Sorry I have been lax about updating. Again, I cannot access this site at work, which is terribly frustrating since that is prime blogging time; and at home, I am kept thoroughly occupied with Trudy.
We are having such a blast with her. She finds new ways to crack us up almost every day, as she lives with such joy and reckless abondon. Ah, to be a puppy. She and Xander also made friends the other day, and have spent their evenings engaged in play. This makes ALL of us happy, as it both occupies and exhausts the two most demanding members of the household. Evening the fun-police (aka Kaylee) has ceased to interuppt their games, as they play so quietly and with perfect contentment. She amazes me with her confidence and coordination at such a young age as well. Xander was such a floppy muppet with long legs and seemingly no awareness of the back ones, such that I didn't feel confident doing very much with him until he was considerably older. Trudy already can leap amazing distances and land like a cat, although we would prefer that she not leap from the stairwell to the back of the couch, often on Buster's head. She can push a skateboard, put at least three feet in a bowl at this point, and can perch effortlessly on a balance disk placed ON TOP of an upside down BOSU ball. This was not intentionally set up for her to do, she just decided to offer it as I stood gape mouthed watching her. She can also stand and take a few steps on her rear legs, demonstrating without any doubt that she is aware of how to use all of her legs, although she is not necessarily practical in her application of this skill.
Other than being early to bed and early to rise, which suits Buster's schedule but not mine, she has settled into a good routine with us. She is happy to ride in the car for as long as it takes without crying, as she knows we will be going somewhere fun. She gets in her pen for meals and goes in her crate for her bedtime cookie. She knows sit, down, shake each paw, hand touch, and we are working on wait. She is making progress on potty training, and has mastered the dog door at top speeds. Her new favorite trick is to make a high speed lap of our small backyard, come flying through the dog door, onto the couch (and usually in my lap or on my computer) and then go tearing through the door again. This is amusing unless you happen to be holding a mug of coffee or something similarly unfortunate.
On the agility front, she spectated at her first trial a couple of weeks ago in Charleston, NC at the Low Country USDAA show. I had never been there before, but thoroughly enjoyed it and plan to go back. It was a small, one ring trial with a friendly, laid back atmosphere and MANY people to engage in pass-the-puppy socialization exercises. She happily made many new friends, both human and canine, and met each new person bravely with a wagging tail. Much to my joy and surprise, she was quiet as a field mouse in her crate all day and was not bothered by all the noise and pedestrian traffic passing her by. Our friend Stacey let us hang out in her tent ring side, which was great fun, as we were able to watch everyone's runs in the comfort of our little space.
Her first night in the hotel was fabulous. She took everything in stride and thought it was a grand adventure. As we had woken at 4am to make the drive Saturday morning, by 7:30 that evening we were all asleep. Xander on the pillow next to my head, Trudy in her crate next to the bed, and me enjoying the comfortable mattress. That was the best night sleep I have had in weeks, even though we were all awake by 4:30 the next morning. Although the trial did not yield any Q's, we enjoyed the challenging course and had many close calls. The friends we saw and the experience we enjoyed far outweighed the lack of results, and I found myself so happy with Trudy's company, that I didn't mind it in the least!
Fast forward a couple of weeks to yesterday, which found us up early again for a day trip to Fort White, and the home of Rachel Flately. Here we competed in just one day of the Pawsitively Fun USDAA trial. We were off to a good start before we even had our first run, as Rachel gave a bag of Zuke's treats to the first five entries she had received. We were number four.
Soon enough, we were running Standard. This was also a small, one ring trial with a great atmosphere, and we felt almost as though we were running at our own practice field. This seemed to work for us as we FINALLY got the third leg we needed for Xander's Master Agility Dog title!! What a great way to start the morning. It was also cool that we got first place, and were the only dog to qualify. Stuart was there with Ares, as were a number of other quality competitors, so I must admit that felt a little good. I keep replaying it in my mind, as it felt so good while we were running.
Apparently we were on the same page yesterday, as the streak continued. We've had horrible luck in pairs, so I've basically let go of any hopes to Q consistently in that class, as it just seems to be one thing or another. However, when Travis Wall and Krazy Kali stepped to the line, they were solid and allowed us to knock the last bar and still earn 1st place. That girl is krazy fast for sure! We also had an amazing save on the weave poles. Actually, we had three somewhat miraculous weave entries yesterday, which I must attribute to Susan Garret's 2x2 method and all the time we've spent practicing wacky angled entries. Thanks Susan!
Snooker was next up. After two HEARTBREAKING rounds at Low Country, where we racked up tons of points in the opening only to have me mess him up in the closing, I decided to follow the advice I had gotten from several people. Be conservative, get through the closing, and the Super Q's will come. I didn't really believe it, especially after I watched Stuart and Ares clean up. However, we had the same plan as Lori and Moxie, and although I had one of those miraculous saves, but time-costly call offs before the weave poles, we made it through the closing. I thought there was no way we would get a Super Q with the small size of the trial, but as I watched many others fail to make it through to the end, I maintained a glimmer of hope. I finally checked the scoresheet and stared in disbelief as I saw Xander with a third place and the last Super Q for the 22in class! Now we only need ONE MORE for our title!! Hooray!
By the time Jumpers came around, I was on such a high that I felt nothing could bring me down. We enjoyed chatting with friends and playing with Trudy in a new place, on top of our three Q's already. (I didn't enter Gamblers, as we already have that title. When someone asked, I told them we were on the ADCh chase budget plan). A Q in Jumpers would just be icing on the cake. It was a lovely course I thought, and something that we could do, so we stepped to the line and did it! As we crossed the last jump, I had such a big smile and so much pride for my goofy boy who tries so hard. We were speaking the same language yesterday, and he listened so well, I was successful in a number of handling moves that had previously resulted in a fault. It's amazing what a bit of practice will do!
