I keep thinking, "I need to blog that."

...and now that I've allowed myself a moment, I can't think of what prompted that thought.

This new experience we're having, getting a house ready to list, is grueling at times. Lots of painting. Choosing colors and materials based on the guess that they'll offend the fewest number of viewers, and that they are of decent quality, "but not too expensive" (like the Shrubbery order from the Knights Who Say "Ni"). Going through junk you didn't remember you even had. Dividing it into stacks: Donate, sell, recycle, trash. Making an untold number of trips to the home improvement big-box stores, both orange and blue, because sometimes they really do have different materials stocked. I took a vacation day yesterday to handle several such tasks. It was totally worth it.

Last night we had a welcome break in such action. My dear supervisor and her husband came over with a delightful home-cooked meal. Good company, good food, good wine, bad movie. It was fantastic.

Still looking for a home for Crystal, who is doing quite well:


We really need to get her placed before we put the house on the market. And we really, really need to get her placed before we move. Several laws and regulations in our home state are not very friendly toward her breed, so finding a good forever home in Texas would be better for her.

Technical difficulties stream of consciousness

Hmmmm.

- I set up a new email address. I thought I changed everything over, but Blogger didn't want to start sending my comments to the new address. I finally got it to quit sending to my old address... but now I think they're going out into the ether somewhere instead of landing in any inbox of mine.

- The reason I set up a new email address is because we are moving.

- Holy crap, we are moving back to our home state.

- Seriously. Damn.

- I like it here. The Alpha likes it here. We like the life we've built here. The dogs like freeloading off the life we've built here. Why couldn't the incredible job opportunity like it here, too?

- The BAND, Elwood! ... the BAND!!!

- My KITCHEN!

- We still have one foster dog who needs adopting. Our home state allows BSLs (breed-specific laws) restricting where dogs who look like Crystal can live. We could take her with us if it comes to that--which is why we aren't looking in the suburb that has the outright ban on three breeds--but I don't think it would be a friendly environment for her.

- I am really digging this CD lately.

- Oh, great. My last two blog comments just arrived via the old address. No progress there.

- It's bedtime.

Farewell, Poohbert!

Ah, the Poohbert. She's such a cutie.


Which is why we were a little mystified as to why nobody had called about adopting her in the two months we'd had her. We did have some friends who admired her, but no serious inquiries... until last weekend, when Barb, a woman from a rural town north of here, called to see if Poohbert girl was still looking for her forever home.

Barb was already partway down to our 'burb running errands when she called, and she decided to go ahead and come have a look in-person. It went well -- Poohbert reminded Barb of her dear departed dog, but not too much -- and so the pre-adoption process began: checking out the veterinary history of the potential adopter, testing Poohbert around cats since she might be living with a couple, etc.

Yesterday morning, we had Poohbert jump on in the car for a ride northward. An hour later, from a dead-end road off a dead-end road, we turned into a driveway of a house near the lake.

Poohbert met Daisy the dog, who lives next door. She met Bob, Barb's husband. She also met neighbor dogs Honey and Trapper, and Shadow the Cat. She ran a few good laps around the yard and figured out Daisy can run faster than she can. She sniffed all around the house and figured out where the cats like to curl up and sun themselves.

We walked her down to the lake, and she had her first experience with waves chasing her on the shore. She wasn't really sure what to think about that. She watched Daisy dog swim around, though.

She drank lots of water, and left an equal amount splattered on the floor all around the indoor dish, and all around the bowl on the porch, too, as we had warned she would. Barb didn't mind.


Poohbert's new name: Puddles.

It's appropriate.

This morning, Puddles woke up her new mom at 4 a.m. because she had to be a good dog and go for a trip outside. And then at 6 a.m., she just wanted to get up and check out the lake a little more.

She sure looks like she's home to me.

Friday Five: Friendship

Over at RevGalBlogPals, my friend Kathrynzj has this week's Friday Five... on friendship:

1) Do you remember your first best friend? What did you do together? Are they still in your life?
I can think of several early childhood friends that I called "best friend," none of whom are currently in my life. We played, went to school or church together, etc.

2) Did you ever have to move away or have your best friend move away from you?
In fourth grade, my friend Chrissy's father got transferred. I wrote her at her new address, and never heard back. (Dang, Kathryn, these first couple of questions are downers! On to brighter things now...)

3) Are there people in your life now that you can call 'friend'?
Yes, tons of them, from all kinds of places! In fact, there is one from Parts North in my guest bedroom right now, and we saw other friends last night and will see still more friends today!

4) What are some of your favorite things to do with your friends?
I really enjoy conversation with my close friends. We don't have to be doing anything; in fact, with some friends I don't see very often, cluttering the schedule with an activity of some sort is just a distraction to me. Put me at a dinner table or scattered around someone's living room with a circle of friends, and it's like a little piece of heaven.

