News

This month I've been totally occupied with translations, studying and trying to get Sambo into a better mood, but now I finally breathe a bit easier, so it's high time I report the news to you. Despite of the predictions that weren't that optimistic Sambo did fantastically right until the last three radiations. That's when he started to show the first signs of weariness. Unfortunately that's when his state became more normal, therefore worse – he started being more tired, without energy, he got the typical burns, the tip of his lips and snout got depigmentated, his lips started peeling off… I think everybody expected the consequences to be much worse, but considering how well he got through almost the entire treatment it was still quite a shock for us when things started going the more conventional way…

At that time he looked like this:





About 10 days ago things started improving, his spirits started coming back, he became more lively, especially indoors (he was almost normal at doggy walks, so there wasn't any big change there, unlike indoors, where he was distinctly calmer), he started coming to us to get his head scratched more and more… His lips healed nicely, the pigment started coming back so he wasn't as pinky as before, but he did lose the hair around his whiskers (however, the skin stayed ok and uninjured there).



During the weekend the situation started being normal again – Sambo finally gave me the first kiss this year (and has been giving them ever since), he started barking more, moving further away from me on walks (before he stayed really close to me, a few metres in front or behind me, whereas he usually circles me at about 30 m on a familiar territory), he demands more action every day… Yesterday we took advantage of the first sun after a long time and tried out a dry shampoo on Sambo for the first time and then went to play ball on a field, all clean and sparkling, and took the opportunity to take some pics :).



We used today's gloomy weather as an excuse to cuddle big time



do absolutely nothing



(yes, Sambek wears socks/slippers at home),

and then we went for a nocturnal snowball fight :D



Last week we went to visit our regular vet, he examined him thoroughly, listened to his heart and checked his blood; everything's ok, the heart and blood are fine, all internal organs are supposed to be ok… It was about time for some good news. On Thursday morning we're going to do a CT, so keep your fingers crossed we'll get some good news there as well. I hope this year's first month has been treating you well too. I'm sure this year will be a fantastic one :).

Kind regards to everyone from us

Old for new

I change the old year for a new one, just as beautiful, but with a better ending. I accept all offers on my e-mail.



I wish you all a happy and most of all healthy 2009. May it be as doggish as possible!

Urša and Sambek

Weird reactions 2 or David VS Goliath

People are sometimes surprised at my sense of humour – I have lots of it, in every possible type and extent, and it can also appear in the most peculiar moments. I usually reply to their amazement by saying that if I didn't have such a sense of humour, I could probably ease the situations I find myself in only with a nice Smith & Wesson product…

Since my life has been totally overly monotonous and boring someone up there kindly decided to make it more interesting. This year has been absolutely wonderful (especially the last few months), so I got a nice finish to round it up, one that reminded me of the importances of 'coincidences' in my life. Živa and I decided to have a cartoon-watching sleepover to make the best out of the last few days of being home alone. We first agreed that Gregor and I would pick her up on our way home from the mall. But she said that would be too early, so we said I would pick her up when she is ready. Then she called and told me she would come by bus. So I wait and I wait, and she still doesn't come. Finally she calls to say that she's still waiting for the bus; since it was already past 9 pm I told her that I would come to get her. And I went – in a T-shirt, a light jumper and 10 year-old untied sneakers. When I came to the main street I saw a bus coming from her direction, so I pulled over and called her to check if she was on the bus or still waiting. She was waiting, so I started driving again and after 2 min come to the bus station where she was standing. I turned the right directional signal on(yes, that's the formal name of the blinker) and start turning right so that I would wait for Živa to come to the bus stop on this side of the road. However, while I was turning right I saw a bus driving behind me in the rear mirror. Since I couldn't stop so that I wouldn't obstruct the bus and since I know how much bus drivers love people stopping cars on bus stops, I looked ahead, saw the street was empty and turned the left blinker on so that I would make a U turn and stop the car on the bus stop where Živa was waiting. While I was turning the wheel, I looked over my left shoulder – and saw the bus going right at me without reducing its speed. We both turned into opposite directions, but a second later the quiet, empty street already resounded with a mighty Boom. My mom's poor Kia was thrusted right, I heard a loud crushing noise from the left – I assumed it was the sound of the bus running over something that was once attached to the Kia, and then all was quiet again. My first thought was to move the car to the right, but it wouldn't start. Then I thought of Živa and hoped she wouldn't run like a beheaded chicken, crossing the street and possibly getting run over as well. At last I remembered it might be a good idea to get out of the car to let everybody see I was ok (in the hopes that it was true) and check how's the bus doing. The girl on the bus stop was completely stiff and white as a ghost, Živa was running towards me with a face you can't imagine and and the bus driver was standing at the bus door, holding his head and cursing. It took me a while to convince them I was ok, the girl will probably avoid bus stops for the next few months and the bus driver calmed down when he saw there where no serious consequences on anybody. The reason for the collision was as moronic as it can be – as it was late at night I didn't think it was such a sin to make a U turn and I also wanted to get out of the bus's way as soon as possible. Since there was a person standing on the bus stop I didn't even consider the possibility of the bus not stopping – but it didn't, cause it was headed into the garage (that also means that fortunately the only one in the bus was the driver). All in all, an unfortunate sequence of events/coincidences that lead into a battle between the Kia and the bus; it's a tie, by the way /I hope that doesn't mean there's another battle to come…/

