It Seems We Had an Akita

Continued...

It was very obvious that our new dog was not an Alsatian nor was she a dog to be called Buffy.  The name, Buffy, conjured up images of helpless vulnerability coupled with just plain poufy silliness.  This was not our dog.

Home, named and with training started, we made a veterinarian appointment.

 “No,” said the vet.  “You’re right.  She’s definitely not Alsatian – probably Akita with maybe a touch of Lab.  But mostly Akita, for sure.”

Akita?  I had no idea and so I went looking.  What I found left me with no doubts whatsoever.  It seemed that we had made a very, very lucky adoption.

But I really wished that I had seen her in her infancy.  And then: Richard Gere’s 2009 movie, Hachi.  I saw my dog.  No self-respecting Akita will ever play fetch – such silliness :-)

Loyal to the last breath, incredibly intelligent and extremely quiet.  Who could ask for more?  But still…


                               

This Dog is Absolutely Not a Buffy - Yuck!

Continued…

     I was finding that our new dog needed very little instruction.  Truthfully, that was the last time that I yelled at her.    Nothing was ever chewed, or stolen, in fact on one occasion, when she picked-up a stuffed animal from the floor and carried it to me, I simply said no and put it back.  Nothing was ever again disturbed.

     She had come from the SPCA sporting papers that claimed she was an Alsatian and they had named her Buffy.  NO on both counts.  This dog is not an Alsatian – not even close - and Buffy?  She is definitely not a Buffy.

     I was in my Archie Bunker Chair listening to the 6 o’clock news on CBC.  We had been considering names.  Part way into the coverage, there was a piece about Farley Mowat paying the fine that Green Peace had recently acquired and paying it in loonies.  The significance was not lost on us.  Farley Mowat had always been a hero of mine.  He was Canadian.  I had come to the conclusion that the puppy was primarily a northern breed.

     Farlie – I called o Fran. 

     What? 

     A name for the pup.  Farlie.   I gave all my reasons and I added, plus the name is androgynous.  It’s the wife in Stuart McLean's Vinyl Café series.  And so, our puppy became Farlie.

                                                                  

                                                                    *******

     Don’t even think it…  I know :-(  

     McLean’s Vinyl Café wife’s name is Morley.   But that did not come to me until we had started training using Farlie and, anyway, that ie replacement on Farley, on the end of the name, is definitely a feminine touch.

To be continued…

Doggy Rules

It was a very foolish move to try to put our new puppy in a crate but our intentions were only the best.  Once freed, she continued her circling of the hall and the rooms…

Continued…

Around and around the rooms she went.  Meanwhile, I thought it best to establish our expectations immediately.  There would be no going past the door frame from the kitchen into the front hall or living room area – only when she was with us and entering or leaving the house.  To that effect, I placed  chairs across the kitchen and hall entrances.  This was something new and momentarily disturbed her compulsive behavior.  She considered the barricade, sniffed it and scooted over;  and then in obvious confusion, she turned and  looked back at us.

    I removed the chairs, replaced them with great dramatics and we tried again and again.  I realized now that my timing was terrible: try to teach me something new in the midst of a panic attack and see how far you get.

     Later that day, however, my concerns were vindicated.  She had quickly realized which area of the house  was hers and so when she needed to relieve herself and nobody was immediately available, off she went into the carpeted livingroom, squatted  and …

“No,” I yelled and rushed at her - too late to avoid the wet spot but quickly enough to cause her to cower.  Little did I know, at that point, that this was a dog that free of fear and told once, she understood completely and no further instruction was usually needed.

To be continued:   

    

   

A Case of Very Frayed Nerves

Life sometimes simply happens…it’s not exactly tomorrow but if you are still with our new dog and Fran and I, here we go…

Continued:

We arrived home with our SPCA puppy…

Based on previous dogs which I had owned, we decided that certain rooms in the house would be off-bounds and, as we run a Band B, this was pretty much an essential.

We, three of us, entered through the front door, turned left out of the entrance hall and were in the kitchen / family-room combo.

I removed her leash and she began a frantic, panic-stricken dash – not running but urgently rushing from the kitchen into the family room and into the hall, down the hall and back into the kitchen.  Around and around she went.

