Nicole Tasker Woods

I counted three squirrel’s dead bodies on my way to work this morning. The first in the intersection outside my house; the second on the left side of the fast lane on the 101 heading South; the third in the middle of a back-road in Encino. I am writing this to all of you to make you aware of these Squirrely Suicides that have been increasing in frequency over the past few weeks.

All of these unfortunate deaths came to my attention while I was out on my usual week-day morning run with Cali in early May. There we were, trotting along and in the distance in the middle of the street, I saw a squirrel hunched over eating something. It was only seconds later when I saw two cars speeding down the street, quickly closing the distance between car and squirrel. Cali and I were both looking at the squirrel as we got closer, but the cars got there first and before I could shout out to warn the creature that its death was swiftly approaching – the squirrel looked at the car and – SQUISH.

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For the past few months I have been following this exercise routine:

• Monday – Run 1.5 Miles in the AM only
• Tuesday – Run 1.5 Miles in the AM & PM
• Wednesday – Run 1.5 Miles in the AM & PM
• Thursday – Run 1.5 Miles in the AM & PM
• Friday – Run 1.5 Miles in the AM only
• Saturday/Sunday – Long Walks, whatever I feel up to

But recently, I have been switching the afternoon runs for a 2 – 2.5 mile walk. Now that the sun is out an extra hour longer after I get home from work, there’s plenty of time for a long walk. Cali keeps me at a steady pace so while I speed walk, she has time to take in the surroundings and work on her tan.

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A couple weekends ago, the weather was perfect for a hike on the Wildwood trail. I rubbed on the sunblock, fitted Cali with her harness and after Ryan got back from watching soccer at the local British pub, we were on our way.

We had a few good stretches on the trail without anyone else in sight where we could take Cali off her leash and let her roam the trails like a wild beast. She loved it! The lagoon and waterfall were incredible.

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Last weekend I had dental work done so my mouth was numb for about 4 hours after the drilling stopped. Despite not being able to feel anything, I got a headache that grew more irritating the more the Novocaine wore off. By the time I got home, I went right to bed to sleep off the numbness in an attempt to forget about the ache in my jaw.

That day, Ryan and I had wanted to take Cali for a hike because the weather was perfect for such an outing, but I was quickly passed out so the two of them went without me. I woke up a few hours later to an empty house and used the time alone to take some pain meds and nurse myself back to normalcy. Then Ryan returned from the hike with a super excited basenji. I had never seen her so happy!

Apparently there was a laguna and small water fall at the end of the hiking trail called Wildwood. In addition to a big smile, Cali was also sporting patches of mud on her stomach and in between her toes, but she had so much fun jumping and splashing in the shallow water that she did not mind me dragging her into the shower to get cleaned off.

I look forward to Wildwood this weekend if the weather improves so that I can see our dog enjoying herself firsthand. If I remember a camera or flip, I’ll share the festivities online.

In the mornings on Monday thru Friday, Ryan and I have a very specific routine.

I get up at 5:50am and blindly shuffle from my alarm to the hallway and silently close the bedroom door behind me, leaving Ryan and Cali cuddling in the warm covers of a very warm bed.

I change into my workout clothes I have waiting for me in the guest bathroom and plod downstairs, slip on my sneakers, hoodie, ipod and headphones, beanie and gloves (it’s THAT cold). I do some basic stretches to loosen up the usual tight spots: legs, back, hamstrings. Then I open the front door, click on the outside light and start to jog, eyes still half closed. The cool air has woken me up by the time I exit our complex and head towards to streets surrounding Cal Lutheran University, which are always lit.

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The basenji is not allowed in the house.

Okay, the basenji is allowed in the house, but only in certain rooms.

The basenji is allowed in all rooms, but has to stay off the furniture.

The basenji can get on the old furniture only.

Fine, the basenji is allowed on all the furniture, but is not allowed to sleep with the humans on the bed.

Okay, the basenji is allowed on the bed, but only by invitation.

The basenji can sleep on the bed whenever she wants, but not under the covers.

The basenji can sleep under the covers by invitation only.

The basenji can sleep under the covers every night.

Humans must ask permission to sleep under the covers with the basenji.

November 1st is Cali’s 3rd birthday and we are all looking forward to it! Right after my most un-favorite holiday (Halloween for those of you not reading my posts regularly) is Cali’s big day. I always make her a funfetti cake with vanilla frosting, Ryan and I buy her gifts (and so do her Grandmas). We put all of the goodies and sweets on the kitchen table and open up presents together. She is always so overwhelmed by the gifts and abundance of attention we are giving her.

The cake is always moist and lasts about a week (between me, Ryan and Cali all enjoying a piece nightly) and the gifts last forever. She still has some of her 2nd birthday gifts from last year. I always take pictures, but I am planning on taking a video this year with my flip. I want to capture her devouring her cake at the kitchen table and see her big smile and wagging tail while we help her open gifts.

Can’t wait!

On Labor Day, which was Monday last week, Cali was doing her usual running/jumping/diving into the pool to chase a tennis ball Ryan was throwing into the deep end. Nothing out of the ordinary for this basenji. But then while we were watching her run around the yard with the other dogs, we noticed her limping and then holding up her left paw as if it was hurt. We decided she may have gotten something stuck in between her toes, causing the obvious discomfort so we dried her off and brought her inside. Not more than 30 seconds after we finished toweling her off, Ryan shouted that her toe was dislocated. Brady was holding up Cali so only her back feet were on the ground and I could see her poor toe bent outward in an unnatural way. My heart was racing. I grabbed my purse and car keys while Ryan scooped up our baby and we drove frantically to the Emergency Pet Clinic.

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