4 Feb, 2021 : Thursday – THE Totally Tremendous Project – is it Tantalising?
Are you, like me, someone who likes having different projects? Bill and I got ourselves another new project in 2020. On the same day that we got the devastating news that Bill’s dad had passed away, we also got a call from the local pet shelter that the puppy we’d showed interest in adopting would be ours! The timing was good -whilst bad. Welcome, Pako. He turns out to be very very attached to him (who to whom? Bill to Pako, especially, I think!)
I had been visiting the kennel for a week, each time bringing another family member with me so we could walk Pako together. Everyone in the family had to agree that Pako could be ours if we were accepted as his owners. I had been the main carer of our previous sweetie female dog, but this one -I just knew it- had to be everyone’s responsibility. The kennel owner kept on repeating that this dog may become quite large and would need a family who would be there for him and not leave him alone a lot. Pako had already been abandoned by two other families and he was just 7 months old. We were made to understand that there would be work involved. This was going to be a commitment.
He quickly earned several nicknames. From 9pm to 9am he is ‘Mister Cutiepie’ (he is docile, gentle and very tired all night and loves sleeping in). The other 12 hours, he can be ‘Cringe dog’ or ‘Major Cringe’’ (when he gets into destruction mode or decides to steal our things), ‘Master protector’ (he has a viciously loud bark that he loves to demonstrate across the neighborhood) or he is in ‘Baby mode’ when he acts like a typical human toddler. We are constantly learning and adapting our strategies!
So, I guess we needed a new challenge -yes, 2020 wasn’t challenging enough for us! Pako teaches us so much, he keeps us on our toes and makes us laugh every day. By the way, I’ve already started drafting text for a book about this new project.
I know that those of you who have pets can relate to having good stories about them. Do you have any fun pet stories to share? I’d love to read them by email: booksbyannika@gmail.com
Here he is, as a puppy right before we got him, and a few months later. Yes, he grew fast.
Take good care of your sweet selves, as well as of your furry friends.