“I don’t think this is going to work,” said Fran

“We have a dog,” I said.  “You want a dog, we have a dog  and this is one dog that really needs us.”

She agreed.

The rushing slowed to pacing but on and on it went – following the same route.

“Maybe she needs security,” we thought and so we opened her large, new cage.  She backed-off. We put food in the cage’s farthest corner.  She stayed as far away as possible.  Finally, well intentioned but foolishly, we lifted her and put her inside.  “She needs to get used to staying in here while we are out.” 

“Maybe not,” we decided as she tried to chew though the cage’s heavy wire; and we returned the cage to the pet shop.

Stay tuned:

Collecting the Puppy - Home We Go

Events had conspired and now we were waiting an additional five days until we could bring our new puppy home.

continued:

In the meanwhile, we visited the doggy shop and like a couple of expectant parents, we prepared a layette.

We’ll need a nice thick bed and when we’re out we’ll crate her so we’ll need a really big cage – room for her to move around and be comfortable.  We also bought matching water and food bowls on a raised stand.  We were told that large dogs should not be made to bend too far.  A bit silly, I thought, as I had raised several large dogs – but, whatever.  And we purchased a collar and matching leash, in a happy, bright blue to compliment her white, golden fur.  Fur, a word I now know to be accurate.

On the designated day, we arrived at the SPCA to collect our puppy.  While Fran completed the paperwork, I led the dog to the car.  She trembled but didn’t balk, looked at open back door of the car and with obvious trepidation, jumped in.  To this day, she will not voluntarily enter a vehicle by any door but the rear – never a side door.

And off we went – heading for our new lives.

…come along with us tomorrow…

Copyright © 2014, Robyn Gerland 
                                                                                    
                                                                                      My new mat in blue to match my collar and leash.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Not Yet - For Our Puppy

Continued…

We were told by the SPCA that we would have to wait a week until the beautiful blonde dog in the large front cage would be eligible for adoption:

We jittered at the bit.  Five days later, we called and yes she is still here. 

Can we come for a visit?

Of course, they said.

When we arrived, a volunteer was quite literally wedging her into a tight cage while she struggled and tried to back out.

This was not the same dog that we had first seen.  The incessant barking of the other dogs and her caging had destroyed her open, trusting puppy personality.

We’ll be back first thing on Friday, we assured them.  That would be exactly one week plus one day for the compulsory neutering of SPCA dogs, and we could take her home.

However, on the next day, Wednesday, we received a call. Unfortunately,  she had gone into heat. The week was not completed until Thursday and now they could not neuter her until Monday. They wanted to be sure that she had proper post-operative observation - wisely, there were no operations on Fridays.  That meant almost five more full days.  We so much wanted to bring her home and now we were also very, very worried about the transformation that was obviously at play.

Stay tuned:

Copyright © 2013, Robyn Gerland

Puppy Love

Continued…

So…we had pretty much decided on getting one of the Golden Lab puppies that we had looked at and were heading home when we saw a sign for the SPCA.

“Why not...?” I suggested and Fran turned the car into the curving, country driveway.

At the bottom of its incline and attached to the main building there were four large cages.

In the very first one was a beautiful young dog – no older than about six months.  Fran parked our vehicles and walked over to her enclosure.  The puppy sat rigidly upright wagging her tail and clearly saying, “Look at me.  Am I absolutely not the very best dog that you have ever seen?” All around us there was SPCA mayhem – barking and crying and jumping.  This dog sat silently.

Fran knelt by the enclosure and reached her hand inside.

“Yikes!” I thought.  My teaching had been that you exposed absolutely no part of the body to an unknown dog until you and she had come to an understanding.

The puppy stood, stretched and rubbed first her muzzle and then the side of her head against Fran’s offered hand.

We climbed the stairs into the office.

“The pup in the first cage?  Sorry. She just came in today.  A lady found her wandering in the shopping area.  She doesn’t have a license or a tattoo but she is a lovely dog and I’m sure her owners will be looking for her.” said the woman in charge.

“Well, if not,” I questioned, “how long do you hold the dog before it can be adopted?”

“A week.”

“So, if we leave our names and a phone number…

We were suffering a very bad case of puppy love.

