Introducing Sophia Kirby...the stray that stayed

Around Thanksgiving a little white kitten showed up at our food dishes. Very skittish, wouldn't let us anywhere close. My son, Doug, spent hours outside trying to convince kitten to come to him. She would come close, but not close enough & wouldn't let him touch. Then on Dec 30th, 2010, she somehow got into my husband's shop. The kids cornered her & Riley, my daughter, caught her. She's got some Siamese somewhere in the background-her ears & tail are orange, and I would guess between 4-5 months old. And she's a girl.

We named her Sophia, and from the start Doug is clearly her favorite. And I do mean clearly, she literally lights up when Doug is in the room & ignores everyone else. She treats him like a jungle gym and plays on him, and then will cuddle up to sleep. Last night Riley & I went to the store, when we got home Doug was sleeping sitting up on the couch w/Sophie on his lap w/his hand over her back...she was wide awake, but not leaving her boy.

It's really very cute. My son is not dainty, but Sophie is, and she has absolutely no fear of him whatsoever. In fact she demands that he pay attention to her and will cuddle with him as long as he'll let her.

She likes the rest of us too, just not as much as she loves Doug. Here's Riley with her the night we caught her.

And this was right after she was caught...she stepped in some motor oil, that was cleaned off right away.

She's getting used to the dogs and Tottie. Cookie already has adopted her and Cassie wants nothing to do with her. Cookie, Tottie, and Cassie are our other cats. She's pretty much lost all fear of us, we haven't tried to introduce her to other people quite yet, but soon.

Ready or not it's 2011

So far my New Year has consisited of work broken up by a brief bout of sleep. I worked a 14 hour shift New Year's Eve, and then back for my normal 12 hour shift New Year's Day. Needs to settle down quickly or I'm moving straight to 2012.

New Year's resolution:last year my resolution was to make one Mother Bear Project bear a month. I accomplished this goal. Not bad for the first New Year's resolution I'd done in years. This year I'm going to again do the one Mother Bear Project bear a month, but I'm adding learning how to make cold process soap. Towards this end I've bought a bunch of books that I'm working my way through. I'm hoping by next month to maybe start experimenting.

There's nothing warm & fuzzy about this what the heck was Obama thinking

Today I've read several news articles about President Obama calling the owner of the Phillidelphia Eagles and congratulating him on hiring Michael Vick, for giving someone getting out of prison a second chance...truly offensive is that one of these articles is accompanied by a picture of President Obama playing with his dog while carrying a football.

Michael Vick was convicted and sent to prison for running a dog fighting ring. There's nothing warm & fuzzy about dog fighting. He was raising dogs with the sole purpose of fighting other dogs, probably to the death. In the course of doing this he was torturing other dogs, the bait dogs. The bait dogs are used to train the fighting dogs, and are generally torn apart by the fighting dogs, only to be soon replaced with new bait dogs. Some of the tortures that all the dogs endure include:electrocution, having their teeth pulled out, being beaten, being hung, you get the idea.

Okay, the man served his time and is now out of prison. Apparently, he is a good athlete, so that excuses all his other actions? I don't hardly think so. People who torture animals are sociopaths, they have no regard for others. A couple of weeks ago, Michael Vick, said in an interview that he'd like to get another dog...ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME????? He continued on to say that he thought he'd be a good dog owner and his kids really want a dog. Really, doesn't anyone else see the problems with this? He's still on parole and not allowed to own a dog as a term of his release. Did I mention he RAN a dog fighting ring? And he thinks he'd make a good dog owner??? This hardly sounds like a rehabilitated man to me.

So, the impression I'm left with, is that if the sociopath is an exceptional athlete, then all can be forgiven. My co-worker's opinion is that President Obama is looking for a second chance with people himself. Personally, the whole thing leaves a sour taste in my mouth & I've got nothing for either of them. I would consider second chances for people who are truly repentant, but I'm not seeing that from either of them.

Merry Christmas!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas. Ours was good, and then I went to work. Above is our foster kitty, Pooky, who had a nice Christmas in our home, rather than at the shelter. He's a very sweet kitty, who gets along w/other cats, dogs, and people. All the dogs who could go to a foster home, went to a foster home for the holiday weekend, and I believe all the cats got out for the holiday also!

