A SPAGHETTI-LOVER STORY

Today let me tell you a spaghetti-lover story.

Ages ago Dearhubby and I decided to go backpacking on Greek islands with a couple of friends, and, of course Jolux, our very first furry baby.

Once on the island, everything went on smoothly.

We let Jolux frolic in the backcountry, and when in villages, we leashed him up so that he didn't bother anyone, even though the locals used to give him lots of cuddles and pats.

Unfortunately, for his meals we had been dead wrong, and we quickly ran out of dry pet food.
 Asking the natives where we could get dog food (dry or tinned) turned  soon  into a daily headache !

We were so bad at making ourselves understood that once we nearly fed our hungry little dog with stuffed grapes leaves ! (by the way, that's delicious !).

We were fed up, but Jolux was not !

So, one day, in an open-air restaurant, we were about to order, when Dearhubby had a bright idea.

He would order two courses : a Greek salad, and meatballs with spaghetti and he would give the latter to our dog, on the sly, of course !

As soon as the waiter had served us, Dearhubby immediately spooned the spaghetti dish into our dog's bowl under the table. That "trick " took him just a few seconds.

Hardly had he put the plate back onto the table when the waiter was back with some water.

When he saw the empty plate, he nearly dropped the jug ! He stared at my husband, turned round and rushed back inside to tell the cook to keep cooking, cause there was a guy outside eating like a horse and what's worse, awfully quickly !!

We were doubled up with laughter ! Under the table our little spaghetti-lover, his belly full,  was having an after-lunch nap  and maybe  dreaming he was acting in Disney  cartoon " Lady and the Tramp"...

MY DOG CAN SPEAK! LISTEN!

Believe me or not, guys, but my dog Canaille can speak and he is pretty good at it!

His  favourite hangout to have a chat with me is the kitchen.

I'm an early riser, but even in the wee hours of the morning, when I step into the kitchen, I'm quite sure to come across him.

Sometimes I wonder if he was not about to raid the fridge, but I have never caught him red-handed (and red-pawed, either).

Anyway, my suspicions are quickly swept away by his innocent eyes looking down at his bowl, up at me and down at his bowl again, as if saying :

   " Good morning, Sleeping Beauty! I thought you would never wake   up! You know, I've been fasting since last night, and I really need to fuel up. Can't you hear my tummy rumbling ? So, if you don't mind, we'll have a real talk later ".

OK, then! While I am sipping my first cup of tea, he swallows down his morning bowl, and once done with it, he gives me a big ' Hope you'll repeat the invitation ' thank you.

                        

At lunch and dinner time, that good guest is back in the kitchen, ready to help and chat.

" You're taking the chopping board out ? Well, don't worry, Mum, if you drop one of those mouth-watering things you're cutting, I'll clean up the floor ".

" What are you stirring ? It smells delicious!".

You see, that guy always finds the right word to cheer up the lousy cook I am.

Don't misunderstand me. Canaille doesn't open his mouth just to play the food critic.

When I am brooding or worrying, he is quick at noticing it, and never fails to put his paw on my lap and say :

  " Come on, Mum, let's go outside and play a good ' Fetch the ball ' game. Sure, you'll realize all is not gloom and doom today! ".

That sweetheart has really a zest for life and today he has told me to share his dogylosophy with all of you, so here it is :

A SHORT THRILLER

Some years ago, I used to live in a village in the middle of nowhere. My nextdoor neighbour was friendly, but as deaf as a post. I mean, I knew I couldn't rely on him if I shouted for help. Fortunatelty the case had never arisen.

One night, my husband was on a business trip and I was alone at home. As there was nothing much on telly, I decided to go to bed to read the thriller I had just bought. The bookseller had told me it was a fast pace, tightly written novel that would keep me reading long into the night.

He was quite right. Not only was the story riveting, but the unexpected plot twists kept me turning the pages !

Unfortunately, a glance at the alarm-clock warned me that, if I didn't want to wake up with puffy eyes ( I had a busy morning ahead of me), it was high time to switch off the light.

After rolling and tossing a while ( I was still in the thriller), sleep was about to come, when suddenly I heard a weird noise, and a kind of muffled conversation !!

I tiptoed downstairs and found the dog up in his basket, growling and shaking with fear ( at the time he was just a puppy, not a watch-dog yet ..). I could still hear the voices !

Sure, there were burglars in the living-room. I slowly crept across the hall to the kitchen to fetch something to defend myself. As I was about to open the knife drawer, I got knocked on the nape of the neck !!

