Things that go bump in the night!

Hugo doing press up with Toby

A couple of weeks ago Akita Rescue and Welfare needed a home check doing in our area so Martin and I took Hugo and Pip along one afternoon to see the potential adopters.   When we got there the lady of the house was in but her partner had not yet arrived home from work. We sat in their living room, Hugo and Pip making themselves at home and taking great interest in the tropical fish swimming around in the tank - a few nose smudges left behind as evidence . A few minutes later the lady's partner arrived and come through the door. Miss Pip barked loudly at him and we had to tell her it was OK, it was, after all, HIS house not hers!! Later on, we were standing in the garden chatting when, again, she suddenly started to bark at something but this time in the house. Was it some burglar coming through the window or an axe murder about to attack everyone in sight? No, she had seen her own reflection in a mirror and didn't like what she saw!! Typical girl.

Last Monday my parents came down for the day and, knowing that Pip is rather nervous of my Dad, they came armed with two big hide chews to try and win her round. Hugo did his usual greeting, all waggles and excitement and was very happy to receive his chew from Mum and take it off in the living room. Pip, on the other hand, took one look at who was coming in and dashed up the stairs. She stopped near the top and Dad held out the chew to her - she crept down a couple of steps, grabbed the chew off him and ran into the bedroom with it. However, towards the end of the day she actually sat by him for a few minutes so think she might be beginning to thaw out a little bit.

Pip asleep on her snake

I had a bit of a sort out our bedroom the other day and had left a carrier bag containing some old underwear on the floor, ready to throw out later. At 5 o'clock in the morning I was awoken by a noise and could see it was Hugo, trying to bury his chew in the carpet - stupid boy often does this and wipes his nose back and forth as if it will disguise where he has hidden his treasure. Usually Pip is watching and instantly goes and gets whatever it is he has buried. However, this morning he used a bit more cunning but it wasn't until I got up in the morning I discovered what he had done. He had pulled out one of my old bras and placed it over the top of the chew so it was completely hidden - clever boy this time!

Hugo looking worried - a fly has
 just entered the building!

On Thursday morning I was awoken at 3.30am as it was just getting light by Hugo and Pip running madly up and down the stairs, skidding along the hall (we have just had laminate flooring down there and in the kitchen so the skittering, scrabbling of their claws trying to get a grip is very loud) and charging back up. This wasn't their usual reaction to someone coming in during the night (Daniel or Toby) or phantom burglars, this was excited, we-want-to-get-it-and-play-with-it noise. By the time I got out of bed to investigate Hugo was hanging out of our bedroom window, having flung it wide open, and Pip was standing looking out the landing window which was also open. I can only assume that next door's cat had had the audacity to look in through the landing window. I suspect it won't be doing that again in a hurry!