Foster Journal
October 2002: Mrs D Strikes
Again; Gretchen Update; Murray from Mad About You
October 8, 2002
You'll never guess who called. Warren answered the phone. He
made a face, handed me the phone, and said, "I know it
can't be, but it sounds like Mrs D!" There's no mistaking
her voice. At first I was trying to convince myself that she
was just calling to check
in. No such luck. She said her husband was in the hospital this
whole time and he just came home last night, so of course now
is the right
time to get a new dog! She asked if i had any more dogs!!!! I told
her it is a very bad idea to get another dog, and no I do not have
any dogs. She said, "You think I should never have another
animal, don't you" I said, "I think it is a very bad
idea." She
said, "Well, I'm getting another dog one way or another." She
was really being obstreperous. She said she will get one from the
Pennysaver. I told her to take care, and I hung up. I can only
do so much. =)
Then I ran up and posted DO NOT ADOPT info about
her on my list. Since it is
probably
libelous to put people's personal info in a DNA post on a public
email list, the policy is that we give general info about where
they are
located
and what sort of dog they might try to adopt, and if
anybody
wants specific info, they can contact me privately. So I told
them do not adopt to a senior citizen in her area who wants a cheap
small dog. I should grab the Pennysaver tomorrow and warn people
not to adopt
to her. Would that be bad?
So, how long before she calls me to come
and get her new dog? No, i don't think even Mrs. D has the audacity
to do that. I don't
think
I'll be hearing from her again. She was really mad at me. Oh
well, I went way out of my way to help her several times. I did my
best.
October 13, 2002
Groucho/Gretchen's first owners called and wanted
to know how she was. So I called them and talked to one of the
kids. She is doing
fine.
Then I called T back and told her she is doing fine. I
told her about Mrs. D calling, and she said she thought I was going
to
say that she
asked for Gretchen back.
October 16, 2002
I see that there is a 2 year old beagle ("good
hunter")
in the Pennysaver today. Must sell, $25. I was really
tempted to call
and warn them about Mrs. D. But i figured if they are
selling their dog they probably don't really care where it ends
up anyway,
and
they'd probably tell her I called and then she'd be
all ticked off with me
again.
Speaking of dogs, I'm getting one tonight. Some
new overenthusiastic volunteer took THREE foster dogs home
("We tried to discourage
him...") and obviously he cannot cope, so I am
taking one. It is a submissive, unhousetrained male
collie mix,
4-6 months old,
found as a stray, on antibiotics for kennel cough.
Should be fun. They are
really crowded so I couldn't say no (when do i ever
say no to a dog in need?) She said they are the only
shelter
in
Western PA still
accepting animals right now. I guess every shelter
is totally full. Scary.
October 17, 2002
Murray, the dog from Mad About You... that's who he looks like.
=) So we are calling him Murray. They said he is about 6 mos but
I think
he
is older than
that. He's
awesome.
Wonderful temperament, very sweet, loves to play, and
he seems like he's gonna be smart. He could be a movie
dog,
I think.
He just has
that look and attitude. Since he's a boy, Echo likes
him and Brin hates him. I just can't win! So far he
hasn't
messed with
Keek.
He's the
same colors as Keek, by the way. He is skinny and has
kennel cough, but otherwise he's happy and healthy.
Of
course I foolishly assumed it would be quick and easy to get him
last night, since he was already in
a foster
home. Obviously
he would
be all ready to go, right? Nope. He didn't have a
microchip. He isn't neutered. He didn't have a collar. And the
guy who was fostering
him
forgot his antibiotics so we had to go to his house
and get them.
While we were waiting around at the
shelter, Warren saw a cat he liked. It is so hard being the "bad
guy" and saying no. I mean,
it totally goes against my animal loving nature.
It was a nice cat. Two and half year old female, built like a siamese,
mostly white with
strange markings (i think they said "blue
smoke" or
something like that). She seemed sweet and affectionate.
