We've Got Gas!!

Oh yea! I never thought I'd be so happy with gas! It was Tuesday evening close to 8:00pm when the City Gas guy said "well, you oughta have hot water in about 1 hour!!! Lo and behold, we did.

The hole is still there and quite frankly I was getting a little annoyed with the comings and goings of plumbers & maintenance people. So, we are safe, the hole boarded quite securely, the pile of wall & brick outside of the house, directly in front of the gas meters. It's sort of a security "wall" so to speak. I'm a little edgy when I hear loud thuds, knowing the pile is blocking the way to the gas meters is reassuring.

Photos coming soon (I hope).

'Da Hood Update

I don't think we made the news. If we had, they probably wouldn't have been able to use anything I had to say! Whew, I sure can curse. I'm seriously glad that there was no fire or explosions.

Everything will be fine here eventually. They boarded up the whole in the wall quite nicely. I hope to have the photos our landlord's right hand man took, soon.

We are still without gas, but our stove is electric as is our clothes dryer. The first inspection by the gas company didn't fly. So a plumber & his helper were here almost all day yesterday repiping, and whatnot.

They've supplied us with a small portable electric water heater that has just enough hot water for a 2 short showers. It is so inconvenient, but we will persevere.

The icing on the cake was this morning a couple transformers blew in 'da hood and we were without any power for about three hours. Good lawrd. Our poor "attached" neighbors also have to endure this fiasco.

I could be cynical and say that this world is going to hell in a hand basket, but that's just not the case. It's just this
neighborhood. If they thought I was the crazy dog lady before this happened (the 911 folks know me by my first name), they'd better duck and run, because I have 911 on the speed dial, and five loaded canines at the ready. HA.

My Evening Last In 'da Hood

We all had quite a scare in my home last evening (Wed. 4/8/09). The loudest BOOM you've ever heard. It shook the walls, knocked some photos askew in the main room of the 2 bedroom duplex we rent. Tim & I looked at each other, I was the first to speak (well, except for the dogs, that barked just briefly) "what the *uck"? Yes, I can be very profound!

I headed out the backdoor the same time Tim headed to where the sound most likely came from. I said "I'll bet someone ran into (with their vehicle) the house".

Sure enough, there sat a very confused (not to mention drunk) hispanic male behind the wheel of a Ford Sport Trac type pickup truck. He was stuck inside the wall of our back/spare bedroom!!!! This man's wife (I suspect) and two small children standing outside of the truck. I yelled (in English) "is anyone hurt"? Blank stares, and I then notice one of the children is crying.

I run back into the house to grab the phone and Tim's headed outside. He saw the front end of this truck INSIDE the house!! He off handedly says "I smell gas". I was thinking fuel from the truck. Hmmm. I've dialed 911 and they are trying to asked me a bunch of questions, "is anyone in the truck hurt?", "is anyone in the house hurt?" "No, it doesn't appear that anyone in the truck was injured, definately no one in the house hurt".

Then the odor hits me!!! OMG, this guy has ran right over the gas meter!!!!

Okay, okay, so I've lost the connection with the woman at 911, I shut the alley gate, and open the house door to get my 5 best, furry friends out of the house! Jeeeeeeeeesus, the gas smell is very strong. I dial 911 again, they say "yes, ma'am we have multiple units on the way."

Just then a police officer comes around the corner and say "ma'am you have to leave the area right now!" "NOT without my dogs" I say! The police officer says, "ma'am, I don't care about your dogs'. Uh, WRONG thing to say to me!!! I yell back at the nice policeman, "WELL I DO!"

It was so amazing, I opened the back door of the car and all five jumped in like ~ wooohooo ~ where'we going ma! I started up the car, (risked) running into the house to get my purse & smokes (I know, I know), and proceeded to back out of my driveway, drive a block down into 'da hood to park in the shade of a small tree. Of course, I let the car run with the AC on. But my mutts were all panting and milling about (as much as five large dogs can mill in a Honda Accord) inside the car. I know they were still expecting to go somewhere.

The crowds were gathering all around the perimeter of the scene. The scene included, three fire engines, one EMS unit, one Special Operations truck (firemen's tools), and multiple squad cars. The firemen were preparing to hose down the house if there were an explosion (yikes). They were coming in and out of the house, opening windows, shouting orders. The power to the house was shut off and finally the gas was shut off too!

Now about the guy driving the car and his wife and two children ~ they left the scene before the police arrived! Why am I NOT surprised. Thank goodness a young man that is living with our "attached" neighbors watch this sweet family walk and pointed out to the police where they went. Others even told the police where they lived! Right down the street!

They found them. I have no idea if he was given a ticket, hauled away, or what, but they at least found the guy! EMS really wanted to know if anyone had been hurt. I can't imagine driving so irresponsibly with small children in the vehicle.

