Something I have seen

Tags

behaviour, bold, cute, dogs, puppies, sneaky

This photo made me laugh, typical Dachshund attitude, bold and forward. Bundnie use to do that all the time, Nora does it too. Nicky is more sneaky but always on the look out for an opportunity. Only Reesie did not do that, he was the quiet one.

In this photo, this little puppy is so cute you just cannot say a thing but smile.

 

Advertisements

Big adventures

Tags

AVC, Bundnie, Cairo, dogs, Nicky, Nora, Ottawa, Reese, UPEI, Vet

Having two dogs is like having two kids, same thing really, they have their little personalities and ways of doing things. Having lived with dogs in the house since 1990 we are use to them and how they are the presence in our lives. Our first two dachshunds, one short hair from Cairo and one long hair Chicago were family members and they travelled around the world with us. To this day we have fond memories of Bundnie and Reese and how they were more than just dogs.

Bundnie and Me on the terrace of my apartment in Cairo 1990.

Reesie and Bundnie on the deck at our home in Ottawa, 1993

Bundnie died at home of old age at 18 and Reese died in Rome at 17. A year later we were visiting a colleague of mine outside the City in Capena and her husband use to walk around the countryside and came upon the farm of Dr. Massimo Buzzanca and his wife Tiziana, both are well known in breeder of Wirehair Dachshund circles in Italy and their dogs are bred with other champion dogs in the EU.

Nicky and Nora are now 10 years old, yes it has been a decade since our time in Italy. Nora is older than Nicky by a week, they also have travelled with us not as much as Bundnie and Reese though.

Last week Nora had symptoms of what is very common in any aging Dachshund back weakness which can lead to paralysis. Unfortunately we know all too well what that means, we went through several back operations with Bundnie and Reese.

Nora always seem to get sick on a weekend which means that only the Animal Veterinary Clinic at the University of PEI is open, but since we are outside normal clinic hours, a special fee applies of $135. just to step in. They took good care of her, the AVC is a teaching hospital and they also take care of Farm animals and horses. So its complete kennel rest for her for a month and some medication.

Of course Mr Nicky also started to have what looked like a tooth problem, so we took him to our other Vet who is known in the region for specializing in dental work, even the AVC refers patients to him. Though in Nicky’s case it was not his teeth, I got a call from the clinic and was told that he had a growth under his tongue and it had to be removed pronto, could it be cancer? His teeth were fine. So it was sent for biopsy and about five days later we got the results, all benign, no problem. We also had another growth removed from his shoulder, it too was benign just fatty tissue.

Vet care in Canada is very expensive if compared to the USA. When we lived in Ottawa, some people took their dogs to the USA for treatment, the border is only 50km, away a short drive. We cannot do that here, the border with Maine is about 5 hours away through moose country not the thing to do in Winter on isolated highways.

This week we will return to the AVC for an assessment of Nora’s condition, though at the moment she is doing fine. Nicky is going back to have his shoulder stitches removed at the end of the month. At the moment he wears the cone, which he will not wear if going outside, he simply refuses to go out with it. He gives you that look and you know what it means.

Nora on her favourite sofa

Nicky stretched out and Nora on the cushion. 

 

Happy Easter!

Tags

crocus, dogs, Easter, Faith, flowers, Parsifal, Spring

Listening to passages of Richard Wagner’s Parsifal on this Good Friday. A beautiful sunny bright day, our little puppies are on the balcony taking the Sun, it is for mid-April a nice Spring day, the whole weekend is shaping up to be nice.

Tulips and crocuses are sprouting, birds are signing and people are moving their boats to the Marina, got to be Spring. I had my Summer tires put on this week and car is tuned up. The dealership even washed the car for me, I thought that was a nice gesture. The City has started street cleaning and the brushes our out.

Can’t wait to put the flower boxes out, this is a great spot in the morning for coffee and watching the boats on the Hillsborough river.

A few weeks ago, me at Maid Marian, the Diner in Charlottetown. Celebrating 30 years, a great place for breakfast and coffee, old fashion, clean, good service. This is the place to meet the snow plough operators in Winter, the farmers, the TV and Radio personalities, local personalities and politicians. I am wearing my ball cap because this is official wear if you are an Islander. This is how we can tell who is from away, like them tourists.

Crocuses around the house.

Happy Easter! 

 

 

Warrior Dachshunds and Dragons

Tags

Cats, dachshunds, dogs, Magic, PEI, Wild Island Cats

Today, Sunday we went for a stroll up Lower Queen Street, this is the portion between Water street and Grafton Street in old Charlottetown. A market takes place between 9am and 3pm. All kinds of Island artisans and farmers show up, it is most interesting to see. We came upon a lady who had a stand and she has stories to tell about Cats, Dachshunds and Dragons. She also sells the most interesting dolls of cats and dogs, truly works of art.

