Nausea

I was home sick yesterday. I wanted nothing more to lay in bed and rest. I visualized warm blankets, the dogs snuggled in with me, gentle comfort. There was one problem - dogs don't understand nausea. The whole concept of lay still, don't bark at noises in the neighborhood, this is not a good time for wrestling, please don't bounce on the bed was lost on them.

They were all about one thing, and I was all about another. Sidney got some valuable lessons. That being, after Mom lets you out, you don't get dibs on her spot in the bed. The Mom always gets first pick, especially when she's not feeling good. Who knew Mom's could growl too.

There were times of quiet napping. Followed by rowdy play, jumping off the bed and racing in the hallway. By evening, about the same time snow moved into the city, the dogs settled. Peace reigned, and nausea began to recede. Ahhh, rest.

Garage Heaven

My truck is parked in the garage. For most people, not an unusual event. Makes me wonder why they call it a garage anyway. Isn't it a car-age after all?

All the kudos go to Reno for cleaning the garage enough to fit my truck in there again. It is amazing how much stuff we have/had out there. The combination of two households about 15 months ago certainly added to the problem. Then of course there is the ebb and flow of terracotta pots, the huge salt water aquarium that my son didn't take when he left home, or when he left home again, or any of the times we called to say come get this ****tank out of the garage.

Of course there are ladders out there. My ladders - that belonged to my Dad. Reno's ladders, one of which belonged to his Dad. Ladders, a 6 ft and an extension ladder that an old boyfriend never came back for. I wonder what the statute of limitations is on ladders. Are they legally mine? I've had them for about 3 yrs now.

For a while last winter I did have indoor parking privileges, then over the summer the space was somehow refilled with.......stuff. But, alleluia, now the stuff has been sorted, pitched, shuffled, ditched, tossed, boxed, hung, stacked and reorganized. Voila - room for my truck inside again.

Yes, I know Spring is fast approaching and that I/we scraped windows most of the winter. Progress is never as fast as one hopes. But progress is, and always will be, something to celebrate.

Dog Naps

Hmmmm. Let's think about this. The dogs sleep all night, go outside, relieve themselves, wolf down their kibble, and then nap. They are much smarter than we think.

And their sleeping habits? Well - Kobe has his corner of the room. The Kobe throne, nice pile of blankets, accommodations for just one, good view of his surroundings, butt right on the heater vent. It's his bliss. Mick and Maddie share the master bed with us at night. After Reno gets up Sidney will come up from the sofa and snuggle in until I get up. After their morning feeding it's like Nascar for bed positions. Pillow position is important. Maddie, however, always gets window position as she's our little watch dog.

I admit to being jealous of this life style. Sleep, eat, sleep some more. Followed by a burst of play, a potty break, and a nice nap. Move over pups, I'd like some of this action, or rather lack of action. I may have opposable thumbs, but I have napping talents of my own. Most of which , naturally, I learned from you.

Mmmmmm Popcorn

It seems there is a link between dogs and popcorn that I have not fully explored.

A forever home, that adopted a foster of mine, wrote with obvious pride that Pete finally learned some eye-schnozzle coordination and can now catch popcorn when it's tossed to him. Whoohoo!! It's his new favorite game. A potential adopter wrote in his application that he knows Pointers love to hunt all day then lay on the couch and eat popcorn. Now, I don't hunt all day, but I'm always willing to stop what I'm doing to sit on the couch and eat popcorn.

This is pretty exciting stuff we are talking about here. Pete can catch popcorn. While Maddie would contend that any dog can do that, well, except the pointers. Sidney, Mickey and Kobe are totally impressed with Pete's new skill.

I've decided that we need to slow down, sit on the couch more often, and eat popcorn. My dogs exposure to this finer thing is life has been sorely neglected. I suspect my ability to catch popcorn thrown at me pretty much sucks too. But, we can work on this. Bowl by bowl, kernel by kernel, batch by batch of popcorn.

Let the fun begin.

Chukar Anyone???

I am always thrilled by the wonderful people, dogs in general and my foster dogs in particular, lead me to. We had a prospective adopter inquire if we thought Sidney has potential as a hunter. I pondered several ways to find answers to this question. In the end, I contacted a local hunt club (okay, local as in a hour away) and kennel for assistance.

