Brrrrrrrrrr

It's cold. We don't get a lot of weather with temps down to zero in central Virginia, and I can't say that I'm sorry. We are really only having about two nights of this really cold stuff, so I shouldn't complain too much, but it is enough. It is tough on the dogs who aren't used to it. The outside fosters eat three times a day in cold weather, because food is fuel for their internal furnace. They've all got heated water tanks or buckets. Chance has lived outside for a couple of years without much of dog house even, so this is no big deal for him. He's got the shed to go into and a crate covered in heavy carpeting and full of blankets so he must think he's in heaven. Bud is used to that too, and Bear is coping with it quite well.


Holiday has obviously been a house dog and she was not keen on the cold weather, although she has the thickest coat and more body flesh than any other dog here. She got the best of me last night, however, and came inside to the office, while she will probably remain until she's adopted. She's in a crate next to Betty, who has no weight or coat to spare and who just had surgery last week.


That still leaves Jeep, Lyca, Score, Julie, and Philly outside in the other shed at night. In that shed I've built what I call nest boxes. It's basically a long box divided in three sections, each with a separate opening. The top forms a work bench. Each box is big enough for at least two dogs to sleep comfortably but cozily. I fill them with straw, which is a great insulator. They are small enough that the dogs' body heat can warm them up such that the dogs are comfortable even in very cold weather. Jeep will climb in with Score if he wants to; Julie and Philly pretty much always snuggle together.





None of it is ideal, but it's temporary, and in most cases, it's better accomodations than they've had in their prior homes. And fortunately, it's supposed to warm up tomorrow. I hope it does, because the water tanks need to be refilled and that's not easy with a frozen hose.