Are you kidding me?

Work is bogus. The end.
I sit and watch people get hired, while I only got 20 hours last week.
Are you kidding me?
The frustration and anger I feel can not be put into words. Where's the trust? Where's the loyalty. Where's the halfway decent hours?

Halloween already!?

Well the last two weeks have just absolutely flown by, I can't believe it! So much going on, so much to do!

Work has been going halfway decent. I actually got some hours this week, which was great. I definately need it right now. Jon and I are trying so hard to save for things for the move and whatnot. Keyword: trying.

Speaking of that, I am actually starting to look forward to moving to vegas. I wasn't excited about it at all before, but I think it is actually the best move for us to make. Besides, potty training Annie in the freezing cold isn't exactly her thing. I can't believe that we move in two months. I mean, it still feels like forever because I'm impatient, but I know in reality that's not very long at all.

Today is Halloween and I am taking Grissom and Annie out with my sister's kids to go trick-or-treating. Grissom is a Lobster, and Annie a Pumpkin. They're stinkin' cute. I just hope it's not totally freezing or we'll have to cut it short.

Champ isn't going. I dont think that he would do well with all the masks and costumes. I think his rehoming time is creeping up on me. I can't decide if I should try to rehome him in Utah, or move him to Las Vegas and rehome him there. Of course I'm in no rush whatsoever. It has to be the perfect home, the right home. He has great potential for the right family, and I am so proud of how far he has come. He's a wonderful boy. The selfish part of me just wants to keep him because he's been with me for almost two years, and I can't imagine what it will be like when he's gone. But he needs a different kind of family. One that lives a lifestyle that's a better fit for him. I know Champ loves me, but I also know that his quality of life would be much higher elsewhere. Ugh, sooo tough. He's wonderful, he really is. And I know there's a family out there who needs him so much. No matter what happens, I am proud of Champ.

Annie Gets What Annie Wants.

Well, as everyone already knows, Jon and I got the most perfect little Boxer girl in the whole world. We got her from Legendary Boxers in Moroni, Utah and couldn't be happier with the relationship we have developed with hr breeder and have confidence in her quality and health. Just looking at her it is very clear that she is a beauty.


Little Annie is a sweetheart through and through. She is, of course, an active little thing, but is first and foremost a little cuddlebug. Don't get me wrong, my boys are a lot of fun, and I do adore them and love them dearly, but Annie is my first little girl, and my first cuddler and "people" dog. She just makes eveything a little bit better than it really is. lol.


Annie adjusted incredibly well to life with her new family. She goes home with Jon every night, and then is with me all day. It's only been three days and it seems that she already has the routine down and knows the drill. Even on the car ride home, there was only a few moments of crying, and then she settled right down on my lap and took a nap. She's wonderful. She is already responding to her name, and loves people. She has been a joy to have.



I know my family doesn't agree with the decision we have made but the fact of the matter is that it is a decision Jon and I made together, and we love her so much. Bringing Annie into our lives has strengthened our relationship even more, as it has given us this wonderful little girl to call "ours" and to care for and nurture together. We would not have it any other way. She makes life a little brighter, the sun a little warmer, and each day a little more meaningful. It feels wonderful to look at her sweet little face, and know that because we love her, because we take the time to care for her and listen to her, she will be alright. She will never know hunger, or the meaning of a raised hand. She will never shiver outside in the cold all night, or wonder the streets in search of love. She will never know neglect, or suffering. Because we care, Annie will always have everything she needs.



Annie is a riot. She loves to run around with my niece and nephew, and loves all the attention she can get. Annie is all about people, and being around people. We got her some new toys, and she loves loves loves her pink Kong Wubba Snugga. She absolutely adores it. She pounces on it, kills it, carries it around with her. It's the cutest thing. She isn't a little food mongrel like Grissom, and still isn't eating a whole lot for us, but at least she's eating. That's always a good sign. I know she'll fill up when she's ready, I'm just new to the finicky eater game. She also hates being left alone- especially crated- with a passion. We are working on that with her, and I know in time her confidence and security will grow and she will be fine. Until then, patience, patience, patience. lol.

I am so glad that we made this decision, even if it makes no sense to anyone but ourselves. I wouldn't trade one minute I've had with Annie for anything in the world. I love her sooo much. She's perfect. I could not be more proud of my Legendary Boxer.

Who pooped again?!

Wow, today was one insane, crazy day at work! I don't know why it was so hectic, but I was everywhere, all day. The dogs were more active than usual, the phone rang more than usual, the dogs pooped more than usual, (no, really, you'd be amazed at how much 25 dogs can poop!) they barked more than usual, they peed more than usual, and I had to clean more than usual. It was nice though, the dogs were good for the most part, just required absolute constant on-your-feet kind of monitoring, partly due to the lovely hole in the wall, courtesy Bella and Shep. lol. On top of that, with puppies boarding, there's bound to be kennel messes when I come in in the morning, and between the two golden puppies, I was definately cleaning up! Somehow Jon and I managed to get it all done, and I still have NO idea how. Suddenly it was 5pm, and I have no idea where the day went! Everytime I turned around, someone had pooped, someone else has peed, and someone was trying to hump someone else.
Luckily it was so busy that I didn't have time to realize how hungry and tired I was until I sat down at 5:15pm for the first time all day long. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. lol.
Jon and I went to Target to register for the wedding. That was a lot of fun! It was like walking through the store, marking everything I'd buy if I wasn't totally flat broke! lol.
Now it's 1am, and I am sitting at Ruff House, contemplating if I should even go home tonight, or go call it a night on the cot in the play yard. lol. Okay, okay, I guess I will go home. Tomorrow is Jon's birthday and is bound to be a busy, busy day, I could use whatever sleep I get! lol.

