When The Dog Becomes A Real Dog (And Knows It)

While we were in Canberra and Sydney recently, JD boarded at her regular dog hotel in Tuen Mun. While she watched me pack and pack for The Rockstars, I also packed a shopping bag of treats, bones and a new toy for her. She gets a “vacation” too. (She’d gotten bored with just the regular 2 hour daily park walks because try as I might, I didn’t spend as many long weekend afternoons out with her as I used to. I could easily blame the discomfort of HK summer, unpredictable rain, mosquitos that leave angry welts and scars. But deep down I know a very small part of me has gotten lazier now, with two kids.) And we brought JD home a giant tennis ball all the way from a Coles near the ski resort. (What? I bet it smells different!)

JD was whom I would open the bathroom door to, when I got back from a bad day at work and thought no one else noticed. She was always…. there. In the background napping. With me. It wasn’t any particular incident, but weeks before we left I’d noticed her simply not in the same room with me always, the way she used to be. That’s when I knew we’d gotten less close. She knew she had become a *Real Dog.

So anyway Kings hit the ground running (as usual) once we got back, and his one day with us was last Sunday (as in, the whole next week, Sunday included, he’s away at work). I really, really just wanted to sit somewhere sans mosquitos and sticky heat and unpredictable rain and watch Little Miss toddle about in relative comfort.

*A Real Dog: We met an older Asian man and his son, both from San Francisco, who were passing thru HK while we were with JD, and he had many questions about “the female Border Collie” because he had finally made the move to place an order with a reputable breeder for another one, after mourning the one from his youth for many years. “You had her first (before the kids) like we did (indicating his grown up son). You know, we treat them like people, until the kids arrive and then no matter how hard we try, they become Real Dogs. And they know it…..” He’s right. I only called the boarders’ once, long distance, to see if she was alright. Usually we call every 4 days thereabouts.

So after too many weeks without “JD time,” we finally, finally made it up to her after church with not one but two excursions on Sunday. The full 2.8km walk and another park (by which time both Kings and my iPhones had died and so no pics sorry).

And it felt good. (And the moment we stepped back into our home was when another squally thunderstorm hit. There have been so many occasions where we have just been very blessed, avoiding accidents, bad weather….) And so JD’s back to napping in the same room as me when she can. Not in the middle of the night though, because she can’t be bothered when I get up with the baby – the Real Dog is a smart dog.

And Rockstar, impatient in the heat, had to be told repeatedly by Kings to stop hurrying Little Miss along by picking her up and walking fast with her while JD had her park fix. Right up until Kings did it himself 😀

Same picking up position, different location (more later)

ps: From not being in the least bit huggy, Rockstar now loves doing this, picking Little Miss up when he’s impatient she walks too slowly, or goes somewhere he doesn’t approve of. Little Miss has started to protest. Rockstar even has a name for it. It’s the “You’re Not The Boss Of Me Sound”.