Melissaki

Puppies grow up sooo fast. And labs are no exception. Melissa is getting stronger and more opinionated every day!

Shopping disaster :(

Today I had a shopping orgy on dog's accessories.
Yep... I bought:

• A Furminator brush for my lab's coat
• A shampoo to boost the shine of the coat
• A rubber brush for massage and healthy coat
• Pig ears for chewing
• Bones for chewing
• "shoes" for chewing
• Cesar Millan's book (the one on the left)
• A pink adjustable leash (e-stages,XL size)
• Matching pink collar
• Tag with her name and cellphone (mine, not hers)
• A 3m long lead of plastic and wire for tying her in the yard occasionally
• 13kg of Royal Canine food for junior labs (ouch, the price hurt)
• Treats in different flavours (beef,chicken,game,pineapple(!),vegetables etc) and sizes.
• A travel bowl for food/water
• A bag of biscuits
• A ball-toy

and last but not least cat food. Poor Sasha (the cat), he is not costing a bit compared to Melissa(the puppy).

OMG, it was a disaster of epic proportions. I spent about 250Euros while my salary for August was only about 300Euros. I think I have a real problem, I am officially a shopaholic.

At least I will not end up being the crazy cat lady in the neighbourhood since I spend on the dog rather than cats and also it is impossible to get more pets. 

About Cesar now. I am a big big fan. I have all seasons of the Dog Whisperer show and four of his books. The man is a genius. He is making training and living with the dog so easy and simple. The key is to be as close to mother nature as possible. Mimic the pups mother and be a leader so that the pup feels safe and grows with a right role model. Yes, I said role model. Have you seen how often dogs are resembling the owners? If the role model is an easy going, cheerful, kind and friendly type with proper behaviour, the doggy will grow as a friendly,easy going animal with proper behaviour around other animals and people, as well as around the house. 

Following Cesar's clues, my 7month lab is a clever,socially educated, happy puppy. I am "exposing" her in all  kinds of environments. We go to the centre of the city, the mountain, the beach, the vet's practise, to the river for swimming, in coffee places, in friends' houses and for play dates. She has many doggy and human friends and she has learned to sleep either in her crate or on my sister's/mine bed's feet. She is my little one, replacing the baby I can never have. Look, she has grown up:

Melissa with her chewing treat

Puppylicious

Keira. 

Chopin, Silvi and their puppies. 

Melissa, my ginger labrador

Irvin Yalom, the famous psychiatrist,  does suggest that human bond is one of the limited things that can relieve us from the anxiety of death and the only real source of fulfilment in our mortal life. During his work with several patients with terminal cancer or even adults with severe death anxiety, he used the human bond in order to put under control the overwhelming stress on the prospect of death.


What he has not explored however, is the second most important bond. The bond between animals and humans. Dogs and horses and rarely cats are offering a lot to cancer patients, giving them the sense of unconditional love and caring. They also drive thinking away from ominous, unsettling thoughts. 
Of course, none of these are news but one cannot overstress enough their importance in the quality of life of patients. Patients tend to feel lonely and lost in their often nightmarish life events, but loved ones and spending time with animals soothes these feelings and gives meaning to life.

After my second surgery, during chemo, I got Melissa, a ginger labrador, that changed my life. She is constantly causing chaos because of her puppy energy but spending one day without her makes me lose my smile. Sometimes we can her Meli, from the greek word for honey because she is the sweetest one, sometimes we call her Melissaki, from the greek word for little bee, because she keeps buzzing for hours over our heads. In any case, she gets tons of love, my spoilt little one.