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A Letter Home |
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By Dyna's Midnight Magic |
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| Dear
Wanda, Sorry I haven't written sooner, but my boy hasn't taught me to use his computer yet, and I had to find someone to take dictation. I was born in your house on about Jan. 20, 1997. Just in case you've forgotten me, though I don't know how you could, I am female, red and white, and quite adorable. When I was nine weeks old, I joined a family of six – a man, a woman, my boy, a whippet, and two cats, living in Muscatine, Iowa. It took me quite a while to train my new family. For nearly two weeks they tried to keep me in a crate at night like they were doing with the whippet. Seems someone had told them this would be a good way to help with housebreaking us. They quickly learned that bark-less does not mean noiseless. At just nine weeks of age, I had already mastered a variety of sounds that made them wonder if they had brought home a puppy or an assortment of jungle animals. While I was serenading them all night, I was also throwing myself at the sides of the crate like my cartoon hero, the Tasmanian Devil (I, too, can chew through anything and turn it into tiny shreds in a matter of seconds.) I didn't get much sleep those nights, but then, neither did they, and I could sleep during the day. I finally wore them down, joined by the whippet, who apparently had not complained about her crate at all until I set an example for her. (Even then, all she could muster was a wimpy whine.) Since then, the whippet and I have spent all of our nights sleeping in a comfortable bed. I usually let my boy sleep with me, but if he isn't home, I share a bed with the mom, dad, and the whippet. I also had to train them not to leave me alone, even to go to brush their teeth. Again, they learned a bit slowly, and more than once they had to change the bedding a time or two before we could go to bed. (Luckily, they had a waterbed and lots of extra bedding.) They finally figured out that I was to have one of them in attendance at all times. I've gotten a bit lax in enforcing this policy as I've aged. Soon after I adopted them, I took the family to obedience training and showed them who was boss. Even though we completed two 6-week sessions, I never did get a diploma. I guess my humans just aren't very trainable, or maybe there was a clerical error, since the whippet received her diploma after her first session. I did make lots of friends, including a couple of timid Dobermans and their people. Many of my admirers have commented that I am the friendliest Basenji they have ever met. When I was about 5 months old, our family went on vacation. We visited state and national parks and stayed in hotels. We spent a lot of time in a big green crate on wheels called a "van". It was OK to be in this crate because the family was there with me. I slept most of the time we were moving. I heard them say we went about 3000 miles on the trip that went through the Black Hills and as far west as the Bighorn Mountains. They wouldn't let anyone out of the van when we were in the animal parks. I could have caught a moose or a bear or a bison if they'd just let me out. Instead, they took me hiking at Mt. Rushmore, The Badlands, Devil's Tower, Hell's Half Acre, the Bighorn Mountains, and Toadstool Park, among other places. The mom stayed with Topper and me in the hotels on some of the days while my boy went to the water parks and amusement parks with his dad. Something was making the mom very tired. A girl was born into the family later that year. At first, I saw her as no threat. I spent a lot of time sitting with the baby in her mom's lap, usually with the whippet and, sometimes, the cats. Then, the baby girl started to crawl, and I realized she was competition. My growling convinced them to confine her to a pen or exersaucer and keep her away from me for a while, but when she started to walk and talk, I realized they weren't going to get rid of her. She's OK now. I've started joining her in bed after my boy gets up in the morning. She likes to hug and kiss me. I put up with that most of the time, but I let her and everyone else know if I'm not in the mood to be touched. My family has learned that if I'm sleeping in one of the recliners or sitting with someone, they better approach me with caution or not approach me at all. At the same time, guests find that no one is too much of a stranger to me that I won't give them a friendly greeting and sit in their lap. I especially love gracing with my attention pet-less guests, guests who believe animals should be kept outside, and cat-lovers – I'm sure they love it, too, regardless of what they say. My family seems to think my fetish for cleaning ears is a bit strange, but I can't stand to let the other animals go around with dirty ears, and no one else seems willing to take care of this problem. One of the cats enjoyed our grooming ritual while he was still around, but the other cat and the whippet wasn't as receptive, and the humans out and out refused to let me clean their ears. Some of the family think I act more like a cat than the cats did. (Sadly, both cats, who were older, have passed away.) I do think the view from the top of the back of the dining room chair is better than from the floor, especially when I'm bird-watching, and I sometimes lie on top of the back of the couch. And then there's the paw and face cleaning – just good hygiene, though the boy says he wishes I'd finish before his bedtime, instead of starting when he is trying to get to sleep. We moved to Terre Haute, Indiana, in the summer of '99. Our house has a big yard bordered by woods. I occasionally chase the whippet, but I see no reason to run all the way around the yard the way she does. I also will not chase Frisbees the way she does; however, I will chase squirrels and other animals when I'm in the mood. Last year, our family finally gave the whippet and me the run of the main floor. Before that, they kept us in one room furnished only with our stuff when they were at work, whatever that is! They said we were too destructive to leave on the loose all day. (Hey! They needed new furniture, shoes, clothing, sleeping bags, hats, towels, toys, swim goggles, gates and other things. I just helped them by shredding the old stuff for easy disposal!) I didn't like the room they had us in. I started to gnaw on the doorframe, which turned out to be one of the main supports of the house. It would have taken me several more years get through the whole thing, but they moved us out of there before I could complete the project. I'm an opportunistic chewer, now. Most days I don't shred anything anymore. Once in a while someone will leave me something they wanted to get rid of anyway, and I'll help them get it ready for the trash bin. Since the beginning of the year, the little girl has left me a brand new pair of shoes, dolls and other toys, the dad has left me one of his baseball hats, and my boy threw in his swim goggles, which he left on the dining room table, AKA Magic's afternoon lounge-in-the sun, bird-watching spot. My doctor says I am healthy, but that I shouldn't gain any more weight. The last time I saw my vet, she said, "Hi, Magic, you're looking….round!" I seemed to gain a little weight after they quit putting me in that awful room. My rations seemed to have shrunk a little since our visit to the doc. I always eat less than the whippet, but she runs around like an idiot, and I don't do much mindless running. Of course, if there is new territory to explore…. Actually, I haven't even tried to slip away on a solo excursion for 2 or 3 years now. I used to enjoy watching my family panic if I slipped out the front door, or if I slipped my collar when being walked. They'd chase me all over the neighborhood while I stayed just ahead of them – they looked like they needed the exercise. It's just too much work for me to run from them now that I'm mature. Now, instead of leading them on a chase through the neighborhood, I stay close to them or to the place we are staying, even if we are visiting relatives and someone unintentionally lets me out for a walk. (Kids: great resources for food and freedom!) I just wanted to let you know that I think I'll keep this family. They were a bit difficult to train, but I think they understand what I expect from them now. Regards, (Dyna's Midnight) Magic |