A New Salon

Nicolas

Normally I go to the same salon once a month and get groomed.

The groomer lady is so talented and has good taste, so we liked her.

But that salon is near the vet, and Lucy's death made it impossible for Mom to approach that place.

What's more, Mom has developed a kind of separation anxiety!

She has become afraid of leaving us alone.

Mom decided to groom me by herself at home!

And...

She cut my fur!

Umm, it was not too bad, but..

Mom, don't you think I look kinda messy?

Mom cut my fur!

I am going to a photo shoot as a model next month through Nicol's mom's introduction.

Oh, Mom, what are you gonna do now?

Lucy came here from Heaven and whispered me,

"Hey, Nico, tell Mom, "'don't worry, we'll not leave you. Let me go to the new salon'".

"Oh, Lucy! No way! You know I don't like getting groomed.   I won't leave Mom, of course, but I don't wanna go to the salon!"

"Are you gonna go to the photo shoot in such a messy style?"

Ugh..

But before I could make up my mind, Mom googled a new salon and got an appointment!

Oh, no, Mom....

I got a little bit nervous because it was a new place for me, but the groomers were very nice to me and I also enjoyed my first microbubble bath!

It was amazing!

Here's my new style.

What do you think?

Nicolas

The Aura K9 Freestyle Fun Match

Last Saturday, we headed to Yamanashi.

Last year a huge shopping mall, "Forest Mall Fuji Kawaguchi-ko," opened.

We often go to Yamanashi, but had never gone there.

Dad and Mom enjoyed shopping there, and they also seemed to have fun at a yummy restaurant and a hot spring.

We dogs aren't allowed to enter most of the facilities, so we waited in our camper.

I gave Mom my sad eyes when she left us, but it didn't work. Boo!

But she bought us lots of yummy stuff, so I forgave her!

The next day,  the Aura K9 freestyle fun match was held at Woof and we attended that.

Around 70 amazing routines were performed that day!

I danced with Mom to "The Color of the Wind"  (from "Pocahontas") and "The Typewriter."

I also danced with my litter mate Tiara to "Lady Gaga Medley."

Mom and I didn't do well in any of these three routines, but we enjoyed it a lot!

Here's a video of the highlights of our show.

Enjoy!

Something strange about Mom

Since Lucy died, Mom has looked kind of down, and has done my training less frequently.

I thought Mom would cancel my obedience test last Saturday, but she didn't.

In addition to my lack of practice, it was a really hot day, and you know,

I hate hot weather, so I wasn't in the mood for moving animatedly.

We thought we couldn't pass the test, but we did!

How lucky we were!

To change her mood, I did lots of things.

I killed lots of squeaky toys which Mom bought for my doggie sis.

It didn't take me more than 10 seconds!

Yay! Easy job!

But Mom wasn't mad at me!

How strange!

I miss Mom's loud shouting voice.

Hmm, what should I do next?

Camping in Nagano

Our camper at the camp site

We went camping in Nagano over the three-day weekend.


This camp site is very huge and is a members-only site, and there are some strict rules, but we dogs can play without leash.


Yes, we can run in the field and swim in the brook freely!




Lucy really loved this place.




We ran and ran in the field and played a lot!

Nicolas

Ai

Purin

Marin

We met gorgeous Labrador Retriever friends, Vanilla and Opera, and we practiced the Gun Dog Retrieve Trial together.

Nicolas

Most human members visit here with their dogs, 


and we met some Golden Retrievers who looked like Lucy.


They reminded Mom of Lucy.


Mom hugged them and petted them, and after returning to our camper,


I saw her weeping at night.






So we licked her and cuddled with her.


Mom, you know, Lucy is always with us!






See our cute sleeping faces!

Marin

Ai

Purin

Nicolas

Golden Week is coming soon!

It has been almost two weeks since Lucy passed away.

Dad and Mom still weep sometimes but it's getting less frequent.

It was unreal for me at that time, and now it has sunk in.

Lucy is gone.

So sad.

But I know she's always with us even if we can't see her.

Starting at the end of April, we have Golden Week.

We will be able to have a 9-day-weekend by taking two days (May 1-2) off.

But Dad and Mom won't take two days off this year,

so we'll have two separated somewhat longer weekends.

In the first half holidays, we'll go camping in Nagano.

It's the place Lucy loved, so we'll take her with us!

In the second half holidays, I'll have an obedience test!

This coming July, we'll need the qualification for the obedience test to go to the next grade in Canine Musical Freestyle.

So now we are practicing for that test.

It's a good way for Mom to keep busy so she won't flash back the time Lucy died.

Please keep fingers and paws crossed for me to pass that test!

RIP Lucy

Good news and bad news

Last Saturday, Mom and I were waiting for the trainer for our obedience class.

A handsome human and pretty doggy came up to us and said,

"Will you be participating in the K9 Freestyle Competition next weekend?"

That man also said they started doing K9 freestyle after watching our competition two years ago, and will compete in the Starter class next week.

Mom looked so happy because there are few male handlers in Japan!

I'm really looking forward to seeing their routine! WOOF!

The next day, we went to Chiba for the last training session before the competition.

Lucy won't compete in live competition anymore, but will attend the Fun Match next month, so Mom started her training after mine.

But....

Lucy didn't move at all.

Since the end of March, she has seemed to lack energy.

Mom has been worried but we all think it's because of the change of seasons, the change of temperature, humidity, etc, etc, that she has been getting tired easily.

So we were all surprised she didn't move at all that day.

We rushed her to the vet and she had her blood tested, X-ray, rectal exam, etc, etc..

And result was... "spondylosis deformans".

The vet said it was a symptom of aging and couldn't be stopped.

She shouldn't do hard exercise any more, and should keep taking anti-inflammatory meds and natural anti-inflammatory supplements.

And it's important for her to keep doing mild daily exercise like slow walking or walking in the water.

No dancing, no running anymore.

Mom was crying and crying.

It's so sad we can't watch her dancing any more, everyone loved her dancing and it always made us happy.

But when we returned home, Lucy grinned at me and said,

"If Mom gives me much more yummy stuff, I'm sure I could dance again!"

Oh, Lucy...! I really hope that!

Have you seen her dancing before?

If not, you can watch them here!

https://sites.google.com/site/pmlan7/home/fslucy