Meet Jackie

Meet Jackie. The name is something we settled on... We have a King...er. We didn't want a Queen...ie. So we named her Jack...ie.

It wasn't exactly a planned event today. I took Jess for a haircut and got myself one too (goodbye Ozzy hair... hello... something I can't quite label) and when I got home Doug showed me he'd located a kennel near Worcester that deals specifically with rescued puppies from Virginia. He said they were open until 6pm. They were one hour away. It was 4pm right then. We got in the car. We brought Kinger, so he could meet the new dog. If there was going to be a new dog.

Folks, let me tell you. These people... good people. We had to show we were either a home owner or that we had permission from the landlord, so we showed our mortgage payment book. No one quizzed us on our at home schedule, demanded a home visit. No one gave us any shit. They said "We've got puppies. Meet the trainer if you have questions, integrate the dog with your family for a while... and pay us 200 bucks. It's yours."

That's my kinda kennel.

They had two dozen puppies there who were all freshly spayed and neutered yesterday by a vet in town. Doug zoomed in on the Australian Shepherd/Lab mixes, of which there were four. A male and three females. He took one out, and we spent some time introducing her to Kinger and getting to know her.

This was the first dog. She cozied right up to Doug, and we took her to the pen to meet with her. She was skittish, and afraid of Geoff, which we instantly knew off the bat wasn't good.

Unfortunately, Geoff really liked this first dog, so it was hard convincing him that she wasn't the dog for us. She didn't want to be around us, didn't want to see Kinger. She also had a spotted tongue, which the trainer said may mean she has some Chow in her somewhere down the line. The minute Doug heard Chow, he wanted to see another dog... so he scoped out the two females together who were sisters. So spending time with the next dog, we knew she was the dog for us.

Geoff still wasn't quite sure of her... he really liked that first dog...

We got the kennel out, cleaned it up... I have to cut a piece of cardboard for it because it's for a fullsized big assed dog... and she's a teeny dog and we don't want to encourage her sleeping in the front and peeing in the back. She isn't housebroken, pee'd in Jessie's room once already... so we're going to have to really work with her. But we're all home this summer. Everyone is willing. We had no problems training Missy... so hopefully this'll go okay. She's really cute. You're welcome to come meet her anytime.

And because I'm a total pet whore... I found a cat to take a picture of for all you cat pals out there.

I love how the sun glints off the car top right in the center, how the cat's reflection is so clear... and how he/she/it looks like he/she/it belongs up there. King/Queen/Eunuch of the castle.

Okay. That's the muppet update for tonight. It's 10pm already. I still have to fold some laundry and get the cardboard partition in the kennel. So I'm outta here. I'm sure I'll bore the shit out of you in the next few days with all the puppy stories... suffice to say, I'm happy to do it. It's my journal. It's my puppy. Shuttapa you face if you don't like.

Have a great weekend and HAPPY SOLSTICE to all my Alaskan friends who now have sunlight 90 hours in a day. It's all downhill from here kids. Happy Solstice to any of the Pagan types who may be reading -- I have no idea the extent of my audience, so I hope this Midsummers Night is good for you. Cheers!