The Kia isn't that injured at all, the bumper fell unhinged on the left side and fell off without having a scratch and the left side is a bit bumped, but really nothing serious. In sum, a night that was planned to be calm and fun with cartoons and junk food developed into a night of freezing in my jumper at temperatures of minus something, waiting for the car tow to come and take the Kia away and for Gregor to take us home. Živa gave me a really weird look from time to time, so I asked what was wrong – she couldn't believe I was that calm, so I told her that it wouldn't be any better if I freaked out, so why do it. The driver was very glad to hear that; he was a really nice guy who tried to help me resolve the situation. In about an hour the car tow and Gregor finally came, so Živa and I could go home and watch Madagascar before falling into bed.

And once again I'm very glad that 2008 is almost over as it brings me more and more rounds of pure delight and I'm afraid I could soon overdose…

The greatest gift

I'm glad to report I walked into my quarter in the best company I could imagine – and I mean literally walked, as I was in the middle of our yard when midnight stroke, and spent the next 20min on a walk with Sambo. And realized I lowered my criteria with the years – I usually wished a good portion of snow for my birthday, the last few years I usually spent this day with a horse between my legs and often I would see a nice scarf or something and reported that to my nervous and frustrated relatives without any ideas. Well, for my birthday this year I got a black ciliate that rushes up and down and gives me a big grin every few metres. I admit, this is enough. But I also got a special bonus.

Sambek started with radiations on Monday – he'll have 12. i couldn't go alone through this, there's too much of everything, but at least here I saw a light at the end of the tunnel. They say you realize who your true friends are when you're in trouble and going through a hard time, and I got so many nice surprises these days I'm speechless. Thanks to everybody that is here for me, thanks for all the cheering for Sambo and me, thanks for all the help, the kind words and the support. It's awfully hard to find yourself in a hard situation that you haven't caused and where a happy ending isn't sure even if you put in all your effort. It's horrible to be standing beneath such a cloud, but when you see that many arms reaching for you it's much easier to step forward and walk until you get to a sunny spot. I believe we'll reach the sun soon, with your help too, and stay there until Sambo turns blonde like me and I tan so that I get black like him. Thanks again, you're the best.

So this year I won't wish all the best for me – I already have that. I have Sambo, Olaf, Gregor and all of you who stand by my side. This year I wish… I wish I get some socks that'll stay dry even after 100m of a doggy walk in wet grass, a good piece of cake and a massage that will cure my neck problem. I know, I'm very demanding, but I can upgrade my standards for the first 25 years of my life.

