Happy birthday Aschiuta!

Today we lazed in bed for a while and when Scorp woke up, I told him "It's Aschiuta's designated birthday". So, he grabbed doggie and gave her a big hug and started singing "Happy birthday to pooch".

She's a big doggie now...

It's Aschiuta's first birthday today, at least the one we chose for her in her health file.

Pooch was found in the street as a pup. She was barely one month old at the time and looked very lonely.

At first, we thought she was older, so we chose her birthday as April 14. On a closer inspection and judging by the time she started changing her baby teeth, we talked to the vet and decided it would be May 14. This date is a combination between Scorp's and my birthdays: my month and his date.

Small fuzzy pup...

She has been with us for almost a year now and we've seen her grow older, wiser, into a very energetic dog. We've gone through health problems, vaccination, fleas and train and car rides. She has chewed on a lot of things and ate some things she shouldn't have. She has kept us warm during the cold winter nights and made us laugh and play when we were upset and worried.
 

She is our dear pooch and we are happy she's with us. And we don't plan on giving up on her either.

Many happy returns of the day, pooch!

Spreading awards left and right

Few people might know this, but today is my birthday. Also, Aschiuta's designated birthday will be on the 14th of May.
 

Here, on birthdays, we usually take our friends out for a beer or something similar, to celebrate. I'd offer you all a virtual glass of beer or wine or whatever you fancy, but, since this is blog land, I'll share something more appropriate with you. It's small and insignificant, but what the heck.

A little while ago, I got the Kickass Commentor Award from Conquering the World. I want to say thank you to Pencil Girl for offering it to me. It is now time to spread it around the world.

I want everyone of my friends, followers, bystanders to feel free and take it with no obligation. This is how it was given to me and this is how I pass it on. Thank you to everyone who has visited my blogs or left me comments, even if just once. I have received a lot of nice words, encouragement and advice from you all and I really appreciate it.

Also, from the same person, I received another award, the Cherry on Top one. Thanks again, Pencil Girl.

You must know I'm quite fond of cherries and they used to be a recurring motif in my childhood. But, before I digress to much...

I have often found blogs that have inspired me and to which I was able to relate. Some made me smile, others made me think. That little cherry on top made me go back again and again to read more. I want to thank the people who write in those blogs for what they do.

Here are the blogs, in alphabetical order (because that is nice and fair, in my opinion):

• 24 PAWS OF LOVE. This blog has a lot of heartfelt posts about the strong bond between people and dogs. This is a lesson in common sense and not giving up.
• Catbird Scout. Deb has a certain sensitivity and a way of telling a story that mesmerises the reader and leaves them thinking afterwards.
• Driftwood Ramblings. Desiree has become my biggest blog fan. Her mentality and encouraging comments are an inspiration to me and always a delight to read.
• FACING 50 WITH HUMOUR. Carol has a sense of humour that leaves me chuckling for a while. She is also a good storyteller and always comes up with a good tale.
• littledogsonlongleashes. Georgia is a very opinionated dog and also makes me smile whenever I drop by her blog. I hope the family can get over having to put Rufus, Georgia's friend, to sleep...
• Southhamsdarling. Thisisme is always a very nice friend and, even though I think she already has this award, I'll still offer it to her too.
• The Squashed Tomato. Linda is a very nice person, apart from being a gourmet who can talk about foods and wines until you're absolutely hungry. She also lost her pup Romeo, but trying to make a difference for other shelter dogs.
• There can be only Juan. Juanita has a very sparkling personality. She also has a collection of very interesting hypoallergenic recipes.
• this n that. Susan has a lot of energy and imagination and her photography is really good. Her coffee art is pretty interesting too.

I'm sorry if my list is a tad short. I'm also sorry I don't have the time to visit everyone more regularly, but I am very busy these days.

Thank you again everyone!

Bad doggie!

The past week, doggie has become uncontrollable towards me. I know everyone will jump with an explanation, but I really have none.

Spoiled? PMS-ing? Jealous? I don't know...
 

Evil doggie sample.

It seems that, when the three of us are in one room, she's an angel. She plays nicely, eats, sleeps, occasionally steals a slipper or sock. Some people would argue Aschiuta can't even bark. She's the friendliest doggie in the world and wouldn't bite anyone.

Except for me, of course. As soon as Scorp goes out of the house (which he has done every evening for the past week trying to get a business deal), the little angel turns into a little devil with sharp teeth and loud barks.

I'm sorry to say I can't really do anything about it and I've tried a lot of good advice.

I'm sure it's probably all my fault, and she's always been a bit insensible towards me but how could I fix things?

A visit from an unexpected friend

A couple of nights ago, Scorp called me to come downstairs with some dog food. We've had a few stray dogs taking shelter at the entrance of the building, so it's not the first time I've brought a share of kibble for another dog.

But then he added "It's our former neighbour, the old black dog." Some of you might remember that last year we had an old dog stay on the hallway of the first floor and we would bring it food almost every day. There is a post about him, Our new neighbour. He disappeared a few times, but he'd be back in a couple of days. But one day, he was gone and we didn't see him again...

Until two days ago. I was a bit sad, wondering where he'd gone off to and if he'd managed to get through the winter safely. But he was back, still limping, still gentle and shy, but no longer lethargic. He was walking around with more energy, sniffing us and wagging his tail happily.

Most of our strays are mutts, grey, black or yellow, medium built and with droopy or pointy ears. If you've read my more recent post about Bobita, our doggie neighbour, you can get an idea of how these dogs look like. The old dog with a bad leg looks a lot like Bobita.

We were happy to see him again, since we had been a bit worried. He sniffed the food but didn't want to eat it from Scorp's hand, so he left it on the stairs. I'm sure he'd eat it later, they always do.

"Poor sweet dog", Scorp said, looking behind as we were going back inside, "he wouldn't know how to defend himself from bad people."