Dylan | TINY LESSONS BLOG

I have to start on a positive note so mom understands my observations are made in a loving spirit. We don’t want any misinterpretations of my intentions, do we? All the tummy rubs and ear massages could go down the tube. We don’t want that.

Uh, were was I? Just a minute, have to look at my notes.

So how have you been? I hope life’s treating you well. As to myself, I can’t complain. I still take mom on long walks in the morning and in the evening. Or perhaps I should say walk-run-walks. And they are more pleasant now. You see, mom is much faster and smaller than last year. She didn’t shrink much vertically as far as I can see, maybe half an inch tops, but she’s shrunk a lot horizontally. It’s no longer like pulling a close to 200 pound sac behind me, and now we can actually compete. I’m still faster, but she’s making some progress.

Oh, I almost forgot! I have finally graduated from the Bird Photographer’s Assistant class. My final exam was a week ago. And that was a difficult one: I had to walk past two mottled ducks on a loose leash without scaring them away. And then sit quietly while mom took pictures of them. That was the hardest test. You see, ducks are in my DNA. They must be hunted. But against all odds I did it!

The female looked at me from the corner of her eye but the male pretended I wasn’t even there. Can you believe it? I passed with flying colors! And expected immediate rewards. But mom had none. No treats in her pocket. She made up a poor explanation about going to the dog park and how it was not suitable to carry treats. That doesn’t hold water. She knows, as do I, that I could have eaten them all before we entered the park! I suspect she didn’t believe I would pass my exam because I had failed a couple of times before. I got some treats when we got home. Oh well, better late than never.

Anyway, I’m getting ahead of myself. We went to the dog park. This time I was lucky. There were no 75 pound dogs in the small dog park! But all my best friends were there and even a new friend, a brown dachshund named Olli. I have to admit that he is as nice as he’s handsome.

I love the attention we get at the park, but sometimes we have to stand in the back rub line and wait for our turn. But it’s all worth it.

The line’s long, but finally it’s my turn!

And I love running the fence. Barking at bicycles and other strange vehicles with Saki and Eli. And suspicious people walking too close to the fence. We have the responsibility to protect our parents. It doesn’t stop even when we’re off leash and off duty. And since I’m not allowed to bark at home this is the only opportunity to exercise my vocal cords. But Bentley takes his recreation seriously. No running the fence, just calm exploration of the park…and posing for photographers.

My friend Snickers doesn’t run the fence either. He loves to dig. And as you can see, it’s serious business.

Digging requires focus and persistence, my friends.

Sometimes we all pose for mom. She’s very persuasive. Saki and Eli love to impress her by flashing their best smiles.

I’m the most beautiful Shiba Inu girl, right?

It’s easy for them to smile. They are young. No missing teeth. But I’m very self-conscious and hardly ever smile for the camera. I can turn and look at mom when her tone gets desperate. But she should understand that I like to stay behind the camera and assist.

That brings me to the traumatic event of last Saturday. Mom woke up early. We went onto the terrace and she snapped pictures of the sunrise.

I think this was around 7 a.m. and I had no idea what was in store…

She had breakfast, but I didn’t get any. What did I do? And we didn’t go for a walk. What was wrong with this picture? She allowed me to go to the bathroom at the garage corner and then right into her car. I thought we were heading to the Taylor Park to chase the alligators. Exciting! But mom missed the turn. Where were we going? She was tightlipped. I thought she looked a bit guilty. This was not good. Finally we stopped and I saw it! The vet’s office. I wanted to run. To beg. To vanish into thin air. But the only thing I could do was to pretend not to see or hear her.

I don’t see you mom. And I’m not coming!

Mom carried me in, the girls met me…and then I don’t remember anything until I woke up in the afternoon. My mouth was hurting. My gums were sore. I hadn’t eaten anything the whole day and I was hungry. But couldn’t even think of putting anything in my mouth. I was miserable the whole evening. I definitely do not recommend teeth cleaning to anyone. Even the everyday chores are more fun. Like cleaning the kitchen floor from all scraps that mom drops when she’s cooking. Chicken and cheese are my favorites. Anyway, I felt a bit better already the next day. And the following day I forgave her. That’s what love does.

This is a bad day. Can’t we just go to sleep already?

