Shannon's neighbours would appreciate her barking upon seeing me. She rode home, ate supper, bounced around, and rubbed on our legs. The next morning we took her to the dog park, where she ran about until we told her that it was time to go home. She was snuggly and happy all day. It's great to have a dog.

April 7, 2010

Cinn had a pretty good week. She made a couple of trips to the dog park and hung around the house with Tracie and I. Today she goes to stay with Shannon for a few days-- something that she does not necessarily mind because she gets to play with her friend, Petal. We will see her again on Sunday, so hopefully her weekend will be fun filled.

April 2, 2010

All week Cinn and I availed ourselves of her new favorite place, the dog park. Sometimes Trace came, but sometimes the wind and weather was too harsh or she had to work on her store. Cinn loved her week there and tore around the entire time that we spent there. She met a new friend named Buddy on Wednesday. The two of them got on fairly well, although Buddy seemed more interested in fetch than playing with Cinn. Buddy's owner liked Cinn, and the two of us talked while the pups played.

Unfortunately, yesterday Cinn hurt her front leg while she was tearing around the park. I carried her across the park to the car while, true to her nature, she struggled to get down and walk there. I carried her back into the house, we fed her upstairs, and then made her sleep there-- much to her chagrin. She seems better today, almost back to normal. It has made me think a little about the possibility of getting the fat lump removed from her front leg though because it seems to be at or near the root of the problem.