Wednesday, 12/6 Well, it's been a busy few days! I was at a big AKC dog show all day Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I took Blizzard with me Friday and Sunday, and took Penny with me on Saturday. There was an English Setter breeder and her handler partner there that I'd met last year; she's the daughter of Dr. Smith of Drs. Foster and Smith fame, and her dogs are often Best in Breed or Best of Opposite Sex at Westminster each year. (BOS, last year.) All those gorgeous setters in the Foster & Smith catalog are Peg's dogs. Anyway, I'd told Peg about Penny last year, and she got to meet Pen this year. She and her handler partner sponsored my application to the English Setter Association of America, so now I've got to get the paperwork sent in.

Blizzard was a huge hit with everyone who met her, including a couple of judges. One judge thought she was so cute he had to come back a second time to pet her some more; he invited her up onto his arm and welcomed her enthusiastic kisses. I later saw this judge adjudicating the judging for Best In Show. Blizzard did a good job of representing Dogos Argentino; everyone told me "gee, this dog isn't the aggressive man-eating beast I expected a Dogo to be!" It's too bad they have such a bad reputation, because all the ones I've met have been really nice dogs.

I floated the idea of the Deaf Dogs Adoption Network past quite a few "dog people" including the judges; they all responded positively, even enthusiastically in some cases. I've written to the folks at the Deaf Dog Education Action Fund (DDEAF) - their addy is deafdogs.org and DDAN's addy will be deafdogs.net and people are bound to go there when they mean to come to DDAN and vice versa - and they're thrilled that I'm going to do this. I also had an opportunity to post about it to the RawSetters mailing list, and have gotten an enthusiastic, supportive response from them as well. Now, if the domain name transfer will hurry up and go through, I can start coding and uploading files. I have a "target" date of the 15th to be operational; I'd like to get it up and going before that, if possible.

I think I have a home for Gruffydd! Someone saw him on the rescue group's website (they agreed to post him for me) and contacted me about him. It sounds like the perfect situation - single man who lost his beloved setter 2 years ago and hasn't been able to think about getting another dog until recently, and considered her his companion and roommate. He lives close enough to work to come home for lunch most days, and I suspect he doesn't have a very active social life so Gruffydd will get all the attention he desires. I'm taking him over there tomorrow evening to meet this guy (and do a homecheck at the same time); if it works out, Gruffydd may be in his new home by Friday night. I'll miss him - he sure is a sweetheart - but it sounds like these two guys were meant for each other. I've always believed that animals come into my life for a reason; perhaps the reason Gruffydd came to me was to find his way to this man. It hasn't been a straight path by any means; he was posted to the Michigan Dog Rescue list where Chris saw him, she forwarded the post on to me asking if I could help the rescue person who was trying to help him, I tried to find a rescue that would take him but couldn't and ended up taking him myself.

I think little Buster will be going home from adoptions on Sunday with a new family. Good thing, too. He's a cutie and I like him, but he's a disruptive presence here. He starts barking in his crate at about 5 am, and he's still marking a week after being neutered. Even neutered, he's got more testosterone than any dog 4 times his size should ever have. He tried to mount Penny the other day (even standing on his back legs, I could barely see his nose over her butt), Blizzard objected, ("Hey! That's my bitch!") and snapped at him, and he came back at her with a fury and bit her ear. She bled like a stuck pig and I was afraid I'd have to make another trip to see Dr. Smarmy at the ER vet, but I worked on her for a while with a styptic pencil and finally got the bleeding stopped. Anyway, it looks like there will be two less dogs here by Sunday night. It'll be nice to have a little break.

I have half of my Christmas shopping done and haven't got a clue what to get for the other half. =( (I won a vintage copy of "The Complete Weimaraner" at the Weim Rescue Raffle at the dog show - perfect for my sis!) I still haven't taken my pic to see if I can get Christmas cards made out of it - I may have to re-scan it at a higher resolution and just print the cards myself. Have to get card stock, envelopes, and stamps. I'm such a grinch - I hate this time of year. December, the dark month. But the winter solstice is coming, and in a little more than 2 weeks the days will start getting longer again. The solstice is my personal "high holy day", and I've already got candles, incense, and music ready for my annual "curse the darkness, praise the light" festivities. We had a good cyber-party last year on the solstice; I hope we can do it again this year!

