MARIO DIARIES: Mario's First Week

Days 1 - 3 (June 18, 19, 20)

I was able to adopt Mario a day earlier. (I was supposed to adopt him June 19.) I finally succumbed to the excitement of making Mario part of my family, and of course, having a new member in my animal barkada comprised of me, Doggy Black, my campbell dwarf hamsters Sushi, Sashimi, and Champy (Whole name: Champorado), and the wild birds feeding and hanging out in our garden (my relationship with them is very platonic).

Pictures of our Main Garden

My grandmother's got one heck of a green thumb. She could bring a wilting plant back to life if she wanted to. I'm secretly hoping I've acquired some of her green thumb genes because I want to maintain a garden just like hers, only with more flowers and vegetables, when I get a place of my own! ^_^

Training and Play Area.
This is basically how it looks like if you stand near the doghouse.

Main Lounge and Second Training Area.
There's another black table set further down towards the garage.
Mario loves to climb on that wooden sofa you see right there, while Doggy loves to hide under it.

Poop Area.
Butterflies and dragonflies love to graze this part of the garden.

Mario sat on my lap inside the taxi which was destined for home.

Doggy Black looked surprised when I entered the gate with Mario, and she started barking.

Ever since Whitie' s death last year, Doggy got used to having the areas all to herself. My family was worried Mario and Doggy would fight, so what I did was to try something.

I introduced the two of them by tying Doggy at the opposite end of the wooden sofa and held Mario by the collar. I asked my brother to stand near Doggy, just in case. Since I know Doggy's crazy about doggy treats, I took out her favorite milk biscuits and showed it to her.

She instantly gazed up at the treat in pure excitement. This consists of jumping up and down, literally, walking with her hind legs to reach the treat, sniffing my hand in an attempt to snatch the treat away from me, and of course, doing ALL the tricks she had learned in quick, consecutive succession when I haven't even started yet. She's funny (but still, no treats unless I tell her to actually do it, nyaw.)

With Mario beside me, we moved one step closer to Doggy. If she growled or barked, I didn't give her a biscuit. If she behaved around Mario or kept quiet, I'll give her the treat and praise her. (She's trained with some of the basics commands like sit, stay, chin on hand, up, lie down, and come.) We did this over and over until Mario's practically beside her. (Ah, and everytime Mario stepped forward, I also give him a treat. He was reluctant to accept the treat at first but he ended up liking it. =) )

When Doggy started sniffing Mario without growling or barking, I took that as a sign that she's curious. So I released her and Mario, and let them run around the garden. I let them be and establish themselves.

Since my grandma doesn't like the dogs roaming inside the house (she's in to glass decoratives), plus my mother has never forgotten the time she was bitten by a streetdog, the dogs have their own places outdoors.

Mario's staying where Whitie used to stay near the maid's quarters. Supposedly, he's going to sleep inside the maid's quarters, but the maids aren't used to him yet so my grandma decided to let him sleep outside for the meantime until he's trained to only make poopy and peepee on the grass.

Mario's place has a huge roof, thus, rain won't be a problem. I'm planning to build him his own doghouse before the cold season arrives, like Doggy's, sometime this year. Grandma also wants to expand Doggy's house, so we'll probably do that this year too. :)

He wouldn't stop barking and howling during the first night; he only stopped at around 4 am the next day (Day 2). Doggy joined his barks and howls, and the two had an all-night duet.

I thought it will take him a long time to adjust, thinking he's probably going through some canine emo because he's in a different environment. I mean, after years of living in the shelter and then finding himself in a place where he's accompanied by only one dog, and not twenty or so others....I figured it must be hard for him.

I interpreted his following me around everywhere I go, refusing to let me out of his sight, and peeping at the windows whenever I go inside to get some water, as part of his separation anxiety.

But Mario surprised me the next night (Day 2), because when everybody retreated inside the house to sleep he barked for a few minutes but remained quiet for the rest of the night.

He started showing signs of improvement yesterday. He'll still follow me everywhere but this time he would take the initiative to explore the outdoors on his own.

It's funny because when I looked up from my book (Night by Elie Weasel), I saw both Mario and Doggy running towards me with purple flowers on one ear. Seriously! This happened to Doggy often. I didn't expect it would happen to Mario too. I think they were sniffing a flower bush and some flowers got stuck on their fur. It's during moments like these that I wish I was holding a camera.

As of today, Doggy and Mario are getting along well. I took them for a short exercise beyond the gates this morning. :D

Doggy is still possessive of her doghouse, but Mario found a way around it so he wouldn't have to risk being chased by Doggy again. Hehehehe.

Mario loves being around people, and when he sees a person, he automatically gravitates towards him/her. He loves being showered with attention. (Naku! Dalawa na ang papansin bahay, hehehe!). He likes standing on the wooden sofa to take a peek inside the house.

There are still habits he needs to learn and unlearn, but so far he's adjusting well.

Mario had his first home-bath yesterday. I noticed his fur was stiff and he's got this strong distinct smell. I bought him his own shampoo/conditioner and other grooming materials, including a towel. His fur has this white dust that I hope would eventually disappear. I took out this nasty tick clinging to his neck (yikes!), and praying he didn't have more, I checked everywhere for other skin parasites. To my relief, there were none.

After the bathing, I brushed his fur and noticed its texture had become more soft and smooth to the touch. (Nakaka-adik na hawakan.)

If only aspins were recognized as part of doggy shampoo commercials, puede na! (I hope you don't mind the plug-in jokes. I tend to be corny.)

Here are some photos of Mario. Only three out of twelve got developed, but I hope this will do for now. I'll take some more pics next week. :)

Days 4-7

Mario's new leash.

Mario is becoming more and more independent when it comes to exploring the garden.

Doggy and Mario love to stay beside me when I study at the lounge, and sometimes, both would fall asleep. Everyone noticed he's a very affectionate dog, including my boyfriend who said, "It's the first time I've seen a dog that affectionate especially when he looks at you."

Mario jumps and stands on his hind legs whenever I approach. Doggy had also become more comfortable with Mario. She would even follow Mario around. :)

Mario had his first training session Day 5 (Friday), and I'm happy to say he has learned the "UP' command, special thanks to the discovery that he's crazy about chewy snacks.

I also try to make sure he poops and pees on the grass.

Since it's the first time Mario joined our training, Doggy was wary of Mario at first but she eventually warmed up. :)

We'd play afterwards. Mario and Doggy's favorite game is for me to try to chase them around the garden, but I instantly lose once they start using the table as some sort of blockage, making it impossible for me to catch them because they're much faster than I am. I usually resort to bribing them with their favorite treats or distracting them with a toy.

Mario's a wonderful dog. Adopting a dog, especially an older one, is one of the greatest experience I ever had.

Rest assured everyone will still see him since I'll still be doing the best I could to help the organziation uplift animal welfare in our society. More power to PAWS!

Ah, by the way, Mario's asking me to send his love and gratitude to PAWS and PARC.

The computer's all yours Mario! What would you like to say to those nice people from PAWS who gave you special and loving treatment while you were in PARC?