Holiday paws in the mud

Fortunately, Mom had seen such things more than once before. She laughed and pulled out a Bissell Spotlifter. This is an amazing machine.

First, of course, we had to blot up the pint of urine now sitting on the white rug. Then Mom squirted some sort of pet odor and stain removal formula onto the fiber, and vacuumed it all up. You'd never know anything had happened.

But Miss Behavior wasn't finished. We fed her dinner, a concoction inspired by Mara's meatloaf. Daisy ate up with vigor, but as she chewed, she dribbled big chunks of rice and egg all about the freshly washed kitchen floor. I wiped up as best I could, while my mom told me that she had timed her last scrubbing. Only ten minutes!

After this display of good manners, Daisy settled in and we all relaxed.

Because of the allergy-inducing cat, we stayed at a bed and breakfast in town. Daisy thought it was great -- it offered wonderful views out each window and she had the run of the place. True, the Bliss Bungalow is really quite nice. We liked the comfortable bed, restrained historic decor and warm feel of the shared kitchen and living areas.

At Mom's we ate, drank, and talked up a storm. With Daisy we had to be discrete. Mom lives in a townhouse complex that surrounds a lake frequented by migrating waterfowl. No dogs over one foot high allowed. We snuck Daisy in under her blanket and attempted to walk her out of view. But once again, Daisy would have none of it. She left clear evidence of her visit, rules be damned!

Miss Behavior

Oh my word, we've got to catch up on our blogging. Daisy's about to become famous. Or maybe infamous, I don't know. Word has it that her exploits will be featured in the July American Kennel Club Gazette.

The good news: Daisy has made some great improvements. The bad news: She is still scared to pieces by Chihuahuas and Golden Retrievers. And she still requires approximately 8 eggs and six cups of rice a day. We now supplement these offerings with some chopped-up greens and kidney beans. A little salmon or sardine juice adds just the right extra flavoring. Packaged dog food just doesn't sit well with her.

What's the latest? Nothing too terrible to report. No more sneaking out of the parked Volvo station wagon and running up a side road toward the fish market. Not as much high-decibel shrieking at the hint of four-footed movement several blocks away. No additional holes in the fence, although I did notice some scratches.

Daisy even attended our dear friends' wedding in Yosemite National Park. She missed the ceremony itself, but came down from her room to attend part of the reception. The Tenaya Hotel just outside the park actually offers a dog sitting service. We were thrilled! Daisy was disappointed with the dog houses they provided, though.



We did have an awkward moment during the wedding rehearsal when the groom rushed over and grabbed my arm with a look of concern. Someone else had been watching Daisy, who apparently had taken great interest in a Yorkshire Terrier. Paul pulled me over to the site of the incident and to meet his sister with the little pup. She didn't seem too concerned and I'm still not sure if a snap or a lunge was involved. But it really would not have been a good start to the wedding if Daisy had eaten the groom's sister's dog.



Here's Camus, the bride and groom's dog. He wanted to attend the reception, not sit in this stifling little tent. In the end, he won the tug-of-war.