The Biggest Reason For My Absence Around Here

I have been volunteering as a dog walker at our local Humane Society. The dogs need to get out of their kennels every day for potty, socialization, and to help combat kennel stress. And, like most shelters and rescues, the staff can only do so much. So, they rely on volunteers to help out. It’s fun, and I get to interact with many different dogs, and, I hope, help them be socially and behaviorally well-adjusted so they find home sooner.

This is the shelter we got Tucker from, although at that time (a year ago last June), I was not a volunteer. So, fast forward to this year, and, well, I am sure you all know where this is going, so I am just going to introduce you to Starr, our new puppy. Here she is when we brought her home in July, at 8 weeks and 11 pounds:

Her story: Her parents, a pair of what were known to probably be American Bulldogs, came into the shelter with the mother dog very close to giving birth. She went to a foster right away and the puppies were born a few days later. The father was at the shelter on the adoption floor. They were named Padme and Anakin. Anakin was a big fellow- he topped 100 lbs. Padme was on the smaller side, between 60 and 70 lbs. Both Anakin and Padme found homes, Padme, of course, after the puppies were fully weaned. They were really nice dogs with lovely personalities. The puppies, who were called The Jedi Litter came to the shelter when they were 8 weeks and ready for adoption. The shelter posted pictures on the volunteer Facebook page. I made the “mistake” of showing The BaldMan, who has a thing for bulldogs. Specifically, English bulldogs, but I am not a fan. I do like the American version. We talked about it, I chatted with the volunteer coordinator, and since the puppies were getting adopted fast, we headed over.

I believe there were six of the eight still at the shelter, though two had already adopted signs on their kennel. We looked at the ones that were left (in pairs in kennels), and this little girl kept running to the front of hers and putting her paws up on the glass right in front of the BaldMan. Every. Time. We. Stopped. It was pretty obvious she (at the time named Kylo Ren, and yes, I know in the movie, that’s a boy) was saying “Pick MEEEEE!!!” I pulled her from the kennel and we took her to a meet-and-greet room. We brought her home that day when she had just turned 8 weeks. We renamed her Starr (for Bart Starr of the Green Bay Packers. Hey, Lambeau is a Packer boy, too!)

Here she is in early September, at just about 12 weeks. Grown already!

And, now, at almost 20 weeks (she hits that 11/7), she’s at 31 lbs. and growing. She has the potential to be a good-sized dog when she’s full grown.

So, that’s what I have been doing for the last few months- puppy training. Yes, it was a kind of impulsive decision what with the BaldMan’s surgery a few weeks after we got her. That impaired his ability to help some since he couldn’t lift her or have her pulling him so that it might impact his neck. And we were going away at the end of September before she was able to be boarded. They like over six months, and she would not have been fully vaccinated at that point, so I wasn’t going to put her in a possibly less than healthy situation. I trust the kennel, but puppies are more susceptible to a lot of things older dogs can handle better, so caution is not the worst decision. Our daughter took her while we were away. Anyway, puppies are a lot of work, as anyone who has raised a puppy knows. She’s doing well and is very eager to learn.

What about the boys? Well, Tucker thinks she’s great fun to play with, especially now that she is bigger and better able to handle some roughhousing. They race around the yard at full speed, and wrestle and just have a great time. Lambeau took more time to warm up. At eleven, I think all that puppy energy was a lot for him. He still gets impatient at times, so she’s still gated in the dining room unless they can be supervised. But when they are all together in the house, it’s getting less and less chaotic, so I think as she grows more, things will get calmer. I hope.

Adventures with Puppy. My life right now. You should remember to drink your water. Eat a vegetable. Get outside and refresh. Be nice to one another.

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My latest book is a collection of very short stories, half science fiction and half fantasy, called “Crossed Wires and Other Very Short Stories”. I have also written a few other short pieces, another collection, two novels, and an urban fantasy series. You can find most of them at Smashwords, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and wherever e-books are sold. A few are also available from Amazon in paperback. My novel, “Circle Unbroken” is also on Kindle Unlimited, if that’s your reading preference. You can find out about all of them here.

There are also some stories you can read here on my site, mostly the yearly Halloween short I write, but there are a few others. You can read them from here