The obligatory year end post

It's December 31st and most of us are glad to see this year on its way out the door, finally. I'm hard pressed to find a lot to say about 2020 that's very good. Even the defeat of Trump was muted by the failure to defeat many of the trumpists in the House and Senate. And no, I'm not prepared to join hands and sing kum-ba-yah with the idiots and asshole republicans who supported him and lacked the backbone to stand up to him even after he lost. When people show you who and what they are so blatantly and obviously, I'm inclined to believe them and treat them accordingly. 

This year had plenty of personal lows for me as well, losing both my job and my mother in the same year.

But in spite of it all, life muddles on and there are dogs to console us, entertain us, amuse us, and show us how to be better people. Dog rescue goes on and I've got to say that it gives me a sense of purpose that I'd be sorely lacking without it. I don't keep track of the number of dogs we take in over the year or over the 20 years we've been doing this. The number is always small compared to the need, that much I know for sure.

Here are a few pictures of rescued and re-homed dogs, mostly from this year I think, although some were from prior years but their pictures showed up recently either in emails or my newsfeed on Facebook. It's not an exhaustive list, just a few that I could easily pull out this evening, so don't feel slighted if I missed your dog. But do feel free to post his/her picture or send them to me.

Thank you to all adopters and supporters of dog rescue, in whatever role you participate. All we do is foster, but I'm quite aware of all the other work that goes into operating a rescue organization and keeping it afloat. Thank you also to all the vets, vet techs, and office personnel who keep veterinary practices going in good times and in COVID times. These smiles are for all of you.

Bruno, the doggie daddy of all the mini-Troopers and tiny Trooper pups from earlier this summer.

Daisy with poinsettias

Big Momma Diamond. This girl deserves everything she has in her new home.

Duvel (one of Della's pups) and Chester live with friends and neighbors

so we get to see them occasionally.

This is one of the mini-Troopers, the six month old pups that came with Bruno and Luna.

Tucker celebrating Christmas with his family.

Winston in his new home.

This picture of Caesar (formerly Journey), and the one below, are nothing short of miraculous.

I'm sure he has a long way to go yet, but what a leap he has made in his new home.

I really didn't think we'd ever find someone willing to take him on.

The greatest tasks have the greatest rewards.

Caesar under the Christmas tree.

The Goddess Athena (the Dane) and her newly adopted puppy.

Benny (formerly Lenny), left, and his big sister, Priscilla. 

Bete Noire (formerly Bessie) learning to enjoy the comforts and love of a real home.

This is one of the tiny-Trooper pups that came with Luna, just a week after she

gave birth to them in a shelter.

This is Jamma (formerly Pinky) who had been painted blue under her former owner's watch.

Kona, out of the back woods of Kentucky, who with Jamma (above) had a massive upgrade

in their quality of life and standard of living after being adopted to the same home.

Reka, adopted as a pup, sharing a bed with a much smaller dog in her home.

This is the beautiful Samantha, now called Taiga, enjoying her first snow.

Eva (formerly Summer) is a senior now but still loving life.

This is Dasher, who is still with us tonight, but he met his new home today

and will be my first adoption of 2021 next Monday.

And these last two pictures are of Jake, my mother's pug, who now lives with my sister in Montana. 

Jake is living proof of the adaptability of dogs, becoming a mountain pug in his senior years.

He's doing well, and I think he's lost some weight too. 

Winston

Winston is headed to a beach home tonight. They drove up from Virginia Beach along with their current, small, dog. There was great pandemonium in Daneland as I tried to extract Winston while leaving Kismet and Chase in place. It was easier when the small dog was out of sight but I was reminded why I don't normally do dog meetings at our house. I had even put the two shepherds into the shed because their barking always raises the tension and stupid level. I had put Della and Serena in crates in my office and shut Maya and Arby behind doors away from windows. It went well once I got Winston out to the pasture by himself and then brought the small dog out to meet him and him alone. Winston checked it out thoroughly but then pretty much ignored the smaller dog. The little one was used to playing with a Saint Bernard mix, so I expect they will work out an odd couple relationship. 

I didn't get pictures except one after Winston was loaded up and ready to go. He will be a well-cared for and spoiled dog, I'm sure.

Earlier in the day I got Della and Serena out for a two mile walk. That is all. 

I would call this one "I got your back, sister." And they truly do.

More miles, less drama

 So, yesterday's blog post may have been a little over dramatic in its portrayal of my pain and suffering. I was exhausted when I wrote it  This morning I actually felt pretty good even without taking anything the night before. I didn't take Dasher and Malia out for another hike, but I did take Maya and Theo on a hike this afternoon. 

My choice of those two wasn't just a matter of chance. They are the easiest duo to walk of any that we have around here. I didn't want to pull or be pulled and with those two I rarely was. 

Theo is a sniffer and a marker when we walk. I don't put up with a stop at every tree so he had to figure out which stops were really important. Maya is not really like that, but she is when Theo is with us. He seems so serious about it, almost like he's undertaking a scientific survey, that Maya gets on board and joins him to stop, sniff, and mark that which must be marked. Maya normally just squats to pee, of course, but when she's marking something, or marking over Theo's mark, she always lifts her right leg as she's doing it.

I could generally get them off a mark with just a verbal command and Theo did do less of it on the last half of the walk. When I did need to give them a jerk or a pull with the leash, I could still feel the effects of yesterday's walk in my lower back. We went for four miles, almost twice as far as yesterday's walk because apparently I had something to prove. 

Theo's head was always down sniffing something when he stopped.

Made it tough to get good pictures.

This is Maya lifting her right rear leg to pee mark a spot.

Worst. Walk. Ever.

My knees hurt. My lower back really hurts, and I know it will hurt worse tomorrow. My arms and shoulders are exhausted, I can't really feel the hurt just yet. My mistakes are too many to list, but the top of the list for today was the mistake of walking two untrained dogs at once. That error was compounded by the fact that one of those dogs was a Rottweiler and the other was a puppy. 

I took Malia and Dasher, leaving Maya at home today because I thought three dogs would be too much. That was yet another mistake because having Maya along might have had a moderating influence even if it meant wrangling a third leash. I knew what to expect from Dasher. He was all over the place, constantly changing sides behind me and wrapping my legs up with the leash. I didn't know what to expect from Malia, which was all the more reason to have taken Maya along or taken Malia by herself for her first walk. Malia is sweet, just like Dasher, but she's a young rottie and very powerful. She's built low to the ground and she must weigh at least 80 pounds, all of it young, solid, muscle. She seemed to have no guidance system or concept of following a trail. She was all over the place and when she stopped, she intended to stay stopped. 

I took a break after a mile and seriously considered ending the walk then. I carried on but took another break and sat on a bench after the second mile. I rarely stop and sit while walking. Generally speaking, I'm better off if I keep moving, but I needed the breaks today. We ended the walk after 2.6 miles. I didn't have the desire or energy to try to make it an even three miles.

I'm not walking the two of them together again. When I walk Malia again it will be either with prong collar or with her leash attached to my waist so it's her body weight against mine. I think my next walk with the puppy, Dancer, will be on a shorter leash, and with Maya.

They had a great time, it was only miserable for me.

Malia, 80+ very solid and energetic pounds of Rottweiler. 

Dasher, 33 pounds of pure energy

Don't let their sweet, innocent faces fool you. I'm convinced they were out to kill me today.