Tag: dogs

Etherchew

While the puppy has become better at not leaving nasty-cleanup morning surprises, we did find this morning, destroyed by puppy teeth,  the end of the ethernet cable that connected to the computer that we use for watching movies. My fault: I left it dangling when I moved that computer to the dining room table while my Mac Mini is the hospital, having succumbed to a panic attack.

Yes, that’s a real thing: kernel panic, where the machine decides something’s not right and shuts down. Over and over and over.

No problem. I have a crimping tool; all I had to do was pick up an Ethernet plug at the local electric store. Since it was easier to see the tiny colored wires outside in the sun, I moved the operation to the picnic table, prepared the wires, and went two meters inside the house to double check on the order of the wires, difficult to see  with certainty at the other end of the cable. If the eight little wires don’t match at both ends of the cable, ain’t gonna work.

A handy diagram on the computer reassured me that it was orange-stripe, orange, green stripe, blue, et cetera. I jotted them down, and returned outside…

repairing ethernet cable

…to find that in my absence of a few moments the puppy had severed the other end of the cable.

Rode my bike to the store (actually two; apparently I had bought the last Ethernet plug this morning at the first), and bought three plugs. One because I needed it, and two por las dudas — just in case.

It’s all good, but I think I’ll be hiding cables at night for a while.

 

The amazing rabbit chase

It was over in seconds.

We were walking in an area of shrubs, dogs lingering behind. Suddenly a YIP! from Jordie, and I swing around to see him flushing a rabbit to the right across the path behind us. But there’s Kiya, and the rabbit abruptly turns right, on the path, toward us, Kiya barely a length behind. Not good. I instinctively place my feet wide on the path, to force the dog to detour, if only for a split second.

BAM! The rabbit bounces off the inside of my right leg. I spin my head around. Syd has turned halfway around to the right and BAM! it bounces off the outside of his right leg. This carom serves to change its course 90 degrees, and instantly it’s gone into the brush.

And then even more amazing — the five “chaser” dogs completely miss it, and go charging up the path ahead. Only Leah, the princess who prefers watching chases to participating in them, spots the rabbit’s real path, and takes off into the bushes after it. Seconds  later it’s obvious the rabbit has escaped, which comes (happily) as no surprise.

And then the other dogs, who had chased ahead on the path, reappear from behind. Go figure.

Running Hare Drawing by Malcolm Tait, Saatchi Art
Running Hare Drawing by Malcolm Tait, Saatchi Art (click for source)

 

Syd has recounted several times the occasion when a flushed rabbit ran out of the bushes and through his legs, but never before contact, much less such a perfectly set up carom that the rabbit-hunting dogs completely missed.

During our time walking dogs together, there have been two kills, bring the total over all the years Syd has walked there to maybe seven. The first occurred at the end of the walk. A young rabbit bolted when five dogs were within a few meters, and didn’t stand a chance. Benji proudly came away with fresh blood on his back, having rolled on it. The second, recently, involved a longer chase, from which all of the dogs returned except Benji. Finally he emerged from the bushes with a dead rabbit in his mouth (no way of knowing who actually caught it). My immediate feeling was that I was looking at a classical painting.

I don’t recall having seen one, so I set out to look, and found this.

Sir Edwin Landseer: The Champion painting
Sir Edwin Landseer — interesting guy: click for story

But that dog, except for its size, looks surprisingly like Leah, the non-rabbit-hunter. Go figure.

 

 

Benji’s new collar

Benji has managed to lose two (or is it three?) collars in his crazed running around on walks. Once was on the beach. I retraced our entire route and couldn’t find it! Most recently, it was secured with a safety pin. Which worked really well — until it didn’t.

So, new collar, safety pins.

Green dog collar and safety pins

Benji was so excited to have a new collar he immediately wanted to model it for you.

Seriously, this is what he did as soon as I put it on — not moving, just lying there.

Turns out the safety pin wasn’t such a great idea. It came loose almost immediately. So I sewed a few stitches into it. Ya veremos — we’ll see.

 

 

 

On foot again

I walked the few blocks to town today to take a bus to pick up our car from the mechanic, who spent the last couple days doing a couple hours’ work.

I saw this gnarly tree at the bus stop, then realized I had also never noticed the “expo” lot behind it, in the middle of town, where I have also never seen any activity. I’ll be watching it now for any signs of life.

Expo Rossi, Atlántida, Uruguay

It’s a pleasant treat, walking instead of riding a bike or driving, having time to see things I wouldn’t otherwise.

Of course, not having a muscular 30 kg leashed dog doing his best to dislocate my shoulder as I walk is also a pleasant treat.

dog with collar

As is avoiding the occasional interaction with loose dogs of irresponsible locals, which recently required preventing said dog access to certain parts of his anatomy for over a week.

I’ll spare you the details.

You’re welcome.

 

 

The wine prescription

I had to go the doctor to get a piece of paper documenting the dog bite on my leg, sustained when three loose dogs tried to attack Benji, who was on a leash. The paper adds weight to my denuncia filed at the local police station. The bite was superficial, and from my dog (again), but I didn’t share that detail. Not important. Those dogs should not be loose.

The doctor was concerned about my blood pressure, and took his time so that he could measure again. We talked about a few things, and he asked me if I smoked — no — or drank — yes — and he asked white wine? Curious question because yes, I do like white wine, and very few locals do. So he asked me what I thought of Uruguayan wines. Not much; I prefer one from Chile.

Oh, he said, have you tried this and this and this? All sold at Tienda Inglesa, and he even told me the prices. I asked him to write them down, and so he did.

wine prescription

On a prescription pad.