Tues 10-8 chat

Silly work around, but whatever.

Anyway! Yay for your dh passing the test Cathy!

Working from home today. At lunch I think I will bike run the dogs. Since the weather has cooled down they have endless energy and are driving me batty. I am ready to ship them off to doggy day care this week sometime. I should probably do that Friday before we go visit a friends for the weekend.

I figured out melatonin makes my heart beat irregularly. You would expect natural supplements to have less side effects than pharmaceutical but that has not been my experience. What's worse is they aren't scientifically tested so how do you really know what you are getting into? This just reminds me that my body doesn't like any type of drug/medication no matter what it is.

Standing ovation for Mr Cathy!

We have sunshine and very brisk temps this morning.  Had a nasty storm mid afternoon yesterday that brought down trees and clogged roads but it was over in less than 20 minutes.  The rain didn't stop entirely, but the angry part of the storm passed very quickly.

Off to work.  This job is just too darned much fun!

Cahty, congrats to your DH for passing the engineer test.  

Ugh.  Coworker's brother has decided he can't keep their mom's two dogs.  She passed away about six months ago.  I'm getting him some rescue info.  Hoping they can find new homes.  

Congratulations to Cathy's DH!

Jackie, I hope the co-workers dogs are re-homed. Sad situation that happens all too frequently.

Knee deep in the hoopla today.

@sharismom

Knee deep in the hoopla today.

There's a funny reference, Tina!  Now I'm going to be humming Jefferson Starship all day.  

Glenda, sounds like New England got the rain/wind storms we had last week at this time.  When my friend and I walked Ruby this weekend in our neighborhood, we noticed about a half-dozen houses who now have big blank spaces in their yards where trees were standing the last time we walked there.  Lots of them came down or were damaged enough to require taking them down.

Jackie, that is a sad situation with your coworker and the dogs.  That's the kind of thing I worry about if something happened to me and DH.  There really isn't anyone in our family who would be willing or able to take Ruby; she's just too much for the average person, especially if they're older than we are.  And the younger family members have lifestyles that would not accommodate a dog like her.  I hope a good solution can be found so the dogs are as happy as possible.

All the tasks on my desk today are things I don't feel like doing.  All relate to this new system that is still baffling me.  There's only so much I can do by trial and error to teach  myself, and I lose motivation.  Ugh.

Tracy - DH's friend did not pass the test. He admitted that he hadn't studied much at all so we weren't surprised and I think it made DH feel a little better for all the studying he'd done. I know he's super relieved but he's quickly moving on to worrying about the practical test. I told him we're celebrating this weekend when we have his family over and we can worry about the next test after that.

Jackie - I'm sorry about the situation with the unwanted dogs but hopefully they can find someone to take them. I know people would fight to take Shane but that wouldn't have been the case with Buffy and Sassy :(.

I suspect folks would fight to take Thunder too, but Theo?  Nope.  Not likely.  It's a darned shame when pets outlive their owners and the people we thought we could depend on, we can't.

@glenmar

 It's a darned shame when pets outlive their owners and the people we thought we could depend on, we can't.

It's a darn shame when people buy pets on impulse as this woman did with no foresight and ignoring everyone, including her own veterinarian.  Her sons and other family members tried to talk her out of buying these sibling dogs as puppies. They were never socialized and never housetrained.  They are terrified of everything and can't be separated. 

Their mom's house has been rented out since she died and the woman renting it had agreed to care for the dogs.  She was a caregiver for the mom and knew the dogs and they were comfortable with her. She's moving and doesn't want the dogs.  The sons were under the impression that this woman wanted the dogs and was going to adopt them but that must have changed.  Nothing is ever as black and white as it seems and as happens so often when people make bad decisions about pets, the pets are the ones who suffer.  :(

I hope everyone has a plan for their pets.  Even if you aren't in bad health or elderly, accidents happen.  What would happen to my three dogs if my DH and I were to be killed in an accident?  I've  made arrangements with a close friend and have a back up plan, if for some reason that friend can't take in my dogs.  

eta these dogs won't end up dumped in a shelter.  The sons may not want the dogs but they'll do the right thing and get them into a rescue.  They are pure bred toy breed so that will help somewhat.

I agree with everything you said, Jackie - 110%.  First of all, it sounds like the sons will do what's best for the dogs, so that's good news.  They must be so frustrated that it's come to this, after the history you described with the woman who died.  What a tough position for them to be in.  

Second, I agree that having a plan is ideal.  With Tonka, we had a very specific one outlined in our will.  We had friends who were in a position at the time (no kids, one mellow dog) to adopt him, and we named them in the will, along with setting up a monthly stipend to cover all his expenses, so he could continue to receive the food and care he always had.  

I'm ashamed to admit we've not done the same with Ruby (those friends have a much different life now and cannot take her).  Believe me, it's one of the many things that contribute to my sleep/insomnia problems.  We just don't have a family member or close friend who is willing or able to take her.  Well, there are some who would do so in the event of a tragedy, but to put it kindly, they are "benevolently neglectful" pet owners already, and adding a dog like Ruby would be a bad idea.  Her quality of life would suffer (and theirs would, too, when her behavior issues increase as a result).  But, I suppose having a less-than-ideal home is better than no home at all.  We really  need to resolve this issue, I know.  

My friend's Mom, who is in her late 80's, lost her beloved 20-year old cat a couple years ago.  She refused to get another one because of her age.  When the local shelter had a desperate need for a temporary foster home for a pair of kittens, my friend convinced her Mom to take them.  Of course, she became attached.  My friend PROMISED her Mom she would take the cats (she's a big cat lover herself) if something happens to her Mom, so her Mom agreed to keep them.  She adores them, and they've got a great home with her.  It'll work out for all 4 of them, no matter what happens in the future!