The Labraventures of Carbón, Spanish (ex-) foster dog extraordinaire

Emily_Babbelhund

Emily_Babbelhund

Mama Red HOT Pepper
Location
Regensburg, Germany
Dios mio, amigos. Day four of Big Rain and no Big Walks. I am bored, oh so bored. Monkey is bored, oh so bored. And ML has taken so many online German classes that she forgot to speak English in Tesco this afternoon.

Could we pleeeeeease have some sunshine in Cornbeefwall this weekend? It does not need to be Spain or Italy or California sun because we love Cornbeefwall as it is, but just a leeeeetle peek will be enough my to put the bounce back into my handsome feet!

And de verdad, they really are handsome feet, no?

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Emily_Babbelhund

Emily_Babbelhund

Mama Red HOT Pepper
Location
Regensburg, Germany
Cath said:
Lovely nails Carbon
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Oh muchas gracias, amiga Cath! I work very hard to keep them perfect by doing my leeetle Spanish dance on the pavement after leaving my mark, if you know what a mean. A kick and a kick and "Olé"! I show everyone my style, and ML appreciates that she almost never has to cut my nails. The only time it gets a leeeetle dangerous is when we are on sand instead of pavement. Then ML gets very shouty when I kick sand in her eye. Lo siento, oops! But it is a reminder to us all (vale, mainly to ML) that beauty is pain. Or that she should know better after this many years with me and should simply get out of the way.

HAH said:
Signor, this made me snort wine out of my nose 🤣
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Imagine what it did to the poor person at Tesco. 😉
 
Emily_Babbelhund

Emily_Babbelhund

Mama Red HOT Pepper
Location
Regensburg, Germany
Ooo, amigos, I have a new hermana in Regensburg! I was very sad to lose the wonderful Señorita Fine last year, and spent all summer looking for her. Her ML Señorita Nadine was just not the same without her sassy chihuahua best amiga.

Pues, a new chapter has begun: welcome Señorita Maja, arriving home yesterday evening. She is a real Bavarian country girl and has already been so very inteligente to settle in so well. I cannot wait to meet her!

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Emily_Babbelhund

Emily_Babbelhund

Mama Red HOT Pepper
Location
Regensburg, Germany
M.F. said:
Oh nooo. I must’ve missed the sad news of Fine. I’m so terribly sorry. Maja looks adorable. And very tiny!
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Jacqui-S said:
Not sure I can remember hearing about Fine either. 😢
Happy to hear mum has a new baby.
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Atemas said:
So sorry to hear about Fine. Welcome tiny Maja
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ML here (as the Señor doesn't like to talk about things like that because amigos never really leave):

Thank you for your kind words about Fine. I'm not sure if I've said anything about her passing here on the Forum. I was really hoping she'd go on forever, or at least 'forever' in chihuahua years.

Unfortunately the last two years of her life, she developed heart complications. Nadine and Fine fought hard together, but she passed last February. The last year especially was hard.

Nadine always called Fine her 'off road' chihuahua. Even though she had a basket for her on her bike, that was really more for show as Fine regularly ran kilometres and kilometres next to Nadine on her bike. Nadine almost never carried her and she almost never had a leash on either. She'd just swan through Regensburg like she owned it - which she kind of did.

She was an absolute fixture in Nadine's clothing store and nearly everyone - at least everyone with a dog - knew the two of them as they were such a distinctive pair.

Brogan and I met Nadine and Fine our first year in Regensburg. Fine was less than a year old, and it was Nadine's first year in Regensburg (she is from Münich). Brogan at the time was the elder statesman, and Fine was the little upstart. But the upstart with RULES.

I knew Fine for three years before she permitted me to pick her up. And you didn't pick Fine up without her permission. She didn't bite ever, but she'd side eye you to death for even THINKING of her as a small dog who anyone could just pick up.

