dogs

family tree: part 2

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Mama? Is that you?

beagle 1

My other ancestor was definitely a Beagle. I act and look like one. When I am allowed to ramble around freely, I get very carried away by my hunting instincts and respond haphazardly to recalls. I mean, I tend to keep an eye/ear on my humans and come eventually, but not entirely on their terms. I still have a lot of progress to do in this respect.

My humans also like to point out that I often expose the notorious Beagle stares. Here’s one that I use commonly, particularly when they are taking a lot of time to get ready to go outside. They still have a lot of progress to do in that respect.

beagle 2

What about the shedding? Neither podengos, nor beagles are supposed to shed a lot. And yet, it looks like snowfall when I get up from the bed or couch. Most annoyingly, I can not hear the end of it!

encounter with a badass caterpillar

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Yesterday morning I ran into a vibrant- and fuzzy-looking caterpillar under a pine tree during my regular walk. I thought I would express my admiration for the outfit that seemed ideal for the ongoing celebration of Carnival in the city. It became clear that he is not interested in ordinary nose-rub and moved on rather swiftly.
Nonetheless, within just seconds, I became super nauseous and could not move anymore! Luckily, my human was there to pick me up and carry me home – while swearing that we’ll be back at our fitness regimen as soon as I feel better. By the time we got everything ready for the trip to the vet, my head swelled to the size of a teddy’s and itched so badly that I tried rubbing it to everything in sight.
Fortunately, the staff of the Associação Zoófila Portuguesa provided me immediately with the right emergency care. After 24 hours, I am now looking and feeling much better, although still have not gotten my “mojo” back entirely.
gerbeaud and caterpillar 1
Other dog-owners and dog-comrades in Portugal and Spain, be more careful about approaching these feisty creatures during the February-April season! They have poisonous spikes that can cause tongue necrosis among dogs (that’s right!) and even provoke our death. This is the sad story of Didi who died from this.
The suspect:
caterpillar
This was the fourth unfortunate incident this year, hope only good things will follow from here on!

i steal things from the kitchen counter

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I generally don’t beg …. much ….. but have a weakness for food left unattended on the kitchen counter. I once stole an entire pack of cheese and the consequences were pretty disastrous. It was the hard way to discover that we – dogs – become lactose intolerants as adults. We all learned lessons from that experience. My people now almost never leave any food on the kitchen counters …. almost ….

i eat pumpkin

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And not because it is almost Halloween. I eat it because I have digestion issues and the pumpkin adds fiber to my diet. Let’s not tip-toe around it too much – I have soft stools when I only eat kibble. There. Besides, I really like the taste of mashed pumpkin mixed with my humid food. It is my afternoon delight.

i get anxious when left alone

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Like many other dogs that had already been abandoned before, I suffer from separation anxiety. You should see the tantrum I throw when my people have to leave me at home. I whine and bark, and do things that no landlord should ever hear about!! I don’t even eat all my treats which I normally gobble down in seconds. So I generally follow my people like a ghost to make sure that I don’t go through that kind of embarrassment. No self-respecting dog leaves treats laying on the floor.

my name

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I was named after a hungarian pastry, known as Gerbeaud or Zserbó, developed by swiss pastry chef Emil Gerbeaud in Budapest. One of my people does not like chocolate – I know, weird – so I resemble rather well the no- or white- chocolate version of this beautiful and sweet pastry. Finally, my name is popular with both the hungarian and portuguese members of our extended pack – as Zserbó and Jerbo, respectively.