Sweet Reunion

When we traveled this past week, we left Azuki with her pet-sitter Renee for 10 whole days, probably the longest that she has ever been away from us. We came back on a Saturday, but I purposely didn't pick her up until Monday, because I knew I needed a day just to do laundry, rest and get over the jet-lag, without having a superbly excited dog panting after my every move. I missed her a lot, but was also relieved when we came home to a peaceful, quiet house. We woke up early in the morning naturally from jet-lag, but there was no furry animal scratching on the side of the bed. Uninterrupted sleep! Oh how I have missed thou.

Without Azuki, good things just seem to keep on coming. After brunching in the lower east side at Matt's favorite eatery, I decided, on a whim, to visit a friend's new apartment, and then do some shopping downtown--and GUESS WHAT? I can do such things freely because I did not have a dog at home gated off in the kitchen that I need to worry about getting home to. With my new found freedom I even stopped off at the grocery store after and entire afternoon out to pick up food for dinner. And then I walked home, SLOWLY. Stopping occasionally to see what the street vendors are selling. Life can be so wild and spontaneous when you are free of the guilt of a dog pinning for youre return.

Alas, all good things must come to an end. When I picked up Azuki, I was also bracing myself for what will inevitably happen. Azuki already greets Matt with irrational exuberance when he comes home in the evenings from work, and that is just because he was away for one whole day. What am I to expect after being away for 10 days? Will she go insane with happiness? Will she not even remember me? I knew the latter was unlikely because Azuki actually has an uncanny memory. She still holds a grudge against a large black standard poodle down the hallway and will bark at him like a wanna-be vicious dog whenever she encounters him (I say wanna-be, because, give me a break, as if she could sound and look mean even if she tries). That is just because he chased her down the hall one time and she never forgot it.

I knew an attack was pending. An attack of love, no less, but it'll still be brutal, and most likely costing me some bodily injury. In the afternoon on Monday I took a cab to the east side animal hospital and gingerly opened the door to the rehabilitation center. Renee was not there, but the two pups (Azuki and her dog finney) were freely roaming around the office. The dogs had knocked over the garbage can and Finney's head was still in the garbage can eating left-over salad when I entered. Azuki, the ever curious pup, came to the door and saw me, and as if she couldn't believe her eyes, bounded towards me. When she was sure that it was me, she began her greeting ritual of charging at me in full speed, jumping in my face. I bent down to greet her and was greeted by a huge knock in my jaw. Then, she ran around in little circles and then jumped in my face again, over and over again, each time brusing my lip.

Back at home, she immediately got back to her old routines, which includes running around, ripping her toys around, licking my face, and biting my arms. Although these pictures were not taken on that day, they are pretty representative of what we do at home:


Azuki and I making out. She spends a lot of time and effort trying to lick us:


Azuki chomping on my arm like a police dog in training:

Azuki finds a piece of tissue on the table and chews it into pieces:

After much mischief Azuki usually settles into an impossible position in my lap and takes a nap. In her world it is better to be uncomfortable but still near the human:

As Matt puts it when he came home that night, seeing that Azuki is noticeable more furry and chubbier, "The Chubaga is BACK!"