I Hate Being A Grownup - Memories of My Dogs

It's just so hard sometimes.

I had to make a decision to put my dogs down in January and it was awful. They would have been fifteen years old in March, but it just wasn't fair to them to keep them around just because of me. They were both basically blind, both had multiple health issues, and both had recently taken a turn for the worse as far as the progression of their dementia. Still -- it was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do.

It's so difficult to do the right thing for an animal. People can at least tell you what their wishes are and you can carry them out. With animals, though, you *have* to make the decision.

I had had them for fifteen years, minus two months. They have been with me in six locations -- four in Texas, one in Idaho, and one in Washington (two if you count the apartment & house in the same town). I have moved them, along with all my other earthly goods from hither to yon and have been glad to do so. They were good dogs. They loved me dearly, even when they forgot who they were.

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I remember when they were puppies -- when I first got them in Lubbock. I remember asking someone at the apartment (who also had a Lhasa puppy) where they got it, getting the info, and driving out to the breeder's house to check out the litter, dam, & sire. I only wanted one and picked out Bix on a Friday. I thought about it all weekend and realized that I needed her to have a buddy since I was going to college and working. So, I picked up her brother along with her on Monday.

They were adorable -- tiny little puffballs of fur. They played together until they just.fell.down and they loved being petted and held. They both wanted to be lapdogs. . . but they were WAY too wiggly. =P I remember taking them for walks and teaching them to "wait" at the streets. I also remember them running like crazy dogs outside on the "dog lawn" at the apartment.

I had them in Lubbock for a little over a year -- until I graduated from college. When I left the apartment, my security deposit stayed behind -- I should have known then that they would be the most expensive toys I would ever own. =D

I packed them up, along with everything else and moved to Big Spring where I had a job waiting. They got to live with my mom and me while I was working at the hospital. They roamed around all over the homeplace and got to know Momma's dog, Bill. Bill was a "donated" lab/chow/pit mix (about 60 lbs) that someone just dumped out where we lived. He'd been with Momma for a while and had adjusted to Dudley, the old dog on the place. They were pretty good buddies up until Dudley passed away.

Bill and Bix got along pretty well because Bill thought she was the cutest thing he'd ever seen. Baxter, however, was another story. Both of the boys still had all their equipment which led to some pretty ugly confrontations. After the third or fourth "misunderstanding" -- which always involved separating both dogs, they both went to visit Dr. Neil for an attitude adjustment. That definitely stopped the "misunderstandings", but Baxter never really trusted Bill after that, not that I could have blamed him.

A year or so later, I got itchy feet and went to live in Austin. I took the dogs and my stuff and found an apartment near my work. It was a great place, if you had dogs, because it was right next to an "overflow" basin. (When it rained really hard, the water would catch in the overflow basin and be allowed to flow out in a much more constrained manner during the next few days.) Since they were right next to this big basin, the apartments basically designated the dam around the basin as the "dog walk". The apartments also had a "policy" where dogs couldn't weigh over 25 lbs, which gave me a little trouble with Bax -- he fluctuated between 24-26 pounds. They also didn't like the idea of me having two of them, but. . . I explained it like this, "You can either have a tenant that has two dogs. . .or you can have an empty apartment." Yep, we all moved in shortly thereafter. =D

Speaking of the 25 lb policy. . . one of the tenants there had two GINORMOUS dogs -- one was a Rottweiler and one was a mastiff. Yeah, I know. 25 lbs, my hind fanny. Anyhow, they "usually lived with someone else" and he "only had them a few times a month" so I guess it was fine. Mmmhmm. Anyhow, Bix met these two huge dogs one night on our dog walk. Baxter immediately hid behind me but Bix ? Oh, noooo. Thank God I had them both on their leashes because she went RIGHT AT the biggest dog I've ever seen, barking and growling.

Have you ever seen a big dog laugh ? I have.

Both Tyson (the Rott) and Slobber (the mastiff) [ hey, it's not like I named 'em ] LOOKED at each other and, I swear this is true, LAUGHED. I am yanking on Bix's leash, trying to get her out of the jaws of doom and they just continued their doggie laughing. She was so protective. All 14 lbs of her. Telling those big ol' dogs that they would be in BIG trouble if they hurt her momma. She was the very best scooby snack I've ever seen.

More later -- I have to go find Kleenex now.

Thoughts ?

Weekend Meanderings When It's Not Raining

We took a little trip this weekend around the 3 loop. We drove across the Purdy causeway and went over to Shelton, just because we hadn't been there before. We have been telling ourselves that we wanted to visit Shelton -- we just hadn't taken the time before. The weather was beautiful and it was so pretty driving through all the pine trees with a bright blue sky above us.

When we got to Shelton, we realized it was a little smaller than we anticipated. Robert had done the prep work and knew that Shelton was about 3,000-3,500 people -- I guess I just forgot that that's kind of a little town, compared with where we're currently living. =D

We poked around Shelton for a little bit and stopped into their "big" thrift store because I'm just a junk . . . um. . . junkie. Nothing to write home about. If I was des-per-ate, the silverware collection might be a place to root around if for nothing more than bracelet/necklace components. (Think Perry & Kelly Smith, Kate). We (okay, fine -- I) got a little lost driving around in town as well. I blame this on my mother's genes. You know I'm calling you out for Everett, Momma. We also took a peek at the Mason County Courthouse building which was definitely worth a visit.

