RKS 2024 Wine: Ontario Merlot and a Glutton for Punishment

As a single varietal Ontario Merlot rarely shines. Jazz it up with lots of oak then it just might work. But being a glutton for punishment I try yet another Ontario Merlot. You know that priest in the DaVinci Code that self flagellates well that might be akin to me drinking a good Ontario Merlot. But bless the Lord perhaps there is an exception or a Papal Dispensation concerning the Puddicombe Estate 1797, 2019 Reserve Merlot?

Aroma: Blackberry, cassis, black cherry and a bit of cooked rhubarb pie filling.

Palate: Tannins are in the medium range initially but gain in intensity and rawness with aeration of the wine. The inviting aromatics do not translate to the palate. The wine is struggling to flash some fruit but without return for the struggle. There is no readily apparent fruit but if one concentrates and digs there is at best some chalky blackberry and cassis. Yes indeed I am a glutton for punishment with Ontario Merlot yet again.Waiting for the next top line Ontario Merlot is like waiting for the Toronto Maple Leafs to win their next Stanley Cup.

Personality: Not much positivity to speak of like Trudeau and his disastrous immigration policy.

Cellarbility: Drink now.

Food Match: Wink. Wink. You know what I mean when I say a Friday night wine.

Price: $20.60 CDN (markdown).

RKS 2024 Wine Rating: 77/100.

(Puddicombe Estate Winery 1797, 2019 Reserve Merlot, VQA Niagara Peninsula, Puddicombe Estate Winery, Stoney Creek, Ontario. 750 mL, 13%).

Travels to a Different Time: Travels of My Mother: 3March1970: Frankfurt, Germany

Dear Barbara:

Again I did not get on an Overseas National Airways flight for the second day in a row.  Want to come home and I could have almost cried. I checked into a hotel near the train station in Frankfurt called The Continental to stay the night. There is a chance I can get a flight on March 5 to Bangor, Maine a refuelling stop of the plane that is then finishing its trip in Los Angeles. I don’t really care where I go other getting over the Atlantic Ocean. I will have to be in the airport at 7:15 in the morning. The next chance will be on the 11th or the 13th. The next option might be to return to Spain and head back to the United States from there. This Hotel, The Continental is a funny old one. I should have left my bag at the airport and brought an over the shoulder bag. I tried 4 hotels prior to this hotel but there were no rooms with bathrooms I can’t seem to shake this cold. I looked out the window and there are so many neon lights. The train station in Frankfurt is enormous. I managed o find an American paper and read that another one of the Dionne quintuplets died. She had a blood clot. That the third one that died. I guess they weren’t healthy people. No way I would live in Europe other than in Spain. Too cold and damp in Holland and Germany.

Love Mum

RKS Literature: Renewed Life with The First High-Ball of the Day (F. Scott Fitzgerald)

“Only for a brief moment every day in the warmth and renewed life of a first high-ball did his mind turn to those opalescent dreams of future pleasure-the mutual heritage of the happy and the damned. But this was only for a little while. As he grew drunker the dreams faded and he became a confused spectre, moving in odd crannies of his own mind, full of unexpected devices harshly contemptuous at best and reaching sodden and dispirited depths. One night in June he had quarreled violently with Maury over a matter of utmost triviality. He remembered dimly next morning it had been about a broken pint bottle of champagne.”

F. Scott Fitzgerald, “The Beautiful and Damned”, 1922

Reggie the Egyptian Rescue Dog: The Final Cut: Reggie and Dillie Try to Calm Down Karim: Chapter Fourteen

Those of you reading this are human. Do you really comprehend what it is like living the life of a cast-off dog on the streets of Cairo? No you don’t as you are not a dog. You would have to had led the life Karim and I lived in Cairo to understand what I think you humans refer to as “Mean Street”.

Please understand not all Egyptians hate dogs. There were many families in Cairo that had small dogs as pets but due to COVID-19 many Egyptians lost their jobs and many could no longer afford to pay for dog food or animal doctor bills so many of us cast-offs were a product of COVID-19. The lucky ones were accepted by animal shelters but many were abandoned in some street far away from their home so they would not know how to return.

