Moved. 搬家了。動かれます. Déplacé.

Woofwalkies.

Rachel

went home on Saturday…

Sneaking up onto the sofa when no one’s looking…

But, look who’s back for a short stay!

What’s been going on?

Our current boarder is Rachel… a sweet and mellow (but sometimes grumpy, haha) Rottweiler. Most of my neighbours and children have responded well to her, and now don’t hesitate to give her a nice pet if we meet. Her head is getting glossier! The 7-11 sales lady even went “Rottweiler ah? Eeyer, so CUUUTE!” – the first I’ve heard for a Rottie. Nice.

*ahem*Some of my neighbours, however, were simply born for the theatre, I swear. They react dramatically to Rach, e.g. jumping back in horror when we exit the elevator, allowing their primary school kids to scream their head off when all Rach is doing is taking a pee, and make remarks as we walk past. The worst of the lot has to be owners with smaller, tenacious (not to mention awfully appy) dogs, who allow their pet to run, barking, towards Rachel (and by extension, me). Well, they aren’t aggressive enough to pick a fight, but they cause a commotion which turns all eyes on us and Rachie, being the Rottie, automatically looks like the baddie (Rachie the Baddie… hey! Rhymes! WHATEVERRRRR…..). MY POINT BEING… I wish people would be a bit more sensitive. Most of my neighbours definitely had their reservations, but once their kids started petting Rachel without suffering the loss of limbs or anything, they relaxed and realised Rachie wasn’t gonna do nobody harm. So for the minority who *think* Rachel will attack their beloved Chihuahua for no reason, I’ve got a few words for you.

Just because your pet might be a seemingly harmless Cavalier who’s small enough to pick up with one hand doesn’t mean its yapping and cute “pretend menace” are any less annoying. What if there was someone who was afraid of dogs? Doesn’t matter what size the dog is, it’s still gonna scare that person. Rachel is leashed not because of her breed, but out of consideration for others. The leash means I can quickly bring her closer to me should we pass people who display fear as we approach, or when I meet my Malay neighbours, out of respect for them (and they’re really friendly with Rach). The leash lets her know that I’m not about to let her go chasing the cats. The leash means I can hold her back when she gets a bit too inqusitive (kaypoh, haha) with new friends. I’m not suggesting you give Rach a big hug the next time you see us, but please, do not make a fuss! We do not enter the lift if there are other passengers (or let others take it first), unless they invite me in anyway. We try to avoid elderly people who might get nervous seeing dogs. We stand a distance away from the lift door as people exit. We clean up after doing our business (Ok, I clean up after Rachel does her business). We do our best to stay out of your way and I hardly see how we might have inconvenienced you or affected your life.

Please try to be a little more polite the next time you see us and have an urge to make some comment.