Recently, Milo's been in a string of mishaps. First his foot was stepped on, then he got a bad haircut again. Well, it was a good cut, but just a little too short for the winter snow we had recently. And so he's been freezing and refuses to come out of bed each morning dreading the cold living room. He's like his Dad and prefers sleep-ins. I literally have to drag him out, carry him, hold him for a few minutes while he shivers on my lap and I'm putting some clothes on him. But when we're outside he's fine. I think he just likes to be dramatic. HA!
Here's a pictures of how most Chinese people prefer to hold their dogs, especially poodles like Milo that look almost like teddy bears. There's literally no support under their hips and the dogs are just dangling. I've also seen people pick up their bunny rabbits by their ears.... I have no idea if this is good or not, but it seems to me that behind the neck would be the best. Anyways... 
And then this happened..... Buddy's wearing the CONE OF SHAME! I kid. He really doesn't mind it all. It only bothers him when he has to make turns and bumps into furniture he can't see. It's quite funny really to hear him bonk around in the other room. So the reason why he's wearing the cone is because he has a a foot infection on one of his toes. Some sort of bacteria got to his skin and the vet said.... through my mediocre understanding of the chinese language... that it's a kind of bacteria. So I assume he meant fungus and so Milo has to wear this cone to keep him from licking his entire foot off... which he was attempting to do over the course of two days. He's on day seven of the medication and cone and has three more days left. I must say he's healed up very nicely and I'm glad we caught it before it spread to any other toes. 
And finally today, we embark on a trip with Milo to Shanghai where we will drop him off at a boarding facility for the next two weeks while we are in Botswana and S. Africa for our honeymoon. (That was a long sentence). I have never boarded any of my pets and I really have been in denial that we are actually leaving him at a kennel. But I found what I have been told is the best kennel in Shanghai. You might be asking why didn't I find one in Hangzhou. Well, they don't exist. Chinese people who have dogs tend to be the older generation and if they go somewhere they have a large network of family and friends that could care for their pets. Expats who have pets, don't have such a great network tend to live in Shanghai anyways, so that's where the kennel is. Expats also tend to go on longer trips that need this kind of service. That being said, last night at the vet in Hangzhou, we did see their boarding facility, which is just a room full of cages, but they also have another empty room that they said they could board Milo in. We might consider it since we will travel a bit this spring for shorter trips. The boarding place in Shanghai is in the countryside on a big piece of land so the dogs can be let out, run around, use the obstacle course, etc. They have different kinds of kennels. Some with an indoor/outdoor run and some just indoors with aircon/heating. Milo will of course be in a heated room. (See first paragraph of blog entry for clarification).
So in order to deal with my anxieties, it struck me this morning that I should just think of it as Milo's just going to Doggy Chinese New Year Camp! He'll have his own room (not just a cage), he'll get to play each day, use the obstacle course, eat with his buddies, be outdoors, etc. I even heard that there's a webcam of the play yard and you can go and see how your dog is doing. We won't have internet for the first 5 days of our trip but maybe I'll have to check up on him after that.
If this trial run goes well, we might think about sending Milo to Doggy Summer Camp this July when we are in the US. So that's Milo's big week. He's growing up, that little buddy of ours.
