Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro: 21oC, warm, sunny and slightly cloudy.
Saturday is usually a day for a heavy workout, and this morning was no different. However, my routine has changed a little on the weekends.
I start my day by heading to the bakery. I go alone and without my training gear, and I enjoy a coffee or two while writing in my journal. Sometimes, I buy bread, butter, cheese, and ham to take home. Afterwards, I head straight home, grab my rucksack with my gear, and take Perola. If it’s a nice day, we go to the park, and I let her roam freely while I exercise.
If the weather isn’t great, such as after a night of rain, we take a long walk around Flamengo, usually splitting the walk into half in front of the Bay and the other half inside the neighbourhood. We both love it, and it’s made a significant change for her due to her allergies and weight problems.
It seems that the sun has helped to control her skin allergy a little. Her skin is better, she isn’t scratching herself as much, and the areas where she was losing fur in the past have now grown back. Her fur has come back more beautiful, thick, and shiny than before.
When I started living with Nalva and Yasmin, Perola was terribly overweight and taking a lot of corticoid medicine due to her skin allergies. Dogs with white fur and white, pale, fair skin are prone to skin allergies, some more than others. This is a big problem for Perola.
We took her to the vet, and the vet stopped the treatment with corticoid. If not, it was obvious that Perola would have died. For me, it’s very complicated because no decent person wants to see an animal suffer, especially your own, and especially when it’s a dog.
I have started taking Perola on longer walks beyond just around the block. We are going further afield. One weekend, I decided to take her to the park. Everyone else takes their dogs there, so why not her, too? The specific park is very close, only about a kilometre away. As soon as we arrived, I let her off the lead and continued walking.
She stays either by my side or behind me all the time. Occasionally, we pass near other people and their dogs, but she always stays near me. Sometimes, she likes to compliment the owners of other dogs but not the dogs. It’s very funny—usually, dogs like to compliment other dogs, but not Perola. No, she prefers to compliment the owners. She doesn’t really care so much about the dogs. What a character!
The park here is beautiful from every angle. One part is dense with trees, like a mini forest, while the other is open. I have a specific place where I work out and exercise. There’s a fixed lamppost in the grounds where I can attach my TRX straps to exercise. I could use a tree branch, but this pole with a bench in front of it is perfect for exercising and using the TRX straps.
The first part of my exercise routine is to alternate between skipping and aerobic exercises before using the straps. Perola likes to stay very near me. When skipping, I tell her to go and explore like normal dogs. Now, she is getting more courage to go further. Yasmin and Nalva think that Perola was abandoned when she was a puppy. She doesn’t like seeing anybody leave and must always be near us.
I think we all, in some ways, have some abandonment issues!
Perola is a medium-sized black and white mongrel with black patches on her face and over one eye. She has a Mohican-style cut on the top of her head with her fur, and her tail is a stubby curl, likely indicating that it was cut off at birth. We suspect she was mistreated before coming to us.
I’m impressed by how many people openly recognise her as a cute dog when we walk in the streets. She attracts a lot of attention from almost everybody. When I had Bruce and Petra in the past, they were both excellent boxers; Bruce had a lovely nature and a strong presence. Petra was more petite and very cute but lacked Bruce’s charisma and patience with others. Bruce was a reference for me and the family, although Petra was still very special.
However, nothing compares to Perola’s popularity in the street, especially with women and children. Her inner beauty shines out, making everyone notice her. She really does have a lovely nature and a sweet temperament, making her excellent company for me during the week while I’m giving classes.
Perola is a great little dog; the long walks have helped her shed off a couple of kilos. It’s good to see that she’s getting back into shape.
The rest of Saturday was spent working on the websites, relaxing a little, and thinking about England. I haven’t had a glass of wine in almost a month.
In bed by midnight.
Thank you.
Thanks for reading this blog post. Please explore my other posts and share your thoughts in the comments section.
Richard