My heart dropped to the pitch of my stomach, but the blow was not that strong and I didn't faint.

Yet, I was petrified and unable to turn back to face my attacker.

The conversation was still going on in the living-room,so it meant the man behind me had at least two accomplices !!

Well, if I was about to die, why not die bravely ?

I screwed up my courage and turned back slowly ...

In a split second, my 'serial killer' was lying on the floor ! I heaved a sigh of relief !!

Before going to bed I had swept the floor and forgot to put the broom away.When entering the kitchen, I had stepped on the brush, and it had made the stick tilt and knock my head !!

But yet, in the other room the intruders were still taking it easy ...

I grabbed a carving knife, burst into the living-room, switched on the light ...no soul around ! Just a light on the radio !

Jeez ! When switching it off with the remote control, I had pressed the wrong function ! Instead of turning it off, I had turned it down !

Phew !! The thriller recommended by my bookseller had really set my imagination to a fever ! I should have chosen a fairy tale !
The Sleeping Beauty, for example ...

AN AWESOME ALARM-CLOCK APP

Hello everydoggy,

My name is Canaille. I am an English Springer Spaniel and Perky, this blog's owner, is my Mum.

I don't kow about you, but snuggling down in a comfy bed for a good night sleep is one of my favourite activities.

    NEVER WITHOUT MY SWEET TEDDY BEAR

Unfortunately my bodyclock gives me chronic insomnia. I mean whatever the time I have dinner, the rumblings of my belly wake me up in the early hours of dawn and then no way to get back to sleep!

What can I do? 

Paw up and down the kitchen? Absolutely silly! Everydoggy knows that exercising leaves you peckish, so no need to make me hungrier than I am!

Practise some counter surfing? Even though it is one of my hobbies, it is not worth thinking about it,cause before going to bed Mum stores any leftovers in the fridge! 

What else then?

Well, actually the only solution is to wake up my favourite breakfast maker, aka Mummy.

But if I don't want to get a tongue-lashing, I have to pretend I haven't done it on purpose. You see, at the crack of dawn Mum is still sound asleep and she could be grumpy if I started barking " Wakie, wakie, time to wake up ".

So, today at 5am I had such a hollow feeling in my stomach that I decided to lean against Mum's bedroom door and scratch my ears. No pawing at the door, no barking, just an innocent dog cleaning his ears against the door!

You know the song by Bob Dylan " Kockin' on Heaven's Door "?

Well, nothing of the kind for me! 

It was rather like " Highway to Hell " by AC/DC!

Mum stormed out of her bedroom and told me off.

Yes, guys, she called me names, and , believe me, not sweet ones :

" A stomach on legs ", " A glutton ", " A foodaholic " and so on…

But if words are wasted on a starving man, they are wasted on a starving dog, as well, and tomorrow I am determined to use the " ear scratching against the door " trick to wake my breakfast maker up, cause the early bird catches the worm and the early soul catches the bowl ( that's a saying I have just made up).

Now it is time for me to have a good nap. I'll be back on line soon. In the meantime have a fantastic week whatever you have planned.

                                                 Canaille, the darling of the blogosphere.

A BOILING BIRTHDAY SURPRISE

Hi everydoggy, 

My name is Canaille. I am an English Springer Spaniel and Perky, this blog's owner, is my Mum.

As Summer Season is just on, she is pretty busy gardening and she lets me blog for her and entertain you with my funny and sometimes wacky adventures.

Well, some days are just plain harder than others, that's what yesterday was like for me. Here is what happened.

I am always peckish, I mean I want to snack all the time even if I've only just eaten a proper meal not long before.

So,of course, at home my favourite room is the pantry.

Unfortunately, most of the time it is locked, but yesterday Mum left the door slightly ajar and I could sneak into "the treasure room".

Poor me! On the shelves a lot of food, but either in cans, jars or packs, so no way to treat myself with anything.

I was about to turn back when I caught sight of a crate in the corner of the room, and guess what!

A lot of red balls in it!

For sure, it was my birhday present that Mum had hidden there till my 

B-day (on September 6th for info).

I couldn't help testing one.

It didn't bounce at all, but the "roll the ball " technique seemed to work perfectly.

So, there I was, busy rolling the ball and jumping to catch it when suddenly Mum broke in and said :

" Canaille, you're really a naughty boy ", and then she took the crate to the kitchen and started washing all the balls.

