When a dog's gotta do...

Tobia: "But why did you have to kill that hornet? As long as you don't bother it, it will not harm you. And you could have gotten hurt, you know. They are quite dangerous when angry."

Peggy: "Nonsense, they are not dangerous, just very unpleasant. It will of course sting if you don't know how to do it but you learn. Well, some do, I did. I doubt you will, should you ever try."

Tobia: "But you still haven't told me, why you didn't just let it go."

Peggy: "Because it is easier to kill the queen now, this way you don't have the offspring swarming all over the place when they go crazy in the fall.
As I always say: If you just choose the right moment, the work will be so much easier!"

Tiles

Tobia: "Thank God for tiles. At least I keep cool on one side. This heat is really something."

Peggy: "I agree that it is too hot to stay outside and I only go when it's absolutely necessary. But sleeping on the cold floor? Probably you'll get arthiritis if you don't watch out and then what? I would be a little more carefull if I were you (luckily I am not!)."

Money

Tobia: "Peggy, you know that some of our conversations are recorded and then written down? Perhaps we should let the readers know that we are quite happy to have and audience outside the garden. It gives me a sense of being heard, you know."

Peggy: "Well, I am happy that at least here there in these pages, people will have a few sensible, down to earth comments, if they have the time to read it. Personally I don't see how anyone can find the time to sit down for hours in front of that little box."

Tobia: "But you sit for hours looking at what goes on next door.... Anyway, I would like also to thank our readers for clicking on the advertisement links. From the money earned this way we might be able to finally buy our own dog treats."

Guests

Tobia: "You really liked the one with the glasses, didn't you. You were quite excited when you discovered who were here for dinner."

Peggy: "Well, he is nice to me, so I'm nice to him! And I was doing it in a nice way, not like someone else...."

Tobia: "But perhaps this means that my master will be going away? Or perhaps the tall one. I don't know why but I have a feeling that there might be changes coming. I have yet to understand whether they are permanent or just for a shorter period."

Peggy: "I wouldn't worry about it if I were you. So far we haven't been left alone for too long; if the tall one is going away or your dear master for that matter, somebody else will take their places."

Water

Tobia: "I do not like it and I fail to see why we must take baths. It's not that we smell - not compared to my master when he comes home late at night. And he can take a towel and dry himself quickly. For me it takes hours!"

Peggy: "Well, I can't say I like it either. I would prefer a swim in the lake, but I guess it is part of the package, doesn't change anything complaining and he can't stop me from doing my after bath treatment!"

Violence

Tobia: "Oh no, he has taken out the saw again, I don't want to see it. Why does he have to cut down trees all the time? What harm have they done? I try to tell him but he just laughs and calls me a sissy."

Peggy: "Well, you are. If you really wanted to prevent him, you should bark and bite, not run away. Besides we yet have to see him cut down a tree, so far he has just been pruning. We are not talking deforestation here!"

Tobia: "Still, I can't help feeling for those ... beings."

Peggy: "Just like you did for the young bird, you caught last night - nah, you didn't catch it, the stupid thing sat there waiting for you and almost jumped into your mouth. And you got so confused that you spit it out again. And of course he arrived in time to take it away from us. You're a disgrace!"

Everybody talks

Tobia: "Another hot day! I really don't like summer but I guess I already told you. It seems like the weather this year goes to extremes. Earlier we had weeks of rain... or was it for days...? Anyway it was cold too and now it's hot."

Peggy: "You are beginning to sound like the news casts: "Another heat wave has arrived!!!", "Temperatures rising!, "Is there a risk of drought?" Don't they have anything else to shout about? So far I don't see anything strange, summer usually is hot."

Tobia: "I was merely pointing to the fact that the weather is becoming more extreme."

Peggy: "So what, they've made a mess of it and now we just have to take the consequences! And that doesn't mean sitting down doing nothing! There are ditches to dig, pipes to clean, trees to plant. I could make you long list but I don't have the time and they are not listening anyway!"

Barriers

Peggy: "You looked too funny when you came running and suddenly discovered that there was a pile of wood in front of the fence you wanted to jump! Your three brain cells were working overtime in order to decide what to do: brake, jump higher or turn. Well, it is better that you can't jump that fence anymore. Remember the times you did jump and then couldn't find your way back. You had to wait for them to come and get you."

Tobia: "I don't know what to think, really! When we came here, there was a big garden and we could go where we wanted. Now we can't go where they grow vegetables, we can't go near the road, we can't dig holes, we can't chase lizards, we cant talk with the neighbors, we can't greet passersby... Are we just allowed to sit and watch?"

Peggy: "Stop whining, it could be far worse."

Health

Tobia: "Are you feeling better? I was rather impressed by your taking ill last night. Of course I would be very displeased by the idea of you getting poisoned... although I admit that it would open new perspectives."


