Ugh...Mornings in Finland

Samuli woke me up at an ungodly hour today. OK so it was 8:25, but considering that it's winter time and in Finland (without snow) it was ungodly. The sun only rises at 9:21!! Grrr. And it's pitch black at 15:12. Miserable miserable winter without snow!

So, I got up at 8:25 to help him with something, with the intention of going back to sleep and waking up when it was light. However my plan failed. By the time I went back to bed Bobby had decided to take over most of it. He was lying right in the middle of our bed, on both our blankets looking adorable (so, of course I didn't want to wake him up). After somehow slipping under Samuli's blankets I was ready to drift to sleep. But no! The neighbors baby started crying. I've noticed that their baby cries a lot. Not that it really bugs me or anything, just a random observation. When the baby stopped crying there was some kind of ruckus (What was that ruckus? -Uh, what ruckus? -I was just in my office and I heard a ruckus.) outside our front door. (-Could you describe the ruckus, sir?) It sounded like a huge truck trying to back up into our kitchen. Hmmm.

So, so much for sleeping.

Bobby Does Fahsion and Gets 'Done'

In a desperate attempt to make my dog as fashionable as his owner *ahem* I've gone through quite a few bits of doggie apparel before I have found ones that fit my baby (and ones that look completely ridiculous). But no matter how ridiculous the outfits I have captured them all on film. Muahaha...

Bobby with the leg warmers I made him.

Right after I finished the first one I decided to take him outside for a test walk (in the dark). We went all around the neighborhood (even chased a hare round the neighboring block). Then when we were on the way home I noticed that the test leg warmer was missing! We had to track back our whole walk to find it (it had fallen off when we were chasing the hare).

The bunny outfit that was too small.

Bobby-bunny!

Bobby in his iPoo t-shirt I ordered from USA. LOL!

Sailor t-shirt Bobby doing what he does best.

The 69 shirt (with daddy randomly attacking Bobby).

Getting a MANicure from uncle Stinky-Tom awww!

Then on Sunday we took at trip accross town to go to the Spanish Rescue dogs pre-Christmas party. And our Bobby spent most of the evening trying to do a (boy) doggy. But at the end of the evening he got what was coming.

Poor Bobby gets done by a very confused dog.

Here are some random bonus pictures:

Bat-dog begging for food.

Our beer guard. Really lousy guard, all the beer was gone by the end of the night.

Mummy and Bobby

Christmas party with dog-daddy's family.

Bored on the train.

Samuli's family was holding the annual Christmas party last Saturday. On Friday we had to embark on the grueling trip to Mänttiharju. For some reason the Finnish rail system is prejudice towards those wanting to travel the West-East-West-axis. They probably would blame this on the fact that there is a stupid lake (Päijänne) in the middle of Finland that you have to go around so, initially Finnish geography is seems to want to keep the West from going East and vice-versa. But I think the way the trains are scheduled doesn't make traveling any easier.

On the Lahti-Mänttiharju train (train number 3).

First of all the whole train part of the trip from Tampere to Mänttiharju takes almost 4 hours (one takes 4h 30min). Secondly this trip is split into stupid segments. So, if you're lucky you'll only have to change trains once, the unlucky ones need to change 3 times (that's 4 damn trains!!).

Bobby doing what he does best (at lest someone had fun on the train).

Anyway, I was really reluctant to go since I don't really like going to Mänttiharju, plus our travel cost was about 100e and the fact that I have better things to do on a Friday night than sit on a train (like watching TV and having a beer!). But we did try to make the best of it.

I was a little worried about taking Bobby to dog-daddy's parents place because 1. they have two cats 2. they don't like dogs. So, of course the first thing that Bobby did was chase the cats and pee on a bed. Woohoo! Luckily after that he was a good little pooch.

Bobby on dog-uncles lap.

Looking how mummy feels when visiting dog-daddy's parents.

"Mummy get me out of here. C'mon! At lest let me chase the cats!"

Well in the end the Christmas party itself wasn't bad at all. Bobby was really good! Since there were three small children I had to hold him in my lap for most of the time (both for their and his safety). Everyone kept telling me what a wonderful/special dog he is. I'm so proud!

What our Bobby thinks of Christmas songs.

On Sunday we went for a walk in the forest before setting off back home.

Bobby getting the mail from the other dog-grandparents house.

Crazy-dog and dog-daddy (see he's not all sleep and eat).

Bobby's New Coat

If you read my last post you'll know the dilemma I was having with getting a coat for Bobby. In the end I decided to make him a coat myself. Here is the result:

"OK you made me a coat, now will you feed me?"

