My Days Off Begin

Another one of those typical weeks at our house where not much is happening. Of course I look forward to Thursday arriving because the tempo of the week changes when I'm done with work. And, I'm done with the nearly one hour (each way) commute.

~A recent drive to work on a foggy morning~

Since last fall, my days off begin with a 4-ish mile morning walk on a towpath along the Potomac River with a good friend.

But before any day really begins at our house, the dogs need to be fed. Todd and his shadow waited patiently, at least part of the time, for their breakfast.

Our newest arrival, Hershey has settled in pretty well and he's getting along with the other dogs.

Hershey's fixation with the cats continues. I think it's more of a curiosity than anything. If I'm worried about anything with Hershey, it's his appetite. He'll eat one day, and not the next. So un-Lab-like. I'm hoping now that he's done with an antibiotic, it'll improve.

And Charlie celebrated yesterday with a bowl of ice on **DAY 623** since his surgery to remove a tumor - Our goal is 108 more days to get to 2 years. Again, knock-knock-on wood and all paws crossed to get to this milestone!!

Hershey Arrives at Golden Pines

Hopper and Bean left us on Monday for their new foster home. I really hope it is going well for them. I liked them both very much, especially Hopper - despite that Hopper thought the cats would make a good play toy, (or worse) they were both nice girls.

With an empty dog bed, we were all set to welcome a 12 year old Golden from a local shelter. But he ended up getting adopted with his younger counterpart. I hope it's a good thing. But I'll admit that I was a little disappointed. But just after I read about one boy not coming to us, my next e-mail was from Lab Rescue asking me to foster a 14 year old chocolate lab named Hershey.

~First photo from the rescue of our new boy, Hershey~

Of course I agreed, and on Wednesday morning, via a transport from Maryland, Hershey arrived at my office.

~Hershey napping in my van on Wednesday - It was a big day!~

I can only speculate on Hershey's past. I only know that he was given up by his owner who had recently come here from Omaha Nebraska.

~My first photo of Hershey~

I do know that Hershey is a nice boy. He is getting along just fine with our crew.  But he's understandably a bit out of sorts and he has done a lot of pacing and panting, that has unsettled our dogs just a little. Added to that, believe it or not, Hershey won't leave the cats alone. I'm not sure if he's just curious about them, or if he really wants to harass them. Time will tell. And time and a chance to get settled in is what we'll of course give Hershey.

Welcome to Hershey.

Hopper & Bean Arrive at Golden Pines

Well, you all knew that it wouldn't be long before we welcomed a new arrival or two.  On Wednesday, that's just what we did. We welcomed a pair of girls, Hopper who is 10 years old, and Bean who is the respectable age of 14. This is the pair I was asked to take last week, and declined.  I was asked again on Tuesday since Bean is having some health issues, because of that, and feeling a bit recharged, I agreed to take them.

~First photos from the rescue of Hopper and Bean at the kennel ~

These girls come to us from North Carolina. In September their owner took them to a kennel for boarding, and never returned. After due diligence by the kennel, the two were considered legally abandoned and Hopper and Bean were turned over to Lab Rescue.

They are nice girls, and have gotten along pretty well with our crew.

Unfortunately after a couple of too-close-encounters with the cats, and their behavior when they're around, it's easy to see that the two have a very high prey drive that can't be curbed. Of course, I don't want our cats to get hurt (or worse) so I've asked for Hopper and Bean to be moved to another foster home.

Since they have been in boarding since September, and with Bean not feeling so well, I don't want them to have to return to a kennel. And since I'm feeling relatively confident that we can keep the cats safe, we've agreed to keep them until a new foster home can be identified.

~Hopper~

I'm glad that we have the chance to get to know Hopper and Bean. Aside from their prey drive, I like them very much. Hopper, is what I think may be a Lab mix. She's very smart, does as she's asked, and is alert to everything happening around her. She was a bit reserved and tentative at first. But today she's much more relaxed and follows me everywhere. Hopper was so happy to have room to run in our big fenced yard. This is another reason why I've agreed to keep them instead of returning them to boarding.

On the flip side is Bean. At 14 years old, as I've already said, she's not feeling well, and she's having problems getting up and around. She also loved the chance to be outside soaking up some sun. She sat in the grass for a long time and sniffed the air. She is a patient and gentle old soul, who enjoys attention. I hope being in a home, on a warm bed, and some one-on-one personal care, she'll start to feel better before she and Hopper leave us to begin the next chapter of their lives.   

~Bean~

Sleeping In

It has of course been a quiet weekend at our house as I've let the dust settle from the departure of the Barkalot Brothers. The schedule that we were keeping to make sure Abe got fed and his insulin on time is now out the window. On Friday morning, I got up, let the dogs out and back in, and went back to bed and slept until nearly 10 o'clock. Totally unheard of for me. The dogs slept too, so maybe the peace and quiet was needed for them as well.

When breakfast finally did come, Todd was outside barking at the deer (or something) at the far side of the yard, and my calling and trying to bribe him couldn't convince him to come inside. He had brunch around noon. None of the dogs seemed to notice the time.

On Friday I was asked by Lab Rescue to take another pair. This time a pair of senior girls whose owner left them at a kennel and never came back for them. Of course I want to help them, but at that very moment, I just didn't feel like I was up to it.

But I was up to taking a few fun pictures of the dogs eating some of Charlie's food mix off the spatula.

~Rhett - Sure, I'll eat anything!~

~Max - You want me to eat that?!~

~Todd - You called me to the door for this??~

~Alf - Sure I'll try it, why not?~

~Sophie - I like to see my food as I eat it~

~Chip - Just put the food into the opening~

I hope you had a relaxing weekend too!