Almost lost an eye for this one

Yep, I courted death taking this picture, who knew anger could be so immediate and direct. Anyways, it was worth it to get photographic evidence of the creature I mentioned earlier. Any suggestions on what this thing is. It smells like a cat but does not behave like our sweet cat at home. I tried to sniff her and she almost took my nose off. Kali gives her lots of room and respect and has suggested I back off and accept my place in the hierarchy. Moe said "forget that lets keep trying." Based on the scratches all over Moe's face I think I will go with Kali's approach, less painful.

There it is..

I have been spotted...

RUN!

Fellow camp mates

I realized I have not even told you about Kali and Moe. It turns out they live here full time, this is their house. Moe is the guard dog around here, which is cute because I am not sure what he could do if faced with a real threat, but I do not tell him that as he takes his job so seriously. He sits at the window and watches for intruders which there are a surprising amount of, that creature I spoke of earlier, some skunks, two racoons, a local dog and a small orange cat. This keeps Moe busy most of the day.

Kali is more relaxed, she has an attitude of sharing everything and does not feel the need to chase everyone away. The sharing includes everything I brought from home and I am sleeping on the hard, cold floor while she hogs my dog bed. we have had a couple of conversations about this and oddly I lose each time.

City Dog

Another one of my possible new identities is "City Dog". I have been trying this one on for size over the last 8 days and it is ok, perhaps not my best role but I am managing it.

Every morning I go for a walk about the neighbourhood. I stay on my leash, I am not allowed to pull or sniff and I have to greet other dogs without baring my teeth and issuing forth a deep, rumbling growl. We walk on the pavement, my poo is quickly picked up and disposed of, I make way for people walking in the other direction and I am required to be "civilized". Thankfully this all ends with a run through the forest and and romp on the beach because it would be unbearable without that.

So, mom lets not do that one. Yes to car dog, no to city dog.

Give my kids a lick on the face please.

Putting the pieces together

Ok, I have gathered some more evidence to support my theory on who the favourite is at Camp Kalimoe.

1. I get fed first
2. I get my leash on first
3. I get to go out the door first after Georgia
4. I get let into and out of the car first
5. I have my very own bed in the master empress bedroom
6. Georgia keeps petting me and telling me I am her best girl - strong evidence here
7. When Georgia is petting Kali or Moe I only have to push them out of the way and she focusses her attention on me

I am becoming more and more sure that I am the clear favourite and I am happy about that.

Addressing Hughes concern that I may return from camp as a spoiled dog

YES

Private trails, wild game, fresh spring water

What a great place, thanks family for sending me here. Camp Kalimoe has a series of private trails which have been stocked with wild game and fresh mountain streams. Today I chased three white tailed deer, I am sure I would have caught them if Moemoe had been a bit more stealth, he just does not understand subtlety. I had been tracking them for about 10 minutes and was just about  to make my move when Moemoe starting yapping his head off. Needless to say I will not dine on fresh venison this evening.

She who must not be named....

Ok, I have not told you about the part of this camp that is frightening. I did not want you to hurry home on my account but I do feel I have to let you know there is something to fear here. I am not entirely sure what it is, all I know is we all live in fear of it and stick to the edges of the house when it comes into the room. Oddly, Georgia is not scared and even touches the thing, she must be very, very brave. I have been unable to photograph the creature but I will because I want you to see what I deal with every day and perhaps you can shed some light on what the heck it is.

Tell the kids I am ok, but they should never, ever come here when the creature is about. I think she could probably eat Nathan or Emma.

Becoming a whole new dog

While at camp Kalimoe I have taken on a new identity. The work load is super light here, one human puppy to guard and he sleeps most of the time so I have a lot of time to contemplate life and how I would like to spend my golden years. I have had the opportunity to try out a few identities that may fill the time as my human puppies grow older.

Today I was a car dog. This one is great and I really hope my mom will let me do this when she gets home - she IS getting home right?

Anyways, a car dog sits directly behind the driver and has the opportunity to have a say in the direction of travel. I do this by licking the driver's face when she goes the wrong way, this results in shouts of excitement and the car swerving in the direction I had hoped for. Super fun. We all love it.

Why go the the Caymans when...

Hey mom, I hope you are reading this because I have to tell you that you do not need to travel so far away next time you want some fun in the sun. This picture was taken at Red Sands beach RIGHT HERE IS NELSON!

It was a balmy -2, the water was lovely and we had the place to ourselves. Truly incredible, I would have thought it would be wall to wall people but there we were all alone and me the only one swimming. Amazing.

And yes, that is snow in the distance - bet you don't get that where you are!

Determining who really is the favourite in this place

This is not a simple determination. This morning Georgia, (that is the lady's name - I always wondered what the kids meant when they would see her car drive up and they all started screaming "georgiageorgiageorgia". I didn't realize that was her name I thought it was a strange human ritual you went through when presented with chocolate because the kids always smell like chocolate soon after they yell like that.) Anyways, Georgia woke up this morning and said, "Come here Charlotte my best girl." So I did and she knew what to do, I got the full body doggie rub down, very satisfying, but then she picked up the little runty dog and said, "Look at my sweet little favourite baby girl dog." Those are confusing messages, it sounds like she thinks we are both good dogs and I know for sure Kali has some issues, for evidence look to my last dlog post where you see clear evidence of her lack of boundaries.

Anyways, I will continue to stay attuned to the situation until I determine who is in fact "favourite".

Caught red pawed

The security around here is pretty loose. I left MY bone on MY bed for less than a minute and when I got back.....

Selfies from yesterday - so happy to be out and about

Settling in

Ok, things look not too bad around here now that I understand the routine. We got up early and went for another walk, shorter this time and I even got to meet three other dogs, I only growled at one of them and the lady here said 'Nice dog" and plied me with treats so clearly not a weight loss camp, I should be ok.

When we got home I got the biggest bone which I promptly traded with Moe for his little bone which I was certain had to be better - I think he might be the real favourite, I will have to keep my ears open and find out for sure.

I will post some pictures tomorrow, I am getting pretty good with a camera and have some great selfies.

Is this a weight loss boot camp?

I am starting to suspect this may not be all it appears. This afternoon the woman who calls me "best girl" took me on a three hour hike. Sure I am a little portly, but I did not think my mom would send me to a weight loss camp. I hope I do not end up as small as the other two dogs who are registered here.

Saying Goodbye

Today my family left on a long trip. I am not sure how long but I think really long because my mom made lots of sad and then reassuring sounds, so a long time but they are coming back. I hate traveling but I love my family so I drooped my ears and moped around all of last week so they knew I loved them, I had to be careful though because too much moping and they might have forced me to go with them. It is a delicate balance letting them know that I am sad they are going but happy I am not.