My name is Luka! I am a male Maltese Terrier and I live in Levent, Istanbul in Turkey and TOMORROW IS MY BIRTHDAY!
So... to celebrate my 1st birthday, I asked my "mom" Dani (nickname)/Vildan (real name) to start writing a blog for me too - starting today! You see.. my mom is a blogger too! She started her own blog - called Dani's Log Book: Desination Istanbu and Beyond (http://danislogbookdestinationistanbulbeyond.blogspot.com) in July and I too wanted to jump on the band wagon. She is CONSTANTLY on the computer - writing and writing, so there must be something to this I thought! But of course, she is not just a blogger - you can visit her blog if you want more info on her life.
Like I mentioned above, I will be one year-old tommorow according to the papers the pet shop gave my "1st" family when they purchased me this past February.
Yup... my current "mom" is not my first: I have only been sharing my life with her since May 10.
So, how did our paths cross? On a bright and sunny Saturday afternoon on May 7th, my ex-mom and ex-sister were walking down the street in Bebek when I was "noticed" by my "cousin" Arman who pointed me out to my "aunt" Meltem and said, "look mom, what a cute dog!" An ever-loving animal lover, my aunt and "then" mom started chatting. She told my aunt that they were giving me away because I guess I was a handful and they couldn't take care of me!
I on the other hand do not agree with this - I just think they weren't ready for the responsibility of taking care of me and now were looking for a way out.
To make along story short... my aunt gave her telephone number to her and said, "if the people who said they would take him, decide not too, let me know - as my sister is looking to own a dog!"
You see... before I came along... my "current" mom was an "aunt" and my current "aunt" a "mom". In December 1994, they became the proud parent/aunt of Çapkın, a fluffy male terrier who brought so much joy to their lives - until his passing in my "mom's" arms on December 29, 2009. The whole family was of course devastated and still remember him and mourn for him as they shared soooo much throughout his 15 1/2 year life! But, let's change the subject now before we all get sad, but I couldn't not mention Çapkın in my blog...BTW... Çapkın means "playboy" in Turkish... but from what I hear, he was far from it!
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| Çapkın in Lucerne/December 2008 |
So... the next morning at around 10:30am, three people (mom, aunt and aunt's husband Ibrahim) showed up at our door and were greeted by the housekeeper! They entered the kitchen where I was and I jovially greeted them by jumping into the arms of my "current" mom! I immediately took a liking to her and her to me. so I put my best foot forward to impress her! I really put on the charm - I was playfully, yet shy!
The housekeeper then gave them my "papers",my bed, leash and collar and 10 minutes after their arrival, I was living my "home" to start a new life!
Would you believe - I didn't even look back and didn't have any bad feelings or sadness about leaving! In fact, my owner didn't even come out to meet my new mom (housekeeper said she was sick and feeling under the weather to which I say - BS!) and I guess my sister was at school - so the two families never met! This does make me sad in a way, but I guess I was too happy that someone actually wanted me!
Anyway... on my 1st day of my new life... our first stop was my grandmother's house (more on her later) and from there to the vet! Mom took me to Animallia (www.animallia.com) in Etiler because that's where they used to take Çapkın and we have the same doctor! His name is Murat Ilgü and he has a soft touch!
First, he checked my health certificate and apparently my previous owner had not had any of my shots done! I only had the shots that the pet shop had done before they purchased me. It is SO important that all my shots are in order - not just for myself, but also for the health of my family! So, we immediately began a regiment of scheduling my shots - you can't have them all done at the same time, so for the next month, we visited the vet often! My vet was also very proud of me! I guess I am one of those 4-legged creatures that doesn't mind getting a needle and doesn't get weak in the knees as the car drives up to the vet! My mom is very proud of me and that makes me happy too! After all my shots were done, she had me inserted with a chip and they took blood tests which they sent off to some laboratory for analysis. Now, I am all set to travel abroad with my mom whenever because all my documents are now in order!
During our first visit to the vet, she bought me a new bed from the pet shop and threw out the one given by my old owner. Apparently, it didn't smell very nice - you see, they never "toilet trained" me, so when I had to go... I went in the house... on my bed... She also got me a couple of toys, a new leash and collar and also made an appointment for a grooming! She wanted to have it done immediately, but unfortunately the groomer was totally booked!
Then my aunt Meltem came and picked us up and we went home! I was soo excited - ahhh - a new life! We live in a big housing complex in Levent and there are many places right on the grounds for me to explore and discover. The apartment is nice too and spacious - more than enough room for mom and me!
Just as mom was starting to discover and learn about me... I was starting to learn about her. I realized she loves to take pictures and that's one of the first things we did upon getting home!
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| With mom |
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| With Aunt Meltem |
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| First haircut |
Our first week of living together wasn't easy on either one of us! I think I drove my mom nuts with my "toilet" issues! I couldn't understand what the big deal was! In my other house, there were no rules like this... But, here .. everytime I decided to "relieve" myself at whim (thank god she doesn't have carpets!) she would run after me saying "hayır! hayır! (that means no in Turkish... and oh...mom doesn't speak to me in English - only Turkish - we do live in Istanbul, so makes more sense that I first learn the local language and then we can try our hand at English) and then fill a bucket with water and with a stick with some fuzzy thing on the end, clean up after me! I'll be honest with you... it took me about a month or so to realize that I was not supposed to be doing this in the house!!! She did allow me to do it on the balcony, but I was really supposed to "do the deed" during our walks outside in the morning and night!
