Feb 17, 2015 Chronicles of Holly-our Standard Poodle

Holly at her shaggiest — she has a Beauty Appointment tomorrow, and then, she’ll be a different-looking dog. I’ll attach a new picture at the bottom of my post post-haircut.

Happy Anniversary With Us, Holly!

©February 17th, 2015

By Vijaya Sundaram

On this day last year, we brought home our beloved Standard Poodle pup, Captain Holly Short (aka Holly) all the way from Colbrook, N.H. — from our Crabapple Downs Standard Poodles breeder, Arlene, and this day last year was the day on which our lives changed completely, and for the better.

Holly (also known as The Hod, Hoddles, Goofampuppum, SillymaPup, ThoThaPooThaPup, and various other difficult monikers) is the goofiest, sweetest, nicest, cutest, silliest, bestest Poodle in the world.

Happy Anniversary, Hoddles!  We love you, HollyPollyPoodlePie!

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Addendum (Feb. 18th, 2015):

Today, post haircut (not a full one, but just a trim):

Tags: Chronicles of Holly, Crabapple Downs Standard Poodles, First Anniversary with Standard Poodle Pup, Holly

Feb 2, 2015 Awake in Real Time: Coffee-induced Meditations and Journal Entries

Snow-Dog Wolf

©February 2nd, 2015

By Vijaya Sundaram

Snow brings out the atavistic wolf in my dog. She was nuts today, leaping like a wild thing in piles of pillowy snow in the backyard.
After such forays into weather-related delights, we return to the warmth of the house, where she submits to a minute examination of her footpads, between which large and small ice-marbles form. How quickly they form, and how they must hurt! I use a very warm cloth to wipe her frozen feet, and then, we play like two children, with her leaping from cushioned bench to chair opposite and back again, and me tempting her with annoying squeaky toys. Confession: I LOVE annoying squeaky toys — much in the same way I used to love swinging on a rusty gate when I was growing up. Sound is God. Sound is Dog.
I guess I’m compensating for never having had a dog in my life until almost a year ago. (Holly will have been with us for a year on February 17th.)
She has transformed all of us.

~Dreamer of Dreams

Tags: Chronicles of Holly, Dog Dreams, Snow-Dog

Jan 24, 2015 Original Poetry

Snow Fall
©January 24th, 2015
By Vijaya Sundaram

White drifts down,
A reminder that
The world will be renewed.
And that hills and trees,
Stripped of color
Are still beautiful.
And this white and brown
And black world, so gentle
So muted, so tender
Obscures the memory of
A harsher place waiting outside
The edges of window frames.

Suit up and take
My Eager Doggess for a walk.
And now, these are my reality:
A snuffly nose,
A waggling tail,
A smiling dog —
Forget all else, just
Skid and slip
On sidewalks down steep
Slopes in my up-and-down
Neighborhood, shaped
By an erratic earth epochs ago.

And think of fifty-year old bones
Breaking and cracking on
Empty streets, dragged
Down by dog in haste,
Yell to her urgently: Slow down!
She does, befuddled.

Turn resolutely back,
Find a safer, straighter,
Quicker way home.
No broken bones,
No bruises or bumps.
Strangely, after all is over,
Reflect, drinking hot tea, that
Moments of sheer terror
Carry their own pleasure.

But don’t risk all for it.
Do not fall.
Falling is for the young.
There is a slight pang,
The memory of a deep gong within me.
Shrug, move on,
Falling is for the young, I say firmly.

Look out my windows,
Glad to be home.
Let my gaze caress the sky,
And the earth hums
With quiet satisfaction,
While she laps at her water
Noisy, unselfconscious.

It’s good to be still vertical
In a snow-veiled world.

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Tags: #Original Poetry by Vijaya Sundaram, #Winter, 2015, Chronicles of Holly, Snowfall, Walk with dog

Jan 8, 2015 Original Poetry

Playing with My Dog

©January 8th, 2015

By Vijaya Sundaram

It’s water leaping into the air

Catching light and tossing it up.

It’s laughter and growls

And scurrying and skittering

And funny mock-battles.

It’s being willing to shed

Time and dignity

And be utterly free.

It’s letting go of dead weights

Encircling ankles, gripping me

By the neck.

It’s saying, Yes, death waits

But I will simply be

Right here, right now.

This is what it means

To play with my dog.

I will play.

And sing.

I will tug at my dog’s toy

And bring her joy.

I will leap and pirouette

And jump and spin.

For, at the end of the day

After all the news and the din

Of competing stories, voices

People tapping at my head

Waiting to get in,

There is just this:

Time narrowing down:

A living room, a rectangle

Of wood and light,

Colors and music,

And a dog with

Rubber chicken in mouth

Growling happily while I

Tug and pull and play.

And we leap around each other,

All existence sharpened

To this point.  None else.

