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I'll fill in
the gaps, all 99 days of them over the next few days, thanks for
visiting |
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Day 52, October 22nd
Now this should have
been a day in which Mylo would be taken out for his regular Sunday
walk, to the reservoir or maybe even to another rugby match however
the heavens opened and his walks were restricted to a couple of
excursions around the village dodging the rain showers. Not
that Mylo minds the rain - I do !!
We are delighted to be
able to report that Mylo has no decided to confirm to the UK breed
standards and that ear number 2 has decided to mirror ear number 1 -
yes, he now has 2 erect ears, no need for the copydex treatment
after all. |
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Day 51, October 21st
Saturday is
Mylo's day for going to watch the rugby and today was no different -
except for the weather, which was foul - not that Mylo minded as he
seems to like the rain. So many people ask if he requires a
lot of bathing and grooming and are amazed when I tell them that he
needs none, we seem to have a self cleaning dog. Mind you he
did get a bit wet not that it mattered, we won.
On
our return Mylo was a bit put out to find Sam on the sofa so he
decided to nap in the kitchen - for a while at least. As
always Mylo tried to make friends with Sam who continues to regard
him with disdain, however they did share the same room for a while.
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Now the cats are excellent hunters regularly bringing in mice,
voles, shrews, birds and the odd mole or two and this evening
was no exception with a shrew being brought in by Lucky.
Now the normal practice is for Sam and Lucky to share their prey
as they chase it under the furniture - this evening however saw
Mylo join in the fun. He knows that his boundary lies at
the living room door and ,with it open, he watched as the cats
began their play. His patience was rewarded when the shrew
fled from the hall into the lounge, straight into Mylo's waiting
paws. Being Mylo he was as gentle as he could be but got
slightly agitated when the shrew managed to work itself under
the carpet - parents to the rescue time as we tried to; A -
rescue the shrew and B - prevent it from getting further under
the carpet. Things went a bit pear shaped though when the
shrew committed suicide by impaling himself on the gripper
tracks. |
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Mylo was quick off the mark as he got hold of the now dead shrew and
took it onto his bed - well for a while, until he brought it back
into the lounge to proudly show off, and to gnaw ..... mmmm, nice.
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Me and my
bricks |
Our dog and
his dog |
As I write this
Mylo is settled at my feet, sleeping soundly and, at the same time,
keeping my feet warm ..... a perfect end to a perfect day.
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Day 47, October 17th
I should apologise for
not having added to Mylo's blog for the past 10 days - pure laziness
on my behalf I'm afraid and not a case of having nothing to report
on Mylo who continues to provide us with a constant source of
amusement.
Over the past 6 weeks our lives have taken on a new
dimension as
Mylo becomes an integral part of our lifestyle and despite all the
warnings of the disruption that a new puppy can bring we must count
ourselves blessed that he has added to the quality of our lives
rather than intruding into them. Our furniture remains
unscathed, our kitchen floor still has tiles on it and the only
damage he has caused has been to my favourite pair of moccasins -
mind, they are the best part of 20 years old and I could do with a
new pair, oh yes, and several pairs of shoelaces. Mylo seems
to enjoy my feet, either gnawing on my laces or falling asleep on
them when at work at the kitchen table or relaxing in front of the
TV. When he has
had enough of my feet he curls himself up around one of the
loudspeaker stands, and there was me saying we needed a new woofer.
Mylo seems to have discovered the art of barking - callers to the
front door can come and go without fear, birds however are another
matter and with 3 bird tables in our garden we get more than our
fair share of feathered friends and more than our fair share of Mylo
barking - a stern quiet normally does the job though, the birds fly
off and Mylo looks up to the heavens as if to say "who, me?"
We
have yet to fully integrate Mylo and the cats, Mylo is totally blasé
towards them, as if to say; "if they want to be my friends that's
fine, if not ... pfft", the cats are still a little wary of him
however we have managed to get them to share the same room on
several occasions. The one good thing from this is that Sam
and Lucky have remembered that they are related and now tend to
share each others space more than before.
We
had the gardeners in during the week, something
Mylo
enjoyed no end, what fun it was to take the weeds out of one
gardener's sack and carry them across to deposit in the other's.
The freshly turned flower beds looked wonderful, no more so than to
Mylo who decided to bury some of his toys, and one of my much loved
moccasins in them. Unfortunately our neighbours have a Yew
tree whose berries drop into our garden to tempt Mylo into eating
them - not a good move as this has seemed to upset his stomach.