What about the pet homes?

It's not exactly a secret that Jon and I have been doing breeder research to add a Boxer puppy to our pack of pups. I must say that this whole search has been incredibly aggrivating amd has shown me a lot of what the "show dog world" is all about. I must say I'm disgusted.
I've done all the research, I've contacted all the top kennels, and I have asked all the questions. I've had my name on many wait lists, and have this week decided to remove myself and say to Hell with it. I am not a show home, and probably never will be. I'm sick and tired of these show breeders treating me like crap because I have no desire to take our puppy through to her Championship, and definately no desire to be the owner of a breeding female. I've ben approved as a pet home from every breeder I've contacted, but will only get a puppy "if they have something low quality" and "probably not from a planned litter." This is entirely stupid.
I can respect a breeding program that betters the breed and whatnot, but quite frankly what the Hell good does a bunch of perfect dogs do, if they never go into the pet homes across the country? It's like these poor animals are being bred for the SOLE purpose of the breeder taking them into the ring and saying "look what I made."
By denying pet homes a beautiful, well-bred puppy, it only encourages people to go to backyard breeders because they're the only way to go if you don't want to be discriminated against for not being a show home, and to not have to wait years before a top kennel has a puppy not worthy of the show ring. Unfortunately the results here are a poorly-bred puppy bound to have a million health problems bred into them.
Lucky for me in my search I stumbled across Legendary Boxers in Moroni, UT and have been treated wonderful. Finally, a breeder who produces show quality puppies, has 9 home bred champions in only 11 years of breeding, and is more than willing to place a show quality puppy in a pet home because it is what is BEST FOR THE PUPPY, and not "best for the kennel name." Very refreshing to see a breeding program about the welfare of every puppy produced, and not all about improving the kennel name.
I always thought I eventually want to breed Boxers, and show them, but these show breeders just aren't my group of people. So, Jon and I might not have our puppy quite as soon as we hoped, we will wait for our Legendary Boxer puppy, and it will be worth it.

I'm going to learn something today, dangit!

I suppose you could say that today was just simply "one of those days" where nothing seemed just and fair, and no matter how hard I try, someone is disappointed in something. We all have them. You know, one of those days that from the moment you wake up, the mere thought of getting out of bed and facing the so called "real world" seems exhausting, so you lay there until after 10am thinking that maybe if you wait long enough, the world will disappear before you even get up. Yup. One of those days.

I came to work around 4pm, feeling rather discouraged at my tiny shifts which result in tiny paychecks. I had a long talk with my boss, whom I actually like despite my schedule and pay- which says something. lol. I decided that toady, I'm going to learn something from these creatures we so lovingly call "dogs."

I sat in the play yard, in my chair, observing the dogs. I watched them play, communicate, interact, sleep, everything. Getting increasingly annoyed at a particular male Border Collie for his dominent aggressive habits, I thought to heck with learning from these guys today. I gave him a five minute time out, then let him back out, only for im to go directly back at harassing a goofy male White Boxer who seemed entirely oblivious to his "stalker" that was clearly trying to assert authority over him. Then my first moment of clarity hit me.

I feel a lot of pressure from family, friends, the world, etc. to abandon the things that make me the most happy in life: dogs. I hear all the time that my love for these animals is childish and that maybe when I "grow up and get real" I'll see that they're "just dogs" and nothing to be so concerned over. This job makes me happy. (ok, ok, so my hours tick me off, but the actual job in itself I love.) Dogs are just my "thing" and I love working on the happy side of it. I work with dogs that already have homes and for the most part are well taken care of and happy. I love that I come ere six days a week, with the company of my own two boys, and get to meet lots of wonderful people with their even more wonderful dogs. I let the pressure I feel get to me. It makes it harder to enjoy the things I love when people I care about have yet to accept that this IS me. The dogs ARE my life.

Here was this White Boxer boy, with an extreme stalker, trying to assert dominence over him, trying to tell him that he was inferior to him, and the Boxer wasn't even phased. He went about his carefree ways, and continued to be himself, and do whatever made him happy, despite pressure from jerk Border Collie mix. This was the first of a few lessons I learned from the dogs today.

The second lesson was triggered from Grissom's rather repulsive habit. It's no secret, he's a poop eater. Despite my best efforts to stop him, or catch it before it happens, sometimes he still gets to it.

I walked outside only to catch him face down in a pile of disgusting, smelly crap... nub wagging and everything. Of course I corrected the behavior, and as I cleaned up the remainder of the mess, and put him on a five minute time out, I got to thinking: If I could learn to enjoy half the "crap" in my life as Grissom does, I'd be set. Here is this little guy, deciding that this is nto in fact poop, but a tasty treat to be enjoyed. Now, of course I am not saying I am going to digest fecies, no that would be a far too literal translation. Maybe I just need to learn to enjoy the junk life throws my way, and "eat it up and enjoy!"

Okay, okay, so kind of a gross scenario to learn a lesson- but this is a doggy daycare, not some kind of deep, intellectual serious atmosphere. lol

The third and final lesson came to me from a Golden Retriever that comes on a regular basis. She has tendency to boycott the play group, and find a spot to nap, generally under a chair, in the middle of all the commotion, and take a good long nap. Dogs run past her, bark at people as they enter, step on her, romp in circles around her, and she doesn't care: she sleeps.

If I could learn to relax in the midst of all the commotion, I'd be in a far better place, and probably not so exhausted all the time.

These are the lessons at Ruff House for the day. Now I just neet them to apply them to this crazy, hectic thing we call life, and I'll be set.

I have never understood people who are not "dog people." I feel bad for all the wonderful moments they miss out on that these creatures have to offer.