The last week or two have consisted of fatigue, overtime (and then some), a jacked up foot/ankle, a little more overtime, boredom due to jacked up/foot ankle, struggling to figure out where I want to live in a few months, and the list could go on and on and on.
Well, thanks to a young four legged who trusted me with a few days of his life, things became a little fun yesterday during my day off.
Usually my days off consist of laundry, watching stocks, trolling Facebook, checking emails for something magical that never seems to appear, and then joining the ladies for Wag Along Tuesdays at Memphis Animal Services.
For those who do not know me too well, I have a ton of wanderlust still. When one has lived and traveled overseas off and on for 6 years or so, it gets tough being in a place you haven't lived in since you were in high school. Living in Memphis for over eight months?? Would have never thunk it!!!
Now to the fun stuff. Recently I decided to help a young dog formerly named Tattoo out in starting his new life. He spent the weekend at Memphis Animal Clinic, since I was doing the kennel shifts. We got to spend a little time together, and he was very respectful of his new temporary lodging place. The moment he got his own run he embraced his spot, and sucked down a whole bowl of water like a hoover vacuum will clean that mess of dog hair you have in your bedroom.
Saturday afternoon checking out things outside as the day drew to a close
Now oddly enough, I was a little in awe of this boy Saturday evening. I left the clinic thinking that this dog would not bark at all. Well, Sunday morning changed that. Sometimes we know what a dog is saying when they bark or make a certain sound - "get me outside before I make a mess in my bed", is usually common-theme when it comes to reading a dog's mind. Other times they know it is time for a feeding or perhaps they need a refill of their favorite frosty beverage (only if your dog rolls that way - no pun intended). Whatever the reason for his barking I just kind of took in the sound as it still did not retract from that twangy stuff blaring over the portable speakers in the kennel area. Tattoo did teach me that some dogs just want to have their own space, and when they want to share that bubble with a human, they will let ya know.
: At least there's a warm fuzzy blanket in here".
"There's that idiot again sneaking another picture of me. I can see you".
So we will fast forward to Monday evening. I received an email saying this canine friend of mine was going to need a leash collar for his ride on Tuesday. I just usually roll with a slip lead if a dog is riding with me, but this guy was going on an adventure to start a new beginning in his life. He needed to roll with a little style. I found one of those popular Lupine peacock leach and collar sets to give the boy before his ride. One big mistake - I placed the leash on his kennel door and you could tell he felt a little misled.
Tuesday morning I arrived at work earlier than ever, but thankfully it was not work related. I got Tattoo out of his kennel, and we took a quick stroll outside so he could take care of business. He learned that when you ride with me you gotta at least go two hours toward your destination before you can make a pit stop. As we left Midtown, I drove out to a Shell, and then on Walmart, so I could stock up on Clif Bars, Naked Juice, and of course some ALPO Snaps. That antsy fool swore I was gonna leave him there alone in my car at Walmart. I could hear barking as I walked away within seconds. Once I arrived back at the car, I could hardly get in without him wanting to jump out.
A little selfie before leaving the clinic
Showing off his collar/leash set before I filled up the tank
Once there was a man who said this,
If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that's a full day. That's a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you're going to have something special. Thanks to the late Jimmy V for that one.Well, thanks to a young four legged who trusted me with a few days of his life, things became a little fun yesterday during my day off.
Usually my days off consist of laundry, watching stocks, trolling Facebook, checking emails for something magical that never seems to appear, and then joining the ladies for Wag Along Tuesdays at Memphis Animal Services.
For those who do not know me too well, I have a ton of wanderlust still. When one has lived and traveled overseas off and on for 6 years or so, it gets tough being in a place you haven't lived in since you were in high school. Living in Memphis for over eight months?? Would have never thunk it!!!
Now to the fun stuff. Recently I decided to help a young dog formerly named Tattoo out in starting his new life. He spent the weekend at Memphis Animal Clinic, since I was doing the kennel shifts. We got to spend a little time together, and he was very respectful of his new temporary lodging place. The moment he got his own run he embraced his spot, and sucked down a whole bowl of water like a hoover vacuum will clean that mess of dog hair you have in your bedroom.
Now oddly enough, I was a little in awe of this boy Saturday evening. I left the clinic thinking that this dog would not bark at all. Well, Sunday morning changed that. Sometimes we know what a dog is saying when they bark or make a certain sound - "get me outside before I make a mess in my bed", is usually common-theme when it comes to reading a dog's mind. Other times they know it is time for a feeding or perhaps they need a refill of their favorite frosty beverage (only if your dog rolls that way - no pun intended). Whatever the reason for his barking I just kind of took in the sound as it still did not retract from that twangy stuff blaring over the portable speakers in the kennel area. Tattoo did teach me that some dogs just want to have their own space, and when they want to share that bubble with a human, they will let ya know.
So we will fast forward to Monday evening. I received an email saying this canine friend of mine was going to need a leash collar for his ride on Tuesday. I just usually roll with a slip lead if a dog is riding with me, but this guy was going on an adventure to start a new beginning in his life. He needed to roll with a little style. I found one of those popular Lupine peacock leach and collar sets to give the boy before his ride. One big mistake - I placed the leash on his kennel door and you could tell he felt a little misled.
Tuesday morning I arrived at work earlier than ever, but thankfully it was not work related. I got Tattoo out of his kennel, and we took a quick stroll outside so he could take care of business. He learned that when you ride with me you gotta at least go two hours toward your destination before you can make a pit stop. As we left Midtown, I drove out to a Shell, and then on Walmart, so I could stock up on Clif Bars, Naked Juice, and of course some ALPO Snaps. That antsy fool swore I was gonna leave him there alone in my car at Walmart. I could hear barking as I walked away within seconds. Once I arrived back at the car, I could hardly get in without him wanting to jump out.
Once there was a man who said this,
I can not credit the young boy for moving me to tears (that was reserved for a few hours later when I saw the grave site of one of my heroes).
I definitely spent a ton of time in thought and laughed my ass off though between 7:30-10:20 yesterday morning. I never thought I dog could spent so much time getting to know the front and the back of a small vehicle like Tattoo did. He spent most of his time in the front seat, but once I let those windows down just a tad, he was all over the place.
font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">He was like that kid spends so much time ever so patiently waiting to see the beach for the first time, or that foreigner flying into America for the first time and gazing down at the sights of this beautiful nation. For the first two hours of that ride, he was not interested and sleeping AT ALL. The feel of that fresh Tennessee air blowing at his face brought joy and smiles to us both. When he finally did lay down towards the end of the ride I was a little disappointed. I could go on and on about the fun time we shared, but I will end this with a few pictures. Yesterday, thanks to the dog formerly known as Tattoo, my friend Kent and his kid, and a few random strangers, I did just about have the perfect day.
Thanks for reading!
Just in case you needed to know what put the icing on the cake for the near-perfect day. . . . . . .
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