Doggie Style

I have a Maltese dog named Duchess. She is the the smartest, sweetest pet I've ever had. However, right now she is in heat. This has prompted all the neighborhood dogs to come sniffing around our house. Not only that, but these males howl and bark and whine for Duchess. It is extremely annoying.

One of these suitors is especially vigilant. His name is Winston, and he's a gray poodle. Winston does not live in our apartment complex. He lives at another complex near ours, but he does not seem to mind the commute. Winston has a jingly collar with tags that have his name and owner's phone number etched onto them. Earlier this week I was letting Duchess outside when out of nowhere came Winston. He darted over and immediately started sniffing my dog. I quickly figured out that he was a male and had to take Duchess back inside. But this did not stop Winston. He stayed outside our front door and hollered for over an hour. He scratched at the door and howled like a mad man. Not even my husband could intimidate him enough to make him go home. Finally we cornered him so that we could read his owner's information off the collar. We called them, hoping that they would come and fetch their dog, but these people were completely unconcerned that he had escaped. They said Winston escapes a lot and that he'd go home eventually. I could not believe that these dog-owners were so unconcerned. Winston is a very cute and friendly dog, and he could easily be picked up by strangers and taken away. Not only that, but our neighborhood is full of traffic, and Winston could get run-over.


Every day since then Winston has come a-calling at least once a day. And just to make matters worse, he typically escapes after 10 p.m. This means that instead of having a normal, quite night, we have to listen to two dogs carry one like crazed beasts. So not only do we have to contend with Winston's behavior, but his presence outside makes Duchess go nuts! She barks and jumps around and acts a complete fool. I cannot wait for her to return to normal. I miss my sweet, calm dog. Thank goodness that she only comes in heat once every six months!

Thanks for reading,

The Cajun Haole.