This was very cruel to dogs that relied on humans for love and protection. Many dogs became angry and mean against humans as they felt betrayed. Imagine being in a caring and loving home, like me, then poof you are a street dog surviving to live. Can you imagine the terror of being alone with animal control trying to shoot or poison you? Here in Canada they let you live and put you in a shelter. Allah help you if it is a kill shelter. In a kill shelter you are put to sleep forever if no one comes to adopt you but at least you have hope. Street dogs often have no hope.

Street dogs frequently loose their manners and forget their training. They poop and pee wherever they want. They fail to obey most commands from humans fearing it is a trap to grab and kill them. One day a group of teenagers were smoking hashish in a back alley in Cairo and they held out a piece of chicken for me and my tummy was so empty it was hurting. As I walked over to the boys I heard a couple of them chanting in English “KILL”. Thankfully I understand English so I ran off. Street dogs learn not to trust humans as they are dangerous. But some humans were good humans and fed us and gave us water to drink. Most simply ignored us but we will never forget those that tried to kick us or hurt us. For many of us that stays trapped in our minds.

So, we come to Canada with bad attitudes toward human beings. And a long trip on an airplane to a new country we know nothing about. Please don’t expect us to be like many happy Canadian dogs who are loved, protected and so well taken care of. I was on the street for what I think was close to a year and felt, angry, mistreated, abused, hated, threatened and most of all painfully unloved. Can you expect me easily to jump up and wag my tail and thank those who rescued and adopted me?

I told you before I saw a BBC documentary when I was with Anwar about British soldiers in Ireland returning home with post traumatic stress disorder called PTSD because they keep reliving some of the horrific situations they were in. Yes, I think many of us street dogs of Cairo suffered from PTSD. The longer a dog is on the street the greater the chance of it developing PTSD. Me? I think my daily prayers to Allah made me strong and hopeful but do you remember that VERY STUPID MISTAKE I made of biting Bob on my first day with Bob and Fay. I was frightened of humans even though I knew Bob was a good human. Something lurking in my past just made me do it but after I bit Bob my vision went gray and I saw Anwar’s spirit giving me a smile saying that he missed me so very much and that my prayers had been answered about being safe and being loved and that I was to go to Bob and nuzzle him and ask for a belly rub. Anwar said he would be watching me and guiding me in my new life and to trust and be nice to Bob, Fay and Dillie.

Karim was I think a few years older than I was and although a cute schnauzer he was on the street longer than me. Karim may be small but don’t dare get on his bad side. I persuaded him to be nice to Bob, Fay and Dillie and he saw quickly how right I was. There is a trainer (actually the same one that helped me) coming to Bob and Fay’s house a couple of days a week. She says Karim suffers from fear and aggression lunging meaning where he is in situations with strange people and dogs he might try and lunge at them although it is not anger or meanness that causes him to do this but just because his experiences on the streets of Cairo have taught him to be fearful of most humans and dogs.

Karim cute and innocent? He dares you to test it!

Dillie, Bob and Fay’s West Highland Terrier, and I lunge at joggers when they run too close to us, skateboarders, rollerbladers and sometimes big dogs but Fay and Bob tolerate it because it does not happen frequently. Karim goes nuts with almost all dogs and humans he sees if he does not know them. The trainer left Bob and Fay a video how to make Karim more relaxed and part of the training indicates lots of liver treats and kind encouraging words. Dillie, Karim and I watch this video and laugh at us for being so silly.

After three weeks of training Karim has relaxed so we can swagger on our walks like a FRIENDLY dog pack which is both proud and free. Karim is on track! He has gone to the animal hospital and Dr. Furby laughs and says Karim, like me, is “fit as a fiddle”. Karim has found his forever home. Dillie has been so understanding of me and Karim. Without the support of this wise and kind dog we’d be back for adoption. Even Karim treats him as the leader of our pack. A Scottish dog and two Egyptian dogs. We are one big happy family. The cruel days of Egypt are fading away slowly for Karim and Reggie! All three of us dogs would love some goat bones. Do they eat goat in Canada?

