4 June 2007

Six months ago we fed the neighbor’s grey cat and his dog for the first time, because the neighbour went on a business trip. That happened quite regularly since then. The next times we took his dog to the beach or for a little walk around, because we thought the dog would be bored during the days with no living soul around.

A few months later our deck became the dog’s place during daytime. And the little walk after dinner became an evening ritual.
By now we had created a sort of hut of old pillows and had put a sun bed on its side, so the dog could hide against the wind. I didn’t want a dog in the house. They stink. And this white one was losing hair all over. And a little fact; it wasn’t my dog. Every time we returned from our evening walk, she jumped over the fence back into the neighbour’s home.

Autumn arrived and the temperatures dropped. The neighbour’s door wasn’t permanently open anymore. After a few times waiting outside in the neighbour’s muddy garden in the dark evening, the dog gave up making the effort and stayed over in her hut on our balcony.
A couple of times we suggested the neighbour to call his dog before he went to bed. What he was trying to remember reasonably obedient for a several times. But probably slowly the neighbour got used to the fact he actually has no dog around anymore. The only thing he still did was opening a tin of dog food daily. And once in a while he still phones us and requested for our care if he needed to go out-of-town for a few days.

One day our cat Pini was attacked by the white cat from the other neighbours. Dog Pebbles intervened and the white cat got chased to the other side of the village.
Not long after that incident we came home one cold night and from the outside of the house we saw that the white cat has penetrated our cat flap and was eating Pini’s food. Pebbles, who was still outside with us, almost fainted of utterly frustration. The cat did not dare to come out through the cat flap and Pebbles did not fit through the cat flap. But above all Pebbles knew she was not being allowed in the house.
shiverBecause her loyalty to Pini, her obedience to my law and because of the constant shivering (even in her deep sleep) and especially because Pini apparently stoically endured the presence of a dog, I caved … and let Pebbles inside the house that night.

Well-considered of course this means there is hardly a point of return to an unofficial adoption.
Suddenly there is a dog basket on our shopping list and yesterday I bathed her. Because dogs still stink.