Can I smack a person and then give them a hug?

This sweet-faced puppy was left at my vet's office last week. She had Parvo and the woman who dropped her off just decided not to come back. My vet is the best vet I have ever met, and he didn't want her to go to the shelter. I think most of you know I'm on the Board for the shelter, and we've been having some problems up there. I'll be able to tell you more about that soon, but I'm glad he called one of our Board members before even thinking of sending her up there. I got a picture of her Saturday so I went to meet her.

She stole my heart from the minute I laid eyes on her picture. The vet was going to let me take her, but he ended up saying that he better wait until Monday. He had called Animal Control who is also a deputy sheriff and asked him to go by the person's house to try to get his money, so he didn't want them to come pay and demand the dog without her being there. We had every feeling they weren't coming back, but just to be safe I waited.

Before leaving the vet's office, I had her on a leash in front of the other dog pens. She was pouncing and jumping at the other dogs like she was trying to play, and she never even barked! I think she's some kind of Feist mix, which is a hunting dog that the Rat Terrier is a form of. The descriptions and pictures I found online sure look like her. But the way she was acting, I'm thinking she'll be a great playmate for Bailey. If she doesn't fit, then I'll find a home for her. I have a feeling she's going to be great though! She's only about 4 months old.

I ended up posting her picture on my personal Facebook page and asking what names people thought fit her. I had come up with Sadie, and without seeing what I thought my sister popped out with that name, too! So I think it's safe to say she was meant to be a Sadie.

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This morning I called to leave my number so he could let me know as soon as he found something out. He called back within 30 minutes to tell me that Animal Control went by the lady's house. She was just driving up and she took off when she saw him. What brain children we have in this world, right? Of course, he chased her down. Her mother called the vet and they settled for less money with the condition that she give up the dog and that the woman who left her is never allowed to come back to his office.

Thus the title of this post. I would love to smack her around for leaving the puppy but hug her at the same time for dropping Sadie in my lap. I am hoping she is just what Bailey and I need to complete our little family. She is so sweet, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about her since Saturday. Now I have to go home and puppy proof the house with a puppy running around. Ha! Guess I should have done that yesterday just in case, but would you really expect me to think ahead like that? I am the world's biggest procrastinator, just ask my professors. I also have to go buy a crate, food, a collar... Geez, this will be an expensive day. It's a good thing I have an "in" at the hardware store in town to get most of it.

I'll post more pictures of her after I take care of the house and introduce her to Bailey. Crossing my fingers that she works out! I'm sure you can tell that I'm excited because I couldn't wait to even bring her home before sharing her with you all. Her golden eyes would have made you a sucker, too.

Is it Friday yet?

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I can't believe I'm saying that on Tuesday this week! I need a vacation. Really bad. I mean seriously, really bad. See? I can't even speak correctly anymore.

I thought about just taking a week and being a bum. Unfortunately, I want school to be over before I do that so I can really enjoy myself and not have to do anything. And so that when the vacation is over I know I don't have to get back to this craziness of working and going to school. *Sigh* Can I make it until the end of next month? Hmmmm....

We had a great time at the Paw-ker Run for the animal shelter Saturday. We had 25 bikes and they played 30 hands, so I thought it was a pretty good turnout for the first time we put on the event. They all promised to come back next year and bring lots of friends. I think we are going to push it back to the last weekend in April next year though because we were competing with a lot of other things. Otherwise, I think we would have had a better turnout.

The Hell's Angels group from the beach was supposed to come, but they had one of their guys get killed during a Run in Virginia so they had other things to deal with. I felt bad for them and they were worried about not participating for us. That would have been a nice addition, but we understood.

The guys even had to push start one after the run. I guess the bike decided it had done enough that day.

There were some really nice bikes there, and the guys suggested we have a bike show next year, too. I'll have to remember to write that in my notes. They spend a lot of money on those bikes, so I'm happy to do anything that will get them to participate and let them show off a bit.

I was REALLY excited that the winner of the event ended up giving us half of the pot back as a donation. Yay! I can't believe I didn't take a picture of him, but here's his bike.

