Nicole Tasker Woods

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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Two years ago on June 30th of this year, I picked up Cali from the Burbank Animal Shelter and she became part of our family. Last July 4th, I took Cali to the beach and it was such a great way to celebrate my Basenji-girl that I did it again this year. On one of my days off from work for the holiday this year, I packed up the pooch and we headed to Oxnard to enjoy a day on the beach. Well, it was more like 1 1/2 hours because we got tired of running around and really needed a snack.

But before we were tuckered out, we ran onto the beach towards the water, Cali’s leash held firmly in my hand (mistake) as she tugged and tugged to get closer to the waves. Her fear was gone as she bounded into the water and we jumped wave after wave. Cali was covered in salty water and sand and she loved it! I wish I could have taken pictures to show you, but it is hard to operate a camera while holding onto a Basenji at the same time.

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Cali turned on the gas yesterday morning and no one was there to turn it off until our dog walker showed up around 11:30am. When I got the call on my cell and saw the caller ID, I immediately jumped to the conclusion that the dog walker was calling me because something was wrong with Cali. But the first words out of her mouth were not hi, but “Cali’s fine!” We both laughed.

I was not that worried about the gas leaking into our house. Probably not as worried as I should have been, but what could I have done at that point in time? I just reassured our dog walker that Cali uses the stove all the time to prepare her own food because we are teaching her to fend for herself. And she likes to cook!

This is not the first time Cali turned on the gas from jumping up on the counter to take a gander out the kitchen window and see which tree the squirrel was in today. One time she jumped up there out of fright when I was running the vacuum cleaner–I heard the click-click-click and ran downstairs as fast as I could so I could turn it off and rescue her from the sink where she had taken recluse.

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Cali and I had an encounter with a squirrel this morning. It was the same one we see every morning beneath a short tree along one of the paths in our complex. It hangs out underneath this tree and feeds on the bird food on the ground that falls out of the feeder. Cali saw the squirrel, her back hair spiked up and she took off. 

I wonder if she knows that she can not catch these creatures but she continued to chase it until it went up the short tree. However, the squirrel should have been smarter and gone the few extra steps to one of the bigger trees. The short tree just made Cali think that the squirrel was actually attainable because it was closer to the ground.

And the squirrel made the loudest noises I have ever heard a creature that small make and that just infuriates a basenji. Cali kept clawing at the tree and balancing on her hind legs as if she was saying, “Come down little squirrel, I just want to play…” But I bet she was thinking to herself, “I will get you squirrel! You’re furry tail is mine!”

You are cold, I know, that is why you creep closer and closer to me during the night. Now you are under the covers, but I do not mind. I like how you press your cold nose against the back of my calf and breathe out warm air. This is the last night of cold, I promise. Tomorrow night we will have a new, heavy quilt for the bed and we will be able to stretch out and be warm without being on top of each other.

Now you are standing up and you crawl towards me like you do Saturday mornings. But it is still dark and I can tell you are uncomfortable in the cold and quite confused. You lie on top of me and with one eye open, we stare at each other in the dark. You bury your nose underneath my pillow, close your eyes and start to breathe deep. I guess we will try sleeping this way for now.

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One of Cali’s Christmas presents last year was a green, rubber lightbulb, which she adores. It is hollow on the inside with an opening at the stem of the bulb making it a very versatile toy; on top of being very squishy and chewable, it also does a great crazy bounce, always flying in an undetermined direction.

Cali is so light on her feet when on our carpet that you never hear her footsteps as she approaches, instead you hear her hollow breath bouncing off the inside of the lightbulb’s walls as she trots all over the house with it in her mouth. She carries it by the stem, so the large bulb end sticks out the side of her mouth and she is always looking for it to be thrown.

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I think an apology is in order. Cali, I am sorry, I totally misjudged you.