.....and it's only been a week.

It's been a week since I last posted. I am SO Freakin Tired. Will I ever get caught up on lost sleep or am I supposed to write it off and trick my mind into believing I no longer require 8 hrs of uninterrupted slumber? Whatever I decide, the fact remains, I am stumblina. I almost qualify as narcoleptic. In my dream like day to day I have managed to have quite a productive week. JR has been here since the 18th, so add that to the regular puppy schedule. At least when I tell a dog to lay down they do it. Then on the other hand.... the dogs won't take the trash out for me or pick up poop. I'll keep him!! The Rescue week started on tues with a visit from our friend Lori. She was looking for a playmate for hr sweet little Yorkie, Zoe, and was thinking that maybe Caesar would be a good match. Zoe didn't care much for Caesar, but Caesar was IN LOVE with Miss Zoe. Lori loved him too and they were off. He's won Lori's heart already by piling her bed high with stuffed animals and not chasing any of her 30 cats. He's humped quite a few, but no chasing. Lucky little Caesar... I think he's Manny now... not sure if she settled for a name yet. Be good little fella.... I'll miss you! Dash had his first Dental. Poor fella, they did him late in the day, so when I got him he was still drugged and running into things. He mostly slept all evening and through the night. I just covered him up and would rub his head once in awhile. The next morning he was a little better but not 100%. His breath is amazingly fresh now though... YAY!!! I can pet him and scratch under his chin without wanting to vomit now!!! Echo was also scheduled with the vet. She finally got her spay completed. No more puppies for this gentle little Mama. She's destined for a life of luxury now. Her adoption is final and we will meet her new Mama on fri morning at Dulles Airport. Little Miss Echo, given away by a well intentioned hoarder and covered in fleas, I took her in and got her into Crested Rescue. Now she's going to live in Maine as an only child and be spoiled as much as possible. Have fun little lady. I'll miss you. The same evening Dash n Echo were recovering, I had a visit from a bubbly young lady who had been looking for a black male cat for so long she was beginning to think males didn't come in black. I totally could have taken off on that one, but didn't know her that well so I let it go. She's already called me like 4 times to share funny kitten stories and to give me the date of his neuter, so I could confirm she was being a responsible pet owner. I'm starting to like people again.

While at the vets office dropping off Dash n Echo, I casually mentioned Byrdie the Border Collie Puppy.I was immediately bombarded with staff. Apparently one of the staffs father had recently lost his BC of 15 yrs. and was testing the water, so to say, about getting another.I agreed to bring Byrdie with me in the evening when I returned to pick up my dogs, if they could have him there. He was there alright and although he was a little apprehensive, which is understandable when you've lost a pet, he was obviously under byrdie's spell within minutes.(Update) I received the call from him Monday. Byrdie has been to the vet, and her new name is Gracie May.Way to go Gracie May!!!

