The Dog Wars

Meet Toby. Toby is a Bichon, 3 months old. Mimi is a Pekingese, 3 years old. They look rather sweet in this photo, so you would never guess that they are mortal enemies.

I have some American friends who live in my city. During December when I went to America for a month, they kept Mimi at their home. So since they got a dog a few months ago, it is only fair that I help them out to return the favor. Unfortunately, Toby is not house trained yet; this is really not the biggest problem; I have a mop and don't find it any big deal to clean up after him. The BIG problem is that the two would like to kill each other. More specifically, Mimi doesn't like Toby swatting her face, and Mimi would like to eat Toby for lunch. So, for two weekends in the past month, I have played referee to the two little mutts. I've tried separating them in different rooms, which leads to whining like you can't believe. When I took Mimi for a walk by herself, I could hear Toby crying from two buildings away and five floors down; Toby sounded like he was caught in a meat grinder; I'm sure the neighbors thought I was beating him. I stepped on Toby's foot, and he wouldn't use it for hours, so I had to take him to the vet on my motorbike in cold, windy weather. Nothing was broken. Anyway, the drama was rather overwhelming, and both times when he left, Mimi and I have collapsed. I didn't tell Toby's owners any of this drama though (just the vet visit)...I have to return the favor. They kept Mimi for 30 days, I've kept Toby for 7 days, so I figure I owe them another 23 (although I should get a discount for the fact that he's not housebroken and I have two dogs to contend with at once). :-)