Re-defining Lucky

I posted the pup on Craig’s list and also on the classified board at work. I was hoping to find a good home for him with a family I already know. Not 12 hours later I get an email from a lady north of Reno who saw the ad on Craig's list. She said she lived on a farm but I don't think initially I quite understood. When I called her she had just finished milking the cows. Her "farm" has 350 acres with horses, cows, llamas, dogs, kids, you name it. She should have called it a ranch! The puppy was going to be her husband's Christmas present and she wanted to come get the him immediately. Hello perfect dog family!

Since Reno is about an hour and a half and she lives beyond that, I offer to meet her half way. But she said she had to deliver hay so maybe she’ll send her husband. It won't be a Christmas surprise but there's nothing like immediate gratification!

I go home and grab Brando after work on Tuesday and drive down the hill to meet this lady’s husband. He is there in a nice big SUV and Brando immediately hops in his vehicle. I talked to the guy for a moment and then they drive away. It was much harder than I thought it would be. I’ve only had Brando five or six days but he is Echo’s brother and I really care about what happens to him.

About a day goes by and the new owner starts sending me hilarious emails about what the dog’s doing. They’ve decided to rename the dog to Rosco. She wanted it to be Hank but I think she was outnumbered by her husband and their kids. She also wants pictures of my pup and the mom and dad of the litter. She seems super engaged. And the best part is they want puppies so there will be little Rosco’s running around sometime in the future. I just don’t think Brando/Rosco/Hank could have found a better home.

On Wednesday she wrote:

Thought you could use a laugh! We can't remember his name>Brandon>....well anyway it's Rosco! I would have picked Hank! Mind you our two are really well minded dogs, no couches, no noses on counter etc...so this morning Jerry's in the shower and Taz [girl heeler] follows daddy into the bathroom with a look on her face like "Guess what he's doing!" Jerry goes out and he's on the couch!! Not unless called!

So today he can't quite figure out the llammas! And I was out on the dam shucking drywall over the edge to melt in and plug up the leaks! And the dogs are with me! Only he is walking on the ice, maybe up to 10 feet from the side, now mind you the girls are barking and playing but not going on the ice! I was laughing my asss off thinking I'd have to go in and get Jerry's Christmas present if he fell in, ya know true love and stuff! Eventually he got to thin enough to fall in and managed to get out as by this time he is close enough to the shore to touch the side [I think] but instead of getting on dry land he goes back to running along the side still on the ice!!! Finally I get him to the dirt and he decides to bark, well then the hills echo....yep then I really couldn't get him to quit! So I walked back to the house to have a soda, write you and hope he forgets when we go back out!!!
Thanks again!!!
Your welcome to come visit!

Thursday this came:

So it was going good....then.....he went under the neighbors [he's a cardiologist and does endurance riding!] fence!!! It wasn't like he was really chasing their "prize" Arabians, more like following them which gave them a good chance to run [and visa versa]! But....! My "girls" just stayed with me and he didn't even care, it must have taken us an hour to catch him! The good news is they are on vacation in South America and their ranch hand [our friend] was up in the hills riding one of their horses! I have enough horses he could have chased/followed! So now he'll have to be leash bound till he gets over it!

We have a German Shorthair, awesome dog, now thinks she's a cow dog, barks [loud] when I tell the cows to move! Also wanting to go after the feet like Taz our female heeler. When she came she ran, and ran, and ran... till she realized she could run whenever she wants, so now she runs when she just hangs out with me, and Taz, and ....Rosco! I was vote'n for Hank! I guess there is Hank the cowdog books I could get for the Grandson's hopefully to learn more read'n! ... I don't think I'll when on this!

Well, "we're" headed to Battlemtn for a hay delivery, he rides good in the car! Oh also he puts his feet on kitchen counter! And thinks he can get on the coutches! But not for long!! He is really smart! We get to get baby llammas for the grandson's Christmas! Have a great day, and thanks again! It would be cool to get his sis's pictures too!

Grand-dog

At some point my mom switched from threatening that I not have children too young to hinting at how nice it would be to have grandchildren. "I guess I'll just have to spoil my grand-dog because I have no grandkids". I don't feel bad though. Look how cute she is! Anyone would love to be her Grandma!

Recently she sent me this great travel bed/blanket thing. She wrote "do not open until Christmas" on the box and then called me to tell me I had to open it when it came. She couldn't even stand it herself. I took it out of the box and Echo immediately plopped herself down on it claiming it as her own.

I like to think this picture shows her being grateful and all shy about someone buying her such a nice gift. Do you think that's possible?

Adopt me!

This is Brando, Echo's brother. My boss adopted him when I adopted Echo. He's at my house because my boss' new baby is severely allergic to him. I am trying to teach him some manners and find him a new home. I have him on Craig's List, the classifieds at work, and I'm going to make some fliers to put up at the dog park.

Echo loves Brando. When I used to work in the valley all day, I would take Echo to play with him. They said the dogs wrestled the whole day. I believe it because Echo and Brando do nothing but wrestle now that he's staying with us. And when she came home from a day with Brando she slept like the dead. It was sweet.

It's a pretty emotional experience to have a new dog around. It sounds silly to say that but I really like him. But at the same time I don't really know him yet. And I get really mad at him when he's bad. The other night he and Echo were wrestling and I heard Echo yelp which means something hurt. I yelled really loud and chased after Brando who was so scared he peed on the chair. It just wanted him to know it wasn't okay to play too rough. Not like she doesn't give him a pretty rough time of it.

It's hard for me to think of all of the animals out there that need homes and don't have anyone to care for them. Hopefully we'll find a good home for him soon. He's a really sweet dog.

If I had an image of the day section

I would choose this one for today. It's actually from May sometime. She looks a lot older to me but I might be the only one who can tell.

Nothin' but class

I wasn't going to cook this year because almost everyone I know is out of town visiting their family. I thought about going out for Thanksgiving dinner. Aside from it being somewhat depressing, I decided I couldn't live without the leftovers. The whole experience was much less emotionally fulfilling than I had hoped. It turns out without family and friends around to experience the holiday with it's just another Thursday. Except you don't have to go to work.

I'm glad I have the leftovers. But next year I think I'll make the effort to be with my family. Not that I didn't want to this year. It just didn't work out like I had hoped. It looked pretty though.

And of course the obligatory turkey coma.