Dog troubles

To paraphrase one of my favourite movies "The god must hate me!"

On Wednesday I get an sms from my new landlady "Hero cried all day yesterday pls dont let that happen again very distressing for him and everyone who has to hear him"

Ok, first I panic, then I go out and spend almost R400 that I dont have (its not yet payday) on treats and toys and all kinds of entertainments.

No sooner do I get to my desk the next morning then I get another message "your dog is very unhappy and is destroying the woodwork frantically scratching". Where is he scratching? what woodwork? How long has this been going on for? WTF?

More panicking. So I phone her - Which is what she should have done in the first place! - to get the details. No she went home for lunch on Tuesday and he was crying the whole time. On Wednesday I left about 7. got the message about 8. called her about 9. Dont know how long it went on. But he had eaten some of the stuff I had left for him, so it wasnt for the entire day. And when I got home I couldnt hear him crying.

Well during that phone call she shat on me from a dizzy height. It was unacceptible (she says), like no you think?

I didnt know what to say to her, I was so disappointed that the other stuff hadnt worked and scared.
I wont lie that conversation reduced me to tears. And I had to go out that evening!

Well he seemed quite calm when i got back last night. We have not even been there 2 weeks and our routine is out, Im sure he just needs some time. I dont understand why its a problem this week and not last week. Only thing thats really changed is that the dog in the neighboring cottage is MIA this week, maybe he was taking comfort from her presence?

Anyway this morning there is an email " Please can we meet this evening or at 1pm tomorrow to discuss the fact that Hero is not happy/lonely. I feel that my house is not suitable for you".

I have felt sick since I read it. I am also starting to feel just a bit pissed off. He is not a toy I cant switch him off! And she is being unreasonable! How can she say that without even giving me a chance to fix the problem or to address the issue. there are several solutions that I have not yet had a chance to try.
I could take him to the sitters everyday, or a dog daycare or even call in a dog behaviourist but I need time to try these! What the hell am I going to do?

I will go to the meeting tonight and beg for month's probationary period. But if she throws me out I think it might be seriously time to rethink this Cape Town move.

Happy birthday to me!

It has been quite a week!
On Sunday I moved out of Muizenberg, in 38 degree heat with about 80% humidy, into a lovely little cottage in the quiet and peaceful suburb of Constantia. In fact im sitting in the garden right now typing this! On Monday it was my birthday. I actually went into the department with cupcakes at lunch time just to hear someone say happy birthday! How did I celebrate my birth day people have been asking, well I sat in the pool at home on my own drinking whiskey! Just in case you were wondering I have no friends. On Tuesday I had the best birthday present a girl could ask for, some moron rear-ended my car 2 blocks from my house!
Today I discovered that the dreaded office move has happened in my absence! First I open my office to find all my stuff in one corner and the new occupants desk right in the center of the room. I think she might be trying to tell me something! A little later one of the big cheeses starts badgering me about moving. She even walks me up to the new large shared office so I can pick a spot. Only problem is that all the other ocupants are already moved in. So that the only spaces that remain is one right next to the door or the back corner where there are no windows! Does it really matter at this point what I choose? Finally just to round off a bad day/week I hear that an attendence record is being kept for all the students and that our future space allocation will be dependent on our attendence over the next month! Well I say they can shove their attendence record where the sun dont shine! How can a person be expected to produce a thesis if they dont even have a desk?

I was reflecting today that more bad things have happened to me in the 6 months that I have lived in Cape Town than in the 6 years I was in Joburg - I think the universe is trying to tell me somthing!