Epilogue

Mischa asked me to write a few words for her after she went on to see Paisley, over the rainbow, as they say.

It's been tough for Richie and Christine for a little while, and especially over the last week or so, as we've all known that Mischa wasn't well. I could smell it, and they could tell by her behaviour and lack of appetite that things were amiss. But Mischa was a stubborn character - even with her bad leg, she'd try to run around the backyard and even tried to take a nip out of the mailman yesterday!

I've known Mischa for quite some time now - they tell me it is over three years! In that time, we've gone from strangers to best friends, and she (along with Richie and Christine) made me feel like this is my second home. I know I can be a bit of a pawful sometimes, but Mischa was very tolerant of me, even when I was scooping up crumbs that would fall out of her food bowl. That's just the kind of bear that Mischa was - easy to get along with, and everyone loved her. We couldn't go two blocks without someone stopping to pet us, and Mischa would promptly lean against them, or sit on their feet.

Mischa was a very gentle soul, and even when I tried roughhousing with her, she'd let me play a little, but when it got to be too much for her, she'd go and hide behind Christine. When we'd go to the beach, Mischa would go in and swim, tempting me to give it a try, but I would never go full in. But we spent many afternoons digging in the soft, wet beach sand (as well as Christine's garden and Richie's lawn) and Mischa was always there egging me on. She taught me how to bark at the strange people collecting cans in the back alley, and showed me all the best lawns for wriggling around on back.

I already miss her, and I can tell that Christine and Richie do as well. It's been almost nine years since Mischa brightened their lives, and by most accounts, gave them almost two more years than you can really expect from us Berners. Her ability to bring a smile to your face, make you laugh out loud, or simply warm your feet by the fireplace, will not soon be replaced.

I'm staying on here a little longer, as my humans prepare for the next chapter in my family's life - a move to Montreal! I don't know what that means yet, but I hear they all speak French there. In the meantime, I'm happy to hang out here, and help Richie and Christine through this transition period.

We love you Mischa.

Toba

Mischa: January 13, 2007 - November 30, 2015

What a day!

Each day seems to get a little harder for me - I haven't eaten much at all, and aside from a few nibbles of treats here and there, and some ice chips, I'm down to almost eating nothing at all. So Richie decided it was time for some waffles and bacon for breakfast... 

It didn't work, as I wasn't interested in either the waffles or bacon, much to Toba's delight, as she wolfed down anything that I was offered, and snubbed my nose at. But after they had breakfast, we went out into the cold morning air for our walk.

There's something about this brisk winter air that I like, and we slowly walked around our block, sniffing every few steps, and rolling around on the frosty grass at every opportunity. Toba was keeping a keen eye out for squirrels, but I don't find that interesting anymore.

Later this morning, we went out onto the front lawn to watch the humans pass by. With my new puffy vest, I can spend over an hour (or so they tell me) in the cold without too much trouble. Then our friend Charlie Brown and her humans came by, and we all had a cookie!

We went back in the house to warm up for a little bit, and then we all got into the car and went to the place where Paisley had her last supper. Richie and Christine had the "Legendary combo", but I still wasn't interested. Toba, of course, had her fill of hamburger and fries.

After they finished lunch, we continued on to the dog park at Spanish Banks. It was way too cold to go swimming of course, but a week's worth of frost had accumulated on the grass there - it was almost like snow! I even played a little "keep away" - well as much as I could with my bad leg. We didn't stay too long, as we were all getting a little cold (except Toba), so we went home.

We all hung out in the sunny living room, and Toba decided to snuggle with Christine on the daybed. Richie then made us all turkey dinner - apparently it is US Thanksgiving weekend, but they said this is also my Christmas dinner. I didn't eat any of it, but I licked a little gravy up and then drank some water, which made them really happy. Anyhow, I think I'm off to see Paisley soon - I've been giving Richie and Christine all the hints that I'm ready to move on. Thanks for a great day Toba, Christine and Richie.

