Happy Halloweenie!

Today we had a Halloween party.  Humans look ridiculous in costumes, and then they try to dress up us dogs as well.  Uncle John came dressed up as a prisoner, which he said wasn’t a far stretch from his day job.  Crystal came as a gothic devil (accurate costume!), Dad a pregnant woman, and Uncle Ken was a she-devil.  They put a wig on me to loook like a woman as well.  It’s bad enough that Dad cross-dresses, but it is it really necessary to cross-dress the dog too??

Auntie Helen came and made a fried food feast with beer battered catfish, shrimp, and chicken, none of which they gave me a bite of.  Mom was afraid the grease might give me gas.  Dog farts tend to be more offensive than human ones, yet everyone thinks those are funnier, so what’s the harm? 

He needs to come hang out more often!

Uncle Jon, Dad, Uncle Ken

Halloween is stupid.

Yummy!

Haha! This guy is funny!!

Time out! Something itches!

Man, that was tiring.

Company

Tonight Mom and Dad transported Lola the Lovebird from her lonely house in Richmond to Dad’s house where it’s warmer and there’s more activity and stimulation.  I have mixed feelings about this.  I’m used to being the only pet in the house, now I have to share everyone’s attention.  Supposedly birds are low maintenance, but this one chatters.  She better not wake me up in the morning or I’ll have lovebird stew.

You smell funny.

Is she here to stay??

Fort Funston

Today was probably the most fun I’ve had in LONG while. We went with Uncle Dennis and my pitbull cousin Alva for some doggie play at Fort Funston. Alva is an 8 year old, 80 lb American Staffordshire. Mom was amazed at how well behaved Alva is offleash. He wouldn’t go far from Uncle Dennis and kept checking in with him after running off. He also played nicely with other dogs.

Man, I was leashed the whole time!! That sucks, there were so many dogs that were running amok. I wanted to frolic and sniff as I please. But Mom was afraid that with my energy, I might go running off a cliff or start more dogfights like before. She was also concerned that I might never come back, which is probably true. After all, they don’t call it Fort FUNston for nothing!

Uncle Dennis was showing Mom some tough love training techniques, because obviously what she was doing wasn’t working. I can’t help it, when I see other dogs running like crazy, I gotta jump in! I haveta join the pack!! So I was made to sit and my leash is yanked a lot, especially when they know I’m about to bolt. By the end of the walk, Uncle Dennis said he noticed an improvement. But I really had just exhausted my energy. Haha.

Check out more pics here: http://picasaweb.google.com/kristinelng/FortFUNston#

Need playmate

It’s been a week since we returned Chato and the house still feels empty.  Dad said he missed that little runt.  Mom was actually on Petfinder looking for a little brother or sister for me.  Little dogs didn’t appeal to her until Chato came along.  Too bad Cousin Andi was’t around to meet him.  But then again if she did, she probably wouldn’t want to give him up.

Uncle Dennis came by a few days ago for dinner.  That guy is a crackup – he must have been a dog in a previous life.  He even put his lips about 1 inch from mine and made sputtering sounds.  I thought that was cool, but Mom and Dad were grossed out.

Chato’s home!

This morning when Mom was walking Chato and I, a boy named Cesar stopped her and asked if she found the dog.  She said, “Yes!”  He said his aunt who lived half a block away has been missing him the last few days.  Mom went to the house and no one answered the door.

We tried again during our midday walk and this time, Chato’s mom answered the door.  She was so surprised and happy to see him!  She thought he was gone for good, and had prayed that he’s in the care of a good person.  Apparently, his Chihuhua brother Pepe missed him too, barking in the wee hours of the night while he was gone.  Chato seemed happy to be home.  (He is an 8 year old shih tzu.)  Thanks Cesar for helping Chato find his way home!  Now I can be top dog in my household again!

Home at last with mommy Blanca

Yay! Finally home.