I was not at all sad that I had only entered Saturday, as there was no way we could top that performance on Sunday. And even if we could, I like being able to have fun one day and still have time to do responsible things the next day, like clean up the puppy inflicted disaster zone that is my house. And to write this blog. Which I haven't done in such a while.
At any rate, the agility filled month of October will conclude next weekend with our home trial at the equestrian center, which is nice, even though it is ACK. However, we will get to arrive late on Sunday since I am taking a break from course building and the multitude of little dogs will be running first. Ah, what a novelty it will be to arrive after 9am!
In parting, I would like to wish my amazing, patient, loving, generous, smart, funny, wonderful husband a happy 33rd birthday this coming Tuesday! He took Kirby with him while he played disc golf yesterday and while the collies were with me. It was such a wonderful, thoughtful and kind thing to do for the little crazy dog that doesn't play well with our dogs, but loves everyone else on the planet. Kaylee meanwhile sat at home alone either enjoying the quiet, or more likely, disrupted it with her incessant alarm barking. Sorry neighbors. Anyway, happy birthday again Buster, and I look forward to celebrating many more!
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Rewind a Bit
I realized after publishing my last post that I sort of skipped a bit between the post where I said I had puppy fever, and the post where I said I was going to pick up a puppy. Much of this was discussed on Facebook, but sometimes I forget that the entire world is not on Facebook. Or looks at my particular Facebook. All twenty or so people that read this blog...
Anyway!
Trudy hails from the same rescue that I adopted Xander from four years ago. Jerri Carter has been running Southeast Border Collie Rescue League for over 25yrs, and I was lucky enough to find her when she rescued a pregnant momma dog four years ago, and hence came Xander.
I had gotten the puppy bug and was stalking a couple of litters, but also emailed Jerri to keep an eye out. Fatefully enough, she told me she happened to have a litter of 3wk old pups, which was exactly the age when I had found out about Xander's litter. The only difference was that Xander had been the result of a border collie/border collie breeding. I knew basically what I was getting.
This litter was different. Momma dog is a very sweet, black and white, split-faced border collie. She was dumped over Jerri's fence and gave birth a few weeks later. It is anyone's guess what the dad (or dads) identity was, as there are pups with very differing characteristics.
Some pups look very much border collie, others perhaps german shepherd, perhaps lab or aussie. Who knows?
Given that I love to do agility, and knowing what type of dog you are getting helps determine structural and behavioral compatability with the demands of the sport, it is a bit risky bringing home a dog of unknown parentage. At least, that's what I told myself when I went to see them for the first time at 5wks old.
There was immediately one pup that caught my eye. I knew I wanted a female (as the testosterone levels in my house were already high enough), so that narrowed it to five puppies immediately. The other six, although adorable, had penises, so they were ruled out. No offense boys.
Of the five girls, two were tricolor, and had sweet personalities, but one was somehow special.
She happened to be the smallest as well. Considerably smaller than some of her brothers. Confident, independent, curious, and balanced at five weeks, my interest was piqued. However, I cautioned myself not to make an impulsive decision, and decided to think about it for another week. As Jerri is located in Deland, around 1.5hrs drive south, I knew that deciding to make a return trip the next weekend would mean that I was seriously considering it, but still had the option to say no once I saw them again at six weeks.
Buster indulged me, although expressing valid concerns about having FOUR dogs. I thought long and hard about all the pros and cons throughout the next week as I looked at the pictures and videos I had taken during my first visit.
As I pulled into her driveway to see the now six week old pups, I finally decided to listen to my heart and let that make the decision. If I saw her again and felt that she was the one, that would be it...logical or not.
I saw her and immediately texted Buster and asked him not to divorce me.
So from then it was two weeks wait before I could bring her home. I didn't really talk about it much. I think I was afraid to jinx it.
Now that she is here, I am so thrilled. She is everything I could want in a puppy. She is condfident, affectionate, fearless, fun, bold, curious, sweet, and smart. She has adapted remarkably well in a very short time and is making my job relatively easy. Xander was the most difficult puppy ever and was afraid of everything and everyone. He is still a weenie....
Trudy is not daunted by anything and loves to make friends with new dogs and people, as well as experience new things. She does scream when initially confined, but settles eventually, and has gotten very good about her crate at night. She uses a potty patch in her ex-pen during the day, and wakes me up when she needs to potty at night, so no accidents in either place!
She LOVES to tug (which is of key importance to me) and on her very first clicker session switched seemlessly from tug to food and back and forth again. Love that! She also retrieved a ball the first few times, although now she prefers to play keep away ;) She walked happily on leash from the very first time and never looked back. She hasn't so much as whimpered for vaccines or to have her nails dremmeled. Truly nothing seems to phase her.
At 9wks and weighing in at 5.6lbs, I imagine she will be small, but I am not sure how small. My friend Alanna who is a vet is betting on roughly 25lbs. I did WANT a smaller female, but hopefully her dad wasn't a pomeranian. Either way, she is tremendous fun, and both Buster and I are completely smitten with her. Regardless of how she turns out, I am very happy with my decision, and glad I listened to my heart. I am both enjoying every second of her cuteness, as well as looking forward to what her future holds!
Anyway!
Trudy hails from the same rescue that I adopted Xander from four years ago. Jerri Carter has been running Southeast Border Collie Rescue League for over 25yrs, and I was lucky enough to find her when she rescued a pregnant momma dog four years ago, and hence came Xander.
I had gotten the puppy bug and was stalking a couple of litters, but also emailed Jerri to keep an eye out. Fatefully enough, she told me she happened to have a litter of 3wk old pups, which was exactly the age when I had found out about Xander's litter. The only difference was that Xander had been the result of a border collie/border collie breeding. I knew basically what I was getting.
This litter was different. Momma dog is a very sweet, black and white, split-faced border collie. She was dumped over Jerri's fence and gave birth a few weeks later. It is anyone's guess what the dad (or dads) identity was, as there are pups with very differing characteristics.
