Pippin Adopted

It would seem our little foster, Pippin has an adopter on their way to our place. This is the hardest part. We know she is coming up and he is about to go to a new home, but it does not make it any easier. We are so glad to have helped this little guy. He's had a rough go and I hope this is his last stop. Thanks for the smiles Pippin!

Pippin

We have a new foster dog, Pippin. He's a Chihuahua and far and away the smallest dog we have fostered. Pippin comes from a puppy mill with some serious trauma in his short past. While Chihuahua's usually strike me as pretty meek, this guy is all sorts of timid. We picked him up on Sat and it has been gratifying to see some progress already. Very slowly, he's coming out of his shell a bit and we are encouraging him to just be a dog. A 4.5 lb. dog, but a dog none the less. While I'd rather run for the organizations or donate in some other way, these fostering gigs have provided me with some pretty cool insights on helping out in a very personal way.

I don't know how long we will have Pippin before his forever home finds him, but it feels good to give this guy a chance to be what he is, a dog. Hell, every breathing creature deserves that.

Not Paying Attention

To an embarrassing degree I have been consumed with my own shit all day. I believe this overwhelming self absorption should pass soon enough with enough time, but it is a bit frustrating to be so easily frustrated. It makes me appreciate the degree of perspective I regularly have as there are just not that many big issues.

While not a huge issue, I was snapped back to perspective when I got home to find one of our dogs quite sick. She's just not doing well but still within the realm of let's see if she perks up with some rest. The rest of my day seemed to lapse into an embarrassing recollection of moments.

For the perspective I am grateful, but wish it didn't take a sick puppy.

Taking a Walk

As of late, Tiff and I have been taking the dogs for a longer walk in the evening. It has been a great relaxation doing this. I am trying acclimate to not having to work hard all the time as I had for several months now. When I wasn't at work, I was working to find work or supplementing with some extra work. Having time off, even at the end of the day feels pretty new. These walks have been perfect for reminding me to enjoy life about me a little. I have my wonderful wife and two adoring, happy-go-lucky dogs with me and everything feels good… balanced. I am a lucky guy and strive to never forget that.

Good Dogs

I have sat down to write this post a couple times already and looked over to see both my dogs staring at me wagging their tails. They had that feisty look of "you can try to come catch us" going. Sure enough each time there was scampering and tussling and eventually just a lot of ear rubbing. It may seem like an inane observation of my home life this morning, but there is a point here. Plus, don't I write inane observations everyday? The point is that over the last week I have been utterly drawn into checking the news everyday to find out updates. I have been wanting to know what is happening in Boston and hoping for resolution. With last night's apprehension, there feels a degree of relief from that urge to know. I firmly believe there is no justice in this situation, but closure can begin to a degree now. The point I promised, was my dogs kept engaging me in the present and the now. They just wanted to play and I needed the simple reminder to be here now. Good dogs!

Dog Run

I decided to try something new with my rest day run. After talking about it for a long time, I finally decided to take our dogs out with me. They are Westies and terriers are reportedly good for running dogs. I wasn't sure how our little princesses would do trying to run, but I figured I was only going to do a mile today and that would be a great introduction. To even the field a little, I wore my Vibram 5 Finger shoes that I must run slower in anyways.

It went great! We did not run the entire mile, but they did pretty good for trying a new activity. It also kept my pace way low and probably helped me get a little more rest out of a day I am not actually supposed to run on. We walked several times, but they seemed quite happy to be out beyond our block. Hopefully we will get more accustomed to this and they will be able to actually run with me for shorter distances. Regardless, it was goofy good fun today for all three of us. Plus, we all enjoy peanut butter rewards after!

Adopt

After a little consideration I decided to change my plates from the beloved green and white traditional colorado plates. I chose the Adopt a Shelter Pet group as I have become increasingly aware of the plight so many animals face. It's shocking and I won't do the disservice of trying to relay facts I am not well versed in. The bottom line is there is never a need to purchase an animal from a store or even a breeder with so many pets available RIGHT NOW that need help. There are more rescues that homes for them and their stories can get outright overwhelming. They need all the help they can get and even if my modest fee from my plates doesn't go very far, I hope the message will.

Doggie Style Hello

It is more than a little awesome to get such a great greeting from our dogs every time I get home. Occasionally I even get that greeting when I get up late. There is such an unbridled joy just to see me. It can erase even the toughest of days in an instant. Everyone should get to feel like this at least once a day. That's my opinion at least.

Puppy Priority

It's fun and pointless trying to write this tnight. Estes is vying for the same attention. To be honest, it feels stupid to pay attention to the invisible mass that may see this as opposed to the adoration of a dog right here and now. Time to play with the dog then.

Good to be Home

While there are several aspects of being a home owner that are still very new, what is rapidly becoming my favorite thing is getting home to play with the dogs a little. The yard is in and the dogs are so full of energy and excitement when we get home, it's impossible to not get a second wind. These two so often remind me how to smile when all logical reasoning say it's ok not to.

Sometimes...

Sometimes it just feels good to get wedged into a couch. A good reminder from Maggie who actually stayed stuck behind the cushions quite a while.