Mischa

My new puffy vest

I've been spending a lot of time outside lately, as my leg is still bugging me, and it feels good to be outside in the cool air. But apparently it's so cold these days, it makes me shiver! So the other evening, Richie and Christine came home with this thing:

It's a little snug, but when I wear it, I don't get the shivers when I spend an hour or so outside. Sure it looks a little macho with the camo look, but it serves it's purpose!

Here we are, sitting in the sun today, watching Richie and Christine put up those things called "Christmas lights". Does this mean I am getting some turkey soon?

Despite not having much of an appetite, I am getting lots of ice chippies to munch on. Funny how Toba didn't used to like them up until just recently. Here we are sharing some cool treats on the lawn.

Mischa

Something isn't feeling right...

Sorry for the delay posting, but Christine and Richie went away for a long time, and left his niece, Sarah, in charge of Toba and me. During that time, I have found that I've been feeling strange, and not up to eating all of my food, not even the special dinners that Richie has been making for me.

So apparently I have lost something like 10 lbs., whatever that means. But now I am getting all sorts of new things to try eating, like the four different kinds of cookies that Richie got for me the other day. I had quite a few, and liked the chicken ones...

But the cheese ones, not so much. The liver ones weren't bad either, but I still left lots of crumbs on the floor.

Not to worry however, as Toba is only too happy to clean up after me! Anyhow, I'm really happy that Christine and Richie are home again, even though I am not feeling very good.

Mischa

End of summer update

It's been a pretty slow end of summer here, as that injury to my leg hasn't been healing very quickly. I've apparently torn a ligament in my right knee, so we don't walk very far anymore. We can't go to the park, as it would be too far for me, and we don't go to the doggie play area for fear that I might run around (yeah, right). It does feel better for a week or so, then I'll chase Dexter back and forth along the fence, and then it hurts again. When will I learn?

Toba was here for a long time, so she had to take it easy with me, and so there was a lot of laying around the house, waiting for tasty morsels of food to fall in the kitchen.

We also had our visitors from Switzerland come stay with us for a week! This time, they brought along two little humans - Noel and Lino. They were very good with us, and even helped feed us sometimes.

Then one evening, more friends came over and brought other little humans - this is Hudson and his sister Komelo, giving me much deserved belly rubs.

We often see Charlie Brown on our walks, and sometimes stop for a short visit or a sniff around her yard... in the hot sun, it's a welcome pit stop for us furry bears.

Sometimes when I'm hanging out on my rope in the front yard, Charlie Brown and one of her humans will walk by our house, and she stops to visit us!

And when our Swiss friends left, Christine found this under a table downstairs... look who is still a big baby!

Mischa

I caught one!

Often, there are these tiny little things that "buzz" around me, and I try to snap at them. This time I caught one!

I played with it for a little bit, but it was less exciting that I thought it would be. I think it just made for good entertainment for Christine and Richie... Toba was unimpressed.



Mischa

Afternoon walks

Well, it would seem that I have hurt my leg somehow. I don't remember what I did, but it makes me hold up my rear leg a little bit when I'm standing around. For some reason, I am now getting a little dollop of peanut butter each morning and afternoon... and then my leg feels a bit better. 

 And then we'll run into one of these guys on our afternoon walks. Sometimes, Richie will let go of the leash, and then I can chase them up the nearest tree. But I forget about my leg, so Richie holds me tight, and so the squirrel just stands there and taunts me!

We got even closer to this one, and he just hung there and made little chirping sounds, before he took his nut and ran further up the tree. I tell you, if my leg felt better, I'd get that darn squirrel.

And then on our return trip, we ran into these two - our little human friends, Hudson and Komelo! Hudson is always talking about me, and it was good to see him again. This was the first time I had met Komelo, as she was afraid of doggies when she first arrived, but as you can see, she's gotten over that now.

You never know who we will see on our afternoon walks - who will we see next?