My hastily erected screen to protect Mylo from them has now become
one of Mylo's pet hates, his mission, should he decide to accept it,
is to totally demolish the willow screen to gain access to the bed
full of berries.
Mylo has continued to enjoy his evening strolls to the pub and
Saturday afternoon outings to the rugby matches and more recently
the delights of the walks around the local reservoir - well apart
from the fishermen's carbon fibre poles. Sunday saw us out and
about for the first time at Boddington reservoir, a walk we all
enjoyed until Mylo decided he was tired and conned us with a poorly
paw - ok, back home via the pub then.
On
Monday I took him out for a long walk to a local fishing pool,
ironically named "Dog Lane", a walk he enjoyed enormously until he
decided to chase the ducks - into the lake, thank goodness for a
strong lead as I was able to drag a wet and bedraggled looking pup
out of the water without having to dive in to get him out.
His
left ear continues to be of the floppy variety however I have learnt
that he could be up to 9 months before it decides to become erect so
we are not that concerned. Other than that, all is well in
Mylo world, well apart from him having chewed his way through his
extendable lead, watch this space. |
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Day 37, October 2nd
My mistress and master
took me for a walk to the pub after she got home from work and then
when we got home a little later my master took me out in the Jeep to
something called "Dog Training Classes", now why would I need to
learn to be a dog when I already know?
When we got to the farm where the classes were held there were lots
of people and lots of dogs there, in fact it was quite noisy with
lots of barking. Things went a bit quieter when I walked in
though and a number of people came and stroked me, which was nice.
Not all of the dogs were friendly though, I couldn't understand why,
especially a grey Husky, which I think is a relative of mine.
I just sat there watching what was going on though I wasn't too sure
what to do when people kept saying "sit", "stay", "heel" - oh well I
suppose some dogs need to be taught these things.
Later in the evening with the fire alight I decided to lie down
under the coffee table (is the table getting smaller?) whilst the
big male cat, Sam, lay on the sofa - I decided to join him once, he
didn't even hiss - maybe he is getting used to me, which would be
nice.
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Day 30, September 25th
- Day 36, October 1st
Mylo continues to grow
at a rate that we find difficult to comprehend, and having at long
last been able to find a source for his favourite food - Nature Diet
Puppy - he seems to be eating much better; not that this was a
concern. The week has passed uneventfully and our days
continue to be spent in a comfortable routine for us all; we wake,
Mylo wakes, we have breakfast, Mylo has breakfast and another day is
warmly welcomed. We have discovered that Mylo is more than
happy to use his run during the night, the combination of the
security of the kitchen and access to outside provides him with the
best of both worlds, now, if he would just learn not to use the
paper for his wee tings would be perfect.
We
have recently managed to convince Mylo to accept his collar and
though somewhat disconcerted by it the fact that we no longer have
to struggle with his harness means that the picking up of his lead
is welcomed a lot more readily by him.
Walks within the village continue to be a pleasure, I am discovering
aspects of it that i never knew existed and have spoken to more
people in the past 5 weeks than I had spoken to in the past 5 years
- Mylo certainly is an excellent ice breaker, even to the extent of
having conversations with total strangers opening with "ah, so this
is the puppy we have heard so much about".
Mylo has yet to learn to tell the time as he finds it frustrating
when we walk past the pub outside of opening hours only to be denied
access to what, to him, has become a favourite watering hole.
However when we take our early evening walk and are able to pop into
the Hollybush for a swift cider he is happy beyond measure, he too
seems to like the taste of apples as invariably he will collect one
from the pub's garden and carry it in with him when he announces his
presence in the bar. We are truly lucky to be blessed with a
pub friendly dog and dog friendly pub.
With our Jeep now back on the road we are able to take Mylo out with
him safely restrained within his cage and, as long as he has a toy
or 2 to play with journeys are no problem at all.
Saturday saw us off to Stratford on Avon for another rugby match,
the morning's torrential rain had fortunately ceased and the
afternoon was warm and sunny, a glorious day for rugby and for a dog
to enjoy. Jumping down from the back of the Jeep is no problem
for Mylo, its just the jumping up we need to deal with, and the
expanse of grass and number of people around saw Mylo as happy as
Larry.
He
spent the afternoon contently watching the men run around after the
funny shaped ball, made friends with many more people - and they say
rugby players are hard - and enjoyed his 3 hours of fresh air, as
did I, well we did win again.
