Meeting my Aunt Cane- March 2006

It was on St.Patrick's day weekend when I met my Aunt who lives in Utah. She was great and we built rapport immediately. She let me give her a welcoming kiss and play on her belly while she sat in the sofa. We took a long walk a along the Des Peres river and I had a ball. It was not that often I had the chance to go for long walks, so I loved it. Miss you Aunt Cane.

My first Valentine's Day

I don't remember very well, I was still little but I probably went to my GreatGrandma's(Grandma A)to celebrate her Birthday. She was born on a lovely date, no wonder she's so sweet.

My bond with Mama (Part 2)

So.... based on the information in the previous post, it goes without saying that in the beginning it was very hard for Mama to get used to me. Everything about me. My fast heart beat, my body temperature, my aliveness and mainly my body "scent", which apparently was what bothered her the most. I remember her spraying my bed linen in my den every now and then with odor eliminator and also spraying me with body spray whenever I was out of "jail". I believe she got tired of all that spraying because nowadays she doesn't do it anymore. I don't think I stink at all, maybe she got used to me. By the same token, it was hard for me to get used to her too. I wanted to kiss her but she never let me and I wasn't so much at ease with her like I was with Dad. It took a while, it was a long process, but our mutual confidence and trust has eventually grown to a lovely mother and child relationship, which we both cherish today. In future posts, I will share with you the most important steps taken towards the strengthening of our bond. This is me and Mama in our most recent photos together.

My bond with Mama (Part 1)

Unlike Dad, who has always loved four legged people, Mama actually has always HATED or been afraid of them for her whole life until I came into play (hahahaha). I have the power of changing someone's life and ... for the better let me tell you.... OK, let me explain to what extent the fear of people like me affected my Mommy. When she was little, she lived just across the beach and she usually went there and had fun until...someone four legged and stray approached her (especially when she was eating "acaraje"* or anything really). She would be petrified, nervous, cry and ask her parents to chase them away. The repulsiveness was so intense that early in the morning when there were footprints of four legged people on the sand, she refused to step on them even though she had rubber sandals on. Whenever she saw one coming her way on a street, she would cross it to the other side. When she went to a bakery, there was always a few wandering around after food, to her terror and embarassment(people used to laugh at her fearful behavior). They seemed to be everywhere. Whenever she had to visit someone who had one, she had to ask to crate it or hide it somewhere out of her sight. That went on for 33 years ! You won't believe me, take a look at Sammie again. Now I am bigger than him, but my Mom used to be scared of him, big time! In January 2005 she stayed a week at my Grandma J's nearby Kansas City while my Dad was working in STL. She basically lived in the basement and only went up to the kitchen which was gated, to have breakfast and lunch and she had to do it quickly to avoid running into Sammie, whom to her luck, was somewhere she could not see. My Grandma J even gave her a stick so she could "defend" herself in case Sammie "attacked" her. Well, I guess she decided to give it a shot and adopt someone like me so she could overcome this problem and because Dad wanted to have one four legged so bad too. So Mama gave me to him as a Birthday present. All in the name of LOVE....

* Acaraje is a local dish from Salvador-BA, Brazil made of beans and deepfried in palm tree oil, usually cut in half and filled with "vatapa"( a yellow creamy paste made of bread or cornmeal ) and dried shrimps. Please see picture of Mama's "hamburger sandwich".

My bond with Dad

Love at first sight! My Dad had no issues with four legged people and really love boys and girls like me. He plays boy games with me like tug of war ( although Mama kept saying this game teaches me to be aggressive), wrestling, chasing and spoils me to death. I get lots of kisses from him and also get to kiss him a lot too. We both enjoy each other's company in any activity we engage in. I love you Daddy!

Dad + Son = Pure Love

My first Christmas

It was Christmas 2005 ! It was cold, as it always is, but I loved it. I got to meet some relatives whom I've never met before and was introduced to my favorite treat, that Grandma A gave me as a gift. My Grandma J let me borrow Sammie's Santa costume, which was originally made for a decoy duck. Well, it fit perfectly and people said I looked adorable. Check pictures out!

Pre-Christmas 2005

I helped Mama put together the Christmas tree in the living room by the fireplace and also the Christmas stockings with our names written on them. All that was going to be used as a background for our virtual Christmas card picture that was automatically taken by the camera. They were never happy, always complaining that I had my eyes closed, my tongue was sticking out,I was looking in the wrong direction, their hair was not tidy, Mama was not looking at the camera, Dad was not smiling, the picture was too dark etc, etc, etc. Needless to say, we had to snap about 1000 shots until we got a few good ones. They finally found one that they liked and used it to produce the 2005 Christmas card most of you family and friends received by e-mail. They even put me in one of those Christmas popcorn cans, that nowadays I wouldn't fit in. Check out the outcome of those pics. Hope you have as much fun as we did, errrr....

