Scary Nights

Oh boy, what a blast we had this weekend. On Friday I thought my mommy was staying home, she certainly did not go off running while it was still dark out, like she always does. She was in her jammies even when daddy and Jaden left. I thought it was my lucky day. But she left anyway. That’s ok, I was starting to get really sleepy, because I normally sleep all day when everyone’s gone, and it was a real struggle to keep myself awake. I was snuggled with her on the chair and as soon as I nodded off to sleep, she would wiggle around reaching for the laptop or the TV remote, or just plain squeeze me mad. Before she left she took me out to the backyard anyway, and I got all excited to see the leaves flying around. The breeze was a tad brisk and my hair was getting in my eyes a lot! I mustered up enough energy to chase a few leaves, but always ended up flopping down on my stomach in the grass, which my mommy found cute because she laughed lots.

They didn’t come home till it was dark, and it was only to grab me and go off again. Thank goodness they remembered to give me a few minutes in the backyard, I really needed that break because I slept all afternoon! In the car they were all excited and they were talking about a torch, that apparently mommy and Jaden saw at the rec centre by her school, and also at the lake. I think my mommy has pictures of it to share. I don’t understand why they were all so worked up over a stick on fire but whatever makes them happy. What makes me happy is being with all of my humans.

So we were going to this big party downtown. I’ve never been to this place. It was raining and I was getting wet. I didn’t know you were supposed to walk under that thing my daddy was holding up, but it wouldn’t have done anything because there were puddles on the road and my legs aren’t tall enough to keep me out of it. There were a lot of people and I think it freaked me out, even though I kept up my big boy stance. Finally my mommy said I was too wet, so daddy picked me up and tucked me inside his warm jacket, which meant his sweater was getting wet too! We stood around for quite a while, and watched the crowd in front of us; they were watching something up on stage, but we were too far away and all we could see was a big TV. There were lit fishes floating around amongst the crowd, and people had light around their necks and wrists! Jaden was getting bored and I moved to mommy’s jacket because daddy had to put her up on his shoulders. Then we heard a loud cheer and guess what, along comes the stick on fire! Someone in a little car was holding it up and everyone went wild with cheering. Yey, count me in on the cheering, whatever it was for. Jaden cheered the loudest when this girl, Jeneece, took the torch (that’s what it’s really called, not stick on fire grin!) and lit the cauldron (What’s that? From my snuggly spot inside mommy’s jacket, I couldn’t really see!). And just as soon as I managed to get warm and stop shivering, we all started walking back to the car. Well they walked, mommy decided I was too tired and wet to walk in puddles again, and I agreed!

The next day, Jaden put on this really flowy, lacy dress. I thought she might like us to play with it so I tried grabbing it in my mouth but she got really mad and sent me away. Mommy painted her face so she looked really scary and she had red lips. But she didn’t want to put on the fake blood. She had a plastic bucket shaped like a pumpkin. They put me in my playpen so I guess they were going somewhere I wasn’t allowed, but they came back shortly and I had another go at the lacy sleeves of Jaden’s dress. Unsuccessful again.

The rest of the night freaked me out. First, someone knocked on the door, and Jaden and daddy opened it and gave candy to some people outside who were scary- and weird-looking, while I was stuck behind my playpen that mommy set up in the hallway. Then daddy and Jaden left, and I think I saw them go to the house across the street but I’m not sure. Mommy was holding me up by the window and I saw shadows that I growled at. When daddy and Jaden came home they went outside to light sparklers and I was left inside sniffing at the crack in the door. I wasn’t too serious about wanting to go outside really. There were lots of booming going on and I didn’t like it one bit. Daddy said it sounded like there were lots of fireworks and firecrackers going on.

It had been a crazy two days already, and there was still Sunday left. Thankfully mommy was also exhausted, and after Jaden went to bed, mommy and daddy sat around watching TV for a while, with me snuggled under a blanket on mommy’s lap. Then we went to bed, finally. I’ll tell you about Sunday another time.

Bio

Hi. I’m Phineas. I’m 5 months old. I’m blonde-ish, browner in the back but the top of my head is half-white, half-blonde. Once upon a time, I lived with my mommy and daddy’s mommy and daddy, and had brothers and sisters. But one by one my siblings went away, and then there was only Mali and Max and me. Then Max got really sick, Mali had a hernia, and some people came and took ME away. I never saw Max and Mali again, although I heard the new people say my mommy’s mommy went to the vet’s clinic with Max and came home sad, and that Mali went home with a little boy in Sooke whose family promised to look after that hernia.

