Just a little more Atlas

Thank you for all your lovely comments on the last post. I still feel sad and I sometimes don't feel I have the right to because we only had him for a short time, and we knew he was old already. Therefore I should have been expecting it, right?

It's funny how they get under your skin very quickly. I really miss seeing his little silver face around, and feeling him rest against my legs at night. For such a diminutive physical presence (about the size of a small cat) he leaves a big gap in the atmosphere.


Above, snug as a bug in a dalmation-spotted rug

He was a darling wee thing, who never failed to make us laugh with his not-quite right way of lying on something, be it a dog-bed or a cushion. 'Centre' was never in his vocabulary, and sometimes not even 'On'.

Enjoy these photos of our precious Atlas in the spirit they are shown. We will miss his woolly presence in our lives.

Atlas' Bed Fails


Melting off his bed at home

^^^^^



Tucked up on the edge of his bed at work

^^^^^


Not quite in. He would hop into the centre and then start twirling around, 'flattening the rushes' as they do. But he invariably ended up going off-centre. I would often have to reposition him.


^^^^^


Missing the bed altogether out the back of the shop. Gee those shoes and socks must be nice to cosy up to.

^^^^^


There are no words for this one. His best ever I think.

^^^^^


And back at home, asleep on the sofa. He loved dangling his head low. Clearly he knew that having your head below your heart was a good thing to do regularly (as told to me by my yoga teacher).

^^^^^

I'll be back in the land of chic soon.

Rest in peace little poodle

Yesterday was a very sad day for us. Our wee man Atlas went to poodle heaven.

Within the last month he had declined rapidly, and became blinder and more confused. Unless we were holding him, or he was asleep on a lap, he spent his day bumping into and tripping over everything. He probably felt like he was under constant attack. A bit dramatic but you get what I mean. A lot of things he used to do with ease, like go for a walk on his leash, or take himself outside to the lawn and back again, he couldn't do.

So we made the hard decision to take him to visit the most lovely and compassionate vet I've ever met, and he is now reunited with his beloved original dad John, and matching brother Hercules. Atlas is young again, and racing around up there like a mad thing.

He only needed us for seven short months, but we were so glad to make it happy, safe, warm and secure for him, and of course offering a selection of delectable treats at mealtimes, walks on tap, a cosy lap for home-time, and a snug rug on top of the bed at night. He travelled in luxury in the car, wrapped in a German wool rug on the passenger's knee.

The photo above was taken in our shop a couple of weeks ago. He was wearing his red fleece top I made to keep him cosy now that it is winter here. Atlas had a private burial at home wearing this jacket, and wrapped in a matching red fleece blanket.

Rest in peace our little darling boy. We miss you already.

Atlas
20 February 1996 - 14 June 2011

A Poodle's Birthday

Our precious wee boy is fifteen today. Just for fun, we (I) decided to borrow Adrienne at The Rich Life (on a budget)'s family tradition. It involves treating the birthday doggie to a McD's hamburger. Here Atlas is on his way to the drive-thru. He alternates looking around (above) with napping (below).

His day started quite well too, with cold roast chicken from last night for breakfast. Roast chicken is his favourite, I'm pretty sure he would do anything for a plate.


First we check out the height restriction. Phew, he will fit under the 2.6 metre barrier, being roughly knee-height tall.


Atlas peruses the menu, even though he knows it's the tradition to have a plain hamburger. We saw the car in front of us's order on the screen. Wow, they spent $41.90. Our total was $2.00. They did have a whole family in the car though and we were only feeding a dog.

It sounds pretty bad when you put it like that. My man looked at me when we were ordering and said 'We are such sad people, going through the drive-thru for one hamburger. It must be their smallest order ever'. But he does what I say, and that's all you can ask of a good husband.


We checked if Atlas thought it smelled good. He did.


As a responsible(-ish) elderly-poodle caregiver I made the decision to remove the bread buns. I didn't want to choke him on his birthday (or any other day, really).


After a hesitant start (one of the few times when a McDonalds burger is actually hot, my husband noted), Atlas was off and scoffing.


Mere minutes later his birthday hamburger was just a distant memory, and a big drink of water was in order.


A typical teenage boy, Atlas walks off leaving his dishes, tripping on the wrapper on the way.


Happy Birthday little poodle! And thanks to Adrienne for a fun idea!

The Atlas Update

Atlas hasn't been in these pages lately, so here's a little of what he's been up to. Our little man is very much part of the family, we both adore him (which is an understatement). Above, Atlas is harnessed in his safety car seat-belt. He's off to be groomed. All that wool is a little toasty in the heat of summer.

Here is his before picture.


And after. So fluffy and trim!


And a close up at work of his new look.


With 'poodle feet'.


A few weeks ago Atlas and I took a road trip (about 45 minutes away from where I live) to visit his former owner's partner. She was not able to take on both his dogs when Atlas' owner died, and so Atlas was adopted out. The new owners didn't want him after a while and tried to give him back to Poodle Rescue.

He really is the sweetest boy, I don't know how they could. His little heart must have been broken for the past 2-3 years. I am glad we are now able to make the rest of his retirement a happy one.

His former 'mum' Pamela was so glad and emotional to see him and we had a lovely few hours. I met his poodle 'brother' Samson and heard how much his first owner John loved his poodles. They even went to his funeral.

