Sunday, November 6, 2011

Vacation!

Hi guys, Orent here. I've been learning to write about my life as a service puppy by updating my Facebook page, and so I thought I'd try to write my first blog post about the MOST EXCITING WEEKEND EVER!

Man, it was great! There were adventures and scary times and fun times and cozy times and things I don't even know what they were (I'm just a baby after all).

Let's start at the beginning. Thursday afternoon, the people starting putting a lot of my stuff in a pile by the door. They had my bowls and my box and my bed and my toys... Then they said "Let's Go!" and put me and all that stuff in the car. I couldn't even stretch out!

We drove and drove and drove. It was so boring. They don't even have one of those cars some puppies have where they can put movies on. They listened to NPR and I'm more of a rock n' roll puppy so I had to cry and fuss and chew the seatbelt a little. I mean, they didn't even ask what I wanted to listen to!

Max did one dumb thing on the way... I had to laugh, but I guess he can't smell the rain coming the way I can. He got me out of the car at the rest stop and took me for a run. It was good to stretch my legs and I really had to hurry (I got to practice going on the asphalt 'cause I couldn't make it across the whole parking lot!) Well, when we were about as far away from the buildings and the car as we could possibly be, it started to pour. We got wet (and yes, I smelled like a wet dog. What's wrong with that?).

Then we drove and drove and drove some more. I got scared when it got dark and the road got windy. Even Kaytee was stressed out. So I cried a little more, especially when we were slipping on the leaves of the gravel/dirt road down to our cabin.

But then we were there!
But, where was there? I don't know... there were a lot of leaves and trees and I could smell and hear a creek nearby and there were a LOT of smells and there was a house that had food smells and charcoal smells and stranger smells and old smells. I like the house because it was warm and the lights went on and then I wasn't scared of the dark. I smelled and smelled and smelled!

At first I wasn't sure about hurrying at the new house but then they showed me how there was regular grass and they let me smell all the new smells before I hurried so I thought it was ok. Plus I really had to go!

The weirdest thing happened at night! My kennel wasn't there! They just put me in my X-pen with no bed or anything. And it was really dark! The floor was different! The smells were different! The noises were different! My bone wasn't there! I was tired so I fell asleep but when I woke up at 5:15 I wasn't really sure I was ok so I started to cry...

Max took me out and I remembered that there were good places to hurry so I did my business. But I didn't want to go back to the strange sleeping place where it was so dark... So I cried some more and Max agreed to sit downstairs with me with the light on. He even threw my toys for me a couple times. Then I thought maybe I could be brave enough to sleep (on my bed, with the lights on and Max watching over me). I don't think Max went back to bed though... Wonder why not?

Well, when the sun came up, guess what happened? I got to go run around outside without a leash on! I couldn't go explore the other houses or the creek because there was a "fence" (a giant X-pen is how I see it) but there was lots of room to run and run. I chased balls and found sticks and chased Max and jumped and had a great time. I love fences and yards!



During all the running, I must've stuck my nose somewhere I wasn't supposed to, because when we came inside, Kaytee and Max got very worried. They kept talking about "ticks" and then Max craddled me for a long time while Kaytee poked all of my fur. It wasn't very fun, but I was good. I even got to eat extra food during the commotion. I like food!

After my rough night and hard playing, I took another nap. This time I think Max did too. People should take more naps... Then they'd be happier like me! After my nap I was ready for my next adventure. We went for another drive but it was light out and they didn't put NPR on so I was very good. We went to a lake. Boy was it cold! But we got to play tennis-ball-soccer in the grass and smell new plant and animal smells and even play on a playground. I like to go up the stairs but I don't really like the slide! Too fast for a slow dog like me!


Let me tell you, after that much playing and new smells and experiences I was ready for an after dinner siesta. Except for hurrying before bed, I was happy to sleep by the fireplace and supervise dinner making and clean up. The people sat around a table playing with very small pieces that I was NOT allowed to sniff or eat or chew. Some of them were called "corner pieces" and some were "edge pieces" and some were "puzzle pieces" and all of them were "No Orent, not for dogs." So I slept and chewed MY toys. They're tastier anyway.

I'll admit I got scared in the night again. This time it was Kaytee who spent the early morning watching me downstairs with the lights on while Max slept in. I wanted to be brave but I missed my real bed.

When Max got up this crazy thing happened! We went outside and it smelled like rain but it was really cold and this white fluffy stuff was falling on my head. When it landed it turned into rain but in the sky it looked like small bird feathers. And then it started to cover the ground and it made my paws COLD. I didn't like to walk when it felt cold and slippery but I did like to watch it and sniff it.



After everyone ate (and I tried to taste some toast... I mean, if you just leave it there at nose height, how am I supposed to know it's not for dogs?) we went out again and you won't believe what had happened. The white fluffy stuff was everywhere! Up to my knees! It wasn't even slippery any more, it was fun to step in. It made want to jump and run! We went for a walk (I got some burrs on my face which meant I had to stand still for a LONG time while Kaytee and Max fussed over me) and I liked walking and running in the snow. But I did not like the way home when the snow blew in my face. That stung and made me sneeze. I was happy to go dry off by the fire.



In the afternoon we ran in the yard. Did I mention how fun yards are? Max threw balls of the white fluffy stuff and I went looking for them but they always disappeared... But then he would say "Orent, here!" and I knew what that meant! Run to Max for pets and snuggles and kibbles! It was so fun and I loved to run in the snow!




I thought for sure I was so tired I would sleep all night long. Nope. I fell asleep in front of the fire before dinner and well, by the time 5am rolled around, I was ready to be up and not in my weird dark bed. So, yeah, I was up early all three morning. Hey, I'm only 5 months old!

Once Kaytee and Max both got up, they started to make piles of my stuff by the door again. I had a feeling that meant we were in for another car ride, so I made sure to do lots of running in the yard. The snow was wetter and there was mud now too... That was fun and different!

A new friend came and drove us to the end of the long unpaved road where we discovered the car. I guess Kaytee and Max must have driven it out of the hollow before the snow so we wouldn't be stuck. That's good because if we had been stuck I don't know what I would have eaten! I liked riding in the new friend's car and when they tried to tie me outside in the snow I climbed right back up that warm car. I'm no dummy!

I was right, by the way, we did go on a long car ride that day. I slept the whole way! Then, they took me to another new place, this time there were lots of pumpkins (I've met pumpkins before, remember?) and lots of people of all sizes and these funny smelling pumpkin insides everywhere. I just sat patiently and waited for people to come say hi to me. My favorite person was a small person who is a professional dog walker. She seemed really friendly, gave me lots of hugs, trained me, and might walk me someday!



Does it come as any surprise to anyone that when I was finally back in my real kennel, with the comforting lights and noise of the city surrounding me, that I slept until 8am!

1 comment:

  1. silly orent! waking up at 5am. i bet you were pretty nervous with all the nature and snow and everything else new!

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