2009 Story

Sumo's adventures in 2009

The year through the eyes of a dog

Hey, that's fun! There are some bags in the hallway. Normally that means we're going on a holiday somewhere so I need to keep a good eye on things. If we're going somewhere I'm the first to be in the car. God forbid they forget me, I'll make sure I'm the first one in! It's a bit strange though...all the bags are gone but Ii can't see my Daddy anywhere. Early this morning I saw him, but I was still half asleep and now it's all quiet. Mummy's still here though oh well, that means a short walk around the block! A few days later I'm sort of starting to figure out something's wrong, I can't see my Daddy anywhere anymore. I keep looking at the door but I can't see him at all! A few weeks go past, and I just don't understand a thing, nobody asks or tells me anything!!

Here! After a few weeks there are bags in the hallway again, I've got to watch things closely now! Are we going yet? I'm ready to go!! This time I make sure I'm in first. I'm going with Mummy and we're going to Zeeland, I like that, I've always liked that! I love being in the car and can already smell the sea!!! Look at that..is that my Daddy? Who does he think he is? I'll show him I don't like the kind of stuff he's pulled on me! I'll ignore him from now on, that'll show him. Hmm, is that a trailer? There's a nice big garden to play in so I'll have a go at that first, I'll mess up the hose first, so he knows how I feel!!

Then all of a sudden there's just us two...Mummy's just left and didn't even say goodbye! Oh well, maybe she'll be back in a while so I'll just watch any car that comes by until she does. But no one stops, I just can't figure it out..what's going on? What's the matter? Is it me? I'm getting really stressed out here. My muscles are all taut and everything becomes all hard and bloated. I'm really not feeling very well and I can't even get off the sofa now! Then all of a sudden there's this vet I don't know at all, and who kind of seems worried about me. I can't get up, everything hurts and hell, I didn't even know I had that loud a yelp in me!! It just all got a little too much for me but after an injection of something my muscles relax and I fall asleep. I wish I could talk and explain everything! Is there no doggy psychiatrist here? I'm on the sofa anyway. Isn't it strange? I didn't do anything wrong, I didn't destroy anything or grow at anyone and still I have to live somewhere else. People...they're just like animals sometimes, they just walk upright and have less manners than animals!

The following days I try to make sense of things, something’s wrong, I miss my girlfriend Rhea and her (and my) mummy and all of my other friends I used to play with as well. Just as I needed my mummy most she abandoned me. How is a dog to understand? I’m hurting inside and I am sad. There’s just daddy now and slowly we start walking again and he keeps talking to me. Of course, I’m a dog and I have no idea what he’s talking about. He talks about sports and the economy, all sorts, can’t we just talk about bitches and food? But even though he’s trying, my mind’s still on the old things, the past. We curl up on the sofa or in bed, just show me the good parts of Zeeland, we’ll make things work, tomorrow’s another day! I go to bed early most days, it kind of all messed me up. Five years with Rhea and mummy is a big deal, even for a dog it takes some time to get used to this new situation. Some people have the opposite, they don’t think about you anymore. No explanation needed! But a dog does care, more than most people think! You don’t hear me complaining all the time though! I’m not back to my old self yet, this is completely different to a normal doggy disease. I feel old, could this be penopause? Hello, does anyone even hear me? Am I not clear enough? Is that a grey hair near my ear? Of course Tosas are supposed to have wrinkles but could I please have some Botox? Best to be ahead of all of that, I might get hot flashes!!

Daddy thinks it’s best to speed up the healing proces, my condition has deteriorated, so we go and see a lady called Ines Sayers, she lives nearby and and is sort of a dogwhisperer, a homeopath, she knows how to treat animals and she even has a website: www.homeopathievoordieren.info. She comes over to visit me and treats me with Bach flower remedy and two types of Rhus because all that stuff has a affected me greatly. Seems I’m a sensitive dog but I feel a lot better now and the pain is going away. Ines talks to me in a different way and she seems to know what my problem is, more importantly: how to solve the problem! And it works! A few weeks later we visit her for a check up, I haven’t forgotten her and I’m grateful for her help. Everytime I look at her, I smile at her, in my own doggy way. All tension leaves me, now and then I still dream about things of the past but when I wake up things are different. Hours, days and even weeks my daddy works with me and slowly but surely things are getting better. We’re happy we have each other now. Our bond is really getting stronger and stronger.

My food is adjusted as well, dried food disappears and now I’m eating loads of meat, chicken, fish, vegetables and rice. I didn’t like the dried food anyway so it’s no problem to me. I do still miss mummy and Rhea but anyway, I didn’t do anything wrong and daddy’s still here for me when I need him. He comforts me and I comfort him. He’s faithful to me and I’m as faithful as a dog to him. We’ll get through it together, despite all the things that go wrong. If I see a car or a rottweiler that is similar to them I check it out but that happens less and less frequently. My hope evaporates over time, I’m getting my stuff together now and lets face it: anyone who doesn’t look back at me isn’t worth it and doesn’t really understand me anyway. Daddy tries to leave me on my own every once in a while but I’m not falling for that anymore. I want to be there with him, all the time, I’m finally recovering. Who could possibly get angry with me? Of course I can draw attention if need be and I’m definitely very happy when daddy or a friend comes in. I can look really dopey, especially if I don’t get my way. I do have my charm, even though not everyone would think so.