Some pups look very much border collie, others perhaps german shepherd, perhaps lab or aussie. Who knows?
Given that I love to do agility, and knowing what type of dog you are getting helps determine structural and behavioral compatability with the demands of the sport, it is a bit risky bringing home a dog of unknown parentage. At least, that's what I told myself when I went to see them for the first time at 5wks old.
There was immediately one pup that caught my eye. I knew I wanted a female (as the testosterone levels in my house were already high enough), so that narrowed it to five puppies immediately. The other six, although adorable, had penises, so they were ruled out. No offense boys.
Of the five girls, two were tricolor, and had sweet personalities, but one was somehow special.
She happened to be the smallest as well. Considerably smaller than some of her brothers. Confident, independent, curious, and balanced at five weeks, my interest was piqued. However, I cautioned myself not to make an impulsive decision, and decided to think about it for another week. As Jerri is located in Deland, around 1.5hrs drive south, I knew that deciding to make a return trip the next weekend would mean that I was seriously considering it, but still had the option to say no once I saw them again at six weeks.
Buster indulged me, although expressing valid concerns about having FOUR dogs. I thought long and hard about all the pros and cons throughout the next week as I looked at the pictures and videos I had taken during my first visit.
As I pulled into her driveway to see the now six week old pups, I finally decided to listen to my heart and let that make the decision. If I saw her again and felt that she was the one, that would be it...logical or not.
I saw her and immediately texted Buster and asked him not to divorce me.
So from then it was two weeks wait before I could bring her home. I didn't really talk about it much. I think I was afraid to jinx it.
Now that she is here, I am so thrilled. She is everything I could want in a puppy. She is condfident, affectionate, fearless, fun, bold, curious, sweet, and smart. She has adapted remarkably well in a very short time and is making my job relatively easy. Xander was the most difficult puppy ever and was afraid of everything and everyone. He is still a weenie....
Trudy is not daunted by anything and loves to make friends with new dogs and people, as well as experience new things. She does scream when initially confined, but settles eventually, and has gotten very good about her crate at night. She uses a potty patch in her ex-pen during the day, and wakes me up when she needs to potty at night, so no accidents in either place!
She LOVES to tug (which is of key importance to me) and on her very first clicker session switched seemlessly from tug to food and back and forth again. Love that! She also retrieved a ball the first few times, although now she prefers to play keep away ;) She walked happily on leash from the very first time and never looked back. She hasn't so much as whimpered for vaccines or to have her nails dremmeled. Truly nothing seems to phase her.
At 9wks and weighing in at 5.6lbs, I imagine she will be small, but I am not sure how small. My friend Alanna who is a vet is betting on roughly 25lbs. I did WANT a smaller female, but hopefully her dad wasn't a pomeranian. Either way, she is tremendous fun, and both Buster and I are completely smitten with her. Regardless of how she turns out, I am very happy with my decision, and glad I listened to my heart. I am both enjoying every second of her cuteness, as well as looking forward to what her future holds!
Very confident!
Tiny even compared to Kaylee!
I love to play!
And ocassionally sleep....
Sweet baby :)
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Introducing Trudy!
Forgive me if this blog post rambles or loses its train of thought. I
blame that on puppy induced sleep deprivation. I passed my exit this
morning and made a costly 15min detour over a long and traffic
congested bridge this morning. Duh.
It is all worth it though!
Xander and I spent our last puppy-free weekend together at the
Palmetto AKC trial. We left Friday after work and drove to our friend
Terri’s house where she lives in Tampa. Terri very graciously lent us
her spare room and we thoroughly enjoyed spending time with her and
her dogs rather than staying in a skuzzy motel somewhere. (or sleeping
in a tiny tent on the ground. Although that was kind of fun the last
time we were in Palmetto almost a year ago).
We hadn’t been to an ACK, I mean AKC trial since February, and I have
to admit my mind wasn’t really in the game. For one thing, I knew I
would be driving home on Sunday and passing through Deland to pick up
our new little bundle of fun. For another thing, my mom came to visit
on Saturday and I spent the day catching up with her. And for another
thing, it is AKC, and AKC just tends to be boring. Long days, lame
courses filled with pinwheels and tiny tables and millions of dogs.
Hours spent waiting for a few runs. But it was agility, and we enjoyed
being there in spite of it all.
In addition to spending time with my mom, I got to hang out with a
number of cool people over the weekend, see lots of cute puppies (some
newer, some older), which made me long for Sunday afternoon again, and
play some Frisbee with Xander. We had a goofy FAST run on Saturday
morning, but were one of the few to get the send, so we Q’d. Although
I think I did the weaves in the wrong direction, and he knocked the
triple, so our points were not impressive. Oh well, I expected some
rust considering we hadn’t been to any trials at all since the
beginning of June. Standard was actually gorgeous except for one minor
problem. My formerly flawless table has been replaced with “gee mom,
do I really have to get on the table? And do I really have to stay on
the table?” Ugh. BUT our summer-long effort in practicing contacts has
paid off. His A-frames were GLORIOUS all weekend. Stuck. Held. Not
affected by my position or movement until verbal release. SO happy
about that. Hope I can manage not to break it again this season.
Jumpers on Saturday was just a train wreck. We pulled it together for
the second half of the run, but good god that was hilarious. It was
ENTRIRELY my fault though, since I was chatting with mom and one of my
former students and didn’t warm him up and barely made it to the line
as the were telling me “you are in the ring, NOW!” Ooops. Bad
distracted handler. Sorry Xan.
After leaving the trial, I took my mom home to their fishing village
in Bradenton, so that she didn’t have to ride the bus for another
hour. I was given a little tour of the area and made the return drive
to Tampa. My delightful GPS screwed me over on the way back and first
sent me into the Tampa airport, and then sent me back over the 7 miles
of bridge on 275. We drove over that damn bridge three times before
finally making it back to Terri’s house. Nothing a little girl’s night
our complete with an Artisian Cooler (super yummy drink) couldn’t fix.
