The Lady of the Last Laugh

Only in my house would a dog make a hole in the ceiling.

Yeah. Long story...the short version? Jackson got into the attic and got trapped over our bedroom. He made a hole in the ceiling in the bathroom as he was floundering around trying to find his way out. (He didn't fall all the way through.) It took us at least 45 minutes to get him out of the attic. There was fiberglass insulation flying all over the place.

btw: dogs don't want to be lowered through a twelve inch by twelve inch access panel.

killimengri wanted to see the alrescate pack. I haven't a picture of all five of them at once so here is a mosaic.

Top: Zoe, Jackson, Honey
Bottom: Jackson & Brandy, Brandy, Honey & Zoe, Inigo

I didn't have a single picture of Brandy alone so she had to have a group shot. Inigo's picture doesn't really show it well but he may be the biggest of the five. He and Honey stand tall and weigh about 70 pounds. I think Zoe is the smallest....she is probably 30 or 40 pounds.

So it's an "al rescate" morning!

Driving in to work this morning I spotted a small turtle in the road. I stopped and set the little guy off the road. I didn't get very far before I spotted another small turtle. So I stopped and moved him too. I was feeling pretty good about my turtle rescue when I went around a corner and saw a fluffy white puppy next to the road. He didn't look like he had a collar and he was on a part of the road where he was bound to get hit. So I pulled over and called to him. He came right to me and I have brought him to work with me. He's very sweet and he needs a home. I think he might be a Pyrenees as he has those big dew claws. He's much cuter than he looks in this picture.

He's very, very sweet and is sleeping at my feet right now. I have five big dogs and cannot keep him. Does anyone want a puppy?

And I'm serious when I say I can't keep him. If I don't find a home for him today he has to go to the shelter.

From the AKC site:
Temperament
Character and temperament are of utmost importance. In nature, the Great Pyrenees is confident, gentle, and affectionate. While territorial and protective of his flock or family when necessary, his general demeanor is one of quiet composure, both patient and tolerant. He is strong willed, independent and somewhat reserved, yet attentive, fearless and loyal to his charges both human and animal.

Does anyone want a rather sweet looking dog? Yep. Yet another dog has found her way to my house. She has been spotted a couple of times in the neighborhood since Saturday night and this morning my doggos were throwing a fit. I look out and see a brown lab in the yard. I open the door and say "What'cha doing?" and the dog comes right to me. (MrAlrescate couldn't get her to come to him Saturday.)

She isn't very big and is some type of lab mix. She was very sweet, seemed like she would be well-behaved and had good teeth....but with five dogs already I can't keep her. I'll be calling the Humane Society later today because as sweet as she is I doubt I can find a home for her.

So last night as I was driving home I noticed something in a clearing near our house. I slowed down and rolled down the window to see a large hawk on the ground. I came to a stop and admired his head and shoulders (all I could see above the grass). He in turn gave me the eye. He must not have been impressed with me because he launched himself into the air and flew into the trees. He was so very lovely...his feathers alone would make you swoon!

I continued home and started packing my car for the 1st Annual Midwest Camp-Out. The first thing in the car was about twenty or so books. (Hey! Ya gotta pack the important stuff first!) As I was gathering stuff up my fella decided to bring out a dog for a brush down. I wasn't really paying attention and the next time I look up my fella is dashing towards the tree line with a red collar in his hand. Sigh. Dog on the run. He went looking for Jackson and I joined him....it was getting dark so we finally got in car to cruise the neighborhood. No Jackson. Well last time he went on a roam he showed back up at the front door so we headed home. You guessed it. When we were getting ready to put the cars in the garage, here came Jackson. Wet, covered in dirt and panting to beat the band. He was so filthy that although it was after 9pm we gave him a bath. While cleaning him up I found two cuts under the dirt. One was right under his eye and the other was just above his eye. It looks as if he narrowly missed poking his eye out. Feh.

So after all the excitement I crawled into bed and read a bit with my fella snoring beside me and Jackson at my feet. Ah the simple pleasures!

Today I took a quick peek at a site I really enjoy called Dogblog. Jon takes pictures of dogs he sees tied along the streets of San Francisco. He doesn't update his pictures on a regular basis so I check now and then to see if there are any new ones. Today his first new picture hit me right away. A basset with his ears flying in the wind! It made me think of Betty. I bet when she was young she would have loved to ride with her head out the window like that. I miss the ole stinky girl. You should check out this site if you haven't already. ( DogBlog )

I'll be one the road in a couple more hours so you probably won't hear from me until Monday. Kansas here I come....

Well I had my laugh for today. I was sent an email that was titled "My owner is an idiot." It was about ten pictures of poor abused dogs. Are you shocked that I find the abuse of animals amusing? Well they are well loved dogs whose owners are under the mistaken assumption that dogs need clothes to be happy.

I was hard pressed but here is my favorite.
( Jester ) There are a couple that are priceless but I think this one wins for cruelest owner.

This morning before work I dashed into Sam's (our local wholesale club) for dog food. Because I have a 'Business' membership I can go in before the place opens to regular members. I like doing this because it is less crowded with idiots. So I rushed in (I'm in a big hurry to get to work on time) and grabbed a cart. I go to the dog food section and lift the fifty pound bag into the cart. The minute I lift the bag, it promptly rips open. Little pieces of dog food rain out. I try to hold the bag together and set it down on the ground. Someone must have seen me because not five seconds later I hear "Clean up in dog food." There are other shoppers in the place and few of them are coming my way so I scoot the pieces of dog food to one side so people can go by. (Because of course they *have* to get something that is right next to me.) The ladies come to clean up and I put another bag of food in my cart and head off.

A few minutes ago I went to get something out of my purse. I came up with about five pieces of dog crunchies. I couldn't help but laugh.

No, this isn't an entry about my dogs. (Amazingly enough I haven't posted much about the pack yet.) I'm just feeling like a grumpy person today. Have you ever had one of those days where every little thing sets you off? I got ticked at myself earlier when I got into my car and dropped a brand new book on the pavement. Now I'm very anal about my books and usually it difficult to even tell I've read them when I've finished with them. So dropping a brand new book that I haven't even opened and scuffing up several pages and bending the cover irks me. I have no idea why I let little stuff like that bother me. I mean I know that many folks in my circle consider books sacred but why do I try to keep my books pristine when I can tolerate the mess of having six dogs in the house?

My only answer to that is that books have long provided me an escape from all the troubles (real or imagined) in my life. I spent a lot of my youth with my nose in a book and I continue to prefer reading a book over almost any activity. I think I've spent more time with books than I have spent with people. If I don't get my 'reading time' I tend to be crankier than usual. (Frankly I've noticed that I'm cranky regardless of how much reading I've been doing but that's a subject for another post.) I almost always have a book in my hand and I feel anxious if I have to go somewhere and wait for more than a minute without having a book to read.

Okay, since I mentioned my dogs and I haven't bored you with all the 'cute' stories about them yet. I'll add a picture of my three of the hounds.

( Jackson, Honey and Brandy )