For the past month, I’ve been puppy sitting the cutest little doggone furry friend. Today definitely seems like a good day to celebrate puppies!
Recently, our friends Oriane and Paulo welcomed a new puppy into their family. Her name is Miko. She’s a black and tan Shiba Inu puppy, and she’s definitely one of the cutest puppies ever.
She arrived as a really smart little fuzzy bundle of energy very much in need of some basic puppy training and a lot of time and patience. Since our friends both work long hours, one of them in the same lab as Travis, they didn’t want to leave her home alone all day.
They happen to live in a different village, but the train they take into Fribourg goes right by the train platform in Rose, a small hamlet just a few kilometers from our house in Onnens.
Every weekday, I drive to Rose in time to meet Miko’s mom on the train platform. Though the times vary, she always rides in the same train car so I know to stand in the same place on the platform. When the doors open, we pass Miko to the other like a hot potato before the train takes off again a few seconds later.
In the evening after work, the train arrives from the opposite direction and we repeat the process with me passing Miko back to her. It’s a pretty snazzy little puppy sitting set up.
Want to meet Miko?
She’s pretty much the most adorable puppy you’ll ever see, so prepare yourself!

Hi.
My name is Miko.
I like short rides in the car and sloppy puppy kisses.
Our day starts out with a short train ride from the station to our house, where she romps in the yard for all of a minute.
Then she passes out wherever I am for her first lazy puppy nap of the day.

After her nap, she inhales her lunch, then tries to convince me I forgot to feed her.
It doesn’t work.
Usually.

Even though Miko has learned that Tica the Cat is too dignified to play with her and Brisco the Cat never learned to play nicely, Miko hasn’t given up on them
One day, Brisco will come around and play chase like a normal dog.

Brisco, if you play with me you can have some of my kibble.
I’ll just tell the lady she forgot to feed me again.
It doesn’t really matter that Brisco won’t play though.
A stick is a decent stand-in and is much less…
…sharp.

This puppy sitting thing is harder than it looks. It’s hard being a puppy.
It’s so confusing that the tasty blue squeaky thingy is a “yes” but the tasty white cord thingy is a “NO!”

After a nice, long walk in the woods, it’s time for nap #2.

I don’t know why people with people complain. This parenting business is easy peazy.
In fact, I just might have found my next career – as a pet sitter and professional dog walker. It’s definitely a good cure for expat loneliness.
Eventually Miko’s mom and dad will start charging me for dog sitting her. It is pet therapy, after all.
But in the meantime, the puppy kisses are free!
Want to see more adorable animal blog posts?
- The Bat Effect: Midnight Encounter with a Fuzzy Friend
- Unlikely Woodland Playmates in Switzerland
- Cats and Mice: Tale of An Expat Cat Turned Great White Hunter
- Wild Hedgehogs In Switzerland: Discoveries Of New Expats