RKS 2024 Film: “Come Lie with Me” (Arrête avec tes mesonges): The Torture of Remaining in the Closet

I take issue with the translation of “Arrête avec tes mesonges” which in my French means “stop with your lies” far more appropriate than “Come Lie with Me” given the path and plot of the film.

You see Stéphane Belcourt (Guillame de Tonquédec) is a gay novelist who is quite out of the closet. On a book tour to his old home to promote his latest short story he meets Lucas Andrieu who is running a tour of American book distributors in town to participate in its 200th anniversary and hear Belcourt make a speech at a celebratory dinner.

Belcourt as a 17-year-old way back in 1984 had a short and passionate fling with Thomas Andrieu, yes Lucas’ father! Thomas was fastidious about this relationship taking great pains to ensure absolutely no one had knowledge of it. He took this concealment to his grave despite having married and having a son Lucas. Yes, the fling with Belcourt was brief as Thomas went to work on his grandfather’s farm Spain shortly after the affair had begun never to return to Belcourt’s arms. Belcourt accepted his homosexuality and emerged from the closet but Thomas concealed it his entire life committing suicide after his lover in his later years gave him an ultimatum come out or I will leave you. He rejected that ultimatum.

Lucas pieced a few material and behavioral clues his father left behind to point to Belcourt as his lover including a letter from his father to Belcourt which was never delivered which provides a degree of redemption for Thomas and clarity and healing for Belcourt.

Oh my goodness count on the French cinema to deliver a sophisticated and gentle homosexual tale with discretion and reserve unlike many of the North American and Brazilian LGBTQ films that may absolutely deter straight audiences from watching them.    

“Arrête avec tes mesonges” is exactly the film to draw straight audiences into watching a film with a homosexual context. I would like think “Arrête avec tes mesonges” of as a film about two humans in love.

Well acted throughout with Tonquédec brilliant, the quirky and hyperactive Gaelle (Guilaine Londez) offering understated comic relief and yes Victor Belmondo looking like the spitting image of his grandfather Jean-Paul Belmondo and delivering a solid performance.

Directed by Olivier Peyon the film will be available in North America on DVD and VOD on 15February2024.

You can watch the trailer here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FEWFGixfwo

RKS 2024 Film Rating: 91/100.

RKS 2024 Wine: So What if 2020 Was a Good Red Bordeaux Vintage?

The pundits say 2020 was a good vintage year for red Bordeaux wines. This does not mean you fall hook line and sinker for every 2020 that comes your way. Who is behind the juice is perhaps most important. Not all wineries are created equal. One should ask when the grapes were picked. What were the blend percentages? Who is the winemaker and their reputation and past record? Given the “rage of terroir” where in Bordeaux were the grapes from? Most of us can’t answer these questions and we must rely on wholesale importers/buyers/agents to look out for our palate. But these are questions only the wholesale importer/agent purchaser can answer but their profit may be more important than your palate. Based on my personal experience the big importer in the Province of Ontario, a government monopoly, shouldn’t be importing and selling at least 30% of the wines on their shelves. And I will not cook with wine I will not drink so off it is to be returned.

Before gagging on the tyranny of government liquor monopolies perhaps we should move on and try a Cheval Quancard 2020 Bordeaux Réserve a blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon.

Aroma: The high Merlot percentage shines through giving the wine a lushness and softness on the nose with blackberry, black cherry and a smidge of dark chocolate.

Palate: There is a certain sternness to the wine surprising given the high percentage of Merlot. Acids and tannins in balance here. Mostly blackberry and black cherry. Moderately long finish.

Personality: Call me typically French however stereotypical that may be. We Frenchies (mechant ecrivan!) are a bit tight fisted with flaunting our fruit particularly here in Bordeaux.

Food Match: Mushroom Bourguignon over Polenta.

Cellarbility: Some softening can be expected through to 2026. Consume by 2028-year end.