Trent Leichleiter, of Pheasant Bonanza in Tekamah, NE agreed to help us field test Sidney. The plan was to plant a chukar for Sidney to point, then to shoot to see his response. And that we did. Sidney and I worked the field. Well, I worked at not getting tangled in the check cord, and Sidney worked fairly well out in front of me. The planted bird ran off without us ever finding it. It's out there in the field snickering at us right now. Trent did fire the gun to see Sidney's response. He startled visibly, as I expected, but didn't bolt. Atta boy Sidney.

Next we went back to the farm to expose him to some birds directly to see if he would point. We did get a sight point out of him at a couple roosters that were about 5 ft away from him. In all honesty, Sidney was just as interested in a lab puppy in a run about 5 ft away from him in the opposite direction. He did point though, although his tail clearly didn't understand the position it should have been in. It was neither straight out, nor straight up, rather half mast. It's ok Sidney, we still love you.

Even a temporarily immobilized pheasant didn't stir him into a hunting frenzy. So I'm thinking he is not a hunting prodigy undiscovered (much like the chukar out there). In all, he was exposed to three gun shots, and several live birds. Not counting the chuckling chukar somewhere in the grass.

We did come home with a pheasant wing to work with him on, and a wonderful new understanding of him. I probably wouldn't recommend a hunting home for him, but I don't doubt that the right person, with patient training couldn't gently lead him into the hunting mode. After all, in rescue, I've seen what miracles love and patient training can do.

It was a wonderful experience for us, and hopefully for Sidney too. We made some new friends at Pheasant Bonanza, as they did with Pointer Rescue. Bottom line this will help us find the perfect home for Sidney. And, if you ever get a chance to hunt at Pheasant Bonanza - just tell them Sidney sent you.

Fostering 101 Failure ?? I Don't Think So.....

We were discussing what we referred to (past tense) as Foster Failures. That being when a foster home falls in love with and adopts their foster. Anyone who fosters is at "risk" for this. But let's reconfigure this theory.


A - adopting a foster is not a failure, it's fate, its success, it's all good

B - it's not really a risk, as much as it's a situation with great odds for something wonderful to happen


C - it's a bonus and a blessing to boot



I think there are two kinds of Fostering Success stories. The first being when a foster finds a forever home and is moved to it. The second, when the foster home crosses over to the forever home. Both are totally cool and exactly what rescue groups want!


I myself switched hats from foster Mom to forever Mom with my Prince Kobe. He had 3 solid adoptions pending fall through. Three homes I felt worthy of loving him just like I do. After the third one fell through it occurred to me - maybe this was home. All the home he'd ever need.


So for those who cross over from foster home to forever home I salute you. And I celebrate with you. As Kobe wanders in, and rubs his head up against my arm, I know without a doubt the only failure would have been to not open my heart to him in the first place.

Beware of the Kongsh

In a manner of speaking, all four of our dogs have voices. I don't do the voice impressions, but Reno does. This is one of the reasons I think Reno missed a career in theatre.

If Sidney could talk, it would be with a bit of a lisp. Just a little lisp, totally endearing though, all his "S" words would end with "sh's". Thus the title "beware of the Kongsh".

The Kong was on the kitchen floor, thus a source of great myshtery to Shidney. He had Kong experience. So it should not have been a huge surprise to him. For some reason it appeared to be an object from out space that landed on the kitchen floor. He was watching it intently, approaching it with great trepidation. I didn't see Shidney or his stealthy approach, if you can call it an approach, to the Kong.

He decided to bolt for the front room and escape the treacherous Kong just as I pulled open the refrigerator door. Bamm!! I didn't see Shid coming, he didn't shee the door coming. I thought for sure I damaged the door and broke the dog!

Shidney's response was "holy schmokes, Killer Konsh and fridges that bitesh, how do humansh manage thish crazy worldsh".

Nag?

It has been suggested that I have the tendency to nag. Holy cow!! That got me thinking. I know I am a worrier, but a nag and a worrier? The fact I only have a tendency is a good thing.

I pondered this all the way to work. The definition of nag is: to annoy by persistent faultfinding, complaints, or demands. Wow - them thar's fighting words. Maybe I'm not a nag, perhaps I'm a consistent reminder. Could be I'm not a nag, but I believe in training by repetition. This led to further thought. Are all women Nags? Truly, I think not. Men can nag too - they just probably have a manly name for it. Notice how it is usually men who call women naggers? I wonder why that is?

