It's getting too hot during the daytime to go out for walkies, so the dogs lounge around the house waiting for the evening...only another hour or so to go before it's time to go for a walk, and the kids are watching me doing the washing up with an exhausted patience...hurry up, mum, let's GO! I love the way Nobu has picked up Claire's mannerisms and they're like two peas in a pod, salt and pepper babies :)
Even though it's raining, inbetweentimes we get out to the park, and when there are pigeons Claire is happiest. Nobu is a cat lover himself, but when Claire locks onto a target he happily joins in the fun, both of them using the ground cover (in this case the park bench) to stalk with perfection and not spook the birds...it's like they know once the pigeons fly up and away the fun's over!
On our usual afternoon walk the dogs didn't feel like going straight home, so we sat down on the lawn and watched the world pass by, doggie noses quivering, eyes roaming, full alert. After about ten minutes they were ready to give up on pigeons and cats appearing and we set off for home. At the entrance to the park we encountered a young man walking his cat on a leash, which he fortunately scooped up while I reigned in Nobu and Claire on a short leash to avoid incidents. Yokohama City no longer allows pet cats to roam freely outside...what a world...a neighbor said he was so used to dogs roaming free, when the ordinance mandating a leash came out he switched to cats expressly, he couldn't face leashing a dog to take it for walks. I'm the opposite, when the cat ordinance came out I switched to dogs, couldn't face keeping a cat cooped up in the house, it would wreck the place as well as being totally frustrated....and walking the cat ?! What a world...
When I pop out in the morning with the trash, Nobu and Claire sit on the front steps waiting for me to get back. Hey mum, when's our walkies? Can't we go too? they seem to say...I was thinking about possible CSR tie-ups for the CACI Gundog Rescue organization that saved our beauties. Their mission is to use microchips to keep track of all dogs, so that they can be less easily abandoned...so maybe a logistics firm, or a microchip producer? They are also hunting dogs, so a gunmaker or plastic toy gunmaker, adding a bonus plastic doggie figure - collect the set ?trading cards with individual dog pics and stories? Plus they are ENGLISH, so any firm selling its true Brit appeal, Harrods, Burberry, the British Embassy? Wondering if I should put together a PowerPoint explaining the mutual benefits and approach some companies for sponsorship...I think these would be excellent dogs for Ribovitan FIGHT advertisements, they have such special energy...
