Wildlife in Berlin

On Wednesday October 10, Diego found a hedgehog in the grass down the street. We were biking down the street and he stopped dead in his tracks and started barking.

Hedgehogs are ridiculously cute. So of course I made sure that Diego didn't get too close.

This is not the first wildlife sighting in Berlin.

This summer I saw a rabbit in Mon Bijou park, and just the other day, my friend saw a fox-- yes a fox-- outside his house in Gendarmenmarkt at 5am.

This is a funny city.

And because hedgehogs are so cute, I am posting a picture of one I found online. No, I did not pick up the wild German hedgehog.

A Little Brilliance

After the excitement of a celebrity sighting, and the crush of mobile shopping at Saturn after work hours, I had a brilliant idea and bought Diego a blinking glow in the dark arm band from the bike shop. I strapped it around his neck and now he blinks and blinks as he runs around Mon Bijou in the darkness at 7:45pm.

Celebrity Citing

Is it stalking when you are too nervous to even acknowledge a celebrity?

Today I was riding my bike down Torstrasse with Diegito running beside me during working hours. Usually I ride my bike down the street once business hours are over, since I tend to work later. So this was a unique experience in itself.

I was daydreaming and staring in the shops when who should I see in the window of that repurposed kimono shop-- Suri!

Flabbergasted, I looked around-- no paparazzi-- and went in the shop. I always wanted to go inside, but it was always closed when I rode by before.

Upon entering, a gentle-ish German man spoke to me in German and pointed at Diego. What? I said. Was my dog friendly? he asked. Yes, why? I nervously responded as a handsome black man approached me (did this place have guards??) For the baby to grab, and pointed at Suri who was approaching Diego with Katie's kind-looking midwestern parents.

I was so surprised that the guards had directed my attention so suddenly to the child. She had a cookie in her hand, and I said yes Diego is very friendly and he likes cookies. Katie quickly came by and smiled and picked up the child. The parents smiled too. Smiles everyone, smiles!

I looked around and admired the dresses and didn't look at Katie and family much. She smiled a hello and I snuck out.

Is it stalking if you are too nervous to talk to a celebrity (even though you are in a foreign country and you usually blab to any/all foreigners you meet)?

Were those 'handlers' in the store S-gists?

Before and After

Several weeks ago, my friend Catrin kindly accompanied me to the Hundesalon. Diego needed some grooming. My vet in Mitte gave me the name of a groomer who I thought was nearby. It turned out that this groomer was not as close as I had thought; as the tram passed more and more Stalin-style block apartments, Catrin and I theorized about what the groomer would look like.
'Her name is Missy' Catrin said, drawing on her knowledge of a trend in East Germany to give girls names ending with double consonants and a 'y' sound: Connie, Shelly, Crissie. (Guys had names like Rico-- too cool!).

I guessed that she had true-red hair cut short with a streak of black through it. Catrin added in long laquered nails (I thought that was a stretch because how do you trim a dog with huge shiny acrylic nails.

Who was right? Both of us. She couldn't have been more perfect. The red streak, the acrylic nails. I didn't catch her name, but her dog-- I mean her doppelganger-- was called 'Sissy.'

And how did Diego turn out? He's thrilled with the results. (really, he is so much more himself. He was just too hot in all of that fur this summer. He's back to his playful cuddly self.)

And yes, I am to blame for the big head. It's just that he looks so different when he gets groomed; I think if his face was shaved he would look so different. I like to keep his face as fluffy as possible so that I still recognize him.

Working dog

Here is a snap of Diego doing what he does best: being cute.

He loves his little modest bed from Target and he sleeps in it under my desk at work.

Sometimes I stick my feet on him to see how long he will tolerate it. It's funny because I always tire of it before he does.

The Big Chase

Diego give Jamil the Saluki a run for his money. They ran 3 times around Mon Bijou park jumping over people and using the entire park are their track. It was hilarious. If you look closely you can see me with my blue bag. This video was shot with a camera phone.

I will try and stop posting so much about Diego. How dull!

Separated by Emusifiers

My Dog, the ball Addict

el Diablo has taken to bringing his most beloved tennis ball into my bed with the hopes that I might throw it.

Fat chance fluffball.

Dogtown

Just as Virginia is for lovers, Berlin is for dogs.

Diego the Labradoodle has come to Berlin with me and is making his mark. Sure he pees on trees and bushes and marks things that way, but he also is warming the hearts of Germans all over the city.

Diego comes to work every day with me, much like in the US. But now, instead of sitting in the back of my 'carpool-chic' station wagon, he leads the way-- off leash-- to work.

Sometimes we walk, and sometimes I ride my bike. And Diego, a reformed leash-puller, trots down the street, stopping when I yell his name at intersections, and sitting once he reaches the street. Good boy!

He's new at this off-leash thing though, and he's had some run ins to which I will confess here:

- barked at Japanese couple canoodling in Mon Bijou park after dark. I was riding my bike, and he ran ahead of me and barked at them and scared the shit out of those two. 残念!

- on a sunny post-work walk through Mon Bijou again, he ran up to some homeless guys who were making a meal of a sausage and some booze, and promptly sat in front of them until they generously gave him a chunk...ok 2... of sausage. danke!

- going up the elevator at work, the doors opened at the 3rd floor (4th floor for you Americans out there) and he barked, I mean really barked, at the cleaning woman in her hijab. Diego, as I've learned, is afraid of people wearing hoods, and this poor woman's head scarf flicked that horrible switch. Entschuldigung!

I do hope my list does not get any longer. Of course, when he misbehaves, or looks like he is going to misbehave, I put him back on the leash and make his Sit and Down a couple of times.

ok, so bad behavior aside, as I mentioned, Berlin is a dog's paradise.

Today I will tell you about our favorite Mon Bijou park. Mon Bijou is along the Spree, and conveniently located on our route to/from work. So everday, we pass through the park. I've made a number of friends there: Dwight and Yago, Claudia and Jamil, Ian and Fritz, Mel and I can't remember his dog's name, among others. Some of the people speak English, and some I just smile at. (in the photo, Diego is playing with Sloanie, Jamil, Bonbon and Hara.)

There are a couple of question people always ask:

1) girl or boy: most people in Germany don't 'fix' their dogs, so there are often the 'balls' issues and dominance.

2) is he castrated? yes, he was neutered, and he is proud of it. related to question #1

3) how old is he? I'm not sure why they ask this. Just to make small talk I think. And it works, I chat back.

4) and the ubiquitous 'what is he?' Mostly they think he is a funny looking poodle, but then they find out he has a dumb name like 'Labradoodle' and the laughs start. He is really playful and runs super fast, so he is making quite an impression with the dog owners. I hear them saying, 'oh this is the dog I was telling you about.' And friends of people I work with always say 'so THIS is Diego.' I rarely hear 'oh so this is that great American girl you told me about.' (Perhaps they whisper it in complicated German so I don't understand.)

So the dogs aren't fixed, and so there are exciting dominance issues, girl dogs in heat, and fun stuff like that. Did I mention that having a dog off leash in a park is illegal? More later, I'm off to the dog park, I mean the park.