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Independence Day celebrations - the scariest day ever!

Poor Suki does not take to the fireworks AT ALL. Yesterday afternoon she starting her shaking and quaking routine when little popping firecrackers were being set off in the neighborhood. We cooked on the grill in the evening, a veggie burger for Avinash and a hamburger for me. Suki ate two nibbles of hamburger and two graham crackers, but was really too upset to eat anything else yesterday.

We left her in the basement when we went to see the fireworks (which were especially loud and noisy this year) and when we got home she was a quivering bowl of jelly. To add insult to injury, the neighbors set off lots of loud firecrackers and Roman candles in the street outside our house every year and they did that until from 11 pm until about 1 am. Suki tried to hide underneath our knees at the table, underneath the bed (where she does not fit), in the corner in the bedroom - anywhere at all. She was basically inconsolable. Then after that quieted down, we had an exceptionally loud thunderstorm come through in the middle of the night. I awoke to hear her panting loudly and I tried to convince her to come downstairs to the basement where it is quieter and she feels safer. She could not be budged, so I went back to bed again. Then another thunderstorm, even louder, came through about 4 am and I was able to coax her down to the basement. I hugged her and sat with her and talked to her, but she wouldn't stop shaking and eventually turned away from me towards the wall and sat there quivering and panting. I left her there and in the morning the thunder had passed and her tail was raised and almost wagging again.

Back in Reedsburg

We're finally back from our trip to Door county. We left on Friday morning and reached Reedsburg a few minutes back. More later...

Suki serves as a guard dog!

Suki showed her worth as a guard dog in the middle of the night. I awoke in the middle of the night - everything was very quiet, except for some persistant rustling of the plastic bags we had left on the picnic table. I could tell there was a big raccoon, or pehaps two, looking through our bags for a bun we had left out. I got up and yelled at them, but they wouldn't move away. I was a little scared to approach them more closely, because so many raccoons are rabid. Finally I went to the car and coaxed Suki outside and when she lumbered out of the car, she immediately sensed the presence of the raccoons. The raccoons fled into the dark woods when they realized she was there, and Suki accompanied me back and forth from the table to the trunk putting all the bags securely away. She seemed quite interested in the raccoons, and almost forgot that she was so scared of the strange campsite and the firecrackers. Even a cream puff like Suki has some ability to protect the family in times of crisis!

To Door County

We left for Door county at around 10 in the morning. Suki started the trip on a positive note, as she usually does (In fact, she even had her breakfast!). After her morning walk, she hopped into the car with much enthusiasm. Friday started out being cold and sunny. The weather turned really cold (for July) later on in the day(~15 C). To make matters worse, it was quite windy also. Suki, of course, thought it was a tad warm that day, and was panting inside the car.

We'd reserved a camp site close to Bailey's Harbor, which is located by the joint of the thumb that is Door county. Suki behaved very well throughout the journey. She sat in the back, occupying almost the entire back seat. She got out of the car and walked in a couple of rest stops (duniawalon, read: toilets) where they had pet areas (duniawalon, ek baar phir, read: a veritable minefield of dog you-know-what). Suki, of course, was most interested in the heavily mined areas. Yuk!

We reached our camp ground at around 5 pm. We unpacked and started pitching our tent. Suki was a little interested in the place but seemed a little apprehensive at the same time. After putting the tent up, we left for Sturgeon Bay to buy some lighter fluid and wood. By the time we returned, the sun had almost set.

As soon as Suki got out of the car, she heard some crackers go off elsewhere in the camp ground. That pretty much ended Suki's camping joy. She started her shaking-pacing-freezing routine and was soon quite distressed. Eventually she went inside the car and stayed there all night, quite scared to even look up.

Need I Say More?!?

Suki and Badger

Shakin' Suki

Suki is shaking like a leaf even as I write this. We were sitting outside when somebody started bursting firecrackers in anticipation of the US independance day. I was sitting in a chair and Suki tried to bury her head under my thigh. She started shaking as soon as the first cracker went off; the shaking changed to nervous pacing after the second cracker; by the time the third cracker went off, she was frozen with fear, with her head under my thigh.

