Family Entertainment
Max had no excuse for his fits of temperament. He had a dog’s life to envy: Kind owners, lots of outings, a female canine entourage that indulged his male chauvinist ways. But then, it was probably all this attention that
Thursday, September 9 in 1993 was a hot and uncomfortable day. It was also another significant day in Max’s life, although we did not find out why until years later. We set off for our morning walk as usual, dropping
Max’s first day home included a walk with me, Hugh and Katie; Edna and her grandsons, Justin and Josh; and last, but definitely not least, Brandy. However, hotshot Max didn’t so much as say ‘Woof’ to Brandy, but simply tried
We took Max out for one last run around Treasure Island before setting off for Horse Lake. Max waited patiently in the wagon while we stopped for breakfast and shopped en route. He was itching for action once we reached
Max wasn’t sure about his first holiday. In spite of the fact that we were up at five, he missed his morning walk. Bewildered, he watched us load the car, after which we all piled in and set off for
In early July, Max had a very social day: first a visit to Dr. Zinger to get heartworm pills; and then to the SPCA to meet Carson Wilson, who was head of the Burnaby shelter at the time. Carson liked
Max’s behavior didn’t improve over the next few weeks, so I was very glad I had arranged an assessment at the SPCA. He was showing more dominance all the time, whining if he had to wait for his walk, and
Walking with Edna was not only fun, it was also a wonderful education in pack behavior. Although the base group on these walks consisted of Edna, Brandy, Max and me, it was often augmented by other humans and pets. On
Looking back on Max’s early months in our household, I often wonder that he turned out as well as he did. Some of those early diary entries sound like utter bedlam. April was particularly fraught, though the chaos was understandable,
When we were young, my brother and I read Arthur Ransome’s Swallows and Amazons and yearned to be like the adventurous children in the novel. However, as Londoners, our boating excursions were restricted to whatever was available during our annual