Otis The Wonder Pooch

Sorry I've been away for a bit. There is always so much to do between parenting, trying desperately to finish this 4th Sophie book (Lust, Loathing And A Little Lip Gloss…have patience, it’s coming!) and...well, just living my life. Who knew that having a life could be so time consuming?

Among my recent adventures there was a short stint in which I fostered a adorable 3-year-old bassett hound named Otis. I haven't had a dog since I was a kid and I wasn't really sure that I was a dog person but maybe I am because I LOVE Otis. I fell in love the minute I walked into the pet store with my son and looked into his hound dog eyes. This particular pet store has a deal with a local shelter and helps find homes for various animals up for adoption. Otis was one of those animals. I live in an apartment and I was told that Otis has a tendency to cry (loudly) whenever he is left alone. I wasn't sure how that would go over with my neighbors or, more importantly, my landlord but when the pet store owner asked if I would like to foster him for a few days I couldn't resist.

So as it turns out he doesn't just cry. When the person he feels most attached to (which quickly became me) leaves, he barks continuously for a good hour or more and even pees on the carpet just to make extra sure that everyone knows he's unhappy. It didn't matter that I left him with another loving adult, he just wanted me and although I knew that wasn't going to work considering my living situation I couldn't help but be a little flattered. In a matter of a day he became my dog. Unfortunately he never became my son's dog. Otis only responds to humans who can play the role of an alpha. If you can show him you're in charge while still being fair and quick to reward good behavior he'll respect you and love you. If you act like you're in any way afraid of him or aren't up to the task of keeping him in line he'll walk all over you and may even throw in a few menacing growls for good measure. It broke my heart, but my son was clearly nervous around him. Perhaps if I lived in a house I would have been able to get my son more comfortable with the dog and, in turn, teach Otis to respect both his owners but with all that barking whenever I walked out the door it seemed likely that I would be evicted before I had a chance to accomplish those goals.

Still, having him stay with us those few days was SO much fun. We took him on long walks and while most hounds love new and interesting smells Otis took this interest to a whole new level. Every tree, bush and flower had to be carefully sniffed. On our last night together we walked past Trader Joes where they had several large pots in front of their store filled with an assortment of flower bouquets. Before I had a chance to react Otis lurched forward on his leash and thrust his nose inside those flowers with such force that he knocked the pots over (which scared the bejezus out of the poor guy). Some of the Trader Joes employees came rushing out and I was left to explain that I was sorry and that my dog simply had an irresistible desire to stop and smell the flowers.

Anyway, despite the fact that he probably wasn't the right dog for our family I was able to train him on a few points and when I talked to the woman at the pet store I was able to give her a very detailed analysis of what kind of home Otis needs in order to be successful: a home with either an active senior who can walk him but never has to leave him or a home with another dog who can keep him company---he adores other dogs. I guess the people at the pet store were impressed with me because now they frequently call me to see if I would be willing to baby-sit this or that dog (they've even offered to pay me for this) and I've been invited to take any of their dogs for a walk whenever the mood hits me.

So I've gone from not being sure if I'm a dog person to being a doggie-sitter.

And in case you're wondering, Otis found a new home that he shares with his new best friend, a four-year-old boxer. I just hope he has lots of opportunities to smell the flowers.

Kyra Davis
Bestselling Author of:
SEX, MURDER AND A DOUBLE LATTE,
PASSION, BETRAYAL AND KILLER HIGHLIGHTS,
OBSESSION, DECEIT AND REALLY DARK CHOCOLATE
and
SO MUCH FOR MY HAPPY ENDING

Hurray for Pessimism!

Lately it seems like every time I'm certain of something that something slips away from me. I'm speaking very generally here because that statement really could be applied to so many situations in the last few weeks. It has definitely affected my mood of late. This morning I woke up feeling rather down and pessimistic so when a friend called to hear my optimistic projects about the Indiana and N. Carolina primaries I begged off. I was sure that the primaries would go exactly how I didn't want them to go. I literally searched the internet for signs of hope, a poll that had reassuring numbers, an uplifting analysis from a pundit but no. So I slunk off to my pilates class hoping that the pain of highly strenuous ab exercises would distract me from my disappointment.