I got to dog-sit Fine a lot. The first time, she sat on the bed and I so wanted to cuddle her. Brogan wanted to cuddle her too. He loved chihuahuas from all the chi foster dogs I'd had in California. But you didn't just cuddle Fine. You had to woo her first.

She was like a little ice princess for the first hour she was with us, and I kind of wanted to cry. Then I thought, "Maybe she doesn't like that I'm speaking English to her." So I told her, "Bist du nicht ein kleines süßes Mäuchen?" and our friendship really began. Fine was a sucker for sweet nothings in German.

I'm very grateful for her last stay with us, summer before last. Nadine went on a work trip and left her with us for 4 days. I was very touched that she trusted me with Fine's many, many, medications and special diet. However it was hard to see what her health had done to her: she had attacks of being unable to breathe, and could no longer walk anywhere. We saw her last in early January, right before she passed away peacefully at home.

Nadine buried her in the Bavarian forest in a beautiful spot with a special headstone and flowers which she visits regularly. She says it is a fitting location for her 'off road chihuahua'.

Carbón has looked for Fine every time we've returned to Regensburg. Even this December, he still looks. When we walk by Nadine's shop, he will stop and stare through the glass door, as Fine would always run up to the door to meet him. He doesn't give up. I've pretty much started just steering him away from the street, but sometimes he digs in his feet, locks his knees, and simply MUST go by the shop to look for Fine. It just about breaks my heart.

Fine (pronounced "Feena") was Nadine's first dog. After she passed, Nadine declared that Fine was the perfect dog that she'd always wanted but now the dog era was over. I kind of panicked because I couldn't imagine Nadine WITHOUT a dog, but hoped that "no more dogs" was her grief talking.

I was very relieved when over the next few months, "No more dogs" became "No more dogs for at least a couple years" and then "No more dogs for at least a year during which time I'm going to visit Thailand," to "I'll get a dog in the next year but would like to visit you in Cornwall first" to finally "I'm going to visit a breeder with puppies next week, sorry about Cornwall.".

It sounds weird to say, but I've never been more thrilled to be NOT visited in Cornwall and thrown over for a chihuahua puppy!

It also feels like the cycle is turning: Brogan was 8 when he met Fine as a puppy. Fine was 8 when she met Carbón and now Carbón will be about the same age when he meets puppy Maja (pronounced "Maya"). Carbón can be Maja's elder protector just as Brogan was for Fine. Not that Fine or Maja need a protector because chihuahuas are FIERCE, but we can all use more good amigos in our corner.

I'd like to think that Brogan and Fine are having a good old time running free together, and are now two happy pups seeing Nadine with little Maja. ❤IMG_8661.jpegIMG_8665.jpegIMG_8730.jpeg
 
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Stacia

Stacia

Location
Malvern Worcestershire
So sad about Fine, but a lovely read about her life and what a great little character she was. Heartbreaking though that Carbon still looks for Fine. There use to be a couple of dogs walking on the common where I live, and old Labrador and younger Collie/Spaniel. The younger dog died first and it was very upsetting to see him looking for her.
 
Emily_Babbelhund

Emily_Babbelhund

Mama Red HOT Pepper
Location
Regensburg, Germany
Jelinga said:
So sad about Fine, but a lovely read about her life and what a great little character she was. Heartbreaking though that Carbon still looks for Fine. There use to be a couple of dogs walking on the common where I live, and old Labrador and younger Collie/Spaniel. The younger dog died first and it was very upsetting to see him looking for her.
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That’s very sad. It has to be so hard when the dogs live together. 😔

Rest assured that Carbón doesn’t seem sad when he looks for Fine at the shop, just eternally hopeful that she’ll suddenly appear. It just makes me sad because I know she’s gone. And who knows, maybe Fine’s giving him a little visit from the dog afterlife, as she used to love greeting him there in the window? Who am I to say that he’s looking at empty space, especially when he always stares down at exactly Fine’s height ? ❤

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