Last weekend I put on my "Auntie Sarah" hat and dogsat Otis, who lives across the street with Ami and Jon (perhaps I have mentioned them in this blog a few times...). Ami sent me a long, rambling e-mail about the occasion, and Jon wrote me several hilariously starred and bulleted notes about how to take care of a dog. Yes, I kept the e-mail and the notes. I have tried to imagine what I would do if someone were to keep Floyd for me for a bit, the instructions I would give, but I got nothing. "He poops in his litterbox, he eats his food when he feels like it. He may eat all of the bugs in your house. He will occasionally stare at the wall like he's seeing ghosts... uh... maybe pet him sometimes? Unless he doesn't want you to."
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| maybe some pets? |
I picked up Otis on Friday night, and we immediately had quiet time. I read, and he processed the monumental change of crossing the street and entering a home that wasn't his (he may have snored a little).
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| processing the change |
I didn't bother telling my roommates that a dog was coming to stay. They've been angering me lately. I know, it's mean of me, but I was gratified that Otis didn't like the Kid AT ALL. The Kid slams
everything - he manages to slam doors while he's opening them as well as closing them, at all times of the day and night, and both Otis and I are so sensitive to loud, sudden noises. While I would just grumble and mutter swear words under my breath, like usual, Otis would launch down the stairs, barking at the Kid the whole way. Ha ha, Kid! No one likes you! Maybe quit being so loud and inconsiderate, you dildo.
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| TOO LOUD! |
Ahem.
The weekend was spent walking, eating, and relaxing. Otis and I took a two-poop walk on Saturday morning. I'll let you decide who pooped. Toward the end of the walk, a stranger tried to give Otis a bit of dog treat, but Otis wasn't having it, and I don't blame him. The stranger looked kind of unwashed, I didn't know where his hands had been, and Otis has a better nose than I do.
Floyd and Otis didn't exactly get along, but they didn't exactly NOT get along. Floyd warily sniffed Otis. Otis warily sniffed Floyd, and whined and whined because he wanted to be closer to Floyd. I feel like they would have eventually gotten closer, but they were on different "new friendship" schedules, and time ran out.
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| Floyd checking out Otis |
A funny thing - on Saturday afternoon, I was reading in the living room, and Floyd and Otis were both slowly walking around the living room, acting like they weren't paying attention to one another. I don't know what caused it. What I do know is that one minute I was reading in the perfectly quiet living room, and the next minute, Otis was racing across the living room with Floyd in pursuit. Otis zigged, and Floyd didn't bother chasing him, so I don't know how serious Floyd was in his attack attempt. But he was making a sort of mean face.
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| Otis checking out Floyd |
Later that night, Otis was laying on the couch next to me, and Floyd came and stood up on the edge of the sofa. He started to paw a little at Otis, like he wanted to talk, but Otis growled, and then Floyd was gone down the stairs. Still, they were constantly looking for each other, all weekend.
Otis would come running to get pets from me whenever I would try to pay attention to Floyd, but Floyd didn't start getting jealous until Sunday morning. Humidity was high, and our walk was gross and sweaty, so Otis and I collapsed onto my bed to enjoy a bit of A/C when we got back to my house. Floyd jungle-catted in, peered over me at Otis, then jumped on top of me and yelled right in Otis's face! Aww, Floyd cares.
Of course, later that afternoon, I was sitting on the couch watching some "Lost," and I had a dog on one side, a cat on the other. Later still, when I went to bed, I had a dog on one side, a cat on the other.
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| so... much... walking... |
I took Otis home on Monday morning, and after work I returned to a dog-less house. Floyd and I have gotten back into our routine of being lazy. One funny thing - last night Otis was whining from his living room across the street, and because the windows were open, Floyd heard him and went running to our living room windows to see where Otis was! Aww, Floyd cares.
Meanwhile, Zelda stayed in the kitchen and ignored us all.
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