Mycroft

Well, it's been 16 days now since I got my border collie I ended up naming Commander Mycroft Beckert Barrett. I just call him Mycroft. Most of you know how Elizabeth's XO in Gaia is Mycroft. Well, Mycroft is my XO in Korea. Also Mycroft Holmes was the brother of Sherlock Holmes and a genius. Border collies are the genius breed in the dog world. So, the name actually fits all around. Though, in Gaia and in the Holmes stories Mycroft doesn't eat my furniture. My Mycroft tends to want to do that. I've no regrets about getting him, though. I got him and his enormous palace of a dog crate from a New Zealander living in Korea by the name of Ben. Mycroft's a year old and I swear his crate would be more suited for a Great Dane. I could fit two Mycroft's in there easily.

I took the subway to Itaewon and met him and Ben. My first view of Mycroft? Him taking a poop on the sidewalk. It was rather messy too since he had the runs at the time cause Ben got him puppy chow by mistake. Anyway, he was very happy and excited to see me and proceeded to rip my arms out of the sockets by pulling me down the street. That is a habit I am still trying to break him of two weeks later. Ben and I put him in his crate and proceeded to have lunch at a pub down the street. I had a cheeseburger and it was a DAMN good cheesburger! Cooked just right, juicy, and with a ton of fries. I ended up eating it all. It was the first truly Western food I'd had aside from the spaghetti lunch at the National Museum (took forever to get BTW).

After lunch the taxi van came and we got the crate in the trunk with a lot of effort. The taxi driver wasn't very happy about having Mycroft in the back seat with me. He was scared of big dogs. I don't see his problem considering Mycroft was a perfect angel laying on my legs the entire two hours it took us to get back. Traffic in Korea is hell. Don't drive if you can help it.

The taxi driver helped us get the crate up to the elevator (under protest cause he just wanted to drop us flat) and Ben and I lugged the thing into my living room. It is now what you call a feature there. I should get some boards and cover the top with them. It could easily be used as a table.

Mycroft hasn't exactly been the easiest dog. He gets into EVERYTHING and even though he'll mind when you say no or to leave it you'll catch him back doing what he isn't supposed to do two minutes later. So like a man! But, at least he doesn't bark inside his crate even though he pulls like a son of a gun. That makes taking walks hard. He sees me as the dogsitter and not as Mistress and therefore willfully does what he knows he should not. He's a border collie. He's smart enough to know what he can and can not do after all this time.

Part of the problem is the full schedule. It's proving a bit difficult to exercise him as much as he needs since the walk to school is longer than I expected. But both of those problems will be fixed once I get a bike. He loves running by the bike, I've been told, and that should make him happy and my commutes much shorter.

Another problem is Korea's view of dogs in general. Yes, it's true, they still do eat dog over here. I won't eat it and not all Koreans will but their idea of a pet dog is a toy poodle, maltese, pomeranian, and other toy breeds. Mycroft in Western culture would be considered a medium size dog. They consider him a monster sized dog. A third of the people who see him ignore him, a third point and make kissy faces, and a third back away and are scared. I haven't had anyone run screaming yet but I've heard it happens. I never know what'll happen when the elevator door opens though the rule of thirds seems to apply there. I'm teaching him to sit and be quiet but he is a VERY enthusiastic jumper when people are interested in him so it makes things a bit problematic. I don't let him jump up on people but he can get so excited that it can scare people who were already scared. If they ignore him though he'll ignore them which is nice.

There also are no stores like Petco where you can buy everything you need for your dog. There is dog food sold at grocery stores or at the tiny one room pet stores but anything else from leashes to bowls to dog toys is of a size to suit a toy poodle. So, finding toys and other things for him to play with has been quite difficult. Most of it is too soft and too bloody expensive. I only just found him a could tennis balls at Home Plus (Korean version of WalMart) last night on the way home from the music concert (they have a MALL in their bloody soccer stadium) and it was surprising the difference it made. He's carried that ball around with him ever since, happy as a clam, and my corrections have drastically reduced. True, he gets it stuck under the bed about a dozen times a day for me to fish out but it still was worth the 5000 won. There is an online pet store that has a ton of stuff but it is all in Korean. I have a Korean bank account now so I might try it sometime if I can figure it out. I really do need a full set of doggie gear. All I got right now is two tennis balls, poop bags, bowl, food, leash, and a monster sized crate. Oh and the dog clicker I brought from home.

Still, no regrets at all. Every transitioning period has its rough spots and it's only been two weeks. I'm teaching him tricks. I've already taught him to spin in a circle and jump on his hind legs. I'm working on bowing now. It's fun when little kids and others are interested in him to put on a quick little trick show. I want to do doggie freestyle dancing with him someday but that is a LONG way away. I'd settle for him telling me when he needs to go out, stopping eating my furniture, and not pulling my arms out of joint. But, nobody's perfect! He's my boyo and I love him and together we're going to take on the world together. He just needs some manners first!