Chloe's spay day

From backyard breeder, to clueless Craigslist buyer, to SPCA, to foster home, and today to the clinic for spay surgery, Chloe has taken another step to her future and forever home.

I am Groot

"I am Groot," that's all he says. But on his behalf, I'll say that he's the shelter dog I mentioned in the last post that we went to meet in Orange last weekend. He's going to be our new Promises Animal Rescue foster this next weekend. They've found someone else to take the little girl, Chloe, so we can pull Groot from the shelter. He's also a pup, very thin, no training, and was kept tied outside. Being given up was the best thing that has happened to him. He has no manners but he's sweet.

He's nothing but potential at this point. He got out soon enough that I don't think the prior owners did any damage to him. Shepherds don't develop a brain right away anyway, they just operate in puppy mode for most of their first two years. The first order of business will be to get him neutered, thereby removing two obstacles to mental growth.

I think Maya may enjoy him. She isn't too keen on Chloe, but she may like the boy better and he's a better size and age for play, although he's still rather thin and small himself. I'll probably pick him up this weekend, Saturday if possible, so there's much more to come.

Well, that was different

One of our excursions last weekend was up to Orange to meet a shelter dog. On the way, however, we took advantage of being without a dog in the vehicle and made a little side trip to Belmont Farm Distillery. It's not a brewery, they are making whiskey, of sorts.

I guess it's in Orange County, and it's located on a farm, where they grow the corn that they use. One gets the impression that the family has been involved in the business for a few generations, sometimes more legally than others. Basically it's a moonshine operation. They distill the liquor and then flavor it with oak and/or apple wood for a few months. Then it spends some time in oak barrels to age.

It was a fun visit and tour by the owner/distiller, who introduced himself to everyone personally. The tour is a walk around the shed that houses the equipment, most of it fairly old, but some of it quite modern.

They sell a whitedog (moonshine), their Virginia whiskey, and a vodka. They also sell jars of cherries marinated in the whiskey and one flavored with apples and cinnamon that they call Apple Pie. We sampled, because they now have a legal tasting room since a change in laws effective last October. I think it's safe to say that the Kentucky bourbon industry needn't fear the competition. The whiskey had a slight color to it, but still tasted pretty much like moonshine. I bought a bottle of the vodka, thinking that it couldn't be too bad, but I haven't tried it yet so I'm not sure.

They've made a pretty nice visitor's center, gift shop, tasting room, and the tour was fun.  Well worth the stop, but Kentucky bourbon has nothing to worry about.

One of the resident dogs, a senior.
She looks like a shepherd until she stands
up; she's got short little Corgi legs.

The barrel house (shed)

Promises

Promises Animal Rescue is a new organization I'll be working with.  You can see their website at www.promisesanimalrescue.org. Chloe is my first Promises foster. I picked her up today from a shelter. She's been vaccinated but will be going in on Thursday to be spayed, and then she's good to go. She was an owner surrender, got her as a puppy off Craigslist, and was surprised when the puppy grew up and needed time, training, and attention that the owner didn't have time for or interest in providing. Duh.

Meeting Vince

She's smaller than Maya now and I doubt that she will be much bigger than Maya when she's fully grown. She hasn't grown into her ears yet, but her feet don't look oversized at this point.

With Trooper and Maya

Trooper is always good with new dogs.

The good news is that she's just 5-6 months old and shows no sign of mistreatment. She had worms but that's being treated now. She's outgoing and friendly, appropriately submissive to the other dogs, and she's laying next to my chair so she's already figured out that I'm a person of some importance around here.

She's a pretty little thing.

Big ears

Magic

When you've got a senior foster, the most common thing you hear is, "oh, she's lovely, bless you for taking her in, but I couldn't bear to lose another one so soon." Hey, I get it, that's understandable, it's not what most people are looking for when they are wanting to adopt a new dog, particularly after losing one. I smile nicely (or as nicely as I can), and agree that she's lovely and just move on. Like I said, I understand the sentiment and I don't think badly of anyone for feeling that way.


So what kind of people lose a beloved senior canine member of the family one week and then adopt another senior a week later? Very special people. Stella has a very special new home. They needed a dog, and she worked her charms. Although marking their carpet straight away is not a technique that I'd recommend to ingratiate oneself to prospective adopters, it seemed to work for Stella.

Of marriage and Mary Chapin

Trooper

[I don't really have any dog-themed photos for this post, so I'm just using pics of our current pack. It's useful to occasionally remind myself which dogs are actually ours.]


Clay and I date our anniversary from our first "formal date" which was 18 years ago this next week.  (Actually Clay is the one who dates it because the only date I can remember was the year I graduated from high school, and I only remember that because it was the bicentennial year--1976.)  We had a few coffee dates and had hung out together after work, but our first actual date was going to hear Mary Chapin Carpenter perform at Wolf Trap.

Sparky, my personal trainer

Marriage wasn't on the table or even on the horizon at that time, and frankly I didn't expect it to be in our lifetime in this puritanical uptight country. I wrote about this once before, three years ago, right after New York state passed a law extending the definition of marriage to same sex couples. Here's a link to that blog, and it's one of my personal favorites. What I said then is still true--I made the commitment in my heart that night and no ceremony, certificate, or official sanction by the state can or will do anything to strengthen it.

Gigi, my beautiful girlfriend

But times have changed. Faster than most of us would ever have predicted, there has been a massive shift in public opinion. Just ten years ago, the republicans were pushing anti-gay ballot measures across the country as a way of turning out ignorant, white-trash voters, i.e., the heart and soul of the republican party. Closet case Karl Rove pushed these ballot measures as he was promoting Bush, McCain, Romney, and other republicans across the country. But as public opinion shifted, it became less valuable as a political ploy by the right wing, although they still use it to stir up the base when they need to raise money or hate.

Vince, the most loyal of the pack

Anti-gay measures were defeated in some states at the polls, and other states, such as New York, actually extended marriage by legislative action. Democratic politicians no longer run away from the issue and in fact our Governor, Lt. Governor, and Attorney General all ran, and won, while embracing marriage equality. The biggest strides have come from the courts, however, and most recently the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld a decision from a federal district court in Virginia that struck down the ban on gay marriage in this state. It's a little early to be setting a date, however, as the issue is headed to the Supreme Court where we are still, I think, one vote short of an assured victory. Still, even many on the right have pretty much admitted they have lost this battle and have once again aligned themselves on the wrong side of history.

Maya, our little girl

I guess what has got me thinking about all this is the Fourth Circuit opinion that came out this week, our upcoming anniversary, and the fact that today we are once again headed to Wolf Trap to hear Mary Chapin Carpenter and to privately renew our vows. I still don't "need" to get married, but if the day comes that we can walk down to our county courthouse and get a marriage license along side all the pregnant teenagers marrying their cousins we will do so. How could we not? It would be like being black and still sitting in the back of the bus.


I guess this is a proposal of sorts. Clay deserves a better one and I'll see what I can do when the time comes.