I went home with a man and a woman. They had new stuff for me! A new bed, new food and water dish, even towels (I had no clue that they were for bathing!), new toys. It was all excitng, but then I started missing Mali and mom and dad. My mommy’s name is Mooku, my daddy’s name is Finley. But it was Mali I played with a lot, and I truly missed her. At night in the new house, I tried to be very brave because I was a big boy but I couldn’t help crying softly, so the new woman put my bed right by her side of their bed, so she could reach out to me and pet me, and then I wasn’t so lonely anymore. I actually slept through the night! She could be my new mommy, and the guy lying beside her could be my new daddy. They seem to be very excited to have me and is giving me lots of hugs and cuddles.

The next day they had to go to work, so they left me inside a playpen in a little room, with food, water and my bed. They also put toys, paper in a litter pan (just like in my old home, that’s where we all did our business, as the humans call it!), and a little black and gray box with talking people inside. They said it will make me feel as if there’s someone else in the house, even though it’s only me. I still felt sad when they left, I missed playing with Mali all day long!

Mommy and Daddy didn’t come home for a long time and when they did, boy was I ever so happy I think I peed my pants. Of course I didn’t, although I kind of made a mess inside the playpen during the day. I’m just stressed out and lonely and I can’t help it, I’m just a baby!

The next day, we left the house super duper early I think the sun was still in bed. I sat on my mommy’s lap and she had a bag of cheerios for me, yippee! I think it was my first car ride, I can’t really remember now. It was a looong one too. We stopped sometimes and climbed out of the car for ‘business.’ I got really tired and didn’t want to eat, and my mommy got worried.

After a looong time, we finally arrived in this place that had lots of big trees but there were people living under these trees. We pulled up into this place and out comes a girl. I was looking out the window and saw the girl running, then pause with a disappointed look on her face (turned out she thought it wasn’t the car she was expecting because she saw me and didn’t know me). My mommy called her (her name was Jaden), and then she smiled again and approached the car cautiously. I was scared because I didn’t know who she was. I was just getting used to my mommy and daddy and now there’s somebody new. So when she leaned over to pet me I growled. My mommy told me no. Turned out I was a surprise for Jaden who is their daughter. Boy was she surprised. Then everything broke loose. Apparently Jaden was staying in the box under the trees with other people, and these people all came out at once to look at me, hug and carry me, admire my cuteness, and exclaim how lucky Jaden was to have me. I loved all the attention! Everyone was petting me and I was giving back lots of licks. Also, I’ve never been in a forest before. When no one was trying to squeeze me I ran around and sniffed a lot. My mommy and daddy brought toys with us so they started throwing it around and I was more than happy to try and catch it. Boy they drove me tired.

We stayed in the box that night. I still didn’t cry even though it was the second strange place I would be sleeping in in a week’s time. I think it was partly because I was soo tired, and also happy to make a little kid happy. Is this how my sister Mali felt when she went to that little boy’s house? I hope so.

Next day we drove home, but this time I didn’t mind the long car ride, I was getting used to it and actually starting to like it. I pretty much slept most of the way, snuggled inside my mommy’s arms like a human baby, Jaden didn’t come with us because she enjoys camping with her grandma and grandpa and aunty (all these terms I learned later), although I thought she felt sad when we got into the car and drove away.

A few days later, Jaden came home and we were reunited. But then she had to go to school, so I was still left alone in the house. They do leave me my toys and the talking box but it’s never the same. I get so excited when I hear the car pull into the carport in the evening, and I run around crazy trying to lick everyone all at the same time. My mommy and daddy are quite happy because I think I’ve got the routine down pat now. I don’t make a mess in my playpen anymore. When they come home, they take me out in the backyard and I do my business then. It makes them really excited when I do that, so they give me treats! They used to have soft chewy ones which I really liked, but now they give me milk bone which I like to toss around in the air before eating. I think I look cute when I do that because they always laugh. My mommy has also started taking me out for walks after dinner, and she seems happy to do it, although if you ask me, I get freaked out by the shadows at night and all the weird noises and it is dark so I can’t see where the noises are coming from. I always rush home, back into a warm, cozy house with EVERYBODY there. When Jaden goes to bed, I like playing fetch in the hallway. My mommy says it’s crazy how my little paws just batter down the hallway. “C’mon Mom, I’ve been asleep all day, I have energy buzzing in my bones!”

‘Ruff, I mean, ‘nuff about me. For now. I have plenty more stories to tell about my new family, but now I think I’d like to get back to my chow, and back to bed. All this thinking back is really stretching it for me, because you know we have very short-term memory, and I think my mommy needs to trim my nails again, it’s bouncing off the keys!