the yapping mutts

i have three fun-size dogs, a mom and her two daughters. they're luka, orci, and dora, respectively. the daughters are almost two come november. luka is more than five years old. i "inherited" her along with her late hubby, dino.

anyway, they've been invading my bedroom for a year now and i try best not to smell like them. i've kept the two young ones away from people and they have yet to walk along the street. orci got away once and ran. perhaps she got lost because she entered the other compound and what worried me was that there was a doberman there, male at that. so, i had to carry her back.

i had expected them to be polite to cats. however, they're not too keen on kitty cats and will bark at every sound the cats make outside the house. last night was awful. luka kept barking her lungs out. i thought there might have been a cat in the house and the dogs were just too uncomfortable with the cat sleeping on top of the shelves.

i usually let them bark as i knew they will tire out. after two hours of barking and the three of them running up and down, i gave up. i decided to hit the sack earlier hoping that they will follow. i was wrong. for another hour, they kept barking. even dora who was always docile, started to be restless as well. finally, i went down to check what the fuss was all about. by this time, luka was already barking for almost four hours, stopping for a drink or so.

i was so distraught when i saw a cat caught in between the screen and the glass panels of the window. there was no way i can free the cat by poking it as she had her body wrapped around the iron grills as well. she was growling as well. no wonder the dogs were so excited. she probably made the mistake of finding a warmer place to sleep not realizing the dogs were around. so, the cat was stuck and the dogs were yapping and it was after midnight.

i decided to lock all four of us in the bedroom to give time for the cat to regain her wits and escape. i prayed the cat wasn't hurt as i wouldn't want to wake up with a stiff figure in that awkward place. my action led to the predictable reaction of orci who kept jumping up and down the bed and attempting to scratch my face.

that's the difference between orci and dora. orci does not know her strength and would just scratch with all might and sharp nails. several times has she poked my eyes or heavily scratched my arm. she's hyper, too. dora, meanwhile, is the gentle one. she'll sleep her way around a problem if she could. she's always at my feet when i work and would be the first to be on the bed the moment i shut down the computer. she'll smell me closely but i'm confident she won't scratch me or hit me with her paw.

funny, but dora is the crazier one. she recently became playful, rather turning into a prankster. after i have cleaned the floor and placed the newspapers in their pooping area, dora will run across it the moment i leave. in less than a minute, the newspapers are in disarray and when i turn to her, she would run away. perhaps, to escape her being guilty, of course. her other trick is to poop after i have the clean newspapers neatly placed on the floor. again, she would run away after i would notice what she had done. when i'm cleaning, they're in the yard. luka does her thing outside with dora and orci watching. i hoped they'd pick up the habit but they never did. as for punishment, i have no idea what to do with dora.

back to the cat incident ---

so, when i woke up, i went down to look for the cat. i was so happy that the cat wasn't there anymore and there was no trace of blood.

right now, luka and dora are sleeping at my feet. orci is sleeping on a step of the stairs. all is quiet. the cats have abandoned my home for now.