And Then There Was One

Hey all. I know it's been a good few months since our last post (October -- whooo) and I thought it might be nice to take a minute to apologize for that. 

Forgive us?

And also, to explain why we fell off the face of the earth for a while. 

Those of you who know me via other social media sites (DogForum, Tumblr, and Facebook are my other main networks) know that I'm in the foster care system, and that I've been living with a foster parent for the last few years. Her attitude toward me was less than desirable, but we'll not get into that now. We've steadily clashed on a number of things since I moved in, and a few months ago, those tensions reached an all-time high. I interfered in something I probably shouldn't have, got pissed off when she disregarded what I had to say  (which is an ongoing issue) and the night ended with her promising to give seven-day notice on me. 

For anyone not familiar with the foster system, this meant I had seven days to find somewhere for the dogs, find somewhere for myself, pack, and be out of the house. Seven days is not a lot of time, as anyone who's ever been evicted from a house could tell you, and when you have two dogs, it's even less time. I spent a week frantically calling rescues, local pet funds, dog sitters whose ads I'd picked off bulletin boards, friends, acquaintances, and anyone else who might be able to help. Within a couple days I had somewhere for Ghost to stay; he went to hang out with a family I had house- and dog-sat for over summer (featured in our "Catch Up - Dog Sitting!" post). I know the family well, and they adore their two existing dogs. The only concern was how the dogs would get along, but they quickly took to each other.

Throwback photo of Madi and Diesel, the family's existing dogs, from when we dog-sat over summer. Look, there's me!

I had somewhere for myself, too. My choir director had offered to let me stay with her for a while until I could get on my feet again. However, her rules were no dogs (allergies, landlord) and I wouldn't expect anyone to take me and one of my dogs into their home. 

That left me with Grem. Finding a temporary placement for a well-behaved, trained puppy is one thing. Finding a temporary placement for a fearful, reactive five-year-old dog is another thing entirely. We met with a woman who works for the social system who had mentioned possibly being able to take him for a while, and Grem and her existing dog got along great. But I had no solid answer.

Still not sure why nobody volunteered to foster me immediately. I mean, I'm adorable, right?

I was out a day early for ridiculous reasons and luckily, the foster system paid for a dog-friendly hotel for a few nights. I arranged for Ghost to go with his fosters that Sunday, along with all his belongings, and continued to frantically search out places and people who might take Grem. I called up a local group who's known for funding care and vet visits for impoverished pet owners, and through luck and the miracle of people, the group approved a request to fund two weeks of boarding for Grem. That would give me a bit of extra time to get something together for him, and might be just enough time. 

Sunday morning, the woman who we had previously met with (Mary) called to offer to take Grem. She had taken stock of her situation and would be happy to help. He went to her Sunday afternoon, and then I went with a social worker to pack up the very last of my items. That was a very crowded hotel room for a night.

This was my bestie at Mary's house. His name is Bear.

Fast forward three months. Ghost was officially rehomed two months ago. After being turned down from one house and finding nothing else, I realized it would be hard enough finding a place. I'm eighteen with no credit, no references, and still in high school...and I have a dog. Not the best odds for house-hunting. The family watching Ghost texted me after having him for a month. After a discussion between the whole family, they decided that they'd love to keep him permanently. The mother texted me to ask if I'd be willing to rehome Ghost to them. I already knew the answer was "yes" and the emotional response was to that definitive answer. 

With only one dog, it became slightly easier to find housing... but not easy enough. I had been looking for a place with a friend who would be happy to split rent with me, but between the two of us (both working barely-adults with pets, my dog and her cat) we still didn't have enough money to find something.

Two weeks ago, my choir director's husband put me in contact with a man he knew who rented out rooms in his house, and a week later, I moved it. I had a full week to myself before Grem came home, and now that he is home, we've been trying to get back to where we were. His cues are shot, his reactivity is back tenfold, and he's a bundle of nerves. It feels like all my hard work was for nothing. But I have him back, and that's what matters.

Home at last with Mom. What an ordeal.

Catch-Up Part II -- Ghost

Watch out, this post will be reeeally long. Because there's a ton of stuff to say! So after we hung out with Diesel and Madi for a week, Mom really started thinking about another pooch. She'd already mentioned it a few times, but never seriously, because she wasn't figuring into getting another dog for a year or two or more. But she saw how me and Diesel loved to play and decided that it might not be such a bad time to get me a sibling!