Many people forewarned us of the disruption to our lives that a
puppy would bring; chewed furniture, damaged flooring, holes in the
lawn, messes all round the place, barking etc - how wrong they were,
Mylo has been impeccably well behaved, in fact there are times that
we forget he is there, I believe that it is the Borzoi that is known
to be a non-barking dog, well now there is another, a Mylo. A deep
woof occasionally can be heard but a single word of; "quiet" is
enough to bring this to an end.
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Our lives together have developed into an
enjoyable routine with Mylo now well and truly settled. Walks
are a thing of pleasure for both Mylo and I, he enjoying the new
experiences and me the pleasures of discovering the footpaths in and
around our home. Mylo manages to make a half hour stroll into
an hour's adventure, not so much due to his insistence in exploring
everything more due to the number of people stopping to meet Mylo
and chat about him.
Day 22, September
17th - Day 29, September 24th
Sunday being Sunday a stroll to the pub was in order, the weather
was fabulous and it was a perfect opportunity to sit in the
Hollybush garden and enjoy a pint. Three hours later I managed
to prise Mylo away from the throng of children who had been playing
with him and we took the long route home. A very pleasant way
to spend an afternoon indeed.
The
rest of our week without Louise passed without too many
misadventures, apart, that is, from him disappearing from the garden
- panic. We had assumed our garden to be escape proof however
Mylo had discovered that he could wriggle through the gaps in the
fence to our neighbours, fortunately their garden was escape proof
and I discovered Mylo safe and sound on their lawn..... either time
for some DIY or for Mylo not to be left unattended in the garden.
The cats seem to be becoming more accepting of Mylo, we even had a
couple of evenings with them all in the same room, an improvement
indeed.
Monday evening saw us take our constitutional stroll to the pub
where I met one of our local builders who said he had some spare
fencing which I could use to secure the garden, see pub's aren't
just about drinking! Tuesday saw me busy with saw and hammer
and the garden was escape proof much to Mylo's delight. He
certainly enjoys his time in the garden and despite warnings
otherwise he is not a digger so our lawn is pretty much unscathed,
snails, however are a different matter as he enjoys nothing more
then crunching his way through their shells to get to the delicacy.
Our
walks have now become longer and the walk up the hill and then down
through the village is a wonderful way to spend an hour, the views
around us are magnificent and the recent fine weather makes them
even better. I'm not sure who designed our village but
strangely enough almost every route leads us past the pub, much to
Mylo's delight.
Spending every day with him I am not so aware of his growth
development and changes in his colour, however those that see him
less often comment upon both. perhaps his coat is changing
colour but to me he is just Mylo, a perfect and loyal companion.
The breed standard allows for a Finnish Lapphund's ears to be either
erect or floppy - ok, we're 50% there as one of Mylo's ears is
proudly sticking up.
Saturday saw another afternoon out at the rugby a day which both
Mylo and I enjoyed tremendously, Mylo because of
the attention lavished upon him, me because we won. Mylo was
even asked to attend school, well to go to a local school for the
children to see and to be involved in a geography lesson about
Finland.
The
4 hours we were out should have been enough to wear anyone out
however Mylo insisted that he be taken out for an evening walk, well
it was a nice evening and the pub is so local that it would have
been cruel to say no.
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Day 21 September 16th
Now this was an
interesting day which began early with Louise going away on a thing
called a holiday for a week - I thinks that's 7 days. I was
given breakfast early - it was the new stuff, rice, tripe and
chicken, mmmm, yummy. When the master came home I played in
the garden and then fell asleep on his feet, I'm not sure who likes
that most, him or me. After lunch - which was the dry biscuit
stuff, he put me in my harness and we went out in the car - I'm
still not sure about the car thing - and we went to a big area of
grass, where there were lots of people with their legs showing and
running around after a funny shaped ball. apparently this is
something we will do every Saturday.
There were quite a few other dogs there too, which was nice, 2 husky
puppies (are they relatives of mine?), a Staffordshire Bull Terrier
called Tilly and a big black and white spotted puppy. It was
good fun playing with all of them, especially Tilly with whom I
shared some chicken. The master was busy with his camera
taking photographs of the men with the funny shaped balls and whilst
he was lots and lots of people came and stroked me.