I also had a lot of temper tantrums during the first weeks! What can I say... I'm a baby and want attention when I want it! But, my mom - who is a Leo by the way - has a very strong personality and is a very busy person and really likes her space! And.. guess what, I was intruding in a major way! Also, I am a super picky eater and DO NOT eat dog food at all and this drives my mom crazy! But, she hasn't been able to get me to eat it yet and instead I prefer a cucumber in the morning, then some meat, chicken or lamb and I LOVE cheese (this I took after her I think, because she is the one who turned me on to it!). But, I don't eat alot... have to watch my figure - I'm about 4,5 kg which is a normal weight for me.
But, we are working out our differences and learning to live with each - it's a ongoing process! Do we still have problems? Sure! I realized I too have a strong personality - even though I am a Libra.. I am only one day away from being a Scorpio - so makes sense!
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As this is my first post, it will be a little lengthy but I promise to make it interesting and fun so that you don't get too bored, but I am trying to fill 5 months of my life with mom in one post, so that when I continue to post from now on, it will be up to date!
One of the great things about living with mom is that, first, she works from home, so we get to spend lots of time together - I don't know if you know this, but Maltese terriers do not like to be left alone too much!
Also, she takes me with her to lots of cool places around Istanbul! From what I can gather so far, mom likes the "good life" and I have already been to some of the trendiest places in town!
For example, the first place we went together and as a family with my aunt and her family as well was to Masa (www.masarestaurant.com) a trendy cafe/restaurant at a place called IstinyePark (www.istinyepark.com) - a shopping mall).
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| At Masa with cousin Arman (before my haircut!) |
While there, I met my first friend! Her name is Mia - she is also a maltese terrier and a few months younger than me. Her mom's name is Ceyda... I hope to see her again, but our moms' haven't been able to schedule a get together yet!
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| Mia and me at Masa |
Then, one day - we had another family outing to Chilai. This is a new place that opened right on the Bosphorus in Bebek and a pretty ok place.
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| @ Chilai |
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| @ Lucca in October |
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| Lucca |
Some other places I've visited so far are Backyard - www.backyardistanbul.com ( a cool place overlooking the Bosphorus in Bebeköy); Mangerie (www.mangeriebebek.com) - also a really nice cafe in Bebek, but boy did I get tired walking up those stairs to get there, but it was worth it and once again, I was a hit with the waitresses and customers; Bebek Kahvesi - another very nice casual cafe that has been around for years and years (my mom went there for the first time in 1995!).
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| @ Backyard with my mom's friend Zeyno |
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| @ Mangerie |
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| Mangerie Cafe |
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| The House Cafe |
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| Hardal |
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| Beymen Brasserie |
Even though mom has taken me to so many wonderful places so far, I think I enjoyed our vacation to Çeşme the most! I wasn't exactly thrilled to be placed in a small carrying case (even though I didn't make any hassles about it!) and then getting on this thing called an airplane (my heart was beating like crazy) that made lots of noise and flew in the air like a bird, but the end result was great!
We stayed at my aunt Meltem's summer house so I was outside ALL day running around the garden and I actually swam too!!! Not knowing what I was doing, I threw myself into the swimming pool at home and then started flapping my legs - it didn't feel that great, but it just came natural! I also had a "friend" at the house too... my aunt was taking care of a street dog - her name is Cookie - and we got along great!
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| With Cookie at home in Çeşme |
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| Relaxing at home in Çeşme |
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| @ 7800 Beach Club |
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| After my "swim" at 7800 Beach Cluy |
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| Swimming with my aunt at Şamdan Beach Club |
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| Şamdan Beach Cllub |
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| @ Fun Beach |
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| Fun Beach |
So, as you can see... I have been getting around and I am really happy in my new home! I always say, if you live with someone, you have to share your lives with them and I believe I have a very balanced life with my mom! I have a few friends in the neighborhood too.. my "love" right now is Zilli... she is 7 years old (much older than me!) and a terrier and we live in the same apartment building... we run into each other sometimes during our daily walks. And, then there is Fibi... she is also a terrier - lives a couple of buildings down, but I haven't seen her in a while.. My other two friends or Sunny - a 7 year old cocker spaniel (male) and Chuck - a one year old labrador... they are bigger than me, but we have no problems!
So...I think I have a good life... like I said mom doesn't leave me alone for too long... of course she goes out during the day and sometimes at night without me... but that's ok...I know she will be coming back home, so I never make a fuss and bark and drive our neighbors crazy!
So, welcome to my blog! I will be writing from time to time - not only to share my life experiences and growing up pains with you - but I will also bring attention to the animal rights issues in Turkey - unfortunately there are too many stray cats and dogs on the streets in our country! They too need our care, love and understanding. There are many animal shelters (public and private) but unfortunately most are not in the best of shape and need support and I will be writing about what you can do to help!
Till the next time....
Affectionately,
Luka
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