Fatty, meanwhile, almost won the Paramveer Chakra for bravery. She was not in the least bothered by the crackers. She came up to Suki and nuzzled Suki's feet, almost like she was trying to reassure the dog that everything was ok (not that it made any difference to Suki). Fatty and Suki both came inside after that. Suki followed me upstairs where she is sitting as close to me as possible. It looks like she's going to have a very difficult 4th of July this year. I wish they made ear plugs for dogs....

When Suki Met Badger

Suki made friends with Badger today. Badger is the Golden Retriever that lives across the street in the big, old Victorian house. For many days the Mr. Golden had been howling at Suki. Linda and I weren't sure if the howls were friendly or angry. We thought the howls bordered on aggression, so we made sure Suki didn't go very close to Mr. Golden.

However, this afternoon Linda took Suki across the road to introduce herself to the new neighbours. They said that they have just moved in from Indiana and Mr. Golden's formal name was Badger. Hmm..Badger moved to the right state, then. Anyway, they said Badger was actually completely harmless. Suki was then introduced to Badger. Even though dogs are colourblind, Suki can spot a Golden Retriever a mile away. She definitely has a weakness for handsome young Goldens. And Badger is as handsome and young as they come! I wasn't witness to the historic first meeting. However, I did see an encore later on.

Linda took Suki again to meet Badger. Both dogs bowed at each other like respectful Victorian (or Japanese) humans. They then jumped up, very unVictorian-like. Finally, they completed the introduction process with a good old, time trusted sniff of the you-know-what. Both dogs wanted to play with each other. But they were both hindered by their leashes. They sniffed each other and goofed around for a while. We took Suki for a short walk after that.

Suki after the cookie break

A cooler day

Suki was much more comfortable today as the temperature and humidity have dropped a bit. This morning she had an early walk before 6:30 and stayed outside until 7:00. She would not consider breakfast. She spent the day indoors in the cool house, and met me at the door at 3:15. We went for a long walk around Brittingham and Hixon lumberyard. She started out as the lead dog, as usual, and ended up trailing behind me.

After that, she rested on the back terrace until the fire station sirens went off for a fire. After about 5 minutes, she started to howl and I went downstairs and howled with her for a few minutes. It's a funny sight, because she has to think about it pretty hard before she will howl - but finds it to be quite an irresistable urge. She gets a goofy expression on her face and howls very softly (looking up at the moon) as if it is a bit of an embarassment.

The wireless router arrived today. Avinash was busy installing that, so I made dinner of spaghetti and meatballs, eating it in front of her until she was really in the mood to try and eat something. She went to the basement without her leash and ate half a bowl of dog food with cheese on top (like a good Wisconsin dog). That was followed up with several doggie treats and a cookie I made specially for her without any chocolate chips in it. She especially liked the cookie.

she ATE!

Suki surprised us both today by eating her supper. She refused it at breakfast and again at suppertime, but we had left the dish in the basement in case she might feel inclined to nibble on it later. So that's a total fasting time of 2.5 days - not at all bad for an out-of-town visit. The real challenge will come later this week, when we try camping for the first time. We are going to be making a short trip to Door County on a camping trip complete with campfire and tent.

More updates later!

Suki starts the great fast

Today Suki did not eat breakfast, although she did accept two small treats due to the fact that we made chocolate chip cookies and ate them in front of her. She did not eat dinner the night before, although she "helped" us eat a few nibbles of French toast Saturday morning. She took them to the living room, very discreetly, instead of eating them in the kitchen like us common folk. We found out later that she had spit most of them out (in the most ladylike fashion, of course) on the red Sarouk rug in front of the fireplace.