Thanks to all the ones cheering for us and thanks to Sambo for making my life better. I hope I'll live to experience many more birthdays in the company of your woof-s, toothed grins, paws offered for scratching (not to mention the hairy butt) and amazing energy and ideas.

Greetings to all of you, Urša and Sambo (sleeping at my feet)

Weird reactions

This week I realized that even my optimism and positive energy aren't unlimited. Luckily Sambo doesn't let himself be bothered, his optimism is obviously bulletproof. This weekend I took my agility group to a field trip for the end of the season and Sambo ran back and forth, counting his sheep with the biggest smile in the world. It was nice to see him that happy. Unfortunately his nose started bleeding again, hopefully because of the cold weather and all the running.

Moreover, this afternoon I became an orphan. It's been three weeks since my dad is gone and now my mom has joined him on the other side as well. They're fine I suppose, South America is really beautiful in this time of the year. I never minded being home alone, but since I'm not feeling that good it would be nice to have some company. Sambo is the best cuddling partner, no doubt about it, and Čompo is quite ok to talk to (even though he repeats himself too much).

On Monday came the first snow this year, but I somehow couldn't be as enthusiastic about it as usually. Winter, my time of the year, and snow, my big love, but the good mood didn't want to join me. The week passed by quite quickly, probably because I had something to look forward to on Friday – I had to have my wisdom tooth pulled out, what could be better. Surprisingly and totally unexpectedly this tooth pulling was the highlight of the week and I think it was the first time this week I had a good laugh. Gregor drove me to the centre, he went to find a parking space and I went towards the dentist's office, convincing myself I wasn't afraid and that this time it will be much less stressful than the first time (they had to remove the first wisdom tooth surgically and to do it, they covered my head with a white sheet so that only my mouth was uncovered, and after the procedure they took off a red sheet…). My wonderful dentist was already waiting for me, so we got to business. First injection, ouch. Second injection, double ouch. While we were waiting for the injections to start working, my dentist gave me instructions for the following days, among others which drugs I should take. In less than a minute he was sweating more than I was as I asked him if any of these drugs contain ephedrin as I once had a reaction to it – a flu medication contained ephedrin and after an hour of lying on the couch I though my heart was going a bit fast and my vision was a bit blurred. I took my mom's heart rate measurer from the table and it showed my heart was going a mere 200 beats per minute. Since the dentist wasn't sure what caused this reaction, he got pretty worried as the painkiller he gave me could also contain this substance. After a few minutes it was obvious I was ok, so he and the nurse started operation Wisdom tooth. And finished it too, because the tooth was out in less than a minute. But if you think I was out in a minute too, think again. I was so reliefed that the procedure went that quickly and painlessly that I just wanted to smile and laugh; then the dentist, poor ignorant soul, made the fatal mistake of telling me to bite together, but not too quickly and not too much because he still needs his fingers. He couldn't get nowhere near my mouth for two minutes cause I was laughing so hard the first minute he could only wait for me to stop, and after a minute he and the nurse started laughing as well, so they got incapacitated themselves. After I calmed down a bit I remembered there where two girls in the waiting room and that they probably haven't heard a roar of laughter from a dentist's office yet. So we started laughing again. Before leaving the office I told my dentist that the next time I have a bad week I'll come to get another tooth pulled out, it's definitely cheaper than shopping and I also get a good laugh at it. When I got into the waiting room the two girls where staring at me with such an expression of shock that I, of course, started laughing again. At that moment Gregor came, surprised I was already out, and laughing! We waited there for 15 minutes to make sure everything was ok with me (at least in the dentist sense) and then we went home.

In the afternoon it started snowing again. At first I didn't plan to go for a walk as it is still a good idea to avoid cold after such a procedure, but I changed my mind. Who knows how many snowy walks we'll experience, we have to make the best out of each one. And so we went. Two friends, together in the dark and the silence, which was interrupted only by the screeching of the snow beneath our feet. The streets have a special charm at nightime, even more so if it's snowing. I often call Sambo Waffle, and this night he surely looked like one, a waffle sprinkled with sugar; it's funny to see him, the blackster, sprinkled with snowflakes on the top. And he races around, with his ears folded back on hs shoulder blades and a big smile over his face, so quickly that his feet almost unbuckle… Without him I would never know the charm of night walks in the snow, even with a hole in your gums and a swollen cheek. Thank you for your company, Sambek, you're the best!