I love the sounds the Harleys make. They just sound so damn cool! Okay, that sounded like a pretty nerdy statement, huh? Oh well... I'm sure everyone in our small town was wondering where the hell all of the bikes were coming from. Get used to it, folks! This will be a yearly thing, especially because these guys have proven how generous they can be. Gotta love 'em. We made some decent money to help save some puppies and kittens.

Now it's on to the planning of the event I'm in charge of in September. We are planning to do a big thing down at the river. We are going to have our President demonstrate with his dogs in the water retrieving and have booths set up for lots of fun stuff. I'm thinking of doing a dog walk event where people get sponsors to donate for those who are walking. Of course, we'll have animals out there for adoption, too. I just have to figure out who all to contact that will be generous. Any ideas you all have from events you've attended would be greatly appreciated. September will be here before I know it. Ugh!

I ask you again... Is it Friday yet???

Friday foolishness and a busy weekend

Another week almost over! I have a lot to do tonight, with the animal shelter's 1st annual Paw-ker Run tomorrow. For those who are new around here, I am the Treasurer for our local animal shelter. We have a very small shelter and we need all the help we can get.

Anyway, tomorrow we our having what most people know as a Poker Run. It's where mostly motorcycles (although some participate in vehicles) meet at a given place to sign up, and they ride to other locations to pick a card from the deck located there. The rider with the best Poker hand when they get to the final destination wins a cash prize depending on how many entrants we had in the ride.

Of course, we'll be doing raffles and other things, too. I'll be selling some dog shampoo that I got a recipe for that I have to go home and make tonight. I told them the proceeds from the shampoo would all go to the shelter. (I have a new label for my personal products I will start selling, so some of you might be interested in those once I get the website together.)

We will eat, drink, and be merry to the DJ's tunes after the ride is over. It's supposed to be a beautiful day, so I hope we have a great turn out. There are a lot of bike riders around here who love doing this sort of thing. I'll take pictures and probably post a few next week. I wish we could have some animals out there to get adopted but the bikes would be too loud and scare them too much.

For now, I have tons to do so I'll leave you with some funnies... or rather foolishness to brighten your Friday afternoon.

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Have a great weekend, everyone. Cheers!

Let me introduce you...

I'm not sure if I told you all or not, but I was officially voted the Treasurer on the Board for our animal shelter here in town last week. Geez, was that only last week? I've been on the Board in an unofficial capacity since September, but we had the annual meeting to get us all elected last week. Anyway...

At the meeting, another board member told me that she had a friend who was trying to find a home for a little dog. She said she was "pretty much house trained" which didn't thrill me. Yesterday, I went to see the little bugger. For those of you who have been around for a while, you know what happened the last time I tried to bring in a new family member. If not, you can go here and read about how Bailey made the decision for me. Obviously, cats are not an option, but Bailey has always gotten along great with other dogs. So I thought this might be an option.

I told the lady that I was going to be honest with her. I didn't want to inherit someone else's problem. If she wasn't house trained, I needed to know that. She told me that the dog had only had an accident one time since she's had her, and that was when she let her have the run of the house for too long while she was gone. She assured me I could bring her back if things didn't work out.

So home I went with this little one in tow.

Meet Bristol, everyone. It was hard to get a good picture of her because she moves so freakin' fast! She is half Chihuahua and half Dachshund, which I'm told makes her a Chiweenie. My neighbor says that just makes her a Mexican hot dog. She looks to me like a mini-Dachshund with a Chihuahua face. She is about a year and a half old, and she's already been fixed which saves me that expense.

When I brought her in, I let her sniff the place a bit before introducing her to Bailey. Bailey was all kinds of excited! Bristol, not so much. The little snot kept snapping at Bailey. Bailey was a trooper though and kept at it.

Before too long, they were playing pretty well together, and they wore each other out. That was the whole reason I had considered getting another dog. I figured Bailey needed something else to entertain her. The only thing that worried was that Bristol kept biting at Bailey's face, and I was seriously worried she was going to get her in the eye. Sister #3 told me to just leave them alone and let them work it out. She said Bailey would let her know if she was really hurting her.

