Atia: Day 2 & 3

The next day, it was clear that Atia was feeling much better. For starters, no sooner had Dante vacated his bed at the crack of dawn, Atia commenced Operation Takeover Dante's Stuff:

"Uhm ... errr ... Mum? Why is Dante looking at me like that? What do you mean it's his FAVOURITE bed? Oh ..."

She was still carrying her "baby" everywhere with her (even when going out into the yard to pee!), but she was a little more inquisitive and less mopey. Of course, Operation Takeover meant she claimed all the prime sunny spots in the house as well:

Pixie is keeping the secret of the moving sunbeams to herself for now.

I had booked the day off work, but had to drop into the office for a couple hours first thing in the morning. According to The Fred, who had the day off as well, after I had left the house Atia wandered around looking for me for a while, then resignedly plonked herself down on the stairway landing where she could keep an eye on the front door for my reappearance and still keep an ear out for activitiy upstairs:

When I returned a couple of hours later, the whole house was abuzz with excitement because the dogs had gotten wind that we were going out HIKING.

It was a bit of mayhem getting two dogs ready to go after only having to fuss about Dante for a long while now, but we finally did end up out the door, with the two dogs giving each other hairy eyeballs in the backseat making sure that their respective halves of the seat were clearly staked out.

The weather wasn't as warm as we had hoped, but it wasn't too bad once we all started moving at a good brisk pace. Actually, it was pretty much like a route march for at least a solid hour, so that gave the dogs a great workout and they had a blast zipping past each other on varied terrain. I didn't get as many varied photos as I would have liked, as many parts of the trail was sheer ice and safety and commonsense dictated that I had to set the camera aside to ensure I had proper footing and grip as we moved along (especially when two Dobermans are zooming to and fro alongside at high speed!); but here are some from the hike:

"Let's go let's go LET'S GO!!!!"

Interesting smells abound ...

Dante showing off -- notice that all his four feet are off the ground!

Emergency braking!

Revving up again ...

"Dante!!! WAIT UP!!!!"

Homeward bound ...

Atia seemed to have worn herself out on the hike, so much so that she seemed to have gotten into a cranky spell for the rest of the evening holing herself up in her crate cuddling with her "baby". Dante on the other hand had just enough stamina to hang around mooching for handouts as bacon, sausages and eggs were put on the grill. The Fred and I relaxed and enjoyed the rest of our day off with two tired but happy puppies moseying up for the occasional pet and scratch every now and then.

Day 3 (today), Atia woke up quite the chirpy little girl. Dante on the other hand was starting to have the "Is she going home yet Mum???" look on his face. I was back at work for the day, while The Fred was lucky enough to be able to work from home and play the role of Puppy Nanny. I had to be content with getting updates throughout the day from The Fred on how Atia was much happier around the house, and starting to goad Dante (who would have none of it) into play. The cats were a little cranky that all their usual attention had literally gone to the dogs (yeah I bet you saw that pun coming a mile away!), but otherwise the dogs were voluntarily on their best behaviour and actually spent most of the day curled up in the home office with The Fred working away:

There were potty, snack and play breaks of course, and then the dogs trailed The Fred back into the office and switched beds every so often:

When I got home from work later in the day, it was time for a nice long walk. We were out for over an hour, and got caught in a flash downpour on our way back. Eau de Wet Dog was the scent for the night!

Dinner for the dogs and humans later, Atia's breeder showed up at the expected time, and ... Atia was gone. It's been a good 3 days having her around again, even if just for a short while.

Until next time Atia, whenever that may be ...