A weekend in Hermann

My Grandma and Grandpa were very nice for having me over the weekend in early December 2005 when Mom went to Washington DC to visit Dad. She drove a little outside St. Louis to drop me with Uncle N who took me to Hermann. When she returned, Aunt V, Grandma and Grandpa were double nice to drop me at home, so she did not need to drive all the way to Hermann to pick me up. It was fun! Thank you all !

Why is my name Sushi ?

Mama & Dad went out for sushi on their first date. Mama is of Japanese descent and loves sushi, Dad just loooooooves sushi and I am mostly white like a little sushi roll. It suits me, I think.

Meeting my Grandpa and Great Grandma for the first time

They live in Hermann, MO about 1.5 hours from STL. When I first entered their house they all said "I love you", which made me feel so loved and welcome. My Grandma A, is now 90 years old. My Grandpa keeps making sure that I am not on the way so he saves her from tripping over me. They allocate an area in the kitchen every time I visit which I call : "my corner". Before unpacking all the stuff, Dad always makes sure he puts out my food and water first. Grandpa W takes me outside most of the time and it's good that he gets some exercise too. Grandma A introduced me to my favorite treat at my first Christmas. I love them both so much!

Meeting my Grandma J and Uncle for the first time

This day was very special. It was the first time I have ever come this close to a four legged like me. Nice to meet you Uncle Sammie ! He's only 2 years older than me, but when we saw each other I started to pounce and chase him and he started shouting at me. And I shouted back at him too, so many times and so loud that we were taken outside to my Grandma's backyard. I was smaller than him (see videos), but that didn't keep me from fighting him. Sometimes it was real fighting, sometimes it was just playing. We didn't have any idea when playing ended and fighting started and vice-versa.
My Grandma J: I love her. She's sooooo good to me. She always has nice treats at her house for Sammie,which she lets me have. She allows me to sleep with her in her bed and with Sammie. She takes both of us for a walk and we have so much fun. She gives me nice baths and sometimes even joins the fun ! I'm so spoiled when I visit with her. Love you Grandma J !

Sammie showing off his haircut for the summer 2006.

Sammie and I playing at my Grandma's backyard in the videos ( 2005 )

A few days following the neutering

The "going potty" continued inside the house, since the cut was still healing. The day after surgery, the effects of the anesthetic had worn off, and I was in excruciating pain. Nevertheless, I managed to remain quiet, most of the time except when I had to walk from my den to my bowl to eat or walk anywhere else. I was so young, only 4 months old, I think and I was still being kept "in prison"(potty trained). While in the den, I was quiet, so my Mom didn't call my doctor to ask for pain killers. On the second day following surgery, I couldn't stand up !! My Dad was working out of town and I remember my Mom talking to him about the fact that I couldn't stand on my back legs and for me to move, I needed to drag my bottom using only my front legs. She called the doctor the next day, and he said that if I was still like this for one more week that I should go back and see him. When my Dad came back on Friday, he was really worried about my situation. That was really scary! Mean doctor, never prescribed any pain killers! I'm brave and strong and I survived. Thank God I fully recovered over the weekend and ran beautifully on our backyard to both mine and my parents' joy.

The day I got neutered

I innocently got up in the morning and Mom, put me in my crate and in the back seat of the car. Little did I know what I was going to be in for. That was early in the morning, and I remembered the office I had just visited the other day and after that, I don't know what happened, but I only saw my Mom again late in the afternoon. I was sitting in the receptionist's lap when my Mom came in to pick me up. I was so groggy I could barely tell what was going on around me. I just remember my Mom, listening very carefully to what the doctor's assistant was saying and then I was handed to my Mom and we left. I have been neutered. Such an evil thing to be done to a cutie like me. We got home and I was still confused and sleepy. When I got up, I realized they shaved my belly and I had a lot of stitches. When my Mom saw that, she didn't want to take me to the yard to go potty because she was afraid the dirt would get the cut infected. So she allowed me to go potty inside, which I did not understand very much. She was more distressed than I was.

My first doctor's appointment

It was just ok, I don't actually remember much. I do remember I had a "pedicure" since my nails were really long. Other than that, I think I got the second shots needed for my age. That place smelled really strong and there used to be 2 feline ones sitting at the reception counter. My doctor was nice, but spoke really loud and scared Mama. My health was great!
What I didn't realize, because I was so concentrated in sniffing around the reception area to locate the 2 felines, was that my Mom and the receptionist were scheduling the next visit for my neutering surgery. Why do they have to do this to me ???

