A Contraband Sausage...

It's a Monday morning and to add to the normal gloom of having to get up on a Monday morning, I have added Sausage-stress to make it worse.

You see, my parents are currently on holiday in the UK visiting with family. They have five small dogs. I have three siblings. We decided to divide up the dogs for the duration of the two weeks between the siblings: My older brother took a chihauhua as did my sister. My younger brother got the two miniture Yorkies which come as a pair anyway. I got Sausage.

I love Sausage. I've wanted to have him come and live with me for a long time. Unfortunately, I'm beginning to realize that while I'm living in an apartment, this is not a good idea.

Sausage is very needy. This is my fault. I have spoiled him. He sees me, he thinks it's all attention, all the time. He likes treats. I give him treats. Then, when I leave him he howls. Literally. He barks too, a deep, heavy woofing sound that vibrates from within. In my parent's house, this is manageable behaviour. In an apartment, this is terrible.

The problem is, I'm not really supposed to have Sausage at least not without letting my apartment managers know and then I'm supposed to pay a deposit for him and an extra fee on my rent. Thus, since I haven't told them he's staying for a week, he's technically a contraband dog.

Sausage isn't used to apartment life. He isn't used to having people around he doesn't recognize. He feels the need to woof at them. He doesn't like strange noises which is why I'm careful to close my windows at night lest my CEO and her boyfriend have one of their interesting nights. He doesn't like me to leave him and he cries. And he barks. And he cries more.

This means my having to leave for work this morning may be a terrible mistake. I left him shut in my room with access to his food in the bathroom. The bathroom also has a tile floor which means should Sausage have an unfortunate accident, it's easy cleaning. I left him with the TV to mask the noise. I gave him treats. I gave him a pillow to lie on. Yet, my imagination is picturing Sausage howling his little head off, disturbing the neighbours and having the dog-police show up on my doorstep.

I'm hoping at the worst, the only people who can hear him are my CEO and her boyfriend in which case I can apologise profusely. Also, I think they owe me a wee bit o' noise given the thiness of my ceiling.

I plan on going home at lunch to walk him. Walking Sausage is interesting because he doesn't like to get his feet weet. Thus at night and in the morning, the grass is sodden with dew and he has to get his feet wet. I'm a little worried because he hasn't really figured out that it's ok to go outside on the leash. Yet the trouble with going home is that I have to leave any my worries about howling and noise will start up again.

I had planned on keeping him two weeks. Due to a commitment on Saturday, I can't take him to my parents until the evening. I'm going to try to take Monday off so that I can leave him at my parent's next week, have a long weekend and only abandon Sausage for a day before my parent's return. I'm hoping he complies with this plan. I can only imagine him whimpering with loneliness for that...is what he does.

I hate feeling guilty about a dog and yet if ever there was a dog to make me feel guilty, it's The Sausage. I only hope when I return home at lunch, my bedroom is in one piece and the door hasn't been busted down with someone's attempts to shut him up. I'll keep you posted.

Happy Monday.