I didn't *actually*
say no, but I spent the car ride home telling him
why i thought it was a bad idea. I said I was kinda
naive
when we got Echo
and I actually
believed he would help take care of her. Now I
know better, and I know that if we got another
cat, I
would have to
take care of it.
Plus,
it is a nice looking cat and i think it has a good
chance of being adopted. Some of the ones he liked
in the past
were real hard luck
cases and I was more sympathetic towards them because
I felt like nobody else would want them.
And besides,
I think as the primary caretaker of all pets, I
should get a chance to pick my own
pet one
of these times,
don't
you think?
He picked Lucas, Brin, and Echo. (Keek chose us.)
And I want a small, adult, dilute tortie cat. Even
better
if
it is sick
or messed
up or
something.
This one that he saw last night was really
pretty and sweet. I'll have to see if he is still thinking
about
it today.
Maybe he forgot.
Luckily
they were closing last night, plus we had to
follow the foster guy to his house to get the medicine,
so we didn't
have time
to adopt a
cat. =) Of course, the obvious thing is that
we really don't need any more animals.
October 21, 2002
I just walked Murray around the block. You just
cannot look at this dog without smiling! He
is so enthusiastic
and full
of life!
I swear,
this *is* the dog I've always wanted. Sucks
that I have too many dogs! I walk him on the flexi
and practice
recalls
with
him.
All I have to
do is quietly say his name and he spins around
and bounds back to me and jumps all over me.
Okay, the
jumping part
is not
good, but I like
his enthusiasm! This is a dog that could earn
obedience and agility titles. If i were at
a different point
in my life....
geez, this
is a once-in-a-lifetime dog! Everything that
my dogs do wrong, he does
right. Mainly, his temperament is better. He's
not reactive and freaky like they are. UPS
guy came and
Murray just
wagged and
never made a
sound. He's the kind of dog I would be proud
to take places, instead of being embarrassed.
Yes,
he needs
work, but it's
easy stuff,
not major temperament problems like MY two
monsters. Sigh...
October 27, 2002
Hi Amy, it's Dana, the girl that adopted Gretchen. I wanted to tell
you that Gretchen is doing great, she really seems to like us.
We taught her how to give paw and how to speak. If there is anything
you'd like to know or let us know, you can e-mail me at this address.
Thanks alot, I'm really glad we found her, she's a splendid dog!
---
Hi Dana, thanks for the update! She's a wonderful dog and I'm glad
she found such a good home. I still have the blanket that her first
owners gave me. I meant to give it to you when you adopted her, but
I forgot. So that gives me a good excuse to come and visit sometime!
It's great to hear from you! Tell your family I said hello, and
please keep in touch!
October 29, 2002
He's super cool. I had a lady call about him
today. She sounded pretty good but she
said she'll "get back to me," so
you know how that usually goes. I wish
she would call me back even if she
isn't
interested because I found out about another
dog that might suit her better. The shelter
already has two
other dogs lined
up for me
if this
lady adopts Murray (an English Setter and
an English Springer Spaniel), but the lady
was kinda
lukewarm
about Murray, so
I'm not gonna hold
my breath. She did ask if he is crate trained,
which is cool. She is a stay-at-home-mom
and she home schools
her three
kids, which
sounds
like a pretty good situation for a dog.
October
31, 2002
The lady never called back about Murray.
Big surprise (not). I could move these
foster
dogs so fast if
i just lied
about everything. I
should have just said, "Sure, he's
completely housetrained and he will never,
ever make a mistake. I'm absolutely sure
of his age, even though
he's a stray, and I know for certain
that he won't grow any more. He needs
no exercise at all and he can run around
town off leash, and
he CERTAINLY doesn't jump up on people." She
would have adopted him in a minute, I'm
sure. I'm too honest.
It just
doesn't pay. Of
course, then I'd get him back in 6 months
after he doubled in size and they totally
screwed him
up.
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