Trixie

Trixie, our house guest

Ten days with Trixie

“How is Trixie?” read the one-liner message my sister sent me while she was thousands of miles away – on holiday with her husband – while I was pet-sitting her dog.  My instant reply was, “Notice nobody asks about me…” and she came back with a contrite, “So how are you coping with her?”

For ten days, Trixie, my sister’s pinscher-terrier mix breed house-dog, was a guest in our house while my sister and brother-in-law were away.  Trixie is no stranger in our house because she often visits and enjoys a free run in our garden, chasing the pesky cats and prowling around the rear garden to explore the interesting sights and smells.  Every time she moves, I hear the tinkle of the little bell on her collar so I have an idea where she was.

The best thing is, Trixie is house-trained and knows how to use her own toilet created from an old towel.  Her toilet was placed outside our toilet door but on the first day, she decided not to use her own “toilet” and did a dump on the floor mat outside the bathroom door instead!  From that day onward, I was unsure of which toilet she was using because she was running around outside so often that she probably dumped outdoors!

Looking right as rain!

My sister provided Trixie’s rations and left clear instructions to feed her beef jerky bits as a breakfast snack and the meat for dinner.  Trixie however, made up her doggie mind to bully us and refused even a nibble of the jerky!  It was probably the ninth day when she finally chose to accept bites of the jerky that was offered to her daily by hand.

Then she decided not to eat the meat rations even though mum tried various methods – boiling and pan-frying – but our friend simply refused it.  At meal times, she chose to wait around, looking at us with hungry eyes until we offered something from the table.  I know it was sheer manipulation and of course, mum was moved with compassion to pick out the meats and fish-cake stir-fried with our vegetables, to offer Trixie and she happily swallowed it up like without chewing!

She was being spoilt rotten and why not?  After all, we love her like our own and want her to be happy on her holiday.  And she was – especially when let out into the garden!

I heard her yapping, exercising her lungs at the newspaper man, neighbours and passers-by, every morning and evening while mum and dad were gardening and watering the plants.  On rainy days, she was not allowed out because her feet would get wet and mum was not too happy when Trixie landed herself comfortably, wet feet and all, on the cushions.

Trixie with her paw firmly on her plastic toy!

Speaking of cushions, I had to tell my sister (yes, she asked about Trixie – again!) that I have been ousted from my position in my own house because Trixie has taken over my seat on the sofa.  It’s interesting that she picked, I think, the most comfortable position to rest in front of the TV!

Trixie had to expend some energy so I gave her some “toys” to play with and she had a whale of a time chewing and chasing the plastic cup and bottle around.  If my mum was a neat freak, she would have had a fit from seeing the bits and pieces strewn all over by Trixie gnawing at her toys.  (I was especially careful about stuff lying around or her curious snooping next to our feet that might trip us up.)  But mum was cool about the mess and for a while, our sitting room was a bit of a war zone. 

Every time I went out, Trixie would do a few little pirouettes to indicate that she wanted to come along and I must tell her firmly, “Stay” and leave quickly without a backward glance because I cannot handle the pathetic plea on her face.  When I return, Trixie would be waiting in the porch, her tail wagging like a propeller and she would jump on me for a quick cuddle.  I must have caught millions of doggie germs because Trixie was always too quick to lick me right smack on my lips!

To keep my sister from asking, I sent her photos of Trixie regularly to show that her pet was doing so well.  I know my sister was concerned because Trixie has a tendency to be moody or what we call “emo” but it looked like she did not miss my sister too much.  All that running and wrestling with her toys has been good therapy as we saw Trixie behaving healthy and happy throughout her stay. 

Chewing plastic cup to shreds!

As warned, we knew that it took only one housefly to distract Trixie.  She would snap and chase it around for a while and when she got tired of her futile attempts, she would then quietly retire to a hidey hole.  One afternoon, I noticed that it was too silent without the sound of her tinkling bell so I went about calling her name.  My search ended when I finally spotted a ball of fur under the sofa!

Trixie knew it was bedtime when the lights were off and she found her favourite spot on the carpet at the foot of dad’s bed.  Mum said when she got up at night and came back from the toilet she had a shock when she found Trixie sleeping on her bed!  After that first shock, mum remembered to check if Trixie was on the bed before lying down again.

All too soon, ten days was over and my sister is back.  The day after her return, my sister came over to a warm and happy reunion with Trixie.  This was the longest period they were apart and I guess nobody suffered too much in the absence of each other. 

The only damage probably is on me because I’m having withdrawal symptoms!  Every now and then, I think I hear the tinkle of Trixie’s bell and stop what I am doing to listen harder but it is only my imagination.  Guess I have to get used to not having her around – until my sister visits with her again!

/pl