Relaxing in the Grass

Since the weather has been nicer, AND since Zoli has been behaving so much better we've been sitting in the courtyard, basking in the sun. There is construction going on in my building and Z loves to watch all the goings on. His nose is constantly sniffing around and those ears are always on alert. He loves it when some of the workers come over to pet him and tell him how wonderful he is (not at all spoiled!)

Today he was eating grass...guess his belly hurts, could be his meds. He's back on allergy pills (spring in Cincinnati!) and it's making him eat and drink more...which also means he needs to go outside more often. He wants to be out about every 4 hours. I'm trying to stretch it out as I don't want him to get too used to such a luxury. But, since I have the time, he's getting an additional walk every day. Good for us both!!

He's living the life of Riley, for sure!

Training

Zoli and I started some more training last week - it's supposed to socialize him with other dogs. We have had three sessions and he's really doing well. He definitely shows a lot of anxiety which comes out either as completely ignoring other dogs - like he doesn't even see them! - or going crazy. We're trying a new choke collar which seems to work better than any we've tried thus far. Today he worked with another dog, Brutus - a cute boxer, and they walked together and did great! When we got home he was exhausted - way too much stimulus going on! He zonked out for the rest of the day! Today on our afternoon walk there was a dog across the street and he barely paid any attention to it! (of course it was a big 4 lane street, but still!) Baby steps...we'll continue training until he can handle seeing new dogs close up without going bonko!

He loved them... to DEATH!

It was a dark and stormy night as I walked up to 2356 Park Ave. I could tell the minute I entered the house that something was amiss. It was quiet... too quiet. Normally Zoli would have met me at the door, but not tonight. Where was he? What was he up to? What had he done? I slipped off my shoes at the door and slowly walked through the darkness, pondering the possibilities...maybe he got into the garbage, maybe he found the treats and ate them all, maybe he pulled down all the toilet paper from the rolls - it could be anything! Finally I stepped into my bedroom..."What the...?" I felt it then, something under my foot, something soft, cotton like. I closed my eyes and flipped on the light. With much trepidation I looked around and finally saw her. Miss Alligator... lying on the floor-lifeless-stuffing all around her! After gaining my composure I carefully backed out of the room - remembering that this was not the first time...

It was shortly after Christmas. Monkey was new to the household. A gift from Grandma. Zoli loved him! He slept with him, hugged him, played with him all the time. They were inseparable. One day I noticed a change in Monkey... his face seemed a little...less, not quite as full. And more disconcerting, I was starting to find little pieces of stuffing scattered around the house. I would pretend nothing was wrong, gather them up and sew them back inside Monkey. Zoli seemed quite unconcerned with this. He would casually watch me sew Monkey back up as if he didn't have a care in the world. This became a pattern; over and over again I would sew up Monkey. Then one day it happened...Zoli performed a complete lobotomy on Monkey...emptied his whole head out, even the little squeaker was pulled out and tossed aside! I though he was beyond repair, but I couldn't give up. Monkey was sewn back up one last time and put on the floor. But, Zoli was no longer interested. He seemed to know that Monkey was just not the same. So now Monkey is unrecognizable, his head a bit deformed, his squeaker a little less squeaky. Miss Alligator was brought into the house as a cheap replacement. I should have known it was only a matter of time until she too met her untimely death...

I scooped up the gutted remains of Miss Alligator, preparing to put her pieces back together. In the meantime, I had to find the culprit. Where was he hiding? What other horrors might await me? I silently crept through the house winding my way to the back bedroom. It was there that I found him...calmly lounging on the bed, "playing" with his plush, new Octopus... NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!