Looking so adorable in his coat.

Side view of the coat.

The "mummy quit it with the pictures, you're embarrassing me"-look

Mummy's little cutiepie <3

OMG it's... a Bobby Lookalike!!

It's pretty cold and snowy/rainy here in Finland and as you know my doggy has Spanish fur. It was suggested that I should get a coat for him. I got one in advance from ebay but it turned out to be WAY too small (chihuahua size... grrr). So, I found another coat on ebay, but it is taking for ages to get here.

My dad keeps asking if we've gone to the dog park and I kept telling him that I'm not going for such a long walk with Bobby until he has proper protection against the cold. He just laughed and told me not the be silly, "dogs don't need clothes and if they do get cold they'll shiver and want inside. You'll know when he's cold because he'll tell you. Don't buy him stupid clothes he'll try to kill himself..." etc... So, on Monday I decided it was time to take Bobby to the dog park (despite his lack of jacket). It's now Thursday and we're both coughing and I at least have a sore throat. So, what did we learn? 1. Don't listen to dad 2. Bobby needs a coat fast 3. Don't listen to dad.

What's a student to do when pet shops in Tampere don't stock dog coats. Finnish online pet shops offer overpriced coats (Seriously would you pay 60e for a coat the size of a tissue???). Buying of ebay takes for ever and the measurements might be off. What's a mum to do? Make a coat by hand of course!!

I'm really not very good at sewing and planning things from scratch so I decided to google dog clothes instructions and found a fairly simple coat pattern and made some adjustments. Then I decided to get some inspiration on what kind of materials and accessories I could add on. I checked out Etsy (a D.I.Y. shop/showcasing website) and found this:

Bobby lookalike!

Doesn't that dog look EXACTLY like my Bobby?!?!? I swear, that's my Bobby! Only I think t-shirt dog is a girl. Lookalike even has those white tips on 'her' paws! Freaky stuff! Haha.

In other Bobby news: he was mean to me this morning. He pooped INSIDE a rosebush. And then smirked at mummy who had to stick half her body inside to scoop the poop out. Grrr... naughty little doggy.

Top 10 Hype List

1. "Where'd You Go/C'est Ma Faute" Kyo vs. Fort Minor
2. "Giving It Up For You" Holly Brook
3. "Ivory Tower" Anna Abreu
4. "Apologize" Timbaland feat. One Republic
5. "Ihmisten Edessä" Jenni Vartiainen
6. "Love Song" Sara Bareilles
7. "Saturdays" Holly Brook
8. "Indian" Sturm Und Drang
9. "Are you Ready" Anna Abreu
10. "Soulmate" Natasha Bedingfield

Bobby Lives!

So, yesterday we managed to get a time at the vets. By the time our appointment was Bobby was already eating and was clearly feeling better. We bought him one of those D.A.P. (dog appeasing pheromone) diffusers that are supposed to calm dogs (cost 40.00e!).

Mummy and her Bobby

The vet really liked our Bobby (who wouldn't!). She said he was an excellent patient. We were so proud... well that is until he decided to mark 'his' new territory, TWICE! Ah well we didn't get mad at him tho', even the vet didn't mind that much. I was just glad that he was going to be alright.

Bobby and the rabbit he slaughtered.

Today he's been much more active. We've been on many short walks and he's even 'murdered' one of my stuffed toy rabbits. On subject of rabbits on our evening walk we had a run in with a real live one. And all I can say is my baby runs fast! If he hadn't been on a leash with my lazy butt on the other end he would have caught the damn thing no problem.

Worried

Now I'm really worried. Bobby hasn't eaten all day. When he pooed it was... clear that his stomach wasn't alright so we assumed that he was down because of that. Then few minutes ago he started making a vomiting sound and Samuli grabbed a piece of paper and caught the first drops and I grabbed a bucket and caught the rest. The disturbing thing is that he threw up blood. He pretty much threw up only blood (the liquid was really blood red and smelt unmistakably of blood). What worries me even more is that with the blood vomit there also came a worm (alive).


We were told to put him on the de-worming meds a couple of days after he came, that's tomorrow. I'm pretty worried. Samuli tried calling the doctor but there was a message that if you want to wake up the doctor then call his/her mobile (tone was not too forgiving). So, right now we're waiting for tomorrow and the normal doctors to open their doors.


I really hope he is OK.

Bobby's Homecoming!

