Lost comments

Hi, For anyone who posted a comment and didn't see it come up, what happens is that comments go to my e-mail and then I okay them. However, I made a mistake when I was okaying some comments. They didn't get posted and I had already deleted them from my e-mail thinking that they were now on the blog. So, feel free to post again!

Thanks,

Elise

Chica's choice

I've been meaning to write about this for a while. It happened back in late November or early December.

From time to time, when we go for our evening walk or for a leashed walk on the weekend, I declare the walk Chica's Choice and follow her where she wants to go (not into traffic or anything!)

This particular time, on our evening walk, Chica chose to go up from the park into the tiny forested area that lies near the park and between some houses. There is a short incline that is quite steep and she wanted to walk up there and into the trees. It was a bit icy, but I figured I could do it and with some careful placing of feet, and a bit of using her counterweight on the other end of the leash, I got up pretty easily. We walked all around the forest, out the other end and then back in and back to the incline again. Well, I thought, I got up okay and I do like to try to follow the idea of Chica's Choice, so I started down. Of course, this way, the counterweight was on gravity's side; my weight was against me, too. And, I found myself part-way down, feeling uncertain of my footing, Chica on the ground beneath me, and me trying to get her not to run off anywhere.

Just at that moment, with the perfect timing of an intelligent and benign universe, a young man appeared, a teen wearing earplugs. He saw my predicament and immediately offered assistance, to help me down, to take the dog, . At first, I demurred somewhat, not willing to accept defeat. But I came to my senses and first profferred the dog leash and then, instead, asked for bodily assistance. He handed me down very nicely and went on his way.

I was so pleased at his thoughtfulness and willingness to help a weird old lady stranded where she shouldn't even be!

When I started to walk away, I realized that my hand that had held a poop bag was now empty and I thought - oh, no, do I have to climb back up again?! Luckily, it had dropped not far from the bottom.

Challenging Chica

Chica started, out of the blue, being naughty.

I found the moulding of the patio door had been scratched on one side and thought she must have seen someone or something in the back yard that bothered her. I thought it was a once-off occurrence.

Then, I came home to find a torn-up box. I thought that was fine and that she had vented her energies a different way. Unfortunately, when I went to let her out into the backyard the next morning, I saw increased damage to the door frame - chunks of wood out! I taped it up with wide packing tape and then ground pepper on to more tape and awkwardly affixed it over the first layer.

I came home to find she had scratched that off successfully. I re-taped, very firmly. Today when I got home, she had managed to get that off, too.

Her foster mother of one month before I adopted her is sure I am walking her enough.

My organizer has suggested a course of action that she tried with her dog when faced with separation anxiety. Don't look at the dog for ten minutes before you leave and when you get home. I am going to try that as I would really prefer not to crate her. Also, I'm worried if I just put her in the bedroom as I did for a while at first, she might chew and scratch there, too and I'd have another repair bill.

I told Erika that if Chica touches my new piano, Chica will be going for a visit with Auntie Erika in Montreal for a while.

I lay in bed last night cuddling with Skookum and thinking, 'Oh, the joy of cats!' haha.

At the Gilmours', Dec. 29, 2006

Chica meets Laura.