Thursday came and Jaime arrived with Bailey to meet Kai. I truly didn't think Kai would ever be adopted when he came to me. Separation Anxiety and panic anxiety are two conditions that are hard to overcome and Kai had them both. His behavior had improved significantly and although I was unsure if he was ready to be adopted, I felt good about his recovery so far and Jaime had Bailey who was Kai's sibling. How could I ask for a better arrangement for Kai. If he was going to thrive outside of my home, it could only be in Jaime's. The Jury is still out however. Kai has had a few issues... destroyed some blinds, ate a baseboard, and suffered one serious panic attack during the thunderstorms a couple nights back. Jaime doesn't want to give up on him yet, though. He's in good hands!! Hang in there Kai. I know you loved living here, but Jaime's gonna spoil you a helluva lot more than I would have. Friday morning started WAY too early. I got JR up at 6:15 and we were out the door. Our first mission of the day was to find a suitable new home for the Big Ass Groundhog we had caught in the live trap. This was the same Groundhog that had been eating the garden to bits. A few people... who are all knowing, tried to tell us that groundhogs don't eat tomatoes. Hmmmm... that's what I baited the trap with and it was gone when I found him in the morning. I'm starting to dislike people again. We dropped off the groundhog and a safe woodsy area with plenty of nearby ...... um.... food. I wouldn't dare say nursery or orchard. We then headed over to Animal Control. 7am, here we were picking up two HUGE Labs that needed transported to Myersville MD. They were awesome boys though. So friendly and well trained. Animal Control had found them as strays... kept them the required amount of time and now they were off to Lab Rescue. We met our contact at McDonalds, handed over the precious cargo and were on our way over Catoctin Mountain to Thurmont for a fun filled morning of shopping for fabric.... YAY!!! JR had never been in a Fabric Warehouse.... and better than that... A WHOLESALE Fabric Warehouse. We found the fabric we needed for our patio sails and awning cover and headed back to Martinsburg. It was Fri and today was the last day for a certain doggy at the shelter. Andy was brought in to the shelter to be put down by his elderly owners. They both cried as they signed the papers and left him. Andy is 11 yrs old, going blind, riddled with tumors and becoming a little incontinent. Too much for the elderly couple to handle, so rather than just drop him somewhere they made the responsible pet owner decision. The staff however couldn't bring themselves to euthanize Andy. He was too happy and didn't appear to be in any pain. They gave him 4 days to be adopted and if by Friday he was still there, well he would be put to sleep. He's with me now. bathed and brushed and clipped, he's a little grumpy from time to time, but he's super. If I manage to find him a place to live out the rest of his life, then great. If he ends up here until the time his quality of life drops to an unacceptable level, then that's fine too. I just couldn't allow him to go just yet. Hang in there Andy!!! Friday night/ Saturday Morning I was supposed to meet the transport that was bringing me my newest Chinese Crested. I was a little confused, because the e-mail I had received said the transport would be Sunday morning, but the lady who called said sat morning. So, here it was 2am and I was sitting in the parking lot of Petsmart in Hagerstown, MD There were four other families there to get their dogs as well. I was 2nd and when I told the fella the name of the dog, he kinda screwed up his face and asked me if he could get the other three first. I knew then the dog wasn't on the transport, but it was cool, because the truck delivering these dogs was none other than "Last Chance Highway"..... the new animal planet series. No puppy named Ripley on the truck for me, he apologized, took down all my numbers and promised to have someone call me the next day. I planned on making my own phone calls as well. I'm NOT a night person anymore and driving at 3am is not fun for me. On my way home though, I pulled into the shelter parking lot to check on any dogs who may have been dropped in the overnight kennels. Sure enough, both kennels were full. One had a full grown Red Rotti in it... super sweet dog! The other had a litter of little black pups, a single yellow retriever type and one little basset/mix. The little basset/mix wasn't responding though. It was still so hot out and this little fella's fur was so thick, not to mention he was only about 8 to 10 weeks old if that. I made sure there was water for all of them, and put the little guy in the car with me. I called the next day to let them know I had him and that he was doing better. Clancy is his new name and I'll make sure he gets dewormed and vetted before he goes off to his new home. I won't be advertising him for awhile. We're having too much fun with him and he's a terrific training tool for the other fosters. Little Clancy.... such a sweet little boy!! Saturday, in case any of you were in a coma, was a living hell as far as the temps outside went. We hit 120 in the sun and 106 in the shade. Needless to say we only went out to water the garden and feed the chickens. I cooked and did laundry and Steve kept JR entertained with JR's new Sudoku board game.... Geeks!!! Saturday night came and once again I had to drive to Hagerstown to meet the transport. I was so tired around 11pm that I got in the Jeep and left early. I figured I could sleep in the parking lot. I did.... unfortunately all I had for a pillow was a stinky dog bed and a stinky dog blanket. I was so tired I didn't care. On my way there the transport called and said they would be arriving around 1:30..... WOOHOO a whole hour earlier. What would I do with a whole extra hour for sleep!!! LOL! Sadly the truck this night was a different truck and not so glamorous. It didn't even have a name on it. One huge section on one side was all smashed in. I hope this didn't happen when it was full of pups. There was a different driver too.... not nearly as rugged as the one from the night before. He opened the trailer and pulled out his nearly dead flashlight which was necessary because the interior lights did not function. (Fortunately the AC did) Bins and boxes were scattered across the floor and in the middle of it all was a small plastic carrier with one frightened and trembling Chinese Crested named Ripley. There was no applause like there was the night before as each dog was brought forth to meet the their new family. Just a sad tired little man who handed me a crate and some paperwork. I thanked him, carried Ripley to the jeep and introduced myself. I don't think I've ever met a more petrified dog. I walked him so he could go pee, put him back in the crate, covered it with a blanket, put on some soothing music and headed home.

Ripley's recovery will take some time. He's the product of a backyard breeder who didn't socialize the dogs at all. I hope she rots in hell.

He's been bounced from home to home, from foster to foster, and now lives here.

He will stay here until I feel he's ready for adoption by a forever family.

Just stay sweet Ripley and we'll get though all this together.

There's nothing on my Calendar for today. Whew!! To think it's only been a week.... what a week!!!