Two books have been published so far on her magical stories about them and you can find them on AMAZON. Also she has a Facebook page entitled Wild Island Cats.

The Cats are PixieCats, ElfCats, SeaCats, MerCats, WereCats, FeyCats, all have magic attributes.

While there different races of Wild Island Cats, the Hounds distinguish themselves based upon their House or Corps.

House  of Barkandale

House of BlueNose

House of RedRover

SeaDogs Corps

Beagle Corps

Dachshund Dragon Guard, they like Yoda from Star Wars, these small hounds are full of surprises.

BlackWater Bayers

The little history goes like this, back in the Great Dragon Realms, the Cats were the Keepers of the Magic and the Hounds were the Guardians of the Young Dragons and for countless times all was good. Then the Dragon Realm was attacked and the Cats and the Hounds had to flee. They searched the Universe for a place to seek refuge, in the end they found Earth.

When they arrived humans were not ready to meet magic Cats and Warrior Hounds, so they withdrew to a tiny dune island just North of PEI. With a bit of Magic they transformed the island and shielded it from view and there they stayed for hundreds of years.

As time went by, the Cats and the Hounds became curious about the people of PEI, they disguised themselves and came to live among us as our pets. Over the centuries, they have protected us, guided us and watched as we slowly lost touch with the magic of Life.

Now the Cats and Hounds are here in their true form to help bring magic back to our world.

The Message of the Cats and Hounds;

Be you, Be here, Be Happy!

Stress and Dachshund views

Tags

Canada., Charlottetown, dachshunds, dogs, moving, PEI, Stress

This move is now behind us and all that is left is to organize the new house. On 28 May we arrived in Charlottetown after 2 days on the road from Ottawa, Yes Canada is a big country.

Our two dwarf Dachshunds slept in the back seat of the car all the way, only stretching from time to time and we stopped to let them walk a bit and smell the air, which they did. It must have smelt strange to them, nothing familiar, everything foreign including the surrounding landscape. Nora being a hunter liked the challenge, it was like doing a cross word puzzle for her, trying to figure out what she was smelling and what was about. Her familiar things were the car, her toys, the blanket, the food and us taking care of her and being there. On the other hand our Nicky the sunshine boy, Mister show Dog was stressed, he did not like the trip one bit and was acting out. He also had lots of familiar things about him and Nora was there so what could be wrong.  His routine was upset and he did not like the smells of things, too foreign. He wanted to go home to his two sofas to lounge, but they were gone. What was happening, this was scary and so refusing to eat, feeling lethargic, looking worried was his way of telling us this was no fun.

On 1 June the truck arrived with all our things, all 4 tons of it, which by the way is normal for a couple without human children or so says the moving company. This time around lots of boxes, cardboard does smell and Nicky again did not like it one bit and the new house, was fun because he could run everywhere with Nora, which they did a lot of. Now the furniture which had disappeared in Ottawa had miraculously re-appeared in Charlottetown. Nora was happy, Nicky not so much, and one member of the family was missing, so for Nicky the equation was not perfect. He was mopping so much that I phoned the Vet to enquire what should I do. He went on a 3 day hunger strike, though he would eat treats and drink water, would pass on regular food.

The Vet assured me that A) dogs do not, ever, let themselves die of hunger. B) Nicky was stressed by the move and all the changes.  All the while I was busy getting the new place in to shape. Painters came in to re-paint the apartment on 7 June just days after our effects had arrived. Then the spouse arrived on 9 June and instantly Nicky found his Joie de vivre and bounced back. All was well now and he could put the move behind him.

I was telling the Vet that often people will say that dogs are just dumb animals, I disagree. We have had dogs for 26 years now all of them Dachshunds and found that dogs can be very perceptive often more so than humans. They have their own personalities, witness Nora and Nicky, they are so different from each other, they are not related having different parents but nonetheless they are individuals.

Nora speaks to us in varying growls with many different pitches depending on what she is trying to say to us. Nicky whines or whimpers, he never growls unless he feels threatened. Nora barks to sound the alarm if someone approaches but Nicky does not. Nicky barks only if he is warning someone not to get to close or else. He also barks once sharply at 07:30am every morning for his breakfast, Nora never does.

I am sure they are both happy with their new home. Nora has lots of new parks to explore and she enjoys it immensely, she also wants to throw herself into the Hillsborough river behind the house. We won’t let her because it is the harbour and I do not want to have to go in after her. Nicky still does not like to walk, he never did, too lazy.

Nicky and Nora hiding behind the hat.