Yes, I'll own I gave a few reminders. If one gives them every couple weeks is that still nagging? In my defense, they were not faultfinding, complains, or demands. I think they were more gentle suggestions. Is it my fault they were not graciously received??? It could have been the power of suggestion at work and not nagging at all.

Okay, I'll admit to a teensy weensy bit of pushing. But not nagging by definition. I think it's important to own up to character flaws like this. I may be a character, but I'm not really a nagger. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

And yes, I am always open to feedback - just don't nag me, ok??

A Little Help From My Friends

I could use a little help from my friends - how about you?

I was folding laundry in the bedroom. Big pile 'o laundry in the basket. Mickey and Sidney sleeping on the bed as I fold. Hmmmmm. Wouldn't it be swell if they would fold the clothes and let me nap on the bed.

I know it's not a logical thought. After all, they don't wear the clothes, why should they fold them. By the same taken, I don't poop in the yard, why should I pick it up? But I do! I really think they log more sleeping hours in my bed than I do.

I think if they put their heads together they could manage this. If they can drag toys/bones all around the house, they could at least make a pile of clothes. Plus, they like socks. Seems like all kind of possibilities here.

Maybe I need shirts, socks and undies with dog pictures, doggy toys and bone motifs on them as a motivator. Maddie's pile would have images of Decoy on them. Sid, Mick and Kobe's would have Holly the Pointer on them. It's all good.

Then the saying wouldn't be "when pigs fly", it would be "when dogs fold clothes". Oh ya, it could happen.

Taking Dominance to a New Level

I have seen dogs be dominant before, and have never found it as laughable as with Miss Maddie. Let me give you a visual. She is a small English Springer Spaniel. The only female in our pack of dogs. She lives day in and day out with Sidney our 2 yr old foster dog, Mick a 6 yr old pointer, and Kobe, who last we checked was about 102 yrs old. Basically, she's not much interested in them. Oh sure, she'd take them to school in a heartbeat, but hump them - not a freakin chance.

There is only one dog she loves to dominate, and that's Decoy, my son's 80 lb black lab. Maddie has it in for Decoy in a really bad way. If she could stalk him she would. If she could text him, she would, if she could walk him home from school, she would.

The level of interest is not equal. He pays her no mind. Like the big man on campus and the mousy wall flower. She dotes on him, and he doesn't notice at all.

My kids came over tonight to play some board games. It was a game fest for both adults, and the five dogs in the house. Maddie tried humping him several times and was told to cool it. Decoy laid down on the ground and was minding his own business. We looked over at one point, and Her Highness was at it again. She climbed on his back, her head facing his tail, humping for all she was worth. Omg - talk about hilarious. Talk about embarrassing. Talk about stupid dog tricks.

Decoy was nothing but the epitome of Labrador decorum. And Maddie, the little hussy, well, she just couldn't help herself. Good grief!! I guess, a woman's gotta do what a woman's gotta do. And Maddie did just that.

Taking Dominance to a New Level

MR. MOVE OVER!!!!

About 3:30 this morning I let the dogs out. I was moving on sleepy feet. They, thankfully, did their business and came right back racing for sleeping positions. I crawled in bed, wrapped myself in a cocoon of comfort and was drifting off to sleep. I heard, from a sleepy distance, the thunder of Sidney feet barrelling up the stairs.

Boom! He hits the bed at full tilt. Wiggles his way up the bed between Reno and I. Paws here, paws there, wiggle, push, stretch, nuzzle, wiggle, prod, stick nose where it doesn't belong. Push a little more, put cold nose in another surprising place, wiggle more, pause briefly, squirm, snort, sigh and rest. For a second. Wiggle and move from completely stretched out, into a ball. Mind you, there was perhaps 4 inches of space between Reno and I when Sidney barged in!

If we weren't trying to sleep it would have been hilarious. Sidney is like a toddler in bed. Short of hogging the blankets and needing a drink of water he reminds me of one of my son's as a child. I guess we're lucky he's not a Great Dane.

