Am…musings

S. and I have had a change of heart. Not about each other, but it does mean the end.

I really shouldn’t tease about such things, but I couldn’t resist! Our change of heart is about Ms. Paisley. And the end? Well, it’s the end of my Stray Rescue fostering career for now … I’m adopting Paisley.

As I said before, despite her penchant for Nikes, flip flops and ball caps, she’s really pretty well behaved for a puppy (Chewy decimated a few baseboards and some furniture at her age). And honestly, she’s been leaving our shoes and hats alone these days.

She’s still pretty skittish around strangers and some other dogs, but obedience classes should help with that. She also wakes up at 6 a.m. for breakfast and I’m no morning person, but I’m hoping that changes as she gets older.

Basically, it came down to the fact that even though she has some issues, she is the sweetest dog ever, and S. nor I can imagine giving her up at this point. Chewy probably couldn’t stand losing his buddy either …

Paisley and Chewy are nightmare pullers on the leash. With Chewy it’s annoying, but Ms. Paisley now weighs 50 pounds and is incredibly strong so her crazy pulling is downright hazardous. Plus, it seems the college girl isn’t going to adopt her so I need to whip her into shape on the leash for adoption events.

I shared my dilemma with a coworker who quickly recommended a harness they sell at her favorite pet store. The pet store is Pet Supplies “Plus” on Manchester in Ballwin. I was expecting a small boutique store with a limited selection, but it is just as big as any “big box” store … only with boutique service and a better selection, making it well worth the drive for me. There are lots of friendly employees willing to help and one quickly fit Paisley in the Premier Easy Walk Harness and then suggested I take her for a walk around the store and outside to see how she did. It was only a short trek, but the difference with the harness was miraculous … no pulling. And she didn’t seem super irritated with it like Chewy is with the one that goes over his mouth. I bought him one too.

I also found another great product. Chewy and Paisley can also go from zero to “kill” with plush toys in an instant. Pet Supplies “Plus” offers a line of Tuff Plush toys and I bought one for less than most toys at the “big box” places. They’ve been playing tug-of-war and destroy-the-squeaker with it for about an hour and despite being slobbery as hell, it’s still in great shape. I also like that the toys don’t have traditional stuffing so when they do kill it (I imagine the time will come), I won’t have a huge mess like normal.

P.S. If you know of anyone looking for a super sweet, really great dog, let me know!

I don’t normally have fosters for more than a month or two. Buster fit the bill … my neighbors adopted him about two months after I brought him and Paisley home from the vet in late January.

Paisley, on the other hand, is still living with me … six months later. I debated just keeping her … she’s is truly the sweetest dog, and although she has some issues (ball caps and shoes – both mine and S.’s are her weakness), I think she’s going to be a good dog once she gets past the “puppies.” But she’s bigger than I’d like and she sheds lots of reddish hair that can be found all over the black clothes I typically wear. She’s also a morning dog … not a good fit with this non-morning person.

In early May, I received an application from a girl that was just about to graduate college and start a new job. I was a little concerned that it might be a tough time to get new a dog, but the girl is incredibly sweet and understands the responsibility a dog requires. She currently doesn’t live in a place where she can have dogs, but that will change in the next month or so. She’s taken Paisley to her parents’ home for a few visits. We missed her, Chewy and I … oh, and S. too! His initial vote was for me to keep her … although after the hat and a pair of Nike Shocks, his tune changed.

Luckily, the girl and her family love Paisley, and I think she’s going to adopt her in the next few weeks. Please keep your fingers crossed with me!

It’s been about a month and a half since I last posted about Buster and Paisley. Here’s the scoop on my latest (and last) Stray Rescue fosters:

Bye-bye B. – My neighbors are adopting Buster. He’s been living with them for a week. It’s nice having him next door and I can’t say I miss him too much as it’s much easier to keep up with one at this age. And Paisley is much better behaved without him.

