I heard some exciting news that Karim is coming to Toronto. Karim is an Egyptian name that means “Noble and Generous”. Not only is Karim coming to Toronto from Cairo but Bob and Fay have put in an application to adopt him. Karim is a street dog and we were friends on the streets. Karim wasn’t always reliable but if in a fight with our pack he’d always have my back. I can’t but think this is all some sort of plan that Allah has laid out for me. Misery in Egypt and happiness in Canada.
A season called winter has come and it is so cold but it is fun if you forget about the cold! Bob and Fay have bought me a blue coat to keep me warm. I look so important when I wear it. If only the street dogs I left behind in Egypt could see me in this beautiful coat. It keeps me very warm. Fay wanted to try doggie boots on me but my paw pads are tough from the streets and they do not get cold. I do not like them so I will not wear them. What does bother me is when the big trucks come and put salt on the streets to melt the snow. If I walk in it my paws sting so I stay on the sidewalk and my paws do not sting.
What do I love about the snow and cold? I love watching it fall like magic from the sky. I love feeling snowflakes on my nose! And Dillie The Westie taught me a real neat trick called snowplowing. You put your snout in the snow and run getting your face all wet and it feels so good. But there are cold mushy days too and the sky is grey for many days which makes you feel sleepy. Sometimes it gets so cold Dillie and I can’t walk very far because our feet become frozen. If it is too cold for a walk we are put out in the backyard to do our business and it so good hopping inside the house cuddling up in our warm beds. Sometimes Bob makes a fire in the fireplace and both Dillie and I sit by the fire feeling warm and happy listening to the crackle of the wood and feeling the flames warm our body. What a strange country Canada is. So hot in the summer and so cold in the winter!
But before I forget there is a season here called autumn which is after summer and before winter. There are many seasons in Canada while in Egypt there was only a hot summer and a cooler summer. The leaves change colour so there is gold, green and brown and sometimes a flaming red. The days grow shorter and the sun sets earlier. This is all so new to me and I love it. I feel like I am in a BBC documentary about Canada.
It was late in the autumn when Bob and Fay picked up Karim for a two-week trial. I think this means if Karim is good he can stay with us. Karim was dropped off by the adoption agency at “our house”. We were so happy to see each other we had a play fight which frightened Fay and Bob until they realized it was playtime. Dillie used to play fight years ago but now thinks it is something “silly puppies” do. Karim made a big mistake after playtime. A stupid BIG MISTAKE!
You probably don’t know this but on the streets of Cairo Karim was seen as one of the leaders of the pack for the smaller dogs. He was the boss and you didn’t want to make him mad or you’d be thrown out of the pack. And if you weren’t in the pack you had little protection from the bigger dog packs or rival small dog packs. So Karim expected Dillie to let him play with some of his toys without asking Dillie. Dillie snarled at Karim and they got into a barking contest trying to show each other who was the leader of the pack. They didn’t hurt each other just sounding as mean as they could. Dillie is a sweet dog and I have never heard him snarl or growl like he was doing. Bob and Fay came down with a shocked look on their face. Fay said to Bob, “No one disrespects our Dylan like this! We are going to return Karim to the adoption agency tomorrow!” Bob replied by saying Karim must have been upset by all the changes in his life so he deserved another chance. Karim was sent into my crate to “cool down”.
I said to Karim how he had made a VERY BIG STUPID MISTAKE. Did he not understand Dillie was a brave and mighty West Highland Terrier whose ancestors were great hunters and brave fighters? Had he been living in Egypt during the times of the pharaohs he would be amongst the pharaoh’s personal guards. You are a guest in Bob and Fay’s house so show respect for Dillie. He is the leader of our pack and he is older and smarter than you. He knows how to deal with these humans here in Canada. You either show him the respect he deserves or you might find yourself back on the streets of Cairo!
Well part of fault here was mine as I never introduced Dillie to Karim and explained who he was. Karim quickly realized his VERY BIG STUPID MISTAKE. From that moment on he gave Dillie the respect he deserved and quickly started to fit into the family. You are entitled to make mistakes as a street dog from Cairo but you better learn from them as who knows who you might end up with or where that might be. I bit Bob on my first day at his house but I learnt from my mistake.
Close to Christmas all three of us were friends and I can remember on one of our walks all three of us were swaggering down the street like we owned it. This was the best pack of dogs ever! Three in one house!
Set the Bar 