I finally figured out that the reason I've been having so much trouble with my sinuses was the dry air from the furnace running. The last few days, I've been boiling a huge stock pot of water into the air and it's been a lot more humid in here. (The furnace runs less, too, because humid air holds the heat better than dry air.) I've been a lot more comfortable, and not nearly as stuffed up. I'll just have to keep it up.

Friday, 12/15 Gruffydd's still here. I thought the meeting went really well, but this guy just wasn't sure he was ready to give his heart to another dog and he never filled out the on-line application so I guess it's not to be. I would really have liked to see him in his own home for the holidays, but I guess he's stuck with me a while longer.

Last week Wednesday, there was a post to the rescue list about a sweet beagle at one of the nearby animal control shelters whose time was up. He'd been adopted once but returned because "he keeps wandering out of the yard." (Helloooo-oh, he's a beagle!) His time was up and he was due for PTS on Thursday. I posted that if APB would take him on, I'd foster. Despite a "rescue freeze", one of the soft-hearted board members OK'd the deal and on Thursday he was transported to the HS to wait for me to pick him up. I got him Thursday evening and took him right to the vet where he got rabies and bordatella vax (I made them hold off on giving the DHPP too - IMO, it's too many vax all at once and since he couldn't be adopted right away because he needed to be neutered, I told them to hold off on the DHPP until I bring him back to have his neutering sutures removed. That's later today.) They had an open surgical slot for the next morning, so Barnabas the Beagle spent the night at the vet, got snipped last Friday morning, and came here Friday night. He is just the cutest thing! Five years old (?), sweet, affectionate, friendly, funny - just a little doll. I've fallen in love, and hope we find him a super-duper new home.

He went to adoptions on Sunday just to have his picture taken to be posted on the site, then I brought him back home. Buster and Ringo went to adoptions and stayed there for the afternoon. I thought for sure Buster would be going home with a new family - they were really anxious to get him, didn't want to wait for adoptions, etc. - but when they met him they were put off by his "shyness". He's not the least bit shy here with me (in fact, just the opposite), but he was intimidated by the hubbub and all the people and, because he didn't run right up to their son, they decided he wasn't the right dog for them. I was disappointed he didn't get adopted, but I'm glad he didn't go home with someone who wasn't savvy enough to realize that the dogs just aren't at their best in the adoptions setting. However, Ringo got adopted. Good news. Then bad news - they got him home and several hours later, despite my warning that he wouldn't come back if he got out and would need to be securely leashed, he "pulled the leash" out of the hand of the 7-year old daughter and ran away. Hasn't been heard from since. This is the third dog of the 5 I got from that puppymill that's run away. Only one has been found. I just don't understand how these people keep losing these little dogs!

I got an application in on Buster yesterday, checked the references today, and am meeting his potential new owner tomorrow morning with him. These people sound like they know what they're doing and what they're getting into, and I'm hoping this is his permanent home. He's calmed down quite a bit in the last week and the marking is lots better. He's really ready to go now. Hopefully, I'll be down one foster dog by noon tomorrow. Barnabas gets along well with Blizzard and Penny, playing and scampering about with them, and is a good, quiet fellow. He pretty much ignores Gruffydd, but that's because Gruffydd ignores him. If Buster goes tomorrow, things should be a lot easier around here.

We got a mondo snowstorm that started in the wee hours of Monday and, by Tuesday morning, had dumped 18 inches of snow on the ground. Got another 6" on Wednesday. I don't have a shovel - didn't need one last year - so I was stuck in the house until yesterday when I paid a neighbor to clear my driveway so I could go out and buy my own shovel. I also got a new pair of boots - a Thinsulate-lined pair of Pro-Line boots, the ones with the rubber feet and leather legs. Nice and warm, easy to walk in, keep my feet nice and toasty. Not exactly a fashion statement, but who cares? My old rubber boots were so decrepit that when I pulled them on the rubber cracked, so I definitely needed a new pair! Now I need to get outside and finish shoveling the walkways, but I just don't feel like going out in the cold again! I need to take Tootsieroll to the vet for a geriatric "well-check", but I think I'll wait on that until it's a little bit warmer.

