All about the dogs

It has been brought to my attention that the dogs didn't get a single mention in the last blog post. Of course, it was the dogs who made me aware of this major oversight. Actually, it was just Emma, but she said that since she is the alpha dog, hers in the only opinion that really counts.



So anyway, all three of the hooligans are doing fine. Emma continues to dominate everyone, including me, while Cooper continues to be the clueless boy that he is, and Tara continues to be the sweetest little thing in the world. Seriously, I have never had such a calm, quiet, easygoing dog as Tara. Just between the hours of 6am and 10pm, though. She is up at least two times every night, around midnight and then again around 3am. I've tried to ignore her and pretend I'm sleeping, but she knows better. She will stand over me and do one sharp, chirping bark every 10-15 seconds until I give up and take her outside. Her bark is just like the smoke detector when the battery is running low-- very hard to ignore. Having Tara is kind of like having a newborn baby, not that I have personal experience with that. Also, a newborn eventually sleeps through the night. Tara arrived on the Brittany Transport on St. Patrick's Day in 2005, so it's been almost seven years since I have slept through the night. Oh, well. A good night's sleep is highly over-rated.

Speaking of the Brittany Transport, I had this past Saturday off from Glitter World, and was able to finally participate in a Transport! This cute little guy's name is Jed.



He is four years old, and has been living with a foster family in Rhode Island. On Saturday, with the help of seven drivers, Jed made his way from Rhode Island to his forever home in Virginia. He is such a sweet boy. It only took a couple of miles on the NJ Turnpike for me to fall head over heels in love with him.


If he was going to a foster home instead of a forever home, I think Jed would be my fourth dog right now! He is in an excellent new home with a loving daddy, though. While we will never know what Jed's first few years of like were like, I am certain that his remaining years on this earth will be happy, and he will be a much loved, much spoiled little boy.

Since November... Really?

Today is February 1st, and is it possible that I haven't posted since November? I am such a bad blogger. Non-existent blogger, really. :sigh:

I've been working a lot, and Facebook seems to take up what time I have on the computer. Facebook, and Pinterest. Love Pinterest. Seriously, if you want to waste a perfectly good hour or two, go to Pinterest. Need an invite? Let me know and I'll send you one.

Anyway, lots of stuff has been happening around Britknitterville. Remember Stevie Wonder from this post?



He was such a friendly little guy. (Notice the use of past tense? You know where this is going, don't you?) He always greeted me when I brought him his food. Well, one Sunday morning as I was getting ready to go to work at Glitter World, he didn't greet me. I was running late, and figured he was just being a lazy mouse. When I got home from work, his food was still in his bowl. Not a good sign. I found him curled up in a little ball. He had departed this world and gone to that great mouse wheel in the sky. I felt like crap going off to work without making sure he was ok. What would I have done if he was still alive, though. Take him to the vet? I don't know. Anyway, I placed him in his little wicker mouse nest with lots of cotton and wood chips and buried him under the dogwood tree. RIP, Stevie Wonder. Now I just have Carlos Ruiz, and I never see him at all. He waits until I leave the room before coming out to get his food or water. If I want to have a look at him, I have to leave the room and shut the door, then peek through the curtain to watch him come out from under the wood chips. If I open the door again, he dives for the chips. Did I mention Carlos is a biter? He is. :sigh:

Oh, and remember the stray dog that wandered into that yard from this post?



I named him Russell, for obvious reasons. Well, he got away from his owner again, and found his way back to Britknitterville. Only this time, there was a casualty. Hanna.



Yep, Russell got into the garage (through the cat door) and couldn't get back out. While he was in there, he killed Hanna. Feathers everywhere. I know he's a dog and it's instinct, but it's hard not to be mad at Russell for killing such a sweet chicken. Russell's owner offered to buy us another chicken. Seriously? :sigh:

Speaking of dogs and people who should make sure that they are secure, those of you who follow me on Facebook know that my niece Michelle's dog Luna got away from her while she was walking through the woods near her house. It is my absolute worst nightmare, that one of my babes should get loose. There is nothing like the feeling of walking into your vet's office and seeing a "Lost Dog" poster, and knowing that dog.



Eleven days she was gone. There were literally hundreds of flyers all over the area, and I frankly gave up hope after day seven. Fortunately, a local farmer (who had been allowing Luna's searchers to tramp through his fields and woods) spotted her, called my niece, and followed Luna until Michelle arrived and caught the escape artist.



This is Michelle and Luna later that afternoon. See, this post isn't all bad news!

Now, this bit is especially for Golden Gracie's mom in Chicago. There is a man who lives near Fortescue with eight beautiful Golden Retrievers. It's a rare thing to see one person with eight big dogs (except for Sue and her pack of ten dogs... Happy Birthday, Sue!), but when you see those eight dogs fishing on the beach, now that's a sight to be seen!


Here they are, all calmly watching their daddy fish off the beach.


They are all on leashes and are tied to a pole holder in the sand. They are all perfectly well behaved, and stay there for hours watching the sea birds and enjoying the sunshine. What a life!

I have to go and get ready for work now. I'll do my best to post again before another three months go by!