It all began June 13, 1985...a Thursday

Yeah, that's me at 18...about 6 weeks before I met Gregg. At the time I was so not looking for a relationship. I met Gregg four days after I graduated from high school. I was actually ambushed into the first date, the only blind date I've ever had. One of my best friends was dating his roommate and had been trying to convince me to meet him. I kept putting her off. She called at noon the day after we graduated & had our all night party. I'd just gotten up & I don't wake up quick, so she caught me off guard. Basically, she just confirmed that I wasn't seeing anyone seriously, and asked if I had plans Thursday night. I should have seen it coming, what with the lead up question & all, but I wasn't quite awake yet & was thinking "Cool, girls night out", so told her I had no plans. That was when she announced "Good, his name is Gregg & you two can double with Rick & me."

I tried to get out of it, but she wasn't having it & I didn't leave myself an out. So super nervous about what I was getting into, I got into the car with her in the early afternoon & went out to her house. Since I was so nervous she convinced me that we should have a glass of wine to settle my nerves. I'm not a drinker & this was basically the last time I drank anything alcoholic. Alcohol usually upsets my stomach & I end up throwing up after a swallow or two. I kept this down & basically we got the giggles. All my friend would tell me was that he looked like a football player, she thought he had lightish hair & possibly blue eyes.

When I heard the car pull up, I ran into her bedroom to see if I could get a sneak peek, while she went out to greet them. I saw her boyfriend get out of the car first & kind of panicked...he was cute, but soooo not my type. Then I saw her hug him & was so relieved that I just walked back out to the living room & sat down.

I still remember the first time I saw Gregg. He was wearing a light blue polo shirt and Levis. The first thing I noticed was his chest-it was pretty impressive. Then his eyes, they are REALLY blue. Then I realized he was gorgeous. I went back into ultra nervousness.

Rick's car was a 1978 (I think) Trans Am...Gregg & I were in the tiny backseat. Rick & Alecia were in the front seat having an argument. The whole thing was awkward to say the least. We got into town & went to a store. Gregg & I stayed in the car and made chit chat about how awkward we felt about "the argument". Then we all decided to see the movie "Fletch". Gregg had already seen it, but was willing to see it again. I told him then that I would ask him what was going to happen next, that I would really bug him about it, but don't tell me because I hate that. At the theater I proceeded to do exactly that...it's a small character flaw, I also usually read the last page of a book after completing the first chapter. I need to know how it ends in case something comes up & I can't finish the book...or just to make sure it has a happy ending before I get too invested in it.

After the movie we went out the beach...and Rick & Alecia promptly disappeared. Gregg & I found a driftwood log to sit on & talked for hours. I got his life story & he got mine. He didn't try to make a move, and I didn't know what to think of that. He was/is a good guy who was just figuring out, at 21, that he didn't want his life to turn out like his parents' or his siblings'. He'd been sober for 8 months and had done it with out any real family support. I had just graduated from high school, had plans to go to college in the fall & study Criminal Justice so that I could be a cop. At this point in the conversation most guys felt the need to talk me out of that, Gregg didn't. He was amazed that I knew what I wanted to do & had a plan to do it already in place. He fell asleep in my lap on the way home & asked permission to hold my hand while he walked me to the door. We made plans to see each other that weekend.

I told another friend the next day that I'd met the man I was going to marry. This was a revelation to everyone. I was the one who'd always said I'd never get married, that in my 30's I'd adopt a kid-probably an 8 year old one. My dad had taught me basic car repair, basic home repairs. My mom made sure that I knew how to do laundry & cleaning...no one could convince me to learn how to cook. All preparations because I was never going to get married. I was pretty sure I'd never find a male of the species who would accept me the way I was. EVERY time I started dating a guy they'd try to change me...I was too independent, I was too smart, I was too self reliant...all things that I believe had attracted them in the first place, but then I stayed that way.

Gregg took me to the races on Sunday, and then we went out to Laverne Park & just hung out. Again, he'd hold my hand, but that was it. That night we were at my house watching movies. I was leaning against him on the couch & not a move to be made by him. I finally took matters into my own hands & kissed him. Apparently, that was all I needed to do. He was a slow starter, but once he got going...

