Many people were interested in Jim's whereabouts while I was back in the U.S. for three months, so I asked him to write a special, one time only guest post detailing his dog-centric ventures in Bucharest. All I can say is I am glad he didn't decide to trade me in for a newer model...
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Boy did I get around while you were out having that baby. Not only did I live it up taking two sometimes three leisurely walks, eat my weight in treats and sleep the day away, I had my own personal attendant named Deborah to make it all happen. She was awesome, staying at our giant apartment taking care of me; all the while you were sleeping four Schlinks in a teeny hotel room. Suckers.
That's not to say I didn't have my own share of roommates. I had my lady pal Bea when I took a few weekend trips to the Chordi rez. She likes to hump her stuffed horse and manipulate her owners into eating homemade dog food. Made from REAL meat! I loved having her over for Christmas, Chordi #1 kept sneaking us scraps when Mark wasn't looking.
Did I tell you I roomed with Buddy the ambassador's 900 year old yellow lab? Not THAT dog lives the lap of luxury: multiple servants, a huge house and an equally huge yard, big enough to host over two thousand guests. I ran, sniffed, and marked as many trees as I could like a kid in a candy store. It's tough being a diplomat's dog sometimes.
But the roommate who took the cake was this homeless fellow who was rescued by some of Deborah's friends. A couple of ladies walking around the lake spotted a dog that seemed intent on committing suicide. He kept frantically running into the icy lake over and over again before getting stuck in the muddy rocks exhausted with effort. Coming to the rescue, one of the ladies whipped out the tie-string of her Costco sweatpants to create a makeshift leash. After bumping into her stroller a few times, she realized the dog was blind in addition to injured, traumatized and abandoned.
Getting him to the local vet for assessment, the half crazed chap arrived just in time for a bone shaking seizure at the door necessitating an MRI order at the vet's insistence. 600 RON worth of MRI brain scans later, the vet determined the pooch wouldn't need euthanasia, just daily medications to treat his epileptic fits. "Oh, and by the way, the blind dog also needs a new home," he said with simplicity.
Finding homes for healthy, stray dogs in Bucharest is a daunting task let alone a special needs dog. Too many of them run a amok in the streets multiplying like crazy since Ceaușescu's day. With few rescue shelters, most dogs take to the streets. They even blend in with the bi-pedals, crossing the streets at cross walks and blocking the bike lanes at the park. For a species that routinely licks itself, their learned behaviors are quite impressive.
Despite our pal's shortcomings, Deborah was undeterred with his rehab and found him a home after a few weeks. While he was an alright roommate, I was elated to reunite with you and Deets. The littlest one is pretty okay too even though she can't scratch my belly yet. But I can wait.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Boy did I get around while you were out having that baby. Not only did I live it up taking two sometimes three leisurely walks, eat my weight in treats and sleep the day away, I had my own personal attendant named Deborah to make it all happen. She was awesome, staying at our giant apartment taking care of me; all the while you were sleeping four Schlinks in a teeny hotel room. Suckers.
That's not to say I didn't have my own share of roommates. I had my lady pal Bea when I took a few weekend trips to the Chordi rez. She likes to hump her stuffed horse and manipulate her owners into eating homemade dog food. Made from REAL meat! I loved having her over for Christmas, Chordi #1 kept sneaking us scraps when Mark wasn't looking.
Did I tell you I roomed with Buddy the ambassador's 900 year old yellow lab? Not THAT dog lives the lap of luxury: multiple servants, a huge house and an equally huge yard, big enough to host over two thousand guests. I ran, sniffed, and marked as many trees as I could like a kid in a candy store. It's tough being a diplomat's dog sometimes.
But the roommate who took the cake was this homeless fellow who was rescued by some of Deborah's friends. A couple of ladies walking around the lake spotted a dog that seemed intent on committing suicide. He kept frantically running into the icy lake over and over again before getting stuck in the muddy rocks exhausted with effort. Coming to the rescue, one of the ladies whipped out the tie-string of her Costco sweatpants to create a makeshift leash. After bumping into her stroller a few times, she realized the dog was blind in addition to injured, traumatized and abandoned.
Getting him to the local vet for assessment, the half crazed chap arrived just in time for a bone shaking seizure at the door necessitating an MRI order at the vet's insistence. 600 RON worth of MRI brain scans later, the vet determined the pooch wouldn't need euthanasia, just daily medications to treat his epileptic fits. "Oh, and by the way, the blind dog also needs a new home," he said with simplicity.
Finding homes for healthy, stray dogs in Bucharest is a daunting task let alone a special needs dog. Too many of them run a amok in the streets multiplying like crazy since Ceaușescu's day. With few rescue shelters, most dogs take to the streets. They even blend in with the bi-pedals, crossing the streets at cross walks and blocking the bike lanes at the park. For a species that routinely licks itself, their learned behaviors are quite impressive.
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| Wait for the walk |
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| Fat homeless dog. Not many are this lucky. |
Despite our pal's shortcomings, Deborah was undeterred with his rehab and found him a home after a few weeks. While he was an alright roommate, I was elated to reunite with you and Deets. The littlest one is pretty okay too even though she can't scratch my belly yet. But I can wait.
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| Shameless begging |
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