I got my Christmas cards printed, signed, addressed, and finally mailed out yesterday. At least that much is done. I got the stuff I need to package and ship my Secret Santa gift, and a few little gifts for some of my friends. I bought videotape mailers to mail bars of soap! I'll get all that stuff packaged up tonight and take it all to the post office on Monday. (Not brave enough to face the Saturday crowds at the P.O.!) I still haven't done any more shopping, though, and I need to get that done in the next few days - I refuse to get caught up in the last-minute hordes of desperate shoppers. I may do some "idea shopping" online - I've got one nephew and niece taken care of, but still need something for the genius kid - and I need to get some reprints of pics of Dad's party done as a gift for my aunt. Need to get frames, too. (Oh! Speaking of frames - I got a couple of inexpensive 5 X 7 wood frames yesterday, one of which I'll use to frame the pic of Penny, Blizzard, Pookah, Purrnie and Santa I used on my Christmas cards.)

Well, time to face the outdoors. Better get my running around done before it gets dark.

Thursday, 12/28 I got my Christmas shopping done with 48 hours to spare. *smile* I made some pretty good choices too, if I do say so myself. Everyone was happy with their gifts. I was happy with the gifts I received, too.

The weather here has been truly horrible. Snow, almost daily. My poor little old car - I got the driver's door open and then couldn't get it closed. Finally managed to get it latched shut though it's not quite closed all the way and I'm not taking any chances of not being able to close it again once I open it, so I'm getting in and out of my car from the passenger side. This involves getting from one bucket seat to another by climbing over the stick shift. I have to wear my stretch jeans if I need to go anywhere in the car - can't get my knees up high enough in the non-stretch jeans. What a royal pain in the watusi this is! But at least I'm able to get out and about when I need to.

Buster did get adopted, and is settling into his new home well. He's going to be one spoiled little dog - his new owner bought him a fleece jacket so he wouldn't be so cold outside, and is planning on buying him some boots too. I think he's one lucky little dog! I've gotten a good application on Barnabas from a couple with two other beagles. It sounds like it would be a very good home for him, and I'm hoping everything checks out so he can go home from adoptions a week from Sunday. I've gotten an inquiry about Gruffydd that looks, on the surface anyway, as if it would be a good placement for him. But there are some things that concern me, not the least of which is that this home is in Milwaukee and it would be nearly impossible for me to enforce the "return to me if you can't keep the dog" clause in my contract because of the distance involved. I really don't know what to do about this - the gentleman Gruffydd would be going to would be a good caretaker - in fact, might be the perfect match for Gruffydd - but he's older and the relatives that would "take the dog if anything happens" have a rather unsavory reputation in certain dog circles. I don't want them to have the ultimate responsibility for my sweet Griffydog.

I got my deaf Sheltie girl in last week, so there are currently 5 dogs here. I'm going to take a little break from fostering for the rescue group after Barnabas goes until Gruffydd is adopted, if I can. (You know that resolution is going right down the tubes with the first "foster home needed urgently to save dog being PTS today" post that comes through on the list, don't you?) But I need some time for my girls, and some time to work with Sheltie-girl, and it's hard to do with this many dogs around. It's almost impossible to work any obedience training because there just aren't enough crates to confine everyone else so I can work with one dog at a time. Penny and Blizzard still get drilled, but I need some one-on-one time with Sheltie-girl. She's very smart and will learn quickly once I can work with her alone.

I woke up this morning to see a line of black or black-and-white cats across the foot of the bed. Four of them, curled up next to each other, stretching from one side of the bed to the other. French next to Mysz next to Fritz next to Domingo. (Of course, the camera was in the living room.) They're always on the bed, but the line up this morning gave me a chuckle.

It's finally sunny here today, though very cold. I really need to get out today and do some shopping - I don't feel like going out in the cold but I know there's snow predicted for tomorrow and Saturday and if I don't go today I'll be kicking myself for procrastinating when I'll have to shovel before I can go anywhere. Might as well stock up now with enough stuff to get me through until next week. I've got enough cat/dog kibble and litter, but I need to get groceries for me and food for Penny and Blizzard so I'm sure they'll get fed even if I get snowed in for a couple of days. I may have to pick up a bottle of champagne for New Year's Eve. *grin* I also have to get a new carafe for my coffee maker - when I got home on Christmas Eve, the carafe was lying shattered on the kitchen floor, victim to either one of 3 counter-dwelling cats or a counter-surfing Penny. I've been making coffee in my little 4-cupper but it's a pain to have to make 2 or 3 small pots instead of one big one. Now, what am I in the mood for as far as dinner is concerned?

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