Price $21.95 CDN (Ontario).

RKS 2024 Wine Rating: 91/100. jamessuckling.com 90.

(Cheval Quancard Réserve Bordeaux 2020, AC Bordeaux, Cheval Quancard, Carbon Blanc, France. 750 mL, 13.5%).

Travels to a Different Time: Travels of My Mother: ?February1970: Amsterdam, Holland: They Will Tear You Apart in the Red-Light District

Dear Barb:

Well its caught up with me all this cold and damp weather as I awoke with a sore throat, a cough with a headache. For a change it is a beautiful sunny day. I went downstairs and had three cups of coffee and returned to the room.

I have tickets to the symphony this afternoon. I went last night again. On Wednesday I am seeing the ballet “Giselle” with Margaret Fonteyn and Rudolph Nureyev. On the 16th there is a Bach organ recital in the big concert hall and I will see that one too.  I should have stayed in a hotel near all these cultural events as I spend most of my time there. That guidebook on Amsterdam is very helpful as I consult it planning my excursions. It tells what streetcars to take to get to destinations. Clothes and purses are cheap here but not like Spain. It is tempting but I would rather spend my money on concerts. I will go for a stroll and buy some oranges and chocolate should I have to stay inside all day.

Love Mum

I went out and this is what I got for $4.38. Three huge bottles of Coca-Cola, 2 large bottles of grapefruit juice, one orange juice, three bottles of Heineken , a plate of white asparagus with a twist cap (15 cents each) half a pound of meat salad, a large pack of mints (to suck during the concert), two packs of gum and two large soft buns to eat with the salad. The store was beautiful with rows and rows of salad. I would like to eat them all. I put the stuff outside my window as it is the same as a refrigerator. I’m coming home after the symphony and will go to bed as I am feeling so lousy. I will have a beer, salad and asparagus in bed. Tomorrow I will go to the second and bookshop and buy some books.

I am glad I came here but I wished I had someone to talk to like I did in Spain. I just can’t sit alone in the hotel bar! The Dutch are more reserved than the Spaniards. They certainly stare at you but don’t talk. I am used to the currency here now. I am spending money here like water especially on the concerts. They ae so much cheaper than Montreal and I love them. I was to go the flea market today but feel so lousy. I am now going out to find a bookshop.

This is a perfect hotel for me as it is in the centre of town. I can walk to most of the main attractions and it is just a few minutes walk to the streetcar. Please do keep my letters.

I bought a green long sleeved wool seater with a V Neck in Spain and wear it most days. It is comfortable and warm.

I am going out to wander around a bit. There is so much to see I wish I had someone with me to share it with.

I tried a few times the different gins that the Dutch drink straight and there are different colours. Ugh. I can never finish them. But it makes one warm in this cold and damp weather. There has been a knock at my door twice. I guess they want to come in and clean so I will finish this later

Later

I took a walk this morning and nearly froze as I was wearing shoes and not boots. Here in Amsterdam the weather is different each day. The worst is when it is windy and raw. I just missed the tram on way home but am now safe and warm in my room trying to thaw out. I did visit a grocery store. The vegetables are cut up and ready to cook. Trays of chopped carrots, onion, parsley, cabbage-everything. Two big Coca-Colas were 28 cents and here in the hotel one small one would cost 28 cents. Six oranges were 28 cents lovely and big. No fruit comes with these Dutch breakfasts.

The hotel is in a middle-class district and I will tell you more about it when I come home. God help me Barbara I am frozen. I should buy a bottle of booze for such occasions. I went to the Dutch people’s home as they had invited me. They were so shy and the kids were cute. We had some really good coffee and an apple pastry she made with chocolate. They took me home and we went through the red-light district. Awful. They sit in the window with sort of a spooky blue light on them in low cut dresses and some standing outside in red slacks holding umbrellas up. I had wandered down there the other day and didn’t know where I was. I felt uncomfortable and everyone seemed to be staring. Something told me I shouldn’t be there It is funny that I knew that inside. My host said it was not safe there especially for young girls..never never go down there. The women would tear you apart.

