I was a gooooood girl Santa!

I'm expecting a lot of pressies for this one Santa!!

Mum has been working until really late lately because she has a lot of deadlines to meet before X-mas if she wants to have the week off. Last night was no different except she worked until about 4 am this morning because all of her co-workers were taking a day off to go skiing at Cypress Mountain. Mum said she didn't want to leave me home all day (I think she just would rather spend her day with me), so she didn't go. Instead, she slept in until REALLY REALLY late. She did get up at 7 o'clock this morning to let me out in the yard and she went back to bed.

I did my usual kind of stuff in the yard; I dug, I ran up and down the side walk way to keep MY yard and MY house crow free, I dug some more, I slept on my outdoor heated bed (it is now covered in dirt), I barked at a few passerby dogs, and etc. Basically I was keeping myself busy while waiting for mum to get up.

However, that woman can sleep and I got bored waiting, so I went and sat on my ramp and started whining. That woke mum up, and when she came out to see me, she snapped this photo.



Mum got ready, put on her doggie clothes, grabbed a poo-poo bag, put on my harness and we walked (it was more like running for me) towards the gate.

AND THEN.....mum saw THIS!!!



We've been having really strong wind the last couple of days, we even lost power for three hours on Tuesday. Our neighbour's little boy came over last night for math tutoring, and he must have accidentally forgotten to make sure the gate latch was down all the way and the wind must have blown the gate open.

Mum told me I was a very good girl to stay on the property. I knew the gate was open all along since I was running up and down the walk way chasing crows and barking at them. Even mum said she heard me huffing and puffing up and down the side of the house (she was sleeping on the sofa bed because I took her bed upstairs). However, it never came across my mind to leave MY yard, and MY mum and go wonder. Afterall, I am the dog that nobody, other than mum could get to leave MY property. Grandpa couldn't even take me out for a walk if mum was home and I LOOOOVE my grandpa very much!!

Which reminds me of another incident that happened back in 2004.... (I hope I'm not too late to score points with Santa on this one!!)


March 2004

It was a busy Saturday, while out on our neighbourhood stroll, mum decided to go and get a Starbucks coffee. So she tied me outside of a very busy (on that day) Starbucks and went to wait in line inside.

I was being a very good girl, keeping an eye on mum you know. Then there came this man who decided to untie my leash for some unknown reason and he wanted me to walk with him. He was talking to me and telling me "Let's go, come on." I gave him one look and ignored him. Then he started pulling on my leash to try and get me to go, but I put on my brakes and tried very hard to stand my ground and not move. I am a solid girl, so when I decide that I don't want to move, it's hard to get me to move (mum: very true indeed). Sheer force never does any good with dogs like me (mum: beg and pray work way better). I guess that idiot didn't realize that and decided to grab my harness and try to force me to move. When he did that, I lost my patience and I growled (you've heard my good growl haven't you?) and snapped at his arm. Boy did that get him mad and he jerked my leash so hard that half of my harness was over my head. He was being very mean.

Thank doG there was this nice lady who saw the whole thing from the beginning and she came over to the idiot and asked him if it was really necessary to be this rough to me. He said something nasty to her while still trying to get me to move without actually coming close to me now because I had snapped at him. This nice lady then told him that she was going to report him to the SPCA and said "no wonder your dog doesn't want to go with you.".

They had a few more exchange of words when mum finally came out with her coffee. I was so happy to see her and I started pulling towards her and jumping on her while grumbling and barking (I was trying to tell her about that mean man). As soon as the man saw this, he let go of the leash and ran across the street and he was gone. The nice lady asked mum right away if I was her dog, mum said yes, and the nice lady called the police right away. I kept trying to tell mum that the stupid man was trying to get me to walk with him, but mum looked REALLY confused. She wasn't listening to me because the nice lady had started talking to mum and telling her what had just happened.

Yes, the mean man was trying to steal me, under broad daylight. The police were way too late when they showed up, and weren't much help at all - since it was involving a dog, and the dog was okay. *eye roll*

This incident scared mum so much because we live in Vancouver Westside, a well known, well respected area. People here are well educated, respectful of each other, and love their animals. The man who tried to steal me was well dressed, and completely normal looking.

Anyway, about two weeks after this incident, an Airedale was taken outside of a Safeway in Downtown Vancouver (a bridge away from Vancouver Westside). The security tape caught the person in act, but we're not sure if the dog was found or returned to the owner. And then another Airedale pup supposedly ran away from his dog walker and later on reported missing, then a year later, was found to be sold to a new family. All three incidents happened within a two month period.

Needless to say, mum does NOT tie me outside anywhere now. I am either with mum, or at home, or in the car. Mum was a little worried about leaving me in the car at first after that incident, but then she saw how protective (or nasty....) I get when I'm in the car that she does sometimes leave me in the car while she runs short errands.

I always get worried when I see cute little dogs that are tied outside stores. So I always make sure to go over and tell them about my experience because if it can happen in my area, it can happen ANYWHERE!!