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Tags: Chronicles of Holly, Fun, Holly, Playing With my Dog

Jan 1, 2015 Awake in Real Time: Coffee-induced Meditations and Journal Entries

After a late morning, with Warren’s excellent fritters with Vermont maple syrup for breakfast, we went walking in the Fells en famille. Reached the top of the hill, wandered over into a rocky wooded area, and lay on the rocks, looking up at a powdery blue sky, which poured down sunshine. Holly gambolled about on the rocks, and crashed through bushes and small trees, returning to us in glee. S and Holly skidded about on a tiny frozen over pool of water, while Holly tried eating the ice. Home later, and a nice rest. Then, pasta and veggies. S read a book, while W and I watched Gravity. Good movie. Now, in the gentle silence of the night, I hear the thudding sounds of Holly chasing after a ball that W is throwing. This dog needs CONSTANT entertainment.

Tags: 2015, Chronicles of Holly, walk in the woods with family

Jun 7, 2014 Awake in Real Time: Coffee-induced Meditations and Journal Entries

Took Holly for a LONG walk.  A little off-leash run in the park was part of it.

It’s so very satisfying to be an animal with an animal.

I love how she seeks the shade, how she goes straight for grass or dirt, when we’re on a sidewalk on a hot day.  I love her delight in jumping through a meadow of uncut grass and flowers, leaping in pure puppy joy!  I love her sweet almond-shaped eyes, giving me the same half-closed look my daughter used to give me, when she (my daughter) was three months old, well-fed, warm, and content in my arms.  I love how she (my puppy) snuffles my hand, when I talk to her, and hold a tiny bit of a treat to remind her to heel.  She does, and gets her treat.

Did I think about my upcoming work during this walk?  No!

Did I think about profound matters pertaining to humankind? Of course not!

Did I think about my family, my students, my friends, my colleagues?  Hah!  Not on your life!

I thought about nothing at all.  I was totally there, being a dog with a dog, and being a mommy to the dog.

We stopped halfway and found a little convenience store.  I asked the man through his kitchen window, whether he could spare a cup of water from the tap.  He did, and Holly got a nice drink.  Waves of bliss emanated from her ears.

It’s very … nice.  It’s sweet to see a dog drinking water.  Am I besotted?  Still?  You bet!

Now, we’re home, an hour later, and we’re both so very glad to be here!  Our kitchen is cool, and she’s just lapped up a long drink, eaten a few pieces of apple and blueberries (yes, she loves fruit), and flopped down on the cool floor.

My little family has just returned from my daughter’s swim class.  Holly is thrilled.  She is happiest when we’re all there with her, happiest to be with her little clan. After her ecstatic greeting of S, whose long braids are wet from the pool, and which Holly loves to tug, our puppy goes back to flop down, sack-like (thanks, Ted Hughes for that inimitable phrase, “Sack of snoring dog,” which my husband, daughter and I routinely use, except we’ve mistakenly been saying, “sack of sleeping dog”).

Now, I’m off to water the tiny bean plants coming up, which I planted last week.

Have a lovely Saturday, y’all!

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Tags: #Dogs, a new Saturday morning post, Chronicles of Holly, daily life account, laziness abates, sack of sleeping dog, simple life

Mar 22, 2014 Awake in Dream Time - Journal Entries about the almost real, the surreal and the unreal

Canine Comfort
©March 22nd, 2014
By Vijaya Sundaram

A dark presence hovered at the door.

It had no emotions attached to it, save one.  It wanted something.  It was in a state of NEED, urgent, voiceless need.

Atavistic it was, and it called upon its ancestors.

Behind it, silently, appeared the ghosts of need.

The pack shifted behind the dark presence.

Somewhere, in another time and another place, an ancestor lifted its dark head and called into the tundra.

Somewhere close by, in a cave, someone awoke and stiffened against the ghosts of the night.  Death was always close.  The person in the cave reached for a piece of meat and threw it out into the shadows.  There was a padding and a scuffle. a growl, a snarl and a chase.  Then, a snuffling, a chomping and a tearing of meat.  The ancestor crept into the cave.  There was a small fire there.  The ancestor liked that.  It came closer.  The human held her breath.  Then, the ancestor lowered itself to the floor by the mouth of the cave, thumped its tail briefly and closed its eyes.

The human was strangely comforted.  She pulled her baby close to her, and her male, who grunted in his sleep, turned over and snored, oblivious to all that had occurred.

She felt complete.

The night faded.  The time and place disappeared into the mists.

Here, now, at the door, a dark presence, a cloud of need waited.  It looked at me, mutely.

I opened the door.  I let out my dog.  She went out, sniffed the night air, attended to her needs, said a farewell to her ancestor, and came back in.  The radiator drew her, and she lay down, sighed her sigh of contentment, thumped her tail briefly, then closed her eyes.

I felt comforted.  My child and my husband were up and about, doing human things.  I looked at my dog.  She settled into quiescence, sank into placidity.  One eye opened and looked at me.  She needed me to be close.  I needed her to be close.

I felt complete.