Love Mum

Reggie the Egyptian Rescue Dog: The Final Cut: Karim is Coming to Town! : Chapter 13

I heard some exciting news that Karim is coming to Toronto. Karim is an Egyptian name that means “Noble and Generous”. Not only is Karim coming to Toronto from Cairo but Bob and Fay have put in an application to adopt him. Karim is a street dog and we were friends on the streets. Karim wasn’t always reliable but if in a fight with our pack he’d always have my back. I can’t but think this is all some sort of plan that Allah has laid out for me. Misery in Egypt and happiness in Canada.

A season called winter has come and it is so cold but it is fun if you forget about the cold! Bob and Fay have bought me a blue coat to keep me warm. I look so important when I wear it. If only the street dogs I left behind in Egypt could see me in this beautiful coat. It keeps me very warm. Fay wanted to try doggie boots on me but my paw pads are tough from the streets and they do not get cold. I do not like them so I will not wear them. What does bother me is when the big trucks come and put salt on the streets to melt the snow. If I walk in it my paws sting so I stay on the sidewalk and my paws do not sting.

What do I love about the snow and cold? I love watching it fall like magic from the sky. I love feeling snowflakes on my nose! And Dillie The Westie taught me a real neat trick called snowplowing. You put your snout in the snow and run getting your face all wet and it feels so good. But there are cold mushy days too and the sky is grey for many days which makes you feel sleepy. Sometimes it gets so cold Dillie and I can’t walk very far because our feet become frozen. If it is too cold for a walk we are put out in the backyard to do our business and it so good hopping inside the house cuddling up in our warm beds. Sometimes Bob makes a fire in the fireplace and both Dillie and I sit by the fire feeling warm and happy listening to the crackle of the wood and feeling the flames warm our body. What a strange country Canada is. So hot in the summer and so cold in the winter!

But before I forget there is a season here called autumn which is after summer and before winter. There are many seasons in Canada while in Egypt there was only a hot summer and a cooler summer. The leaves change colour so there is gold, green and brown and sometimes a flaming red. The days grow shorter and the sun sets earlier. This is all so new to me and I love it. I feel like I am in a BBC documentary about Canada.

It was late in the autumn when Bob and Fay picked up Karim for a two-week trial. I think this means if Karim is good he can stay with us. Karim was dropped off by the adoption agency at “our house”. We were so happy to see each other we had a play fight which frightened Fay and Bob until they realized it was playtime. Dillie used to play fight years ago but now thinks it is something “silly puppies” do. Karim made a big mistake after playtime. A stupid BIG MISTAKE!

You probably don’t know this but on the streets of Cairo Karim was seen as one of the leaders of the pack for the smaller dogs. He was the boss and you didn’t want to make him mad or you’d be thrown out of the pack. And if you weren’t in the pack you had little protection from the bigger dog packs or rival small dog packs. So Karim expected Dillie to let him play with some of his toys without asking Dillie. Dillie snarled at Karim and they got into a barking contest trying to show each other who was the leader of the pack. They didn’t hurt each other just sounding as mean as they could. Dillie is a sweet dog and I have never heard him snarl or growl like he was doing. Bob and Fay came down with a shocked look on their face. Fay said to Bob, “No one disrespects our Dylan like this! We are going to return Karim to the adoption agency tomorrow!” Bob replied by saying Karim must have been upset by all the changes in his life so he deserved another chance. Karim was sent into my crate to “cool down”.

I said to Karim how he had made a VERY BIG STUPID MISTAKE. Did he not understand Dillie was a brave and mighty West Highland Terrier whose ancestors were great hunters and brave fighters? Had he been living in Egypt during the times of the pharaohs he would be amongst the pharaoh’s personal guards. You are a guest in Bob and Fay’s house so show respect for Dillie. He is the leader of our pack and he is older and smarter than you. He knows how to deal with these humans here in Canada. You either show him the respect he deserves or you might find yourself back on the streets of Cairo!

