Cami's in da House

Ms Owner told me that I had company for the long weekend, but she didn’t say who, which left me wondering … was she finally going to get me a pet cat?? … or a pet mouse? …or a rabbit? … or a seal??!!
Nothing of that sort, was Cami the Cairn Terrier and she’ll be bunking in with us, which was pretty cool as this was my first opportunity at playing host. This lady is a tiny, compact ball of fur with the most coy and innocent looks ever … if you manage to see through all the black fur. But she’s also a terrier which means don’t mess with her, as she’ll not hesitate to spring her wrestle-mania moves on any dog who is way too frisky or overdoes the butt sniffing bit. Sounds a lot like me, which is why we do get along very well.

Cami is from the suburbs of Subang, so was up to me to show her how to adjust to life in the fast lane and bright lights of KL. Lined up a jungle trek at Gasing Hill on Saturday, where we bumped into Chan and Kimi the JRT. Cami n Kimi haven’t done any trekking before, so was a real eye opener for them. We had a grand time tugging on the leash and pulling Ms Owner all over the jungle path, stream and hill … if there were sled dogs in this part of the world, we would surely be first in line to enlist.Also showed Cami how to navigate the fallen trees safely … would normally just hurdle over the logs, but since there’s a lady around, decided to gently tread over in a civilised manner. She chuckled at my demure attempt and told me to revert to my oldself.Took photos … and here Mr Owner got all artistic and decided to go for the ‘Leaning Tower of Pisa’ effect, which meant that we had to pose for a long, long time.At the hill top platform, Ms Owner then decided to test our ‘Stay and wait for the Biscuit’ release and we were just a little bewildered how a jungle trek can turn into an OB session midway. Yup, humans do have a strange preoccupation with testing our stamina for staying still, no matter what the occasion.

Also showed her my mode of transport around town, my owners’ Renault, and how to enjoy the coolest car ride but she seemed more interested in the gear stick. Shared the front passenger seat with her and as she was more rounded, she naturally took up most of the seat, leaving me with standing room only. At times, when I was too tired, I even sat on her bum but she didn’t seem to mind. I didn’t mind as well cause it was a rather cushy spot.
Took her out for dinner at the Magnificent Fish n Chips Shop in Bukit Bintang and she immediately indulged in the human pastime of people watching, as they walked by the bistro. She tends to be way too friendly with humans and proceeded to hop and greet every customer that walked in. Well, she still has a lot to learn about appearing cool and assuming when in public, especially when lounging at cafes … which I’ve got down into a fine art.

Later on, we went for a stroll along Jalan Cangkat BB and Jalan Alor, which was crowded with tourists stuffing themselves silly with hawker fare. Many were bemused as was quite a sight to see 2 terriers trampling along Jln Alor, taking in the smells as if we were also on holidays.At home, when she’s not scouring for treats, she’ll be napping or just bumming around, which is her No.1 pastime. Very low maintenance and easy to care for, says my owners. Don’t know bout the low maintenance cause she does like to eat a lot and she is always eyeing my dinner bowl, just waiting to lick up the leftovers. Also maintains a constant surveillance on the fridge, waiting for the door to be opened.In addition, she does this a lot … the ‘attention seeking belly rub’ gesture, especially when she gets into trouble. My owners are softies and easily bought and coupled with that ‘pity me’ look in her eyes, she just about gets away with anything. That said, she’s actually very well behaved at home.

Next couple of days, we had a packed schedule … went for dim sum at Damansara Jaya, shopping at Ikano Pet Safari, tea at Fork n Spoon café, agility at YMCA and runaround at BU Central Park. We bumped into Hannah d Malinois, Venus d Min Schnauzer and a couple of dogs playing at the park, so we joined in.
Like me, Cami is also fixated with her special toy, her frisbee. This really gets her going and she’ll be barking and scampering around the grounds like a maniac in pursuit of her frisbee, putting on impressive hang times to consistently snatch the disc from the air. And boy, is she consistent … I hardly noticed her missing a catch, sweet. Will not give up her frisbee for anything in the world, and even took on Hannah in a race for the disc. Even when she’s taking a breather, she’ll lie flat on the disc so as no one even gets a sniff of it … and I thought I was obsessive with my toys.Fourth and final day of her stay over and we did attempt to play with each other, but only for awhile. Her owners joined us for banana leaf rice at Bangsar and she was way too excited to see them. Thanks for the neat collar from Spore, guys.

Finally, I have the passenger seat all to myself again …