What To Do When the Taxi Goes "Boom!"

Winston and I had a little adventure today as we returned home by taxi from his vet appointment. Even the vet appointment was something of an adventure, or perhaps more of a nightmare for poor Winnie. This was a re-check on his skin problem, trying to rid him of mites causing mange, resulting in spots of hair loss. And if the hair loss itself wasn't bad enough I took a friend's advice and tried hydrogen peroxide on the spots, resulting in a spotty bleach job! Poor Winnie!

Winston is muy guapo perro - very handsome dog

For a doggie as beautiful as Winston with his luxuriant dark chocolate coat of fur, having mange is really quite humiliating for him. So we have diligently followed the vet's instructions: prednisone pills for the itching (given in a lump of peanut butter, which he loves!), twice-weekly baths with a special soap which must be left on him for twenty minutes (which we both hate!) and shots of ivermectin. It's these shots that are so awful. For some reason, the ivermectin must be very painful when it goes into the skin because poor Winston started yelping and squirming and trying to lick the spot on his back where the shot went. Last time he had to have three different shots - the ivermectin, an antibiotic and something else - and he had jumped around and yelped so much that I assumed it was just a carelessly rough technique on the part of the vet. So today I asked the doctor to be very meticulous not to hurt Winnie. But apparently it's not the vet's technique but just the intense quality of the medicine. But like the trooper he is, Winston came through like a champ.

Hair is finally growing back!

We were then off to the grocery store, practicing "heeling" along the way, and since Layne was not with us today (that's another story involving a friend with a medical problem), I put Winston in a "sit - stay" outside (and tied his leash to a door just to be sure) while I went in for our few items. In the store I ran into our friend Stephen and we chatted a few minutes about our mutual friend's medical condition. But soon my shopping was done and I went out to collect Winston - what a good boy! - and head for the taxi stand. I was pleased to see our friend and favorite taxista Nelson waiting in the taxi line so we hopped in for the ten-minute ride home.

But about halfway up a hill along the way, Boom! went the engine and suddenly smoke was pouring out from under the hood. Nelson and I simultaneously exclaimed: Uh-oh! As luck would have it we were along the route leading to the Palmares turnoff and the traffic was heavy due to the big 10-day fiesta starting today in that cowboy town up and over the mountain. But we had no choice. We had to pull over, raise the hood, put out the triangle warning stands and watch the traffic crawl by. Looking in the engine, we could quickly see that the radiator had burst. 

Winston and I wait in the car with the hood up

Maybe Nelson gets a new car out of the deal

So Nelson called his brother Jorge to come pick up me and Winston and take us the rest of the way home. Nelson says his boss will buy a new car - or perhaps just a new radiator. But he's hoping for a new car since this one has been giving him considerable problems even before today. In the midst of all this drama, however, Nelson still had a smile on his face. Now that's Pura Vida!

I am pleased to announce that Layne's novel, "Moral Turpitude, Book One of The Ange Parker Series," is now available on Amazon.com in Kindle format for just $4.99. Five star reviews! High adventure with corporate intrigue, danger and romance; from the exotic jungles of Borneo and Costa Rica to the erotic jungles of San Francisco. A great read! Pick up your copy here -http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HI25M1K/

Love and the Power of Puppies

Happy Independence Day, Costa Rica! Layne and I are missing the parades and festivities today, preparing for our departure on Wednesday, but we share an appreciation of the freedoms with which this nation is blessed. Those of us who live in a democracy with fundamental rights guaranteed and a voice in our government should count our blessings every day and recognize our good fortune as compared to many others around the world. (Here are local students practicing their parade routine without the blue, red and white banners they will carry in today's Independence Day parade.)

Yes, I know I said my most recent post would probably be my last for a couple of months but our life with Winston just demands a short piece today. We are so very grateful to our friends Chris and Sue for agreeing to provide him a loving foster home while we're away but we do dread leaving the little guy behind. He adds such delight to everyday things. Just a short walk around the neighborhood can turn into a special moment.

Yesterday I took him out to practice his "heel," "sit" and "come" commands, hoping to leave a more well-mannered doggie with Chris and Sue. After a little refresher course under our carport, he and I headed down a quiet road nearby that has few loose dogs or fast cars to bother us. Toward the end of this street is a house with a bunch of dogs behind fences that always set up a clamor of barking as we walk by. As made our way up the next hill, I looked behind us to see the Tico gentleman of the house following us with a little bundle in his arms. As he approached, I realized he was carrying two very small puppies.

The man has often greeted us on our walks, calling out "buenos dias" and shushing his pack of hounds for our benefit, occasionally coming out to the road to chat with us in Spanish. So yesterday I stopped and held a curious Winston in check while he came up the hill toward us with his arms full of puppy.

And adorable puppies they were, so small, hardly a few weeks old, I would say. He explained that their mother had been killed on the road only one day after they were born and of the five puppies left orphaned, only these two had survived. He showed me their docked tails, a natural trait he said, and shared their Spanish names, which I didn't understand, of course. Counting these two, he said he now has ten dogs! Yikes!

It was then I realized what a cool photo he and his pups would make so with his permission, I took a couple of shots and showed them to him, gaining a big smile for my trouble. As he walked back to his house, he sat the puppies down on the road and encouraged them to "venga," or come along behind him. It made a very cute scene.

Winston and I soon turned around and hiked back toward home. When I heard a pickup truck behind us we stepped off the road so it could pass, but instead, it stopped and the old gentleman asked me to show his friends the photos I had taken. He then asked if I could print copies for him, which I readily agreed to do, hoping I would find time to get them back to him.

Yours Truly with our own puppy Winston

So this morning Layne, Winston and I retraced our steps from yesterday, stopping by his house

with the prints. He invited us in, got the puppies again and showed them to Layne, fairly beaming with pride as he told the story of saving their lives, finding a way to feed them, keeping them warm with an electric pad. He thanked us for the pictures and we bid him and his pups adieu until we return in November.

And now, once again, I bid you adieu as well. Pura Vida!

Check out Layne's novel "Moral Turpitude," Kindle edition now available for only $4.99 at Amazon.com. Five star reviews! High adventure with corporate intrigue, danger and romance; from the exotic jungles of Borneo and Costa Rica to the erotic jungles of San Francisco. A great read! Pick up your copy here -http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HI25M1K/