My first climb up the steps

The steps from the backyard to the deck were the first ones I climbed. In the beginning it was very challenging, but I wouldn't say it was difficult, since I wasn't climbing step by step slowly in order to overcome my fear. The difficult part was to take the first step. I worked up the courage right there at the bottom and once I got going with "momentum", I didn't even have time to think about failing. I allowed some distance between where I was and the first step, so I could run and gain "momentum". Sometimes I did fall in the middle of the climb, but I immediately focused on the top and got back on track. All this, in fractions of seconds. The falls did scare me but they may have lasted less than a second so I didn't even have time to get discouraged to reach the deck. It's not all steps that I could climb, though. The basement steps were such a huge challenge and I needed a lot of cheering and encouragement from the 2 legged ones; parents or whoever was in the house to make me climb those steps, what a sweat ! Come on Sushi, you can do it ! Come on ! Some more compassionate ones like my Grandma J, couldn't stand see me down there scared of taking the first step that she would go grab me and take me upstairs. I just don't know why when Sammie went up the very same steps, I would go right after him and totally forget that I didn't know how to climb those steps....

Walks in the park

How great it is to walk around for about one whole hour ! Sniffing, marking territory ( in other words going number 1) meeting other boys and girls like me, and some people with only 2 legs like my Mom and Dad, what wonderful exercise and contact with Nature! I had a blast chasing rabbits, squirrels and sometimes ducklings closer to the pond. I could never catch them, they were so fast! Most of the time, my Dad would challenge me to run faster than him, and I loved it! And I always won ! Whenever I'm out in the park, I've got all eyes on me, sorry for being conceited but... it's the truth... When I was real little, I heard so many people say I was the cutest thing walking in that huge park. Good "massage" for the ego, but you know what, I'm not as cute as I used to be when I was little, and don't hear that as often anymore, however, I feel wiser and perhaps, happier than when I was "the cutest little thing". I know myself better now. Ooooooh, philosophical thoughts again.....

My first walk in the park

First time on a leash. What a horrible feeling ! I just refused to walk and my Mom kept pulling me. Thank God she had patience and whenever I walked a few steps she'd make a big fuss about it, enthusiastically saying stuff like : Good Boy ! Good Boy, Sushi ! And that was magical... the more she said those phrases of praise, the more I walked. Don't know why I function this way. Well, I guess everybody does. A little bit of praise, can take you a long way...
More of naughty me, in the backyard with Daddy. Have fun!

My Toys

I am a blessed child, besides food, water, shelter, warmth and LOVE, which I'm thankful for everyday, I've also got tons of toys. My Grandma J has a son named Sammie (my Uncle Sammie) and with whom I also share the same interests and activities. Sammie has a lot of toys but he doesn't play much as he used to, so my wonderful Grandma gave me a lot of his toys. Thank you so much Grandma J! I'm getting spoiled with all that ! !

Building Trust

I heard it ( GO POTTY, Sushi, GO POTTY !)so many times that I finally got potty trained at about 5 months old, though my parents especially my Mom, never really trusted me 100% so they sometimes kept some training pads around and wouldn't allow me in the carpeted area and the wood floors. Basically I spent most of the time in the kitchen and hallway since both had ceramic, easy to clean floors. My Dad installed a little wooden gate that separated the kitchen from the family room and that lasted a little over a year (they had to remove it to put the house for sale). Before this was installed though, they improvised a fence by using chairs but, what were they thinking about ? That I was too big to go under the chairs? So the next attempt was building a barrier by putting ceiling panels from the basement they both "destroyed",side by side against the chairs, but what happened was one day I accidentally knocked off one of the panels and it made a loud noise when it hit the floor, so I screamed real loud and my Mom came all alarmed and scared that I was hurt (I love her) and she looked at the floor and realized what has just happened. Learning that all these methods failed, they got the real children's gate for me. They also installed another smaller gate, that blocked the kitchen from the hallway. Wow, I do make things happen in this house! Check out the pictures of both improvised and real gates in this and the previous post.

Potty Training Continued

GO POTTY, Sushi, GO POTTY! I heard it so many times... It all started to sink in... all that routine, then the reward ( my biscuits), that I thought to myself: Well, If I go potty outside I will get a cookie. If I accidentally go potty inside, my Mom gets mad and takes me oustide and yells angrily: GO POTTY, Sushi, GO POTTY ! Wow, she got reeaaaally upset. She got about six paper towels to dry the pee wearing her cleaning gloves. Then she sprayed a cleaning product and wiped it off and then sprayed another one called OFF spray, so the smell would be totally removed and thus I wouldn't be able to smell the pee anymore and keep peeing back on the same spot. And I would do this to mark the territory, I am very territorial ! But, seeing my Mom cleaning my mess and all frustrated about the training,( I think) I felt guilty deep inside. I hope she understood that it was not on purpose. I didn't quite understand why she was mad, that's because if you don't catch me redhanded right on the spot, the minute after, I totally forget what I did and have no idea if the deed was right or wrong. Sometimes she would catch me " in action", and that rang a bell, oh oh, this is not right... but honestly when she caught me a bit later, I did not understand why all the drama. I don't have a great memory and bad moments just pass me by. I'm happy ! I also live in the present moment and even though she would make me sniff my own pee and take me outside to remind me of what I did was wrong... It didn't work! It was done, PAST! I don't keep punishing myself, that's the wisdom I live by. After a while, I wasn't sad because I did something wrong, yet I got sad because I could FEEL the sadness in my Mama. Ooooooh, I'm getting pretty philosophical here....

