Puppy Kindergarden

Azuki loves her puppy kindergarden. Yes, puppies attend schools too. Azuki's kindergarden is located in the exclusive area of Hiroo, an area of nice houses (actually houses!) where lots of diplomats and expats live (real expats who work for international firms, not Matt who slaves for a Japanese company for below market pay...but does it matter? No, the boy loves his job so who am I to complain?? But I digress). The well-heeled, or rather, well-collared clientele are often dropped off and picked up by the school's private shuttle service, but more than once I have witnessed the pooches being picked up by silver BMWs with dark tinted windows, by men in black who are obviously neither the owners nor federal alien exterminators, but the dogs' DRIVERS. Yes, some dogs in Tokyo get shuttled around by their personal drivers in expensive German imports.

Our pooch is probably downright destitute in comparison with some of the kindergarden's constituents, and it is quite possible that she is the laughing stock of her class because she wears collars from the mass retail pet supply chain rather than small doggie boutiques in Daikayama. However, I am happy to say that their truly compassionate trainers seem to treat Azuki very well, despite the fact that she is probably one of their most, um, active students (meaning: HYPER AS HELL). Azuki absolutely loves it there, because she gets to play rough and tumble with other puppies. This is really evident when we take our lesiurely walk there on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, as soon as she sense that we are approaching her school she starts to pant, pull, and strain her collar in utter anticipation. When we get inside, she makes a beeline for her trainer, leaping in joy and licking her face, AS IF THE TRAINER IS THE ONE who buys her the best food, the yummiest treats, provide her the most comfortable dog beds WHICH VARIES ACCORDING TO SEASON, endless belly rubs and snuggles, 500 squeaky toys which over 200 have been destroyed instantly...I mean HELLO??

Azuki also loves the fact that there are many other puppies there for her to chew on. In the first few sessions her trainers use to write in her memo pad (yes, each "students" gets a memo pad in which they write what you dog did/learned for the day, just like a real kindergarden):

"Azuki played with other puppies A LOT, A LOT. She also ran around A LOT. We worked on sit, stayed, and heeled today. She must be tired from the day so please let her rest when she gets home."

Or,

"Azuki, Co Co, and Mocha became good friends and ran around and engaged in lots of pro-wrestling... We also took a long walk so she should be really tired."

Inevitably, when we get home, Azuki would be running around chasing her toys, gnawing on magazines, flipping in the air...and Matt would always be like, "I thought she was tired??"

Puppy school is suppose to teach her manners, but what she has gained instead is an intensified version of the condition that she was born with--Attention Deficit Disorder. Matt is always asking, "What the heck are they learning at school that we are paying so much for? Why is she still acting all crazy?" And I am always like "We are paying her to GO AWAY for two days out of the week so I can remain SANE. So I can tell myself that everything will be okay because SHE WILL BE GOING TO SCHOOL TOMORROW."

So really, this is for me more than for her. This way, Matt has a semi-sane wife, and I have two days a week to myself where I don't have a dog starring at me, trying to lick the rims of the toilet bowl, while I am on it. Although, at the price that we are paying, it'll probably set us back from buying a house for like, another 10 years.

Above are a few pictures of Azuki and her friends. It was the end of the day, so a lot of puppies have already gone home. It was also hard to take pictures of animals moving at the speed of lightening so the pictures did not really capture the moment. But I have to say, there are very few things in life more precious, besides perhaps the highly coveted Hermes Kelley Bag, than puppies playing together.