Coming Home

My entire life changed a few days before Christmas. My mother gave me pearls of parting wisdom; reminding me of my manners, potty training 101 and that she would always love me. I was too young to understand the gravity of the situation, but ,fortunately, my puppy heart was not too broken. Although memories of my mother will always live buried deeply in the recesses of my heart, mind and soul, the day I saw her for the last time does not exist as a painful trigger, but rather a tranquil joy I feel right into my very existence. As expected, my father hardly gave a cursory glance. My custodian, Riana, sent me off with the care package I spoke about in my previous post, as well as an embroidered blanket and a toy which smelled like my mother and my home, to comfort me as I adjusted to my new life.

Everyone said their goodbyes and I found comfort snuggled up in my blanket on my new mommy's lap. The car ride was a blur, as all the excitement of the farewell had tuckered me out, and I slept the entire two hour journey to my new home in Gauteng.

Sister Leia

When I got home, I was introduced to my new sisters - a Shar Pei named Leia, and a Husky named Mishka. Leia got her name from a movie franchise called Star Wars, because her ears make her look like the princess. She was pretty excited to meet me, but the meeting was carefully monitored as sometimes Leia comes on a bit too strong. Mishka was very old, 18 years to be precise, so I was told to leave her alone. She is Dad's first love, so I was not allowed to annoy her in anyway. I didn't really interact with her, as she was quite lethargic and had Diabetes, but I was sure to lie with her, to spend time with her at her own pace.

Chilling with Mishka

I settled in very quickly. I was very eager to play with all my new toys, and was not too devastated after leaving my original family to eat my four daily meals. I had to eat my food out of a special slow feeder bowl, which was seriously frustrating. Apparently I eat too fast and am prone to something called bloat, so they say it is for my own good. I was sure to let them know about my protests by chewing up my expensive bowl and throwing it around the garden. Fortunately, my 'elevensies' of yoghurt or scrambled eggs were served to me in a more proper manner, on a plate.

Later in the evening, my new parents put me to bed in a baby pen in the bedroom. That night I stayed in the pen, as I was exhausted after such a long day. However, no baby pen could stop me! The next night I slipped through the bars of my would-be prison with no effort at all and went wandering around the house and the garden in the middle of the night. This scared my new mommy, so the next day, my new parents went to buy plastic chicken wire to fortify my jail cell. They spent hours making sure they would keep me safely contained. Unfortunately for them, I could still slip through the corners. They then blocked those with towels, but those just became ladders that I could use to crawl out. They eventually accepted that no bars were going to hold this sassy girl out, and I was free to roam the bedroom as I pleased. I don't mean to brag, but I hardly ever messed in the house. My new parents basically got a pre-potty trained pup, because my mother was a great teacher. They were also sure to take me outside before bed, and all the adoration I received for doing my business made me proud to put on the potty show for them. I must also add that I never cried, I am a brave and noble rough collie, my cries of protests were about real problems, like the aforementioned slow feeder of starvation, or my new parents not obliging my mighty prey drive by playing tug-of-war with me in the middle of the night.

Sleeping in my Temporary Prison

It did not take me long to show my off my superior intelligence. I learned to sit and lie down in a matter of hours. I will do absolutely anything for food, it is my kryptonite! My treat of choice, 100% dried lamb liver treats. I seemed to learn these tricks through instinct. Looking up at your hand for the morsel of deliciousness, no problem, I will sit down for that. Pointing at the floor with the yumminess in your hand ... I get it, lie flat. It's so obvious, I should give a Ted Talk about it to help my fellow pooches. Another accomplishment was fetch. I would once again like to point out the obvious: I like playing, they like throwing, so I will bring it back for more. Dropping the toy was a bit of a challenge, as I love showcasing my strength with an intense game of tug-of-war, but I realised I had to relent for the game to continue, so now we have compromised with a balance of the two games.

I was also subjected to a bath shortly after my arrival. It was incredibly humiliating. Firstly, I was drenched with tepid water, leaving me soaked and my hair flat and stringy. Then I was lathered up with puppy shampoo and looked like a tan and white cloud of candy floss. On top of that, I lost all the wonderful aromas I had picked up from rolling in various perfumes in the garden. After I was rinsed, I was man-handled with a towel and then blasted by warm air from the noisy old dragon, raised from its lair to puff air through my soggy fur. Then the awful brush which puffed me up like a prancing poodle. The only upside to this experience were the cuddles, kisses and fawning that ensued. Little did I know, I was being coiffed and preened like a show pony to go meet my equine sister for a Christmas day photoshoot.