on water, dogs and independence

Piccolina says that she would far rather go to the vet for an injection than have a bath!

Zacchi, seeing the bath tub being washed and warmed, simply flattened himself into the concrete, turned his head away, looked miserable and waited for the inevitable. He allowed himself to be trimmed, lathered, doused, dunked and dried. This time there was not even a growl. Even without his collar on I had complete control of the bath time.

Piccolina fought, pulled, twisted and turned, yelped and was generally uncooperative. I had to hold her collar and keep her under control. In the end I think I was as wet as she was.

Zacchi, after his bath, shook himself and ran around trying to rub off the smell of the shampoo, keeping an eye out for the treat he knew would come. Piccolina, after her bath, sulked so much that she wouldn't even take a delicious treat from me. So much for my post about "Brava Piccolina!"

Zacchi has taken on board my dog-bath mantra, "This is what love looks like", but Piccolina says "you can keep your affection, that water is WET!"

Ah well, you can't win them all. (The bad news, Pickle, is that there is another bath with that shampoo scheduled for Monday...)

*****

Kiwi visitor went on her way early this morning; we miss her already. I miss the animated conversation, the dogs are still whimpering for her to walk them.

The birds are even louder than last year, I am sure. The bees and blowflies herald spring and approaching summer. Messages from New Zealand tell me it is getting cold there. This is a good place to be!

*****

Yesterday I was severely reprimanded for not letting a friend know when I fell and damaged my foot. "Kay, you've got to learn to be more Italian. Don't make me angry. Call me!" Don't worry, if it is a real emergency I will call; friend's wife is an emergency doctor at a hospital not too far away.

Instead of calling her I had simply had my foot x-rayed at the closest hospital and then gladly taken the advice to keep the foot up for ten days. There were times I needed to drive though, and perhaps I would have been more comfortable with more attentive care and strapping. Stubborn Kiwi independence is not always a blessing, much as I try to increase, rather than lose, my independence here.

Today I am grateful for caring friends.