Anyway, I'm glad Bristol is kennel trained because I wouldn't dream of leaving the two of them to roam the house without me home. I'd be afraid Bailey would break her if Bristol got aggressive or did something stupid. She definitely plays and sleeps hard though.

I was worried that Bailey would have a problem with Bristol curling up in my lap, but she didn't seem to care. I made a point of petting Bailey and loving on her every time she came by though. She is and will always be my baby, whether this little one works out or not.

Toward the end of the night, this was the scene at my window. I wish the picture had turned out better, but I'll have to use my camera next time instead of my phone.

The best part was that Bailey hardly barked at anyone out of the window with Bristol there! Wooo hoooo! You have no idea how much Bailey goes crazy at anyone who walks by, rides by, and some who drive by the house. It was so refreshing not to have that last night and not to have to fuss at her about it.

When it was bedtime, Bristol went right in her cage, and I never heard a peep out of her all night. I think Bailey went to check on her a couple of times, but she had a good first night. We'll see how it goes, but we might just have ourselves a new family member.

A Jackass tried to ruin the Christmas parade

We had our annual Christmas parade tonight in our small town, so we all started lining up at 5:00.

It is colder than usual around here, but we all bundled up pretty well, especially the girl we had dressed in a Dalmatian costume. Unfortunately, we didn't get any pictures because the woman who was going to take them decided to leave too soon, but that's okay. We had a good time, and we were naturally walking for the animal shelter. Well, me and my neighbor walked with our dogs, while everyone else rode in a van or golf cart with their dogs. What the ....? I'm glad I asked my neighbor to go, or I would have looked pretty lonely out there.

Anyway, while everyone was lining up, we had a guy beside us in a truck with a Baptist Church sign on the side of it. Someone who wasn't in the parade tried to come down the street. Now yes, I understand the idiot shouldn't have been driving down there, nor should the people putting this together have let them go down that street but still. It's a Christmas parade, so we make due, right?

Our girl in the Dalmatian outfit asked him if he could move forward just a bit so this little truck could get through. He snaps at her, "I'm not moving. Have them move that damn golf cart!"

I am a God-fearing man, so everyone should fear me!

Smart ass that I am, I looked over and said, "Now that's the Christmas spirit coming from the man in the Baptist Church truck. Thanks!" And I smiled as I politely asked someone to move the golf cart. I'm glad they made his sorry ass get behind us in the parade. It was a little high-five to ourselves for that, because the lady organizing the parade was all about our dogs. She looked out for us all evening, and I love her for that! 

As a side note, I was so proud of Bailey! I thought she would be distracted with everything going on, but she walked down Main Street like a champ and paid attention to me the whole way. I think her ADD self was on sensory overload with everything going on around us. She is currently thoroughly exhausted and asleep at my feet. 

Not us, but it's dogs on parade anyway! I hope to get pictures that others took of us as we were walking down the street. 

Dogs and kids... Gotta love them!

I know you all have missed me desperately, so I figured I would grace you with my presence tonight. Ha! I think you all know I am more grateful for you reading my gibberish than anything.

First of all, some really pisses me off sad news. Our animal shelter just lost the contract for food we had. It's a long story but the sorry fucking people who are employed there are county employees, and they were going to get food constantly and selling it. Yes, you heard me right. They were SELLING IT!! Can I go kill them now? No? Are you sure?

"So you want to starve puppies, do you? I have friends who can fix that affliction."

They said our shelter was getting more food than shelters MUCH bigger than ours. Now granted, this happened before I got involved but still. We had someone who talked them out of cutting us off if she would go get the food herself. Unfortunately, this man no longer works there so we were officially cut off last week. Now we have to either bully the county into paying for the food, or we have to raise the money for it.

On that note, yes it is the season for giving, so if you would like to help, please go to this website: http://www.williamsburganimalshelter.com/donate.htm. There is a PayPal account link on the bottom, and I was just given the password to it, so I will be the one to collect the funds. No, I am not above begging. Do you want to see it?

Or imagine my Bailey having to work the streets, because that's where she would have been had they not had the food contract when she was there. (Just as a side note, we are a non-profit so you can deduct any donations you make!)

