We have a new dog: Grayce, a Beagle puppy. How we got here is the main topic of this post. The tale is a little involved, so stay with me!
Pam will have more to say on the background of us getting a new dog; she had been looking for a while. This chapter started with a trip to our local vet.
Early this week one of the outside cats, Scamp, showed up with a large cut on his leg. Pam decided Scamp needed medical attention, so she shoved him into carrier and off we drove to New Hampton for a vet appointment. (New Hampton is about 30 minutes away from us.)
At the bottom off the off-ramp to town was this sign:
After dropping Scamp at the vet for an overnight stay, we did some grocery shopping and went home. (Scamp was picked up the next day after surgery, was confined, has since recovered and is back in the neighborhood with leg stitches and two fewer testicles.)
Pam proceeded to call the number and, after some conversation, decided to buy Grayce, the last of the puppies in the batch.
Grayce arrived on January 29th. She is a cute little puppy with, it appears, a pretty mellow personality. She will need it when getting used to the other household dogs and cats. So far Pam has kept Grace in the laundry room, which has a gate-blocking entrance into the rest of the house. Eventually Grayce will have full run of the place, but for now Pam is trying to keep the initiation into the house as gentle as possible. (Just to mention, Grayce is not yet fully potty trained.)
I put together this 3:16 video of Grayce’s first time in the yard and, later in the video, playing in the laundry room.
There was not a lot of other news this time. My new crown came in but was not to my dentist’s liking so it was sent back to be recast. Becky came over to help Pam groom JoJo a bit. (And to meet Grayce!) Weather has been very mild and dry for January with the exception of several bitterly cold days last week with wind chills hitting -41 and an actual air temperature -18. We ordered and received another fill of propane.
On the upside, a few days ago we set a few record highs with temps in the upper 40s and even low 50s. Next snow may be a week from now if the long-range forecast is accurate.
I am going to close out this post with a photo of several of our cats taking in morning sunlight through our east window.
At back left is Stirling, with Snickers standing on the sill and Reese lying down. AJ is on the chair. Note lack of snow on the grass outside.
That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!
Pam’s Penny
I’ve been missing Blondie girl for six months. And wondering if I am too old for one more dog. In late November I started looking at the online rescue sites for Beagles. And inquired about five different dogs in five different Midwest states. Oh dear, so many poor little pups from medical facilities and breeder overstock. So many Beagles with psychological issues. After all my years in cat rescue, I am genuinely weary of animals with psychological issues. Bless the rescues for the work they do; I just can’t go there any more.
And then a sign on the side of a road. And the last female puppy in a litter, located just seven miles from Elma. And a search through Heart House for the pup supplies tote, something I seem to have kept for over a dozen years. And washing the dog toys, still left from the two remaining geriatric dogs (when they had teeth). Sometimes The Universe speaks and it’s time to pay attention. So I did. And I am now a puppy concierge.
Happy Trails.
P.S. Years ago, Toby suggested I name any future dog something with “gray” in it, since I seemed to be naming dogs after hair colors and my own hair was turning gray. Which explains the “Gray” in “Grayce.”
New feature: Humor of the week.
