I'm not sure that I shared with you that I went to the English Setter rescue site, Above and Beyond @ esrescue.org and filled out an application to adopt a dog. I've never adopted a rescue dog before, though we've had plenty of dogs that fortuitously found their way into our lives. I referenced my blog entry on Lucy's death to give the agency a sense of the importance that dogs have in our lives. They thought it was terrific, so I'm glad that I had that maudlin moment and posted about it. I also sent a picture of Greta and Macy that I posted on my blog when Greta passed.
Today I had my home visit. I think it went well. Hopefully we'll be able to welcome an English Setter into our home, soon. There's a piece of me that feels a bit snobbish to only want to accept a rescued Setter. But these are dogs that by their nature need space, and I fortunately have plenty of space.
Macy, my bulldog mix, needs no space--except space in the bed. She'd be fine in a contained yard so long as someone threw a ball for her. But she does need to work off her energy. She's a terrific leash walker/runner. I have a great 26' retractable leash. She LOVES to be on her leash. I took her for a 2 mile run/walk and was sadly reminded that I'm old. But I managed to run about 1/2 way.
As I was on my walk, I talked to a neighbor who was taking a second look at Macy and asked what type of dog she was. I said bull dog and that Mark (my husband) told me that he had a bulldog. Well, he brought Jax around. A beautiful sweet dog. He was very gentle and sweet toward Macy (and me). Macy wanted to play, but he has hip/knee problems, so just a sniff and a wag was the most he could play. I was glad to have the interaction, because I'm not quite sure how M will do with dogs that she has not been raised with.
The home visit liaison brought her dog--a male setter type dog. He looked just like a large Lacy (neighbor's dog): pure black shiny coat with feathering on legs, ears and tail. Macy did very well with him. So number 2 contact with heretofore unknown dog went well. I feel like she will acclimate well to a new housemate. She needs a new "big-dog friend".
I think that I mentioned that Greta used to go down to an elderly woman's house (two properties away and across the street) and sit with her during the day. My neighbor (her son) who lives across the street from us asked Mark about Greta, as they had missed seeing her (she would visit them too). I should have sent a note to John's mom to let her know. I always thought that it was sweet that Greta would visit her. John' a wonderful neighbor. He was probably my age (47 on the 15th of this month) or just a bit younger when we moved out here. He seemed so old at the time! Age certainly brings perspective. When we were building our home in 1984, he helped Mark lay some hardwood floor and he graded our lawn. We've been fortunate to have so many immediate neighbors that we've known for more than 20 years.
Our weather has been beautiful this weekend. The heat has broken as has the humidity. Already the late afternoon shadows are getting long. Our sunflowers in the garden are getting ripe, and the birds will be feasting on them. Everything else in the garden is spent. I bet that garter snake is 10ft long now! In just a few weeks it will start getting cooler, and we'll transition into a gorgeous Fall. Actually, all of our seasons in Virginia are gorgeous. Fall is always a welcome respite to the heat, though a hurricane or two generally plows through every 3-5 years. It's been a quite hurricane season--no regrets there.
Enjoy the balance of your weekend.
Today I had my home visit. I think it went well. Hopefully we'll be able to welcome an English Setter into our home, soon. There's a piece of me that feels a bit snobbish to only want to accept a rescued Setter. But these are dogs that by their nature need space, and I fortunately have plenty of space.
Macy, my bulldog mix, needs no space--except space in the bed. She'd be fine in a contained yard so long as someone threw a ball for her. But she does need to work off her energy. She's a terrific leash walker/runner. I have a great 26' retractable leash. She LOVES to be on her leash. I took her for a 2 mile run/walk and was sadly reminded that I'm old. But I managed to run about 1/2 way.
As I was on my walk, I talked to a neighbor who was taking a second look at Macy and asked what type of dog she was. I said bull dog and that Mark (my husband) told me that he had a bulldog. Well, he brought Jax around. A beautiful sweet dog. He was very gentle and sweet toward Macy (and me). Macy wanted to play, but he has hip/knee problems, so just a sniff and a wag was the most he could play. I was glad to have the interaction, because I'm not quite sure how M will do with dogs that she has not been raised with.
The home visit liaison brought her dog--a male setter type dog. He looked just like a large Lacy (neighbor's dog): pure black shiny coat with feathering on legs, ears and tail. Macy did very well with him. So number 2 contact with heretofore unknown dog went well. I feel like she will acclimate well to a new housemate. She needs a new "big-dog friend".
I think that I mentioned that Greta used to go down to an elderly woman's house (two properties away and across the street) and sit with her during the day. My neighbor (her son) who lives across the street from us asked Mark about Greta, as they had missed seeing her (she would visit them too). I should have sent a note to John's mom to let her know. I always thought that it was sweet that Greta would visit her. John' a wonderful neighbor. He was probably my age (47 on the 15th of this month) or just a bit younger when we moved out here. He seemed so old at the time! Age certainly brings perspective. When we were building our home in 1984, he helped Mark lay some hardwood floor and he graded our lawn. We've been fortunate to have so many immediate neighbors that we've known for more than 20 years.
Our weather has been beautiful this weekend. The heat has broken as has the humidity. Already the late afternoon shadows are getting long. Our sunflowers in the garden are getting ripe, and the birds will be feasting on them. Everything else in the garden is spent. I bet that garter snake is 10ft long now! In just a few weeks it will start getting cooler, and we'll transition into a gorgeous Fall. Actually, all of our seasons in Virginia are gorgeous. Fall is always a welcome respite to the heat, though a hurricane or two generally plows through every 3-5 years. It's been a quite hurricane season--no regrets there.
Enjoy the balance of your weekend.
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