Mischa

Summertime movie

Richie finally figured out how to work the thing called iMovie to make a compilation from Toba's 5-week stay recently.

 
What fun!

 Mischa

Summertime with Toba

Hi everyone! Sorry for the long delay during posts. It has been busy here, since we've had Toba over staying with us for the summer. It was really hot, but it has cooled off a bit, making our afternoon walks a little more tolerable.

 We sometimes see Charlie (Brown), another Berner that lives a block down the street. The other day we ran into her human, and he gave us each a treat!

Here's another funny thing in the neighbourhood - a chicken coop! Every time we walk down this particular street, I pull hard on my leash to go over to see these funny birds. I don't think Toba had ever seen them, as she got really excited, and tried to jump up onto the fence, but Christine held her back. I wonder what they taste like... mmm.

 Anyhow, we've really gotten into the habit of not going very far on these hot summer days. Around a block or so from home, there's this nice shady spot where the grass is still a little green. Both Toba and I will flop down there and wriggle around on our backs for a bit. Sometimes Richie will sit with us for a few minutes, sometimes not.

We've also been down to Point Roberts a couple of times - it's just as hot there, but there is always a part of the grass that is shady and cool.

 Anyhow, Toba has been making herself at home here. As usual, she spends hours outside lying in the garden, and sometimes will sleep most of the night outside.

She is a real character, and will often wriggle up on the bed in the morning, and push her bum into Richie's face, hitting him with her tail to wake him up! She tried to be a lap-doggie, but didn't last too long up there.

 Anyhow, after many sleeps, Toba has gone home again, and I get my space back to myself.

Mischa

Hot Kamloops visit

Well, summer has barely started, and we're already into the heat. Richie and I took a road trip up to Kamloops to try and and stay cool and hang out by the pool. When we got there, there were already a bunch of doggies up there. Harley had just arrived, but Humphrey and Barney had been there for a couple of days already. Barney wouldn't leave me alone... even though he is a lot bigger now, he still behaves like a puppy and is either in my face, or busy at the other end.

After a while, he would finally calm down and leave me alone. Here we are, trying to stay cool on the tile. He would never go very far from me, and sometimes, Deb would have to put him in the house so that I could have some peace.

I noticed earlier that Barney got up on the roof of the shed. Not one to be left out, I decided to go check it out. It's really neat up there, as you get a bird's-eye-view of the humans and other doggies on the patio. Richie didn't like me being up there however, so I came back down.

The next morning, we went for a walk at the park we have been to in the past. It was nice to get our paws in the cool water, even though it wasn't that hot out yet. As you can see, Barney isn't allowed to roam free yet; his flock-guardian instincts tell him to try and find the boundary of his protection zone, which can send him wandering off, and he doesn't come back easily.

It got so hot up there, that we ended up spending the afternoons and evenings sitting inside in the air conditioning, which suited me just fine. But after three sleeps, we came back home.

Mischa

Summer is coming...

Well, if you aren't a Game of Thrones fan, you won't understand the joke. See, there's this thing that plays on the moving picture screen, and it takes place once a week in the spring. We go over to our friend's place and have dinner, then the humans watch it. Because Tyson is allowed up on the couch, so am I.

But summer is definitely coming. We've been down to Point Roberts a couple of times recently.

 Here I am trying to stay cool in the shade from the Rover, when the two Harley dogs came over from across the street. They are much nicer to me than Harley is, as they don't nip at my bum! They quite like me actually, and the come right up and give me kisses, which I try to avoid, of course.

 Out on the sand bars during low tide, there's lots of place to run around, but not for me. I'm getting too old for that now. I did make a vain effort to chase after a long-legged bird, but it flew away before I could get very close.

 Christine gave me a bowlful of ice chips the other day - I love chewing on ice, but only if it is little, small pieces. It's a great way for me to quench my thirst and have some fun doing it.

And here's a familiar thing for me... to dig a little burrow under the deck so that I can avoid the mid-day sun in the cool dirt. All of this, and summer is just starting now.

