Tag Archive | Alfie

Tram ride!

May22

For his last walk of the day, Alfie got to go with mom to Slottsskogen. Grandma, Atlas and Ricki went along, too. You know what they say about more being merrier! Anyhoo, they took the tram there. Alfie hasn’t gone on the tram in ages! He was amazed by the motion but sat nicely, looking out of the windows. He went bananas over the first dog they met in the park, though. In his case that means he gets up on two legs and starts panting. He doesn’t bark and he no longer tries to pull mom along with him, he’s more like an untamed horse. He did that once and then he was done with it. After he was told where the line goes he didn’t go for it again. They passed plenty of dogs and all three of them (Alfie, Atlas & Ricki) did really well.

When they got home mom was pretty beat (it was the same day she’d been away with Scooby & Daysee). She still had one more walk to do, though, but luckily it was my turn (and Evian, Adela, Scooby and Daysee, but who’s counting?). I’m not much of a hassle, I tend to go easy on her these days. You gotta be nice to your mommy sometimes, right?

Taking the tram – yay! (Hey, check out Hannibal Lecter in the back, hehe ;))

Let’s see… Open sesame!

Ha! It worked!

Look, we’re moving! How amazing!

A year of blogging

Jan17

I know, can you believe it! A year already! And I still enjoy it even!

So, how to sum it up? Well, I must say this little bulldog has quite the eventful life!

First of all, I’ve watched 3 of my little brothers grow up (Lego, Yoshi and Alfie), and the fourth one (Scooby) grow in confidence. 3 puppies in 2 years was tough, I’m not gonna lie.

Yoshi has always been a good boy, although a bit excentric. He does his own thing but he’s never caused a headache. Legolas, however, was a constant migraine attack! At his worst, we were all suicidal. But, look how he turned out! He’s now the greatest bro ever, even though he still gets on my nerves sometimes. To be fair, everybody kinda does at one point or another… Now, Alfie, he’s a different story all on his own! I’d say he’s been roughly the same pain in the butt as Lego, but in a totally different way. While Lego was a piece of work cuz he was so weak and insecure, Alfie’s been a troublemaker cuz he’s the total opposite! He’s confident and curious, and while that might not seem like a problem, pair it with dominance, independence and incredible strength, and you have teenage Rambo in a molossoid body! Oh, and add a natural affinity to guard and protect, and you have…that’s right: Alfie.

I remember one time when Lego was about 17 months old. It was Christmas and my folks were out somewhere. When they got home he had shredded the Christmas goat, made of straw, and spread it out on the e-n-t-i-r-e couch, which was tweed, so you can only imagine the clean-up work… Oh, and he’d also shredded a book mom got as a present and was still happily reading… Hahaha, I could’ve laughed myself to death. But I didn’t. At that point it would’ve literally ment my death.

Who knew this little cutie would be such a pain?

Alfie was never the destroyer-type, he’s more like an American football player. I stopped counting all of mom’s bruises, black-eyes and swollen lips a long time ago. Not to mention the torn palms, hurt knees, sore hips and back aches! You wouldn’t believe the dirty looks dad’s getting!

You’d think my folks would wanna lay off dogs for a while, but nope, not these two! Instead they brought home Scooby and Daysee from Spain, two strays they just happened to come across on their vacation. And what do you know, they’re two hunting dogs! A sniffer and a spy, at that, so we’ve now got a pair of hunters looking for prey in two different ways, which means more work, more commitment. I bet you get tired just by reading this! But don’t get too exhausted yet, cuz there’s more!

Oh, yes. Then we have the foster dogs! Laika and Pelle came from Spain to stay with us until mom found them a family of their own, and although Gigi, the third one, didn’t stay with us, momma had to find a home for her, too. And now, in the very beginning of the year of 2012, more dogs are a’comin’! Next week 3 more dogs will be fostered by us, all of them from Spain. 2 more will be situated somewhere else but mom is handling their adoptions.

 

Zuska & Guido.

 

Myriam & Michey.

Zoe.

It’s been quite the dog year…but we love it. I read somewhere (you didn’t know dogs can read?) that animal workers are indeed always out of money, but always rich on the things that matter the most, such as love, friendship, loyalty and companionship, to name a few. I like that saying, I think it’s correct. I think that you can only get so far with money, but all those other things can take you farther than anything else. What dogs offer to humans is priceless. If you let us we’ll even save you from your own destructiveness, something all you humans have within you to some extent. What you give us we return a thousandfold.

Furthermore, my personal change is in some ways pretty significant, in other ways not at all. I’d say I look the same, with the exception of a few gray’s here and there, and I’m still the same dog at heart. But unfortunately bulldogs are not made to live forever and my health conditions have made themselves felt this year. I still vomit on a regular basis but we try to control it as much as possible. I take medication for my arthritis but it’s obvious that I’m not as agile as before. You know, some elderly dog stuff. But to think I’m only 5! I plan on living twice that long! And you know me, I’m like a bad stain on a white shirt. Yeah… You’ll be seeing more of me for years and years to come. Super.

Bob, the blogging bulldog. Me in a nutshell.

……..!@%#?! Darn those teeny tiny letters! Where are my glasses anyway?! 

*sigh*

At the office. My office.

Oh, and you know what? Alfie is 16 months old today! Hooray for him… But seriously, can you imagine he looked like this exactly one year ago:

The big guy, at 4 months old. He’s got the head of a baboon, that’s for sure, but I guess he’s cute…

A baboon, courtesy of Wikipedia.

Other stuff that happened within the last year:

* Daddy had surgery

* Alfie had surgery

* Lego was hit by a car

* We bought a house

* So many birthdays…

* Alfie started going to hydrotherapy

* Momma turned 25, daddy turned 30.

