The Ahboo Files: Vol. 1

Hello from sunny (humid) Alabama. We're having a great time on vacation, and we're getting to see most of our friends who we haven't seen in over a year. The one downside of going on vacation is that we had to leave Ahboo at home. Fortunately, he's in good hands -- we hired "The Pet Nanny" of Sandpoint to check in on him (and our fish, Ramone) several times a day.

We've been getting constant E-mail updates. Since I don't have much to post here this week (after all, we're hanging out with most of the people who would be reading this), I bring you... The Ahboo Files.

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Ahboo's First Day

Hi Hillary & Chris,

I hope you made it to your destination okay and are having a happy reunion with family!

Ahboo was a bit tentative when I come over at noon but I think he had to pee pretty bad because he went out in the yard pretty readily and while out there, he played chase/tag with me.

This evening was a different story! He went out once but rushed back in the house - didn't even pee. He sat in the door to your office and observed my attempts to get him across the linoleum and outside :). So I fed him in his crate to see if that would relax him - I disappeared out of sight while he ate. After he ate, he returned to the office and wouldn't do tricks; chase a ball thrown outside, chase the frisbee thrown outside; not even fetch a cookie tossed outside - nothing, nada, zip! I finally just layed on the floor in the office with him and talked to him. He looked at me with those soft eyes and started to warm up to me and trust me in your absence. Eventually he was licking my hand and arm and getting more comfortable with me so I lured him out with a cookie and shut the door so he couldn't "cop out" on me and go back in the house. He did his bio business and alot of sniffing around and then he was ready to play - and boy was he ready to play!!! We had a blast playing fetch with the tennis ball which went on for quite awhile. I can see where the dog park might be beneficial so he has more room to run and chase balls - maybe tomorrow or the next day when he trusts me enough to put his harness on.

Ramone sure knows when it's his feeding time too - seems to always be there at the hole when I go to drop his pellets in!

--The Pet Nanny