The blonde, the niggers, the ghost and the mouse

If you have read the last post you know Gregor went away and left me all by myself. But if you think I was a lone this month, you are way wrong! Yep, visitors just kept coming… But not the kind you would expect. Already when Gregor was still here we noticed something weird was going on in the house. He was working on the cmoputer and I was next to him, watching TV on the couch. And the radio turned off and on, and off and on. After a minute or so Gregor turned around with an annoyed expression and asked if it was really necessary that I play with the radio as well as the TV. I raised my hands and showed I was holding only the TV remote, while the one for the radio was on the couch, lying between us. This kept on for a day or two and then Gregor figured out that the radio turns on and off when you use the button to go down the programmes for the TV (but not if you go by the numbers). That obviously the frequences are mixed up. Ok, a totally legal explanation. But that wasn't all…

We returned to home to a playing radio, so that we accused one another that we forgot to turn it off before leaving home. Of course we couldn't agree on which one of us was the forgetful one – until one morning we heard from the bedroom that the radio in the living room suddenly turned on. And the next day again, at approximately the same time. ok, so maybe the radio has a timer about which we didn't know anything. The problem is that after a week we realized that the radio doesn't turn on every day and also not at the same time. Hm. This probably can't be explained with frequences, right? My friends tried to convince me there was something wrong with the (new) radio. Very well, I could accept that too. But then the day came when I went from the kitchen to the balcony across the living room. When I was halfway there, the TV turned on (the radio was off). Apparently this itself isn't interesting enough, so the TV turned on at one of the high budget, highly intelligent movies with Jean Calude / Dolf / Steven as the main character; this of course means that not only did the TV turn on suddenly and very unexpectedly, but it turned on during a machine gun blast, turning the bad guys into a strainer. I got so scared that I landed on the balcony in one jump and for the rest of the week I crossed the living room with a very sceptical face. Most friends were out of ideas at that point, only one still persevered that the (new) TV was busted as well :). As far as I'm concerned, there's only one explanation – we have a ghost. A ghost that runs the radio off and on, that one time (until now…) turned on the TV as well and that changed the broadcasting station on the radio a few times last week (and I have never done this myself, I only listen to one station). As you can see, even though Gregor isn't here, I'm not alone – if I don't find company myself, company finds me, even if it's a bit on the unmaterial side. Anyhow, Casper is having a blast, but is obviously a bit shy as he never turned the radio on while I was in the living room. Well, after two weeks of spending quality time together he obviously got comfortable enough and turned the radio on even when I was in the living room reading, and he even turned it off a few times.

Last weekend I went home to keep my mom company and before I left I said goodbye to Casper and ordered him to be good, watch over the house and not to turn the radio on since that would be uneconomical, with me being away for the whole weekend. I came home after three days and the house was completely silent. I took off my shoes, greeted Casper, put the coat on the chair and went into the kitchen to make myself some tea. Not even a minute passed by when the radio turned on :). Obviously Casper was really glad I was home again, I'm surprised he didn't bring me my slippers…

So there you have it, these are my adventures with my new friend, Casper. But he isn't the only visitor I had while Gregor was away. A few days after he left I went to the garage to get some chopped wood for the fireplace. I said hello to Olaf in the darkness and then heard a grating sound. It took me a moment to realize Olaf didn't get anything hard to eat so that he could be granting… I moved towards the end of the woodpile and realized the sound was coming from there. I followed the sound and found myself right next to it, but the little intruder didn't let himself be bothered, he kept nibbling at the firewood right until the moment I turned the flashlight directly into the rift between two logs where he was obviously hiding. I wasn't exactly crazy about the idea of my proprietorial rodent getting a roommate as the garage is stacked with nice, aromatic logs, Olaf's food and hay and the little cheeky fellow (probably a field mouse) unintentionally came into rodent Mecca, but I would prefer not to have a rodent colony in the garage. Anyways, the symbiosis lasted for about a week and then the granting stopped. My mom says Olaf got rid of his competition. But I know that it was Casper who helped me with the uninvited guest.