* I got a YouTube channel, http://www.youtube.com/user/BulldogDiary?feature=guide

 
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My weekend in pictures

Jan17

Dad was off work on Friday so we went up to the house a day earlier than usual. The weather was nice; the sun was shining and it was actually warm outside! Again, kinda scary for January in Sweden, but luckily no less comfortable! As I get closer and closer to my old age I feel more and more at ease with taking it slow. I’m no longer up for those 1,5 hour walks – hey, I barely make it half that long – and I can honestly say I enjoy sleeping a whole lot more. But, if the weather permits, I can easily stay out a little bit longer if I get to sit in the sun, which is my favorite spot, wherever it may be. So this weekend was a hit for me. Although we had a tiny bit of “snow” on Sunday, the sun was still out, heating me up with its radiant rays…it was just that poetic.

This is what we call my “fruit face”, simply cuz I look like a fruit while doing it. (I know it’s very clear already, but in case someone out there isn’t able to visualize it, by “fruit” I mean something like a pineapple). I make this face when I’m comfy.

Alfie plays hide-and-seek with Lego.

…7…8…9…

…10! Here I come!!! 

Our one-eared girl.

1, 2, 3.

Playing like crazies, those youngsters.

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 Then mom decided to paint. She’s been nagging holes in our heads about painting, saying she’d love to do it but has no experience or knowledge so she’d feel stupid to. Well, she finally accepted the stupid-part and picked up one of those cheap brushes she bargained on a sale and went on with it. As she lacks any kind of creativity (I mean, she’s just a hairdresser, for God’s sake) she decided to paint a dog, and since she apparently also lacks style, she painted Alfie (cuz anyone could tell her I’d obviously be a better choice). 2 hours it took her, but in the end she was happy she had finished her very first painting! I made her promise to paint me too, and I told her I won’t get upset if it’s not perfect. After all, it must be really hard to capture all that beauty, right?

Alfie in acrylic.

Yeah, yeah, it’s nice. But 2 hours already!

Ev was bored.

But I assure you, I was bored-er. (This is what we call me being “demented”, by the way. It’s when I drift off into my own little world, still standing up. Just saying.)

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At the house, every night is movie night, and this weekend was no different. Except for tons of Soprano’s episodes (it’s so good) we also watched Red Riding Hood… Such a sleeping pill, you guys. Like, don’t even bother. Please.

Here’s what I thought of the movie…

The Red Riding Hood effect.

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We got back to the apartment last night, so today it was back to reality. And believe me, we wasted no time! While everybody in the pack but myself (well, I told you I’m not up for it!) went for a regular 40 minute walk, I stayed put in bed, waiting for the best to come. Then Lego, Scooby, Daysee and I were treated to some forest-fun! I really like that cuz I can move in my own pace and stop and smell the flowers… The others did no such thing, they were too busy chasing each other and looking for hares. These kids today…

WOOHOO!!! 

I tried secretly scratching the ground after a good pee, although I know I’m not allowed to… Momma says it’s a dominant behavior to spread your scents all over the place, but you gotta love a dude for tryin’!

But then who has the audacity to urinate aaaall over my work well done, but my brother, the blue menace…

Damn you and that powerful squirt of yours!

Ladies and gentlemen, let me present to you the infamous look of a begging dog…or two.

And there it is, the look of hope. How cute.

Lego and I made up a competition, we call it “Model Search”. Whoever looks the best in a photo wins.

Strike a pose!

Wait, we’re not ready yet! 

And the winner is…..

…………….

…!!! Wh..?!? Who?! Daysee?! Nuh-uh! That’s not fair!

Well, I never! 

I was still upset about how Model Search turned out when I stumbled across these delicious little treats, just hanging from the trees looking all tempting. Unfortunately it was a no-go. All I had to do was look at mom to realize it wasn’t gonna work out the way I hoped for… Mom said it’s just like me to try to steal food from hungry little birds when I get properly fed twice a day myself. Well, since you put it that way… Stupid birds.

Let it snow!

Jan1

I could hardly believe it when I saw all the snow outside this morning (which in itself is a sad thing considering it’s January 1st in Sweden. Global warming, anybody?). Cool! Oh, wait. That was last year. This year I actually don’t appreciate it as much. Is it my age? Did I grow up? Anyway, it’s fun for a while but then I just wanna go inside and warm my paws.

Okay, so it’s definitely my age.

Alfie couldn’t be happier, though. He’s been out all day, blissful as a bird in the sky. We don’t even have the heart to let him in! Right now he’s taking a nap on the floor but before you know it he’ll be scratching the door to get out again. Well, who wouldn’t with all that fur!

Scooby and Daysee had never seen snow before – ever! Daysee really loves it, and you can tell by the way she acts that it’s her first time in it. Scooby? Not so much. He was interested at first but wanted out – well, in – as soon as he realized it’s cold. The poor thing isn’t exactly “equipped” or used to this climate. Mom said he’s getting a winter coat of his own but I’d be happy to give him mine. Stupid Batman coat…

Loving it!

Can somebody please explain to me what this is?

We have studied Alfie when he’s outside, it’s very interesting. He will not stay in one place more than 5 minutes at the most, before he wanders off to the next corner to watch over his surroundings. He never wastes time on a dead spot, he knows exactly where to be to see as much as possible. And he does this so calmly, he never gets anxious or stressed out. But when he sees something to guard against he’ll bark until we tell him to stop or it goes away. The intensity varies depending on what he sees or hears. He likes to lie on high ground of course, as I understand these dogs usually do, so the porch is his new favorite spot. At least for 5 minutes at a time!

Doing his job.

That’s one handsome adolescent!

You smell funny!

1 toy, 2 dogs. Who takes the prize?

Dang, he’s fast! And look at that face!