Our dog turns out ok

Hi everyone

We have to tell you, after having had Princess for about 20 weeks it turns out our dog is not half bad. I mean we put all our trust in André and Sue when they picked her out at the shelter but they did a good job choosing our new pet. Princess doesn't bother us a lot and we kind of got the rules laid down by now.

True, she still tries to play with Trapper here but she makes sure not to hurt him. When she jumps on him for example, she makes sure her paws land on either side of him and not on Trapper himself. He only gets scared a bit when she tries to grab on to one of his paws and pull him off the couch. Yeah, she is gentle when she gets a treat from André or Sue and so far she's never bitten Trapper, at least he's never screamed. But he does not like it a bit when she tries to get a hold of him by grabbing on to him.

Well, how would you feel if she would tray to drag you off the couch? I bet you would hiss and growl at her to let go. As a matter of fact you do that anyways to keep her at a distance. Then again Sue caught you on camera laying there on the floor next to her and all was well. No fighting or anything. Admit it, you are curious about her as much as I am. I've seen you sneak up to her and sniff her and you walk by her as if you two had known each other for a long time and settled into some kind of relationship.

Yeah, you got me there. I don't like to admit it and hiss and growl at her when André and Sue are watching but when they're not, I get along with Princess ok. It's not that she does much for us. I mean she's not serving us or something and she gets to go out with André and Sue a lot. It's is a mixed bag with her really. On one side she takes up space in our fifth wheel and she gets to go places with André and Sue all the time. They have gone out for hours or even days at a time a lot lately and she always got to go along while we had to stay home. On the other hand who wants to drive around in the car just to see stuff? Not me! I actually prefer to stay here and snooze away and I know you do, too. Princess going with André and Sue means that we have the fifth wheel to ourselves and can do whatever we want.

Right. And you just said it: André and Sue are going out all the time lately and we used to be a little concerned about them. What if they didn't find their way back home or something happened to them? Who would take care of us? From what we hear Princess has become somewhat protective of them. Now we have to worry a little less. She's gotten into the habit of trying to chase big animals away when they come too close to André and Sue. Just yesterday for example she barked furiously at some wild buffaloes in Yellowstone National Park. They came to within a few feet of the two and Princess decided this was close enough and tried to chase them away. Not bad if you consider how big those beast are! So even if she doesn't do anything for us directly, she at least tries to make sure our servants are save. That's one of the benefits of having a dog and we are pleased that we didn't get her for nothing. Now if only she would learn to take our food dish and drop it in front of André or Sue to make them fill it like she does with her own, that would be a nice touch.

See you around

hunter and trapper

PS: don't forget to read André's and Sue's blogs (listed on the side), too and to follow our trip on Google map and on facebook. You can also check our web site for more pictures.

Grooming by Sue?

Hi everyone

We have to file an official complaint against Sue today. Really, what she did to Hunter is unacceptable.

Yes, it is really bad and I don't know what has gotten into her. Just look at the picture. This is our proof of the abuse I had to suffer. First she left us for almost 2 weeks and flew to Switzerland on a joy-trip. Not that we had a bad time. We were on the road from Chicago to Delburne Alberta with André and if it wasn't for the fact that we usually lay under the couch while driving, we would have seen a lot. André also took very good care of us and Princess was kind of nice, too. As a matter of fact Sue thought that our relationship with the dog had improved quiet a bit by the time she finally returned.

So André was doing a lot of driving and it isn't surprising that at the end of those days he was tired. And while he looked after us very well he didn't have the time to comb us every day. This led to Hunter here having a big knot in his fur right at the neck. Probably from wearing his necklace. Anyways, Sue found that knot and quickly decided there was no way of combing it out, she had to take the scissors to it.

She did so, leaving me with a huge bold spot on my neck! I can't go out looking like this, it's hideous. And I am kind of concerned that I might get a sunburn on the exposed skin if I lay in the window or outside for too long. How could she have done that to me? At the same time Princess got the royal treatment at the doggy spa at Petsmart in Red Deer. Bath, manicure, ears cleaned and some trimming of fur.

Yeah, and she got all this done by a professional groomer! Now that is a double standard right there. We get disfigured by Sue and Princess gets spoiled at the spa. At least Sue took us out for almost an hour today probably to make up for her behavior. But she better watches out. If she keeps doing this kind of thing to us, we just might decide to pack up our stuff and leave! Seriously!

