Argh

I always think I should volunteer out at the animal shelter. We don't have a no-kill shelter, and since it's a college town there's generally a pretty high population out there, and since they've got a new animal control officer out there, he welcomes Humane Society volunteers to come out and help with cleaning and socializing and walking the dogs and so on.

I could manage with the cats. I can deal with cats. Kittens, even. But I was just looking at the pictures of the dogs and puppies that are available, and realized I'd never get out alive. I have a friend who takes the photos for the fliers and website, and she's banned me from going out there because I *always* cry over the dogs.

The Humane Society also has a Soon To Be Homeless feature on their website, and today's star is a fourteen-year-old lab. "We don't have time for him any more." I do NOT understand that kind of mentality. He's fourteen. How much longer is he going to live? Can't you just give him love and make him as comfortable as you can for however long he's got left? It's not going to be that long, not that breed and that age. I'd take him myself if I had a bigger house, and I don't even like labs, but I think I could baby this old guy for the next 6 months. I don't know whether I'm more angry at these people for their ingratitude and insensitivity, or bewildered at how they can do this.

T-hugs seem in order. I read stuff like this and go home and hug them and whisper, "I will never let anything like this happen to you. Not Ever"--whatever "this" happens to be.

Last night I was lying on the bed reading, with Taenzer beside me, and was holding the book with one hand and running my fingers through her britches with the other. And I kept getting these thick strands of long silver hair (easily spinnable, i should think--4 or 5 inches long). Finally I sat up and said, "Geez louise, Taenzer--how long has it been since I brushed you???" So I brushed her and brushed her and brushed her and got an Annie-sized collection of undercoat, mostly from her tail and britches. It was nice to get her tail all brushed out. She's so pretty when she's brushed.

Timber had been thinking about jumping up on the bed to try to get me to play ball with him, but he took one look at the brush and scooted out to the living room. Honestly, he's such a baby about being brushed! And I have to tackle his tail one of these days.

Timber, btw, got himself crated last night. He got me up about 1:30--which was odd, since I didn't go to bed until 11:30, so it had only been 2 hours, and I hadn't refilled the water bowl in the bedroom since about 8. Sure enough, he did pee, but only about 20 seconds' worth (when he really really has to go, it's more like 45 or 50 seconds). Mostly what he seemed to want to to was survey the area, test the air, sight-see. So I marched him back into the house. Half an hour later he was pacing and whining, and since i KNEW he didn't have to go, I stuck him in his crate. Not another peep out of him all night. He's 3-1/2, which is like late teens/early 20s in humans, so I suppose he was seeing how far he could push the maternal limits.

Tomorrow is "Bark in the Park." The vets have tables, places like Farm King have tables with dog products on display, the local K9 cops bring their dogs to show off. Lots of people (and dogs) go. We've gone the past two years because the local camera shop offers a picture of your dog for $5, with the money going to the animal shelter, and the past two years I've gotten really good photos from them (I think I have last year's in my first blog post where I introduce them). There's a roped off area where they have several dozen shoes, plus cheap toys and treats, and you and your dog can go in and the dog can pick out its own toy. The Ts are usually too hyperstimulated to be really interested, but I'm thinking I might take off one of my shoes and toss it in and ask Taenzer if she can find it. I don't know if she'll be able to focus that much, but it's worth a try.

There used to be an agility demo, too, but the woman who did it got too busy (she does BC rescue practically single-handedly, plus she has a new job and a 6-year-old). I'd love to take it over, but Taenzer's not that reliable--her brains fall out her ears when she gets excited--and I'd need to get some kind of barrier--if not show-ring fencing, at least some connectable x-pens or something. Something easily portable, but substantial enough to clearly say to her "this far but no farther." If I really worked with her, we could do a freestyle demo, too. :) I usually prefer to do things, like exercise, by myself, but in this case I think I need a training partner.

Anyway, they've behaved very well the times we've gone, hardly any barking and very good dog-dog manners, so if I can get my act in gear in time we'll probably go tomorrow. It's good for them, and I think they enjoy it.

