Louie: The Great Escape(s)

Much as I like curling up on my bed upstairs, just outside Persons S and D's room, I like my freedom. I like to run.

So, one day, sometime in January this year, I was left in the yard with Kiya. Stupidly, Person D left the window to the house open! Well yes, granted, there were (solid iron) grilles on the windows. Still!
I eyed it beadily...



Several hours later, Person D, S, and S' family came home, only to find Kiya greeting them happily. Person S cried out in alarm, "Where's Louie?", and Person D was still walking up to the gate slowly, and replied "He should be in the yard...". Person S was by now very panicky; I could hear it in his voice. "He's not in the yard!" And I think at this point, Person D almost cried. She later told me that her heart leapt to her throat, and after glancing in the yard with only Kiya smiling at them, she ran out to the streets, calling out for me, "Louieeeee! Louiiiiieeeee!" and that she started crying.

Person S, the smart one, opened the front door anyway, and let Kiya in, only to find me looking up at him excitedly. I was happy Person S and his family were home, and I could hear Person D, my favourite person in the world. "Where is she?" I wagged my tail, and jumped up, placing my paws on Person S, who... strangely, looked like he was going to throttle me. He called Person D back, "Louie's inside! He's here!" and she came running back.

I greeted her happily, but was confused with all the emotions, and so I bowed my head, tucked my tail between my legs and looked as guilty as possible. She hugged me fiercely, and then, with Person S investigating the dining table right by the window, she started to scold me. I did not understand why she did that. As it happened, I was bored being kept in the yard, and I wanted to go back to my bed upstairs, so I climbed through the windows, in between the grilles. Yes I was skinny enough to do so, but not without difficulty, and I had to scratch my way inside, hence the evidence of my scratches on the dining table.

Person D and S then started laughing, and from then on, they always kept the window shut when they keep us in the yard. Damn!


***

Two weeks ago, Person S and D took Kiya and I out for a walk. Person D was holding my leash (oh how I hate it!), when suddenly, I saw a cat not two meters from me. Instinctively, I leapt at it, and jumped up and down and to the side at the end of the leash, trying to.. reach... kill.. that cat. It were my genes talking. Suddenly, I felt no resistance on my neck! I was free! I immediately pounced on the cat, but Person D, yelled at me and so I ran away, towards the river, where some people were fishing. One of them caught a strange creature.. a turtle! I tried to lunge at it - I really had to hunt for something, my blood was boiling with excitement! - but they yelled at me so I ran away.

I could hear, in the background, Person S calling out to me frantically, and Person D trying to tell him to sound more gentle, as I would ignore him otherwise (she was right). I truly did not understand why they were being so frantic and worried. I ran to a grass patch and started to take a dump. Person S came running to me and grabbed hold of my collar so suddenly and forcefully, I could only scowl at him. Then Person D came over and hugged me fiercely again. Hm. Whenever she does that, I know she will scold me a minute later. Sure enough, they both did.

Now they are in discussion in getting me some reinforced leash or something. Apparently, the metal clip of the old leash broke! Person S was furious that the metal portion of the leash could break like that. Sigh. They don't understand that I am not running away from them. I just want to run, hunt, kill dogs, cats, turtles, birds. Why can't they understand that?

Kiya: Shiny red car

So, life has been idyllic. In December 2010, Persons D and S disappeared for almost two weeks! They put me in a car and ferried me to a strange, but bustling apartment, and I was also separated from Louie. Though I was initially happy to get some respite from a pesky dog stepping all over me when I sleep, I soon missed Louie, and my persons, a lot.

However, very shortly I was again reunited with my family, and when I saw Louie I went crazy with happiness! We also went home, finally, and this time there were many more people in the house - they all smell somewhat like Person S. Louie did not like these extra people in the house, but much to his relief, they soon left. So it was just back to the four of us again, and Louie and I continued to go for our early morning walks with Person D, left home alone after Person S leaves, we sleep and bark at cats walking outside our house, and greet our persons happily when they return.



I like to nap in the sun, which makes Persons D and S very confused, and I can hear them whispering frantically and pointing at me and frowning. They even tried to chase me back into the house but I'd walk back into the sun again. What's wrong with sunbathing?!





A month ago, our lives changed. I sniffed Person S and detected the smell of new leather on him.. That evening, they put something weird on me, called a 'harness', all padded and covered with mock sheep wool. I didn't care about it much, though it did make me look like I was going for schutzhund practice! And then.. the surprise! Oh!



A brand new, shiny red car, without a roof! I was in doggie heaven! I couldn't wait to get onto the car. I immediately occupied one seat and hung my head out. Louie had to be coaxed into the car as he really did not like car rides, but I suppose he dislikes being left home alone more. So he complied.





When the car moves, I could smell a hundred thousand things at one time.. my nose couldn't stop twitching! I love it. Person S also likes it and always put the roof down, much to the annoyance of Person D. I could tell she doesn't like it, or at least she just wants to hide herself by wearing scarves over her hair and large sunglasses. Weird, like Louie.


We now take joy rides in the car when Person D gets her Starbucks. Sometimes we go to the beach for walks. Sometimes we return to the fenced park at Novena, where Louie gets to run like the wind again. I just like being in the car, enjoying the sunshine, the wind in my ears, a thousand different scents running through my nose.