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Tags: ancestor, canine, Chronicles of Holly, human and dog, need

Mar 16, 2014 Awake in Real Time: Coffee-induced Meditations and Journal Entries

Chronicles of Holly: An update.
We don’t give Holly “people” food. We plan not to feed her scraps from the table. However, I have given her Puréed pumpkin, as recommended by our breeder. I’ve also given a few slices of peeled apple recently. She LOVES them. As time goes on, she’ll graduate to certain “approved” vegetables. Her dog food is really good quality, no preservatives, all-natural crunchy food. She gets a couple of dog biscuits after “training” with me (that is, when I teach her tricks). I change her water a few times a day, and she has three water bowls — two upstairs and one downstairs. She drinks copious amounts, it seems.

Holly gets to take plenty of walks — twice or thrice a day. Long ones. We take turns. One good side effect of this? I’ve actually lost about four pounds in a couple of weeks.

She loves other dogs, but is still getting the hang of “making friends” the doggie way. She’s still a little nervous with certain bigger dogs, but still wants to play, barking out little invitations, and taking on “play” posture.

She never bothers us at night. Sleeps peacefully in our room, but starts off by sleeping in S’s room, then pads over to ours and sleeps on her little “bed” there.

She’s almost totally house-trained. Has been almost since the first week. The second week she had a few major mishaps, because I went back to school after being with her for a week, and I think her routine was disrupted. Since then, only the occasional minor incident. Almost always, she goes to the door, and lets us know what she wants. Luckily for her, we’re attentive.

I’ve taught her “sit,” “stay,” “lie down,” “shake paws,” “roll over,” (that last one is still hard for her, but she does it 70% of the time), — oh, and I’ve also taught her “fetch,” and “drop the ball.” It’s amazing what this little puppy has learned within three-four weeks!

I swear she has a sense of humor. She grins, and definitely likes to play a lot. She always goes for clothes that hang down, or things close to the edges of tables, or our coats or shoes. She does this in a grinny sort of way.

She’s very patient when I give her a bath (I’ve given her three). No trouble at all. She’s as good as gold. She doesn’t mind her teeth being brushed (W does that). She seems to like the toothpaste!

We almost never leave her alone at home. The longest she’s been alone at home was about half an hour a couple of times, when W had to leave for work, and I came home with S half an hour later.
She is secure, cuddled, well-loved, well-fed, well-walked, and well-groomed (that is to say, wiped or bathed, and brushed by me).

One negative: She chews our clothes and nips at me a little too much for my liking. HAVE to get her to be less nippy with me. She doesn’t do that to W. On the other hand, I’m the first one with whom she bonded — she leaps up to greet me when I come home, and her mouthiness turns into nippy-ness. A few days ago, and today as well, I did the Cesar Millan thing of ignoring her and going about my work, and she followed me around desperately willing me to notice her. It was hard. However, the reward? She didn’t nip. The problem is, I find her too cute. I have to train myself. Of course, I have chew toys with which I try and distract her. It works if I really mean it — she has a couple of mice, braided and knotted ropes, a couple of squeaky toys, a couple of balls, a cow horn or hoof given to us by the breeder and a nylabone. When we go out into the backyard, he adores picking up an mouthing pine one’s and sticks. The butterfly bush is a favorite to chew on, if I let her.

On another note, I love her undocked tail which wags happily when she eats her food, and droops in a strange way when she drinks water. That tail is SO expressive.
And her snout? That lovely nose? I could write poems about it!
And those rolling black eyes, so expressive, so sweet!

Thanks for reading.

Tags: Chronicles of Holly, Crabapple Downs Standard Poodles, life with fourteen-week old standard poodle pup, Puppy-Training, walks ith fourteen-week old puppy

Mar 8, 2014 Awake in Real Time: Coffee-induced Meditations and Journal Entries

My past few FB posts about Holly:

March 8, 2014

Gone is the bliss of a Saturday morning, where I can moan quietly, roll over and fall asleep for another few hours.

No, today, I got up at 6:00 (6:00 !!!) just as I do EVERY day of the week, and dealt with Holly’s business THREE times! Made coffee, said, “What the hell, might as well go for a walk with aforementioned puppy!”

So we did — Holly and I, around 7:30 or so.

And it was a beautiful morning. The sun was gentle, the cold wasn’t bitter, and the pup and I sailed down the street, she as good as gold, and I not much worse.
We walked up and down the side streets, and went to the playground where there’s a baseball field, and MANY dogs.
She had fun! The place was swarming with dogs, and I’ve seen several of those before, pre-Holly. Mostly big ones, but a couple of small ones. At first, Holly was skittish, but they all did their usual bottom-first greetings, and soon, she was quite comfortable with a couple of them, barking out playful messages, and not skittish around the rest.

Doggy kindergarden? Doggy play-date? Maybe a meet-and-greet. The other dogs were off-leash, and soon, I’ll do the same, but not yet. I’m not ready.

Nice scene.

Now, she’s sacked out on a bean-bag, and I’ve draped a blanket over her. Only a black-grey snout is sticking out, flanked by two floppy ears.

She is SO, so, so CUTE!
And I’m so, so, SO TIRED!

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Tags: blue brindle, Chronicles of Holly, Puppy-Training, standard poodle pup, Walks with dog