5) What is a gift friendship has given you?
Too many gifts to name here... One I've used recently, though, is the ability to seek out friends who understand things in particular ways. I appreciate the different perspectives my friends bring to the same situation.

Friday Five: What is there to smile about?

Over at RevGalBlogPals, Jan writes: With the end of RevGalBlogPals' third annual Big Event, I am wondering who went and what it was like. There must be a lot of smiling from the Big Event! Hopefully, the rest of us are not frowning either.

So let us know how your past week was for you.

Write five different aspects of the week OR answer the following questions:

1. When were you smiling lately? When one of my foster dogs, Crystal, got a positive evaluation from the rescue group coordinator. I also smiled on Monday, when my friend Terry adopted Tildie, one of the dogs we had seen but hadn't been able to take the morning of our rescue transport run. Monday was the day Tildie had been scheduled to be euthanized; instead, she got a new loving home.

2. What happened unexpectedly to you this past week? Lots of stuff! Much of it unbloggable.

3. How was a catastrophe averted (or not)? I suppose the animal rescue world is just full of catastrophes, but I had one hit particularly hard this morning: I learned that one of the dogs I was supposed to help transport to foster care in another state last weekend, but who didn't get on that run and was supposed to come this week, has died from complications of her spay surgery. We can't save them all, but that doesn't mean I don't cry about the ones we lose.

4. What was the most delicious thing you ate? Yesterday my lunch included the last bit of a yummy block of Australian Cheddar that I picked up at Whole Paycheck.

5. Did you see any good movies or read any books or articles? We re-watched The Blues Brothers, just because we can. It's a feel-good classic that I will love forever.

Some dogs never leave you.

Two years ago yesterday, we said goodbye to Cub. We still miss her. Tears are welling up even now. Eight years was not enough life for her, but liver disease doesn't play fair. We did the best we could and cared for her in ways that not everyone would have bothered to do. She was -- she is -- my babydog.


So it felt right that yesterday I was able to honor her memory by helping other dogs. My friend Terry and I got up way. too. early. and picked up five dogs from a local shelter. We used The Alpha's car because it has more room for things like crates (he didn't even complain about the smell... which is still there, even though I wiped down the entire cargo area when we were done).

We drove Frankie, Charlie, Oso, Hudson, and Sally to Ardmore, where we met their next transporter, who drove them to Norman. The next leg took them into Kansas, where they stayed overnight, and this afternoon they are scheduled to arrive at the rescue group HQ in Minnesota. Those dogs are alive because we helped. We made a difference.

Oh, and yes, we still have the foster dogs. Here's a new Petfinder listing for Crystal.


When she and I met the pit bull rescue coordinator on Friday, I learned just how attached she is to me. Karla tried walking with Crystal across the parking lot of her office while I stood still, and Crystal kept stopping to look back at me. Karla recommended that I recruit other people to take Crystal for short walks while I stay home, to get her to worry less about where I am and learn to enjoy a walk more. We also will make regular trips out and about until she learns to relax a little more in unfamiliar situations. Her timidity is her biggest hurdle. She is definitely adoptable, though! I'm glad to have that assurance from someone more experienced at these types of things.

Oh, and Poohbert is still doing quite well, too.


Some dogs never leave you. In Cub's case, I'm very glad of that. In Crystal and Poohbert's cases, it's just not for us. We aren't their forever home. We will gladly keep them safe until they find it, though.

Easter foster dogs update

Our Easter celebration was great, but this post is about the fosters! Crystal and Pooh Bear (a.k.a. Poohbert) might get their own blog soon -- anything that'll help them find their home!

We've decided that Pooh Bear is actually Crystal's dog. It's our own weird little way of saying how bonded they are. It's like a sibling relationship. Crystal lets Pooh Bear clean her ears, gnaw on her paws and face, all kinds of things that other dogs couldn't get by with doing. They are really sweet together.

Pooh Bear got spayed last week, and she's spending a few more days yet in the Cone of Shame because we don't trust her not to pick at her stitches. They'll dissolve soon, though. Here's a happy little Cone of Shame shot from last night (where you can see some of the damage she and Crystal have inflicted upon the Cone):


And a pic of Crystal, taken last night, too:



For the record, here are their current standings:
- Both spayed
- Both vaccinated for rabies
- Both received their distemper/parvo booster shots (first shots were at the shelter)
- Both on HW preventive (Crystal is officially heartworm-free; no test on Poohbert yet)
- Both on flea/tick preventive
- Pooh Bear is microchipped
- Crystal is a young adult, weighing in at around 55 pounds; Pooh Bear is about 8 months old and weighed 32 pounds at her spay appointment.

Now, who has the home these dogs are supposed to be living in, and just doesn't know it yet?