Time Flies and It's been Six Years

It has been 6 years since we've got this puppy with us. Bonnie (aka Monster) was advertised on TradeMe for $250 for costs of vaccinations and microchipping. We were dogless after the last of our old dogs that we hauled from the street of Bangkok as puppies died of old age. I wanted to have a pet free holidays for a year but Bob did not think so. Actually, Bob had been looking for a new dog since our favourite dog died 2 years earlier. We tried to bring those new dogs and puppies home for a week but the old dogs did not seem to be happy and we had to return them eventually with some heartbreaks along the way because we really, really liked one puppy, a cross between Jack Russell and Shitsu.

Bob looked at this Jack Russell cross puppy ad one day and was sort of fell in love with the photo placed with the ad but we took cautious approach with this one. We arranged to see the puppy one evening. When we arrived, a little dark brown puppy came to greet us at the door. I was not quite sure to start with because she was 5 months old and had not been toilet trained properly. However, when I crouched down to have a look at her, this little Monster jumped up on to my lap and licked my hands. I was sold.

We changed her name from Monster to Bonnie. Bonnie is a cross between Jack Russell and Keeshond, a Dutch Barge Dog. It took only a week to toilet train her and teach her to use dog flap. When we enrolled her into puppy school at the local vet's, she could already sit on command. At the end of the class, she was the only puppy who could roll over when told. Bonnie is clever and learns fast. Initially, we were a bit worried that she would be super energetic with typical Jack Russell temperament but she seems to adopt more of a Keeshond's coolness. She enjoyed obedient and agility classes because she got to meet a lot of people and other dogs, the socialising part rather than the classes themselves. She didn't master the class because she was so easily distracted and she had to re-take Agility 101 before progressing to intermediate level. We stopped taking her to the class when she was about three due to work commitment but Bob still takes her for a walk in the park twice a day and we try to take her places with us (if allowed:) She is very friendly and very happy and we don't have to be worry that she will snap at other dogs or people. A lot of Posties seem to be fond of her.

Although she likes visiting the beaches and running into shallow water, she doesn't like sitting or playing in the paddling pool much. So she's not much of a Keeshond there. After 6 years, she has grown into a handsome (albeit chubby) dog. Nevertheless, she will always be a puppy to us.