Tuesday, March 31, 2015

As Dog is my witness, . . .

I'll never be abandoned again. I'll never be on my own again. I'll never be lonely again. As Dog is my witness, I'll never be hungry again.

I've named her Scarlett.



We had a vet appointment today. She was good and the test results were better than expected. She tested negative for heartworms! and her stool sample was negative for parasites. She tested positive for Erlichia, so she's got a course of doxycycline treatment, but that's pretty good considering her previous level of care.

She's probably seven years old at least, but still in good shape. We are guessing she's spayed, given her age and lack of mammary development. I'm not going to open her up to find out unless she goes into heat. Most importantly, she's been just fine with all the other dogs, including the puppy, Felix, who went along with her today.









Sunday, March 29, 2015

Weekend wrapup

It doesn't seem that it was a very productive weekend, but it was a busy one.
Saturday morning I drove up to Gainesville for an adoption
event with Promises Animal Rescue. I took Felix along for
adoption prospects and Maya just came along for the ride.

He didn't have a clue about what was going on, but he enjoyed
all the people, the other dogs, the treats, and the training.







When we got back we went directly out to the
trails for a three mile hike.
In the evening, Maya and I went down to the James
River Brewery in Scottsville. I had a couple beers
and she worked the crowd for MilkBones.




On Sunday morning I finally connected with the guy who
wanted to surrender this girl to VGSR. She was in a
10x10 pen with a small house with no straw, and no water.
She was friendly so I knew I had to take
her out of there.


He claimed to have "found" the dog six months
ago. She has no name.
Back at our place in a kennel twice the size, full of straw,
and with a good shelter. She will be coming inside tonight.

She hopped into a crate in my van and
never looked back at the guy.

She gives soft kisses.








After getting back home with the new girl, I had to head into town on some errands, one of which took to Diesel's new home. He was happy to see me but he didn't want to leave his new home. He looks great, the treatment for demodex seems to be working, and most importantly, he seemed very happy.


Maya and Felix and accompanied me on my errands and
eventually we made it out for a short (2+ mile) hike.



Friday, March 27, 2015

Walking out the door

Stopping to smell the daffodils.
There's been a few days this week, today included, due to work, weather, or other commitments I haven't had the time or energy to load up two or three dogs and get to the trails for a proper hike. One such night Max's OCD was in overdrive, he was sucking on the bedding in his crate, and the puppy was getting the idea that bedding was chewable. It was driving me as crazy as he already was, so I put his harness and leash on him and we went out the door. It was dark and getting darker, but we went a mile straight up our road, turned around and came straight back. We moved at a pretty good pace and that little bit of exercise was enough to exorcise the demons from his head for the night. He laid down on the floor behind my chair and sacked out as if we had hiked 10 miles.

We had quite a bit of rain overnight and the
Rivanna is running strong, high, and muddy.


Exploring along the Rail Trail
Today was a rainy day and I was working on a short night's sleep, so I really wasn't enthused about going out for a hike. Today, however, it was the puppy and Maya who were driving me crazy, the puppy especially. I put on their leashes and walking collars and we headed out the door again. Just a short distance away, our road crosses Courthouse Road and it becomes Stoneleigh, an unpaved road. About a mile down Stoneleigh it crosses Rt. 15 into the Village of Palmyra. We walked down towards the old stone mill foundation, the Rail Trail, and then took a little walking tour of the Village itself. By the time we got back we had covered over 4.5 miles and I was tired, although Felix was still pulling badly. I'm going to put an easy walk harness on his little butt and get him into line, or he's going to wear me out. I'm going to another adoption event with him tomorrow, I hope we'll have some luck on finding him a home. He's as sweet as can be, and really pretty good indoors, but the old dogs and I want to find him a new home soon if possible.

Maya and Felix, stopped momentarily.







You can see the muddy Rivanna through the trees.
He's not the best on a leash, but he sure is cute.



The rail trail uses an abandoned railroad right of way
along the river next to the Village.


The old stone jail in the Village of Palmyra, now a museum.






The square in the center of Palmyra, with a memorial to confederate soldiers.
The Village is remarkably well preserved because it never amounted to much in the first place,
and without water, sewer, or a reason to be, there was never much development over the years.

Our home, Edgewood








Today's 4.79 mile route



Felix in front of the old
courthouse in Palmyra






Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Coming attractions

I was contacted a few days back by VGSR about a call regarding an owner surrender from my area. I called the guy, who was barely coherent, and asked for pictures as a first step. A few days went by, nothing. Yesterday I got an email, also barely coherent, that didn't make any attempt to reference the prior phone call, but it came to me directly and also concerned a dog to be surrendered. I wrote back, again requesting pictures and got one. She's a senior girl, was said to be good with kids and dogs. The back story didn't make much sense, probably because they couldn't think fast enough to make up a good lie. Anyway, she looks like a nice girl and I've asked to meet her. There are people with VGSR who like to foster seniors, they are easy, low maintenance, and generally just grateful to have a place to curl up. We will see.

Then this evening, this dog, Sarge, gets posted on my wall with a request that I take him for Promises. He's a good looking, one year old male, said to be playful and goofy. I said yes immediately; those are generally easy placements except for the fact that he will need to be neutered first, he probably has no manners, and he's probably too rowdy for cats and young kids. We will see.

I spent most of the day working, but did get out for about 2.5 miles with Maya, Toquima, and the puppy, Felix. For as small as he is, Felix contributed more than his share of pulling on today's walk. He's just all over the place rather than being focused on walking the trail.


They all enjoyed it anyway, and this evening I took Max out for a quick two miles on the road. If he doesn't get his walk he starts getting really neurotic later in the day and he was making me crazy too.


Maya keeping watch while the boys sniff.
L to R: Maya, Felix, Toquima







When Felix would stay between them we moved
along pretty well, but he didn't stay in position.



Toquima and Maya on alert.