Well guess what? While hope is fun, pessimism apparently gets the job done. I swear to God, that N. Carolina win and virtual tie in Indiana worked like a handful of Prozac. It does kinda contradict the whole philosophy of The Secret, but I'm okay with that. So from now on I'm going to be very hopeful up to the date of a primary or the date of some other expected success but on the actual day I will take pains to be sleep deprived, ornery and cynical. I'll be like a human Eyeore continually surprised to find that my tail is never very far away no matter how many times I drop it.

Anyhoo, I'm going to check in with The Colbert Report now--not that the non-stop analysis on CNN doesn't thrill me. I particularly liked it when they debated what Obama was going to say in his speech right as he was walking up to the podium to deliver it. God, can you imagine if they hadn't made their predictions on time? We might have spent those thirty seconds he spent on thank-yous in an unbearable state of confusion!

Kyra Davis
Bestselling Author of:
SEX, MURDER AND A DOUBLE LATTE,
PASSION, BETRAYAL AND KILLER HIGHLIGHTS,
OBSESSION, DECEIT AND REALLY DARK CHOCOLATE
and
SO MUCH FOR MY HAPPY ENDING

Not Naming Names But...

I was out with my girlfriend at a wine bar on Saturday night when I noticed that the guy at the next table was checking me out. Now, we're not talking about a few quick peeks, there was nothing subtle about this guy's approach; in fact it was hard not to make eye contact with him from time to time because whenever I looked in his general direction he was staring at me and he wouldn't look away. I could tell that he was waiting for me to give a signal, a nonverbal invitation to pick me up. As I've mentioned in a recent blog, I am seeing someone right now so that invitation wasn't going to be offered under any circumstances and the whole non-encounter normally wouldn't be worth mentioning except for the fact that I knew this guy. Not personally but he is one of my favorite actors and his television series is one of the most successful shows of the twenty-first century. I've watched him give interviews to Ellen and Leno, I've seen him in my InStyle magazines and on the covers of hundreds of other glossys while standing in line at the drug store.

I've also seen pictures of him on the red carpet posing with his wife.

Yet there he was wearing his wedding ring trying to wave me over. I'm sorry but WTF? He's not that hot and if he wasn’t an A-list celebrity I never would have given him a second look. But being famous does not entitle you to be an asshole. The thing that got me was that he wasn't trying to hide the fact that he was spoken for. Like I said, his wedding ring was right there for all to see. It would be nice to think that he was wearing it because he didn't want to make a move on anyone who didn't know the score but I suspect that his reasons were much more irritating. I think it's fairly safe to assume that he feels a sense of entitlement. So what if he's married? He's a rich celeb and that should be enough to get any of us common girls on our backs, right?

I know, I know, I'm being a bit harsh here but it was so very disappointing. This guy always comes across as being such a sweetie in his interviews and I did used to have a bit of a crush on him but now he's screwed that whole thing up.

Ah well, such is Hollywood, right? By the way, this is the second celebrity who I've blown off in my life. The first is now my Governor. To be fair, Arnold never tried to make a move on me. He was just making the rounds at a private Planet Hollywood party years ago and he sort of bumped into me and then started to say hello and offer his hand but I side stepped him because I thought I saw Nicholas Cage and he was blocking my view. I never did get to talk to Nick and to this day I wonder if snubbing the Govinator wasn't a bit of a bad judgment call. It seems like it might be beneficial to be nice to the guy who has the power to raise your taxes.


Kyra Davis
Bestselling Author of:
SEX, MURDER AND A DOUBLE LATTE,
PASSION, BETRAYAL AND KILLER HIGHLIGHTS,
OBSESSION, DECEIT AND REALLY DARK CHOCOLATE
and
SO MUCH FOR MY HAPPY ENDING