Aussie Tourists

August 31, 2007. We have been home almost a week now and it has not taken me very long to settle back into city life. There has not been a lot to report on so far, just that we have settled back into our old routine of going for a run in the park in the morning and then a walk in the evening.

The Chicken Wing Dancers and Helicopter Man have been conspicuous in their absence but, this morning we noticed that they are back in full force. This delayed our morning trip to the park as the outfield fences are no longer up and Tom doesn’t want to take a chance on giving Helicopter Man an opportunity or excuse to kick me.

Yesterday, we did meet up with the old Asian couple who love to stop and talk to me. I got a good ear rub from him and also a cookie. They were happy to see me and wondered where we had been for so long. Tom told them about my exploits at the lake and then we continued on.

Yesterday on the park, my grasp of commands has almost returned to pre-lake levels and I aced my “stay” command at intersections during our evening walk. Tom still has not completely healed from whatever illness took hold of him at the lake and is still somewhat weakened. But, he is bouncing back.

Tom found out where he can buy my “new” food in cans, so I will have a ready supply of that. It’s a good thing too, because I love the new combination and continue to relish two meals a day. I’m sure I have filled out a little since switching diets as my harness fits just a little bit more snugly. We will get down to the vet this weekend and do a weigh in.

We have seen a legion of strange things since I became part of the family. Today was no exception. While we were out on the park and all the way across it, a family of three rode up on their bicycles. They all left their bikes sitting at the street corner. The boy ran across the park to the kids play area. The man began a long slow jog around the park, taking him right past us. Finally the woman started jogging around the park but going the opposite direction to the man.

Meanwhile, their bicycles, all of the expensive variety are left on the street corner, unattended and unlocked. They were easy pickings for any thief in the area and people complain all the time that their bikes were stolen. The bikes were still there when we went in from our run and the three people were nowhere in sight. They didn’t return to their bikes until almost 45 minutes later. Amazingly, the bikes were still there.

I think the three were Australian tourists judging from the accents we could hear. Oh well, on the bright side, they will go home and tell everyone how “safe” Vancouver is.

It is much cooler today and it has clouded over. It just might rain, following the trend we have seen all summer long, a few days of sun then a week of rain. Today is a special day too, because Renee comes back to us and there is talk of us going to see Caitlin and Matias new place, which would mean I would get to see Shelby again.

There also seems to be some disgusting pigs that live in the area. Yesterday, city management staff picked up the garbage at the park. Today when we came out for our run, there was a mound of garbage bags left. They didn’t even bother to put them in the garbage can. Some people, I tell you.