Suki went for many walks today and irritated the neighborhood black lab, the golden retriever, the Lhasa Apso, and other local mutts. She has been spending much of her time on the basement floor where it is cooler, even though we have the a/c on in the house. She is very white, fluffy, and huggable now.

Suki in the backyard

Sunday morning I got up at 5 and walked Suki. I put her in the backyard to enjoy the day before it got too hot and made two trays of cookies before leaving for work at 7.

Checking on the rest of the Baraboo flora and fauna

We went to see the Great Circus Parade on Saturday. It was quite hot and muggy and we thought that Suki would be better off staying home, so she rested in the basement while we took a jaunt to Baraboo. We stopped at Mom and Dad's house to check on the plants and the kitties. Darwin was his usual unresponsive self but appreciated a scratch under the chin. Fermi whined as he always does, but Jenny was very glad for a pat and she rolled around appreciatively in the driveway. Winston also made an appearance and I gave him some food. I also took two of the hanging baskets back to Reedsburg with us so that they could be frequently watered.

After the bath

Suki is verrrrrry glad to be out of the bathtub!

D-Day, B-Day!

Suki just finished her bath, her first in 2005. She's never ever happy to hear the B word, we don't know why. Most dogs I've met have liked bathing, even though never without drenching their owner as well.

The process began by bringing Suki upstairs. She did that quite cheerfully. She started to suspect something was wrong as soon as Linda started filling the bathtub. Her worst fears were confirmed when she got called to the bathroom. She took the farthest corner of the bathroom to sit and watch us fill the bathtub. The next step was to coax her to get into the bathtub. Each step is time consuming and makes you say Rama, Rama (reminds me of my grandmother and her life-threatening experience of giving Ricky his semi-annual bath)! Linda grabbed Suki by her front legs, while I lifted her hind legs. We put the much shivering Suki in the bathtub, finally. Now began the smelly part.

We wet her down and put shampoo all over her dirty coat. This process consumed about fifty litres of water. Another fifty went down the drain when we rinsed off the soap. Suki was quite dirty.

Suki emerged from the bathtub half an hour later, still shaking from the experience. She needed three huge beach towels to dry. Linda spent another half an hour brushing her and drying her some more. She'll start looking very fluffy and rabbit-like tomorrow. More tomorrow.....

Suki hiding in the farthest corner of the bathroom from the bathtub

D-DAY!

Today is dog day! Suki's here again. Her parents left for Alaska this morning, leaving Suki in our hands. Of course, like every time they've gone on trips, Suki was never let in on the secret. She thought she was going to Reedsburg for a ride, until the ride ended and didn't restart back to Baraboo.

D-Day Minus One!

Dog Days Minus Two

Two days before dog time starts......

The Distress Call

I was awakened this morning by a loud and persistant meowing. Rowena was standing outside the bedroom door and uttering an urgent distress call. I got out of bed and talked to her, but she did not indicate the source of her distress. I heard Ned trying to get out of the closet, where he had gotten himself stuck inside - but she kept meowing even after he got out. It was not until Ani went downstairs for breakfast that we realized what her agitation was about. Suki had left a large wet mess on the kitchen floor just next to the cat's food dishes. We had walked her just before bed, but aparently morning was a bit too long to wait after drinking one-too-many bowls of milk last evening. Suki was a bit ashamed and requested to go outside right away this morning, even though the weather was cold and clammy after the storm of last night.

This afternoon Suki is tired after having spent the day in the brisk wind. The sun is out now and our daffodils and tulips are 3-4 inches high today. Suki demonstrated her enjoyment of flowers by sitting on the flower bed in the back yard, but there was really no harm done this early in the spring season.

Tomorrow Mom and Dad are back. This is Suki's last night with us until Mom and Dad go to Alaska in June!

Another record!

Suki surprised everyone today by going down to the basement, where she is normally fed, and actually requesting dinner! She dined on dog food, sage stuffing, and summer sausage. She followed that up with several crunchy treats, a piece of wheat toast, and half of my chimichanga. Rowena was jealous and demanded to lick the plate.