So about a week or two later she was talking to a friend named Ivy, and Ivy said she had gotten a puppy. And then she made the HUUUGE mistake of telling Mom... that there were some left. Her sister's dog had a litter of puppies (I think she said nine but a couple died... poor babies...) that were all looking for homes. Nymeria, the pup, sounded like an awesome dog. 

Obviously my first thought was, no way, I'd have to juggle work, school, Grem, and trying to figure out my next step in life, and a puppy? Hell no. 

And then I put some more thought into it.

Before you could say "woof," I was calculating finances, figuring out vet bills, planning schedules, and Googling puppy toys. I browsed all the puppy stickies on DogForum.com --"just as a reminder for later!"-- and brushed up on training. 

Less than a week later, I mentioned it to Shelley, who seemed fine with the idea. I was set to meet the litter and pick a pup within a week, but things fell through. After several texts exchanged with Ivy's sister, Stormy, I learned that a few other people were interested in pups, and that she would save one for me. At this point, I'm not going to lie: I panicked.

I've never had someone pick an animal out for me. All my pets have been ones that I, personally, chose. Grem was the first to crawl in my lap and nibble my chin. My snake had the coloring and temperament I wanted. My childhood cat was one I lured out from under a neighbor's bed and bonded with, and my second cat was from a litter down the street -- and was my pick. I've never had a pet I didn't choose, and I freaked out and thought about calling it off. 

But, lo and behold, my very famous guilt and strong desire to avoid conflict reared its head, and I stayed silent. I can't say it was a bad choice, but I've caught myself thinking, "I wish I had said something" more times than I care to count. 

I set up a day to hang out with Ivy and another friend, and that day, met up with Stormy and met my pup for the first time. 

I had already brainstormed names, and the two that stuck were Griffin and Ghost. I liked the "G" sound, and it fit well to have some sort of G-creature name to go along with Gremlin. 

He was this tiny little thing, less than ten pounds, and absolutely petrified from the car ride. His claws were like talons since nobody had cut them, and my shoulder was covered in drool in seconds because of his post-car anxiety. He was a breeze to carry and we marched home, stopping a few times on the way for some especially kind people to say hello. One thing I realized with him? Puppies attract people.

I let him down to potty and meet the other dogs, and take pictures, and then scooped him back up and put him down for a nap. Two hours later, he was ready to do a little more investigating... but not much. The yard was too far for him, so he stayed on the porch with me while the big dogs played in the yard. 

Such a tiny boy!

Would you believe me if I told you he's a Pit/Lab/Border Collie X GSD mix?

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Meeting Grem for the first time. Grem was very curious.

Meeting Chip.

Kisses!

Resting on Alice's foot.

Grem was very gentle with him.

Crate yoga! I'm not sure how this is comfortable, but this was his first nap. He can't sleep like this anymore -- he's too big!

Catch Up - Dog Sitting!

Whew, we've been super busy, so there's a ton of catch-up to do! There's a million photos to post and words to type and stuff to do and-- well, we have a lot to cover. It's been a couple months and nothing's been posted (MOM. She really sucks at consistency...)

Anyway, here's what we've been up to the past couple of months! It might get split in a couple of posts, because there are a lot of photos and a lot of words... but mostly photos.

Remember how I said we'd be house-sitting after I returned from Florida? Well, we did, and it went so well! Diesel and Grem wrestled, chased, and nommed each other the whole time, and Madi was a perfect little lady. Grem stayed in the bathroom while I was at work, and the other two had free range of the house and yard (as usual.) 

I also bought Grem some tasty chicken necks and started him back on TOTW! Yay! Now he isn't stuck with crap food anymore. He's gotten over his dislike of raw and seems to really love crunching on bones now, which is great! If I had the money and resources, you can bet I'd be feeding him raw, but I just don't have that kind of cash (more on that later ;)

Diesel, a Great Dane/Labrador mix. Very handsome dog!

Grem and Diesel listening to something.

Madi, a gorgeous Dogue De Bordeaux. She's ten and has a heart murmur and occasional seizures, but is a very affectionate pooch who loves everyone.

"What's this?"

The three pups.

Big yawn!

Something must've smelled good, I guess!

The gang eyeballing my food...

Sleepy Diesel. 

i got up for a few minutes and when I came back, this had happened. (also, whoa, that middle cushion is a completely different color from the rest of the couch.)

"Oh, was this your spot?"

Mom also gave me some super tasty food!

Look at my perfect shape. be jealous.

More to come, guys!