Yesterday was finally the day. I was trying to fit in as much 'to do' as I could so I wouldn't be counting the hours all day. I was doing really well around 18:00, we'd been to a pet shop to buy some treats and then to lunch and were pretty much on schedule to hit the road. According to the schedule Bobby was due in from Spain (via Brussels) at 21:45. The plan was that we would drive to my mother's and then wait there a while before going to the airport. However the wait turned out to be much longer than I thought. At first I got a message when we were still on our way to my mum's that the flight would be coming in at 22:45. When we got to my mother's I checked the airport web pages and the whole 21:45 flight from Brussels was canceled! I panicked but then realized that they would be on the next flight in (22:45). At about 21:30 I checked again (ok, I was checking the whole time, but that was when there was a change) and the flight had been bounced to 23:25. By this time I was going seriously psycho.

Don't I look weary but psycho?

Then finally at 23:15 we left my mother's apartment to go to the airport. There was a lot more snow in Helsinki than Tampere, believe it or not and my mum was driving in front of us super slowly because of the ice and I was thinking if we're late they'll think we are the worst owners and take him away! I was also worried that Bobby would freeze his butt off (coming from sunny Spain +20 to snowy Finland -6 is enough of a shock). At the airport I was so nervous I thought I was going to throw up. Every time the doors opened to let someone out of the baggage claim/customs my heart flipped. Thankfully a man came over and asked us if we were waiting for a Spanish dog (he was waiting for Miia, the lady bringing the dogs LOL) and said that there were three dogs coming and that they would be coming out soon (soon seemed like a lifetime!).

Guess where my Bobby is?

Then at last a a huge parade of people came out. One of the airport attendants was wheeling two large crates. I desperately tried peering into them to see my Bobby but all I could see was two big dogs, a dalmatian and a rottweiler. I kind of panicked again desperately trying to find where my Bobby could be. Gladly my confused, panicky psychoticness didn't last for long since Miia asked who was there for Bobby. Then proceeded to open the red sports bag (next to her foot in the picture) and out popped the most adorable little doggy I have ever seen. Everyone sort of gasped and I heard one of the other new owners say "OMG so small!" and after that I didn't really hear anything because I was so busy greeting my baby!

Sniffing love.

Bonding at the airport was a little hard since our Bobby is really curious and was much more interested in the other two dogs to take much notice of his new family. The dalmatian was a little worn out. I think he'd been abused before coming into the shelter because he was really shy and had some cuts on his body. He'd been sick already in the car on the way to the airport in Spain and also during the flight in his crate. He was really jumpy and shy but our Bobby seemed to give him some encouragement and licky love. The rottweiler was hilairious! His owners looked like the perfect rottweiler owners, sort of goth/punk/metal meets Pirates of the Caribbean. The dog got out of the crate took one look at his new owners, rolled over onto his back and began receiving the most love filled scratching and petting I have ever seen! It was a heartwarming sight.

After getting Bobby's passport and other paperwork we were ready to hit the road again. The navigator we had gave us the weirdest route ever (through small roads, fields and forests). By the time we got home it was almost 3:00 in the morning. We gave Bobby some food and realized that he was eating really strangely. On further inspection I noticed that he is missing some of his teeth! Still he ate all that we gave him. Then shuffled over to the doggy bed we'd got him (I wasn't sure if he wanted to sleep with us and decided that if he did he would come on his own accord). He slept nicely all night until about 7:30 when he saw an opportunity, when I rolled on to my side, and jumped onto the bed, stretched out like a sausage roll and proceeded to lick my shoulder, hand, face... when I began petting him he flipped onto his back and demanded stomach rubs. I LOVE THIS DOG!!

My little Poochie-boo.

At 8:00 we got up to take him for a tour of the block. He was sniffing and marking every possible object, but didn't poo yet (Should I be worried? I haven't seen him poo yet...LOL). Then we came back inside and he immediately went back to bed. I put a chair next to the computer, put his bed on the chair, Bobby on the bed and he's been sleeping ever since.

Last days of Anticipation

As many of you know our wait is almost over! Last week we found out that Kodittomat Espanjan Koirat ry (Homless Spanish Dogs) had a possible dog for us. Everything about Bobby, from his name to his needs (expressed by the association) seemed perfect, like destiny (how cliché)!

On Wednesday I called the lady in charge of Bobby's re-homing and everything seemed to be in order, although there was still (what I feared would be) a long grueling bureaucracy mess before we could have Bobby home. I called the next day anticipating a long list of things to do, papers to fill, more calls to make, insurances to be payed and then more waiting and it was making me really nervous (every day Bobby was in the kennel instead of a warm caring home was a day too much). To boot I was still in shock after Wednesday's events in Jokela. So, when I called Thursday evening I was so exhausted but ready to 'fight' to prove that our household should be a worthy home candidate for Bobby.