New names – The dog formerly known as Buster is now Duke. Paisley is still Paisley, but I’m a user of two names when someone does something bad (Chewy becomes Chewbacca Morris). I don’t want to call her Paisley Morris so she has a middle name now … Paisley Marie … and unfortunately, I seem to use it more often than I’d like.

Packing on the pounds – I used to be able to hold them both at the same time and now I struggle to hold either of them alone. They weight almost 25 pounds and Paisley legs have gotten super long. She’s about an inch and half or two inches taller than Chewy and much stockier than him. Also, I thought they were going to be small because their paws weren’t big when I got them. Not so much anymore … I’m guessing they’re going to be about 50 or 60 pounds when it’s all said and done.

But she’s still a lap dog – She still tries to get in my lap and I sometimes let her sit there while I’m at the kitchen table on the computer. In a few weeks, I’m guessing that won’t work, but I think she’ll still be a cuddle bug.

But she’s a little bipolar – Because they were rescued in an abandoned house and didn’t really have a lot of human interaction before being rescued, she’s a bit skittish (Duke is a bit too actually). She’s great with me and does pretty well with my neighbors and anyone who visits so I didn’t really realize the problem until I took her for a home visit with a couple interested in adopting her today. She kept her tail between her legs, barked at them and almost snapped at the guy … although I kind of don’t blame her … he was a bit aggressive with her even though she was clearly timid and scared.

My plan is to start taking her more places with me and introducing her to more people. I also think the right person or couple (probably no kids) who is willing to work with her will be rewarded with a good dog once she comes out of her shell a bit. Please pass the word along if you know someone who might fit the bill.

My Stray Rescue foster duties include sending a profile and pics of the pups for the Web site.

It was tough to photograph the puppies when I first brought them home. They were small, clinging to each other and constantly sleepy:

Three and a half weeks flew by fast, and last night, my wonderful retired neighbor that feeds and takes the pups out around noon every day gently asked if I’d gotten them on the Web site. Although Buster and Paisley were more than ready for their individual close-ups, and I had a good idea of their personalities for the profiles, I just hadn’t gotten around to doing it.

The guilt quickly set in … my neighbor is very kind (she has spent time with Chewy pretty much every day while I’m at work since he was a puppy), but the fosters require a more set schedule and are a lot of work. And speaking of Chewy … he’s the reason I started fostering puppies because he loves playing with other dogs. However, I fostered the first set of puppies when he wasn’t quite one year old. Now, at nearly three, he’s not having quite as much fun. These puppies are also a bit needier and seem to have bonded more with me than the others (Paisley is in my lap as I type)… and Chew is just a smidge jealous.

So I made a huge sacrifice last night , and instead of hand washing dishes (still no dishwasher … because I haven’t quite gotten around to that either), I wrote their profile and took their pics (which was a LOT like herding cats).

Here are their profiles: Paisley (aka Whitesnake) and Buster (aka Poison). (Some of their littermates … Kiss, Bon Jovi, Tesla, Twisted Sister, Guns N Roses … are also on the site.)

And here are a few pics that didn’t make it on the site:

P.S. They went for their second round of shots Monday and each weighed around 13 pounds!

The dishwasher put up a valiant fight after showing signs of an eminent death in October, but took its last breath about a week ago. I’m far from cheap, but hate spending more than necessary so I’m waiting it out for the Presidents’ Day sales this weekend. I’ve never been without a dishwasher so I was a little nervous, but have been pleased to find that dishwashing … like showering and blow drying my hair … is a great time to think.

While washing and thinking last night, I had to giggle at the thought that I was like a 50s housewife washing dishes with yellow rubber gloves and a gin cocktail …

And yelling at the kids …

I also had to give thanks once again for Facebook as I realized the gin cocktail was the result of a tip from my friend Val on a low-sugar adult beverage (she suggested vodka, lime and club soda; I chose gin). Katie suggested the rubber gloves when I lamented about prune-y fingers. And I got an awesome tip from Sandy, who shared she’d been using her broken dishwasher as a drying rack … brilliant, given that you can keep the dishes out of sight while they dry (if I’m washing, I’m certainly not drying!)

