The new year...

A time for reflection. A time for new resolutions. But when you're wearing your favorite jammies and wrapped in your favorite blanket, it can all wait till tomorrow.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Everyday is Christmas for Tai

...well, almost everyday. There is a 12-year-old boy who comes to our restaurant with his family for supper almost everyday. And he always comes bearing gifts.

The boy is one of a very small, select group of customers that Tai gets visibly excited about. He loves to play with Tai--of course, doesn't everybody?-- and always brings something for Tai to play with. It is usually just a simple plastic bottle--you know, the Coke- or Pepsi-style of bottle. These half-litre bottles are just the right size for Tai to get his mouth around. He loves to bite into the rigid plastic, making as much crunching and crackling noise as possible. He'll toss it over his head, making it bounce and jump. He'll push it all round by his stubby nose, as if he's in a "Peanut Race." Or he'll simply pick it up and run as fast as he can from one end of the building to the other.

Tai gets far more enjoyment out of something like that than he does from any gift we might purchase from a store. Gotta love that kind of Christmas shopping list.

Tai wishes one and all a very Merry Christmas.

Tai never needs a pedicure

One of the hot topics in the web board these days is cutting a doggie's nails. What equipment to use and how to go about it safely. For the most part, our Tai doesn't have that problem. He never needs them clipped, except the little "dew claw" nails. You know, the ones about an inch above the ankles. (His ankles, not mine.) The nails on his toes are kept trimmed naturally as he walks and runs and plays on concrete. In all the years Tai has been in charge of this family, we've never had to trim his nails. The exception being, as said, for the little dew claws, which have on more than one occasion given me a pretty nasty slash.

What's on the menu--the retraction

Well, it didn't take Tai to long to prove me wrong. After my comment about Tai eating chicken and only chicken, he surprised us all. We brought home two large grilled fish for dinner the other night. Tai was clearly very hungry and sat expectantly beside the table. It's unusual for him to sit beside the table, so he must have been ravenous. We though, what the heck, let's see if he'll eat some fish. He did. His usual chicken was still cooking, so we gave him a little more fish. And then some more. And this continued until he had finished off half a fish. I guess there's no need to tell you that he wasn't too keen to eat his chicken after all that!

What's on the menu?

Tai is a healthy eater. Having said that, I must point out that that sentence can be interpreted in a couple of ways.

Does Tai eat healthy foods? Yes and no. Tai eats chicken... roasted chicken... and only roasted chicken. (I think you get the point. He doesn't have a particularly varied menu.) He pretty much turns up his little nose at everything else. On the very rarest of occasions, he'll deign to eat a tiny amount of pork or fish, but I could probably count on one hand the number of times that would happen in a year. The vet says we've probably spoiled Tai by not forcing him to accept other foods. Yeah, he's probably right. But Tai is a healthy boy, and to make sure he stays healthy, we give him a supplement regularly so he gets all the vitamins and minerals he needs. I should mention that we have gotten him to eat a little bit of dry dog food after all the chicken is eaten. He won't tolerate it mixed in, only added after the fact and only in small amounts. If we try to dump in a heaping amount, he's immediately turned off. So we mete it out a bit at a time till he feels he's had enough and walks away to the water bowl. That's the signal that dinner has officially come to a close.

Does Tai eat a good, healthy amount? Yes and no. Generally, he dives right in and practically inhales his food. Occasionally, he'll pick at it, eat just a few tiny pieces, then walk away. No amount of coaxing will get him back to the dish. This could go on for days. But then he gets good 'n hungry again and dives back into his chicken.

So, how did he become a finicky eater? I think it stems from puppyhood before we 'rescued' him. They were giving him rice with something added (could be chicken, pork, fish, possibly spicy sauces). To him, it was so unappetizing that he would just ignore it. By the time he was hungry enough, the ants had already claimed the food bowl and turned it into a writhing mass. To this day, Tai won't go near his bowl if he detects even a tiny amount of rice.

When all is said and done, though, he is healthy. We know it, and the vet confirms it. Everyone comments on how bright and shiny and soft his coat is. Everybody's happy.

So... chicken anyone?

The Boy's Toys

Tai loves his toys. But then, so do all dogs. He particularly likes squeaky balls. The squeakier--and more annoying--the better. The ordinary non-squeek variety just don't cut the mustard with our Tai. He loves to play 'Fetch' with his squeak toys, although he still has a long way to go to understand the whole concept of fetch--he retrieves the ball, then runs in a completely different direction, with what looks like a smile on his face... "Hah, got it, and I'm not gonna give it back."

For a while, Tai's favorite toy was a length of nylon rope that we tied into a kind of noose. We made it thick enough that he could easily grab it and it wouldn't lose its shape. Perfect for playing tug-of-war. He would work feverishly to undo knots that held the woven nylon in place. Given enough time, he'd have the whole thing completely unwoven. Clever boy! Then we'd weave it back up again, and the whole process would start over again. The only reason he doesn't have one now is that we haven't made any for him lately. Perhaps he'll get one for Christmas.

But his absolute all-time favorite toy is a simple box. Cereal box, toothpaste box, cookie box--as long as it's made of boxboard, it's prime toy material. I happen to like cookies and milk while I watch TV in the evening. Tai comes and sits beside me, waiting to lick the last little bit of milk from my glass, but more importantly, to get the cookie box. When I give the 'go' word, he will tear that cookie box into a million tiniest pieces, scattering its dismembered remains all over the place.

I have to say that I can't help wondering how much of ancient doggie instincts are at work when our adorable BTs are at play. To see Tai attack a defenceless cardboard box or a nylon noose, shake it senseless, then attempt to pull it limb from limb, I have to wonder if he truly believes he is killing something. A rather gruesome thought, huh?