Oh, before I go I need to tell you that I really like my new Photo Assistant job. I get to walk a lot and sniff around in all kinds of interesting places. Last week on Tuesday I didn’t even expect to go on a walk. The weather was iffy and mom said it could rain any minute. But out we went to see the ospreys. When we got to the nest, mom said the mama bird was laying another egg. Ssshhh. I had to sit quietly while mom was watching and clicking.

And then we went looking for the daddy bird. I thought I’d seen him when we passed the Sailing Center, but I kept quiet. I’d get a long walk around the marsh. Many new smells. Finally mom looked beyond the park and spotted the daddy… at the Sailing Center on the other side of the road. Ha!

Daddy Osprey was…all along…at the Sailing Center

I look forward to seeing the osprey chicks. I hope there are many. Ten or even a hundred. I’d like to draw many names from the hat later in the spring, just like I’ve done for the past three years. And get many treats.

That’s all from me folks. Be good now. With love, Dylan.

I found what I was in search for. I know, it’s a spoiler. But I couldn’t possibly be sitting here at mom’s laptop writing to you if I was still pursuing my quest, could I ? Truth to be told, mom picked me up from my foster home on Friday, April 1. Almost six months ago now. But I can assure you I’m not an April Fools’ Day joke. I’m a survivor.

dylan-when-he-was-found — Photo from March 2016 courtesy of Constanza Bryant, Florida Poodle Rescue.

You see, I was abandoned by my first family. I lived on the streets. And it was hard. Although I became good at sniffing for food people had thrown on the ground, I was always hungry. I could smell a half eaten chicken leg or a piece of hamburger bread from 50 yards, but such treasures were few and far between. I lost a lot of weight. It was not obvious because my hair grew so long. If anything I looked fat. No hair cuts, no baths and no love do that to you. But it was even worse with water. Fresh water is something you take for granted when you have a home. I learned the hard way that it doesn’t rain in the spring in Florida. Finding even a small pool of dirty water was a challenge. I learned to get by with very little of it, mostly licking the trickles that reached the street when people watered their lawns. Recycled water. Not too good for you.

I can’t tell you how long I lived on the streets. I lost count of the days. And the long nights. I hardly slept because it was not safe. I had to stay alert. So I slept only for a few moments here and there when I collapsed of exhaustion.

dylan-in-march-2016 — Photo from March 2016 courtesy of Constanza Bryant, Florida Poodle Rescue.

And I was looking for my family all the time. My mission was keeping me alive. I ran towards young couples pushing baby strollers. If they let me close, I would gently sniff at the baby’s toes. But it was always some other baby. I couldn’t find my family. I had always believed I was part of the family. Obviously I was wrong. They were gone and had left me behind. I had no idea what I had done to deserve this, but there I was. Homeless. I was so sad.

Then one day a car stopped next to me. It was not the car I used to ride in and hang out from the back window my ears flapping in the wind. Not my car. And I had learned to avoid cars. But the man was friendly so I finally agreed to ride with him. A milestone. My new journey had started. Hospital stay. Food. Water. Love. Florida Poodle Rescue. A foster family – and more love. I was grateful to have a home, but still grieving the loss of my family, if that makes sense.

About a week later, mom knocked on the door. She came with a friend…to visit me! I knew right away she was my mom. That’s called intuition. I jumped onto her lap. I’m not sure if I even thanked my foster family well enough for all the love they gave me, I was so eager to go with mom. And like magic ~ I found myself in her car. I remember sitting in the back seat with her kind friend. Mom kept telling me we would go home to dad. It took a couple of hours, but she was right. I’m home now.

I’m always with mom in her office when she works. Or blogs. I can make my bed of the old blanket on the sofa, redesigning it until I’m comfortable. Sometimes I just chill on the floor next to her desk.

I’m an avid reader, and sometimes mom lets me browse other blogs too. Nothing short of amazing. So much interesting stuff!

But I’ll tell you what I love the most. Going for long walks! The faster we walk, the better. But running is the best, of course. You see, I’m mom’s personal trainer. And I take my work seriously. She really needs her exercise. At least three miles a day. Sometimes even four or five, if I can trick her.

And she’d better take her work seriously too. I appreciate my rewards, ever so small. Be it a couple of baby carrots or a piece of my favorite cookie. Even a tooth cleaning treat will do. Mom, give it to me already!

I have developed many new tricks to test on mom and dad. Some of them work, some don’t. I’ve noticed a few more tricks work on dad. But that’s another story. See you later. Be good now.