When we got home I had something to eat and went to sleep - it had
been a busy but really fun day. |
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Day 20, September 15th
A pretty normal day,
eating, sleeping and playing in the garden - now that is fun, lots
of places to hide and dig. My master got a bit cross with me though
when he found me sitting in the pond, well I like water so why
shouldn't I?
In
the evening we went for a walk, which was a first for me as normally
when we go out I am carried, it was quite exciting walking along the
road to the pub because I had a chance to sniff things outside the
home for the very first time. We went to the pub again but
this time I didn't have to sit on my master's lap. There were
lots and lots of people there and they all made a fuss of me, which
was GREAT. The man who was with Blue was there too - I think
he likes me a lot.
I
realised that if I sat still my by master's feet that I would not
get told off - he seemed happy about that because he took me out
into the garden for me to have a wee. When we went back inside
my master and Louise had something to eat, it smelled really nice
and I was treated to some bacon and some brie cheese, now that WAS
tasty, I think I like cheese.
I
think the walk to the pub thing might become a bit of a habit -
sounds good to me. |
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Day 19, September 14th
~ Day 18, September 13th ~ Day 17, September 12th ~ Day 16,
September 11th
Not a lot to report
just normal stuff, eating, playing and sleeping - I am really trying
to make friends with the cats, I hope they do like me soon. |
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Day 15, September 10th
I must admit that I
kind of like it here, I get fed when regularly, there is always
plenty of water for me to drink and I don't get told off when I have
a wee or a pooh on the paper that is left for me and I get lots of
praise if I wee or pooh in the garden.
We went out at lunch time - why do they insist on carrying me, I can
walk perfectly well - to the place called the pub, I really like it
there because lots of people come up to me and stroke me whilst I
just sit on my master's lap, wagging my tail and looking at them - I
think they quite like me. I made friends with another dog
there, he is quite big but very friendly, he is called Blue, which
is strange because he is white and brown - some humans are a bit
strange I think.
When we got home I played in the garden, had something to eat and
then went to sleep in the lounge. I like that room because
there are lots of things to do there, jump on the sofa - they don't
seem to like that much, and sit in the basket full of wood.
I
still haven't managed to get the 2 cats to like me yet, I wish they
would because they look good fun. |
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Day
14, September 9th
This is one of
those days when my master and mistress are around most of the day so
I get lots of fuss and attention. In the afternoon my master
went out for a long time, apparently next Saturday I can go with him
to something called rugby, I'm not sure what it is but if there are
lots of nice people there I am sure it will be fun. In the
evening a man knocked on the door - was I supposed to bark? - and
the house was full of strange smells, they were having a meal called
an Indian, mmmmm I like the things called popadums. When I get
a bit warm I go and lie down on some metal plates, I think that
they're called loudspeaker stands, they're nice and cool, my owners
laugh and say that the now have something called a woofer, is that
another name for a dog? |
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Day 13, September 8th
Just another day for
me, the pack leader's partner came down first today and made a fuss
of me as I nibbled her toes. I had some breakfast whilst she
cleaned up after me - I like the bits of paper they leave out for me
each night.
Other than all the
normal things that happen in my day things were pretty quiet, well
at least till the evening, those damn cats! The big one sort of
tolerates me but the little one is pretty nasty, especially when she
scratched my nose last night, that hurt and for a while my tail
wouldn't wag. All I want is to be friends with them but they
don't understand that when I lift my paw I'm just saying hello, and
that when I lie down and roll over on my back I am telling them that
I'm not a threat to them. Oh well, one day.
Spent most of the
evening alternating between lying under the coffee table and under
the pack leader's chair. I got a little concerned though when
lots of bright lights and warmth came from next to the television
but relaxed when I found out that it was a thing called an open fire
- kind of nice to look at, but a bit warm for me. |
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Day 12, September 7th
Hi folks, this is
Mylo, I've had enough of the old guy writing about my life so I've
pinched his pc and decided to tell you my side of things ....All in
all it's pretty good here, the pack leader and his partner look
after me pretty well and my new home is OK. I get lots of
attention from them as well as all the other strange people who keep
calling in and everybody keeps wanting to stroke me, now that's fine
my me too. The only things I can't work out are the 2 black
furry things that keep hissing at me - I think the cats don't like
me much.
