Moose, the great distractor

Me as a baby, with my grandfather.

I'm pretty sad right now, friends. I won't go into why. But it has been such a good thing to have Moose! That dog is just a sweetheart, an angel!

My mother told me that her father loved St. Bernards. I did not know this. I loved my grandparents with every fiber of my being. I have to wonder if Granpa was influencing my snap decision to get Moose. I certainly never wanted a St. Bernard; I'm a German Shepherd girl, thanks to Harley. And I certainly was NOT looking for a puppy that day. I wanted my next dog to either be a rescued dog from a shelter or breed rescue, or a remarkable german shepherd.

Maybe a factor also was I was homesick for my best girlfrienda Jennifer, and her kids. Or that Moose has small, weird looking eyes, just like me. :-)

I don't know why, I'm just glad I have him. I hope someone, somewhere, genetically engineers puppies that are born housebroken! :-)

At first Bungee and McGwire were afraid of Moose. I just decided to let them out yesterday and supervise, to see what happened. Moose hopped around all excited for a while. The rabbits ran. But their ears were "playful perky". So I wondered, were they scared, or happy? Instead of running and hiding, they'd run all around and not seek to hide under furniture. Things that make you go "hmmm"! Then, Moose got tired and laid down. The rabbits noticed that Moose wasn't chasing them, and actually started tearing by Moose very fast. Then McGwire (in the pic) finally went up to Moose as if to say, "Aren't you going to chase me?" Hilarious!

Being Single a Bad Business Decision

Have a new VP at our company, and he held a meeting yesterday. I work for a great company that is "family friendly", does "AWA's" (alternate work arrangements), etc.

The new VP is going to put a stop to that. He said the people who work a few days a week from home because of their children may continue to do so, but that would be one of the few examples of "good reasons" to work at home.

Once again, I'm screwed because I'm single.

Never mind the fact that working from home just one day a week would save me at least two hours in commute time, not to mention the cost. I don't deserve that convenience or cost savings because, as someone who did not spew out a spawn, I am of less value as a person. My needs come second.

I should be used to this by now. As a nurse I was expected to work the suckiest shifts, the holidays and overtime because I didn't "have a family". So I guess my life and interests have less meaning?

I should just start telling people I'm married and have a screaming brat of a child, just so I could get the same benefits as other married people.

But that still doesn't make up for the economics. It is impossible to afford a decent house as a single person in Denver. You need two incomes. Two bedroom condos start at $165,000, and that's without a yard or a porch. If you're single and you actually want some company (like a dog), you have to buy a house. Decent three bedroom houses here start at $200,000. This compares to $60,000 in Kansas.

So, that means that as a single person, I need to make more money. But single people are not promoted at a high rate. Put on top of that the fact that attractive people are favored for higher paying jobs and promotions, and I'm totally fucked. And no one is buying me dinner or kissing me on the mouth.

What a bunch of shit. Grrrr.

Some days you wish you never opened the newspaper.

I think some people deserve to rot in hell. Too bad I don't think there is a hell.

I think we should lock the mother, stepfather, AND THE UNCLE THAT TURNED HIM AWAY in a jail cell and beat them daily and starve them, so they can see how it feels.

Harsh? Waah. I don't care.

And what about this asshole? Had a seizure and drove his newer-model SUV into a hotel, killing one and critically injuring another. Says he "couldn't afford his seizure medications". Hmmm, but you CAN afford a $35,000 SUV? Fuck you. Oh, and here's a clue: if you aren't taking your seizure medicines for whatever reason, DON'T GET BEHIND THE WHEEL, FUCKTARD!

I suppose his right to drive is much more important than the right of others to live.

A Mother's Guilt

I never understood why new moms were so broken up when going back to work. I always thought they would be glad to get a break from a screaming, pooping kid. But it kills me to leave Moose while I go to work. I feel so guilty! So I guess I "get it" now.

No time for computers, no time for site tinkering. It's all Moose, all the time. He's so cute! I'm taking him for a car ride every day to get him trained while he's still small enough for me to push around.