October news

It's been a while since our last report, but as usually that doesn't mean nothing has been going on in Groenenland. On Sunday, 12.10., the last RO trial this year was held; the Waffle and I fought against very good competitors once again. And won! For the second time in a row! This time I was really sure we didn't work that well and that our Croatian colleague, Tanja, deserved to win, but after seeing our video I realized we didn't do that bad at all. I would still deduct more points than the judge did and I still think that Tanja should have won, but I have traumatized about it enough at the trial, now I'm just hapy about our success :). The second big surprise was at home, when I took a look at our working booklet and realized our qualifications this year were disqualification, second place and then two first places. I didn't remember we were that good this year and I was even more happy about it because we were fourth alltogether this year, even though we attended only 4 trials out of 7.

On the 18th Sambo and I went to the last agility trial this season, where we enjoyed the nice weather and good company. A few days after that Gregor left us as he wanted some more vacations (and a break from us, probably), so he went to Morocco for a month. So, Sambo and I moved to Orle to guard the house, where I'm having a crash course in starting a fire and Sambo is making friends with the village dustmen and postman. But Sambo isn't the only one with a new friend… More about it next time.

This weekend we went to the last two shows this year. On Saturday we went to our international show in Vrtojba, where I worked as a ring steward and handled Bina, while Sambo and Ula competed in JH, where they were 5th. On Sunday we went to Zagreb to the Croatian specialty for BSDs. Sambo was entered into champion class, where he got an excellent, then we competed against the male from open class and won, and after that with our friend Essa, won again and so got CAC, club champion and BOB. After the judging of the Malis Sambo competed against the BOB male for the BISS title. The victory of the local dog wasn't a surprise, even though the judge's argumentation for it was very far-fetched to say the least. But this is part of the game and certainly not a reason for bad mood. Another reason to keep our spirits high was an older couple who came to me after the judge's decision and started appologizing for it, saying something like that should never happen, and I came from so far away, and how could the judge do that, how could that dog beat Sambo… They were certainly more disturbed by it that I was and I thank them for their kind support. At the end they did a competition in handling, so the presentation of the dogs was what was evaluated. Sambo and I won, to the great satisfaction of the above mentioned couple, so we got another trophy. I think such a competition is a very nice and useful decision as most exhibitors don't frequent to shows and don't know how to behave in the ring or show their dogs properly. A correct presentation of the dog makes the judge's work much easier and it certainly looks much better than a handler, lost in space, with a wild mustang jumping all over the ring. My compliments to the organizers, I truly hope they will keep up this kind of education in the future.

And so our competitory season has come to an end. We fought in agility and loved it, we fought in Rally Obedience, where we did amazingly well, and we fought in the show ring, where we also kicked some ass, and much younger, may I add. But now Sambo has to fight another fight; he will undoubtedy fight well and I believe he will win this one too. Sambo was diagnosed with cancer at the beginning of November, a nasal tumor to be specific. Apparently it is not the kind of tumor you should aspire to have – they are malign in 90% of the cases and almost impossible to operate; the good news is that we discovered it at an early stage, so I hope and believe that we will be able to cure it. Right now I'm gathering info, making the arrangements for biotherapy and in a couple of weeks we'll decide what to do.

Greetings to all Belgian lovers out there from me and the blackster, who's enjoying muddy walks and cuddling by the fire. And to finish, here's some pics of our 3 day weekend in Bovec from the beginning of October

Take care, Urša and Sambo

Even though I had serious back problems I decided to do some hiking – and so we went, in an absolutely beautiful sunny day, and came into a totally cloudy area where you could barely see the tip of your nose…



One minute of sun!





Sambo and Essa