I'm Thinking, OMG, What Am I Doing?

Yes, that is what I was thinking. Still, am thinking. Rock this semi-stoic ship by bringing a puppy into the family! Even though it's temporary, he's a foster, I'm thinking I've made a grave error!

Everyone, meet Jet. How adorable, how sweet... how deceiving a photo can be!

Life in my home is peaceful. I share a very modest 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom duplex with my boyfriend (human) Tim, (canine) Sookie-6 yrs old, Alissa-7 yrs old, Rascal-5 yrs old, Rowe-Quinn-4 yrs old, and Sugar is 8 yrs old! Other than an occasional cat walking past the front room window or a gun shot in the hood, this is a nice life. Not too many surprises.

Now I have a 6-8 week old, highly energetic, slow to tire, German shepherd mix breed puppy. This little guy has no clue about puppy manners, pottying outside, spending the night in a crate let alone walking on a leash, not biting or to go easy on the older dogs of the house.

In that last respect I must give credit to my dogs. None of them, no matter how disturbed they may be by this intruder, has given him anything but a firm parental warning.

I must admit, in his defense, Jet has gotten better about pottying in the house. He's only taken one dump (yes, I said it). But do you know what? Do you have any idea how much human energy it takes for him to accomplish that task? (The pottying outside, not the dump in the house.) Tons. Tons & tons of my energy. I'm zapped. I cry, "why have I done this?" "What was I thinking?"

I'll be adding more to this after my nap.

Having Jet Is A Job

Jet is an adoptable, adorable young puppy, about 6-8 weeks of age and weighs just about 9 lbs. I am fostering him until he finds a wonderful home! I believe he's a German Shepherd mix, but I'm just not so sure of what he may be mixed with. He's black/brindle with beautiful pricked up ears and the sharpest little puppy teeth. His profile seem Chow Chow like, but he's soooooooo tiny. He has no black/purple splotches on his tongue that can sometimes be characteristic of Chow Chows. I'm sorry to say he doesn't have puppy breath (dern it), which makes me wonder if he's really that young.

Jet has a bit of an upper resperatory infection picked up at TLAC in Austin, Texas. That'll clear up quickly with antibiotics. He'll be neutered when he's old enough and will get his rabies shot then. He has started his puppy vaccinations though. Jet is microchipped, has begun crate training, and is trying very hard to pee and poo outside. He actually learned how to come in through the doggie door, just not out to do his business .

If you are interested in adopting Jet, please go to our website at http://gsdrescuectx.com/ for more information. We will not adopt out of the state of Texas.

Isn't he adorable!

In Memory Of Noel

SEPARATE LIFETIMES

We who choose to surround ourselveswith lives even more temporary than ourown, live within a fragile circle;easily and often breached.Unable to accept its awful gaps,we would still live no other way.We cherish memory as the onlycertain immortality, never fullyunderstanding the necessary plan.... --- Irving Townsend ---

Little Noel died on December 6, 2008. She had parvo and it got the best of her.

OMG! It's a Puppy!

Well, it's true, there's a puppy in my house. I've forgotten just how much work having a puppy in the house is. My youngest dog is 3, going on 4 years old.

My dogs are worry free, perfectly house trained. They don't chew on things they're not suppose to. They do what is expected of them. Oh well, yea they may bark at passersby when I'm at work, but that's nothing compared to a puppy that doesn't know what's expected of her.


I only have Noel for one short week (she's a foster), but I'm already wondering, "why?". Why have I done this? Why have I disrupted my canine kingdom's peaceful realm? Sookie, Alissa, Rascal, Rowe-Quinn & Sugar are all wondering, "what the ~~ck?"


Meet Noel:

She's a beautiful, purebred, German Shepherd. Noel is 4-months old and frighteningly thin, spayed female. Her feet are quite large and when she walks on my pergo floor you can practically "hear" her walking.

She's a quick learner, and has all but mastered the doggie door. Now, if she could just understand that it's for going potty outside. She's fussy and doesn't really like the well-used postage stamp yard where she's residing. So, she uses the concrete.

One can only speculate as to her life before being found as a stray on the streets of Austin. She won't let me out of her sight, so crate training is a challenge. Peanut butter in a small kong toy does little to appease her loneliness when she's crated at night and when I have to go to work. It's a good thing though, for she knows little fear and will make someone very loyal and devoted companion.

If you live in the Austin, Texas area, and are looking for a absolutely adorable, smart, loving canine companion, please go to gsdrescuectx@yahoo.com and fill out an adoption application for Noel. Keep in mind she's probably going to be a very large dog and will need a lot of exercise and training.

Here's my girl Sookie warning Noel, "grrrr, I'm not into puppies",

and Then There Was Alissa

Madame Roland said in the eighteenth century “Plus je vois le homes, plus j’admire les chiens” (The more I see of men, the more I admire dogs). - Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson in Dogs Never Lie About Love

No truer words have been said, by me!

I was writing about Sookie, but you know, with Sookie comes Alissa. I adopted Alissa when no one else wanted her. She was shy, very shy. Deemed "unadoptable". Sookie was just a goofy little puppy when Alissa came into my house. Sookie wasn't afraid of anything or anyone. Alissa slowly followed suit. The two are nearly inseperable. But yet, Alissa, having outlived her shy, timid ways, has developed her own personality. This personality is bold, but cautious. She bark, and growls at the appropriate times. Never at people in the house, but people walking by the house, alone or with a dog on a leash. Even still out on our daily walks, Alissa wants to meet & greet!

Sookie

Sookie, what can I say? Sookie is the dog everyone hopes to have as a companion. She's in tune with me at all times. We haven't been able to communicate telepathically, but there's really no need.

She can read my mind, and while she's reading my mind, I look into hers.

She's a little thick around the middle, just like me! She's just a little left of center, if you know what I mean? Goofy, Sookie knows when I'm taking myself too seriously. She'll make me laugh when I

think I don't want to.

I can't remember the last time she even remotely misbehaved. When I chose her from kennel after kennel at Animal Control, well she assured me that I had made the absolutely correct choice.

Sookie's traveled all the same roads I have. She hasn't ever left my side. We started here in Austin, Texas. Then I had this "brilliant" idea to move to Minnesota in the dead of winter. Wrong. But she put up with it. I'm pretty sure she was estatic when we came back to Austin, Texas.

...to be continued.

Choosing A Relative

"Acquiring a dog may be the only opportunity a human ever has to choose a relative. M. Siegel"