Maybe it's a young dog approach to sleeping in bed. Maybe he will always be this way. Makes me appreciate Maddie who moves from one side of the bed to the other according to my sleeping position, and Mickey who moves when you barely touch him with a toe. Sidney, aka Mr. Move Over, has a lot to learn about bedroom etiquette. But in terms of sheer "here I am, pardon me, don't mind my nose, coming through, make way, move over, let me just squeeze in" Sidney takes the cake.

Hurdles

We all seem to face them. Hurdles, challenges, nasty surprises. Bumps in the road. Think how dull life would be without them. Okay, I know, a little less drama might be welcome. Unheard of, but welcome.

Sidney has crossed a big hurdle. He is getting in and out of the truck on his own. Since August we've had to lift him in and out because he was too frightened to do that. Now he's confident enough to do this on his own. Makes me wonder what trauma brought on this fear in him.

Lately, just keeping a job is a hurdle some are facing. Or finding a job. We've both taken pay cuts recently. Still we are feeling very fortunate. With staffing cuts, I find myself working twice as hard, not getting nearly enough done, and making less at the same time. I try not to get frustrated or discouraged.

Relationship hurdles pop up for everyone. Be it with a spouse, child, friend, parent, significant other, employer. Heck, even Sidney and Maddie had a little hurdle in their relationship. Sidney was being a pain in the patoot yesterday trying to get Maddie to play. She gave him fair warning to back off. Then she gave him another warning to quit being an adolescent ignoramus. Somehow Sid missed that message and Maddie took him to school. All of a sudden he was giving her wide berth.

And, of course, the weather presents a multitude of hurdles. Mother Nature is teasing Nebraska like a hormonal woman who can't make a decision to save her soul. Warm, cold, windy warm, windy cold, beautiful - spring is coming soon, watch your back winter is returning with a vengeance. The snow is gone, the yard is mostly dry and we shouldn't get too attached to the nice weather.

Then of course we face faith hurdles. Facing them is the operative word.

So, where ever you are, what ever you are facing - good news is you are not alone. Hurdles are simply opportunities for leaps of faith. Sometimes you succeed immediately, sometimes you get taken to school, sometimes, after a while, you cross safely and confidently. Moving on, naturally, to the next one.

Envy

Well, I tried to find a good synonym for the word envy, but couldn't come up with one. I mention the concept because envy honks me off.

And yet, we all suffer from envy sometimes. We envy someones life style, car, jewelry, job. We envy someones success, or their children's success, we envy their pocketbook, possibly their dog (it could happen!), possessions, or perhaps their beauty. Envy makes me squirm. It stirs the pot of discontent. It makes me feel a little dissatisfied with a life that is hugely blessed. Envy causes me to look at myself and feel lacking.

I mention this because I received one of those "Christmas" letters today, even though we are well into February. I hope the person who wrote the letter knows how graced her life is. I was pondering all this while scooping poop today. It is a lovely day, I was in the yard with my dogs, we'd done pet therapy, I am well loved, well fed, healthy. And yes, I was envious of travels, successes and study abroad.

I had to laugh as was I was washing crap off my shoes. Even though I was carefully cleaning the yard, I did indeed step in it. Stepping in a big pile of envy is rather like stepping in a big pile of dog crap. It's stickin thinkin.

For every ounce of envy I felt, there is no doubt someone incredibly envious of all the blessings I enjoy. My blessings are just different than other peoples blessings. What defines happiness or success for me need not be measured against other's happiness or success.

It is what it is. So I bagged up the envy and wrote it off as a pile I chose not to step in.

Vaccination Clinic

We are blessed to have vaccination clinics in town as an affordable alternative to getting your cat or dogs shots at the vet clinic. It's done first come first served, which can take up a lot of time, but well worth it in cash savings.

Plus, it's entertaining. I've gone several years in a row, to a couple different locations. No, they aren't in the 'burb's' so to speak. More in the blue collar neighborhoods, so a colorful group in attendance.

Some of the owners make you wonder. Some of the animals make you sad. I saw the world's most obese cocker spaniel today, full of mat's and fur snarls. That poor dogs butt was an axe handle wide. Too bad the city doesn't make you clean/groom your dog like they require you to vaccinate and license your dog.