He begins puppy obedience a week from today. :-)

Moose's First Day Home

I'm so tired I can't hardly capitalize my sentences.

Lots to tell you about the puppy today. too tired to type. too tired to talk. soooo tired! and I didn't get my apartment cleaned like I wanted. It was all day, take the dog for a long walk, then come home and he'd pee on the carpet. Not his fault; the fault of the breeder who paper trained him. Never paper train a dog. Always crate train.

LEFT: Moose is the puppy on the bottom. My new baby!

I took him to two pet stores today, to socialize him. he had crowds around him. everyone loves him. I've met more people in my apartment complex today than the whole 9 months prior. He's popular and has made friends with two other dogs, Max (part jack russell, part daschund), and Kingston, the most gorgeous 120 pound Malamute I've ever seen.

He's becoming socialized a little bit better. My apartment manager is going to come by at noon and let him out, which is a load off my mind because he's too young to hold it that long.

My vet gave me a tude about how it's not fair to keep a dog in a kennel as long as I'm going to (I'm at work, 9 hours away from home) and I said, well, I'll dedicate my whole evenings to him. Most people have lives or kids and don't pay that much attention to their pets as I will. He's also going to start puppy obedience as soon as I can afford it, and when he's six months he's going to doggy day care 1-2 times a week. also, starting January I'm going to work from home one day a week and so I'll only be away from home four days a week.

bookmark his website cuz I'll be adding pics constantly: Moosehead's Page.

the pic of me is hideous. dog damn it.

the vets office went nuts over him. they broke out the digital camera and took pics of him for their bulletin board. he threw up after his shot :-(

the bad news: he has intropy of the left eye (the lid turns inward). I suspected a problem, which is probably why the breeder sold him to me for less and said she woudn't breed or show him. the vet wouldn't have noticed that, or his tummy rash. i had to point it out to her.

When he's neutered they'll have surgery on his little eye. AWWW!

he weighed a little over 20 pounds at the vets today (10 weeks old) he kept walking into the glass thinking it was a door and bumping his head.

things moose learned today: "kennel in" (he goes into the car, or he goes into his crate at home), "kennel out" (he gets out of the car), how to ride in the front seat, and how to walk down stairs. walking better on leash but won't stay on left side.

sooooooo tired. i'm not making sense, and my punctuation is like that of a republican vice president.

tomorrow is the season premiere of buffy the vampire slayer! woohoo! that show makes me feel tingly in my naughty places.

a friend at work is taping the sopranos for me. sucks not to have cable. she;ll also try taping six feet under for me too. you should watch those shows they so kick ass.

moose doesn't like baths. holy god. he went mach 10. freakazoid.

and now for the story of my rabbits first seeing moose from across the room today... how to describe their reaction.... hmmm...
have you ever seen popcorn popping in a pan when someone forgot to put the lid on, and it's like a snowstorm of kernels flying everywhere? these rabbits were airborn. they SCREAMED IN TERROR. (ever heard a rabbit scream? the most awful sound in the world). Moose was across the room not doing anything! He freaked out and ran for the front door, then peeked around the corner, terrified. the rabbits looked like they were caught in a tornado, bouncing off their cage walls. litter went everywhere. you had to see it to believe it. i've never seen anything like it. The rules of gravity did not apply to them.

please forgive the worst grammar, capitalization and punctuation ever to spew forth from me. i'm on benadryl for an allergic reaction so that doesn't help either. Nite all!

IT'S A BOY!

My new baby!!!

Name:
Registered Name = "Simply Moosehead's Heinous Hangover"
Call Name = MOOSE!
Age: 10 weeks
Weight: 20 pounds
Breed: Saint Bernard


Yes, you all saw it coming, didn't you? I went to pick up my friend Jennifer's dog, and ended up leaving with one for myself, too. I'm insane. Broke and insane.

By the way, I'm usually much more glamorous than I am in that picture. Really.

You can see more of Moose at his website.