Peggy: "Well, if you counted on me dying just because I ate a bit of fertilizer, you are mistaken! It needs more than that to finish me off. And I didn't "eat" it, I just tested it to see if was any good!
Of course your master overreacted and took me to the vet. A lot of good did that do! I am not going to let anybody pay a lot of money just to feel my belly and put something up my rear end. I tried to tell that but of course your master wouldn't listen. And of course we came away 50€ poorer! That is dog food for more than a month."

People

Peggy: "Why do people let a dog into their houses and their lives if they don't want to or don't know how to take care of it? There ought to be a law against that!"

Tobia: "I am not the one to speak, considering that I have been fairly lucky but you can't really legislate for this kind of issue. After all, what goes on inside the 4 walls of this house is a private matter."

Peggy: "Yeah, but who is paying the price? Dogs that never get outside on a walk, dogs that are beaten up, dogs that are tied up!"

Tobia: "Are you getting older Peggy? You are showing a softer side that I didn't know was there."

Peggy: "Soft? and if you mean sentimental when saying older, you might as well forget it. I am not getting soft, I am angry! Somebody should do something but I guess it is just as I always say: 'If you want something done, you better do it yourself!"

Birds

Tobia: "Did you see it? I almost had it. It was so close, I could taste it! It could have been my first prey, I really don't count the ones that are still in the nest."

Peggy: "I saw it, don't get exited, it was a sparrow and barely out of the nest. My grandmother could have caught that one. And you didn't catch it, remember!"

Tobia: "You are just angry because you (for once) wasn't there to push me away."

Peggy: "Who is pushing who away? I just want to check that you aren't doing things, I wouldn't do. Remember, you are the one that always get hurt!"

Summer

Tobia: "Summer is back. Such a nuisance, I really prefer spring and fall. Summer is too hot although I must say that I am quite content about living in this house. The pavement is always nice and cool when I need to cool down."

Peggy: "Everybody talks about the weather but nobody does anything. Fortunately, I'd say. I would hate to live in a world where the weather was decided from Rome. For one thing we could be sure that the weather would always arrive late!"

Tobia: "What do you know about politics? You are a dog!"

Peggy: "I have ears and eyes, don't I? And from what I hear, Rome is doing just what Rome has been doing always: Giving bread and theatre to the people and saving their own bottoms. And what do we hard working creatures of the North get....? We are the ones that make this country run!!"

Neighbors vol 2

Peggy: "Hey, Tobia! Where are you going?"

Tobia: "I am going inside, I cannot stand conflicts, you know that very well."

Peggy: "But this time none of us are involved, it is Lupe (the neighbor) that is getting it! I wouldn't miss that for anything."

Tobia: "What is fascinating in watching somebody else's misfortune?"

Peggy: "Misfortune? if she did something in the house, she wasn't supposed to do, you can hardly call it a question of fortune, can you? And besides if she ever puts on airs again, we can rub her nose in this!"

Dogs

Tobia: "Why did the tall one get so angry yesterday? It is in our DNA to protect the territory and therefore we must bark and threaten every other dog that gets close. And being the bigger one - and the male, if I may add - of course I also have to protect you."

Peggy: "You're right about the protecting but stop pretending! Yes, you are bigger than me but that only shows when we are behind the safety of the fence. As soon as you are out on the street and we meet another dog, you are ready to jump up in the arms of your master! Chicken!"

Stress

Tobia: "It seems like the level of stress in our house has diminished. Perhaps we will now have days of longer walks, more cookies - or rather cookies, more time with my master.... I know it is often too hot, summer really has its good sides."

Peggy: "For one thing summer isn't hot this year, it has been raining for weeks now, not that I mind, you know. Second: Your dear master will probably be upstairs hacking away in front of that thing with the moving pictures, if I know him right. And the tall one will get annoyed and I really can't blame him. I mean, why on earth do you let a dog into your house, or two dogs for that matter, if you don't want to take care of them?"

Tobia; "My master does take care of me, only sometimes he is a bit forgetful and at other occasions he doesn't have the time."

Peggy: "Wrong, he doesn't find the time!"

Fairness

Tobia: "It is not fair that you can take the walks without leash but I am tied all the time! Oh, how grand it would be could I only run free!"

Peggy: "That's exactly why you are not let off the hook! You would start running and before your brain registered it, you would be miles away and you would probably not be able to find your way back. You should do like I do, always keep an eye on the tall one, you never know what he is up to!"

Tobia: "I know of someone that didn't keep an eye on my master last night, he found you on the couch, didn't he? It was your luck that it was not the tall one.... Why do you keep going on the couch anyway, you know they don't want us to."

Peggy: "Have you seen my bed? It's in great need of a new cover and as long as they don't give me one, I have to use something else and the only thing around here is the couch."

Tobia: "Who made the holes? Anyway, there is also the smaller bed, you know the one that was brought here for you."

Peggy: "Me? in the smaller bed? You must be kidding!!! I have my position to think of!"