There were cat's in carriers, in owner's arms, in blankets. There was one who hissed at Kobe and would have taken him apart hair by hair given the chance. One large Shepard mix, waiting not so patiently in the front seat of a car, backed his butt up to the steering wheel and blew the horn. The vet staff can and did do car side vaccinations for the less than social animals. There was a pack of little doxie's who got the award for barking, several law compliant pitt bulls with muzzles, a cluster of rat terriers, many mixes with colorful pedigree's, but not so many hunting dogs in this working class neighborhood. Kobe was a trooper, and Mick trembled and pointed every time he got close to a cat carrier. One lady sat in a car for a while passing the time and then came back with 6 bottles of water she shared with others in line. You just have to love dog people.

I ran into an ex-brother-in-law and had a wonderful visit with him. Mickey pointed intensely at his cat, who coincidentally was also named Mickey. Same name, but not much love lost between them.

I came home with two tired dogs. Especially Kobe, poor dude will probably take a couple days to recover from this outing. Thankfully it was a warm, sunny 58 degree day. Mick was tired from trembling, and Kobe from being on his feet for almost two hours. I was happy to save some money, and ever so grateful for the blessings and dogs who share my life.

Random Dog Thots

I'm proud to report that Sidney somehow overcame his crate phobia. Yesterday when I finished my 'get ready for work' routine he went downstairs and was waiting in his crate. The God's of Dog Karma must have answered my prayers.

He also crawled in bed with us last night and Reno pulled the covers up over his head. I was waiting for the scrambling to begin, as this boy is generally afraid of everything first time it happens. I waited, certain an pointer possessed would begin failing any moment. I visualized frantic paws on bare skin, and yes, I thought Reno - you've really done it this time. But, and there is always a but, Sid just laid there like it was an every day ho-hum experience. Of course, an experience all good dogs of his stature should enjoy. Ahhh, life is bliss. And for a while it was. Until, naturally, Sid farted. He was escorted from the family bed post haste. I'm thinking I must be very careful to never bring disgrace upon myself like that, or I'll be joining Sidney on the sofa.

On another whole thought - I read the coolest obituary the other day. It's probably a little weird to admit to having obituary envy, but owning it is the first step. Reno's Mom sent an obit for him to read as it was for a member of a family he knew. I have not personally met any of this family. But the deceased was a woman after my own heart. She was a member of the Nevada Humane Society, Reno Animal Services, as well as a member of a pet therapy group. Her obit said "Her car always had extra food, hay, leashes and water in case she found an animal in need". Not unlike my car. She encouraged people to adopt an older dog, like her beloved Sugar. Kobe gave 4 paws up to that one. Older dogs rock. Thus, I have this envy and kinship with a woman I have never met. And yes, her obit had a photo of her with her beloved Sugar.

In a doggy dog world - it doesn't get any better than that.

Certain Irony

There is a certain irony to the economy. My Mom used to ask if something was called funny....if it was "sad" funny, or "haha" funny. In the case of the economy, definitely "sad" funny.

We got a fund raiser in the mail the other day that included a nickel glued to their plea for money. May I digress one moment and say, the little glue goobers they use these days are incredible. I so, so wish I had invented them. But back to the plea for money. We laughed that they enclosed money in their request for more money. Granted it was only a nickel. But the point was even little nickels make a difference. We laughed even harder when we saw on a sticky note, attached to their paper work, instructions to please send that nickel back. Sounds like something the government would do, except perhaps not ask so nicely about it. So, in that moment we thought, what the heck, we can spare a couple dollars to go with the nickel they want back.

So, we stuff a couple bucks in the envelope. The irony is, that envelope is still sitting on the desk, sans stamp. Part of me is afraid to part with those couple bucks. Sad, funny, huh?

Part of me knows I should drop a stamp on it and send it into the world of good karma and faith. The other part of me is searching for ways to cut expenses, make sound financial choices, and hold tightly to every dollar and nickel I have. In spite of my fears, or because of my fears, I need to act on this. I believe I will act "as if". As if "all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well".

Strange but true.....

I have a friend who once commented that it wasn't normal to be upbeat all the time. Well, I have to say I don't admit to being entirely normal.

So for her I have to say I'm a little bummed, I have the blues, I'm not feeling very perky. My optimism tank is a little low right now. I'm worried, I'm tired, I'm not feeling very rev'd up and ready to go. If I was a baseball player I'd be having a home run slump. If I was a writer, I'd be having writer's block. If I was a governor of a state we won't mention by name I'd have been impeached.

