Day 1 of 1, Captain’s log – taking care of Simba for the day.

Hi! I’m Rachel, Simba’s birthday twin! Jason did a crazy thing and went to Disney for the day. This time I got the pleasure of watching Simba!

I don’t think I can be as detailed as Heather because ADHD problems, but I figured it’s tradition to write a blog when someone takes care of Simba. Therefore, here I am! Now, if only someone would write a Culper blog! 

As the people reading this know, I have a dog of my own and he is a princess. What you might not know is that I have been short staffed for several months which means I’m playing supervisor and care manager. This month, I had a new staff start! So on top of 12 life plans, 5 assessments, and 6+ people in the hospital, I have the joy of training a new staff. This is to say, princess has been up and out early (as has Rachel) so he is kind of cranky these days. 

On Monday, I cheated on him! Jason was doing something bananas and I was happy to help out. After all, Jason is Culper’s fav dog sitter and I do love some quality Simba time. 

Since Culp keeps teenage hours, I didn’t wake him up too early when I needed to also take care of Simba. Instead, I fed him breakfast and then went to Simba. Simba was walked at some ridiculously early hour by Jason so I decided to start our time off with breakfast while I did some work. This allowed me to spend some time with Simba since he’s used to a lot of quality time.

Simba joined me on a virtual appointment and scared the person on the other end when he started barking at a sound only he heard. I do not know how Jason puts up with all of the sound machines and music. That irritated my particular sensory issues so I muted the tv (don’t worry, I unmuted it before I left). Simba and I played for a while (he’s good at tug of war) and then we went for a walk. Simba quickly did his string bean business (IYKYK) and then we went back inside. Simba makes a good model so I took some pictures of him playing. A good sitter always sends pictures of the kids playing to the parents! 

I played a couple minutes longer and then went to go take care of my own dog before heading out for the day. I spent my whole day out in the field at meetings, picked up my freshly tailored dress for my sister’s wedding, went to feed Culper, and then back over to Simba I went. Since Jason’s brother had recently walked Simba, we once again started with a meal, had some playtime, Simba requested some belly rubs, and then we went for a walk with no success (turns out Simba did his business with Daniel), and then I went back home. Now that the children were fed, I had dinner. 

Later on, I decided to honor Culper’s repeated requests for a car ride and we went to go walk Simba for the last time. It was a lovely night so I walked Culper and then he happily hopped in the car. I parked illegally so he’d be close and I ran upstairs to get Simba. Don’t worry, the windows were down and I wasn’t far. 

Simba joined me outside and the boys gave each other sniffs and kisses through the open window. I proceeded to walk Simba and got the death stare from Culper. He was not happy I was walking another dog. I told him that morning that I was cheating on him, but that I loved him the most. 

Every time I walk Simba, the weather is terrible. This particular day, it was windy so Simba kept trying to pull be back inside without doing his business. We went back and forth for a while but eventually, it was time to throw in the towel. I guess Simba wanted to save a welcome home present for Jason; greeted with a 1am walk. I had to quickly bring him up and the poor guy grabbed a toy and was just looking at me; I have never felt worse. I texted Jason the update and he checked the camera, Simba was fine. And that wrapped up my day with Simba. Culper and I went home and off to bed. 

Everyone should be proud, I only called Simba “Culper” one time in the morning and I corrected myself. Jason left me detailed instructions on what to do with Simba, even making a shared note on his phone just for me. I hate to admit that it was helpful! He did leave the care guide prominently left out, but I only opened it to have a good laugh (and get the WiFi password). 

Simba is a cute and smart boy. He’s also stubborn and stronger than he looks. Simba is also my dog’s only dog friend so I was happy to keep him company. Simba, play date soon?

Heather, how did I do?