Bobita, our doggie neighbour

You might remember one of my first posts, On the streets. I talked about one of our friendliest stray dog neighbour, the dog from the other block. It's been a while and we've had time to get better acquainted with him.

Aschiuta and Bobita. The photo is a bit fuzzy.

 

A very smart doggie

He lives in front of the entrance to the block of flats next to ours. The people like him and take care of him. He has a nice little dog house and they also give him food and water. They even gave him a name, Bobita (the Romanian equivalent of Bobby), which seems to fit him quite nicely. I used to call him Don Juan, because of his advances to Aschiuta, but he has been a good boy lately.

Bobita in front of his home.

 

He has the best strategical position among the other strays: next door to the pet shop. A lot of people who buy dog food leave him some in the corner. I've even seen cat food around there, although there are almost no stray cats around.

Making friends

When we first met him, he was very curious about Aschiuta and tried to mate with her, but of course we didn't let him. For a while, he kept his distance, pretending he wasn't interested in her anymore. A few days ago, when we were out for a walk, he actually came after us all the way to the back of the parking lot. That was a very brave move, despite my "shoo"s and "go home"s. The whole pack in that area chased him away barking.

Even when we aren't with Aschiuta, he comes to greet us when we pass by. He's always sweet and lets us pet him on the head. He once came with me inside the pet shop, but the shopkeeper knew him and didn't make him leave. He was very well-mannered, sitting down and waiting for me to buy what I needed. He then followed me outside and I left some food for him in his usual spot.

The clearest photo Scorp could take for me. That is Aschiuta in the corner too.

 

Like brother and sister

Just imagine a black version of Aschiuta, with a big white patch on his chest and only the stub of the tail remaining. We always say they are like brother and sister, because they look alike (pointy ears and all), they act very much alike and get along really well. Aschiuta loves meeting him and always wants to play. Bobita will jump around her too, catching a sniff or two. I think they might even be around the same age.

This is a video Scorp took while on a walk with Aschiuta. Bobita and she are great friends and always play together.

That's the story of Bobita, our friendliest neighbourhood stray. I hope you'll get to hear more about him.

Aschiuta's first boarding experience

We're back! And so is Aschiuta, of course. A couple of weeks ago I told you in the post Pooch away on holiday that we sent Aschiuta off to a boarding place for dogs. Thanks to everyone for your comments, we had fun, but so did pooch.
 

"What, home already? But I was having so much fun..."

Spoiled little doggie

You see, the place was nice and comfy and she had a huge space to run in. And she sure loves running. She also had a nice indoor space, the blankie and the food we brought for her. They even offered transportation and we were relieved that we didn't have to take her in a taxi again. She gets car sick and it's very troublesome taking her for a ride. We even prefer to walk most of the way.
 

The person who runs the place is actually a vet and was really nice to Asciuta. He walked her and played with her and I'm sure she was very spoiled. She didn't even miss us, just wanted to get more attention from her temporary caretaker.

And the happy owners (happy not to wonder what she chewed on)

Scorp called every day to check on her and we were happy she was having fun. Her first boarding experience was great and I only wish we could one day offer her even a small garden to play in.

I would recommend this place for other people who want to send their dogs boarding (although only available  in Bucharest, Romania), the site is Pensiune Canina Bucuresti - Aldo.

My personal leg warmer... a bit squirmy though

Did you know that there are dogs that have been bred specifically to keep the owner warm? Introducing lap dogs and even sleeve dogs!

Now, Aschiuta is too big to be a sleeve dog, although the name would suit her if we thought of all the tugging going on. But could she be a lap dog?
 

The human doggie carrier

We got Aschiuta when she was just a month or two old and she was an adorable little fur ball. Also, since we weren't allowed to let her outside without her vaccines done, I carried her to the vet. Needless to say, we were a strange sight and people turned their heads to look at the strange girl carrying a puppy.

I didn't mind much, since she was small, but it was summer and very hot and since a puppy's normal temperature is pretty high, we were both panting by the time we got to the vet.

However, when she grew older (and heavier), it was harder to carry her around and I was happy when we gave her those shots and Scorpio bought Aschiuta her first harness and leash: both a hot red.

Nowadays, I still pick Aschiuta up and carry her inside the room when she runs out or when we are outside and the stray dogs get too close.

Aschiuta, the lap puppy

Being so used to carrying Aschiuta, I really enjoyed holding her in my arms while sitting down. As a puppy, she would calm down, hide her nose in my arm and doze off.

When we were able to take her out, we would go out to an open terrace bar and have a couple of beers. When the pooch started squirming too much, we would run off with her outside in the parking lot for a bit. But when I wanted to make her sit still, I'd pick her up and she would sit tight.
 

"You're getting smaller. I used to fit perfectly here."

Now, Aschiuta has grown up and can't fit my lap too well. She also has unrestricted access to the bed and couch, so why sit on my legs when she could stretch in bed? I do take her in my arms and pet her, but she leaves quickly.

Sometimes though, she surprises me. She comes to me while I'm sitting on my chair at the laptop table and climb up in my lap. Climbing is the best way I can describe the way she heaves herself on her front paws and tries to get a leverage point with one of her hind paws, blindly waving it at the edge of the chair. I often push her bottom up and with an "upsy-daisy", she's up in my lap, sniffing my treats pocket. More on the magical pocket later on.
 

"I think my butt is slipping off. Hold me better!"

 
She even stays for a pet or two. When she feels exceptionally affectionate, she would try to roll in a comfortable position and let me pet her. Her long legs would often slip off and, after shifting around a lot, she would eventually jump down.

Well, at least for a few moments, she was my little lap dog.