The Magic Sock

Are you busy.?....., I am!! What a week it's been!! Siena, (who's name I'm rethinking), has been such a joy. Well that is if you like cleaning up puppy pee and puppy poop and then cleaning up more puppy pee and more puppy poop and then well you get the picture. I can't complain too much though, because she's so sweet. You'll get to see this picture courtesy of Miriam, because she took it. I don't often post pics of me... just not a poser. Not that I'm a photographer, I'm just more comfortable behind the camera. Right now Little Miss Sunshine is chewing on the magic sock we gave her this morning. It's magic, because it came from Docs foot..... the same place Blazes and Dash's and Turks magic socks came from. Magically it will pull all those pesky, painful and oh so sharp little puppy teeth right out. Poor little girlies gums are hurtin and Magic Sock is just what she needed. Yesterday she discovered the joys of being pulled about the house by Dash. Attaching herself to the opposite end of a toy that he was playing with guaranteed her a trip through the air. Well, Magic Sock is great for puppy fly time. Dash particularly remembers how much fun the sock was and now that He's the pilot it's even more exciting. He just needs to remember to wait till she's awake. I heard her little grumpf when she got disturbed by the puparazzi. Poor baby needs her beauty sleep I reckon. Now for the newest news. In my search for a playmate for Dash, I had looked at sites like Petfinder, Craigslist and Freecycle. I even called the Humane Society to see if they had a somewhat small sized youngish dog. Freecycle of course is pathetic and although it's a terrific place to dump anything you don't want, you can rarely find anything of real value. We did rescue Takaani/Buddy from there but he was the exception. Petfinder, at least locally, is littered (sorry for the pun) with so called rescues that want anywhere from $200 - $450 a pop for a pup. That's insane although I have an idea what it costs to maintain a decent rescue. Problem is... they're NOT decent rescues. So that left me with craigslist. There was this one ad about a 1yr old male Chihuahua, un-neutered, who needed to be rehomed for a modest fee of $100, just to ensure he went to a good home..... of course. I answered the ad thinking I would never hear back from her (the owner) and not really interested in paying someone a $100, just so I could then own their problem dog. The e-mail had been sent, the Humane Society had no good news and I figured the wait for a new pup would be a little longer. WRONG...... the very next day, even though I had been told all the dogs were large I went to the Humane Society and viola' we have Siena. Now I return home and oh no, there's a reply back from the owner of the Chihuahua. I ignored her first response and then she e-mailed again a day or so later. Long story short.... after eight e-mails (I counted), I had learned her sad life story, told her I would not pay her for a dog that she didn't want. Informed her that if she relinquished him to me, that I would most likely find him a new home. Two hours later he was in my lap as I pulled out of her sisters driveway. Not an abused dog, but fearful/timid. He had been living in a house with 2 adults, 4 kids, 3 dogs, 11 cats, 3 hamsters, several rats and a ferret..... and it wasn't a Zoo.... well not the wild kingdom kind.

Meet Bruiser who had been nicknamed Ru who we now have renamed Roux.

He's a really sweet little guy and there's a slim chance that we might keep him. I say slim because come on.... I have an 18 month old Shepherd I'm still training, and now a 10 week old Mut I'm cleaning up behind.... literally. I only took the poor little fella well,......... mostly because I can't say no..... damn-it. I stopped at our local NO KILL shelter on the way home with him and had an interview. He's a very adoptable puppy... just over a year old, so I have an appt next wed at noon.... middle of the week... middle of the day, to have him evaluated by their version of match.com!!

Interviewer: So what do you like in a companion?

Roux: Most importantly she must not be too tall.

Interviewer: So you want her short like yourself.

Roux: SHORT!!! Who are you calling SHORT?

See just how wrong this whole thing could be? That's when they'll take him in and he'll cease to be ours... I'll also have his vet records by that time so he'll even be more adoptable. So now you see why there's a slim chance we might adopt him..... we have a week to have his quirky little behavior injected into our bloodstream. A whole seven days to get so used to having him around that we just can't let go.

There's a part of me that says maybe, but there's a bigger more experienced part of me that says I've done my part with this little fella. I talked him out of a crummy situation and now he has a real chance at a terrific life. Letting go of Blaze, holding him when he took his last breath, hasn't hardened me and it hasn't really injured me either.... it's left me with an open vein. From burying two of our kitties in the back yard to leaving a dog at the shelter, it still hurts, but it's part of life and when it happens the blood just flows a little faster. This is symbolism, (for you republicans... the whole pig/lipstick thing... idiots). I'm just more at ease with the tragic possibilities of life now. It's that whole new attitude thing. Go with the flow sorta guy or go away before you die.... the two sided me. I'm happy to say the latter personality is waning.

Back to Roux.... LOL!! That sounds like Astro the News Anchor!! LOL!

Today Roux's more receptive to Siena and Dash. He's still a little timid, but that's ok for now. I don't want him bossing his way through the house. From what I witnessed yesterday when I picked him up..... a little humble pie might be good for him.

Dash has been such an incredible dog. I knew it before, but his patience with Siena and his gentle behavior with Roux has magnified his outstanding qualities.

Without even knowing it and of course because they're both so short, Siena and Roux look up to Dash and I know he won't let any of us down.

There you have it. A week ago we had a quiet home with a well behaved dog and 4 not so well behaved cats. I'm not quite sure why I couldn't settle for calm and orderly.... it's just not me. Truth be told... it's Steve's fault. He's the one who convinced me to get rid of so much stuff the week he was off. But by doing so, we made so much more room in the nest.... I just had to fill it.... LOL!!! Nesting and babies and puppies and kitties.... if he hasn't figured it out by now..... oh well!! I'm positive that when I die, the animals still living with me will need to be euthanized and then cremated alongside me. They'll all have had such issues and at one time or another been labeled an outcast of society, that nobody will want them. That's fine with ME. To die knowing unconditional love my entire life..... bring it on!! I'm going to play with The Magic Sock now!!!