Showing posts with label dogs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dogs. Show all posts

Monday, March 30, 2009

The park is full of surprises



So far this year there’s not been that much to laugh about. Apart from everything else I’ve written about, I also had a DKK 7,500 bill from the tandlæge. However, I did get a good laugh yesterday.

We organised to meet a friend and her dog at Frederiksberg gardens to have a run around with Hamish. The dogs had a ball (literally) for around two hours and were absolutely exhausted by the end.

When we go to the park, we take a few of those black doggy poo bags and stuff one with treats.

NQDII asked both dogs if they’d like a treat.

Tails wagged at a million miles an hour.

‘Okay,’ said NQDII. ‘Here you go.’

And put his hand into the bag to get them.

While his hand was still in he said quizzically. ‘That’s odd, these strip things have melted or something.’

Or something.

Our friend and I looked perplexed until a mortified look settled on NQDII’s face.

‘Oh nooooooooo! I’ve got my hand in dog shit!’

Poor NQDII… What a dreadful experience. And for a virologist, even more so. I could see an encyclopaedia of pathogens running through his brain.

It was a 300m dash to the loos to clean up but he couldn’t really relax until he came home and doused himself in disinfectant.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Okay Barack and Michelle, I dare ya!



To be honest, before we got Hamish I was never a doggy person. We always had dogs of the farm growing up but they were farm dogs. But, when I bought Hamish, I immediately fell in love with him. Must be old age.

Looking through The Times online early this morning, I found this pic in an article about hypo-allergenic dogs for the new Presidential family in the US. He or she is the same 'breed' as Hamish - a labradoodle. I use the term 'breed' loosely because there's a lot of hoo-ha about labradoodles and their authenticity as a breed, because they're so new. I don't worry about all that because in that respect, I'm not a snob.

Not a day goes by in København when I take Hamish for a walk and someone comments on him. Seriously. 'Hvad er han for en race?' I get. I think he's the only one in Denmark. He's hugely popular and laps up the attention. I think the Obama's could do worse.

I mean, can you not be affected by this pic or am I getting sentimental in my own age?

I wonder if the Fogh's have a dog?

Labradoodles!

Monday, October 13, 2008

A nice relaxing Sunday/night




After a walk and throw of the ball on Saturday, I let Hamish play with it in the house for a while. I thought he was particularly quiet and went to check. I found a 20 crown sized piece of the above ball on the floor but not the rest of it. He looked very sheepish and I immediately knew he’d devoured all but that piece.

Consequently, much of yesterday was spent examining ‘exiting material’ on our trips outside, which were many. At least it’s coming out because I was wondering if he’d suffer some sort of blockage. I suspect more is to come, judging by the surprise that met me on the floor this morning - something he never does.

Iit’s not how I planned to spend my Sunday.or morning before work today.

Why do they do it?

Sunday, February 24, 2008

This week in Copenhagen

The back yard dog poo mine field


Well, where shall I start? Disgruntled neighbour? Work? Danish class? Bomb blast?

Hmm.

Firstly, we had a lovely note (in English, so it could only have been for us) from one of our neighbours above us about the doggy-doo in the back yard. I’ll preface this by saying we always pick up Hamish’s poo (in bags, of course, not with our hands) after he’s satisfied himself. But, occasionally, late at night before we go to bed we leave it till the next morning because it’s too dark to find it and you run the risk of stepping in it in the search.

Nevertheless, first thing NQDII does is go out, as if is life depends on it, fossicking around first thing in the morning for it. And, so it should be. However, one of our upstairs neighbours doesn’t think that is good enough and we had an ‘ever so nice’ letter shoved through our door asking us, more or less, to more vigilant in our endeavour. In fact, her letter suggested we never picked up after him at all.

To be honest, it didn’t really worry me but when I came home from work the mood was…tense and he pointed to the note on the bench.

The first thing I did was go out and buy a torch so we could find his precious droppings before we retired for the night. I told him to not worry about it as the note was written very nicely and we have been diligent since but that didn’t stop NQDII (who was somewhat disgruntled and upset) from writing a reply saying we would be more careful in future and putting the note under her door – or what he thought was her door…

Anyway, I never gave it another thought until this afternoon when I happened to pass said disgruntled neighbour in the street saying “Hej” to be greeted with barely eye contact. At first, I just thought ‘well, it’s your problem, X’, not mine. We’ve mended our ways and you’re the one stewing.’

Sitting here now, it’s really getting to me that people (well she) is so nasty about the whole thing. I don’ t like that because I can’t see, in the scheme of world mayhem, how much it really counts. Nevertheless, it is paramount to another Suez crisis for her.

I might add, as nicely as possible, that her dog is a scrawny, odd looking rattish thing that barks incessantly on the stairwell and not very pleasant.

I was really offended by her dismissive glance of me in the street. It’s not like we’ve ever done anything to upset her but, obviously we’ve done our dash as far as she is concerned. I am satisfying myself now by believing she must have inner…challenges she needs to work through but, to be frank, I can’t be bothered finding out what these may be.

To counteract this I’ve been madly searching on nybolig.dk for flats to buy. I’m thinking Christianshavn or around near the palace but she’s turned me off Frederiksberg today. Neither of us like throwing money away on rent but, as aliens from the Hassidic-oriented Caulfield North sector on Planet Melbourne, I’m not sure we’re allowed to buy property quite just yet, although the interest rates are very attractive and our nieces and nephews will probably thank us posthumously for the prudent move should we be able too.

I am trying to reason in my head that there are very nice people in our building. The young – exceedingly handsome couple on the ground floor with their adorable baby daughter and gorgeous White Welsh Terrier, Gustav, who Hamish adores and the people next door to us who are delightful. But the bitter, nasty lady upstairs with her funny feral, ratty dog has turned me off the place.

I am having visions of her being one of the couple of those neighbours in that US sitcom – whatever it was called, with Paul whatisname and the supposedly upherself actress with the blonde hair who, hard as they tried, these neighbours didn’t like them.

I don’t know why it’s so hard for people to be…well, just nice. After all, we’re all of us, just trying to survive and do our best. Grrr. I’ll be alright but she has put a damper on my weekend. I’d say I hope she gets crabs but that would be un-Christian of me.