So, Joan left town again but this time I did not go to THAT kennel where I lost 5 pounds and looked like a starving dog upon return. What happened was that Joan put me in the car last Sunday. I thought we were going to the dog park - again - since we had just gone there that morning. But we didn't drive that way. I guess I should have known more because my bed was in the car. We drove up to Rachel, Lew, and Will's house. I went there one other time and Will who is a little boy left lots of food on the ground for me. They also have a really big backyard.
So we entered into the house and Lew was there and Joan was talking to him and then Joan left! I was a bit worried and ran to the front of the house to check and I saw her car drive away. I soon got over my worry because later on Rachel showed up and also the little boy, Will, woke up and he lets me lick him a lot and loves it!
I had some great days at their house. We went in the backyard a lot and played fetch. One time I even stole a stick out of WIll's hand. I'm glad I did not knock him over, like I have done (unintentionally) in the past. Rachel would throw my purple bone toy or a stick for me, and I would run for it. However, Rachel learned that playing with me was no "relaxing, coffee sipping" matter. Ha! She brought her coffee out the first morning but I showed her that I'm very enthusiastic about playing. No coffee allowed! I started to "own" the backyard and when dogs walked by on a little trail next to my yard, I would sometimes bark at them, letting them know that this was now my territory. In terms of territory, I also considered the house my territory and the first morning I was there, someone drove up the drive really early (it wasn't light yet) and threw something at the house. I was not going to let that go, so I started barking really loudly to let Rachel or Lew know something was going on. They did not seem that concerned about what was going on outside - and the next morning, I couldn't see because they closed the blinds. I heard that the same thing happened though.
We also had visitors - one woman came and I could tell she did not like dogs that much, so I just stayed out of her way. If people don't like my kind, then I don't see it to be worth the effort to show them that dogs are great. I'd rather focus on Will because he seems to really enjoy me. Speaking of him, he continued to drop lots of food on the floor for me which I happily took care of cleaning up.
Then one day, Joan drove up and came into the house. I was really happy to see her and, despite having a nice time at Rachel and Lew's, I wanted to hurry home to see what had happened in my other backyard and if the squirrels were taking over. Joan decided to chat with Rachel for TOOOO long, so I kept whining more and more to say "let's go!". We did leave, finally, and I whined all the way home because I was so excited to see our house. The house was the same but sure enough, as we came out of the garage, I saw a squirrel near the house - on the ground - and I quickly chased him up the oak tree! Those squirrels just think they can go anywhere. I suspected that was happening in my absence. Once inside the house, I realized that I was absolutely exhausted, so I napped all afternoon and all evening, too. At Rachel's, I did not get my usual 8 hours of napping on and off while Joan is at work - because usually someone is home at Rachel's - especially Will who loved to play with me. So you can understand that I was feeling a little tired.
Overall, it was fabulous and I cannot even start to say how much better it was than THAT kennel. Ughh!
