With a whimper.

Its over, yea!

Spencer

Dogs get their prime socialization between 8 weeks and 16 weeks.  This is the time they need to be exposed to as many new situations as possible - young children, cats, cars, parks, cows, etc.  After this window closes, they may never be comfortable with new situations.  Stick them in the back yard this entire time, and they will become fearful and unconfident.

Once there was a beautiful shetland sheepdog puppy named Spencer.  He was first owned by a college student, who did not have much money or time.  To save money, he didn't buy a crate or kennel; he got a wooden box with some air holes in the top.  Since he was studying all the time, he didn't spend much time with his new puppy.  He left him in the box nearly all the day long.  Once the dog was grown, the student realized he didn't have the resources to care for this dog, so he took him to Dallas Sheltie Rescue.

Shelties are herding dogs.  Their job is to watch for danger, and warn when something is wrong.  They have tons of energy so that they can chase after sheep all day through the hills.  Take a dog like this, hard wired for attentiveness and exuberance, then restrain them in a sensory deprivation tank during their formative years, and you have a recipe for a nervous, unsocialized, anxious dog.

Spencer was returned from his first home back to sheltie rescue.  My mother-in-law, Marion, was contacted because she had successfully homed one of their other dogs.  She was skeptical, but she gave Spencer a chance.

He was a very nervous dog.  Impossible to walk on a leash because he was afraid of the wind blowing the grass.  Terrified by mailboxes and garbage cans.  Skittish around other dogs.

In fact, he didn't know how to talk to other dogs.  He got into a big fight twice with our old mellow Terlingua, and bit his housemate Fox so badly he needed stitches under his eye.  Both dogs were by far his senior, and he should have known better.

When he stayed at my house for "boarding," I soon learned I had to "kick" him off of the covered patio in the morning to make him go pee, or else he would anoint my kitchen with his urine.  I'm sure he had agoraphobia, because I'd shoo him off the porch and he'd bunny hop to the big oak tree, huddle under it panting, then he'd pee, and bee-line back to the safety of the indoors.

Eventually, Spencer did get accustomed to life in his new household.  The loved being petted by Marion, and he enjoyed playing with her grandchildren.   He loved wrestling with Fox.  He liked the routine of family life.  He still always gave an alarming shrieking yap every time the phone rang.  The open wire kennel had to be put away or he'd spend all day huddled in it.  He never, ever, learned to walk, even though he was patiently taken many times by patient Uncle Volker.

He did get brave enough to walk to the mailbox, and he loved to walk to the car when Marion was bringing in the groceries.  He'd happily sniff everything and follow her back and forth from the car to the refrigerator.  But he'd never leave the safety of the driveway.

That's what old Spencer was doing today, following Marion in with her groceries, when a large red truck came barreling down the alley.  The sound of it startled Spencer, and its front wheel clipped him, and its back wheel crushed him.  The truck sped down the alley, never stopping.

Marion called me after to tell me that Spencer had died, and I still can't believe it.  This poor, long suffering dog did not deserve to die this way.  It was almost as if his fear of the big, fast moving world came true.

We had been talking about getting Marion a new dog, and now she is left without any furry "little guy."  So I am trolling the internet, looking for the right dog (or two) for her.  It is tragic and shameful how many dogs are looking for a new home, for good reasons (foreclosure, death of the owner) but mostly bad (new baby, no time, just plain abandonment).  If there is anything good that comes from Spencer's loss, it is that another dog will get a second chance, just like he did.

Happy Thanksgiving

Yesterday Colin and I made a pumpkin pie from scratch, even roasting the pumpkin and everything.  That was the last thing that my oven baked.  Late last night I was going to pre-roast some veggies, but the oven wouldn't get warm.  Anthony determined that the igniter was out, should be easy to replace.  However, no one would be open at 10:30 pm to sell us one, and certainly no one would be open on the holiday.  I was so tired and tried not to sink into despair.  Emily remembered that my nifty microwave also has a convection oven feature, and I thought, I can do this.

It all turned out great.  I was very thankful for the precooked smokey Greenburg turkey.  It took a while to rotate the roast veggies, stuffing, and then roast potatoes.  The broiler in the oven still worked, so we reheated the meat on the bottom of the oven with the broiler on.

We had:

Greenburg turkey
Ham (Colin ate SIX BIG slices)
Gravy with cream and herbs
Alice Water's mushroom stuffing
Roasted sweet potatoes and acorn squash
Green salad with arugula and tomatoes from the garden
Cranberry Orange relish (new and improved)
Roasted rosemary potatoes
Colin's pumpkin pie
Henley's pecan pie
Italian carrot cake
Chocolate cheesecake
3 types of Pinot Noir

I always make my stuffing/dressing with mushrooms and herbs, and was excited to find Alice Water's version, similar to what I've attempted.  Instead of broth, though, she uses milk, which made it like mushroom bread pudding.  AND I used my truffle salt that I got in San Francisco, and that made all the difference!

I love how much my kids have come to love this holiday, full of food and family and gratitude.  Colin said, as he returned to the table with a plate of seconds, "Thanksgiving is AWESOME!"  Bring on Christmas!

NaBloPoMoBust

OK, I fell off the PoMo wagon.  We've had multiple house guests, parties to host, home improvement projects, as well as all the usual activities.

I am slightly sad not to have made my commitment this year, but please know it is because I am having WAY too much fun.  And this is just the start of the crazy holiday rollercoaster!  Hopefully, I'll come up for air occasionally between now and New Years!

NaBloPoMo Haiku

Fran's farewell party
Third time's a charm, still so fun
Prosecco goes POP!

Lame Day 20 post

Tired from work
Tired of cleaning the kitchen (and Anthony does it a LOT)
Tired of NaBloPoMo

Excited about Emily coming tomorrow
Excited about (farewell) party for Fran
Excited about new paint
Excited about Thanksgiving

Happy Hour

I usually end my appointments with some sort of query to make sure we've covered everything -- do you have any more questions for me?  anything else before I walk you up front?  see you in a week for your recheck!  --something along these lines.

Today I ended my second to last appointment with, "Is there anything else you need?" since I just answered a bunch of questions and did some refills.

The cat owner sighed, and said, "Well, I really need a margarita..."

Sorry, you'll have to go down the street for that!  Ha!

The gift that keeps on giving.

So my wonderful mother watched my children while I was gone AND cleaned my house.  There was a time this would have embarrassed me, but now I just feel gratitude.  She also changed all the sheets and did all the laundry.  Today being Wednesday, the day I usually make a feeble attempt to clean and straighten the house, I suddenly found myself with all this freedom.  It was great to just relax with houseguests (Lindsey and Fran), then do some food shopping and cooking, before the kids came home for their usual Wednesday after school activities.

I am thinking I really need to find a maid service!

Who's on Primo?

Colin says to Fran: How do you say 'no' in Spanish?

Fran: No

Colin: No

Fran: No

Colin: What?

Fran: Que?

Colin: What?

Fran: Que is what in Spanish

Colin: No, I mean no

Fran: No

Colin: What?

Home again

The end of the vacation always sucks.

Flying from West to East sucks.

But coming home to two little kids, jumping up and down like cheerleaders, arms waving, voices shouting, happy hugs -- totally worth it!

Special thanks to my mom for making this mini-vacation possible - in more ways than one!