Missing in Action....

I know.  Totally been ignoring "the blog world".  shrug.  It's not as if I ever have world changing or riveting things to write about.  And I have felt so BUSY lately.

My job is busier with more responsibility which is a great thing!  The new "lifestyle" Dave and I are living - no, no, no - not the swinger lifestyle you dirty people!  grin..... but the fitness lifestyle has eaten up a lot of time.  And it's not really the working out part... it seems to be the food part.  Preppingand making good, healthy food every night takes time.  Or maybe both of those things together...

I am still riding my red mule, Sera Sue.  I am still taking agility lessons with Little Toe.  And all of that leaves me running it seems from 4:00AM when we get up to 8:30-9:00PM at night. 

Not that I am complaining.  I love my life and the people in it and I have full control of cutting back and making choices to do that.... it's just .... I don't want to!  I want to fit it ALL in... which is hard to do and blogging just really seems to falls by the ol' wayside.

And if you don't write, people don't read and then your blog, which was small to begin with, withers down and atrophys and then it's just a little online diary for your own shits and giggles.  And I'm coo wif 'dat.

SO!  Where do I begin?  Let's talk dogs.

We lost our old dogs... both Sammy and Bequia died about 4 months ago.  They were 12 and 13 respectively.  We were sad, however, they were well loved and cared for and were very much a part of our lives and days... how can a dog ask for more?  We were lucky to have them in our lives for as long as we did.

We lost Keenan - our problem child dog - that was the hardest thing we've ever been through because she was very young when she died and the difficulty we experienced with her in almost every way really made us question our ability to be good dog owners ever again.  Somehow I think us humans focus in on our negative experiences vs. the positives.  So even tho we had past success with Booker, Sammy, Bequia and Little Toe ... we just thought after Keenan we maybe should not own dogs cuz we were incompetent. 

I'm glad that didn't last long.  We started looking and tried working with rescue groups to find another dog to come into our lives even tho' we were pretty nervous and hesitant about it. 

Here is what we discovered.  Rescue groups can be difficult.  I know they totally mean well and I'm sure there are many rescues who work quickly.  However, the first rescue group we worked with has us interviewed over the phone by 3 different staff members to make sure we were ok on paper.  We had a house visit.  We had to talk with a behaviourist.  More interviews.  Then when we finally met a dog they wanted to pair us with, they decided they didn't like our fencing.  It was absolutely maddening.

We moved on to another rescue group... they moved more efficiently.  However, they couldn't get to a home visit which was necessary in order to adopt a dog because we were remote comparatively to their HQ and weeks went by.

Finally we said, "fuck it"... pardon my French...it had been months.

We went to a humane society in Boulder, CO.  We filled out an application, looked at all the dogs held inside, visited with one and brought her home.  The Boulder shelter partners with high kill shelters in other states.  The dog we brought home is a year old, female, cattle dog mix from a high kill shelter in OK.  She is an absolute JOY to have around.

Furry Husband is taking her to a basic obedience class and I have started playing around teaching her a couple tricks... she is very fun.  She loves all things canine and is happy to see people of all ages, shapes and sizes - big and small, she loves them all.

She is full of such happiness and while quite leery of us at first... any time we had something in our hands like a shovel or rake or apple picker she stayed very very far away... think she was not treated very well wherever she came from.  She figured out very fast that we are not the hitting sort of home and her confidence has blossomed.  We named her Shorty... it somehow just fit her. 

So - rescues - while absolutely needed in this world and I believe they have the very best intentions and I think there are probably many that are very very good at what they do; I think many have made it so difficult to actually adopt a dog that they are missing the larger picture. 

I get it... I totally get that they don't want dogs coming back and they don't want dogs ending up in bad situations again.  However, in my opinion, it would be easier for me to get pregnant and have an actual human baby than it was to try and adopt a dog from the rescues we contacted.

I realize all rescues are not this way.  However, by the time we went through the hoops of two rescue organizations, we were fed-up by the process and just wanted to adopt a dog that needed a home. 

So we did.  And it is a beautiful thing...  

Cheers and happy Friday!