Idiosyncrasies

Jenny taught me a new word. It is called idiosyncrasies. She said it is a kind of peculiarity or eccentricity that helps to characterize someone. I told her that I didn't have any, but she disagreed. According to her most dogs or people have idiosyncrasies and don't even know it. They sound kind of sneaky to me. She said that you have to get to know someone very well before their idiosyncrasy becomes visible. She says I have two.

Idiosyncrasy no. 1 - obsessive paw licking

Apparently I become mesmerized when I lick my front paws. Jenny attributes this to my high strung, obsessive nature. I prefer to think of myself as alert, and focused. I mostly lick my front paws when I'm bored, which is quite often. I find the days long especially during the cold season. My parents give me a lot of attention, but sometimes it's not enough and I have to take matters into my own paws.

Idiosyncrasy no. 2 - sitting down while I eat

My parents have never seen a dog eat sitting down before. I don't see the big deal, after all they eat sitting down everyday! So what's the difference? Whenever I do it they find it amusing and tell me I look cute, but I eat sitting down for a very good reason that has nothing to do with cuteness. My front legs are much shorter than my back ones so if I eat standing up I slide around on the kitchen floor. To avoid sliding I have to control my muscles and shift my weight around. As you can imagine it is most annoying. It didn't take long before I realized that sitting would be the solution.

Although I pride myself on my keen powers of observation I'm not sure what my parents idiosyncrasies are yet. It's almost like the moment when you're out walking in the grass and you smell something familiar but completely unidentifiable. I will have to watch them more closely and report back at a later date.

I shall show great resolve in my resolve to solve this mystery!

With love & cuddles,
Lottie



Lesson# 31 Idiosyncrasies are both fascinating and contradictory. They are simultaneously unique and common, hidden and revealing.

Opportunities

I ran so fast this morning my feet almost lifted off the ground! Jenny and I had barely begun our morning walk when we saw something amazing just metres down the street. Without any hesitation on our parts we bolted towards dozens of unsuspecting Canada Geese. Up they flew startled and angry, frantically filling the sky with their massive bodies. We kept running up and along the grassy burm for many metres until we stopped abruptly to watch and listen. The huge group of birds divided themselves in half. One group went westward up over the highway, while the other flew eastward towards the river. We stood there captivated until their honking faded away. I reverberated with excitement and found it increasingly hard to contain myself. Eager to hold onto this feeling I replayed the moment in my mind as we continued our walk together. What luck! It was a feathery opportunity that just doesn't present itself everyday.

Much to my pleasure an opportunity of a different kind quickly became visible. I slowly leaned over, wiped my neck into the grass then threw myself onto the ground. As I lay on my back I shook from side to side in a motion Jenny likes to call my "wiggle worm". At home she finds this amusing but at this moment she shouted "Lottie stop! That's goose poop! Yuck! Dirty." She gave my leash one quick yank then I was up and moving along beside her while she continued to say "Yuck! Dirty". After announcing it was time to go home I foresaw the haircut and shampoo which would undoubtedly follow, but it didn't matter. Before we made it home I decided that it was worth it.

With love & cuddles,
Lottie



Lesson# 30 Seize all opportunities big or small without regret!

The Mirror

Jenny did the strangest thing today. She picked me up, held me tight, and made me look at myself. I stared into a mirror, and I didn't like it one bit. First, I don't like being picked up (unless I'm tired or being placed into a lap). Secondly, I don't understand why she wanted me to watch myself in the mirror.

I've been trying to figure out this human mystery but so far no luck. What is the mirrors purpose?

Was Jenny trying to show me something? I don't know what it could have been, afterall I know what Jenny looks like and she knows what I look like. Besides the mirror made Jenny and I look funny. It mostly looked like us, but we looked slightly different somehow, almost backwards.

Was she waiting for something to happen? Was the mirror supposed to talk like the movie box does? I've never caught the mirror doing anything. It just sits there and doesn't move, speak, or eat. We have many other objects in the house that perform a function. The chair pulls out for sitting, the refrigerator opens and closes and most importantly holds food, the plants grow, the radio sings, but what does the mirror do?

