She’s Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeere!

Would you check this out?

KSA adores her. He tries to make like he’s not an animal person. Especially an indoor dog person. But he’s really a softie.

Except he’s never taken to one of my animals so quickly, and never right off the bat.

He came home yesterday and there Addie is, looking up at him, wagging her tail, prancing back and forth on her front feet, and that was that. He goes on about how cute she is, he really likes her, and on and on. It’s almost disgusting. He’s telling me what to do—you ought to brush her, she’ll like that; if you get her to poop and take her back to the same spot, she’ll poop for you; yada yada. And he offered to walk her this morning, even when I told him it could take a while and he’d have to be patient and he had to keep her on the leash (we’ve been taking her to the field instead of to the fenced area downstairs).

She got here late yesterday morning and I think she’s finally settled down now. She walked and walked and walked yesterday, all around the house, with occasional stops to look at Smokey lying in one of the chairs. He just hissed if she got too close, but that was it, and off she’d go again. Tawney tried to sneak out from under our bed once, but Addie spied her and went to see her, so Tawney took back off to crawl under the bed. Addie went back and forth from one side to the other, then she’d crouch down and bark. She wanted to play with the kitties so badly. They still won’t have anything to do with her.

She’s not pacing all around today, though. She’s found herself a little spot by the door in my office, so she plops down and goes to sleep.

PJ and Harley are ok with her now. Of course they have to stick around when I’m outside with her, but they don’t follow her every move. And she’s perfectly fine with them, which is why I’d rather take her out to the field with them instead of the fenced area, because she’s used to having other dogs around.

I’m not quite sure what to do about her name, though. MFD and I love “Adrianna,” but it’s too long for everyday use. We don’t much care for “Addie,” and neither does KSA. Originally, I was going to try to keep it fairly close, but I think it’s going to be too confusing for me. A couple of times I have automatically said “Ellie” and when I realize what I’m doing, it goes to “Allie” and finally to “Addie.” So I may have to get completely away from it.

She has the most adorable face, it reminds me of something, I just can’t place it yet. I don’t know how well you can see on the pictures, but she has the black that goes around her eyes except the little touch of brown right above them, and a little stripe of black off to each side. And her tail looks like a fluffy little fox’s tail, with white right on the tip.

What a pretty girl, look at this face:

How’s about this fluffy tail:

Look how daintily she crosses her feet:

Name suggestions, anyone?

Flo

Adoption Delayed

The foster mom’s own Australian Shepherd was bleeding from his ear, so she had to rush him to the vet clinic.

She just called back and it turns out he had some cuts and a puncture wound. He and one of the other dogs must have been roughhousing and gotten a little rambunctious. Took a couple of stitches, but he keeps shaking the bandage off and bleeding all over again. She needs to stay with him and try to keep it under control, and I understand.

She’ll call back to make other arrangements with Addie, but I’m sure she’ll be tired after the adrenalin rush wears off, so I don’t expect to hear from her until tomorrow. Poor things.

Will keep you posted.

Flo

Picxthures for JPG

This is the only one I have right now. It’s off of the rescue website, and it doesn’t do her justice at all. I promise to get more for you all.

She’s coming around 1030-1100 today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Flo

We're Adopting!

A dog, of course.

Her name is Adrianna (Addie) and she’s a 5-year old tri-colored Sheltie. She is very sweet and adorable and loves attention.

I went to the adoption clinic last month to look at a couple of dogs they had. Addie was in her crate when I first got there, but she got up when I came by, looking for attention. Later, when I was sitting around with a couple of the other dogs and Addie was out on a leash, she came over to me several times on her own. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm. She wasn’t one I had originally gone to see—I was looking more for a sable, with perky ears, on the younger side. But she was on my list for consideration when I left.

I was sick the next clinic, so I didn’t go. Addie’s picture was gone from the website shortly after that. I thought, “Oh well, she must have been adopted.” She wasn’t gone for long, though.

The rescue group had gotten several new Shelties, so MFD and I set out Saturday to take a look. I asked, and Addie’s foster mom said someone had tried to adopt her, but evidently had problems with her potty habits. She’s not one to rush out and do her business, and I guess they didn’t want to wait so long.

I never said anything to MFD. I was sitting with a couple of the other dogs when MFD came over and said Addie was the one. I even tried to dissuade her—“look at this one with the beautiful blue eyes.” “Addie is 5-years old, don’t you think we should look at one a little younger?” Nope, Addie was the one.

[sigh]

She comes to me on her own…she’s adopted, then she’s not…she’s the one MFD picks out. What other signs do I need?

One of the gals from the rescue group had called last week to see if I was still looking. I had already put in an application and she said she had checked my vet references and I was approved for adoption as soon as I had a fenced in area. We’ve got a walk-out basement with retainer walls on two sides, so we just needed to close off the fourth side, and I told MFD and KSA that’s what I wanted for my birthday.

Baling, delivering, and stacking hay put that on hold, but I told KSA we’d picked our dog, so he made it his priority (once the hay was done, of course) and got it done Monday evening. Someone came out yesterday to check and approve it. Now we’re just waiting for her foster mom to call back to make arrangements to get her.