I'm at an in between stage and don't feel like there is much to look forward too. No, I won't hurt myself, and this too shall pass. It could be winter has me in it's dismal grasp. I need some color, some warmth, some time in the garden. I need to laugh and giggle until I am ready to wet my pants. I need to run away for the weekend, or even better for a week to some tropical place with tiny paper umbrella's in the beverages. Give me a cabana boy to wait on me hand and foot and I'd be a happy camper.

Funny how we have all we really need, and sometimes we still feel something is missing. Maybe it is the absence of hope, the reduction of faith. Maybe the news, and all the bad news it gives us weighs heavy on our heart.

Perhaps we are too serious and need a dose of silliness. Sign me up for some of that!! It may be just what the Doctor ordered.

Sidney @ Playgroup - week 2

It was a breakthrough moment for Sidney. Ever since we picked him up at the airport, last August, he has been afraid to get into the car. That first day he was lifted in and out of the plane, in and out of the car, and into the house. Since then he has had to be lifted into the car, although he will get out on his own.

Tonight was his second visit to play group. Could be this is the first time he has had something fun to associate going in the car with. I've offered him treats in the car when we've gone places, but he won't take them. Tonight I opened the back door and to my surprise he jumped right in. It was a WHOHOO moment, but then, perhaps you heard me.

Of course coming home he wouldn't jump in, but breakthrough moments sometimes come in little bitty baby steps. He made a huge leap of progress tonight. And he was awesome at play group too. Naturally every male there tried to hump him (the 110 lb black lab tried repeatedly), but he wasn't distressed by this. He played best with the 9 month old english pointer and the german shorthair pointer. But did well with the other pooches there too.

You just have to love how far Sidney has come. In the house, in the yard, in play group, in the truck. Way to go Sidney.

Things Change

For reasons unknown to us - things change. There is a shift of some kind. Much like Sidney deciding in December he just would not go willingly into his crate anymore. It was a physical challenge every day to crate him. Go figure. Something changed and he did too.

I'm happy to say he's decided to crate up on command again. Again, go figure. I don't have a clue why all of a sudden he is complying. Maybe he decided it was easier on my back to go in on his own. Maybe he realized I wasn't going to give up on him going in there. Maybe the kennel karma increased significantly and the crate had an aura of home again. Never underestimate an aura.

Most of us don't like change. And holy cow, our nation, our jobs, our economy, our lives have had enough change lately. We have a long way to go. It may get worse before it gets better. My boss preaches the benefits of a recession. There is some truth to that. It is an opportunity to live simpler, work more efficiently, make smarter decisions. It is also a chance to embrace what really has value and to pull together. I once read a quote the said, "if we do not pull together, we will surely pull apart". So true.

So, whatever the changes you face, stay the course, pull together, simplify. Do not discard the value in exchange for haste. Eventually there will be a shift, and good will come of it. Just like Sidney crating on his own. What a good boy!!

Glory Days

It would not be an understatement to say I am not much of a football fan. Even living in Huskerland - I'm not much interested. I'm sure the whole state of NE is frowning on me right now. However, as I write, I'm wearing a Steeler's ball cap. No, it's not mine, but it was lent to me to increase the team "karma". I was warned, not to get any girl germs or cooties on it. Oh, brother. When it comes to karma I don't think girl germs matter.

At the beginning of the game there was as much action in the living room as Sidney and Mickey played as on the field. I think Reno worked hard to acclimate Sidney to sudden noises and yelling at the top of your lungs. Both dogs gave him the "hey buddy, what gives?" look, but otherwise took the commotion in stride. Whenever Sidney goes to his forever home, sudden cheering during football games will not upset him and we have Reno to thank for that.

Half time was good. Sidney looked at me when they introduced the Boss. As far as he's concerned I am the Boss and always will be. But, Sid, the Boss and I all know you have to celebrate those Glory Days.

In Sidney's life the glory days came from a small airplane ride from Oklahoma to the state of Nebraska. And we celebrate his touchdowns and all the other strides he's made in our care.

While I am touched to wear someones favorite Steeler's cap, I'll gladly return it, probably with a couple cooties in it for good measure. With all the karma flowing here - he probably won't even notice. But, I'll be sure to tell him.....