…to be continued…

                          

Copyright © 2013, Robyn Gerland

Off to the SPCA

continued:

We were looking for a puppy and had decided to explore the possibility of a Golden Lab. After viewing a three week old litter, we left our names and phone number with the breeder.

On the drive home, we passed a sign Puppies for Sale.  Yup, they were small and cute but as they aged I knew that they would still be small and as cute as a small dog can be (my personal bias) and likely yappy.

Here I digress.  I cannot understand why condos and such allow only small dogs.  When potential guests ask about our B&B pet policy apologizing that their dog is large but well trained, I sigh in relief.

 “No,” I said, firmly. “A dog, okay; but we’ll wait for the Labs.”

Off we went again, heading homeward but as we passed a sign reading SPCA, I suggested that just maybe…and we turned down the winding dirt road toward the building...

...stay tuned

Copyright © 2013, Robyn Gerland

 

Puppy HUnting

Once upon a time, in a previous life, I wrote a column for a newspaper.  On one occasion, I decided that Farlie, our S.P.C.A. rescued, yellow Lab but mostly Akita, was due for her moment of glory.  She had truly earned it.  If, by chance, you read the column, when I first wrote it, thank you.  It's always really nice to know that I am not here writing away in a vacuum; and perhaps you might care to read it again and give Farlie her second moment of glory.  Plus, hey, I've played with it and it's really almost nothing like the original.                                  

 

Farlie is our S.P.C.A. rescued, yellow Lab  but mostly Akita cross whom we adopted when she was six months old.

When we had first met her, we had been puppy hunting.  My partner badly wanted a dog and since we had both retired, I had agree with only one stipulation: I would not be on the other end of the leash.  Dog walking was not my thing. 

We checked Lab puppies.  They were four weeks old, all Goldens and both parents were available for observation and were beautiful dogs. We  left our name and phone number with the breeder.

to be continued....

Copyright © 2013, Robyn Gerland

Moving Along

I received an update from Brad Grigor at Turningpoint Arts, this morning.
I'm getting a quite excited as we seem to be moving along.
If I publish another book, and as I have said, I am working on one, I will be able to cut the time lines appreciably.  I will know what to ask and whom to ask and might even not need to ask.
I can't imagine cutting any time out of the initial editing or corrections, however.  This is a very pleasurable but also a very time consuming job.

"Good morning Robyn. While processing your edits, I found a few where the
instructions are vague, so I will be sending for clarifications later. One
of the problems is if some text is removed early in the book, all the later
lines and paragraphs shift, causing instructions with insufficient textual
context to become vague.
Once I make  all the changes, I will fire back a PDF for you to confirm
that I made all the changes correctly. I will also be changing the text
font, as we discussed, and this will also cause the lines and paragraphs to
move relative to the page numbers. "


And I add, YIPES!

My blog  www.barleywick.blogspot.ca
By The Beach B&B
www.bythebeachbb.com

A Pitfall of Diversification

I've written five or six starts and created several different outlines for both a series of short stories and a novel and am wondering if I should write the stories and then try to connect them into a novel. I've presently got about 20,000 words on the go and 40,000 qualifies as a short story.  However, when you have 1000 here and 3000 there and they are clearly unrelated, it leads to some serious head scratching.
I guess this is what is meant by too many cooks spoil the broth - in this case, getting from start to finish of a storyline without waking in the middle of the night with another alternative whispering in my ear.

Moving Along

I'm making this public - maybe as a way of a commitment.
I have started another set of short stories but, this time I am thinking of trying to tie them together as a novel  - way easier to write but soooo time consuming and patience is not my strong card.
The first book should be out soon.
The blog is still a bit of a problem for me as I'm having trouble setting up my profile but, as with all things, this too may happen.

Start to Finish

I keep getting asked when All These Long Years Later will be out.  The answer is that I have no idea.
BUT! it did go to Turning Point Arts yesterday.  That is that is the company that has so patiently walked and sometimes pushed me through what I have discovered has been a very complicated adventure.
And this morning, as I drank my coffee and considered the start of a new year, I realized that yesterday was the perfect day to send off the book.   I can proudly say that in 2013,  I took a new and exciting journey - start to finish.
Happy New Year to everyone!