Quite true that they were rather earthy, but Mum knows that playing with dirty or muddy balls has never put me off.

Anyway, she still had a surprise in store for me and, believe me, an awfully bad one…

Once she had washed all the balls, instead of inviting me for a good

" Fetch the ball! " game, that silly clean freak threw them all into boiling water!

Jeez, cleanfreak? Rather borderline germaphobe!!

I was just like my birthday present in the pot : boiling over! What a dog's life!

I was about to blow the fuse when Mum said to Daddy :

" I hope those red potatoes will be tasty, cause they are rather expensive!" .

Naughty me, instead of testing my so-called birthday present, I should have tasted it. I had barked up the wrong tree. That will teach me!

Curiosity killed the cat, but the dog, as well!

That's all for now, dear readers.

Feel free to share my adventures with whoever you want to.

                   Your faithful Canaille, the darling of the blogosphere

HOW TO DEAL WITH UNEXPECTED GUESTS

Hello everydoggy,

My name is Canaille. I am an English Springer Spaniel and Perky, this blog's owner, is my Mum.

As Summer Season is just on, she is pretty busy gardening and she lets me blog for her and entertain you with my funny and sometimes wacky adventures.

If you have read my last post, you already know that there are two foxy intruders in the garden, ready to take my place in Perky's heart.

Of course, I know it won't happen, cause there is not a second in the day when I don't show Perky I love her to the moon and back.

As soon as she gets up, I follow her room-to-room. Sometimes she grumbles that I'm always underfoot and that she should have called me

" Glue-Glue " or "Sticky" instead of Canaille. 

Anyway, whatever she calls me doesn't matter, cause the issue today is how to deal with the two foxes who have been squatting the garden for nearly one month now.

Those two guys are really cheeky and feel footloose and fancy free in my favourite playground!

Yesterday they tore to pieces one of my squeaky toys and Perky just said was that it was my fault cause I should have brought it back home!!

Sometimes "Mrs I-give-lessons-to everyone" gets on my nerves…

But she is my darling and I forgive her everything, except her last light bulb moment.

You know what she has declared?

That if the two foxes come every evening after dinner, it's because they are hungry and begging for some left-overs!

First I had a great aha moment, cause, you see Perky is a good eater and there are never any left-overs.

But a few seconds later my blood ran cold when she added that maybe she could try giving them some of my dry pet food!! 

That girl is as cheeky as the two foxes in the garden! She could at least have asked me!!

So, dear readers, before that naughty girl makes an irreparable error, please leave some comments and suggestions on how to deal with those unexpected guests!

Thanks in advance.

Canaille, your favourite entertainer.

LOOK AT THE PHOTO AT THE END OF MY POST AND HELP ME!!

Hello everydoggy,

My name is Canaille. I am an English Springer Spaniel and Perky, this blog's owner, is my mum.

Just a short post to ask you, dear readers, for some comforting words, cause my heart is nearly broken.

I think I am no longer Perky's and Daddy's only darling!

Of course, I still get a lot of cuddles and treats (not enough in spite of my begging eyes), but I feel there's something going on.

Every evening after dinner, instead of  sitting in the sofa with me squeezed between them, they stay on the terrace and whisper.

You see, when Perky tries to play the dog-trainer and gives me silly commands such as "Sit" or "Stay still", I pretend to be deaf, cause my honor is at stake : I am not a performing dog!!

But when Perky and Daddy whisper, I know I must prick up my ears, cause they are planning either a ride to the vet or a visit at the groomer's.

But this time nothing of the kind.

Every evening it is the same old tune. 

They go into raptures about my future challenger's pointy ears, fluffy coat and bushy tail.

Then, they say he must be young.

Why on earth do they want to get a puppy?

I'm nearly twelve, but when it comes to raiding the kitchen worktop or digging holes in Perky's flower-beds, I am second to none.

So, what else do they need?

Puppy's pee and poo on their carpet??

Jeez, human beings are sometimes unpredictable!

And the worst is that sometimes they add that he must be abandonned.

Well, good intentions, but they will be disappointed, cause at the nearby dog-shelter there are only old-timers.

Anyway,I think there has been a misunderstanding : " he must be abandonned"  is not an obligation, but rather a strong probability, cause Perky has taken a photo of my rival waiting in the garden with one of his buddies. The more, the merrier? How cheeky!

So, please look carefully at the photo, and tell me what breed is the new dog who is trying to rob my place in Perky's and daddy's heart?

Thanks in advance!