Pamela gave me a little bag of goodies for Atlas - some of his favourite toys, his vet records, a little jersey for the winter and a framed portrait of Atlas as a puppy (only two months old). Do you think he looks like an owl?


From talking to Pamela I found out Atlas is actually 14, and not 12. What do you say to that? He wasn't young when he came to us, now he's just a little older. After I brought his goodie bag home I thought to myself 'his birthday will probably be on his vet records, then we'll know when to throw him a party'. I checked, it's in a few weeks time - he will be FIFTEEN! Could Atlas be in the Guinness Book of Poodle Records?

Considering his grand age though, he's very spritely and adaptable. He gets very excited about coming or going. Atlas is all bouncy when I put his harness on in the morning to go to work, and equally happy to arrive somewhere, practically launching himself out the open car door when we get there. He's nothing if not fearless.

And here, just because he is very handsome in his new jacket, is Atlas modelling this winter's look for chilly poodles. He won't be needing it for a couple of months at least. I'm hoping I haven't bought it too soon... (I find black humour works well in situations of elderly-to-the-extreme poodle adoptions).


Just in case you think otherwise, we are so happy to have Atlas in our life. He has added much richness and fun. For as long as we have him we will consider ourselves very, very lucky.

A Christmas Outing

We had a plan one evening recently to go and see the Christmas lights on a street famous for dressing up its houses (not quite American style though, New Zealand is a little more low-key). There were a few hours to fill in, between finishing work and it being dark enough to see the lights. We didn't want to go home so our plan was to have a drink in a pub nearby, then takeaways at a local park before heading to the light show.

We stopped at a Belgian Beer Cafe. Atlas soaked up the sun, and the compliments of fellow customers. I was asked if I wanted a small or a large beer when I decided on Hoegaarden. I said large, then changed to small. My husband went up to the bar and came back with the bucket that you see above (large). It was 'only' 500ml which he justified by saying it was less than 1.5 small bottles. It's bigger than Atlas!

'Never drink a beer bigger than your head' should be my motto, but I ignored it that day.

Next stop was the park with takeaways and a picnic rug.

Poodle relaxing in the sun once the dishes were washed up.


Back to the car, slowly. It was still very much daylight and we knew the lights wouldn't even be on yet.


Heading down the famous street in search of Christmas festivities.


One of the first of many cutely decorated homes (they must have decided against prettying up the wheelie bin).


Atlas cutting a dash on his Christmas leash (red with snowmen and Christmas trees on).


The sky was beautiful as the earth turned and darkness came.


One of my favourites - very subtle and stylish with plentiful round paper lanterns in varying sizes of yellow, red and orange.


The upper balcony is extremely tasteful I thought, and appropriate for a very hot early summer.


Impressive.


A long shot of the street.


It looks simple enough, but I bet outlining your home in lights is a big job.


Atlas walked all the way down the street (we parked at the top). It was a 10-15 minute walk and he skipped ahead like a puppy, pulling at the leash he was so excited to be out and amongst it all. It was a different story crossing the road at the bottom and walking uphill though. He started flagging and we took turns carrying him back to the car.

He conked out immediately on the drive home. I don't think he's ever had so much exercise in his life before he came to live with us.



Merci for reading How To Be Chic since I started in May of this year. I am looking forward to an exciting 2011, and will be back in January for my next year of living chicly. Merry Christmas!

Atlas J. Poodle - The Update

It’s been a month now since I had a serendipitous conversation with a customer and ended up adopting a 12 year old toy poodle named Atlas. Now, I cannot remember how life was before the little fellow came to live with us.

I have learnt that some dogs watch tv (below). He also likes to check himself out in the mirror in the shop, often.


He really is such a sweet little dog, and has adapted amazingly well to his new life. Atlas thinks nothing of hopping into the car (with a little assistance) and going to work, harnessed in with his doggy seatbelt (safety first).

He is perfect in the shop too. You won’t hear a peep out of him, no barking or whining. He has his five-metre long leash which gives him almost free run, but stops him running outside and into the carpark. Customers love him too, one said he ‘gives flavour to the place’ when I suggested that it was unusual to find a dog in a shoeshop.

Below he is showing how he can stand up to see over the box barricade I constructed, before the leash purchase.


Now he has his long leash he is ready to greet customers almost at the front door.


This is Atlas working from home, when I was updating our shop website one day. He was quite relaxed about it.


And here is he relaxing on his glamorous flock dog bed, elevated on an arm chair so he can feel part of the family.


On a sunny weekend afternoon Atlas likes nothing better than to take a walk through a leafy and green park. Here we are on the way to the park.


Happiness is running off leash, although it is slightly illegal. He should have waited until he was in the leash-free area. There was no-one else around though so he took the risk.


Since he is almost like a cat, Atlas sleeps on the bed with us, just like our two dearly beloved and now gone to cat-heaven cats did. He is no problem during the night, lies exactly where you left him, no snoring even. In the morning however, he likes to sleep right up until the time we leave for work, so I have to make the bed last thing.

It's such a stressful life being a poodle.


Yesterday was just another day in the life of Atlas. He met his friend Zoey the tiny toy black poodle for lunch. Zoey's mum is the lovely customer who brought the existence of Poodle Rescue to my attention. And the rest is history!