Anyhow, while los. . . err. . . bewildered, we came upon this sign:
** insert pic here**
and that's when we knew that it was probably time for us to move along.

We went from Shelton down to Olympia, which is the state capitol of Washington. The state capitol building has a large dome on it, as do many of the other state capitol buildings that I have seen. It also appears to be built out of the same huge blocks of stone that the county courthouse building is made of so it was a nice bit of architectural continuity.

By then, it was getting a little bit nippy so we headed back towards home. Shipwreck Beads is on the way, though, so I persu . . . trick. . .err made a deal with Robert that I wouldn't spend more than 30 minutes there. I got some really cool hematite pieces and some random stone strings. I also got a string of something I'd never seen identified -- it's called blue goldstone. It's a very dark blue/purple with what looks like glitter inside the stone. Some pieces have much more "glitter" than others, but it's still a gorgeous stone. I was considering making earrings, but none of the pieces on the string look close enough to one another where I think that they will look good as a set. *sigh* Maybe I just need to string them as a bracelet. I'll think about it.

Hometown Refinery Goes Boom This Morning

Everyone I know is fine.

Pictures from Fox News

So, I get an email this morning from my mother. The refinery about 25 miles from my childhood home had a severe blast, sending a huge cloud of smoke up in the air. The news from CNN says one injured, no fatalities, which is unbelievably good news, considering the circumstances.

I immediately call my mom, just to make sure she's okay. She is -- but she and one of her neighbors both checked their propane tanks and water tanks when they heard the explosion. This amuses me greatly and on many levels.

Anyhow, for now -- all is well, except for the fact that the third largest inland refinery in the world will have at least part of its total capacity severely hindered until the fallout from the blast is cleaned up/repaired/put back on line.

Thoughts ?

Jamba Juice !

So. . . I am a troll and a hermit. I had never had Jamba Juice before.

We got some last night and I may be a convert. I got the BananaBerry, which is strawberries & bananas, blended with low-fat yogurt and juice and. . . I have to say it was very good. I was very surprised.

It was so good, in fact. . .that I am having another one this afternoon ! Yeah, same kind (I'm not a good early adopter.)

Rawr ! Straw(r)berries & bananas !

Thoughts ?

Because I'm Sure Everyone Thought I Quit Posting. . .

I really haven't quit.


I visit the site from time to time to see if any new posts have magically showed up due to the writing sprites, but. . . nooooo. They are apparently either hiding or on strike. Oh. On strike. I guess my writing sprites are card-carrying members of the Writers' Guild ! That must be it !


Anyhow, since they are on strike, I guess I'll break down and post for them. *sigh* Always gotta pick up the slack for those sprites. . .


Kitties ! Everyone loves kitties !


Kismet -- wearing what we now know will be only the first of five collars. She is now wearing collar #5, having lost 2, 3, & 4. (I took the first one off because I bought a way cuter collar, but that one was #2 and it was promptly lost in the great wilds of our neighborhood.)




S'prise -- [[ Okay, now for the minutiae explanation (for those of you who play WoW, on the Horde side, who rolled either troll or orc, AND who did the "Lazy Peon" quest, this is for you. . .)]]

This is what I see when I look at this picture of Scooterpoo. . . "Something need doing ?" and/or "Me not that kind of orc !"




Dogs

For those that knew and loved them. . . I will make a separate post soon. It's taken a while just because it's still difficult to process.


And other things that cross my mind randomly. . .


Patriots or Giants ? Honestly -- I don't care because it's an all-Northeast Superbowl. Now, if it were the Pats against Hillary Clinton, I think we might have a ball game ! The only point of interest that I have in the game AT ALL is the possibility that the Pats go 19-0 and knock off the 1972 Miami Dolphins as the only undefeated team in history. Having said that, of course, they have already done that, as their de facto season has two extra games in it; the Dolphins ended up as 17-0, which the Pats have already surpassed.


I read that Britney Spears has been hospitalized for "observation" of some of her "issues". [sarcasm=on] Gee, really ? [/sarcasm] Haven't we all been subjected to the incessant "observation" of her "issues" via the paparazzi for the last several months ? And, honestly, show of hands, now -- who among us seriously believed that KFed would turn out to be the "responsible" party in that relationship ? I fear for those children. Hell, I also fear for the spawn of the other Spears child. Lynne ? Seriously ? Were you sleeping 23 hours a day ? Jeez, woman. WAKE UP.


And Dr. Phil ? This is straight to you, buddy. You have lost whatever iota of credibility you still MIGHT have retained when you went to "help" Britney and, instead, made it a story line. You are a disgrace to the therapeutic community. You have crossed every boundary of professionalism and have made a laughing stock of yourself and your so-called "self-help". Boo. Hiss. Please fully embrace your showman side so you can head off to the circus and leave the actual therapy to qualified individuals.