Now, slow down a bit, Trapper. It was me getting disfigured so I should decide on what to do about this. And threatening to leave might not be the best way to deal with the situation because it would mean that we have to walk all the way back to Ontario and I'm not sure I want to do that. It would be a long walk with no certainty of food, water or shelter. I'm pretty sure that we would arrive with pretty sore paws, too, if we manage to get there in the first place. So some different action may be required here. Let's think this through and not jump the gun - it might backfire!

If you say so, pal. But she better not do something like this to me or ...

See you around

hunter and trapper

PS: don't forget to read André's and Sue's blogs (listed on the side), too and to follow our trip on Google map and on facebook. You can also check our web site for more pictures.

Why?

Hi everyone

Guys, we need some help here. We are somewhat confused about several things and just can't figure them out. Maybe you can help us.

Yes, it all started in Florida. We had a great time down there but it was so different from what we used to know. First of all it was supposed to be winter but it was warm all the time and we didn't get to see snow. Not a single flake worth! Still our winter fur did grow in and so we figured that maybe winter in Florida was coming latter. So we waited and waited and waited but no snow was coming. And now we're shedding our winter coat and our summer fur is growing. I mean, we don't mind the warm weather but what if now that we soon will have our lighter coat the cold will arrive? We will be freezing! Does this have anything to do with climate change? People make a big fuss over that and now it has us worried, too!

And if that was not bad enough, we simply can't figure out what's happening with our walks. Again it started in Florida. Sue would take us out on a regular basis, almost every day to tell the truth, and we did enjoy that. Over time she became more and more reliable about it, too. Then she and André adopted Princess and we got the feeling that our frequent walks were kind of a bribe to make up for that. Though we are getting used to the dog, we still much prefer not to have one. Problem is, there is nothing we can do about it. Princess is here to stay. So we thought that maybe this would mean continuous daily walks and we sure would take those. I mean take a little, give a little, right? Less space for us in the fifth wheel, more time outdoors. Not as good as having no dog but still not a bad deal I would say. But in the last week that did not happen anymore either! What is going on here? The dog gets to spend a lot of time outside, tied up to a small tree and on at least two long walks per day and we are stuck inside except for a couple of times a week. It just isn't fair!

Sue says it's because the ticks are out and she doesn't want us to catch any. As if she ever let us catch anything! If it moves, she hightails it. Especially if it's a snake or a big spider. But we are very worried that the ticks are just an excuse. Maybe she is too tired to walk with us because she does that with Princess now. Then again we think she would be fair enough to let us have some fun times outdoors as well, wouldn't she? But why then make such a fuss over ticks. We don't even know what those are. Could somebody please explain that to us or better yet, talk some sense into her? We really like the outdoors and don't want to be stuck in our fifth wheel forever! Please help us!

See you around

hunter and trapper

PS: don't forget to read André's and Sue's blogs (listed on the side), too and to follow our trip on Google map and on facebook. You can also check our web site for more pictures.

Jewelry and such

Hi everyone

Once upon a time jewelry used to be for women, or so we've heard. And tattoos were for bad guys in jail or motorcycle gangs. We have to tell you though, this seems no longer to be the case. How do we know? Well here in Florida it is so warm, and we absolutely love it, that just about everybody is dressed in T-shirts and shorts. Many guys also wear tank-shirts and many women spaghetti-strap shirts which expose tattoos. Jewelry is supposed to be seen anyways so it is not hard to spot guys with necklaces, bracelets, rings and even ear-studs. We, too have some necklaces. As a matter of fact we each have two of them since Sue bought us a new one about a month ago.

That's right, we now each have one with a pendant that has our respective names on one and Sue's Canadian phone number on the other side and one with our names and Sue's US phone number both on the same side. If I recall correctly we explained that to you in an earlier blog. The second pendant became necessary because Sue for some reason has a different phone and phone number here in the US. We think it has something to do with roaming although we can't figure out how her phone would wander off. It's a thing not a being and we have never seen it move all by itself. Anyways, it seems to be perfectly normal for guys to wear necklaces, André has one too.

He also has two tattoos, a bracelet and an ear-stud and while tattoos and bracelets seem to be fairly common, he is the only guy we know who has had his ear pierced. It looks good on him though, we have to give him that, and somehow he can carry it off. Sue has had her ears pierced which is common in women but she also has a tattoo, something one doesn't see so often. Would you ever get an ear-ring or a tattoo, Hunter?

Are you nuts?! Why, for crying out loud - literally - would one go through all the pain to get poked with needles? Sometime we can only shake our heads. Besides who would see a tattoo under all our fur? You are not seriously suggesting to first get one and then have to constantly shave our coat for it to be visible? We would look just ridiculous. And we both dislike needles. Let's stick with our necklaces and leave other jewelry and tattoos to the humans.

