Furs Chapter ~ Buddy's new adventures ~ Pt1

 Hi. my name is Buddy Love, I'm a Maltese x Shitzu and I am one year old.

I came to live with my new family Chrissy and Peter 6 weeks ago.  I have had many new adventures during this time and would like to tell you all about them.

I use to live with a nice family Carly, Steve, Charlie who is 5yrs and their new baby girl, Lily.

I enjoyed running free and loved playing around with Charlie on their big bushy property in the Dandenong Ranges which is near Melbourne in Australia.

It was a good life and they were kind and caring people but when they bought home Lily 3 months ago, they weren't able to pay as much attention to me as they would have liked to.

Carly was very busy looking after Charlie and the new baby, she also worked part time at home, so any free time for me had to be spent caring for her baby Lily.

Steve was always out working hard and Charlie had to go to school so for most of the day I was on my own a lot.

It all started when Carly, Steve and Charlie went to visit their friends Chrissy and Peter for a BBQ and to show them their new daughter.

While eating lunch they all started talking about dogs and pets. Chrissy mentioned that five years ago she used to have a pet just like me, a Maltese Shih Tzu called Tinker, she thought of her often and still missed her very much. Peter and Chrissy had been thinking about getting a dog for a while, so were thrilled when Carly said they were looking for a good home for me and a family that was able to spend a bit more time with me.

By the end of the afternoon it was all settled and Steve and Carly were happy to have found a nice home for me.

Two days later I moved into my new house with my new family.

As soon as I met Chrissy and Peter I liked them right away and had a good feeling we would all get along nicely.

They said I was really cute but could do with a clip and groom because I was a bit knotty, wild and woolley looking.

I wasn't sure what a clip and groom was and thought it would be something exciting to look forward too the next day.

I had a nice dinner and a good night's sleep.

First thing in the morning Chrissy went shopping and bought all sorts of wonderful things for me. A purple bed which is like a little house I can snuggle into, some shiny new bowls, a collar, lead, some squeeky toys and lots of yummy treats. I just knew I was going to love it here.

Later in the afternoon a lady drove in the driveway with a funny little trailer attached to her car.

I had never seen something like that before and watched with curiosity while she was plugging power chords and hoses into the back of it. Oooh I thought, this must be the clip n groom thing Chrissy told me about, how exciting.

The lady said hello to me, picked me up and next thing I know I'm sitting in a tub inside her weird little trailer.

Now I’m thinking this really isn’t very exciting and not such a good idea after all. It had taken a lot of hard playing and rolling around in the bush to get this way and I was quite proud of my boyish rough and ready look.

After dunking me in the tub full of water she starts washing me all over with lots of girly smelling stuff. I love having a dip in water and I don't even mind a light wash sometimes but please .. lady .. do I really have to smell like a rose? ..

Then she starts combing, brushing and cutting my hair and nails.

Surely she could tell I'm a boy and I bet she had no idea how it took me a long time to collect all these different aroma's knots and tangles. I like to carry them all around with me in my coat.  I'm not sure if I really like this clip n groom thing after all. It seems to be taking an awefully long time.

Finally after 2 hours she's finishing up I think I've had enough too.

.. but now just look at me .. how embarrassing!

I look like a puff ball, smelling like a rose and pretty as can be.  When Chrissy and Peter saw me they even commented what a pretty boy I was now.

I'm happy they like how I look and smell, but right now all I want to do is some real rough boy stuff like tug-o-war with my rope.

After a play inside with Peter I wanted to go outside again like I did earlier without being on a lead. I didn't know what all the fuss was about when everyone started running after me down the street. I was just playing with the cars and having the best time chasing them all away.

Peter told me he was going to fix that problem the very next day. Oh boy .. I hoped this wasn't as exciting as a clip n groom was.

The next morning we went to a big hardware store called Bunnings.

Peter bought lots of interesting things there too. Fencing stuff, locks, a gate and a bag of cement.

When we got home I had to stay inside and just watch and he said I could go out when he had put most of the fence up.  I knew this meant that I couldn't go out and explore the neighborhood on my own again and Peter explained to me how it was for my own safety and they didn't want me to get lost.

This should be fun I thought, it looks like a day of doing man things and I just love to help out when I can.

Peter worked hard to get the fence up quickly so that I could go outside to help him without having to be on my lead.

He showed me he only had a few more nails and screws to go and then we would all go for a nice walk together.

Which we did after hit his finger with the hammer on the very last nail.

There were so many interesting smells to sniff out and places to discover down the street.

Along the way Peter told me to always watch the road before I cross it because you never know what will come around the next corner.

I met some other dogs along the way, they were all going for their walks too.

I even saw a pony going for a walk and really wanted to meet and play with, but Peter said maybe another day as it was getting late and he was getting a bit hungry after working so hard making my fence.

I was a bit disappointed I didn't get to meet the pony this day but was happy to start walking back home as I was feeling quite hungry too.

When we got home I asked Chrissy what was for dinner. I hoped she could understand doggie looks, surely she could see I was hungry and my new shiny dog bowl was empty.

I guess she did know what I was trying to tell her as a few minutes later I could smell all sorts of delicious smells coming from the kitchen. I hope that is my dinner she's cooking. I really wasn't in the mood for cold dogfood out of a can.

I decided to go and check out my new fence while waiting for dinner.  I really liked this little area outside and the best thing is I didn't have to be on my lead. I could see through the gaps and was still able to keep an eye on the front garden. Iv'e noticed a cat wandering around the garden today and it's my job to bark and scare any intruders away. Afterall this is now my home and garden to protect.

Just as I was telling that cat off I heard my name being called .... yippee I thought .. that must mean it's dinner time.

  I couldn't wait to see what I was having and dashed back inside very quickly.

 Chrissy made a lot of food for me and I hoped I liked it. I had a big bowl full and felt very happy. I loved her doggie beef n vegies with rice. It was so yummy and nice and warm in my tummy. I wasn't too sure about the orange things in it though, but noticed they are really good things to throw around the room and play with.

 After dinner I played with my favourite squeaky toy bone and wondered what fun and exciting things might happen the next day.

I have more exciting adventures I'd like to tell you about so be sure to read the second part of my story coming soon.

Sweet dreams and big warm doggie hugs for now.

Buddy Love