More of Jack - for Carol

10 on Tuesday

And look, it's actually Tuesday this time!!

1. I spent the weekend in Chattanooga, TN with Veronica for the Chattanooga Chomp's Crazy Train flyball tournament. V had a GREAT weekend in spite of the yeast infection she's battling in one ear. Maybe not her fastest times but she was consistent and I'll take that any day!

2. B starts a new job on Monday. It's a long, ridiculous story but it's worked out in the end. He'll be working at our training facility and the best part...his "benefits package" is being able to take our dogs to daycare and free enrollment in classes! Sweet!! That's especially good news since...

3. It looks like Ralphie might be repeating Level II Obedience. Not because he's bad, but because I sorely underestimated the amount of time and effort that I would have to invest. Given that we really only practice one day a week, he's doing FANTASTIC! I'm just not sure it's enough to convince me that Level III is a good idea at this point. The "stay" command just isn't in his vocabulary...and "down stay".... ::snort:: The down stay usually ends in my standing on his leash which basically pins him to the ground. When he gives up, he rolls over on his back and grins up at me. My hysterical laughter doesn't exactly help matters.

4. Roll Tide!! Alabama 41 Georgia 30 - I was sure I was going to have a heart attack in my hotel room Saturday night!

5. Meatball has been adopted! Yay for him - he deserves a home where he can wander freely and now he has just that. And I have my second bathroom back - no more sitting on the toilet waiting for an 18lb cat to jump in your lap!

6. Click HERE to see my lovely sister, brother-in-law and nephew. Hey, just because he's furry doesn't mean he's not my nephew! My friend and fellow rescuer took these wonderful photos in San Clemente, CA.

7. I'm sick of political emails. I don't want to see pictures of Sarah Palin in an American flag bikini (though I realize that many of you do!) any more than I want to read about Barak Obama being an Islamic terrorist in disguise. I simply don't care. In my world, politics is one of those subjects that isn't up for discussion. I've educated myself on the issues that I feel are important. I know who I'm voting for. Email propoganda is wasted on me.

8. If I ever complain about not having enough work to keep me busy (we're talking about my paying job here...my regular life is plenty busy!) please punch me square in the face. I've been complaining for oh, about 18 months. And I'm now eating those words. Every. Single. One of them!

9. Who? Me? LOVE that red nose!

10. If I leave 10 blank...it would really only be "9 on Tuesday" and that just doesn't sound as fun...

Brody aka Jack - for Carol

Who is the animal?

If you made it thru the dog fighting episode of BONES on Fox last night you probably saw this commercial. If you didn't see BONES last night you should really try to find a download of the program. It seemed to be loosely based around the Michael Vick story, though those involved in the fighting weren't celebrities.

The story line was sad, but I think it's all too common. Dogs exploited for entertainment and profit. It's clear to me who the animal is...I wish it were clear to everyone.

Coincidence?

Remember Ruby? The little Doxie-mix foster we pulled from the shelter back in November:

The same shelter now has this little dog named Sophie:

Sophie was picked up by animal control in the same area where Ruby was found. Sophie is approximately 3yo and based on a few...um...physical features, I'd guess it's been about a year since her last litter. Ruby was 1yo in May.

Coincidence?? My guess is NO!

The good news is that Sophie is headed to New Hampshire on my transport this coming weekend - otherwise, I'm afraid Brandon would have had a fight on his hands!

Ten on Tuesday...

Yeah, I get that it's actually Wednesday...but it's also been more than month since I updated so this is by far the easiest way to do this!

1. We recently had a very successful fundraiser at Art Buzz - if you're not familiar it's great for a girl's night out (though men are welcome too). You BYOB and they provide the canvas, paint and inspiration. You leave with a painting...and a slight buzz depending on your drink of choice :-) We chose the painting, filled the class and Art Buzz graciously donated more than $300 to our rescue group! Check them out at http://www.artbuzzbirmingham.com/. My blue dog original below:

2. We spent six days in the San Diego area with my sister and brother-in-law during August. The weather was amazing (no wildfires or earthquakes = amazing to me!) and we had a great time.

3. It was nice to have a break from the dogs, although we owe our dogsitter an astronomical amount of money. Our dogs are pets, but managing a small herd is also a part time job. It was nice not to think about feeding times, pooper-scooping or medicine. We did get to have fun with my sister's dog though - Ozzy is a hoot:

4. We spent the better part of one day at San Diego's Wild Animal Park. I was super excited but I had no idea it would be as incredible as it was. Learning about their captive breeding programs and their endangered animals...I could have spent the entire week there!

5. I also go to visit with a few friends while on the west coast - two I'd met, and two I'd not met before. Pizza with Sam and Brandon and the Hollywood Walk of Fame with Melissa and Chris. Boy there were some total freaks out there...!

6. Hollywood was followed by a night at Knott's Berry Farm. I could have done without one of the two rollercoasters I rode, but it was quite entertaining to hear my husband and brother-in-law screaming like little girls!

7. We got a call from our dogsitter near the end of our trip and I cringed when I saw her number come up on my caller ID. She generally only calls when there is a problem. And when there's a problem, it's generally bad. But this time (thank GOD!) she was calling because she had exciting news about Lily - Lily willingly went for a walk with her husband! Now, most of you are probably thinking, "Okay....that's a big deal because...?" Lily is, among other things a fruitcake. Even on her behavior meds, she loves me, Brandon and our dogsitter. She tolerates our vet. That's where it ends with her. So her going on a walk with a man she's only met once before (and she didn't particularly care for him then!) is HUGE in LilyWorld.

8. We returned just in time to start scrambling for Hurricane Gustav. Thankfully, we're far enough north that our biggest concern is usually evacuee traffic, but I spent last Saturday in Mobile. Several of us drove the shelter vans down to help evacuate their adoption floor. 41 dogs and 11 hours later, we made it back home. We weren't able to clear the entire shelter, but we did our best and made the load a bit lighter for the employees who braved the storm at the shelter.

9. Birmingham did receive it's fair share of evacuee traffic. The hotels are full and the Red Cross has at least three large shelters set up. I spent a few hours yesterday in the Civic Center parking deck helping care for dogs that came in with the shelter evacuees. For the approximate 200 families staying at the Civic Center, we had dogs from three families. THREE. How many people left their pets behind? How many felt they didn't have a choice? Didn't we learn anything from Katrina?

10. And finally a hilarious picture of Ralphie sporting his business casual look (the tie and collar say business while the lack of pants says casual):