As I watch the grass grow ... day in and day out, I turn on my poo radar device ... where the bugs, the bees and flies are is where the poo dumps are. Dogs are funny. They probably think of us humans funny as well. They follow me around while I pick up the dump. They know where I am heading for and they try to beat me to it. They stare at me and yes, they wonder, why I am picking up their poo as I make face because of the stink. To Cohjie, it seems to be a game. The minute he sees me with my poo-pot and pooper-scooper he goes off and tries very hard to dump again. He does it while looking at me with a smile. Pig.

Last year, when he was the only dog, we would wait for days on end before we would pick up his poo in the backyard. Cohjie would have his dumps in rows, an arm's length apart from one to another. Rows and columns, so you just have to walk the line systematically when picking them up. He's the kind of dog who gets his way and pretty much takes care of himself. He's probably the only dog who chews on his toenails. Nobody really cuts them on a regular basis nor does he get walked on asphalt consistently to wear off his nails ... I doubt it very much if he even sees daylight outside the confines of the backyard of the townhouse where he really resides. He is my borrowed dog in my borrowed country where I reside.

Now that there's three of them, there's enough poos in the yard everyday to complete a bag. I need to find a product where the resources would be dog waste. All three dogs get walked. They get to play out in the yard ... they even get groomed every now and then as in washed, brushed and pampered with fruit-scented doggie colognes. They get to go to parks ... trained every now and then as I am not really a stickler for discipline. I am with dogs for the fun and enjoyment of their company.

Toffee, this morning, was playing with the kong ball. Ball in his mouth he would throw it up and then watch it bounce. He would use both of his paws as if trying to dribble it. He would pick it up with his mouth and throw it up in the air again. Then, after a couple of times, he picked it up and headed for the stairs, looked at the steps and decided to let go of the ball ... He watched the ball bounce on every step ... On the thrid step, he followed it bouncing much in the same rhythm that the ball bounced. Cute.

Cohjie by that time, decided to give me his tennis ball. So I threw it from the patio and all three dogs zoomed after it. Of course, it was only Cohjie who knew what the game was. The two other puppies merely followed him and the ball. They did not know any better-that they were supposed to retrieve it and give it back to me so I can throw it again. After about four throws, the two puppies finally caught on but decided to play guard, getting the ball from Cohjie's mouth and refraining him from getting back to me to give the ball. It's like watching dogs play football. But of course, old man Cohjie got tired of it all and decided that he was too damn tired, dropped the ball in between his chest, lied down on it in front of a bone and started to chew instead. The two puppies then started playing with each other running around and play chase. They enticed, stared and off they went preying on each other by turn. Zoom hides around the bush and Toffee try to sneak from the other side. Hide and seek. Old man Cohjie still chewing the bone out of hunger, he is only getting a cup of weight control dog food.

Toffee's a gentle-mannered and good-natured dog. Like any other Sheltie for that matter, you have to win them over. There's a certain peculiarity about the breed that can be addicting. A couple of weeks ago , while I was up in the bedroom ... Cohjie was in the yard while the two puppies were confined in the porch. I heard Toffee barking ... barking ... barking incessantly. Sheltie's are known to be barkers. I ran out to the next room and peeked from the window where you can actually look down and see the porch. Hush, little one. But no, he was just barking and looking towards the corner ... So I followed his gaze and saw that the back door was open. Cohjie was gone!!! OMG! How should I explain to my nephew that I lost his dog? Not only that, I just called SPCA the previous day and reported about a stray dog I've seen thrice lose walking the hood. Now, it's a our dog that's lose, running around the hood!

I, immediately, of course, ran downstairs and sort of followed Cohjie's track. If only I had a dog's sense of smell and hearing. If only I understood what Toffee was howling. So I went up and down our street and around where I take Cohjie for walks. I can hear Toffee continuously barking from blocks away. A lady with 2 kids, one in a stroller was walking towards me and so I asked if she saw any Golden Retriever walking around lose. She suggested that I call SPCA and report the lost Cohjie. OH NO! I just gave my name to SPCA and address about a stray dog yesterday ... and now I will give the same name and address reporting this time that it's our dog that has gone astray. AND OH NO!!! DANG SPCA PUT ME ON HOLD FOR A GOOD HOUR AND A HALF!!! I don't want to go through that again. OH COHJIE!!!

Scowly, I headed back home and as I turned to our street corner, I saw a Golden's tail towards our front door with Toffee still howling his lungs out. I shut the back door close so Cohjie of course couldn't get back the way he got out. I caught up with him at the front door. I did not scold him for one, because he came home. When I opened the door and Cohjie ran inside, Toffee stopped barking in an instant. It does make one wonder what he was saying all that time. My significant other mentioned that in Japan, they have this device that translates the dog's language. Hmmm ... maybe I should order one.

To be continued ...

Dog stories are always nice. Dogs ... they never fail to make my heart smile.