Mum

Since I love my mum above everything else in this world, I decided I better tell you a little about her. I could really write about her on my page about interests, but she is so much more than just an interest. I mean, she is the one who takes care of me and gives me love, food, comfort, walks and all other things a dog might need. Even though us dogs want to be independent and look after ourselves, we can't really make it on our own in the human world.

So, my mum's name is Yvonne Eriksson, and she was born on a day that is very important in France. It's their national day or something, and it's July 14, and I think they had a revolution starting that day. But mum wasn't born the same year as that revolution started, if that was the fact; she would be really old! The year she was born was 1965, and to be kind, I can tell you this much: She's older than I am.

Mum always wanted a dog, but it wasn't possible until everything seemed to fall into place in November 2000. By then I was three months old, still living on the kennel where I was born. Mum made a phone call there after looking at the puppy list on the website belonging to the Swedish Cocker Club. On that list it said that the kennel I come from had puppies in the right colour, so mum called to see if they had any available puppies left. She was a bit worried there wouldn't be any left since it already was three months since I was born. It must have been mum's lucky day, because I was still there. The only male left, and I was black, exactly what mum wanted so she made a deal with my breeder right there and then, over the phone.

I've heard that normal people who buys a dog usually spend time checking around at different kennels, going over to look at the puppies and so on, before making up their mind. But, my mum isn't like everyone else, she likes to do things her way, and she must have thought I sounded irresistible when my breeder Maria told her I was still there. Another thing that is good to know about mum is that when she decides to do something or to get something, she can wait for hours, days, years before getting what she wants, or, she makes her decision faster than the speed of the light. Sometimes, even the speed of the light is too slow for her! Oh, and it wasn't just a fling that made mum get me, she had done plenty of research about my breed before she made that phonecall.

Mum is always playing music, both at home and at work. If it isn't the radio, it's a CD or a cassette. She has over 220 CD's to choose between, and I'm told that before she got me, all she ever bought was CD's. Now I make sure she buys me toys, and most important: Doggy biscuits.

Going back to the music, mum's absolute favourite is Tina Turner. Actually she's seen her LIVE twice, once in Stockholm, at the Globe Arena, and once in Göteborg - or Gothenburg as foreigners call it - at Ullevi Stadium. Mum says that the best concert was the one in Gothenburg, mainly because at that concert, Tina sang all mums' favourite songs. The weird part is that I've heard that both mum and her sister Camilla had really sore throats and aching feet after the concert. Apparently they had to sing along and dance away to each and every song! I thought that was the job of Tina Turner's dancers and backup singers, but I guess I was misinformed. For some reason mum and her sister just had to help Tina Turner out.

When mum isn't listening to Tina Turner, you can hear all sorts of different music. For instance she is listening to Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Joe Cocker, Tom Jones, Anastacia, and Dire Straits, just to mention some. She even listens to Elvis Presley! Mum says that the only thing that is in perfect order in our home is the collection of CD's. She keeps them in alphabetical order by the artist, and if she has more than one CD from someone, they are placed after what year they were released.

Mum also reads a lot, so all over the apartment there are books and magazines lying around. But, when she finishes a book, she puts it up in the bookshelf, and actually, her books are also kept in alphabetical order. When it comes to reading, she reads almost everything from love stories to detective stories, thrillers, biographies and even science and history. She also doesn't care if the books are in Swedish or in English. Usually before going to sleep, she reads a bit, and sometimes that is really annoying to me.

Cleaning up isn't one of mums' favourite things to do, but that doesn't bother me, since I find it really boring when she decides to clean the apartment. She might vacuum clean a bit more often now than she used to before she had me, but otherwise she's not too much into this cleaning up business.

She also likes penguins, and it's penguins all over the place! They are on socks, made of wood, made of glass, different sized cuddly toys and so on. Most of the stuff with penguins, friends has given her as gifts after she once made a remark that she found penguins really cute.

Now you might think that mum has her days filled, with a full time job, reading and listening to music, but on top of that, she has me to look after and take care of. I take quite a lot of her time when you think about it. I need my walks 3-4 times a day and I'm sure we're out walking at least 2-3 hours on working days, and probably twice as much on our days off. It's only if it's too cold, like in the winter, too warm, like some summer days, or too rainy, which could be any season, we don't walk as much. If it's too cold, my feet get very cold since I don't wear shoes, if it's too warm, well, imagine yourself walking around in a black fur coat, and if it's too rainy, you get wet! And I really hate getting wet!!

Besides my walks, I need to be combed and brushed, something mum doesn't do every day, but at least twice a week. I also need to be played with and petted every day, and that also takes a lot of time.

Oh, and before I stop telling you about my mum, I have to tell you this: My mum is completely mad!! She puts TOYS in her hair!!! At least it's something she puts there that just has to be ripped out at any given moment. According to mum, it's not toys at all, and she doesn't put it there for my amusement, she claims it's hair ribbons to keep her ponytail up. Since I came in to her life I've tried to convince her she looks so much better with her hair just hanging down, so she can let me have those toys she puts her hair up with. But, I'm really not that successful I must say. It doesn't seem to matter how many times I manage to steal the toys out of her hair, she just takes them away from me, and puts them back. The thing is that for every time she puts them back, her hairdo starts to look more and more weird. What in the morning was a well combed head with a normal ponytail, is just after a few hours a not so well combed head with a very strange do. I'm so lucky to have a mum who isn't vain! Since she got me, she has even been spotted walking around in rubber boots and a woollen cap! She promised herself years ago, that she would never ever wear rubber boots again in her life. The only thing is that at the time she got me, it was constantly raining, even though it was December, so in order to keep her feet dry, she had to get rubber boots and break that promise to herself. A woollen cap was something she hadn't worn for years, but before she got me, she didn't really have to go out for walks if it was really cold.

Well, I think that's about all I'm going to tell you about mum. After all, this site is about ME!

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