Once the gas was shut off they proceeded in extracting the truck from our home. It had pieces of the gas meter stuck up under it, bricks all over the hood, shees.

It's Friday afternoon now, still no hot water (plumber's work did not pass the city inspection). The maintenance people are going to install a couple of temporary small electric water heaters for both our unit and our neighbors unit.

A neighbor from down the street said there was talk that this guy was making a u-turn at our intersection (or trying to), lost control (no doubt) of his vehicle, then BOOM!

Life goes on as usual in 'da hood. We are all safe and only slightly inconvenienced.

We are all safe.

Rowe-Quinn, The Beginning

In the beginning, Rowe-Quinn had no name. He came from the countryside outside of Austin somewhere. The director of German Shepherd Rescue committed to taking three (photo left, Ossa, Quinn & Rhea) of the GSD mixes, apparently there were a total of six. Mixed with "god only knows" what.


This is a photo of Quinny before he had a name and a bath. He was a happy lug of a puppy. Didn't mind what was going on, just wanted someone to "talk" to! Now, normally I lean toward fostering females. I guess because they aren't quite as obstinate. I knew he was special from the start. He was a thinker, more than a doer. He potty trained in like one day! He never chewed a thing that wasn't meant to be chewed. He never bothered the older dogs in the house.


Like this:

Above is a photo of Alissa in the background, Rowe-Quinn in the middle and Rascal in front looking at the new pup.

To be continued...........

Rowe-Quinn To The Emergency Vet!!

Anal gland abcess! What the heck is that? No really, I've known about the condition, just never with my dogs! Heck, I just trimmed hind quarter hair last week. I didn't notice his butt licking, which, he'd never really done very much before this. I mean, yea, okay, I noticed once or twice that's why I trimmed him. I thought he had matts so this is why I gave him a trim. He hadn't been particularly sensitive in that area then. Well, that wasn't it.


Friday evening, he was yipping, screaming while outside trying to do his business! He couldn't go!!! So, I tried a warm water and epson salt compress. The gland was so taut and hot to the touch. There was no way he was going to let me try to express it.


So, I checked the funds on my debit card, called to get a quick estimate from the emergency vet clinic, got $100 more from my boyfriend and off we went. Poor Quinn, he thought we were off on a great adventure.


The people at the clinic were quite wonderful. The vet was very sensitive and informative. I also found out that Rowe-Quinn weighs 83 lbs! I think he needs to cut back a little on the dog food, increase his fiber, and exercise more. I've been a little slack with his (and the other's) daily walk.


So, back at the clinic. I had two options; one was he could be anestisized and the lancing, and flushing could take place while he was under. Or, he could be given a pain killer and kept awake. Yes, cost was a factor and so I opted for the pain killer. I really didn't want to leave him there over night. He's my baby and he knows it. OMG, he was crying out like a little terrier puppy! I kept telling myself that, "no way was that Quinny". He's an 80 lb dog for crissakes. Well, then the crying stopped, the vet came out and all would be well. I signed the papers, got his pain meds and antibiotics and at 12:30 am we headed home. He was in pain and tired and I was just tired.


It's Sunday as I write this. He's not eating very much so I blended in some meat juice and green beans with his regular dog food. He has to eat. The incision seems to be healing alright. There's no swelling and the redness has all but disappeared. I believe we are recovering. Rowe and me both.

My Shy Boy Rascal

Rascal is a great boy! But shy, oh yea. His daily walk starts out just great, but the second he sees or even hears another human, he starts pulling in the opposite direction. I practice the "cesar's way" to correct him. I make him stand until he stops pulling or starts to relax, but that almost never happens.

Rascal came to me through rescue.........

Here he is when he was photographed at the animal center (dog pound).

He remained shy and distant at the property of the director of the GSD rescue. Whenever I went there to get photos for their website, Rascal (then was named Raza).

One day on a visit, the director says to me, "I don't know what I'm going to do about Raza". "What do you mean?" I asked. She told me that he had bit her. Not seriously, and (IMHO) not that she didn't deserve it. She had been brushing him and when he tried to walk/get away she had grabbed his tail!!!! Can you imagine, I'd have bit her too! So, I says to the lady, "let me take him to my place for a 'little while' and see if I can help him out of his shell". Well he was already a year old by then. His shell was pretty solid.

Here's what he looked like then, at my home in Austin. He was pretty happy to be out of that pack environment. My two dogs at the time were quite friendly and not at all in getting into Rascal's space. We gave him a lot of time to acclimate.

And acclimate he did:

He was way more confident, and even started to have fun. Just as long as I didn't try to approach him.

Couldn't Handle It!

Well, I just couldn't. Jet had amazing energy that I couldn't match. Some great friends of mine at the Central Texas SPCA took him in and now he's found his forever home!