Time marches on

I've had three reminders of the passage of time recently. Today I got a congratulatory email saying that it was my 15th anniversary on my job. It started out as temporary job, supposed to be just for a couple years, but it became permanent. Then I got laid off when Bush crashed the economy, but got hired back a several months later, first as a part-time employee and then finally as a full-time wage slave. I'm not sure how they calculated 15 years with that history, but apparently today is the day. It's been a good gig. I don't have to shower or put on clothes to go to work and I rarely have to talk to anyone.

The other reminder came in yesterday's mail in the form of an invitation to my 40th(!) high school reunion. I know it's been a long time, but I don't think I needed to put a number on it. Some things are best being a little vague. I won't be attending.

A more welcome reminder came in the mail recently, in the form of a gift in memory of the Dogs of March. Memories of those that we've lost are sad, of course, but they are still good memories. I used the gift for something I've needed for some time, a set of good quality tags for the foster dogs. One side says "Foster Dog" with my phone number and the other side says "Please Call" followed by my phone number. I've put them on a ring with a county license tag on each foster and I'll take them off when the dog is adopted. I've had some in the past but they became illegible, which makes them useless as an ID tag.

I finished work early and took advantage of the nice day with a series of three hikes, 8 miles total, with 7 dogs, three at a time.  Maya, Trooper, and Harper did two miles, which was long enough for Harper and Trooper and a good warm up for me and Maya. Harper gets better on the leash each time, but I'm still using two leashes on her and probably always will.

Even Harper hopped in the van without much urging since the other dogs were there.

 The second hike was three miles with Max, Sam, and Maya.

Max, Sam, and Maya

It was warm enough today that the water stop was
a welcome break.

When we stop, their attention goes in three different directions.

But these three are pretty focused when moving.

In the back of the van for the drive home.

 The third and final walk was another three miles, with Maya, Theo, and the new guy, Atlas. I had assumed that Atlas and Sam would be good playmates. They are close in age and in size, but apparently that's not what it takes. They get along all right, but much like Harper latched onto Maya, Atlas has attached himself to Theo.

Theo and his little buddy, Atlas.

I finally got a good picture with his ears squared up.  He's a handsome dog and will really look
impressive when he puts on some weight so his body matches his head.

Walking with Theo

Atlas looks really small here, but most dogs look small next to Theo.
He's about Maya's size but probably weighs less than her right now.