Mischa

Backyard antics

I have been known to bark a bit - okay, sometimes a lot - at Dexter, the Jack Russell next door. I'll stand on the landing at the edge of the deck, and bark/jump at him while he does the same. This seems to irritate Christine and Richie, for reasons I don't understand. They like me to bark at strangers, and anyone mucking about in the back alley, but why not this? Anyhow, the other day, I went out to bark at Dexter, and found this:

I can still see around it and can tell when Dexter is in the backyard, but it's taken the fun out of it. As you can see, both Toba and I were very chillaxed, even though that little aggressor was just on the other side of the fence.

Here's another funny one - me sitting on the landing, but who is that in the distance? Toba in the garden again. I thought it was funny, so I went into the other garden area, and dug out a spot for myself.

Anyhow, it's going to be a hot next few days, so you won't see much activity from me... Toba has the right idea, hiding in the garden.

Mischa

Toba's vacation

Apparently Toba's family went on vacation to someplace called the "Mayan Riviera", so that meant that Toba got a vacation with us for 10 days. As usual, it's been all fun and games with Toba around. Here's a fun compilation for you to see what her vacation was like.


Mischa

Prepare for warp speed!

The weather has been getting better recently, and we've been spending more time in the smaller transportation unit. This is the one where I get to ride in the open, and get to sniff the whole time we are on the road. But when we go on the highway, I wear my special goggles so that I don't get stuff in my eyes.

I don't really like having them on, and when Christine is in the car, I'll rub my head on her back and seatbelt to try and wiggle them off. More often than not however, I end up pushing them right over my eyes so that I can't see anything. But once we get on the highway, I forget all about them:

Mischa

My French-Canadian (extended) family

I think I might have mentioned to you that Richie's brother Chris also got a Berner a while back. What I didn't know, is how many 4-legged family members they had!

Must be a busy place out there in Quebec!

Mischa

Fun in Pt. Roberts

We were down in Point Roberts for Easter recently. I don't know what all the fuss is about, as I dogally did not see any of these fabled "Easter bunnies". It wasn't as warm out as Christine would have hoped, but we did spend lots of time outdoors nonetheless.

Richie went away for a little while, and came back with this! I immediately thought that this must be made for me, what with a Berner pictured on the box. I can't read, but they smelled like cookies to me.

Speaking of eating, here's how I ate my breakfast and dinner a couple of times. Christine would sit on the stairs in front of me, and either hand feed me, or toss a few kibbles onto the grass so I could eat without having to get up. How spoiled am I?

Mischa

Calling for Daisy

Recently, I barked about how I like to see my pal Daisy when we return from our walks down the back alley. The other day, Richie was fast enough to catch it on film:


Pretty cute, eh?

Mischa

A visit with the cousins

The other day, Richie's sister came over with Humphrey and my new cousin, Barney. I was expecting a little puppy, but who is this?

I guess there is something that the camera does to make him look bigger than he actually is, but he looks more like a polar bear cub than a puppy! He was pretty well-behaved for being only 10-weeks old, and he spent most of the time checking out the entire main floor and the perimeter of the backyard - something to do with his flock guardian nature.

He was pretty interested in sniffing me however, and for some reason, he wanted to bite me on the bum! He has such sharp little teeth, so Christine would make sure that he didn't do it more than a couple of times. I was pretty tolerant with him; I didn't have to give him any "what-fors" or anything like that.

Anyhow, after a nice dinner, they went back home... the next time we see Barney, he will probably be bigger than me!

Mischa

My new cousin Barney!

Remember how I told you that Lupin had "gone over the rainbow" and Humphrey was all sad at Christmas? Well, it seems that they have solved that problem with a new puppy!

Barney is his name, and he's a 9-week old "Great Pyrenees" - I don't know about the "great" part, as he looks pretty small to me. But they tell me that he will be even bigger than Paisley was. I can't wait to meet my new cousin!

Mischa