Musing . . .

Off to Kansas City later today.  Majors on Saturday and Sunday and we are hoping that Lucy will pick up one of them (although two would be even better!).  Argus is entered because we are going - I wouldn't be doing this weekend just for Argus as the panel isn't particularly good, but he loves to go, we both enjoy showing, and we need to stay in practice.  Mariah is coming along for the trip and is old enough to show but is not entered.  Still waiting for her to grow legs - she's such a little peanut.  It can still happen, but it needs to happen soon, and I'm beginning to worry.   Mariah is a great fit for our household, but the slot she is inhabiting is reserved for an extra special dog.  Her breeder wants her back if I don't keep her, but we'll wait a few more months before making any decision.  So much I really like about Mariah, she's just as pretty as can be, and she's definitely show quality, but . . .    I try not to get attached to young dogs until I am sure they are keepers, but I haven't kept anything since Argus.  It would be a lot easier if I had the room to keep more dogs, but then I'd probably have 20 dogs!

If not Mariah, perhaps there will be a pup for me in Flurry's litter, or perhaps Argus & Reebok will produce something special.  Plans still underway for a litter from Reebok, a top quality Dal girl who was Best In Futurity at DCA, followed by WB the following year - quite a record.  Two Argus daughters will be bred this summer too, so there may be some nice grandpups to pick from.  OTOH, do I really want to housetrain another puppy?  Oh sure.  BUT perhaps Mariah will sprout legs - she just needs an inch!

Could This Be Spring?



Looks like spring . . .

We woke up to temperatures in the 40s - could this be spring?

I noticed snow being dug up and hauled away from the front of a small business at the end of my block.  Seemed a bit late in the year to bother with that as the snow "should" be gone in a couple of weeks.  Apparently the business owner was getting impatient though, as he added grass carpeting and tulips and got a head start on Spring!   It certainly brought a smile to the faces of passing walkers and motorist.  Hope it brings in customers as well.

As the weather warms and the yard melts, I keep expecting my neighbor to start harassing me again.  Wonder what this year has in store for us?  She's been real quiet since her last meltdown, and has actually been pretty considerate about not leaving her dog out to bark, or sending it out just as I am sending my guys out.  It's been great to have the huge snowdrifts between our yards - way too deep for a Westie to run through and try to get my guys to fence fight.

Another fence estimator scheduled for today.  Wish I could afford a privacy fence between our yards, but chain link with additional lattice fencing for privacy will have to do for another year.  The alley fence is priority as the freeze-thaw cycles have taken their toll on the old one.  Apparently we did not set our posts deeply enough, but it's held up pretty well.  The neighbor does not like the fact that when she is spying from her second floor window, she can see the "pee stripes" on the old fence.  I'll have to discuss this with Watson & Argus.

Still Looking For A Home

Bella is still looking for a home.

Well drat!  Bella is back to looking for a home.  The person with the Argus daughter who had made arrangements to visit Bella and her breeder on Saturday found out yesterday that she was getting laid off.  How unfortunate on both counts.  Would have been a terrific home for Bella, but she'll be placed eventually.  Very sad for the person who wanted her.  That was looking like such a perfect match.

Amazingly enough, my accounting class yesterday was excellent.  Wonderful instructor who used droll humor as a teaching tool.  He was incredibly good at keeping our intention too, and time went by so quickly.  We all stayed focused because he called on everyone regularly - but if someone didn't have the answer he "guided" them to it.  Very amazing.  Can't recall having an instructor like that before.  It sure made learning easier and made a dry subject very interesting.  Almost makes me want to go back to school.  Almost . . .

Spent the evening walking dogs and doing water changes on the fish, while listening to "Darkly Dreaming Dexter" on the iPOD.  Yep, got the wretched little thing fixed.  All it took was buying a Walkman!   Haven't a clue how I fixed it - just retried everything for the umpteenth time, and finally it worked.  Now I have two gadgets to fight with.   Both have 8 gigabytes of memory so I can download lots of books.  The nice thing about the Walkman is that it can accept more of the free books from Net Library.  Perhaps that justifies the expense?  But can you have too many toys?

