Sniff, walk and chats in between

Yalooo, Princess here on the keyboard.

April 28 — My Saturday started with a rush. The wind sez woooo-woooo as I was  movin’ swiftly across the countryside in semi-darkness. Nope, I didn’t ran away; my overseer put me in a backpack, mounted on a steel steed and vroommm for about less than half an hour. (I decided long ago that she’s ekksentrik… so I expected an interesting outcome of whatever she’s up to.)

When we got there (Agora Maranding-Kapatagan), the air was filled with doggy-scents. I poked out my head…and lo… I saw folks with pets of various sizes and shapes stretching, pacing and littering the pathway. It turned out that this was the first gathering of Saturday Dog Walks of the canine club in the province. Here’s some candid shots:

With all the walking going on, its also nice to stop and do a bit of grass-sniffing…

…then again not everyone enjoyed this walk – just look at that pooch on wheels…

Meet Toby, a Shih Tzu/Poodle mix who thought riding a vrom-vrom gets lotsa attention…

…he sez “why walk when ya cud ride; it’s cooler and makes me taller than the big dawgs” … hmm maybe he thought he could cheat on height so as to be taller than  this Great Dane who lived in my town but whom I’ve never met until now. 

These two black Labradors donned so shiny coats. One was American and the other British; both liked the nose-nose greetings… Mr. Judd (the one with the white shirt) pointed out the similarities and differences between these two playful cousins…

Meanwhile, the Belgian Malinois Ricky left) and Supremo (right) preferred to bark their greetings at a distance…

After half an hour (6:30 a.m.), some humans and small pooches decided to rest from all this walking in circles…and waited for snacks and water…

xoxoxox

As I watched all the actions around me, I realized why Vanilla Bean liked to attend this sort of gathering…too bad she missed this one… 

 ♥♥♥

This is part of the blog hop sponsored by Two little Cavaliers, Confessions of the Plume, and Life with Dogs.

Have a fun weekend.

Windy with a chance of fun

Hi. It’s me, Vanilla Bean.

For a week,  the PAGASA informed us that a strong to gale force wind would affect our weather here in Northern Mindanao; that our region was in the tail end of a cold front.  I didn’t understand whatever that means. However, I was really praying that if ever those dark clouds hovering the Tubod skies would wet on us, I hope they would do so on evenings and not during my late afternoon walks.

(You see, my rain-allergic walker (Twinkle) often cancels this impawtant schedule at a slight drizzle… sigh… I often think she has kitty blood…) Mum-Princess and I often gave her its-time-for-my-walk look; we did that to Kenji, too… everyday at 5 o’clock p.m… This week, they took us to RCMS (the nearest grade school and the next best thing to a dog park). Here are some photos of us having fun… Kenji walked me; I like him because he could walk and run…fast. Along the path, we saw several kids hanging around; they thought I’m a boy!… really? Also, we spotted the school custodian’s dog; we didn’t sniff butts with him, though.  He barked at us to inform that the school gates would close by dusk.

I noticed many wild sparrows swooping the green area… and I just couldn’t resist running and chasing after them… weeee… it’s so fun… Meanwhile, mum-Princess was busy sniffing…
The setting sun and the strong wind signaled us to go home… Reluctantly, we followed our humans out of that place. So how about you, how’s the weather affecting your fun?

Check on how other pets enjoy their weekend in a blog hop  sponsored by Life with Dogs, Two Little Cavaliers, and Confessions of the Plume.  See you there.

Revisiting RCMS2

I was resting on my favorite divan watching NCIS re-runs on Fox when Princess the Shih-Poo gave me this look — a but-you-promised-me face. Okay, so I did promised her for a second “exploration with no leash attached” at the RCMS school grounds last weekend. It made me think, dog don’t forget, do they?

By late afternoon around five o’clock, we (I, my 2nd grader nephew Kenji, and Princess the Shih-Poo) move on foot at the school grounds. I was a Sunday afternoon, yet we noticed that some of the teachers were around busy on improving their respective rooms. Princess behave well unleashed, sniffing here and there.

Princess got to the old H.E. building which was now the school’s clinic. The ‘3Rs for Garbage Reduction‘ sign is really informative. Also, I noticed the old Talisay tree (Terminalia catappa) still stood there. It is also known as Indian Almond; various ferns, mostly Bird’s Nest ferns, benefit from its shade.

Kenji invited us to go near the flag pole. No Philippine flag flying at the end of the pole. Still this old platform is a nice spot to take photos. I’ve enjoyed my years grade-school here, and apparently seeing my pet’s expression, she enjoyed romping here too.

 

 

The goat who stared at dogs

Keanna: darn gate, it's still locked... keep barking Princess... drown his baa...baa Princess: okay, ruff...ruff...ruff... gosh, he's still staring at us

“What now?” I thought as I heard Keanna and Princess’ distinct barks early this morning. When I got to where they were, I saw whom they’re barking at — a male gray goat tied with a rope 10 paces away from our gate. “They’re annoyed at his bleating,” I pondered.

Vanilla Bean: howdy Mr. GrayGoat...

Later on this morning as I took Vanilla Bean for a short walk, we’ve met “graygoat” along the trail. He moved toward us and lowered his head. Vanilla Bean faced the approaching animal. I could almost hear her thoughts — Is it safe to go near him? Is he friendly or not? 

GrayGoat: wanna piece of me?

and they stared for less than five seconds… understanding passed between the two furry creatures… I think my pet is a bit intimidated of the goat but she doesn’t let her guard down… I coaxed her to move along…

hornless gray goat relaxing

When we backtracked, the goat was lying on the ground in the middle of the trail. Vanilla Bean stopped in her tracks and refused to move forward so I picked her up. When we got passed him, the goat stood up still looking at us.

Vanilla Bean: I'm not going near that crazy goat again...I'm telling mom...really...

This scene made me asked, are goats and dogs enemies? When I googled it this afternoon, I found out that its affirmative. Answers.com included the domesticated dog on the list of goat’s common enemies because canines like to chase at the goats… Really? Thank God “graygoat” is hornless…

Vanilla Bean: I better watch the movie The Men Who Stare at Goats maybe I'll get tips from it...

Wordless Wednesday: Revisiting RCMS

August 6 — I took my dog Princess for a stroll at RCMS (Rufo dela Cruz Memorial School) last Saturday afternoon. My nephew Kenji, who is now a second grader in this school, acted as our tour guide. I felt my pet’s excitement as she saw the school ground, the several kids hanging around, the old buildings and trees.

My alma mater got its name from the first mayor of Tubod, the late Rufo Dela Cruz. This institution holds a special place in my family’s history because most of my relatives were once teachers and pupils here. My grandfather Cirilo R. Vergeire taught Arithmetic while he was the Head Master in 1932 to 1968. In fact, he was the second Principal of this school. My grandmother Cecilia (grade three teacher), Aunt Visitacion (grade six teacher) and my mom Perla (H.E. teacher) were also part of the faculty here several years ago.

Me, the pooches and the trail

This gallery contains 9 photos.

These are some of the scenes during an enjoyable afternoon walk with my Shih-poo pets. Vanilla Bean behaves well while walking on leash; she stays close near me and pays attention to any direction I’m going. I wish could say … Continue reading →