This week’s Méli-Mélo

Bentley the Kleptomaniac
It would appear we have a sneaky kleptomaniac on our hands. Bentley likes to collect things and hide them in his crate. We’re crate training right now so unless we have all our attention on him, in the crate he goes. This way, if we catch him doing something he isn’t suppose to do, we can correct him immediately. He’ll be in the crate for a month or two until he learns the rules of the house. For the most part, we’re pretty good at keeping an eye on him, but once in a while we’ll slack off, i.e., I’m just going to run upstairs to pee, he’ll be fine for a minute or, I forgot something in the basement, I’ll be right back. And that’s when the klepto strikes! His favourite steal is Mr Perfect’s slippers. Other things he’s stolen? A box of Kleenex, a dish towel, plastic cups, one of my slippers and a plastic cover for a juice container. The thing is, he never even attempts these things when we’re around. Silly dog.

Bentley the sleeper
We’ve had our big guy for a little over a week now and going to bed is now under control. He no longer cries when we go to bed – success. He does, however, cry bloody murder from 6 am until we get up. *sigh* So far we’ve been ignoring him and hoping this will eventually stop. He’s such a lazy little bugger too! It amazes me that a dog that can run 45 miles/hour can be so lazy! After our evening walk with the dogs, then are both done for the night. It’s hard to get either one up for the last pee of the night! Hah!

Pacha the little big sister
It would seem to Pacha that Bentley has always been around. It’s like she doesn’t realise that he’s new! They both get along great and Pacha is usually the one who initiates play when we are outside. It’s wonderful to see our little girl playing because it’s not something she does very often. She also seems to like Bentley’s crate. The other day I was getting Bentley ready to go to the vet and Pacha came up when she realised I had taken Bentley’s leach out. She knows they always go for walks together and she got excited for the potential outing. I told her no, only Bentley was going to the vet. If she knew the word vet, I know she would be happy she wasn’t going. I finish getting Bentley ready and turn around looking for Pacha. Where was she? In Bentley’s crate. She was like: “the big guy is going out? Woohoo! I get the big bed!” Tee Hee! Another thing she does which makes me laugh, is she’s always walking under him... like it’s perfectly normal for her to do so. If he’s in her way she won’t walk around him, she’ll just stroll under him. Hah!

Preceptorship – 66% done!
I can’t believe I’m two thirds of the way through my preceptorship! Holy crap! I’m almost a nurse! The preceptorship is going really well and the staff is even trying to convince the nurse manager to hire me... even though there is a hiring freeze. It feels great to be wanted. :-) Pediatrics is really my world.

My future – I signed on the dotted line
It’s official! I have a job in January. I finally signed with Hospital F last week and I was assigned to the pediatric department! I am so happy! Even though my preceptorship is with Hospital E, I’m really happy to have signed with Hospital F. For the time being, I think it’s a better fit for my personality.

I think that’s it for now!