Visiting Danes

I only had 17 blog posts in the month of March. That's a very light month, but there's been a lot of non-dog stuff going on. Today was the first day of my retirement but I still put in few hours of work (as a contractor now), and had a lot of other stuff going on so I didn't get out for a walk even though the weather was perfect for it. 

We've had two visiting Great Danes since last Wednesday, Madelyn and Quinnlyn, and Killian came on Sunday so our pack weight more than doubled recently. It was short-lived however, because the two girls went back home today. Killian (one of Della's boys) is with us until next Monday. He's the sweetest giant puppy and it's been very nice to have some canine giants around once again. Here's some recent pictures of the big dogs and some others too.

Maddie and Quinnie were initially scheduled to come several weeks ago, but this was much better timing because the weather has been beautiful since they've been here. They stayed out in Daneland and got lots of pasture time as well.

This is Woody at an adoption event last Sunday. Ted was there too but I didn't get any pictures of him somehow.

Both girls got a lot of exercise and were great to have around but they were very happy to see their person come back for them today. I bet they did some power napping when they got home.

Killian has been great to have around. He has full bedroom privileges and Bailey was gracious enough to let him have the big bed. He enjoyed a nice roll in the grass while Bailey and Woody ran around.

Notice all the cut grass in the pasture? That's one of the things that's been keeping me busy. I did another mowing session this evening with Woody as supervisor.

Paisley joins the dogs of March

This is a post I never wanted to write, but I've always shared the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of dog rescue and this is one of the bad. I had Paisley euthanized on Friday afternoon, after a heavy dose of sedation the night before and again three hours before our appointment, and yet again one hour before it was done. All of that was only enough to bring her to a nearly normal state, which should give a good idea of the amount of stress and anxiety this dog was experiencing day to day.

I took Paisley in as a foster in May, 2022, to evaluate whether or not she was adoptable. I started out optimistic but that soon turned to being realistic and knowing that she was not adoptable. Still, we kept her and tried to manage her as best we could, much like we had done with Max. Paisley had absolutely no social skills with other dogs and her only interaction with others was to run by them and bite them on the butt. When she did this with Maya and Della, both those girls tried to teach her a lesson but she never really learned. Elvis was her most frequent victim. She put bite wounds on several of our dogs and sustained quite a few herself as retaliatory gestures. Lately her behavior towards humans was becoming problematic as well, mostly because you could never tell what was going to trigger her. 

It was a very long time before I could touch her and was never able to touch her collar. We're leaving, it wouldn't have been responsible to place her with anyone else, so there was really no choice. I should have done it three years ago, but we gave her almost three more years. I hope she'll draw a better lot the next time around, a long life with a loving family right from the start. But this time around, Paisley has joined the Dogs of March. 

A day all about Bailey

I can see how it might be possible to think that all days are all about Bailey, but she would beg to differ. Today, however, was indeed all about Bailey and I don't think she would dispute that, or complain about it either. 

The first couple of pictures are from a hike with Bailey, just a short one, about 2.4 miles. The main event for the day was Bailey's first real vet visit. She had previously been microchipped and vaccinated at Green Dogs, and had a couple of things done when she was spayed, but this was the first time I had actually taken her to a vet for a routine annual visit. She weighed in at 68 pounds which seems perfect on her. She was fine with other dogs in the waiting area and most importantly she was good with the vet. A generous supply of really good treats certainly helped make it a good experience. This vet visit was doubly important because this is the vet who can complete the health certificate that she will need to travel to France later this summer. Bailey got her vaccines updated, a general health check, and blood drawn for the heartworm test. It all went smoothly for everyone.

This evening was her first Out and About class, which was a group outing with about a dozen other dogs and their people at River View park in Charlottesville. We walked, did some other activities, and generally coexisted in a group environment out in public for about an hour. Again, she did very well.

After class we picked up some carry out food and had dinner at Decipher with a beer. Bailey had what I have to assume was her first fortune cookie. It said something positive about knowledge and learning, very appropriate for the day. 

Final work week

It's hard to believe, but this time next next I'll be unemployed. I've been unemployed before, of course, laid off a couple times thanks to republican recessions, and once while I was trying to decide what I wanted to do with my life and education. But this time I'll be unemployed by choice, and permanently (except a little bit of contract work to help ease the transition to my successor.) I am very much looking forward to it.

I'm also looking forward to having arthroscopic surgery to repair the rotator cuff in my right shoulder. I've been essentially a one-armed man since January when I first fell and injured it. I wish I had dealt with it promptly instead of waiting to see if it got better. It didn't, and it won't. I have less pain now but no more use of that arm and it won't get better until the torn tendon is reattached to the bone. I had an MRI recently and saw the surgeon on Monday. It's scheduled for later in April, shortly after our week long retirement/exploration trip to Lille. 

I got Bailey out for a four miler today, my first in several days it seems. As soon as we started my legs were telling me I had been too long off the trails, although really it's only been four days. Bailey kept me moving and we saw deer, which made her happy. 

When we got home I hung out with Woody in the dog yard and played ball while waiting for some buyers to show up to pick some things sold from Facebook Marketplace. I can't throw with my right arm now and I'm not coordinated enough to use the chuck-it to throw a tennis ball with my left, so we had to settle with me flinging the big rubber ball on a rope using my left arm. He didn't seem to mind. 

We have visiting Danes coming tomorrow! It will be nice to have some big dogs around the house again.

She was unusually insistent that we stop long enough to give this spot a thorough sniff.

I don't know who creates this cairns but there's a couple of them along the trail.