Sunday morning I regrouped and gave Xander the focus he deserved. We
had an awesome Time 2 Beat run with a stellar A-frame again, and
earned 9pts toward that extraneous title. Standard was awesome again
with one minor flaw. A little too much momentum led to an off course,
BUT he had a beautiful table while I showered him with praise, and
another gorgeous A-frame. Love that boy.
Since jumpers wasn’t going to run for hours, and I had lots of driving
and a puppy to pick up before bed, I decided to leave early. My
friends Chris and Carol couldn’t believe I had waited that long. So we
departed at 1:30, finding out later from Terri that our class didn’t
run until 3:30 at which time it was pouring down rain. So glad I made
that decision!
By just short of 5pm, I had Trudy secured in her car
seat/backpack/rolling carrier in the front seat and was heading back
to Jacksonville. She screamed bloody murder for the first 30mins, took
a power nap, and screamed for a bit more until I pulled over for a pit
stop. She pottied quickly (good girl) and was not quite so dramatic
the rest of the way home.
Buster met us in the garage when we pulled up and was greeted
enthusiastically first by Xander. I took Trudy out to meet her new dad
and get reacquainted with Xander before subjecting her to any corgis.
Once outside of her little prison, she wagged her tail fiercely and
greeted us all enthusiastically. Xander was very patiently tolerant of
her. Finally we scooped her up and went out to the backyard with two
curious corgis in tow.
Everyone was very appropriate but intensely interested in this new
little creature. Buster was kind enough to bring out the camera as we
admired how adorable she was. Soon enough, we had pics loaded on
facebook to formally announce the newest member of the Pruett
household.
Although the first couple of nights sleeping in her new crate with her
new family have been a little rough, she is very quickly settling into
the routine and getting the hang of things. As she has gotten more
comfortable, her personality has continued to emerge. She is
confident, bold, fearless, thoughtful, brave, funny, playful, loving
and smart. She has good sense, except when it comes to heights, but is
respectful of the dogs. She has been using her potty patch in the
ex-pen during the day with great success, and we have only had one
accident so far which was my fault. She had no problem walking on
leash for the first time, made easy friends with the neighbor,
retrieved a ball several times, tugged fiercely in the face of
distractions and new locations, barked and screamed for meals before
devouring them ravenously, and overall been precociously adorable.
Buster and I are completely smitten. She has woken me every time she
needs to potty at night, and has gone from screaming like a Harry
Potter mandrake to crying softly. I have not had to clean up her crate
or her ex-pen, and she potties quickly once outside. Little Ally
McSqueal (as Buster dubbed her) does NOT like to be locked up out of
sight, but is getting better every day. She really prefers to be
directly underfoot or in your arms or lap, but she is beginning to
gain some independence and started exploring more last night.
After watching her climb like a monkey and find all the power cords
and tug on the doormat last night, we have a feeling she will be a
little terror very soon. She couldn’t be more perfect.
I am loving all of the puppy training and being sleep deprived and
looking forward to socializing her and doing clicker training and all
the wonderful things that come along with a new puppy. It will also be
exciting to see what she turns out to be. At eight weeks and only 5ish
lbs, I am thinking she will not be very big at all. Regardless, as she
gazes up at me with one soft brown eye and one intense blue eye, I am
hopelessly in love with my little pocket collie.
Welcome to the family Trudy!
blame that on puppy induced sleep deprivation. I passed my exit this
morning and made a costly 15min detour over a long and traffic
congested bridge this morning. Duh.
It is all worth it though!
Xander and I spent our last puppy-free weekend together at the
Palmetto AKC trial. We left Friday after work and drove to our friend
Terri’s house where she lives in Tampa. Terri very graciously lent us
her spare room and we thoroughly enjoyed spending time with her and
her dogs rather than staying in a skuzzy motel somewhere. (or sleeping
in a tiny tent on the ground. Although that was kind of fun the last
time we were in Palmetto almost a year ago).
We hadn’t been to an ACK, I mean AKC trial since February, and I have
to admit my mind wasn’t really in the game. For one thing, I knew I
would be driving home on Sunday and passing through Deland to pick up
our new little bundle of fun. For another thing, my mom came to visit
on Saturday and I spent the day catching up with her. And for another
thing, it is AKC, and AKC just tends to be boring. Long days, lame
courses filled with pinwheels and tiny tables and millions of dogs.
Hours spent waiting for a few runs. But it was agility, and we enjoyed
being there in spite of it all.
In addition to spending time with my mom, I got to hang out with a
number of cool people over the weekend, see lots of cute puppies (some
newer, some older), which made me long for Sunday afternoon again, and
play some Frisbee with Xander. We had a goofy FAST run on Saturday
morning, but were one of the few to get the send, so we Q’d. Although
I think I did the weaves in the wrong direction, and he knocked the
triple, so our points were not impressive. Oh well, I expected some
rust considering we hadn’t been to any trials at all since the
beginning of June. Standard was actually gorgeous except for one minor
problem. My formerly flawless table has been replaced with “gee mom,
do I really have to get on the table? And do I really have to stay on
the table?” Ugh. BUT our summer-long effort in practicing contacts has
paid off. His A-frames were GLORIOUS all weekend. Stuck. Held. Not
affected by my position or movement until verbal release. SO happy
about that. Hope I can manage not to break it again this season.
Jumpers on Saturday was just a train wreck. We pulled it together for
the second half of the run, but good god that was hilarious. It was
ENTRIRELY my fault though, since I was chatting with mom and one of my
former students and didn’t warm him up and barely made it to the line
as the were telling me “you are in the ring, NOW!” Ooops. Bad
distracted handler. Sorry Xan.