We'd been dating a couple of weeks when he told me he loved me. Shocked the hell out of me. But that's always been the thing about Gregg, he tells me what he thinks & he tells me the truth, and he doesn't hold back. I really love this about him, I tend to be blunt to the point of rude myself, but this took me off guard. I knew how I felt about him, but wasn't anywhere near the point of being ready to tell him, it was still my closely guarded secret, and now I needed to say something. It was a deep breath, put on your big girl panties and tell the truth type of moment. I told him I loved him too, it was the truth, and it was real, but it scared the hell out of me-now he could hurt me & I don't do vulnerable well.

Of course, obviously things worked out. We got married just over 4 years after we met. I insisted on finishing college & living together for at least 6 months first...over my parents' objections and Gregg's too. We lived together for about 18 months of this just over 4 years.
During this 4 years Gregg worked his way through a couple of jobs, learning his craft-he used to do body work & paint cars, until he got chemical asthma & had go to work as a service advisor at the dealership he worked for. I graduated from college, decided that I wanted to stay in dispatch rather than go out on patrol. While Gregg was going to AA meetings, I went with him. I figured if this was something he was going to live with, then I needed to know too. The people at the meetings were very supportive of my coming to meetings with him, for which I will always be grateful.

I took this picture of Gregg after we'd been dating a few months...was I right about that chest or what? And this was the car he was driving when I met him. Sweet right. He still has it & someday it will be back on the road.

And this is our wedding picture. From the left:Tami-my youngest sister, Kathy-my younger sister, me, Gregg, Ed-Gregg's best friend, Vern-Gregg's other best friend. We got married August 5th, 1989. I was 22, Gregg was 25...dude we were young. We'd always pretty much known we'd end up married. We broke up once...that lasted for four days. It was all Gregg's fault and he had to track me down-I was avoiding him for all I was worth-and he had to admit it was dumb to break up with me...he had to fix my heart. It was only fair, he was the one who'd broke it.

Our original plan was to live together for six months, after I'd lived on my own for a little bit (just to make sure I could do it-I lived on my own for about 6 weeks before Gregg moved in with me), and then go to Reno or Vegas and get married by an Elvis impersonator. I loved this plan, but our families had other plans. After Gregg moved in we started ring hunting. This proved to be problematic and ended up taking a year...during this year we also both lost our jobs, got new jobs and had to move-twice. Our argument over the ring was this:Gregg wanted to get a "traditional" wedding set. This meant one of those Love Story sets that were all the rage in the 80's. I hated them, they were cookie cutter rings. I wanted a simple gold band and a solitary ruby engagement ring. Gregg hated this idea, he wanted traditional, to him that meant a diamond. I tried to explain that traditional was really a colored stone, that the diamond industry had made diamonds "traditional", but they really weren't. He didn't buy it. So we'd hit the jewelry stores. I'd pick out what I liked, he'd pick out what he liked & never the two did meet. Then one night we weren't looking, just walking by the store & I saw the perfect set in the window. I grabbed Gregg, showed him & he liked it too! We went into the store and it was far too expensive for us to afford. We were devastated, the first set we both could agree on in a year and we couldn't get it. Then the clouds parted and the salesman told us that the rings in that window went on sale for half price tomorrow and if we opened an account with the store it would be another 10% off...we could afford it! I was there when the store opened the next day getting my rings.

We were so excited & called everyone. This was in February. We told everyone we'd get married in the summer and invited them all to come with us to Reno or Vegas. Then something unprecedented happened. Our two families got together and decided that they really wanted us to have a church wedding, figured out what date was best for everyone on both sides, reserved the church and then told us when & where we were getting married. I was ready to revolt, but Gregg wanted to go along & make everyone happy & talked me into it. Suddenly I had to plan this wedding that I'd never planned on having & I didn't have a clue what to do. I got it done, but it wasn't pretty. Then the disasters happened. The priest who was going to marry us was in a fairly serious car accident two weeks before the wedding...right after that the flower girl broke her little leg. The priest was determined to marry us, and the flower girl demanded to still be included...so the flower girl came down the aisle wearing her pink cast (after telling the hilarious story of how she broke it, complete with a spin & throwing herself to the ground in the lobby of the church just before the ceremony), and the priest married us while a little stoned on pain killers. This included him initially trying to marry Gregg off to my sister Kathy, until his wee error was pointed out to him. Then of course the ring bearer, after bringing the ring to his dad perfectly, decided to sprint around the alter with his mom in full pursuit. It was actually a pretty entertaining wedding.

