This is the sight that met me as I arrived at work this morning. In the street outside the office. This is what you can find also in the safe Vienna where you can also find nutcases who get so worked up about motorbikes being parked in non-designated areas that they just HAVE TO set them alight. And if you are siding with the arsonist: the law allows bikers to park wherever the hell they can. Btw, it’s happened twice before according to the local resident gossip, and they know who he is.
Last night I fell asleep in front of the TV between two large dogs. Orion has settled in as a family dog a lot faster than I expected. But he is still a little confused. He looks to Mischa for guidance about, for instance, cuddles. Watches intently as I sit on the floor with Mischa snuggling close, head against my chest, eyes closed. After a while Orion makes a little whimper and I say “Orion, come here” in a light voice. He immediately gets up and comes over, then leans against me with his head down and I cuddle him too. Then, confused at the unfamiliar closeness, he starts to growl. One can never hold him tightly in case he feels trapped, then he not only growls but also shows fangs. But I have learned to take his growling as a sign of insecurity, not aggression, and all I have to do is say “ssshhhhhh” softly and he stops.
When out with the two dogs they are like a pair of synchronised swimmers. Side by side they sniff all the same spots and pee in the same places. Yes, it has happened that one has peed on the head of the other when sniffing and peeing overlaps. But it’s fun to see them like that, not just because they shower each other in pee but because they move so differently. Orion is tall and lanky, moving with the grace of a gazelle. Mischa is built like a wrestler, with broad shoulders, narrow hips and short legs, and though not moving badly has to take several mincy little steps to each of Orion’s strides.
Occasionally they are like brothers, teasing each other by pushing each other into the nearest wall or flower box on the street then looking completely innocent. I think Orion gets a particular kick out of doing that to Mischa. And Mischa occasionally gets his revenge pinching Orion’s ball on the rare occasion when Mischa manages to get to it first. Instead of returning the ball he rolls over on the grass, dropping the ball, picking it up again and rolling some more. Orion does not take the risk of fighting Mischa for it. Mischa may be smaller, but he is heavier and will stand his ground.
Orion is also no longer aggressive with other dogs and has all but stopped growling at visitors. He is easy to control and, as mentioned, is mainly looking for guidance when feeling insecure as demonstrated by the growling.
But. There is one thing that we have not managed to control. At all.
Orion is a thief. A food thief. I’m aware that this is not revolutionary news when a dog is involved: both he and Mischa are permanently starving puppies feeling sorry for themselves for not being allowed to just eat cake. In general, Mischa does not steal. He is a little too clumsy to get away with quiet theft and gave up after a pancake raid a while ago, but Orion is a totally different story. If you leave the kitchen for more than a nanosecond, anything edible that was there is just not there anymore. He doesn’t even leave a trace. No glass knocked over, no slobber anywhere. The food seems to simply have been beamed into him.
We managed to briefly prevent accidental food theft by putting the not yet empty pan on the back of the cooker with its heavy lid on top. But now Orion has advanced to elevating himself up, hovering in mid air and lifting the lid off. No idea how he does this. He is too clever for his own good. We almost wish he would have an accident and get burned, but as a soft-hearted doggie mother I can’t quite bear that thought and would rather child-proof the cooker.
The main reason why it is so hard to solve this problem is that Orion has a digestion problem. He doesn’t produce enzymes to help him break down and digest food, so he has to have medication added to every meal in order to get anything out of eating at all. He can’t eat anything even remotely spicy and gets diarrhoea at the drop of a hat. So we’re trying very hard not to drop hats around him. But he is not helping. So: forget about suggesting leaving hot peppers or insanely spicy stuff out that will surely burn his tongue — it just might kill him and that’s one thing we’d rather not have happen — yet. Remember, the dog spent eight (at least) years in prison (that’s how I see it) and we would like him to enjoy life a little before he draws his final breath. He deserves it. But it is hard to forgive him when he gobbles up anything edible in the flat, raids the teenagers’ room for bags of crisps or cookies (last night), breaks into the cupboard under the sink to demolish the bin (this morning) and in general behaves like a starved concentration camp victim. And it’s very hard not to believe him when he sends you THAT look, the starving puppy look that says YOU HAVE NOT FED ME IN WEEKS!! You know. THAT look.
Thomas insists that it is possible to train him not to steal. I’m convinced we simply have to take the consequence of his stealing nature and not leave food out EVER — of any kind.
Funny thing is, I rather like that side of him. The thief. The thug. He has been inside for so long and been so unsure about settling into a new home — what if he were just sent back, like last time? But we decided that if we were to take him, it was for the rest of hils life. We do not want him to end his life in a shelter just because he is not easy to deal with all the time. He’s our kid. You don’t return kids. They’re for life. 🙂
About the burnt bikes: As long as there is no prove for the guilt everybody has to be considered innocent, no matter what the local gossip knows or pretends to know. As far as I could see the bikes are two scooters and a Honda VF 750 Magna. (The estimated value of all three is about 12.000 Euro.) Before I’d repeat what the gossip tells, I’d wait for the official police-statements.
About my thief: He is so cute and when he looks at you in a way as if he’d understand each of your words, you can’t be mad at him for longer than a few seconds. So far the stolen food did not harm him and I’ll go on leaving food in a rather controlled area to keep him from stealing. I believe in my dog’s intelligence and one day he’ll stop stealing.
I’m glad he turned from a nervous angry wreck into a familiar dog with a lot of love for his family so fast. And I hope we’ll have him for a long time as our friend and guardian.
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Ok. The bastard shall hereby be considered innocent.
Yes, Orion is an incredibly cute thief. And that I’ve managed to make him eat grapes and melon is even cuter. 🙂
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