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!!!