It's Gonna Be A Long Lloonngg Day

No time for blogging today.  It's been decreed that all finance employees who are not CPAs must take an all day accounting class.  Today is the first session offered, so I am also playing Accounting Guinea Pig.  When did I last take an accounting class?  Maybe 40+ years ago?  I WORK in accounting, but that's different than business statements, trial balances & such, and Governmental Accounting is not like real world accounting anyway.  Gonna be a long day!

Note to Cassidy - if I don't write about Organic Cell Bio, Disease and Development, Integrated Medicine, or anything written in Spanish, what's left for me to write about?  Study hard! 

Too Early On Monday

Little Coach Dog Eddie had a busy weekend.

Got a lot done this weekend, but unfortunately none of it included the sweeping and vacuuming that I SHOULD have done.  Watson and Coral have started their spring sheds, so this will become an issue, especially when Ron wallows on the sofa in the dog hair and then carries it through out the house.  He's a lot more of a problem than the dogs, since he naps on the loveseat covered in Dals and Dal hair.

Bought a Sony Walkman to replace the useless little iPOD.  Same 8 gigabytes of memory for half the price.  Shoulda bought one in the first place - assuming I can get it up and running tonight.  There are a lot more free on-line books available to me now through Net Library - quite a few of their books won't work with iPODs.

Dinner with mom & Ron at Green Mill.  We had the nicest server!  Ron is a generous tipper (and we get awesome service at our regular spots).  The server came back to see if he had made a mistake!  Apparently the customers at this Green Mill are normally pretty chintzy.  Mom's doing very well considering her age (almost 87) and shows no signs of age-related dementia, which is a blessing.  She's frail, and her vision and hearing are failing, but she still loves to argue politics - and still hates Tim Pawlenty, but the Governor of Wisconsin is a close 2nd now.

Entries in, motel reservations made for the Dalmatian National in Fort Mitchell, KY the first week in May.  Naturally it conflicts with a show weekend I enjoy - hope the panel is bad for those shows.  It sure leaves a lot to be desired for DCA, but we go anyway. It's a Dalmatian Convention!  Argus & Lucy (if she's not in season), Mariah (if she is ready to show and not in season), Pauli for Top Twenty (if she's not in season) and Penny for Specials (if she's not in season).  Wish we had more boys and no bitches!  I suppose they will all be in season and screw everything up.  Need to sign the dogs up for the health clinic.  Argus will get the Cardiac test.  Just had his eyes re-done, and had his thyroid re-done last year.  Mariah has had her eyes done, and is too young for the thyroid test, but Penny & Pauli could have the thyroid test done this year and their hearts too.  Very nice having affordable and handy testing at the National. 

Another Homeless Dalmatian

A friend noticed a posting on Craig's List for a Dalmatian in trouble.  A 10-year old spayed female Dal whose owner lost her house and left three dogs behind. The other two dogs have been placed, but because of the Dal's age and the fact that she is defensive with strange dogs, things are not looking too promising for her.  I contacted the person who posted and offered to help, but unless a foster home can be found things will not work out for this poor girl.  Can you help?  She needs a dog smart person with no other dogs - that's a hard combination.

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/wsh/pet/2260613268.html

On a happier note, I got an inquiry about Bella from someone who has an Argus daughter and lives near Bella's breeder.  She's ready for a second dog and has an appointment for next weekend.  Hope this works out!  Now, to find a home for Jingle who apparently has a wonderful personality.  You can see Bella & Jingle at:

http://tramacpup.blogspot.com/

Because I so rarely have puppies available, have been involved in the breed for so long, am well known in the breed, and because many of my past buyers come back to me for second (or third or fourth) dogs, I often provide puppy referrals for litters sired by my boys.  It's been fun reconnecting with many past buyers who have found my blog too.  Anyone looking for a handsome, well bred, black-spotted 10-week old with a wonderful personality?

The Internet, the various Dal lists, plus Facebook have proven to be very helpful for puppy placements.  There may be healthy, well-bred pups available in one part of the country, and good potential homes somewhere else.   Although there are very few breeders in this area, I've often been able to help local people find quality pups as long as they are willing to drive or ship.  Because there are commercial breeders (the politically correct name for puppymills) with very mis-leading websites, responsible breeders and concerned owners try very hard to help potential buyers find appropriate puppies from reliable sources.