After leaving the trial, I took my mom home to their fishing village
in Bradenton, so that she didn’t have to ride the bus for another
hour. I was given a little tour of the area and made the return drive
to Tampa. My delightful GPS screwed me over on the way back and first
sent me into the Tampa airport, and then sent me back over the 7 miles
of bridge on 275. We drove over that damn bridge three times before
finally making it back to Terri’s house. Nothing a little girl’s night
our complete with an Artisian Cooler (super yummy drink) couldn’t fix.
Sunday morning I regrouped and gave Xander the focus he deserved. We
had an awesome Time 2 Beat run with a stellar A-frame again, and
earned 9pts toward that extraneous title. Standard was awesome again
with one minor flaw. A little too much momentum led to an off course,
BUT he had a beautiful table while I showered him with praise, and
another gorgeous A-frame. Love that boy.
Since jumpers wasn’t going to run for hours, and I had lots of driving
and a puppy to pick up before bed, I decided to leave early. My
friends Chris and Carol couldn’t believe I had waited that long. So we
departed at 1:30, finding out later from Terri that our class didn’t
run until 3:30 at which time it was pouring down rain. So glad I made
that decision!
By just short of 5pm, I had Trudy secured in her car
seat/backpack/rolling carrier in the front seat and was heading back
to Jacksonville. She screamed bloody murder for the first 30mins, took
a power nap, and screamed for a bit more until I pulled over for a pit
stop. She pottied quickly (good girl) and was not quite so dramatic
the rest of the way home.
Buster met us in the garage when we pulled up and was greeted
enthusiastically first by Xander. I took Trudy out to meet her new dad
and get reacquainted with Xander before subjecting her to any corgis.
Once outside of her little prison, she wagged her tail fiercely and
greeted us all enthusiastically. Xander was very patiently tolerant of
her. Finally we scooped her up and went out to the backyard with two
curious corgis in tow.
Everyone was very appropriate but intensely interested in this new
little creature. Buster was kind enough to bring out the camera as we
admired how adorable she was. Soon enough, we had pics loaded on
facebook to formally announce the newest member of the Pruett
household.
Although the first couple of nights sleeping in her new crate with her
new family have been a little rough, she is very quickly settling into
the routine and getting the hang of things. As she has gotten more
comfortable, her personality has continued to emerge. She is
confident, bold, fearless, thoughtful, brave, funny, playful, loving
and smart. She has good sense, except when it comes to heights, but is
respectful of the dogs. She has been using her potty patch in the
ex-pen during the day with great success, and we have only had one
accident so far which was my fault. She had no problem walking on
leash for the first time, made easy friends with the neighbor,
retrieved a ball several times, tugged fiercely in the face of
distractions and new locations, barked and screamed for meals before
devouring them ravenously, and overall been precociously adorable.
Buster and I are completely smitten. She has woken me every time she
needs to potty at night, and has gone from screaming like a Harry
Potter mandrake to crying softly. I have not had to clean up her crate
or her ex-pen, and she potties quickly once outside. Little Ally
McSqueal (as Buster dubbed her) does NOT like to be locked up out of
sight, but is getting better every day. She really prefers to be
directly underfoot or in your arms or lap, but she is beginning to
gain some independence and started exploring more last night.
After watching her climb like a monkey and find all the power cords
and tug on the doormat last night, we have a feeling she will be a
little terror very soon. She couldn’t be more perfect.
I am loving all of the puppy training and being sleep deprived and
looking forward to socializing her and doing clicker training and all
the wonderful things that come along with a new puppy. It will also be
exciting to see what she turns out to be. At eight weeks and only 5ish
lbs, I am thinking she will not be very big at all. Regardless, as she
gazes up at me with one soft brown eye and one intense blue eye, I am
hopelessly in love with my little pocket collie.
Welcome to the family Trudy!
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Too Much Cake
Please don't mistake my lack of communication to mean that I have been entirely too busy to write. It's really just that my new job, although generous with copious amounts of free time, sadly has blocked this website. The computer I am using also doesn't have Word installed, and I have not felt motivated to write on the weekend. I felt guilty for not providing any updates however, so here I am.
I wish that I had glorious tales to tell about the exciting new work, but the truth is that it is cake. As in, I am not sure why I am there, nor the other recent hire, as there is not enough to occupy any of us. We hope for this to change soon, as the days are long and dreadfully boring, but I suppose I should not complain for being paid more to sit around and chat. I just hoped it would be more. Such is life.
I have terrible puppy fever and am longing for the worst part of the summer to pass so that my dogs and I can spend more times outdoors. Our playtime has been restricted to early morning or late evening in order to avoid heatstroke, and this has left us fat and lazy. I've begun the process of shaping Xander and I up as we finally approach the beginning of the trial season again. We have not been to an AKC trial since February, and are entered in Palmetto mid September. However, I am more looking forward to working toward our ADCH beginning in October when we will venture to Low Country SC for the first time. We will have another AKC at the end of October, as this is our home trial, but then we will focus solely on USDAA after that until February when our local trial offers ACK again. Agility is agility though, and after long missing it, I will be glad of either kind. I am sure Xander will agree!
I wish that I had glorious tales to tell about the exciting new work, but the truth is that it is cake. As in, I am not sure why I am there, nor the other recent hire, as there is not enough to occupy any of us. We hope for this to change soon, as the days are long and dreadfully boring, but I suppose I should not complain for being paid more to sit around and chat. I just hoped it would be more. Such is life.
I have terrible puppy fever and am longing for the worst part of the summer to pass so that my dogs and I can spend more times outdoors. Our playtime has been restricted to early morning or late evening in order to avoid heatstroke, and this has left us fat and lazy. I've begun the process of shaping Xander and I up as we finally approach the beginning of the trial season again. We have not been to an AKC trial since February, and are entered in Palmetto mid September. However, I am more looking forward to working toward our ADCH beginning in October when we will venture to Low Country SC for the first time. We will have another AKC at the end of October, as this is our home trial, but then we will focus solely on USDAA after that until February when our local trial offers ACK again. Agility is agility though, and after long missing it, I will be glad of either kind. I am sure Xander will agree!
