What a week!

And that is an understatement!  Last week was crazy insane…it took me this long to recover enough to post about it.

It started last Monday evening when Dad called me.  Our 15 year old deaf, blind, barely-able-to-walk Rat Terrier ran away when she was let out to go potty.  It hit us pretty hard.  We’ve had Bebe for 13 years.

She was adopted by us after our Greyhound died of bone cancer.  A classmate of mine in high school who worked at a local vet bought in a photo of her to show me.  I took it home, showed it to Mom and Dad, and then went to work.  Half way through my shift, they came through the drive-thru with the dog.  I found out the next day, another family had come in, wanting to adopt her about 30 min after my parents took her home.

So…Bebe ran away.  But Dad and I are both firm believers in “Everything happens for a reason.”

On Wednesday, a coworker of mine sent out an email to everyone at the station that there was a Corgi at the city shelter, needing a home FAST.  If he didn’t get adopted, he would likely be put down.

Now, EVERYBODY AT WORK KNOWS I LOVE CORGIS.  I cannot stress that enough.  There wasn’t a single person in that building that didn’t think of me when Meg sent that email.

I mean come on!  Look at that face!!  Was there ever any doubt that he was coming home with me?

Nope.  And I had a plan!

So I called Dad, and asked him if he was interested in adopting him.  It took him about 10 seconds to say yes.  He’s wanted a Corgi for years; ever since I brought Strider home.  Cue frantic phone calls and text messages to Meg!  Thursday, Wizard (formerly Troy but dad renamed him) came home with me!

And Strider was not amused.   But I expected that.  After the initial rush of “omaigawdnewplace!!!” and “why did you bring this hyper ping-pong ball into my house?” from the dogs, they actually started getting along pretty well.  Or ignoring each other at least…

Except for this:

It didn’t last long.  Because Wizard discovered the sofa!

 

I think he was happy to sleep on a soft couch instead of a hot slab of concrete…

Well… Friday came along, and it was time to take Wizard to my Dad.  Went to work, worried that my house would be in shambles when I got home…yadda, yadda, yadda.

The house was fine.  Went to load up the car, and things went pear-shaped from there.  As I was taking an arm load of stuff to the car, a brown blur of fur ran out between my feet.  I thought it was Wizard.  He had no tags, and I live on a busy street.  So I took chase…and promptly stepped in a hole and rolled my right ankle.  When I was able to shake the stars from my eyes, I saw it was Strider, who had gone to wait by the car for me, like he always does when we go to Grandpa’s.  I finally get up, and manage to make it to the car and let the dog in, then load my crap in, and hobble back to the apartment to get Wizard.

It is not fun driving two and a half hours with a sprained ankle and two hyper dogs in the back seat.

We finally get to Dad’s house.  And Dad notices a message on the answering machine.

A trucker out of Ponca City called us.  He was picking up oil from one of the tank farms about 3-4 miles west of Dad’s house when he found Bebe curled up in the shadow of one of the drums.  Alive.

By this time, she had been missing for six days, four of which had heat indexes in the 100s.  A 15 yr old, blind, deaf, 16 pound Rat Terrier had somehow managed to make it that far for that long in that heat and survive.  He was able to get close enough to her to see and call our phone number on her tag.  He gave her some water and food, then let us know.  When we got there, she was still there.  Exhausted.  We got her into the car, and when she realized who it was, she just went nuts.  She was so excited to be going home.  And the strangest thing?  She’s acting like nothing happened!  Dad took her to vet on Monday with Wizard, and both dogs got a clean bill of health.  Bebe had only lost 2 pounds.

So, now…Dad and Kim have four dogs.

Add Strider to the mix, and it was a crazy weekend!

 

Wizard, Strider and Bebe waiting for dad to come home.

The Pack, trying to sneak out the door.  Wizard and Bebe standing by the door, Strider laying by my Dad’s feet, and Kim’s Carirn Terrier’s Toto (in pink) and Ruby (in red) to the right.

And finally, Strider and Wizard getting along enough to fall asleep only a few inches away from each other.

In the end, everything worked out…almost  Bebe came home, Wizard was saved from doggie death row and is settling in to his new home nicely, and I’m nursing a swollen ankle…

It was worth it.

 

 

 

 

 

Reflections

I’m feeling a bit contemplative this evening.  It always happens this time of year…even more so now that Mom’s gone.  I guess I’ve got a lot to think about.  My life has changed a great deal in the past two years.  It’s almost like I can’t catch a break.  Just when I think everything’s slowing down and I can get a deep breath in, something else knocks the wind out of me.

I miss Chelsea Road.  It’s a little road that dead ends in the middle of El Dorado Lake.  It’s where I’d go when I needed a place to think things through.  I haven’t been able to find anyplace like it here in Pittsburg…I haven’t felt like I needed it until now.  Maybe I should start looking.  I’d always feel better after a few hours out at Chelsea.

I know I have at least one person who I can talk to about this stuff, and I’ve recently just discovered a second person who has helped me more than I can ever tell her (and I’m definitely looking forward to visiting her next summer…my first *real* vacation).  Talking to my Aunt and Cousin always helps, but sometimes, I just have to work it out on my own, you know?  That’s where I am right now.  A “spring cleaning” of my brain of sorts.

And since I can’t visit Chelsea Road, I guess I’ll just have to make do with photos.

 

I guess I’ll end on this little contemplative note that used to pop into my head when I was younger, before I dealt with my depression.

If you decided to just walk away from everything…leave it all behind…computer, phone, everything…If you decided to walk away and start over, how long do you think it would take for people to notice you were gone?

El Dorado Lake

So, on the way up to the Flint Hills Scenic Byway, we swung by El Dorado Lake.  I took this picture out by Chelsea Cemetery.  It’s on a little road that dead-ends in the lake, and has always been one of my favorite spots to visit.  I’ve been going there for years, so I also get a first hand look at how far the lake levels have dropped.  This time, I was able to hop off the road, walk down to the shoreline, and grab a really nice piece of driftwood.  And no, the wood in the picture is not what I brought home.  *grin*

Walnut River

So, this is the Walnut River in El Dorado.  The river is slightly up here…normally you can see rocks going across the whole river.  This is a hugely popular fishing spot, and quite a nice spot to take pictures.  El Dorado Lakes’s spillway empties into this river, and when there’s been a ton of rain, the level of the water shoots up.  The highest I’ve ever seen it is about 6 inches below the roof of the bridge.  This is a very photogenic place.  I’ll probably post more pictures from this location.