Addie came from a puppy mill, which surprises me a little because she seems friendlier than a lot of the puppy mill dogs I’ve seen. Those breeders are so disgusting, the only thing they love about the animals they have is the money they can make off of them. A couple of the latest dogs were rescued just days before the owner would have shot them. He was moving and couldn’t take them with him. I just cannot fathom such a callous and heartless being.

But, I think a lot of Addie’s attitude is due to the love and care of her foster mom. And now, like the man throwing the starfish back into the sea, I’m making a difference in the life of at least one girl that’s been rescued. I just hope, for Addie’s sake, that the transition to her furrever home is a smooth one.

Flo

Spoiled Little Bitch

Six months ago, we came home from Mass one Saturday to find PJ and Harley (the outside dogs) barking at something. I went on inside the house while MFD went to see what all the fuss was about. Pretty soon I hear her yelling for me to come downstairs. She’s standing at the back door, holding a beautiful, but filthy, Sheltie.

Well, what else could we do but bring her inside?

Yep. And that was my undoing.

She was covered in mats and burrs and ticks. She was so tangled in areas that I had to cut it out, and she laid there on her back just as calm as could be. She was such a good little girl.

Of course I did the right thing. Called vets and clinics, talked to neighbors, put up signs. She even came with a rabies tag from a city clear up on the north side of the metro area. Nothing.

So after two weeks, we named her Ellie and she became MINE.

It took her no time at all to learn where she was supposed to go to do her business. She barked when she wanted something. If it was wet outside, she would sit and offer you her front paws, one at a time, to be cleaned off, then she would stand so you could do the back. She never complained about a bath and sat so patiently when I clipped her nails.

We found out early she liked to go bye-bye. She jumped right in the back and made herself comfortable. Unless the front seat was empty--then she would come sit up there with me. So she went with me every day to take the girls to school. As long as I wasn’t going to be gone somewhere for long, like grocery shopping, she went everywhere with me. She went to Lovi’s for Halloween. She even went down to Hubby’s mom’s farm for Thanksgiving and Easter, and to Hollyb and her DB’s for New Years.

Hubby’s mom said she hoped Miss Ellie knew she was already in doggie heaven because she had found a home with us. His mom has said before that when she dies, she wants to come back as one of my pets!

If I had to leave her behind, she would get so excited when I returned. Jumping up and down like a circus dog on a pogo stick, yipping and yelping like she was saying “Oh, you’re home, you came back, you didn’t leave and forget about me!”

She loved attention, and when we moved over to the main house, she followed me around wherever I went. While we were building, if I let her outside and I had to go over to the new house, she would go all the way around to the other side of the house to get in through the garage, then she’d come straight over to where I was.

She and the cats have taken awhile to adjust to being on the same floor in the same house. Slowly but surely. One morning, Hubby and MFD left early while I was still in bed. There goes Ellie, click click click click of the toenails on the tile, when she hears the garage door go up. Seconds later, click click click click, then she lands in bed with me—because the cats were right behind!

She was a great little watchdog. She’d start barking before PJ and Harley did if someone was coming down the drive, so I called her “my vicious guard dog.” It took her a little while to be comfortable with strangers, but eventually she’d let them pet her. But even when Hubby and MFD were around, she preferred to be with Mama. She was one spoiled little bitch.

Tick season is upon us, so while Harley was at the vet’s yesterday, I took the opportunity to get the other two checked out, update their shots, and get their tick and heartworm medication.

When it was Miss Ellie’s turn, I asked the vet to see if she had a microchip, just to be sure. If I had lost her, I’d want her returned, so it would only be fair to see if someone had registered her.

She had a chip, and my stomach dropped.

The vet wrote down the info on the chip and gave me the number to the company, and said she’d leave it up to me whether to call or not.

Well what else can I do? I had to see if someone had spent the time and money to register her, or I couldn’t have lived with myself.

So I called. She was registered. The guy took my name and number and address. Then I started crying.

Minutes later I get a call from her owners. They’re in the area, and want to know if they can come get her in half an hour. No, I’m sorry, this is my dog now and you can’t have her. I’m crying the whole time and the lady asks if I’m ok. “No.” Of course I’m not ok, you’re coming to take my dog. She said she was sorry, she knew it was easy to get attached to “Lacy.” Well duh. How’s about we give you a cigar? You aren’t sorry, you’re gonna have the dog, MY dog.

So we go outside to wait. They get here, and my vicious guard dog barks at the car. But after they got out and called her name and she figured out who they were, she got excited.

Turns out they were out of town in October, and their son was keeping Lacy and her sister, Sophie. One minute Lacy was across the road, playing with another small dog, the next she was gone.

They told me she had just turned six in March, which was younger than the vet estimated—ten. The two dogs liked to go for rides in the guy’s white Miata, with the top down, to get ice cream.

They were a nice couple, maybe in their 50’s or 60’s. I knew from her behavior she had been well cared for, and must have been loved. So I couldn’t blame them.

Now the fargin’ icehole of a son is a different story. Is he blind, that he didn’t see the signs I had put up? No way he could have missed them. And it appears Lacy was on her own for almost two weeks before she landed here.

So I’m pi$ed and upset and I want my dog back. MFD didn’t take it well, either, especially since the dog was gone by the time she got home from school. “I know it’s hard, dear, but you’d want someone else to do the same thing for us if it was our dog” just doesn’t cut it.

Sometimes it just friggin’ SUCKS to do the right thing.

I miss the clicking of her toenails.Flo