Anyway, after exploring the island, I kind of like it here. It’s nice and relaxing. Our walks are endless, there’s hardly any traffic, lots of nature, a huge sea and beach. Daddy just knows the right places, he knows exactly where I love to be. I’ll just stand there and throw my nose in the air and I’m really enjoying myself. Of course, hunting sheep never tires, and I’m outdoors all the time, even when it’s pissing it down! Walking in the rain and mud keeps being my favourite past time, as long as I can get messy I’m happy. I just get into the sea and I’m clean as a whistle, doesn’t do my skin and allergy any harm either! Of course it also flushes the system, if you know what I’m talking about!

Slowly but surely my condition is getting better and slowly but surely we’re starting to do bike rides again and some swimming. I’m getting to know some new people and dogs and by the time summer comes along I’m my old self again. I’m getting relaxed by the surroundings and the attention of the people around me, it’s easier for people to approach me and I love to swim and running next to the bike. A few times a week we go to the village nearby and that is a good 8 kilometres there and back. That’s easy for me now! Trying to catch a fish is a lot harder and having a crab attatched to your nose is no fun either but every once in a while I stick my nose under the water to see what’s going on at the bottom of the sea and then I splutter like a seal! The best time is when we go to the seaside to watch the sun set. The only thing you hear are the birds and the sea, I love it! I’m getting myself back together. I love it when my feet are in the sea, what a dog’s life!! Messing with my daddy on the beach, eating a bit of fish here and there.....love it! And didn’t we have a great summer this year?

Sometimes we take the bus, train and metro to Utrecht and of course as long as my daddy’s paying for me I’ll have a proper seat as well! I’m fully recouperated now and my condition’s better than ever, it’s no skin of my nose to do 10 kilometres next to the bike. In short, after all these months we’re pretty familiar with the people and surroundings by now. In Zeeland life moves along a bit slower than I’m used to and that’s just the right thing for me now. I didn’t ask for this holiday, I just let it all happen to me. Some events didn’t make sense to me at all and it messed me up a bit. I bark, I drool, I snore but I’m don’t ask for trouble, I’m too much of a dog for that. Hiding yourself from trouble is a human thing. I give a lot but I don’t ask for much. I’ve been through a deep hole, not through excertion but through things I didn’t understand. Sometimes I thought maybe it was me, but now I know who’s always there for me. As I am always there for him too! He understands me like no other person does. Mummy, she’s not interested in me anymore. We’re in the proverbial doghouse. Isn’t it funny, all these years I thought I had a special bond with her, well that was wrong! They don’t teach you things like that in puppyclass. You can teach a dog any trick but the same doesn’t go for people, they just don’t learn. We both yelp and make a lot of noise but people yelp differently and more. People ask for attention in a different way than dogs do. When we dogs have a difference of opinion we solve matters instantly. If you don’t take me for a walk on time you can deal with the mess, that’s what I think anyway!

There’s a saying that in times of need you get to know who your friends are. That’s not only true for people but for dogs as well, especially this year. Even a dog can be mistaken, maybe that’s why I’m always a bit reserved at the start. I don’t consider you a friend that easily, I want some respect and in return you’ll get some respect from me, and that’ll last untill the end of my life! That’s how I feel. People you’ve trusted all along just drop you like that and they don’t even look back, even after they’ve looked after you for years. These people don’t really know me, even if they think they do. I know them through and through and I will not be treated like some nobody. Abandoning an animal is another typically human thing, you don’t see that in our world. When you love a dog, you don’t abandon him, ever. A dog gives his loyalty forever, no matter what. I don’t forget anything. I saw mummy a couple of months later, my big friend she called me, friend?! Excuse me? Did time stand still? Can I drool a bit here? She doesn’t get what friends are about. A friend is there for you, no matter what, you don’t treat them like dirt. I didn’t treat you that way, did I? When I was in trouble you weren’t there for me even though you knew how it was. Not my piece of cake! Last year I didn’t exactly disappoint you when I managed my AD, you were so proud and a few months later you let me down, just like that. I had blisters on my paws I was working so hard so as not to fail you, and you know how sensitive I am.

Apparently that didn’t make a blind bit of difference to you, you don’t even look back... I don’t forget anything, and now daddy and I have a bad reputation...

Said goodbye to all my friends in Zeeland and took my time too and then I left. Now I live near the place I used to live for 5 years. I see all the people I used to know, but still, it’s different now. I see people who don’t pay any attention to me anymore whereas they used to, a lot. Well tough! Says enough about them, doesn’t it. Whereever a dogs pees, more do. It’s a dog’s life, isn’t it? This is my story for 2009, a turbulent year that counts as 7 heavy duty dog years. Some ups, many downs. I’ve learned a lot, lost alot of friends but gained some better ones as well. I don’t ask for much: some love, attention, warmth, my dinner on time and a bit of exercise to rid myself of energy. Surely that’s not asking for much. I’m easy, I’m loyal as only dogs can be.

Sumo wishes all new and true friends the best for 2010. And for the ones that have forgotten me: oh well, you weren’t good enough for me anyway!