Cuddling

She comes and pushes the edge of the blanket with her nose. It's like she is saying "let me in, it's cold". I lift the blanket and she sneaks underneath, rolling into a warm doggie pretzel.

She presses tightly against my belly, so close that sometimes I feel I can't breathe properly. She then swallows a few times and sighs. Shifts a little until she feels that she is in the perfect position for napping. Another sigh.

I don't know if Aschiuta comes to cuddle under the blanket with us because she is really cold or if she just enjoys the closeness. She is nevertheless welcome any time. Especially during the colder weather, we keep one another warm like that. A little sandwich. Call it a "hot dog" if you're feeling humorous.
 

Pretzel doggie, waiting for someone to cuddle with.

 
I take a small paw in my hand and dive my head under the covers to give her a small kiss on the head. She smells a bit like raspberries. She smells a lot like doggie. Her ears flutter in her sleep, tickled by the covers. She doesn't seem to mind burying her nose in there, without much air. I still leave the blanket raised a little.

I then fall asleep, hugging a pretzel doggie. Gnite. Sweet dreams.

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.

Beauty is in the teeth of the beholder

Aschiuta most likely thinks I have great taste. Why else would she chew on my phones, my darts and my hair scrunchie? It's her way of telling me that she too shares my good taste in technology and accessories. And also that they taste good.

Phony excuses for chewing

I can't bring myself to understand why, all of a sudden, she grabbed my phones (first my nice expensive phone, then its cheaper replacement) and chewed them? My phone has always sat nicely on the nightstand or laptop table, happily unnoticed and unchewed.
 

"I can see the charger. Where did you hide that phone?"

 
Now, it seems she just can't part with it. I'm at the third phone now and I'm sure that if I left it within reach, she would devour it in the blink of an eye. That's why I keep it high out of her reach.

Duck à l'orange?

And my darts? They often stay on the laptop table, but today I went to feed the neighbour dog and when I was back, one of the shafts was chewed at the end and one of my new flights destroyed. I'd just changed the flights today, proud that the new ones worked a lot better (and were more stylish, with a duck on them). I even played a few games. Scorp did too and his darts were just a few centimeters away from mine on the table. What drove her to pick mine? Does she perhaps like duck?

All I can do now is keep a constant eye on her and keep any plastic item (with or without ducks) away from the little chewer. Especially if it's something of mine. I do have good taste, after all.