Oh, yeah. a couple of weeks ago I forsook my size 18 jeans and got out my 16s. This morning I couldn't find my size 16s to save me--how on earth could I lose a pair of jeans, since they never leave the house unless they're on my body? They have to be in the house somewhere, but darn if I could find them this morning. The 18s were so baggy, though, that in desperation I dug out a pair of size 14s. Imagine my total shock that they fit. Mostly. They're a little tight in the waist, but I've never had a waist, even when I'm exercising--I can either fit my waist and have the seat and thighs baggy, or fit the hips and thighs and have the waist tight. Anyway, that was quite the surprise. I don't feel at all like I've gone down--well, 4 sizes; I'd gotten out the 20s when I started dropping weight. Usually this is the point when I feel all inspired and start exercising and walking and stuff, but, as I say, it just doesn't seem very real or something. Nevertheless, it was a pleasant surprise and I'm grateful.

Hug your dogs, everyone, and please remember the cliche--A dog is for life. In all sorts of ways.

Ravelry and puppies

I got my invitation to join Ravelry yesterday. This is a hot new thing among knitters, a kind of community with chat boards and reviews of patterns and yarn and so on, and also you can keep a record of your own projects, your stash, your library of knitting books, etc. At the moment it's free--though of course you're encouraged to donate if you want to--and it's in beta, and everyone wants to be on it. I got on the waiting list out of curiosity, but had fun with it last night, setting up an identity and entering projects. For instance, if you enter a pattern they have in their database, a box comes up where you can rate it for how much you like it and how easy or difficult you think it is, and it shows how many other Ravelistas are working on it or "have it in their queue." I suspect you may be able to click on them to look at the other projects underway, but didn't try it.

You can add pictures, too, but you've got to have a Flickr account, and damn it, I've got accounts all over the net, and don't really want to have another one. You've got to have one with Picassa to post pictures here on Blogger. How many picture accounts does one person need, anyway? So for now in the notes section I'm noting that people can see photos of a particular project here. I'll have to think about the Flickr account a bit more.

Anyhow, it looks like Ravelry will be a source of innocent amusement for some time to come. I'll have to try some of the community stuff.

I tried to get a picture of Timber sitting up to add to yesterday's post, but none of them turned out. I have to be too close to him. I'm going to have to work on getting him to respond to the cue at more of a distance.

Yesterday a friend brought her little long-haired chihuahua in for a visit. She's a very pretty little thing, chocolate and cream with hazel eyes. She's not used to visiting, so she was pretty unhappy. I put her on my desk and she faced her mom with her back to me. So I just gently stroked her and talked to her very softly. Every once in a while she'd cast a glance over her shoulder at me and I noticed that she was throwing me calming signals like crazy--blinking and licking her lips--so I started copying her, and also turned my head so I wasn't facing directly toward her. (I could have yawned, too, but I forgot.) What was really cool was that it really seemed to help her, and several times she started to turn toward me with her ears up and an interested look in her eyes, but darn it, every time she did someone would walk into the office and she'd stiffen up again. She did not, I'm happy to say, pee on my desk. :)

It was funny, too, how quickly the old reflexes from Stella kicked in--she was a shy puppy, and when I had her out and people approached her, I'd tell them that she was shy and they had to approach her carefully, and sometimes I'd tell them exactly what I wanted them to do. I'm a shy person myself, but knowing how much Stella trusted me made me a lot more assertive. People on the shy-k9s list are always having trouble with people rushing their dogs ("Oh, dogs LOVE me"). I think it was easier for me with Stella because people aren't so inclined to rush up to GSDs and coo over them. But yesterday people would see little tiny Dolly and their faced would light up and they'd start to charge into my office and I'd say (with both hands over her--an unconscious blocking movement, I now realize), "She's a little shy. Be gentle." Everybody toned it down a couple of notches, even two of our more, um, outgoing faculty members. But it was funny how the old reflex kicked right in. I think I even suggested to my friend that it might be time to take her home before she got too stressed. Socializing a shy or undersocialized dog needs good timing and reflexes and you have to be able to read your dog and protect her from well-meaning people and situations she's not ready to handle.