Pack leader was
upstairs in his office today and I had free run of the kitchen and
the garden which was pretty good, that was until 2 strange people
with big ladders came round the back, I barked once and then ran
into the kitchen, I was a bit scared, I don't think that I am going
to be a guard dog, I like people too much. |
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Day 11, September 6th
A later start to the
day as Mylo did not stir until after 7.00. Much of the morning
saw him enjoy the garden which was bathed in sunlight, Mylo deciding
though to take up his favourite position in the one flowerbed that
was in shade all day. |
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Day 10, September 5th
Our days have now
developed into a comfortable pattern, Mylo's routine seems to be
established, a routine which suits us all.
During the evening
Sam, our laid back tom, appeared to forget about the front door cat
flap when he wandered through from the back and promptly came face
to face with Mylo.... a Mexican stand off saw Mylo politely raise
his paw in greeting and for Sam to hiss. Mylo decided that the
best course of action would be to lie on his back in submission to
which Sam responded by lying down in front of him.... oh well a
slight improvement.
Later in the
evening Mylo had a mad half hour which saw him gambolling around the
lounge and trying to jump on the sofa, not to be encouraged, before
settling down for another nap. |
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Day 9, September 4th
Another good night,
Mylo certainly seems to have settled in to an excellent night time
routine, which saw us all wake at an acceptable hour. A trip
to the vets had been arranged for Mylo to have his booster, 2 weeks
to go before he can be taken out for walks, and a check over as this
was to be his first visit. Mylo managed to steal a few more
hearts as he met other pets in the waiting room, but, what a
wonderful practice it is, appointment at 9.30, seen at 9.30, now
that's efficient. His check up showed him well and healthy
apart from what could turn out to be a small hernia where his
umbilical cord had been, a return trip in 3 months will tell us
more. Trips out in the Jeep are taken in his stride so it
appears as though Mylo will enjoy car journeys with us.
Mylo's day has
taken on a regular routine, wake, garden, eat, play, garden, rest -
wake, garden, eat, play, rest ..... that is until the evening when
he joins us in the lounge and manages to distract us completely from
the television as he plays with his toys. Invariably he will
settle down for a nap, either under my chair, Louise's feet or the
coffee table.
The cats have yet
to accept that Mylo is no threat to him, however the newly fitted
cat flap in the front door seems to have gone down well |
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Day 8, September 3rd
What is it about a
Sunday that makes one want to lie in? Mylo thought so too and
did not stir till 8.00, just before the Sunday papers arrived and
when they did, a slight bark was all that was necessary to advise us
of their arrival.
Today would be a
week since Mylo joined us and, apart from the cat's disdain towards
him, he had settled in remarkably well, better than we had expected.
The puppy guide recommended that pups be introduced to new
experiences as soon as possible, however Mylo was NOT impressed with
the noise from my drill and jigsaw as I fitted as I fitted a cat
flap to the front door to give Sam & Lucky another means of entry -
it was getting to cold to leave the lounge window open.
Being Sunday a
stroll to the pub at lunch was called for, and with harness on and
in my arms the 123 pace walk was undertaken. Now our local pub
is exactly that, the hub of the village, and with all manner of
characters frequenting it. Mylo most definitely approved as he
sat on my lap watching the door opening to allow new faces in, each
one was greeted with a slight tilt of the head and then vigorous
tail wagging as he was introduced to what, most probably, will be a
rather large fan club.
Mylo spent much of
the day in the garden with Louise, someone who just a few months ago
was vehement in her refusal to even entertain the thought of a dog,
Mylo had certainly won her over. The garden had not seen a
lawn mower for several weeks and as it was becoming harder and
harder to see Mylo in the grass my afternoon was spent with the
mower, which for Mylo was not a pleasant experience. Once cut
though he was out and about enjoying the smell of freshly mown
grass.
His evening was
spent sleeping, well he had had a busy day, and we were concerned
that his night might be an active one .... totally unfounded as he
again stirred sometime after 7.00 am this is a clever dog - he even
knows our sleep patterns. Tomorrow might be less pleasant for
him however as he will be visiting the vet for his booster
injections, 2 weeks to go and he can be taken out properly, we can't
wait. |
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Day 7, September 2nd
Today would be the
first when Mylo would be left during the day with Louise going
shopping and me having to have a few errands to run that would not
be safe for Mylo to accompany on.
Well..... that went
well, 2 hours on his own, no accidents and no chewed
furniture...Mylo seems to be able to be left for short periods with
no problems. Being a Saturday I would normally spend the
afternoon at the rugby club, however today's fixture was a friendly
and it was not vital that I went. Two other factors influenced
my decision, it was raining and Mylo could not yet accompany me, his
booster being scheduled for next week meant another 2 weeks before
he could have the pleasure of interacting with other dogs.