By the way, I know the website looks very out of date, and I was also just given the passwords to that so I can change things, including the Board which doesn't even show the current Board members (including me as the VP). Anyone who has HTML knowledge, feel free to let me know if you'd like to help. I'll give you credit on the site.

On a funny note, the other night one of the local schools did a Fashion Show fundraiser for the shelter called "Paws for a Cause", and one girl was so upset that no one was adopting the puppies. She even asked me several times to save the puppies when I was the one who brought them there.

Anyway, apparently her mother called her father to ask if they could adopt a puppy. She told me that the father was adamantly against it, and she didn't want to get divorced over the situation. As her and her daughter were leaving (with the child screaming how awful it was that they weren't going to save these puppies), she tried to tell the child that Daddy said no. The little girl immediately looked at her and said, "But we don't ever listen to HIM! You're the boss, Mommy!!!"

I almost fell OUT! Bless her heart, she just wanted to save some animals. But I think there are other issues in that home.

By the way, here is the new logo for the shelter. We had a contest and one of the groups from our local high school in the computer graphics department came up with the one that got the most votes.

I promise all of my posts are NOT about animals. I still have many other things to post about, but I don't want to bore you too much at one time.

Things that irritate me...

Of course, these are just a few things that came to mind lately that I thought I'd share with you.

1. As many of you know, I am on the board for the animal shelter. People always feel the need to tell me great ideas for things we should be doing. However, they are not volunteering to DO these things. Well, I'm not having it. My neighbor was all fired up about how we need to educate people to spay/neuter their animals among other things. Great! Make a flyer for me with all the statistics and stuff for me to hand out at events we have. Right? Seriously. Did she expect me to go door to door and educate folks? Jump in and help, dammit!

Help me do these things! Don't just throw ideas out there. I can find those on the internet.

2. On a similar note, we have someone who has been helping the board who also comes up with great ideas for ME (specifically) to do. She called me today and this is how the conversation went. 

Her:  I talked to President today and offered to have the meeting on Monday night at my house!

Me: Great! It doesn't matter to me either way where we have it, but some people don't like us having meetings away from the shelter because that's the only opportunity they have to see the animals. But if you want to contact everyone to make sure that's okay, then it works for me.

Her:  Uhhhhh.... Well... Oh, I need to call everyone? 

Me: Well, this is Friday and we'd have to make sure they were all told because the location has been set since our last meeting.

Her: Ummmm.. My internet is down, and I'm not sure I have everyone's numbers.

Me: Whose don't you have? I can give you the numbers with no problem.

Her: Why don't we just go to the shelter and check things out for about 20 minutes and then go to my house? It's only a couple of blocks away.

Me: That's fine with me, but you should call Long Time Board Member to make sure it's okay with her because she was the one who told me about the complaints before. (Of course, my evil mind knows Long Time Board Member will probably talk her out of it.)

Needless to say, she wasn't happy that I put this right back on her. Why the hell should I have to call everyone to tell them we are changing the meeting place when you decide to tell me about this on Friday afternoon? I don't have much of a life, but geez! I would like to enjoy my weekend. And does it matter when she tells me? She's still the one who wanted to change the location. Am I right? I'm just saying....

3. I might as well throw in one more on the subject. I have people who call me for EVERYTHING concerning the shelter. Maybe I'm being too nice? I spent most of this week playing email and phone tag with a lady who knew a guy who wanted to adopt a bunch of dogs and cats for his farm. Explain to me why the hell he didn't just go up there to the shelter. Was all of that really necessary? Needless to say, he hasn't adopted any yet, and I'm sure I'll have to escort him there. 

Seriously? I have nothing better to do than hold your hand.

4. Ants all over my bathroom at 7 a.m. when I am getting ready to shower for work in DECEMBER! What the....?? I've never seen ants come inside when it's cold outside. Which brings to mind, where the hell do bugs go during the winter or do they all just die? I wish these ants had just died, but I'm doing my best to make that happen.

The ants obviously wanted some coffee to start their morning, but I don't know who the hell told them they could find it in the bathroom!