Please enjoy more naughty Me videos !

Potty Training

GO POTTY, Sushi, GO POTTY! I used to hear that phrase every 6 hours starting at 8 AM- that's so early for Mama, but I was hungry! -when I was released from jail (my den) to have breakfast and when I was done, Mama would wear her coat, hat, scarf and gloves and take me outside. GO POTTY, Sushi, GO POTTY! It usually took me about 20-30 minutes until I did my business, while my Mom froze in the cold St. Louis weather. She keeps telling me that she'll never have another baby in the Winter time because she's had enough with me. If she ever has to potty train someone else again, it's got to be in the Summer. As soon as I was done, she would pick me up ( I was too little to go up the steps to the deck that led to the kitchen) and give me a biscuit once inside. I loved it! When I finished eating,( in the carpet, it's so cozy...) I was put in "prison" again and there I stayed six more hours until lunch time at 2PM. Then, everything again, just like after breakfast. Same routine again after dinner at 8PM. Of course the best part was my biscuits! Lamb and rice, yummy! I'm so lucky my Mom was not working then, so she could train me and I could get my biscuits regularly. Take a look at the pictures/videos when I was this naughty boy!

The day after

It was a hard day for both me and my parents. We had to adjust to our new lives with each other and they also got a visitor at the house for the weekend. She was a sweet lady who went to University with Mom back in the summer of 1999 and was living in Chicago (she is the one holding me in the video below). Anyway, we all played, ate( I had my dinner, they had snacks), drank and took some pictures. They all left for dinner and left me alone in my den. When they returned, they were kind of upset I had gone number 2 in my crate, but I couldn't help it. They looked upset because before leaving for dinner, they waited outside in the cold for a good half hour and I couldn't do my business. But, they didn't reprimand me, and I loved that my Mom's friend defended me by saying that if it was one of them in my shoes, for those many hours they were out for dinner, they would have done the same thing. Daddy cleaned up my mess without making any "yuck!" faces and took me to the yard and told me a phrase that I still hear today, though much less often than in my 5 first months: GO POTTY Sushi, GO POTTY !

The day I was adopted.

I had about 12 siblings or so, and was kind of afraid of the day I was going to be taken home by my adoptive parents. Of course, I was comfortable with my life already, and all of a sudden, I had to be taken away from that to go to my future home in Saint Louis, MO. It wasn't a long ride, a bit less than one hour, but it was my first time in a car and I started to feel confined in the little carrier my parents had put me in on the back seat. So I started screaming to call their attention during the first 5 minutes of the ride. I was only 8 weeks old, but could definetely make a lot of noise, so they stopped the car and took me out of the carrier and I sat on my Mom's lap, which was lined with a towel, in case I accidentally went to the bathroom right there. I was curious, looking out the window and through the windshield. I really liked when we crossed the bridge over the Mississipi river and saw the Gateway Arch by night. It was awesome! My Mom held me on top of the dashboard so I could see all the city lights. Both Mom and Dad looked at each other and were happy to see that I got quiet and entertained with the car ride. We finally made it home and I played a little bit in the backyard and then was put in my den. That was November 18th, 2005. Please see pictures of me with Mom and Dad.

Introducing myself

This is me in my most recent snapshot.
Back to the haircut I had when I was a kid ( I think I still am one, age is just a number...)
I was born on September 17th, 2005 in Millstadt,IL to my real parents whom I will never see again. I will never see my siblings again either. That's because I was adopted on November 18th, 2005 by my wonderful parents whom I call today, my Mummy and my Daddy. You might be thinking, I'm only a little over 2 years old but actually I am about 17 years old now... shhhh ! That age is only known by me, other four legged boys like me, and my doctor. So, don't be so surprised that I am writing my own blog. I sometimes ask my Mom to revise or edit it, and it is so great I can count on her to help me put this together. I decided to write this blog because I think it's important to document my story at this time and build some memories as I grow older. At times, I just feel like expressing myself without the need to narrate any particular happening, but it all adds to what I will call from now on: My Pooch Life.
Nice to meet you all !