Friday, July 6, 2012
Independence
What a strange week it has been, what with a day off due to the holiday smack in the middle of my last week in my current job; but it seems appropriate to be celebrating Independence Day as I finally gain freedom from this position and move on to bigger and better things. I can scarcely believe that this is really my last day sitting here in this desk, having parked in the same garage, and driven through the same terrible neighborhood I have been coming through now for almost three years. The longest I have ever worked for one company was PetSmart, and that was at about three different locations. I have been coming to this same depressing, gray place for so long, I can't imagine what it will do to my perspective on life when I no longer have to be here. Apart from the location is the very nature of the job, being subordinate to everyone and relegated to the most menial of tasks, in spite of my capability to do much more. I hope to finally feel that I am fulfilling some of my potential, and to have the respect of coworkers, and myself. I hope that doesn't sound conceited, arrogant, or anything of that nature, but I really feel that I have more to offer than making copies and running paperwork from point A to point B.
It is strange to think that in a post not terribly long ago, I had basically snapped and decided to bail out on the prospect of a normal job altogether. Then I realized I was just terribly frustrated, and was making the same mistake of being impatient and immature that had gotten me into trouble in the past. So I endured. Having someone to tell me that it was my choice, and that he supported me no matter what happened made it possible. I couldn't quit when our future depended on both of us; it would have been terribly selfish and unfair. So I stuck it out, and made it through. Of course it was the same man who told me I could be free that facilitated me finding this position. I shudder to think where I would be, or what life would be like without him.
At any rate, I begin my new working life on Monday. I am very excited to see what this job will be like, and feel that I am finally stepping through the first door in a series of opportunities that will take me where I am meant to go. I never thought I would learn patience, but through the help of several people very close to me, patience has paid off and life is good. I think I might actually qualify as a grown up now.....
On a dog related note, we spent the early morning of the 4th swimming and chasing Frisbees at the park so that everyone would be too tired to care so much when the fireworks began. Surprisingly we had the park completely to ourselves, as I prefer it, and enjoyed a lovely morning before the heat set in. That evening, Kirby survived the barrage of pyrotechnics by wearing his thunder shirt and hiding behind the toilet. When it began to rain around 7pm, I thought we would gain a reprieve. Unfortunately, the storm passed quickly, and our neighbors blew things up practically in our backyard until late in the night. Fortunately, Kaylee was only spooked by one particularly loud boom. Xander, on the other hand, lounged about with all four feet in the air, blissfully oblivious of the commotion. What a life my dogs have, riding around in their fancy new crates, in the van we bought so they would be safer on the road (and because it has room for ALL my dog training equipment and I can still see in my rearview mirror). Buster loves the Element and his new kayak trailer that makes the prospect of going fishing so much easier, so everyone is happy.
Did I mention life is good?
It is strange to think that in a post not terribly long ago, I had basically snapped and decided to bail out on the prospect of a normal job altogether. Then I realized I was just terribly frustrated, and was making the same mistake of being impatient and immature that had gotten me into trouble in the past. So I endured. Having someone to tell me that it was my choice, and that he supported me no matter what happened made it possible. I couldn't quit when our future depended on both of us; it would have been terribly selfish and unfair. So I stuck it out, and made it through. Of course it was the same man who told me I could be free that facilitated me finding this position. I shudder to think where I would be, or what life would be like without him.
At any rate, I begin my new working life on Monday. I am very excited to see what this job will be like, and feel that I am finally stepping through the first door in a series of opportunities that will take me where I am meant to go. I never thought I would learn patience, but through the help of several people very close to me, patience has paid off and life is good. I think I might actually qualify as a grown up now.....
On a dog related note, we spent the early morning of the 4th swimming and chasing Frisbees at the park so that everyone would be too tired to care so much when the fireworks began. Surprisingly we had the park completely to ourselves, as I prefer it, and enjoyed a lovely morning before the heat set in. That evening, Kirby survived the barrage of pyrotechnics by wearing his thunder shirt and hiding behind the toilet. When it began to rain around 7pm, I thought we would gain a reprieve. Unfortunately, the storm passed quickly, and our neighbors blew things up practically in our backyard until late in the night. Fortunately, Kaylee was only spooked by one particularly loud boom. Xander, on the other hand, lounged about with all four feet in the air, blissfully oblivious of the commotion. What a life my dogs have, riding around in their fancy new crates, in the van we bought so they would be safer on the road (and because it has room for ALL my dog training equipment and I can still see in my rearview mirror). Buster loves the Element and his new kayak trailer that makes the prospect of going fishing so much easier, so everyone is happy.
Did I mention life is good?
Friday, June 22, 2012
Decisions, Decisions
It has been an exciting couple of weeks in the Pruett house!
First, I officially changed my name with the Social Security office, who gave me a form and assured me it would take care of the DMV. It didn't. They were also supposed to give me ANOTHER form, so after a couple of trips, and a couple of hours waiting, I received my new license as well. The picture is not even that bad. All the credit card companies, banks, human resources, etc., were notified, and now I have a whole slew of pretty, new cards with my nice, new name on them.