5. The taste of bug spray in the morning... or any time. Because there is no way to walk out of a small room after spraying it and not be able to taste it.

Not me.. I was not thrilled about battling bugs, nor am I ever.

I think that's enough for a Friday night. I'm having some cocktails while I go to read some blogs. But just to clarify, I LOVE helping the shelter and finding homes for the animals. It's the people I have to deal with sometimes that just drive me ape shit. 

Should I reproduce? .. Animal lovers chime in!

Okay, now that I look at it, that title is a bit creepy. No, I am NOT reproducing with animals because that would just be gross. However, the only way my household will grow at this point is by having more pets (unless Mister Right falls out of the sky.. Ha!.. Holding my breath for that one!). I am one of those whose pets are a part of the family though.

Since I have been volunteering on the board for our pitiful animal shelter, everyone keeps trying to get me to take more animals home with me. I currently have a bird (not from the shelter) and my Bailey (who came from the shelter 2 years ago). While I would love to have another dog, I really don't think my landlord would appreciate that, and I don't think that would be fair when I don't have a fenced yard for them to play in. However, I have been considering getting a cat.

"Rescue me, Krissy. Please!"

Now I used to be a dog and cat person. Over the years, I have pretty much just been a dog person. The thought of having a cat climbing on my kitchen counters does not appeal to me. I thought a cat might be a good addition to the house to help entertain Bailey, though she goes ape-shit over cats she sees outside. I didn't consider it any further because of the bird.

On Black Friday when we were having breakfast, Mom was reminding Dad that she misses her bird and wants one for Christmas. I looked at her and suggested she take my Petey. She said she couldn't believe I'd give him up. Now they have kept Petey for me on occasion, and he LOVES my parents, especially Dad. This Cockatiel will give me a headache when he comes home from staying with them because Dad whistles and talks to him all the time! And believe me, he loves my mother just as much because his cage and water bowl have never been so clean as when he stays with them.

So it's been decided she will get Petey for Christmas... or whenever I make the drive again. Merry Christmas to Mom and Petey!

Mom suggested that if I get a cat it should be a kitten even though I wanted to rescue this one cat that has been at the shelter for quite a while. She said she thought it would be an easier transition for Bailey to accept. Do you all agree?

Also, she mentioned that now they have self-cleaning litter boxes. Is this true? I didn't consider the litter box much because the last cat I had rarely used it and went outside to go potty in the mulch. Since this cat would probably not be outside at all (if I can help it), I want something that would be easy, as odor free as possible, and something that Bailey HOPEFULLY won't get into. Although I found some ideas online today about how to keep Bailey out of a little box, no matter what shape or size if I have to resort to it.

What type of cat do you prefer? I have always found that calicoes are the sweetest, but what do you think? Should I get one that similar in color to Bailey so I only have the same type of hair color to worry about? It's been so long since I had a cat, that I need you all to refresh my memory. We have so many up there that need rescued.

I love this Calico, but should I get one of these with her because they are more the color of Bailey?

Please give me your opinions on the whole dog/cat thing, litter boxes, etc. I will try to make the funny posts resume tomorrow. :)

My brave, brave dog

I just realized that I don't think I've written about my dog yet, which is very strange since she means so much to me. Her name is Bailey, and she's a mutt rescued from the shelter. Well, actually she rescued me. When I saw her little speckled face, I just had to have her. Can you blame me?


"I am not nearly as innocent as I look, but don't you love me anyway?"

 Now she is about two years old since we estimate she was born around Thanksgiving, and she is the love of my life. Although she can do things that drive me crazy (what loved one doesn't?), she brings so much joy to my life.

She is the best watch dog ever! She hears and smells and sees things I've never even seen another dog notice. She notices planes up in the sky, for God's sake. One thing I love about her is that she can spot a bug in my house in a second! I hate bugs, so having her point them out to me so I can rid the world of them is just fine with me.

For the past two days, she has been upset that there was a bug on my ceiling. The first time she noticed it, I did actually get on a step stool to check it out because it almost looked like a tick or a beetle from afar. This bug just about drove her to the brink of sanity, especially last night. She ended up hiding under the kitchen table for a while last night from the thing! Yes, my big brave dog was reduced to a cowering baby over THIS!

