The Eclipse and Josh's Bucket-List

Our week began with the eclipse.  During the event, with a camera filter, I took a few pictures of it.

In our corner of Virginia, we had a 79% occlusion. I thought that it would have been a little darker, but it wasn't.

Below is a picture I took of it.

I also snapped a few of Todd, who was the only dog that wanted to be out with me.

Broadcasts before the eclipse reminded all of us to not be so consumed with taking pictures, but to enjoy the experience, and notice your surroundings.  So, I did that.  I noticed that at the height of the eclipse, there was a call from one of our resident Barred Owls, how unusually quiet it was, and that the temperature fell about about 5 degrees.

It's hard to top an eclipse at the start of the week, but we're going to give it a try.  The month of August marks a milestone as we celebrate 15 years with our boy Josh. There are no words to say how humbled and grateful I feel at being given this gift of time with him. And, for the last few months, I've been thinking about celebrating that time by doing a "bucket list" for Josh - It has been spurred on by a blog that another blogger shared on her Facebook page this week. The blog, Mr. Molson's Adventures was created when Molson, also a Golden Retriever, was diagnosed with cancer. Inspired by the memories the family made, with Josh's good health, I decided to wait no longer.  Our list isn't as adventurous as Molson's, but it is custom for Josh.  Yesterday we began with a little makeover to ready him for checking off that bucket-list!

Two in a Week

For the second time in almost exactly a week, we said good-bye to another one of our foster pups.  This time, it was Kingston's turn to find a forever home.  Lab Rescue called me on Friday.  "Retired Bob and Scientist Cathy" came this afternoon.

~Kingston, the day we met~

I had some big reservations about their use of an electric fence, so we discussed that at length. That issue aside, it was easy to see that they are kind people who were so excited about Kingston and brought him toys and treats. Their black lab, Diesel, seemed to like Kingston too. So, after about an hour of talking and getting to know each other, I let Kingston go.  He never looked back when he jumped into the back of their car.  He rested his head on their dogs back and he was smiling and wagging his tail when I said good-bye.  My only regret, I didn't get any pictures. But I won't soon forget him. We were crazy about Kingston, and more than anything, I so hope he is happy and safe in his forever home.

A Forever Home For .....

Well, despite Max turning on his natural and clownish charm, *we* really tried to get Dick and Judy to love him. I was so sure they would.  It was instead a love connection with Molly.

As I watched them together, there was no denying it.  I knew Molly being with them was how it should be.

This evening, I got the below e-mail from Judy:

Dear Kim,
  I think Molly must have read the playbook for how to win the perfect dog award.. She has chosen to lie quietly within a few feet of us ever since we arrived home. Late afternoon she starred in a SKYPE call with our kids in Brussels. Of course, they thought she was beautiful. Then she ate her dinner, went out for a very brief walk and did her business. She came home and has now joined us in the tv room where she is lying at Dick's feet after licking his hand.
    She is still a bit tentative but I am very encouraged that she will relax in the next few days.
    We couldn't be happier that Miss Molly has joined our family.
      Thank you.
          Judy

So, no forever home for Max, and I am not disappointed.  Because as I just said, it's how it should be.

Back From a Break

I may be an introvert by nature, but I’ll admit it, I am a social media addict.  I love it.  And I won't go into the details, but just say that I found I was getting really consumed by the news, politics and other online rhetoric.  I realized that I needed to take a social media break.  So, for the last two weeks I took one. I am glad to be back.

To catch you up on a little of our news, I'll start with a good-bye we said to our foster-cat, Charlie. He'd had several inquiries from hopeful adopters, but because of the distance to come and meet him, people were deciding not to.  So, he was moved to another foster home closer to those who were interested in him.  We were crazy about Charlie, and this handsome cat is really missed!

A road trip is planned tomorrow for Max.  As you know, he's been available for adoption since about the middle of June.  In all that time, there has not been any interest from anyone.

The people that Max is meeting is the couple that adopted our foster girl last year named Bella.  You may remember her.

~Bella on her adoption-day~

Sadly, after only being with her forever family for 9 months, Bella was diagnosed with bone cancer. They sent her to the Rainbow Bridge just a few short weeks later. Dick and Judy were of course, heartbroken by her loss, as was I. They are missing having a dog. Even before Bella's sad passing, I'd thought that Max would be a good fit for them.  However, they are hoping for a female Golden Retriever, not a Goldendoodle, and not a boy.  I understand and respect their preference.  But at the urging from their son, a friend, and me too, they've agreed to meet Max, just to see if there is a connection.  

And, even though Dick and Judy are hoping to adopt a younger girl, they know that life gives no guarantees, so they would like to meet Molly, who at 12 years old, is also available for adoption.  I have a feeling it will be Molly that they choose, but you never know.  Either one of them will be lucky to have Dick and Judy as their forever family

Finally, the left-behinders, like Todd are doing well.  He got more mail than I did one day which was a card from the Emergency Vet.

He's all healed from his rumble with the wild life

and soon he'll be rumbling with the dog-groomer!

**On a personal note, my grateful thanks to you for your continued friendship and for stopping by.  I have really missed blogging and I look forward to catching up on your news.