Heath Ledger -- I am sorry that he is not with us any more. I am sorry for his family and friends. I have to, however, reserve judgment due to the reports that several different prescriptions were found around him when he passed away. I am certainly not suggesting that he took his own life, but I am not above suggesting that a certain level of responsibility needs to be exercised, even if you are famous, to guard your health from all threats, both outside your circle and inside your own braincase.


Celebrities -- why is it that the majority of Americans would prefer that children grow up with two parents and you "famous people" can't manage to marry before you squirt out progeny ? Is it some Faustian contract that you sign when you agree to put your life on public display that you feel the need to reproduce without benefit of wedlock ? Shame on you. I'll say it. I don't care. Shame on you ! You have money to burn, nannies without number, assistants and handlers and stylists and whatever and you flaunt your irresponsibilities in multi-thousand dollar strollers. What is the MATTER with you ? Seriously, we should go back to the practice of shunning. . . =P

I'm calling out. . . lessee. . .Nicole Richie, Jamie Spears, Halle Berry, Matthew McConaghey's (sp?) gf, and LOTS more. Thanks for inspiring the trailer park trash and ghetto hos to whelp more litters. Wish you were required to pay a substantial portion of your earnings to support those who follow your lead.


(This portion of the post is not directed at those folks who manage to make it to the altar BEFORE producing offspring, btw. Kudos to Julia Roberts, Jennifer Garner, Courtney Cox, JLo, Christina Aguilera, etc. Thanks, ladies -- it makes it easier to know that there are still some folks that make decent role models (although Christina ? Chicklet -- please wear more than dental floss now that you are a mommy).)


Politics -- Hillary, Obama, McCain ! Oh, my ! This is shaping up to be one of the best bare-knuckle dustups in recent memory. It will be a barnburner up until the end, I think.


I have been reading a few of the blogs that my husband follows and, I have to say, I have some questions for the Republican leadership based on some of the points that have been raised in the blogs.


Here's what I would like answered:


1) Why do we have a separate mercenary force operating in Iraq (Blackwater) and why are we paying them untold vast sums of money when we can't manage to provide mental health treatment for the folks serving in the armed forces now ? I saw a blurb that stated that we currently have a higher level of suicides from returning vets than any time in history. Whut ?


1a) Why can't we just let the Iraqi people know that if the radicals among them will quit blowing up stuff that we (and the rest of the Iraqi people) are trying to build (roads, sewer systems, water tanks, etc), we will be glad to leave as soon as it's finished ?


2) Why is Exxon still showing the highest profits in history and gas still hovering around $3 a barrel, but we (as a country) still cannot manage to put folks from Katrina (2 years ago) in some type of affordable housing ? Why does it take a private organization (Habitat for Humanity) to show the government how to perform this ?


3) Why are CEOs still paid exorbitant salaries when Wall Street is taking a beating ? More importantly, why is Wall Street taking a beating ? Where were the regulators when "everyone" thought sub-prime mortgages were a great idea ? Whose pea-brained idea is it that the industry should offer "easy to afford" mortgages to those who are not the greatest credit risk to begin with ? I don't mean to say that the poor should be punished -- rather that the irresponsible and poor decision makers should not be rewarded for those traits. Now that a great deal of money has been squeezed out of a large section of the populace, it appears that it has been distilled into the pockets of the very rich and that the poor and middle-class will once again be left holding the bag in the form of bailouts and ever-shrinking pools of candidates from whom to borrow. What with BoA setting up to buy Countrywide and (is it JPMorgan ?) going to buy (Chase?), it just means that the monopoly continues to get closer to locked down.


It also means that there is a vast swath of real estate foreclosures that no one wants to claim responsibility for atm. This is ridiculous. The banks don't want the properties on their books, so they try and foist them off on the cities as "abandoned" so that the cities will be responsible for the maintenance. The cities don't want the responsibility of the maintenance cost, so they throw back to the banks. Meanwhile, the shelters are still full. Why not use the houses as temporary shelters for those folks who are one paycheck out of their previous home ? Claim them as safe houses for domestic violence victims. Set them up as starter houses for welfare recipients, rather than putting them in public housing projects. In short, USE THEM.


Okay -- now for fun stuff. . .


Love Project Runway. Ricky -- please quit your crying. It's annoying now. Christian -- you are talented, but honey, you're still little. Give it a few years to grow into that ego of yours because right now, honestly, you're about an 8 and your hat size is about a 24XX. SweetP -- show some fight ! I think most of your clothes have been intriguing and clever, but you're letting your insecurities get the best of you. Don't be a Wendy Pepper. Chris M -- I hope you win it all. I haven't liked all of your clothes, mind you, but I think you are a bright guy and you definitely have your own voice. (No pun intended) Jillian -- I love your clothes, but I would have already strangled you with some type of embroidery floss just because you whine so. Seriously. Knock it off. And, no, I don't care what kind of "stress" you are under. If you think the competition is tough, you have ZERO clue what is waiting for you in the fashion industry, no matter that you used to work at Ralph Lauren.


Can't wait for Top Chef - Chicago.


Gotta leave now to go grocery shopping ! YAY !


Thoughts ?