So here we are 25 years later. Gregg is still gorgeous. I now have long hair. We've grown up together. We're raising two pretty good kids. We're not wealthy, but we're comfortable. We've had our problems, we stuck them out, we stayed together. I think probably no one else would have either of us, but that's okay, I can't think of anyone else I'd want. Not too bad for someone who never thought she'd get married.

And when you live on the coast you gotta have a dog named Rusty

Okay, the last month has been busy, but not really much new...until this week. Pictured above is Rusty, a 3 yr old male Pomeranian, that is "orange sable". He was very nervous at the shelter so we took him home overnight to see how he would do in a home. That was Wednesday. Thursday, we helped out in the morning just doing some cleaning & letting the dogs in & out to play. We brought Rusty & all the little dogs ran amok inside. We took Rusty home Thursday night too (shelter was closed). Brought him back out Friday & took him home Friday night. I'm working this weekend, so Doug & Riley were going to bring him back to the shelter on Saturday at noon. This dog is wonderful...great manners, not neutered and yet hasn't marked anything inside the house, very sweet, very cuddly, and VERY cute. No one out there has looked twice at him. His owner surrendered him after only having him a couple of months because she works 10 hour days and was upset that he'd had accidents after being cooped up inside for 10 hours straight. He apparently has been passed around quite a bit prior to the last owner. I don't get it, I really don't, he's wonderful! Friday night Gregg told me that Riley wanted to keep him and asked how I felt about it. It should be pointed out here that I'm his obvious favorite in the family & it's really quite flattering. He gets beyond excited when I come home, he fawns all over me. He likes everyone else as well & gets along really well with the other dogs. But, do we really need four dogs? Saturday morning before I left for work I told Gregg that if we're not taking the dog out to the shelter to let me know so I could call and let them know. At 9:30am I got the call to see if we could keep him for a couple more days just to make sure. Nicole was more than fine with that, and had apparently been expecting it ;-)

Last night we were watching a movie, Riley & I sitting on the couch, Rusty between us stretched out so that he's touching both of us-I got his head, he he he. Today Riley and her friends and their dogs were all out walking in the mist & playing having a grand old time. I think Rusty has found his forever home.

Days That Break Your Heart

So, yesterday, Riley & I got to spend basically the whole day at the shelter, since Riley was out of school. We hung out with the dogs and everybody got good long walks and we had a blast. Good news is that my buddy Bear is going to a foster home & getting some "rehab" training to help deal with his fear of men. When he is done w/rehab, he will be re-homed. Great news for Bear! Two really great dogs were reclaimed by their owners...both surprisingly enough were Rotties. The rest of the good news is that all but two dogs are going to go to OHS on Tuesday morning...meaning that I would've only had two dogs to walk Tuesday if no more dogs were taken in. About that time a little red car pulled up. A woman got out who was obviously nervous & shaken. While she was a gas station in town a LARGE black dog got into her car & wouldn't get out. Poor guy is huge, but also obviously starving. Nicole had to remove him from the car w/a catch pole. She got him into a kennel & he inhaled a whole bowl of food, ate all the dog biscuits we were handing him, and then devoured the 2nd (half) bowl that Riley brought him. He probably would've eaten more, but we didn't want to make him sick. Poor guy has sore paws too. I've seen other dogs come in this way. They've been walking on concrete for several days usually & they've rubbed the pads of their feet raw. Right now he probably weighs between 60-70 lbs...he should probably weigh closer to 1oo-125 lbs. He's got a big Mastiff head, but he's so skinny it's hard to tell what else he might be, possibly lab. I'm hoping that when I go back on Tuesday he's got a new lease on life. Right now he's not sure if he should trust us or not & was scared & confused. I'm hoping he realizes now that he's safe, and I'm hoping that his owners don't come looking for him. Right now he's WAY better off at the shelter & we'll find him a great new home with people who will take care of him.