The Coffee House-Come & Chat With Us!(February 2020)

[Brian W]

Lukas and I adopted a dog yesterday. We've been pretty miserable since Gracie's death, and Lukas has gotten so serious.

I have been driving myself crazy, looking at dogs on Petfinder, trying to figure out what kind of dog would be best for Lukas. I wanted to make sure that it was someone who is cat friendly; Lukas can still be a bit reactive about cats in certain circumstances, and I do not want to reinforce that with another dog who might also need work in that area. That meant I needed to limit my looking to dogs who have been living in foster hones with cats. And that meant no dogs from municipal/county shelters, since those places don't know much less tell you, about their dogs' behavior around cats.

Anyway, decided on a dog a couple of weeks ago, but due to factors on my end as well as the rescue's, we couldn't manage to coordinate a meeting until yesterday. Lukas can be reactive wrt some dogs, but the meeting went fine, so we brought her home.

Her name is currently Lady, but that will be changing. Although she was listed as "large", and was therefore expecting someone closer to Gracie's 96 pounds, Lady is 40 -45 pounds in my estimation. Like Lukas, she was picked up by animal control and put in a high kill shelter. Like Lukas, she was heartworm positive. She was also extremely emaciated and highly pregnant. If the rescue hadn't pulled her from the shelter, she would have been killed as soon as the mandatory hold period was over (to avoid the additional expense of puppies).

She gave birth to 13 puppies, none of whom survived, due to her poor condition.

She had been adopted once before, but they returned her to the rescue after three days because she had "failed to bond" with the family. I don't know wtf they were talking about - she sat by the patio door watching me the entire time I was putting the chickens and ducks to bed this evening, she follows me wherever I go in the house, and right now, she's cuddled up against my left side in bed, while Lukas is pressed against my right side.

Oh, like Lukas, she's a red-brown, only she's a couple of shades lighter than he is, and she has a black face mask while only his muzzle is black. Also, about 2/3 of her tail is missing, and from a cursory look, I don't think she was born that way.
(I had been looking primarily for a black dog since they're generally harder to place, and since I have a weakness for them, but when I sorted my "possibles" by length of time on Petfinder, Lady had been listed the longest.)

She is a really nice dog. The only area in which she needs work is walking on a leash - pound for pound, she's a stronger puller than any other dog I've met, including pitbulls.

So pleased she has a caring owner.

 

[hungryraccoon]

Does he work most evenings ?

Fortunately not so much lately - he does more early mornings but has the occasional late night.

 

[shyvas]

Fortunately not so much lately - he does more early mornings but has the occasional late night.

Sometimes, you don't have the choice. I used to do very early morning shifts.

 

[silva]

@Mischief -that's wonderful! She's such a lucky lady to have found you! I can't imagine the trauma of losing all your babies

 

[Freesia]

HI people, this is weird and new. I havent had computer access so far in 2020 so havent been able to post.. hopefully wil be getting an ipad soon.. hope you are all well ..

 

[hungryraccoon]

Freesia! How are you doing?

 

[Mischief]

HI people, this is weird and new. I havent had computer access so far in 2020 so havent been able to post.. hopefully wil be getting an ipad soon.. hope you are all well ..

I've missed you! Great to see you.

 

[Mischief]

@Mischief -that's wonderful! She's such a lucky lady to have found you! I can't imagine the trauma of losing all your babies

She has a remarkably sunny outlook on life, after all she's been through. That aspect of her reminds me of Gracie, as does the boxer gracefulness and athleticism. (Gracie was part boxer too.)

I have to measure her for a harness today. She has a long neck, and the way she pulls, I'm afraid she'll injure her neck with the collar.

As soon as I have a well fitting harness for her, we'll start doing some long walks and burn off some of that energy.

 

[Brian W]

She has a remarkably sunny outlook on life, after all she's been through. That aspect of her reminds me of Gracie, as does the boxer gracefulness and athleticism. (Gracie was part boxer too.)

I have to measure her for a harness today. She has a long neck, and the way she pulls, I'm afraid she'll injure her neck with the collar.

As soon as I have a well fitting harness for her, we'll start doing some long walks and burn off some of that energy.

Will we get to see photos of her?

 

[Val]

HI people, this is weird and new. I havent had computer access so far in 2020 so havent been able to post.. hopefully wil be getting an ipad soon.. hope you are all well ..

Hi Freesia! "Long time, no see"... So glad to hear from you again!

 

[Chryssie]

Hey everyone! Nice to see you again Freesia! I had a good time today. The food from Sweets is always awesome . The special beers were interesting and a young woman sang as entertainment. Weather got nice and warm and there was a big crowd. Kristen (owner of Sweets) posted that they emptied their stock of food during the event!
Mischief, looking forward to seeing some pictures of the "new" pup!

 

[Mischief]

Will we get to see photos of her?

Yes, when it stops raining and I can get some outdoor photos. (I have the cheapest Fire tablet, and its camera takes terrible pictures indoors.)

 

[silva]

Hello @Freesia !
Who are we still missing? @Mikkel, and others that have been missing?

 

[Val]

Hello @Freesia !
Who are we still missing? @Mikkel, and others that have been missing?

Right, has anyone seen @Blues over here?

 

[silva]

I've been buying so much food! I've been trying to stick to a budget on everything and get credit cards paid off, transfered another 5000 to another cards zero interest ...
I took my Ovaltine jar that I've been throwing my change into- not even quarters, I save those separately, to Giant Eagles coinstar machine. You used to be able to get a Giant Eagle credit for your change without any charge, now they only offer a small assortment of gift cards, so I chose amazon. I had $36 dollars, mostly in pennies!

 

[Mischief]

Right, has anyone seen @Blues over here?

Yes, we seem to be missing Mikkel, and of course the people who haven't been around much. I thought I saw Blues, but that might have been on VV, right at the end. I was starting to get mixed up about which board I was on.

 

[Val]

Yes, we seem to be missing Mikkel, and of course the people who haven't been around much.

Hasn't Mikkel showed up since VV has been closed?

 

[Mischief]

Hasn't Mikkel showed up since VV is closed?

I haven't seen him.

 

[KLS52]

HI people, this is weird and new. I havent had computer access so far in 2020 so havent been able to post.. hopefully wil be getting an ipad soon.. hope you are all well ..

Hi Freesia! So glad you came over!

 

[KLS52]

I sent Mikkel a private message on FB asking him to pop in.