Well part of fault here was mine as I never introduced Dillie to Karim and explained who he was. Karim quickly realized his VERY BIG STUPID MISTAKE. From that moment on he gave Dillie the respect he deserved and quickly started to fit into the family. You are entitled to make mistakes as a street dog from Cairo but you better learn from them as who knows who you might end up with or where that might be. I bit Bob on my first day at his house but I learnt from my mistake.

Close to Christmas all three of us were friends and I can remember on one of our walks all three of us were swaggering down the street like we owned it. This was the best pack of dogs ever! Three in one house!

Travels to a Different Time: Travels of My Mother:? February1970: Amsterdam, Holland: Smelly Trouble Causing Hippies in Long Fur Coats

 Dear Boys:

I am taking a rest before supper. I don’t know when I will have it but it will be later. I have a lousy cold wouldn’t you know it.

I ate lunch at 3:30 so dinner will be light. This morning after the breakfast of cold ham, salami, cheese, butter and coffee I walked to the main station. The trams all have mailboxes in them. They all seem to end up at the main station. The mail is removed every time the tram returns to the main station.

I looked at the store windows and had a coffee and then took a trip on a big glass bottomed boat through the canals. It was quite something to see al the buildings from the canal. There was a tour through the harbour and I saw a boat I have seen before called the MISTAL. There are houseboats moored in the canal that people live in. Many hippies live in the houseboats and they all wear long fur coats and stink. They have had a lot of trouble with hippies in Amsterdam.

My hotel is in the centre of the city and the main square right outside my window. There are thousands of pigeons with many people feeding them some right from their hands where they eat food right from bags. Robert if you remember save my letters and it will be the start of a record for me. They say that at one point hippies were sleeping in the square and the police had to chase them away.

I did not sleep well last night as there are two town clocks that go BONG BONG every hour then on each half hour they play a tune.

There are no Canadian papers I can buy on the newsstands so I haven’t a clue about the weather in Montreal.

The streetcars are very modern here consisting of two connected cars and you enter on the back car. They are soundless and comfortable. Every time you enter you get your ticket stamped. A ticket can be used on two trips if they are no greater than 45 minutes apart. Brother, I hope I get used to the clocks.

I’m very lonely for you and home. I don’t know how I have stayed away so long so I must keep busy. I just say to myself you may never have another chance. So stay!

I had a haircut today and it is very short and very dirty. I am afraid to wash it as I don’t want to worsen my cold.

I have no exact idea when I will return home but it will be in March. I want to stop in Germany and in New York next.

Love you much.

Mum

Reggie the Egyptian Rescue Dog: The Final Cut: Some Fine Tuning for a Street Dog: Chapter Twelve

I was fully trained at least by Egyptian standards when I was living with my first master Anwar.

What do Fay and Bob expect of me knowing I may be a bit rough around the edges because of the tough time I spent on the streets of Cairo? Can I deliver and be the perfect Canadian dog that I really want to be? Canadians have been so good to me it is my duty to show them Egyptian dogs can be as good as Canadian dogs but it is also a matter of pride for me. These Canadians have done many favours for me so I must not let them down. Dillie has been so nice to me too and as he is my elder I respect him and I also feel I owe a duty to him.

So what does Reggie have to do to be a good Canadian dog?

  • Going to the bathroom

While with Anwar in Cairo he taught me that I must do “my business” outside. Yes, I had a few accidents as a puppy but I learnt the “outside rule” according to a regular schedule. But when you live on the street as I did in Cairo the rules change as you can pee and poo when and where you like. Coming to Canada meant I had to be the dog I was with Anwar. Bob and Fay take me for regular walks and sometimes very long ones which I love. Dillie and I like to sniff and pee to tell other dogs we have been there! But I have had a few accidents at Bob and Fay’s home. You see sometimes I forget where I am and just pee like I am on the streets. Then I realize what I have just done and don’t know why I have been so bad. I am ashamed and hide. Bob and Fay call me gently and tell me softy that I am not a good dog for peeing in their house. They say to each other that my time on the street has caused me to forget my manners but they do not strike or curse me. Their kindness makes me try hard to please them and show them I am smart and well mannered and after a few weeks I am perfect with no accidents.

