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01/01/2008
Christmas and the Dog
I almost forgot to mention how Christmas went. It came and went quickly and reasonably easily. The only interesting tidbit is the part about the dog.
Our family doesn't have a dog; it never has, and never will. So when my uncle and his family showed up, dog included, for the Christmas dinner, it was a whole new experience, to be in my own house and seeing this shaggy little furball wandering around. My uncle and his family were staying in a hotel overnight before returning to Montreal. Problem is, the hotel doesn't take dogs, and their Montreal dogsitter went AWOL when they tried to get a hold of her. So, we became the dogsitters. Note that the dog doesn't really know us, and this was his first visit to our house.
Also, my grandmother, another Montreal resident, was staying at our house overnight before heading back to Montreal. Since we don't have a spare bedroom in our house, anytime someone stays over, my room becomes the guest room, and I get to sleep in the family room.
So, by bedtime, the situation was that my grandmother was sleeping in my room, my parents in their room, my brother in his room, I was on the fold-out couch in the family room, and the dog was sitting on the rug in the foyer, just down the stairs from where I was. I turned out the lights, and all was well... for a short while.
"Bark!" went the dog. A few minutes passed.
"Bark!" went the dog. A few more minutes passed.
"Bark!" went the dog. "Bark!"... "Bark, bark, bark... owwooOOOOooo... bark!"
By this time it was about 1 am, and I don't know about the rest of the gang since they all had doors between them and the dog, but at this rate it was going to be a reaaaallly long night for both me and the dog.
None too impressed (must add "swear less" to 2008 Plan for Awesomeness), I turned the lights back on and went to go find the dog, who was sitting by the door. In my mind I could hear my aunt's voice telling my dad that the dog will bark at the door if he needs to go out and do his business. I knew he'd just done his business not long ago, but hey, who knows what happens to dog's bladders if they're nervous about a new environment. I tried to put the leash on the dog, but he kept dodging it, and finally I got frustrated and went to wake up dad, who had gotten the explicit doggie owner's instructions from my aunt.
"Does he need a leash?" I asked him. Dad said he didn't think so, and the dog is supposed to be good about staying close to the house to do his business. So I let the dog out.
Fast forward about five minutes, and here I am in my plaid pyjamas, winter jacket, and boots, trudging through the snow at 1:15 am, calling a dog I don't know to come back to a house he doesn't know. I was already visualizing how I was going to explain to my aunt and uncle that I lost the dog on the one and only night we'd said we'd take care of him. Fortunately, after some coaxing, the dog came back to our place, and dad then held the dog in his little blanket until he calmed down, and then mom and dad took the dog into their room for the night. Thank God.
So I did manage to get part of a good night's sleep anyway, but let's just say, now I remember why I'm a cat person...!
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