Dog Tales

I'll begin this post by saying that I've never really considered myself  'a dog person'.  I'm not keen on the low level house destruction a dog causes and the full time attention that our canine friends require. In all honesty, I prefer cats with their independence and less demanding companionship. However, we have a dog, little Luna, and despite all my reservations I cannot help but be hopelessly attached to her as part of our family. This week in The Little House my feelings have been put to the test as Luna has been poorly, so much so that we had to call out the vet and she went in as an emergency last Sunday for investigation as to what was causing the problem. An anxious wait, a few sleepless nights and scrambled egg laced with doggy antibiotics, and I'm pleased to report that she is on the mend and much more her usual self.

Her usual self is an excitable one. She bounds about the house in the hopes that someone will play with her and if they don't respond then she steals something in order to force them into a favourite game of 'chase me'. Socks are a favourite, slippers, toys, even the Sky remote. Like lots of small dogs she doesn't have an accurate perception of her size and she seems to think she's a much bigger scarier dog than she really is. She is, in fact, the perfect size for Build-a-Bear clothes as the girls like to prove on an all too regular basis.

Luna is a Bichon Frise which quite literally translates as 'curly lap dog' - an accurate description. This breed is apparently white and they have a double coat which, although is good for anyone who normally would have an allergy to dogs, is prone to the very worst sort of matts and tangles. When we are no longer able to cope with it using our full range of Pets r Us grooming tools, we call in the professionals. 'Whiffy Woofers' the grooming technicians arrive in their mobile unit and at least an hour later Luna emerges looking very much like a small, rather startled, shorn lamb. This process costs us more than it does for me to have a cut and blow-dry at my hairdressers!

Wool cycle maybe?

Luna was rescued from a puppy farm and was definitely the runt of the litter; even now she tends to take a small amount of food from her bowl and run off to a corner to eat it .  She suffers with many of the inherited disorders common to this breed including allergies, cataracts and deafness.  This means that when she's off the lead she doesn't always hear us when we call her and even if she does, she's not quite sure where we are. Once when we were out at the beach she ran back to another family altogether and got really quite distressed when she realised they weren't us!  She barks at the washing on the line convinced it's a person moving around outside.  

Despite all of her imperfections and quirks we all love her; it's hard not to be won over by such an endearing little creature. The Wonderful Man even has to admit that she has a special place in his heart though he did insist on changing her pink lead and collar to a more manly black. 

Favourite place: by the log burner of course

Linking this post up with Hello Wall and #somethingfortheweekend.