Instead, my day would be spent at home relaxing with Mylo, something
he seems to do quite well.
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click to enlarge |
There was still a
major obstacle to be achieved in Mylo's integration into our
life .... he, and the cats had to begin to get on. Though
we had had no real concerns, Mylo seemed to look upon the cats
as members of his litter with whom to play, the cats viewed him
somewhat differently. As an intruder into their previously
calm lives Mylo was NOT approved of, Lucky spending most of her
day either outside or on our bed and Sam, superior as ever,
looking down his nose at Mylo. However the evening was to
bring about a new atmosphere for Mylo.... face to face
confrontation with Sam. In the end it was little more than
a Mexican stand-off with Mylo lifting his paw to say hello to
Sam and Sam responding with the odd hiss or two. Ten
minutes later it is was all over, Sam on Louise's lap and Mylo
under my chair, for a change. |
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Day 6, September 1st
The concern of
disturbed nights seems to have been unfounded as Mylo now
understands that bed time means no noise for the next 7 hours
please. Mornings have taken on a whole new meaning though for
Louise and I, making tea and coffee has taken on a new dimension as
it is now accompanied by Mylo's enthusiastic but loving greeting to
either one of us. His breakfast is followed by a romp in the
garden - his opportunity to do the necessary - and to hunt out more
slugs, creatures the hold a bizarre fascination for him. Its
surprising how my days have become more enjoyable, working from home
means days sent with no company, Mylo has changed this, knowing he
is in the kitchen and the hourly checks on him means an opportunity
to leave my office and enjoy Mylo's company for a while.
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Though he still
has the odd accident Mylo is becoming accustomed to the hourly
visits to the garden, and Louise and I are now aware of his
early warning signs meaning we might no longer need to buy
shares in the kitchen roll manufacturing company.
It's quite amazing
how he is growing and, as Louise thinks, changing colour ....
I'm not convinced but that might be because I have grown to love
his markings, who knows, maybe he will take after his father,
Hapmi and become a pure sable, rather than his mother, a pale
golden colour. |
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Day 5, August 31st
Seven hours, pfft,
let's make it eight... Louise once again took the early shift,
feeding Mylo his breakfast and tidying up the minor mess from the
night. The toys that Myah brought last evening certainly
seemed to have been appreciated by Mylo, company and chewability....
perfect.
Today has been a
day without the need to leave the house and Mylo made the most of
the weather to enjoy the garden and the freedom it gave him.
Louise came home with more of what has turned out to be his
favourite food along with another cat flap for me to fit to the
front door to give Sam and Lucky another route in, and out, of the
house without having to pass by Mylo to closely.
Mylo appears to
have discovered the joys of chewing.... time to put away the
valuables.
The cats' attitude
to the intruder are interesting to say the least, Sam merely glances
disdainfully at Mylo, while Lucky does all she can to avoid him.
The upside of this is their desire to spend more time in the
security of our bedroom, the downside is the fact that I have to get
the jigsaw out over the weekend. We are hopeful that an
entente cordiale will prevail and that the cats and Mylo will become
friends .... they better as we have no desire to see any of them
upset.
Louise commented
that Mylo's colour seems to be lightening, new pictures will be
posted tomorrow, we shall see.
As I sit in my
chair and create today's entry Mylo is once again nestled under
me.... he will be really miffed when he has grown to big to do so.
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Day 4, August 30th
An undisturbed
night... woo hoo. Mylo, allowed free roam of the kitchen went
through the night, awakening around 6.30, his litter box had been
used and, other a slightly chewed leaf had done no damage to
Louise's beloved kitchen. Ignored, but acknowledge for the
first 5 minutes as I made tea and coffee Mylo was then given a
little attention before being given his breakfast and then taken
into the garden... and to do his business.
A good night's
sleep works wonders for everyone and we were all set for the day.
The working day came
and went with Mylo becoming an integral part of it. The breaks
necessary for his welfare provided an opportunity to leave the
computer screen and enjoy the weather as Mylo discovered the
delights of wet grass - strange to note that even when wet from his
romping in the grass Mylo still managed to smell of .... well
nothing really.
Not only did the
garden provide an opportunity to run and jump, ok, pounce, it also
gave Mylo the opportunity to begin his toilet training.... things
sem to be working out quite nicely.