Val, Katie and Sandy are three people I likely wouldn’t talk to very regularly at this point in my life, and certainly not about the issues they helped solved for me.

Here’s hoping for a great dishwasher sale this weekend. And while I’ll never love hand washing dishes, I’ll certainly dread it a lot less … I’ll just have to make sure I have rubber gloves and a cocktail.

Last week, I could easily carry both foster puppies from Stray Rescue at one time. They’ve grown so much in just a few days (especially Ms. Paisley, who isn’t so petite any more) that it’s becoming a bit of a struggle.

They are still cute as buttons though.

I did learn they came from a litter of 10 and were living in a run-down abandoned house in North County with their amazing mom … she kept 10 little ones safe and alive even in the horrid conditions and cold temps. They were able to rescue her with the pups and she’s available for adoption too. Here’s the story of their rescue (in the first row of pictures, momma’s on the left and one of their littermates is on the right).

The living on the street thing explains the slight skittishness they had at first, but that’s getting better everyday as they learn to trust and are being schooled on being a house dog by Chewy, who is enjoying them more as they get older (and less annoying … to him).

And even though Buster and Paisley won’t be going to college, they are pretty smart. They still have accidents, but mostly get that they need to potty outside even at less than 10 weeks old.

If you know anyone looking for a puppy, they are each available for adoption. And if you are able and interested, Stray Rescue can always use fosters. (Read the whole story in the link above and here for evidence of the amazing work they do … and to maybe shed a few tears for the ones that were lost.)

As I mentioned in my birthday post, I love to take pleasure in the little things in life. The animals I’ve had … whether it be Chewy or the fosters … absolutely bring me joy, but nothing beats Chewy plus a hose. It doesn’t take long and he’s a wet mess, but it just cracks me up watching him racing around the yard having so much fun. A video would be the best, but until I figure out the video on my camera or download the iPhone app or get a Flip (which I don’t anticipate will be all that soon) these pics capture it fairly well …

So this is a mouthful …. but my neighbor’s girlfriend’s six-year-old nephew is in town for a few days. He’s a cute, smart little boy that caught on fast. He said, “That’s dog’s name is Chewy, except when he’s in trouble. Then is name is Chewbacca.”

Yep. That’s the case. And when he’s really pissing me off, his name is “Chewbacca Morris.” And because in my family, we shorten names for nicknames (mine’s Am), when I’m not at all mad at him (like now … when he’s sitting my lap while I write this post), I call him “Chew.” The good thing: Chewy’s pretty smart too and seem to know all four names.

Of course, he ever comes when I call him, but he’ll at least turn his head for Chew, Chewy, Chewbacca and Chewbacca Morris.

The alternative title for this post was “My Shower With a Cute, Furry Guy,” aka Chewy. He’s a digger. As a puppy, he dug all the time. He was also a great teacher (or ringleader) and usually got the fosters digging. My dad and I’ve filled most of the holes, but he’s found a few and when it rains, he can’t resist.

Unfortunately, it’s been raining A LOT lately. I should have known better … a few days ago, I caught him lightly dipping his paw in a tiny pond that had formed in one of the holes. The look on his face was devious … and joyful. I yelled then and he stopped. But Wednesday evening I was on the phone with a cute (non-furry) guy and not paying much attention to the pooch. Here’s the result …

It’s difficult to tell with his coloring, but that’s mostly mud, not water, on his chin, ears and front legs. And his belly and back legs looked about the same.

After a cocktail with dinner (to keep me from wanting to shoot him), I changed into some grubby clothes and stuck him in the tub. Because he was so mud-caked, the water from the faucet and a plastic cup just weren’t cutting it so Chew and I hit the shower.

For a dog that loves the hose and will stand out in the rain forever, the tub freaks him out and the shower was pure torture. Nor was it my idea of a good time. Plus, grubby clothes or not, his digging is making a mess around my house. So, if anyone has any advice for keeping a dog from digging, I’d welcome it.