Gone...

She's gone.

It's been a week since we've seen her.

Last Wednesday, as we were leaving, she ran out of the gate into the fields near our home. I called her, I tempted her with treats, I followed her. She kept running until I couldn't see her. I waited. I waited for about 20 minutes but I had to be somewhere. I left. I left hoping to find her at our gate when I returned, like many times before.

I returned.

She wasn't at the gate.

I called her name hoping that she was near and that she would come wiggling her little body, waiting for her to jump and twirl.

Nothing.

We searched...armed with treats.

We waited.

Days passed.

I checked the gate and was almost certain that I heard her bark, but again nothing.

We walked the area several times, asking strangers if they'd seen her. The answer was typically a nonverbal sneer.

I hope that she's ok.

I'm sure that someone probably took her...a complete package...sweet, clean and even wearing a brand new collar that I'd adorned her with just a day before.

The kids still look for her everyday. As we drive, we always look for her.

The girls have cried.

Izabella is worried that someone that finds her might feed her table food, raisins or chocolate.

Foti is worried that Tarzan will get sick from sadness since he's alone outside.

I stand on my balcony staring out at the fields hoping that I'll see her run back.

I stand on my balcony listening to dogs barking in the distance, hoping that I'll hear her.

I know that it's possible that she had a family before she found us, maybe she went back to that family.

Maybe.

Maybe the gypsies that camp at the beach nearby took her.

Maybe she'd had enough of Tarzan's rough puppy play.

Maybe she found another family and there are kids that love her just as much as ours do.

Maybe she got hurt.

Maybe she got lost.

Maybe if I had run faster I could have caught up to her and she would have flopped on her back so that I could rub her belly, pick her up and carry her home-like I've done before.

Maybe the dog lady snatched her up.

Maybe she'll come back in a week

or a month.

Maybe...

We miss her.

Related links:

Tarzan

The Dogs

The Dogs

After months of waiting, I am pleased to finally present to you a dog update. Many of my friends/readers have inquired about our canines since my post in January when I took in Tarzan & Asproula. I had originally tried to put Asproula up for adoption but I only received two phone calls from the rescue organization, both of which were inquiries regarding her status and whether or not she was still available.

So, here are some photos that I've pulled from my collection as well as a few words about each pooch. Enjoy.

Gigi

As Gigi is our first dog, she's the most spoiled of the three. She's the only dog allowed indoors and is always next to me. If I sit, she's on my lap, beside me or on my feet. She suffers from separation anxiety when I'm not available or if she can see me but can't be near me. It can be cute as well as irritating since her whining and crying won't stop unless she gets what she wants. I've probably enabled this behavior because she's so adorable.

She's much faster than Tarzan.

She has a bad habit of tearing through barriers that keep her from being near me. Above, she chewed through the plastic mesh on the gate while I was visiting our neighbors.

Here, she tore a hole in the screen. This happened when we had some neighbors pop in unannounced. As I offered them coffee on the balcony, Gigi was inside barking frantically. She wouldn't stop. Actually, all three of the dogs were barking. It was clear that these people weren't animal lovers and the dogs sensed that. The neighbors didn't stay long since we couldn't carry a decent conversation with all of the barking. As I walked them out to the gate, Gigi tore this hole in the screen in an attempt to save me from the non-dog loving visitors. She might be small, but she's mighty and relentless when she senses that we may be in any kind of trouble. I hate having to tell Kosta when she does this, but he just curses once and changes the screen as soon as he can. She's lucky that she's so cute.

Tarzan

Remember this puppy? Well, he's grown into a giant puppy. He's about 8 months old now and huge!

Handsome

Cute

It's this face that keeps him out of trouble. If there's something that you don't want or wouldn't mind having torn apart, send it to us. He's excellent at destroying things.

Here's a list of recent damages:

• Alexandra's new shoes
• A beach hat
• A whole beach bag and its entire contents-flippers, masks, sunscreen, beach mats etc...
• 2 potted plants...geraniums. He even chewed up the plastic planters and the plants were nowhere to be found. I hope that they were delicious.
• Kosta's leather sandals
• Yia yia's fuzzy slippers
• The sprinklers in the front yard
• All of the hoses that were attached to the sprinklers
• Foti's plastic sword
• Foti's sunglasses
• Books
• 2 door mats
• 1 throw rug

...and much more. If anything is left outside unattended, it's fair game. So, everyone has finally started to pay more attention to their belongings. His habit of chewing everything in his path is beneficial by helping me instill personal responsibility in our children.

This photo is blurry because I was going to wipe his eyes before taking his photo and he ripped the towel from my hand and a chase ensued.

He thought he'd hide in the brush...

And then he stuck his head out to make sure that he could continue to taunt me.

I spend a lot of time chasing him!

Here he is about 6 months old.

Trying to share Foti's Popsicle.

Asproula

She's beautiful, sweet and extremely gentle.

Roaming & playing with Gigi.

Friends with Alexandra

Have a look at this face! This is my view of Asproula...she's always begging me for food & hugs. Her worst (& sort of cute) habit is jumping on me. Asproula is the type of dog that twirls and flips in front of you as you walk. Twirling, flipping and jumping with her tongue out is pretty funny to watch. I'd like to find a tutu for her one of these days and put it on video.

Asproula is fairly easy to have around. Our only challenge with her is trying to tweak the "street" dog out of her. Most dogs love to steal food at any opportunity that presents itself, but she's fast & furious and we can't leave food anywhere unless she's on a leash.

When she first came to us she was squeamish and would crouch and hide if we raised our voices. I think that she's finally realized that we won't harm her as we haven't witnessed this behavior for a while. I'm glad that she's comfortable.

Having the three dogs together has been fun as well as challenging. The fun outweighs the challenges and we love that our children have them to love and care for. It's evident that the love and care is reciprocated by the dogs as they keep careful watch over the them. I'll admit, once again, that I was never a "dog" person, although I didn't mind them I just didn't love them. Now, I couldn't imagine life without the love of a dog...they've won me over.

I hope that you've enjoyed this long overdue update.

A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than you love yourself. ~Josh Billings