Visitors in the
evening - odd that we now seem to be the most popular people around
- ensured that Mylo got the attention he enjoyed and, as a result,
was tired out from it. Once again the last few hours of the
evening were spent with him fast asleep under my chair, head on my
foot, before putting him to bed in the kitchen. Fingers
crossed we would have another good night, after all seven hours
should be enough for anyone ...... so they say.
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Day 3,
August 29th
Oh dear, perhaps we
spoke too soon, bed seemed to be a good idea and Mylo settled well.
However a episode of barking at 3.30 awoke Louise and I from our
slumbers... Mylo wanted some company. I went downstairs and
opened the door to the kitchen and then to Mylo's pen, his cries
subsided, his tail started to wag and I put the kettle on.
Having chastised him for his barking Mylo was released from his pen
and he trotted over to what now seemed to be his preferred resting
place, under the kitchen table. As I sat down to enjoy a
coffee and read the paper Mylo promptly settled his head on my foot
and dropped off to sleep, as I did too, though not quite as
comfortably, half an hour later I awoke and put Mylo back to
bed for, what I hoped would be a few more hours sleep.
6.30 saw Mylo awake
and his barking awoke us too, another day had begun.
His list of
experiences continued throughout the day, a tractor, the bin men and
the post person came and went without any distress and a trip out in
the car to the post office was calmly taken in his stride.
Though more than happy to sit in the car I decided to take him in
with me..... bad move, a 10 minute visit to buy a few stamps
extended to half an hour as Mylo stole a few more hearts.
Once home Mylo enjoyed
another play in the garden, experiencing the joys of damp grass,
made more so by a couple more toilet trips. Dinner came and
went and the evening was spent with him exploring his new
surroundings and getting used to Sam and Lucky.
A new plan for bed
time has been agreed, Mylo will be allowed free use of the kitchen,
which he so obviously feels comfortable in, rather than being
confined to his pen.... will it work? We shall see. |
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Day 2,
August 28th -
Bank Holiday Monday
The night had passed
peacefully and the paper laid down in the event of accidents had
been used twice, breakfast came and went and Mylo's first full day
began and it was time for Mylo to start experiencing what would
become normal activity in his new home. The dishwasher, vacuum
cleaner and washing machine were taken in his stride as we made the
house ready for our expected influx of visitors.
My son Matthew and
his girlfriend Lucy came for lunch , well that was their excuse, and
as it cooked we took the short stroll to the village pub, Mylo being
carried of course. It has been said that when not busy herding
Reindeer a Lappy is busy stealing people's hearts, how true, we must
remember that in future a trip to the pub with Mylo might involve
quite a lot more conversations with total strangers than normal.
Mylo's list of
first experiences was rapidly growing, a man with a walking stick, a
lady in a hat, a baby in a pushchair and the smell of cider....
Though we are
feeding Mylo according to the advice given his appetite has not yet
fully returned since leaving his first home and there are instances
when his bowl of freshly prepared food goes untouched, no doubt he
will eat when hungry, however he seems too busy exploring and
sleeping. |
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Having so far been
confined to his pen and run we thought that the time was right
to introduce Mylo to the garden, & for 15 minutes he enjoyed the
fresh air and grass, maybe I should have cut it however Mylo
seemed to enjoy its lush texture.
The picture on the
right, taken by Louise, shows Mylo experiencing the garden for
the first time and perfectly captures his symmetrical markings
which will, we have been told, gradually fade as his natural
sable colour becomes dominant. We had hoped that, whilst
outside, he might have taken advantage of the garden to relieve
himself... alas no, paper seems to be one of his favourite
surfaces. |
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Mylo's lunch was
prepared, and served... and ignored, playing with Louise seemed
preferable, well at least for a short while, before settling down
for a nap under the kitchen table. Ten minutes ago we heard a
muted growl from Mylo fearing something was amiss Louise and I
turned round, no problem Mylo had merely wandered in to the living
room to ensure he hadn't been left ... his growl was simply a means
to attract our attention. Assured that all was well he
wandered back to the kitchen and settled again under the table,
sleep beckoned.
Perhaps the downside
of grass being green is its similarity to the colour of our living
room carpet which, at the moment seems to be his second favourite
watering place .... ah well, he has only been with us for 24 hours.
After an evening spent
snuggled under my chair it was time to put Mylo to bed, hopefully
the night would pass as peacefully as the one before.....
more |
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