Smoky Cogs

Noisette, our dog, used to belong to my mother. She first got her as a puppy in 2004, and right from the beginning, I was around for most of Noisette’s life.

However, 2 and a half years ago, my mom left South Africa to go study French cooking at a cooking institute near Paris, France. Unfortunately, Noisette had to stay behind, so Noisette our dog (Claudia and Cole having now entered Noisettes life as well).

All in all, Noisette has loved being part of our family and is a very happy dog, having travelled with us from SA to the Netherlands, but she still remembers her past well….

Yesterday, my mother and brother (who both now live in the Netherlands too) came to visit, and it was only the second time in 2 and a half years that Noisette has seen my mom again (usually we visit my mom’s house and Noisette does not get to come with on those trips). She was overjoyed to see my mother and brother.

Noisette really took it hard when they left though. Last night, instead of sleeping next to us on our bed, she chose to sleep by herself on the bed in our spare room, which she never does.

She really misses my mother, and now, even years later, and living in a loving home, she still remembers her younger days and remembers her original master fondly.

On the positive side, my mother is planning on moving soon from Haarlem to Almere, thus making it easier for her to visit us more often, and for Noisette to see my mom more often.

You certainly would be hard-pressed to find anything quite as loyal as a dog….

Noisette, our dog, has now been in the Netherlands for 2 and a half months, and has settled in quite nicely. She is enjoying discovering the new smells, new parks, and the new dogs.

There is a strange thing that happens every night though.

In the evenings, Noisette’s favourite thing to do is to snuggle up under her blanket on “her” chair and doze off, experiencing the occasional doggie dream along way.

Each night though, between 9 and 10pm, she wakes up from her sleep, dashes to the window and starts barking, and going crazy. The object of her excitement – a small grey dog (I think a Bishon).

The curious thing about this all, is that this particular dog is the only dog she ever does this for, despite there being quite a few dogs that go walking down our street. In addition to this she has never actually met this dog face to face.

Most nights, she is also at the window barking, while the dog is still a block away from our house, and not once have I ever actually heard any noise from the dog or its owner. The only way I know they are walking past is because Noisette goes so mad.

So then, why on earth does Noisette dislike this particular dog so much? And how does she know when this dog is coming past? Does she hear or smell something that I don’t?

I can’t answer any of these questions, but I do get time every night to ponder them.

Last night, Noisette (our neurotic staffie) was sleeping with Cole when she gave a single bark – which is normally her signal that she has heard something outside and wants to go investigate. When we ignored her, she came into our room and stood there next to the bed, waiting for us to notice her, for what must have been a good couple of minutes.

Then she did something I have never heard her do before. She gave a short yelp, and wanted me to follow her. She often wants us to follow her to investigate noises, but her yelp was a first, so up I got to see what was wrong.

Well anyway, she took me back to Cole’s room, and then stood looking at the window.

Lo and behold, standing on the windowsill, on the outside, was Garfield, our cat. He had managed to jump out the window, and then could not get back in, so was trapped out in the street (Cole’s room is street-facing).

The interesting thing about this whole story, is that Noisette seemed to actually show concern for the cat. I did not see the usual aggression when she was alerting us to the problem.

And to make it even more strange, Noisette and Garfield get along like…well…cat and dog. Garfield is always trying to swipe poor Noisette with her claws, and Noisette is always trying to chase Garfield. Your typical canine-feline relationship.

But I do think, after last night, that as much as they don’t get along, they are actually, deep down, fond of each other. Like most human families – they may fight a lot, but when it matters, they watch each others back.

The last few days I have been rather grumpy.  I am the type of guy that when I am grumpy, all I want, is to be left alone to think, and when I am ready I will bounce back.

However, this does not go down too well with Claudia, my girlfriend. She does not quite understand this and usually ends up making both of us feel worse.

But then when I came home, my mood immediately got better. Noisette, our Staffie, greeted me with her usual excitement. Unlike a certain woman (I don’t want to generalise in case I offend some poor woman out there) she doesn’t care whether I am grumpy or happy, she will give me the same joyful greeting irrespective.

Dogs have that special ability to understand their owner, and not hold against him his state of mind.  Maybe this is why man and dog has had such a close bond through the millenia. It is as though we are perfectly suited for each other. A symbiotic relationship like none other.