Potty training

So far, no word from Chato’s family, if he has one.  Yesterday, a letter was sent to the address on his ID tag. 

Mom decided that if Chato is going to stick around, he has to be potty trained.  He leaves little squirts all over the place.  Good thing it’s mostly hardwood floor.  Dad doesn’t see them because his eyes are bad, but Mom has eagle eyes thanks to Lasik.  She can spot a drip or puddle anywhere.

Yesterday they contained Chato to a small area in the kitchen with his bed and a pee pee pad.  But it turns out that Chato is quite an escape artist.  He’ll find any and all ways to get out by pushing the boxes or crawling through the box barrier. 

Trying to sleep was a whole other story.  Chato discovered that if he makes sickly noises, Mom will come running out.  When his containment area was sufficiently barricaded and he couldn’t get out, he started making these horrible hacking sounds.  But when Mom came out, the noises would stop and he would just look at her.  So she learned to ignore it.  And so the noises went on.  And on.  And on.  After awhile, I got up, looked at Mom and basically said, “Are you going to do something about it?”  Unfortunately, there wasn’t much she could do.  So I suffered without much sleep!

Let me outta here! I need free roaming room to pee.

Is he still here????

After a frantic search, we realized Chato had not gotten far from his area.

Chato is still here…

Today Mom called Animal Control and made a Found report.  If no one claims him in 30 days, then he’s ours.  He’s going to hang out here so he doesn’t have to be put in a cage with the other lost mutts.  Yesterday, she also put a notice on Craigslist.  And today she will mail a letter to the address on Chato’s ID tag. 

Poor Chato.  His teeth haven’t been brushed and his gums aren’t in good shape, which is probably the reason for his bad breath.  He’s not a very high energy dog, likes to follow Mom around and sleep.  He seemed pretty clean, but his underside was dirty so Mom gave him a bath.  His nails were long so she trimmed them too.

Walking with him is a challenge.  I’m a strong dog and walk fast, but Chato waddles slowly.  When I pee on something, Chato sniffs it and pees there too.  Once, he almost got caught in my stream because he’s so short.  Hmm, being a big brother is kinda neat.

Chato can eat big dog food.  Mom gave him some of my kibble with chicken, and he gobbled it up.  He likes to be held, hence the term lap dog.  And when anyone approaches him, he goes belly up for tummy rubs.  So what!  Big dogs can be cute too.

Belly up on Mom’s lap

Chato’s favorite spot is under Mom’s desk

Why do I have to share my bed?

Playmate for the Day

Today Dad found a lost dog.  He was lounging under a tree a few doors down.  His name is Chato and he’s from South San Francisco.  It looks like he got a recent haircut, but his nails are very long.  He’s not much of a playmate.  He wasn’t interested when I gave him the cordial sniff sniff.   Why can’t we find bigger, friendlier dogs?? 

Chato waddles around, probably because his long nails prevent him from walking normally.  And he has a lower incisor that just protrudes up his lip.  Mom gave him some treats.  He follows her into the house rather than play with me.  All of those toy dogs like people more than other dogs (see Chihuahua post: 1/30/2007). 

Unfortunately, no one answered the number on his tag.  Hopefully we can get him home soon so I can continue being the center of attention.

I don’t really like you either.

Chato’s pee pee was muddy, and he left little nut stamps on the floor until Mom and Dad rinsed it off.

Toby Toons

Check out these thigh-slappers.

Dangerous Doggie Foods

Anyone taking care of me should read this:  http://www.petalia.com.au/Templates/StoryTemplate_Process.cfm?specie=Dogs&story_no=257

Onions and garlic have a toxicity that cause a dog’s red blood cells to burst.  So if you’re giving me your leftover garlic roasted chicken, make sure it’s boiled!  Once I gnawed on a leg of lamb and had the runs.  There was probably garlic in it.  Please, there is no Pepto for pooches so be careful when giving me human food!