Instead of having to fill in tonnes more paperwork and more unsure waiting for information I was met with a very pleasant surprise. The lady told me that everything seemed to be in order and they would either be placing Bobby on a Wednesday evening flight or the Thursday night flight. I was ecstatic!

Now I've been preparing for Bobby's homecoming buying him all kinds of toys and things, getting rid of our mats/rugs for a while (just in case) and just pretty much making our home dog friendly. I've even bought all kinds of things from Ebay!

The final days are really weird, on one hand at least now I know exactly when Bobby is coming but at the same time I am thinking about it CONSTANTLY! I keep having these nightmares where we're at the airport and he's there but then someone tells me that we're going to be horrible dog parents and takes our Bobby back to Spain. My mother keeps joking that I'm turning almost as insane with anticipation as they were when adopting me. 2 more days...

Jokela School Shooting

My mum called me in the middle of the day and asked me if I'd been following the news. The whole question seemed some what ominous and scared me a bit. When I told her no she said that there had been a school shooting in Jokela, a place between Helsinki and Riihimäki. Luckily it was not in a school that was in my mothers area (she's a school psychologist specializing in migrants). However it did affect her office and pretty much all of Finland (first school shooting here... OK second, but this is MAJOR). There has been additional news casts on most channels and on the internet and the whole country will have a day of mourning tomorrow.

I just find things like this terrible. It makes me cry more than anything. I've been randomly crying all day. I feel terrible for the victims, 5 boys, 2 girls and the schools headmaster were killed. At the same time I feel so sorry for the boy who did it. He was only 18 and graduating this year! He was described as being normal and nice until something happened. On his blog he writes that he used to believe in things turning out alright until he had an awakening. I want to understand! People aren't monsters! Something happened to him to make him flip! You can't just blame him! You have to look at the whole picture! I feel terrible for the parents who's children were killed or injured but I cannot even begin to understand the pain that Auvinen's parents are in.

High school is hardcore. It's not easy. It wasn't easy for me. I understand. I would have understood. Why wasn't there anyone to understand for him?

NEW HOPE in the form of a dog with a hilaire name...

I got an e-mail yesterday saying that we might get one of the dogs from Spain!!! I have to call the lady today between 19-20 (which is during my photography course but who cares!) I am so excited!

So, let me present to you our hopefully possibly maybe new member of the Saipatti family... I know some of you will crack up when I reveal the name... hahah... wait for it... waaait for it... ok he's called...... BOBBY!!!

Which is kind of an inside joke between those who went on that sports trip to Morzine instead of working and those who watch The Hills (Justin Bobby LOL).

So, due to all the Bobby history/baggage I carry with me I KNOW THIS IS THE DOG FOR US!!!!


Bobby is 2 years old, 30cm tall and weighs 7kg. He was found wandering the streets but the way he acts it seems like he hasn't been a 'stray' for long. A happy little dog that gets along with people, male dogs (essential for us) and loves chasing girls!

I really hope this works out! It breaks my heart that he would have to live in the kennel/on the streets any longer than he has. Plus some of my friends *cough* Leslie *cough* are already worrying about my sanity (I threatened to have a baby since it seems bloody easier than adopting a dog).

Argh the suspense is killing me!! I want my Justin Bobby home already!!!

Top 10 Hype List

1. "Like this, Like that" SE:SA feat. Sharon Phillips
2. "About You Now" Sugababes
3. "Radar" Britney Spears
4. "What Planet You On" Bodyrox feat. Luciana
5. "Hot as Ice" Britney Spears
6. "Breakfast in Bed" Nicole Kea
7. "Puttin' on the Ritz" Shiny Toy Guns
8. "The Girl From Ipenema" Frank Sinatra
9. "Gela" Abyssinia Infinite
10. "I Found You (Remode)" Axwell feat. Charles Salter

No Wings but Fireworks

Well as you might have guessed I didn't get my Friday wings this week (but we are going today, yay!) because Samuli said that I'll get them when I finish my essay. Of course I took all day to do it and when I finally was almost done he said we could go. But it was too late, the place was packed so we ended up at Hesburger. There were so many people out last night everywhere was full! About ten minutes after we got to Hese there was a line of hungry families almost to the door! It's been a while since we went out on Friday evening so either I've forgotten how it is or there were people out because of the opening of Valoviikot.

