A stubborn Pomeranian with a North Carolina accent.

IMG_20200117_151423082_HDR

Athena & Zenzi testing puppy teeth

Many of you know me from a diversity of social media sites, so you probably know that I lost my 15-year Pomeranian, Koko. I’m over the loss now.

A year, or so, before she died of kidney failure, I bought Zenzi, a wolf-sable Pomeranian. She learned fast, and inherited all of Koko’s tricks and habits. That was a good thing. My wife is a great trainer and has a lot more patience than myself. (She’s married to me.)

Zenzi graduated… and has become the perfect companion. When Koko died, Zenzi became depressed and there was no way to explain death to a dog. I did, but those words were not in her vocabulary. She laid around a lot, and stared at me, wanting to know when I was going to go get Koko, or wondering what Koko did that made me so mad, to get rid of her. No way to explain. Zenzi was about a year old, and no longer in that puppy stage. After much thought, I decided that another puppy was the answer. Pomeranians aren’t happy when they are alone.

In my latest books, Louis Bautista had a Pomeranian in book 1 and 2.

CLICK here, to see my books on AMAZON

I flew to North Carolina to buy a little black and tan Pom. I researched taking a dog on a plane, and… I think I can do it.  (That story is on my blog),  but the bottom line is that a weird bonding happened because of the airport experience. Now in Florida, Athena follows me everywhere. I haven’t been to the bathroom alone in months. Normally, my wife is the trainer, and I don’t interfere with her years of experience. Like I said, more patience than me.

Athena says otherwise. I… am her human, and she rejects the authority of my wife. She whines when I go to work, sleeps between my knees at night, and has learned that if she stares at me long enough, I will give her a dog-biscuit. So, I have been doing her training. I am on lockdown with this Corona 19 thing, so the timing is good. She’s a lot smarter than I thought. I have learned that it is not that she can’t learn, she just doesn’t want to learn. She is the most, strong-willed, dog I have ever owned. She is finally surrendering to STAY, DROP, and NO. She learned COME fast enough, but just doesn’t always feel like doing it. I teach my dogs hand signals as they learn the commands. I also teach them that belching and farting, gets rewards. My wife just shakes her head at me.

The leash is my biggest challenge now. She just lies down, like, drag me human! You can’t use a collar like a regular dog. Poms have a trachea issue, so you have to use a harness. She hates the harness as well. I have several different styles, and she prefers the old original nylon straps. Due to the Florida heat, I believe she wants as little body contact as possible. She’s making progress. Wait until she discovers that I bought seat belts for the car.

Once again, my patience is a bit less than a dog trainer, and often she frustrates me, and I feel like she’s beating me. I have failed. She’s going to hate me for all of the abuse I’m inflicting on her. Sometimes I get so frustrated that I consider giving her to someone more qualified.

Then… I finish my latest page for my website, save it for tomorrows posting, and shut down the three 24” monitors in front of me. The cooling fans whine to a stop, I close my schedule book, and roll my chair away from my desk. It stops against something and I look back in the floor. Athena pushed her dog bed across the room, and against my chair. There is a sudden flow of emotion. I reach down, pick up her limp three pound body, and hold her against my chest. “Come on girl, it’s bed time.”

In my latest books, Louis Bautista had a Pomeranian in book 1 and 2.

CLICK here, to see my books on AMAZON

<p value="<amp-fit-text layout="fixed-height" min-font-size="6" max-font-size="72" height="80">ReverseAging #Longevity #Aging #FountainOfYouth #Science #Research #ScientificResearch #Pharmaceutical #Medication #Romance #Love #Family #Sailing #Travel #Caribbean #Uruguay #Adventure #Memory #Alzheimer's #Pets #Teenager #Puberty #Housesitter #Petsitter #Book #Stress #PetTraining #Pomeranian #Blog #Website #BookReverseAging #Longevity #Aging #FountainOfYouth #Science #Research #ScientificResearch #Pharmaceutical #Medication #Romance #Love #Family #Sailing #Travel #Caribbean #Uruguay #Adventure #Memory #Alzheimer’s #Pets #Teenager #Puberty #Housesitter #Petsitter #Book #Stress #PetTraining #Pomeranian #Blog #Website #Book

Author: David Alexander

Writer David Alexander’s life has had as many twists and plot changes as his books. College in Cincinnati for commercial art was sidelined for the construction industry. His writing started there, as therapy for the stress of owning a business. David learned to sail, and vacationed on a sailboat in the Caribbean, every December. He fell in love with St. Croix and shut down the Ohio business permanently. Moving 2200 miles, he built and ran condominiums in St. Croix, USVI. Now, living on the east coast of Florida, David builds interiors for 70’ luxury yachts. The years of stories in the marinas, and experiences in many countries, fuel the keyboard of this lucky writer. He has done with little effort what many hope to experience on their bucket list.