The mirror was smooth and sleek and kind of clear almost like the window, but much less useful in my opinion. The window lets me see many things. It shows me the streets around us, trees, houses, birds, people passing by, cars, dogs, and it also keeps the cold wind out.

When windows are clean (not like the car windows that I lick compulsively) I believe they showcase the world accurately. As far as I can tell the mirror shows us only distorted images of ourselves.

While I'm no closer to understanding what the mirrors purpose is, I do feel that I understand what it is not. It is not truthful or useful and should be moved aside for something that is.

With love & cuddles,
Lottie



Lesson # 29 Mysterious things devoid of truth or utility have no place in a happy home.

Fears

As hard as I try to act tough, there are three things that make me want to run home and hide.

1. The garbage truck

It has been many sleeps since I last heard the shriek and rumble of the garbage truck and even longer since I saw it head on, but it is enough to last a lifetime. You may think I'm being dramatic, but to me the garbage truck is frightening. It is the biggest and strangest looking car I've ever seen. I think it likes to taunt me with its frequent starting and stopping. It wants me to lower my defences and think everything is fine then once it believes I've fallen for the trick, it will run me down. I've noticed it doesn't treat its rider well either. It makes him stand (not sit like in a normal car) outside in all temperatures. It's just a cruel, noisy machine. I don't know why Jenny isn't scared of it. Sometimes I think she is not as sensible as she appears.

2. The dark.

I really don't like being outside after dark. I hate not being able to see much past my nose. How am I supposed to protect my parents or myself if I can't see? What if something jumps out in front of us? I need advance notice of such things so I can formulate a plan. Daylight affords me this precious time. When deciding whether to attack or run I need to weigh the odds. The exception to this is bedtime. That is the only time I find the dark calming. During these moments the darkness helps me fall asleep even faster than usual.

3. The veterinarian.

I don't like visiting his house at all. He always has different animals there who look and smell scared. He also pokes at my teeth, claws, and sometimes gives me a needle or worse! I've been the victim of drugging on two occasions. Most recently, I woke up afterwards and was sore for days. I don't know why my parents keep taking me back there. I know they love me so they must have a reason. So what is the reason?

After these scary moments have passed I return to my regular self, but the memory is never far behind me. In fact it sometimes creeps into the present from the future. Jenny says that if I want to stop being scared I have to be courageous and face my fears head on. She makes it sound like a final showdown from a cowboy movie. Do I feel lucky?

With love & cuddles,
Lottie



Lesson# 28 Fears differ and overcoming them takes more than luck, it takes courage.

The monster and the strangers

I'd like to report that the lump I recently had removed was a histiocytoma! Although this sounds bad, it isn't. My parents told me that it is a another way of saying benign tumor, which means I can continue being my cute self for many years to come.

This past week seemed rather ordinary until last night. It all started when Jenny and I returned from our walk. We came up the driveway and as I got closer to the window I saw a monster! It had an orange face that glowed with a smug kind of evil that seemed vaguely familiar. Had we met before? I didn't know what to do so I ran up to it and barked. It didn't do anything but stare. It did this so well that I didn't see it blink once! Jenny told me not to worry then we went inside.

I decided to visit Dad. After a few minutes I stopped thinking about the glowing face and fell asleep. The next thing I remember was being woken up by people at the door shouting "Trick or Treat!" I wanted to run and see who it was but Dad said I had to stay with him. No amount of whining changed my parents minds. Why wouldn't they let me see who it was? I could have told the strangers to go away. Wouldn't they have appreciated this? The people couldn't have been friends or family because none of them stayed. Who were these strange people?

After a long time Jenny opened up the door and I ran into the living room. The strange face was still there but now it was on the floor, and it wasn't glowing. Was it dead? Did it jump off the windowsill and die? I ran over to the mysterious entity and smelled it. It had a warm, chemical kind of plastic smell. Next I noticed it had a very long tail with two sharp points on it. I've never met anyone with a tail like that. Once I determined it posed no threat to my family I turned my back on it and walked away.

This morning when I entered the living room I noticed that it was gone. Was it all a dream? Or did it trick me into believing it was dead so it could get away? Why are there so many questions and so few answers?

With love & cuddles,
Lottie



Lesson# 27 Strange things sometimes occur without warning or explanation.