It was a nice day out yesterday, so I took the Ts straight out when I got home, and they were so excited they didn't even notice I'd been touching another dog. Goofballs.

missed the puppy but got the sock

One nice thing about being constantly slightly queasy is that I've lost 10 pounds in the past 3 weeks. I'm no longer confined to ginger snaps and jello, but food is just not that appealing. We had cake at the office last week and I was honestly able to say I didn't want any. Not the best way to lose weight, but I'll take it however I can.


A friend came over last night with her new BC puppy. I'm a little worried--this pup is from working parents, and these folks are used to toy poodles and Yorkies. But she's sure a cuddly little thing--8 weeks, I think. She's a tri; you don't see a lot of tri-colored BCs. Sables are even more rare, at least here in the US, and there were either 3 or 4 in this litter. I got so carried away cuddling and playing with her that it didn't occur to me to come get my camera and take pictures.


The Ts were thrilled. The "gate" to the puppy pen is a 4 x 8 sheet of plastic lattice that slides behind the compost pile for storage. I slide it across the opening to the pen and hold it in place with a bungee cord, so you can imagine the results with 130 pounds of excited GSDs standing with their front feet on the top. I carried the puppy, whose name is Molly, over to the gate for them to investigate. Molly was very brave, and Taenzer was really quite gentle when she sniffed her. Timber got really excited and spent the rest of the visit dashing up and down the fence and barking a high-pitched, excited bark--either "play with me" or "what a great toy!" I wasn't quite sure which. Molly decided she didn't really like being barked at by a big hairy hooligan and either sat in my lap or curled up against her mom's feet. When she was at mom's feet, she did the puppy thing of chewing on everything within reach--grass, dead leaves, sticks, rocks. I kept taking things away from her. I finally got her a tennis ball, but it wasn't nearly as interesting as grass, leaves, sticks, or rocks! (I'll never forget going through the stage with Stella when I was sure she would think her name was "No-here-chew-this"!)


It's hot here--94 at 6 p.m. It won't have cooled off much in half an hour when I take them out, but the mosquitos are so bad that we can't wait til later. We may not be able to stay out very long.


The Cannon Beach sock is being reknit with 6 scallops instead of 7. When I've got a couple of more inches along I'll try it on and see if it's going to be okay. The Old School Tie sock is about halfway down the foot. I've got an Opal 6-ply sock on size 1s that I'm finishing the gusset on. It's my therapy sock--self-patterning, no ribbing, so I don't have to look at it, but it gives me something to do with my hands when I'm seeing my therapist. I thought I should do the heel and gusset at home, since that takes more concentration. I did some yarn snipping to make the heel a solid color, and I was going to make some booties for my new nephew out of the snipped-out bits, but I can't find them. :-P Not a fancy sock, but it serves its purpose.




I'm envious of all the bloggers who live in the country and post beautiful pictures of where they live. My house has the main east-west drag a block to the north, with train tracks a block north of that, and a series of fast-food joints downwind. The street in front is one of the main east-west one-ways through town. One result is that it can be pretty noisy. But apparently all the students left town for the long weekend and everyone else stayed home and grilled, and when we were out Sunday evening there were moments when it was completely silent. It made me long for a place in the country once more. I wonder if that unfinished house on 3 acres is still available?

saved by the dog

I was sitting here having a big pity party (set off by body temp? 96.4 this morning), which was interrupted by a friend bringing in her new dog, a completely adorable 11-week-old long-haired Chihuahua. A very nice dog--I never thought I would like a Chihuahua, but this little girl does not shake, she's not hyperactive, she's very friendly, she cuddled right up to me (I know, puppies that age cuddle up to every one) and gave me kisses, and I fed her some very tiny treats (Zukes Minis, which I keep at my desk, split into 3 pieces). She's sort of cocoa-colored and tan with white paws, white on the back of her neck, a white spot on her head, and HUGE ears. Her name is Delores de la Diva, but her friends call her Dolly.

I expect the Ts will be very interested when I get home for lunch.