Fragrance of the Morning

Wednesday, 4 Aug. 2010 It began like any other day would in a sleepy little town in WV. The smell of coffee and breakfast wafting from somewhere deep in the tree covered hillside. This, however, would be the last time local residents would wake to such a sweet fragrance. Today was the day the puppies came to town. No more could the smell of eggs n bacon dominate the breeze. No more would passersby close their eyes and inhale, immediately taken back to some childhood memory of Mom in the kitchen. Instead, tourists would run..... residents left on unscheduled vacations and even birds who once flew overhead changed migratory patterns, leave for the swarming Vultures. Had the Apocalypse come? Few knew the cause of the noxious fumes. Even fewer dare pass the garden gate to see first hand, what had caused such mayhem. Even FEWER would dare tell....... for NOBODY wanted to share the beautiful babies that had drawn them here. 16 beautiful baby Pits. Part of a Raid on a local breeder. 94 dogs seized, 86 of them pits and over half of them puppies. All I got was 16. The fowl smell... the diarrhea.... the circling vultures... it's all temporary. Poop will harden and diets will improve and puppies will get adopted. Before long, the smell of bacon will once again be the fragrance of the morning.

Gettin Crazy Again!!

Nacho, as in Not Yo Dog, was here with us for all of two days.

Labeled aggressive, he was about to be the next one killed by BCHS, when I yanked him outta there. Yes, he's sometimes snippy with certain people... SO AM I!! Duh, we don't have to like everyone!!

Since Nacho didn't need any rehabbing, I advertised him right away.

Right away I received a reply from Nacho's new Mama. Of course I didn't know that at the time, but after Nacho and I met her, I knew. He's as happy as a little pig in mud now with his two bigger and older new siblings. Good Luck Nacho!!

This little lady weighs about 4 bags of sugar and is just as sweet. She's been at the pound since July 7th, which is unheard of. Most dogs picked up by animal control are put down in that amount of time unless adopted. Shadow was a special case though. Her owner was what they call an unattended death, which means, someone found him dead. He was found with Shadow next to him and a cat as well. The AC Staff, just couldn't put her down, so they did all they could do to keep her out of the system and unnoticed. Well, yesterday, I went to meet this unfortunate yet lucky little lady. She lives with me now. I'm not sure what I was thinking. It wasn't like I would get there and say no once I saw her, knowing her story. I brought the little angel home.... introduced her outside to my herd of dogs and let them all inside. All the dogs ran into the house and into the dog room. Shadow ran straight for Moses's crate hidden in the corner behind the sofa. In the crate, turned around and looked back out at me. What The Hell???

I forgot to say how after I picked up Shadow, I went to get Moses's ashes. When I got in the car, I introduce Moses to Shadow, put the box of ashes on Moses's bed and drove home. Now Miss Shadow is sitting in Moses's crate and freaking me out a little. Even last night when she wasn't laying on the sofa, she would lay in front of the crate. Is this little girl so connected to death now that any existing energy from it draws her to it? I don't know what it was. I chose to believe it was a sign from Moses that she was ok, because He HATED any dog near his crate. He hated a lot of things, but especially being bothered by other dogs. I'm still going to look for a forever home for Miss Shadow, but until it comes along.... Welcome Home little lady!! Now for the crazy news. While I was at Animal Control... I overheard conversation of a Puppy Mill bust that may be going down. 83 Pitbulls in all... mostly puppies living in a doublewide trailer. OMFG!! This day n age... that kind of thing should NOT be happening and now here I was hearing it first hand. So, today, I go to pick up the litter that I'll be fostering.... maybe two. Yes, A Mama Pit and her 4 - 6 week old babies on top of the 7 dogs I already have here... LOL!!!

The Doggy Rescue World didn't stop revolving Moses. I still miss you buddy, and I will for a long time, but Daddy's got to stay busy and these babies need me just as much as you once did. Check in sometime around sunday when I'm pulling out what's left of my hair!!! I'm sure that MY trip to CRAZY will be a short one!!

One of life's questions and lessons

How exactly are we supposed to gauge success and why is it so important? My guess is, it's taught to us from the beginning. Popping out of the womb, its the first thing we hear. "Ma'am, it was a successful delivery". At least I thought it was me they were talking about.

I guess I should try to make everything a success, but what qualifies? I didn't burn the toast this morning... was that a success? I went a whole week and didn't threaten to send anyone to meet their god.... did that qualify? I took the term "responsible pet owner" and used it to end the life of my suffering little buddy, Moses..... does this make me successful? I'm not quite sure what it is that's got me questioning all this.

Yesterday, we had a party here. All the NPS interns from the Harper House came over for a summer evening cookout. I so was not in the mood to set up for company. I was still depressed and I really wanted to just hang out quietly at home and sulk. They all arrived and the evening began. Their tales of mishap and adventures were hysterical. I laughed like I haven't laughed in a long while. The oldest of this group was 27 which made Steve and I feel, well..... even older. About halfway through the night a few of them realized that since I had 3 kids of my own who were 20 to 25, that all of them could also be my kids. This of course really helped with my feeling of being ancient, but at the same time I felt a sort of Sage-like hierarchy developing. These kids were all trying to make it on their own and be successful. They were proud of their achievements and most of the evening was spent talking about them. I should've said how they are all Living History Re-enactors and the highlight of their time here has apparently been their new costumes, complete with fancy hats. We laughed at the stories about loading and firing black powder rifles for the first time. Some told storied from childhood with fondness and just a touch of homesickness. When the evening ended, many of them were reluctant to go. I'd like to think they had gotten a piece of comfort being here or that maybe they didn't feel so much like a visitor to Harpers Ferry, but more like friends.

Yes, Friends was what they were now. We had spent 6 hours with a group of people whom we had only met in passing and now we were all looking forward to hanging out again. There were invitations to stop by anytime and they all let us know how long their internships were, just so we would know how long they'd be stopping by. There were handshakes and hugs and silly laughter at the few who had difficulty going down the steps and the night fell quiet. So I guess I've answered my question. Success isn't something we can gauge in small increments. Only at the end of our life can we tally up. Did we choose to make every life moment a positive one, or did we waste it on self pity or greed or worse.... were we cruel?

Last night, even though I was still missing my Mosey, I cowboy'd up and got this party going. I did it because I wanted to meet my neighbors no matter how temporary they might be. I did it because I needed to focus my attention on something other than sadness and grief. Mostly, I did it because I have this unnatural mothering instinct and that includes the two legged orphans as well. A dorm full of 20 somethings qualifies. We ate the food.... we drank the beer.... we ate the cake. They loved the door prizes (I always have door prizes) and they all made it back across the street safely to their beds. I would have to say the party was successful even if it doesn't qualify me as a success. I'm happy to have 12 new friends and it would be super nice if I knew them for many years to come. If time takes them away from us, then I will always cherish the fun we had laughing last night and how 12 strangers took the pain away for an evening. Thanks guys, Thanks for adding to my total. I hope you come again and again!!