Travels with Asuna Part 7

More guest posts from John as he and Asuna hold down the fort in France

It’s been a month now, and our little doggie appears to be settling in nicely to a French life. She is sleeping well, getting walked a lot, and, perhaps most heartening, eating French dog food with gusto. Forget the human food, even the dog food here is better made! 😀The latter subject, actually, was something I worried about before we came over. Of course we had to bring some small amount of food with us from the U.S., the food she happened to be eating at the time. Any dog owner knows that you can’t just switch all at once to another food without risking stomach trouble for your pet. On Stephanie’s part she was concerned that the different tap water could cause Asuna stomach upset as well. So for the first few days we tried to restrict her to bottled water and a strict continuation of the U.S. food. (Whether due to stress, or being fed up with that food, she actually ate very little those first days.)

One morning, however, I found myself out of bottled water, and so I resorted to the tap. And having picked up a bag of dog food at the local Carrefour, I began introducing that into her food bowl. Et voilà, bonnes nouvelles! No stomach upset on either front. In fact, she seemed more than eager for new food. When I gave up the American dog food altogether, she started wolfing down the new stuff, a brand called Hooliz that I bought for no better reason that I thought that the bag, and the food as pictured on it, looked attractive. It also happened to be less expensive than some of the other brands. A win-win. And boy does Asuna love it. Come to find out that her digestive system loves it too. [Note to readers: Here non-dog owners can just skip to the next paragraph. Only dog owners understand that their pet’s crotte, to use the French, is something you always monitor.] Asuna is pooping almost every time I take her out, and these are solid droppings. At home, it happens semi-regularly. Her insides, apparently, are singing in France. FYI, in case you’re curious, Quillan has several strategically placed dog poop trash cans, from which one can get a free poop bag or two if you need one; I appreciate this, but too often Asuna seems determined to walk away from the cans and not toward them.

Best of all for Asuna are the new routes and trails to walk on. Let me tell you, this dog is dedicated to the idea of seeking them out. If you dare try to repeat a morning walk at mid-day, or a mid-day walk in the afternoon, she refuses to cooperate. She wants to go in a new direction! She wants to explore and smell and see what other dogs are out. And there are several, especially in the morning. She's having the time of her life. (Through her, I find myself learning a lot about the local roads and how they do or don’t connect. Very useful.) One suitable walk for any dog owner around here is an old railroad track for the now defunct Quillan-Limoux train line; a subject of some local controversy, as a vocal group wants to reinvigorate that line, while others, including the mayor, want to turn the route into a designated green space between the two cities. In the meantime, the railroad mows around the tracks periodically, creating an easy walking trail that is used regularly by both humans and animals. And when one steps on to the trail one is rewarded with the view below. I took that photo a couple weeks ago. It’s what one sees as soon as you step on to the trail, less than a minute walk from our front door. Spectacular. However, as I tell people, I’m the one enjoying the view, not her; Asuna keeps her nose to the grass, intent on smelling.

Our neighbors have been graciously tolerant of Asuna barking up a storm when she’s out on our patio, which she is wont to do. After all, not only the smells but the sounds here are new too. And as you may know with dogs, new sounds can cause both excitement and alarm. For the first couple weeks, the local chouettes (owls) drove her crazy. She had to answer them. Give it up, we tried to tell her, but to no avail.

I try not to let her remain out there if she is barking too vigorously. After all, we are the new kids on the block. Thankfully, our closest neighbors, lovely people from Ohio who live right next door, have fully embraced her. They've even offered to walk her/mind her if we are ever in need. These are good animal people who have been missing a pet in their lives since their cat ran off several years ago. I feel lucky that not only has Asuna not put them off, but has been a source of amusement for them. Just last night I had them over for dinner–my first time hosting anyone in France!--and they loved on her even more than she deserved. Such great people. We are lucky to live next to them, to have their company, and to have their insight on and stories about the English-speaking community here. And, wow, are there stories! I had no idea. And thanks to last night’s dinner, I am now on the WhatsApp list for a local English speakers pétanque group. That’s right, I’m in France, and I’m playing pétanque! (Well, I will soon.) Who knew? But those dear readers are subjects for other posts, ones I will leave for Stephanie to pick up when she returns from the U.S. .