After the events of my last post, I found myself rethinking the way I travel with the dogs. As much as I love the Element, it really is fairly small and forces me to crate the dogs in potentially unsafe wire crates toward the rear crash zone of the vehicle. Buster, a.k.a BEST HUSBAND IN THE WORLD suggested we trade in his Mazda3 and get the Honda Odyssey I'd always wanted. Then he would drive the Element, which is an automatic and not a manual (like the Mazda) and would make his life easier. Once we looked around at used, weighing the pros and cons of mileage and fuel economy on older models, we decided to look for a 2011 or 2012 base model. His car was appraised at Carmax for less than what we owed, mostly due to the high interest loan it was financed with. We ended up buying the Odyssey from the same person we bought the Mazda from 2yrs ago, got what we owed in trade in value, 0.9% interest financing, 5yrs of maintenance, a 200,000 mile warranty, and a few other extras. I now have an AWESOME new van that will allow me to safely crate the dogs toward the front of the van in their new RuffTough crash tested kennels. Very happy! the smell of a new car is almost as good as puppy breath.
Aside from new wheels, I have been awaiting a decision from my current employer on a position I had interviewed for a couple of weeks ago. In the meantime, Buster volunteered at a Pepsi function, and met with his boss's wife. Following some discussion of me and what I do, it turns out the she works for Baptist doing the very thing I was trying to get into originally here, and never got an official answer on. She also happened to be looking for another member for her team, and had almost given up hope to find the "right" person. She swore it was divine intervention, and after meeting with me informally last week, I had an official interview Monday afternoon. It was my best interview ever and I left feeling as if it was mine to take or leave. Turns out it was.
Less than 48hrs later, I got the offer. It would be over 9k more than I currently make a year. I was pretty thrilled, but had already told them at the interview I was waiting to hear back on the position with my current company.On top of that, in an effort to keep me in her department, my supervisor was trying to upgrade my position. Feast or famine, I swear.
Buster let it be known from the get-go what he thought of my current employer. They have done nothing but jerk me around and leave me hanging. However, the job at stake would pay enough for us to be out of debt in a fraction of the time. It would also involve working in a severly understaffed department, in a high stress environment, with unpaid overtime, nights, and weekends, for a company that may soon be going bankrupt anyway, and doing more technical work rather than the training and development that truly interests me. On the other hand, the offer I actually received was with an excellent company, doing the type of work I want to do career-wise, with people I seem to enjoy. I choose the bird in the hand, rather than the two in the bush. Buster is thrilled, as is the person who offered me the job, and I feel in my gut it was the correct decision.
My last day here will be July 6th before moving on to bigger and better things. Baptist EHR (electronic Health Record) Implementation Specialist. Has a nice ring to it. My boss was not happy, but still supportive and congratulatory, and made it known that I was welcome back any time I decided I'd made the wrong decision. I don't think that's the case, but appreciate the sentiment anyway.
This year has been pretty awesome so far, and it is only half way through. Even-numbered years seem to be the best for me. Wonder what the next six months will bring, not to mention 2014......
First, I officially changed my name with the Social Security office, who gave me a form and assured me it would take care of the DMV. It didn't. They were also supposed to give me ANOTHER form, so after a couple of trips, and a couple of hours waiting, I received my new license as well. The picture is not even that bad. All the credit card companies, banks, human resources, etc., were notified, and now I have a whole slew of pretty, new cards with my nice, new name on them.
After the events of my last post, I found myself rethinking the way I travel with the dogs. As much as I love the Element, it really is fairly small and forces me to crate the dogs in potentially unsafe wire crates toward the rear crash zone of the vehicle. Buster, a.k.a BEST HUSBAND IN THE WORLD suggested we trade in his Mazda3 and get the Honda Odyssey I'd always wanted. Then he would drive the Element, which is an automatic and not a manual (like the Mazda) and would make his life easier. Once we looked around at used, weighing the pros and cons of mileage and fuel economy on older models, we decided to look for a 2011 or 2012 base model. His car was appraised at Carmax for less than what we owed, mostly due to the high interest loan it was financed with. We ended up buying the Odyssey from the same person we bought the Mazda from 2yrs ago, got what we owed in trade in value, 0.9% interest financing, 5yrs of maintenance, a 200,000 mile warranty, and a few other extras. I now have an AWESOME new van that will allow me to safely crate the dogs toward the front of the van in their new RuffTough crash tested kennels. Very happy! the smell of a new car is almost as good as puppy breath.
Aside from new wheels, I have been awaiting a decision from my current employer on a position I had interviewed for a couple of weeks ago. In the meantime, Buster volunteered at a Pepsi function, and met with his boss's wife. Following some discussion of me and what I do, it turns out the she works for Baptist doing the very thing I was trying to get into originally here, and never got an official answer on. She also happened to be looking for another member for her team, and had almost given up hope to find the "right" person. She swore it was divine intervention, and after meeting with me informally last week, I had an official interview Monday afternoon. It was my best interview ever and I left feeling as if it was mine to take or leave. Turns out it was.
Less than 48hrs later, I got the offer. It would be over 9k more than I currently make a year. I was pretty thrilled, but had already told them at the interview I was waiting to hear back on the position with my current company.On top of that, in an effort to keep me in her department, my supervisor was trying to upgrade my position. Feast or famine, I swear.
Buster let it be known from the get-go what he thought of my current employer. They have done nothing but jerk me around and leave me hanging. However, the job at stake would pay enough for us to be out of debt in a fraction of the time. It would also involve working in a severly understaffed department, in a high stress environment, with unpaid overtime, nights, and weekends, for a company that may soon be going bankrupt anyway, and doing more technical work rather than the training and development that truly interests me. On the other hand, the offer I actually received was with an excellent company, doing the type of work I want to do career-wise, with people I seem to enjoy. I choose the bird in the hand, rather than the two in the bush. Buster is thrilled, as is the person who offered me the job, and I feel in my gut it was the correct decision.
My last day here will be July 6th before moving on to bigger and better things. Baptist EHR (electronic Health Record) Implementation Specialist. Has a nice ring to it. My boss was not happy, but still supportive and congratulatory, and made it known that I was welcome back any time I decided I'd made the wrong decision. I don't think that's the case, but appreciate the sentiment anyway.