After dinner, we all sat on the couch and watched Bollywood music videos on American Desi. This was followed by a feature where they condensed a B-grade Hindi movie into 1 hour, with commentary on its shortcomings, somewhat like Mystery Science Theater 3000.

A sign that spring is coming

A warm spring day

Today Suki spent the day outside again. The weather has turned springlike, all of a sudden, and although there are still remnants of snowbanks on the north sides of the property, the blustery South wind has brought some fine warm temperatures. I sat outside with Suki and Rowena for the first time since October without my jacket on. We have some lovely crocuses and snowdrops in bloom in our yard to herald the beginning of spring, but there are no signs of buds on the trees or greening of the grass yet. Suki is not inclined to come in at all when we went to work, or in the afternoon. She is quite content to sit on a large pile of oak leaves near the brick wall of the garage and puts heavy brakes on if we ask her if she wants to come in after a walk.

The dinner update for this evening: dinner was politely refused. Suki did accept several crunchy treats, as well as a piece of stale French toast and a burnt waffle and some cold milk. She indicated that she would like more waffles and French toast, but she had already eaten all of my breakfast-food leftovers that I had. Rowena was jealous of the entire snacking proceedings and would not stop meowing until I had given her some of my dinner (hamburgers). She normally does not get table scraps, but it is hard to refuse in the face of such obvious donations to Suki. Ned, meanwhile, escaped out the door in a huff and did not come back for several hours. Ned has now forgotten that he was ever upset and is wondering why he did not get any dinner.

That's all for tonight. More updates tomorrow!

Linda

Suki accepts 4 doggie treats after finishing her meal completely. She even came upstairs to the office to get the treat!

Another Earthquake!

There was yet another earthquake near Indonesia today. In the other headline for today, Suki ate her second consecutive meal! She was taken down to the basement to eat in privacy, as usual. Against all our expectations she ate her entire meal. Of course, a few tempting pieces of chicken parmigiana helped Suki arrive at a decision much more easily and quickly than with dog food alone. Ned and Fatty, meanwhile, are feeling very jealous about the dog's special treatment. Ned thinks that if he camels enough maybe he'll get some of the dog's special food. Fatty thinks that if she buttered the dog enough she'd get some of the dog's premium food. To that end she nuzzled Suki's legs this morning. More tomorrow. Suki is now ready for her night walk.

After her four course meal

Suki on Sunday

Suki spent most of the day outside today. She had her morning walk a little bit later than usual because I was frantically trying to install software and drivers on my new hard drive. While I waited for the new hard drive to gather data from the backup, Suki got her walk. As expected, she didn't want to go inside the house after the walk, so I left her in the back yard. She was quite happy to spend most of her time there. It helped that it was a nice and sunny day.

This evening Suki created a record by eating a four-course meal (yes, FOUR course!). The meal included treats (before and after the main course), one and a half onion bagels with butter, and dog food laced with Polska kielbasa. The last item was specially heated in the microwave for her. Another record of sorts was the fact that she had her meal without the leash. Suki declined some linguini pasta from Linda. Ned, meanwhile, is still quite insecure. He's been on his second best behaviour all day today. Maybe he'll show us his BEST behaviour tomorrow. He's a little obnoxious on his BEST behaviour days, though.

More tomorrow. It's expected to be a very nice day tomorrow, with the temperatures in the mid-teen degree Celsius. Suki will probably want to spend most of the day outside tomorrow also.

Ned was frightened of Suki, so he sought refuge in a grocery box.

Suki's Spring Break

Suki is back for spring break, while her parents have gone south. She came to Reedsburg yesterday. Like most other times we'd taken care of her, she had no clue what she was in for when she hopped into the car. She was quite excited for about half an hour after she arrived in Reedsburg. THEN she politely but persistently told us that she wanted a ride back home. We then told her equally politely and persistently that she was at home. The conversation went on like this for a few more minutes until she decided to flop down on the couch for the night. More later...