Max is one lucky dog. Lucky enough that he regards food as a ‘want’ and not a ‘need’. During dinner we’ll plonk his doggie bowl at the usual spot, and Max will give it a casual sniff before running off to play. Only when he’s done chasing butterflies or lizards or whatever he’ll return to the bowl and crunch the pellets down with an unhurried air. Unlike Tat’s golden retrievers Leo and Smuffy- they gobble up their kibble like it’s the Last Bowl of Dog Food Ever In The World.
We shower Max with SO MUCH love. Sometimes it surprises us even- but we can’t help ourselves, it comes naturally every time Max cocks his furry head or blinks his long lashes at us. I give Max cuddles whenever he wants it (and also when he doesn’t), my dad wrestles with him (Max gets especially excited whenever my dad flips him onto his back a la martial arts), my brother tolerates Max’s painful paw punches to the face, my mother yells at us whenever she finds out that we so much as took Max’s donut away for punishment, my sister… well she hasn’t met the furball yet but I’m sure she’ll be reduced to a puddle of cooing goo once Max offers her his paw for a shake/rolls over (for a treat of course, Max doesn’t do free shows).
However, we are very careful to not let Max get too spoilt. This is why we exercise the disciplinary regime of Let Him Know We Are Bigger Than Him– Much, Much Bigger. Whenever Max gets extra naughty, we tower over him (I tiptoe sometimes) and boom “NO” at him. And if that doesn’t work, we reveal the Stick of Death. This will usually generate Pitiful Puppy Actions from Max- he’ll roll onto his back and give a couple of cutesy jabs in the air with his paws, throwing in an endearing body wriggle for good measure.
But… I do think that we’re the luckier ones. I am aware that life wasn’t at all bad before Max came along- but in my head I picture the pre-Max days as everyone sitting sullenly around the dinner table eating quietly; as for the post-Max days we’re all singing while passing around the salt/pepper shakers, laughing while sharing Max anecdotes before agreeing “life is so much better with Max around!”
Max was treated to a post-dinner car ride: Mutiara Damansara to Subang then back. He loved every single second of it. He was in a high, his tiny head bobbing left right up down as he greedily took in the sights of the outside world through the glass.
‘Course, there was the occasional frantic barking every time a motorcycle flew by… Max doesn’t bat a doggie eyelid whenever a lorry rumbles by and he refuses to acknowledge cars. But anything with two wheels? Hah!
We even encountered a dog taking a dump by the side of the road- Max gave a high pitch whinny and tried to climb onto my brother’s head to have a better view of his fellow canine. My dad even slowed the car to see how it would all pan out but quickly floored the accelerator after Max started scratching the upholstery in agitation. Said dog just stared at us in mild disinterest as he continued with his umn, business.
The window was lowered for Max’s benefit, and he had a grand time airing his furry face, his ’stache going swooooosh in the wind.
After a whole half hour on the road, Max is now home and happily curled up around his favourite towel, probably dreaming about red/yellow flashes of lights and funny broom broom noises. Silly doglet.
So today I opened my eyes at 6am on the dot to do what I do every single day- bark incessantly until Papa wakes up to let me out. I think he’s not much of a morning person…
I played in the garden by myself until Mommy came down at nine to give me a shower. I considered ducking out of sight when she stumbled upon the hole I dug in the grass, but I think she was too sleepy to care cos all she did was grunt.
She couldn’t find the sponge so I dutifully trotted up and down beside her as she looked for it- only to realise that I had the sponge tucked safely in my mouth. Whoops. I think she wasn’t too amused cos I heard her mutter, “GOD you’re one annoying dog.”
Mommy had a great time scrubbing the soil and dirt off my body but then she decided to give my hair a trim… I was shivering every time the (sharp) scissors went near my body- what if she snips a piece of my skin instead?! Luckily for me she stayed within the boundaries of my fur…
Anyway I wasn’t too happy about the haircut (I think I look like a dork minischnauzer now…) so I was rude and talked back at her. This is me at my best:-
Mommy refers to it as my ‘annoying whinnying’, but I do think that it makes me unique and different from the other woof woof dogs
I think Max doesn’t like me going to work. Despite my brother yelling at him to come for breakfast (and rattling the dog food tupperware too), Max sat still on the porch staring disapprovingly at me under those bushy brows while I reversed out.
On an unrelated note, traffic to work was unbelievably smooth- is today a public holiday?!?
And I was so sleepy I didn’t notice the handbrake was half up the entire 15km journey… please tell me this won’t hurt the car
Max has been very naughty of late. He’s taken to eating anything and everything he finds in the garden, and his current favourite snack is… live baby lizards (ew).
I caught the greedy fella munching on one earlier this morning (ew)- so I grabbed him firmly by the collar, pointed one finger at him and sternly said, “SPIT”. Max hesitated for a bit before sheepishly dropping the half eaten lizard (ew).
This is us mucking around with the webcam self-timer after a bath and five rounds of teeth brushing!
Okay the reason why I’ve been MIA for a bit is because… I was on the plane back to Malaysia.
What started off as a ‘I miss home’ whinge on Sunday night became a full blown frantic search for the earliest flight back home. A visit to Malaysian Airlines at Exhibition Street was futile, so a call back home did the trick. All that was left to do was to change the reference numbers on our ticket, pack our bags, and head to the airport that very midnight.
I’m home now -a whole nine days earlier than planned- and sweating my arse off :) Helloooo heat.
I did leave Melbourne with a heavy heart though- saying g’bye to my mum nearly killed me :( The tears, the frantic cling-hugs, the ‘take care’s… Tat tried to make up for the emptiness by being extra attentive on the plane (randomly waking me up at intervals for nothing thanks a lot :p), but I still want my mommy boohoo.
That being said, I missed you Malaysia, stinky toilets and all! Ok time for Max-love round 121324.
Hurray for sleeveless tops :D And yes that is Max T_T
P.s. Sorry Melbourne sayangs for leaving so soon and not notifying you guys ’till now… will make it up to you guys the next time I’m there I promise!
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what the?!
nostalgic
