Happy Thanksgiving!
I know I haven’t written for quite some time, but that is
mostly because there hasn’t been a lot to tell.
Things are quiet right now. We
are trying to figure out what our next step should be.
We have tried and tested the private mail system, Club Correos,
and it seems to work fine. Steve needed
new shoes and a size 13 is not going to be found here. It took 2 weeks, but they got here. We have just sent off for some art supplies
to keep us out of trouble. We want to
take a few days and go to see Loja to our South, but the dog care facility I
was planning on using, Barkingham Palace, is closing and its owners heading off
to other adventures. I am searching for
another, and have my eye on one, but need to go check it out yet.
Last night as we were out walking the dogs, we saw a rat
crossing the road that was almost as big as a house cat. Steve tossed some pebbles at it but it was totally
unfazed. It wasn’t concerned about us at
all, but Ginger really wanted to go check it out! That is why Cuenca allows all the loose dogs. Quite some time ago, the city was overrun with
rats. Hungry dogs eat rats. So once a year they round up all the dogs, give
them shots and neuter any that aren’t already, and then they set them free once
again. At least that’s what I read somewhere…
Anyway, all four of us are fine and healthy. I am
looking forward to the Spanish classes starting in January for the chance to
meet some other ex-pats and to try to make what Spanish we know usable. I admit to backing off on the course we have
been working with. Just can’t seem to
get through the verb conjugations.
Ginger has always been real excitable around other dogs. Not fearful or aggressive – she wants to
play! I contacted a well recommended dog
trainer, and HE was able to get her to behave just fine with just a tug or two
on a choke chain. It worked pretty well
for me too as long as he was with me.
Some days she would do real well, and then she would go nuts again. Our trainer wanted me to get a dog backpack
and make her “work”. We still haven’t
been able to locate one, but that may be our next Club Correo shipment. He said that if that didn’t do the trick, he
suggested a shock or UHF collar. We
thought about that, and have decided to try something else. I found a guy on-line who uses the gentler
approach. I’ve read some of his first
lessons, and tried them on Ginger. She seems
to be responding. Not fast, but maybe
better.
When we first moved in, we had an issue with another tenant
who doesn’t like dogs. She complained to
the manager that our dogs scared her so we should be required to pick them up
whenever another tenant is in the same area as the dogs. We got a bit of a chuckle out of that as
Pepper weighs almost 90 lbs., and Ginger is about 50. Then she said that the dogs smelled up the
common areas. I asked the manager to
come by our unit and tell us if she could smell anything. She could not. We haven’t heard any more, but it created an
unfriendly situation. Not with manager –
but we don’t know (but suspect) which tenant is trying to get us kicked
out. Most are very friendly. These are pet-friendly units and there are
other dogs here, so it shouldn’t bother us, but it does.
So, we may move again in the near future. This condo is nice, but we would really be
more comfortable in a house, so we have Brandon searching for something that
may work. It will take time. He says he sees homes that would work for us –
just not very often. We are content to
stay here until he finds our more-perfect home.
One with a yard. Steve is getting
tired of taking Pepper out at midnight or 3 am to go potty. He has ODB - Old dog bladder.