  • Being crated

Sometimes Bob and Fay go out shopping or to see friends and they leave me and Dillie behind. When they leave they put me in a cage they call a crate. They tell me they are so sorry they have to do it. I feel a bit better knowing Dillie was caged when he was young.

The first time they did it I went frantic yelping and crying. I have always been free and I am so frightened being caged. But strangely after a few times of being crated I begin to feel safe in my home. In a way it is like living in the cardboard boxes I lived in on the streets of Cairo. I stop panicking after being crated a dozen times because I know Fay and Bob always return and let me out and give me hugs and pats on the head telling me how good I am. I think I was so frightened initially when Bob and Fay left as I thought they would never return and I was being crated for being a bad dog. But when they left after being crated I wasn’t frightened as I was in my own home, Reggie’s home!

  • Being nice to other dogs

I knew that being nice to Dillie was my most important job for Bob and Fay. Being my elder and being a friendly and loving dog, we get along like best friends. In fact we are best friends. He has never lived on the streets like me but he has lived with Bob and Fay and their son Drew and daughter Lexis for all of his 13 years so he knows humans much better than I, well at least kind and good humans, and I have much to learn from him.

I do have problem with bigger dogs like the Rottenwhiler that bit me in Cairo when I tried to steal his food from his bowl. I lunge out and growl like a crazy rabid dog. Something makes me do it. I get dreams in my head that any big dog is the Rottenwhiler that attacked me. Dillie also lunges but not at all big dogs, just dogs that threaten him by moving quickly towards him and barking at him. When he wants to be he is a little white terror! Bob and Fay have a trainer that is working with me to stop this lunging. I get liver treats for not lunging so I associate treats for not lunging and it works. I am beginning to like the bigger dogs that Dillie likes usually poodles or oodles of some sort!

The trainer tells Bob and Fay that I am “making progress” but that the dog attack I suffered in Cairo left “deep scars” in my mind that may never heal or take much time to heal. I am improving. Really I am. The more time that passes and the safer and more loved I feel the more I trust Bob and Fay will never let a big and bad dog bite me. And Dillie will always have my back.

  • Being nice to people

The trainer told Bob and Fay that while living in the streets of Cairo people were mean to me which is true but there were some humans that fed me and gave me water. Canadians are mostly nice although watching the news I heard that there are over 100,000 homeless cats and dogs in Canada every year so Canadians can’t be perfect. The news report also mentioned “puppy mills” where puppies live in horrible and cruel conditions.

Dillie has a good soul and when you know him not a mean bone in his body but when the door knocks he goes a bit nuts. He doesn’t much like Bob and Fay’s cleaning lady. So he is crated when she is in the house. She is a nice lady but I sense she does not like dogs so I stay away and keep Dillie company outside his cage. We both bark at the postman but Dillie says this is a tradition for dogs so I bark too. The postman smiles and says hello to us.

Both of us love chasing and barking at squirrels which Dillie tells me is a Canadian canine tradition like barking at postmen! There were no squirrels in Egypt to chase only rats.

Bob and Fay’s daughter Lexis had a new baby Peggy. Everyone keeps a close eye on us when Peggy is over for a visit or we go visit her. Babies are strange but I like them but no one seems to trust us. These humans can be strange.

  • Being obedient

This means doing what humans tell you to do. This is not a problem for me as isn’t there an expression don’t bite the hand that feeds you.

  • Going to school

Going to puppy school is a bit strange for me as I am not a puppy. But for eight weeks I go to puppy school with Bob and Dillie. Dillie has been through it and admits he wasn’t the best student! It really is about doing what you are told and that comes easy to me because of all the BBC television I watched I understand English so very well. What is new to me is the hand signals we should know like “down”, “up” and “stay”. No problem for me but these puppies are so silly I feel embarrassed to be with them!