This year has been pretty awesome so far, and it is only half way through. Even-numbered years seem to be the best for me. Wonder what the next six months will bring, not to mention 2014......
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Take Nothing for Granted *UPDATED!!*
**SEE UPDATE BELOW**
I was going to write a post about my scuba diving debacle, my new job prospects, and my weekend at the SE Regional USDAA show in Perry. However, I woke up to find my Facebook feed completely dominated by an outpouring of sympathy and support for a woman in the agility community named Elicia Calhoun.
While I do not know her personally, I do know of her due to her success as an agility trainer and competitor. From what I have heard, she is also one of the nicest, most generous, and positive people in the sport. She and her six dogs were traveling home from a competition when she was involved in a terrible car accident. Her thirteen week old puppy died on impact, three of her dogs were injured and taken to the hospital, and two had fled the scene when help arrived. It was confirmed recently that Nika, her one-eyed aussie that had achieved great success in spite of the handicap, was hit by a car and did not survive. If that weren't tragic enough, Elicia has checked herself out of the hospital with a punctured lung to search for her red and white border collie Tobie, who is still missing.
This is quite literally the worst nightmare for those of us who travel with our dogs. It could easily happen to any of us, anytime.
The agility community, while at times subject to the same personality clashes, differences of opinion, and other conflicts that sporting events can inspire, has nonetheless come together with a show of support for this person that many of us do not know. Given that Elicia is self-employed, and will have staggering hospital and vet bills, a fund raiser has begun for her. Over $17,000 has been raised in a matter of less than 24hrs, with more donations pouring in.
It is enough to take your breath away.
Each of us that share a special bond with our dogs can feel some of the pain and fear that she must be feeling ten-fold. And we are giving to her the compassion and generosity that we would hope to receive if we found ourselves in the same situation. Every so often, something like this happens to both renew my faith in humanity, and serve as a reminder to what is truly important. Not ribbons, titles, dollars, or bragging rights, but the priceless, irreplaceable lives of those special to us.
As we all hold our collective breath for news of Tobie being found, we can help in some small way. Here is the link to the fundraiser:
https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/bK4Ab?psid=7d8bdd94ef564486a41b6d65af6e6332
If everyone just gave $5, it could mean a world of difference in the lives of Elicia and her surviving dogs.
Don't take anyone in your life, two or four-legged, not a single day nor a single breath for granted. We have no guarantee to be here tomorrow, or for those we love to still be with us.
I am so glad that I truly enjoyed running Xander this weekend and that he, my other two dogs, my amazing husband, and all my wonderful friends and family are alive and well.
That's really all that matters.
**TOBIE HAS BEEN FOUND!!**
Compassion, empathy, sympathy....these are surely among the greatest of human traits. Miraculously, through the involvment of many, many caring people, Elicia's missing dog has been found alive, and seemingly unharmed! Tragic as it was to lose two of her dogs, it is a huge comfort to everyone that Tobie is alive and returned to her mom. This picture says it all.
Hopefully, Elicia and her surviving dogs will heal as they grieve for the two that were lost. Bless the agility/dog community!
I was going to write a post about my scuba diving debacle, my new job prospects, and my weekend at the SE Regional USDAA show in Perry. However, I woke up to find my Facebook feed completely dominated by an outpouring of sympathy and support for a woman in the agility community named Elicia Calhoun.
While I do not know her personally, I do know of her due to her success as an agility trainer and competitor. From what I have heard, she is also one of the nicest, most generous, and positive people in the sport. She and her six dogs were traveling home from a competition when she was involved in a terrible car accident. Her thirteen week old puppy died on impact, three of her dogs were injured and taken to the hospital, and two had fled the scene when help arrived. It was confirmed recently that Nika, her one-eyed aussie that had achieved great success in spite of the handicap, was hit by a car and did not survive. If that weren't tragic enough, Elicia has checked herself out of the hospital with a punctured lung to search for her red and white border collie Tobie, who is still missing.
This is quite literally the worst nightmare for those of us who travel with our dogs. It could easily happen to any of us, anytime.
The agility community, while at times subject to the same personality clashes, differences of opinion, and other conflicts that sporting events can inspire, has nonetheless come together with a show of support for this person that many of us do not know. Given that Elicia is self-employed, and will have staggering hospital and vet bills, a fund raiser has begun for her. Over $17,000 has been raised in a matter of less than 24hrs, with more donations pouring in.
It is enough to take your breath away.
Each of us that share a special bond with our dogs can feel some of the pain and fear that she must be feeling ten-fold. And we are giving to her the compassion and generosity that we would hope to receive if we found ourselves in the same situation. Every so often, something like this happens to both renew my faith in humanity, and serve as a reminder to what is truly important. Not ribbons, titles, dollars, or bragging rights, but the priceless, irreplaceable lives of those special to us.
As we all hold our collective breath for news of Tobie being found, we can help in some small way. Here is the link to the fundraiser:
https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/bK4Ab?psid=7d8bdd94ef564486a41b6d65af6e6332
If everyone just gave $5, it could mean a world of difference in the lives of Elicia and her surviving dogs.
Don't take anyone in your life, two or four-legged, not a single day nor a single breath for granted. We have no guarantee to be here tomorrow, or for those we love to still be with us.
I am so glad that I truly enjoyed running Xander this weekend and that he, my other two dogs, my amazing husband, and all my wonderful friends and family are alive and well.
That's really all that matters.
**TOBIE HAS BEEN FOUND!!**
Compassion, empathy, sympathy....these are surely among the greatest of human traits. Miraculously, through the involvment of many, many caring people, Elicia's missing dog has been found alive, and seemingly unharmed! Tragic as it was to lose two of her dogs, it is a huge comfort to everyone that Tobie is alive and returned to her mom. This picture says it all.
Hopefully, Elicia and her surviving dogs will heal as they grieve for the two that were lost. Bless the agility/dog community!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)