"I know I didn't put on my makeup today, but what the hell is wrong with that dog?"

A ladybug is such a scary creature, as you all know. As you can imagine, she was driving me crazy about the ladybug. She barked at the thing forever before she finally decided I wasn't going to kill it so she should go hide from it.

I know you're probably thinking, "Why the hell didn't Krissy just kill it?" Well, I'm a superstitious person, and I've always heard that it's good luck to find a ladybug in your house. With the way things have been going in my life, I wasn't about to tempt fate by killing a ladybug!

Eventually, the ladybug was nice enough to fall down and land right on my remote control. So to pacify the watch dog that I could effectively remove the eminent threat myself, I walked over to the door and set the ladybug free.

I know that story kept you on the edge of your seat with anticipation, but I thought I needed to share it. For those who will be MIA for the rest of the week because of the holiday, have a Happy Thanksgiving! I'll be checking in and probably blowing you all away with another heart stopping story like this one.

"I don't care what she says, that story never happened. Do I look like the type to cower from a ladybug? Ha!"

God's wrath for helping puppies?

Last Thursday I went to the animal shelter to meet someone who wanted to foster a dog. I was doing a good thing, right? I thought so anyway. Well, while I was there I thought one of our pregnant dogs could use some more food. So I went over to where the food was and scooped some into her bowl. As I went to stand up, I thought it would be fun to BONK! my head on a fan they use to blow air on the kennels in the summer. I don't think the puppies I threw food on found it any funnier than I did.

So I move on to go help some of the other creatures there before we go. Ya know, make sure everyone has blankets and beds to keep them out of the cold as much as possible. Then I decided to step off the little drain ledge that's around back by the big dogs and twist my ankle. Did I really deserve that? Wait... You aren't thinking I'm clumsy or anything are you? 'Cuz that would just be rude! I was in pain... And am still in pain. I think a week of this ankle thing is enough, don't you? After all, I was trying to be helpful! Of course, I had to walk on this wonderful ankle for the fund raiser we had over the weekend, too. My house will never get clean at this rate. And yes, the ankle is the only reason I'm not cleaning at this very moment! Because I love to clean on Thursday nights after working all day. It's how I roll. Really... (No smartass comments from my family and friends about the cleaning thing now.)

Busy-ness

I have been so busy lately that I forgot all about this blog. I have been working and going to school like before, but I am also on the board for our pitiful animal shelter now. Apparently, I am the VP until we have an official vote in February. That could change though since I thought I was the Secretary last week.

We have gotten some good people involved since I signed up, including the Mayor of our little town. I am excited about the prospects even though some who were involved before are afraid we will get frustrated and leave. I have told them I am not going anywhere. I am determined to help some animals find forever homes and hopefully get a better facility built.

Of course, I have always loved animals. Since I had that age crisis earlier this year and wondered what my mark on this world is, working with the shelter has made me feel much better. I want to rescue them all, but I am happy to do what I can. I set up the Facebook page for the shelter, and I try to keep it up to date. I also got us signed up for Petfinder so that is going to help out a lot with other doors that can open. We also got a great opportunity with Rachel Ray's charity, but I will fill you in on that another time. We did a skeet shooting event this past weekend to benefit the animals. We made some pretty good money, and I met some new people who were a lot of fun. I think we did good for our first event.

 I am still in school too, and I just finished the hardest class I have had so far, Toxicology. OMG, that class was head-exploding hard so I definitely earned my A in that course. I have decided to take 3 classes each term so I can hopefully finish in April. I will be so glad to get my degree! Next term starts December 1st so we will see how taking 3 classes is going to work out.

Honestly, as busy as I have been I am enjoying it for the most part. I feel like I have a purpose and I am on a mission or two! Or five.... Anyway! I think I need to keep up the blog a bit better. I will try to do it on my phone if nothing else.(Although after posting this one, I see I need to come on the computer to edit it after posting through my phone. It showed just one continuous paragraph on here, when I put returns in on the phone. *sigh*)