Agreed, and we are so good-looking that wearing all that stuff would actually take away from our stunning looks. Let's forget about it and go play-fighting for a while and then we should be entitled to some treats for writing this blog.

See you around

hunter and trapper

PS: don't forget to read André's and Sue's blogs (listed on the side), too and to follow our trip on Google map and on facebook. You can also check our web site for more pictures.

Fall is coming

Hi everyone

We have settled so well into our new life that we actually do what we had planned for André and Sue: relax and live one day at the time. Well, you might think, isn't that what cats do anyways? Maybe some or kittens who don't know any better or old cats who think they've seen it all. But not us. We are at the prime of our lifes and have a lot to see yet. So we have a lot of thinking to do. I mean not only do we have to make all those important decisions but we also have to constantly figure out how to get André and Sue to do what we want done or to go where we want to go. So an unscheduled stop like the one at the truck stop where our car broke down, really poses a serious problem.

That is so true! While we were stranded there we got bored because André and Sue were not around most of the time. They had abandoned us for the comfort of a motel room. It's understandable in one way. There was no electricity in the fifth wheel and hardly any water in the fresh water tank. For some reason they had come into the habit of traveling "light" in that respect. A couple of batteries for emergencies, minimum of fresh water and empty waste water tanks. Saves on gas but has its drawbacks as we came to realize. Anyhow, when they were around Sue wouldn't even take us out for a stroll. She was afraid that all those big trucks constantly coming and going would spook us. And she might have been right. They are huge and loud and we are so small. How would the drivers have seen us?

Though it probably was saver this way, it was boring as Hunter here just said. One can watch those big rigs only for so long before that, too looses some. So we were condemned to sleeping, hanging around and hoping that André and Sue would come spend at least a little time with us. You can understand that we were extremely excited when we finally hit the road again. Now we are back in the old routine and just drifting along in life. A couple of nights here and there, the usual inspection of a new place, making sure we get our treats and taking it easy in general. With fall the days are growing shorter and temperatures are dropping and we enjoy the comfort of the fifth wheel. Looking out the window we can observe the changing colours on the trees and when we go out for a walk there are now different smells in the air. Soon it will be colder even and we have to plan for the winter. Should we change fur or would it be better to somehow get André and Sue to drive south rather than north (as they do now) and keep the warm-weather fur on?

We like the warmth and therefore would prefer the second. We would also like to travel further and see more. This means that we are currently working hard on getting André and Sue to understand that the south is the place to be in winter. Florida maybe or some place like it. Just as long as we get to go along which excludes destinations where one has to fly. Flying would be horror for us. So we are happy to see that the two have been looking at maps of the southern US lately. We will find out soon. From what we gather, we will go back to North Bay in the next few days but will stay there only two or three weeks. After that we will find out whether or not André and Sue got the message and are headed in the right direction.

See you around

hunter and trapper

PS: don't forget to read André's and Sue's blogs (listed on the side), too and to follow our trip on Google map and on facebook. You can also check our web site for more pictures.

It's apuzzle

Hi everyone

This week we have to tell you about a phenomenon that keeps us wondering. We just can't figure it out. Here is what happened: Sue kept complaining about being hot and then two days ago this thing happened. She and André went to town and when they came back we hardly recognized Sue.
Her fur had come off and grown back in a matter of a few hours. But not just that, it had grown back much shorter and the colour has changed too. Her fur is now shorter than ours! We just can't figure out how that works. With us it's twice a year that we loose our fur and grow a new one and it's predictable when that happens - in spring and in fall. Period.
Humans are so different. First of all they only have fur on their heads (André doesn't even have that) and for that reason kind of look funny anyways. Second it seems they can change it at any time they want. We don't know if that really is the case or if it's just coincidence. And then it never seems to grow back the way it was before. It changes colour and is shorter. Almost like they loose it and then it grows back partially in a hurry but then it keeps growing until they decide to change it again. This is so complicated. With us it's simple, change it twice a year, same colour, same length everything.It's a real mystery. Have you ever thought about what you would do, Hunter, if we could change fur at will?
Not really, but if one looks as gorgeous as we two do there really is no need to change anything. It could only come out worse, don't you think?
True! And with that we leave you for today. We don't know when we will be able to tell you more about our travels because André and Sue keep talking about going into an area where there may be no internet but hopefully we will be connected again in a few days or a week or so. Boy, this makes me realize that we truly have become cybercats1 Who would have thought that?!

See you around

hunter and trapper

PS: don't forget to read André's and Sue's blogs (listed on the side), too and to follow our trip on Google map and on facebook. You can also check our web site for more pictures.