Valoviikot (Lightweeks) is the yearly opening of the 'Christmas-like' light decorations on the streets of Tampere and each year they open with fireworks! Yay! I'd been given an assignment by one of my photography courses to go and take pictures. Now, I've never taken pictures of fireworks, at least not seriously. I don't really enjoy the course anyway so my attempt this time was half assed too I didn't even take my camera stand with me. Still I did enjoy the fireworks, they were pretty cool! And then I came back home to drink beer and finish my essay (ended up being at 1:25).

Doggie Decisions

We just got an answer from the Spanish dogs place saying that Kika and Risa are still available. The last time I heard from the puppy in Helsinki was yesterday morning when the owner sent me an e-mail he would get back to me later that evening. Still no reply. This is kind of stressful since I do want one of these dogs but at the same time if I'm too eager I may end up with two and at some point I have to chose which one to pursue. So, I was hoping I could get some helpful advice again.

Here are our two candidates at the moment:

RISAStats:

• 2 years old
• female
• 30cm high and weighs 6kg
  

Pros:

• The following is included in Risa's payment:

1. microchip
2. EU-passport
3. rabies vaccination
4. some triple vaccination
5. some ekinokokkoos treatment
6. Leishmania test
7. Heartworm test
8. sterilization
9. airfare to Helsinki

• We would be giving an abandoned dog a home

Cons:

• She is a rescue dog so she may have different problems (mental and physical).
  
• We don't yet know if we can have her and there are issues outside our control which might influence that.

PUPPY

• 

Stats:

• 3 months old
  
• Father is a corgi-kleinspitz-mix and mother is a papillon-like-mix so she will be a small 'toy' dog size

Pros:

• She is a puppy
• Since she is not a rescue dog we wouldn't have to prepare for those 'special' kinds of problems that those kinds of dogs might have.
• She's had her first check up and has also received two vaccinations.
• Has not been in a 'stressful' environment (been in someones home with mother)

Cons:

• Does not come with all the checkups and vaccinations as Risa (and so we would have to pay for those later)
  
• Owner hasn't replied to e-mail so maybe she found a home already.

Ugh... difficult decisions, especially when the outcome isn't even really up to me. Frustrating...

Banks and Dogs

So, boring stuff first. The chain of shops that we have a 'loyal'-customer card to recently changed the bonus money program into a shop owned bank. This means that I now have 5 different kind of bank cards from four different banks, three of which are in Finland. Pretty weird stuff. The reason I am a customer at so many banks is because I wasn't satisfied with Sampo so I was planning on changing all activity to OP and that's now in a 'transitional' phase. Anyway what this bank thing also means is that I will have a joint bank account with Samuli, this should be very interesting. I once had one of my ex-boyfriends tell me that even if we were married he would not want a joint account with me... nice...

And then on to more interesting stuff! I really want a dog! I've been desperately going through all possible adverts in magazines and online trying to find the perfect new member to our small family. The thing is I'm pretty scared of big dogs and so my number one criteria is that the dog should be small i.e. manageable even for me. Thing is that there are way more big dogs available than small ones and thus also price is a major issue.

Fibi from Espanjan Kulkukoirat

One of the places I've been looking at has been this great thing called Espanjan Kulkukoirat, which is basically a Finnish couple who runs a rescue center for dogs in Spain. They're really good, they check the dogs and give them all the possible shots and treatment at the vets in Spain before they are brought to Finland. You get a dog passport and one of those microchip things too and all this for 250e! They have some adorable small dogs and yesterday I found the perfect one for us, the only problem is that they have set an age limit of 23 for people wanting to adopt. Such a bummer!!

(from top left-->right) Kiko, Rubi, Risa and Kika from Espanjan Koirat

I found this other very similar website and there I found 4 dogs I would be interested in. They don't, to my knowledge, have an age limit but the dogs there are 290e (includes shots, medication, tests and airfare). I sent them an e-mail but they seem very strict about who they choose to give the dogs to.

Little girl.

Finally our third possibility at the moment is this sweet little thing that we found for sale on a message board. Her father is a corgi-kleinspitz -mix and her mother is a papillon-like-mix, so yes a really messed up mix :) I sent an e-mail to the current owner and he gave me some information. She's been to the vet and got some shots and meds and is 3 months old. She is in Helsinkin so if this works out we can easily go get her from there. The price they are asking is 280e.

So, all you dog people I need your opinions/comments!

You know you're in Finland when...

it's the beginning of October and you wake up at 5 am to go to the bathroom and realize that it's snowing outside.

Thief Found

Aha! I got a picture of my flower bulb and bird feed thief:

see, I'm not insane! Someone is raiding my garden!! Hmm... but now I can't be mad at something that cute. I mean look at that little adorable face!!

*waah*