No, I haven’t fallen off the face of the planet (though at times it has felt like it over the past few weeks) and I’m still trying to get to caught up but that’s not happened yet. And Holy cow …who’d have thought I’d be looking forward to going to work in order to get some rest? Believe it or not, as stressful as work currently is, it is one of my “quiet places” right now.
In the past month or so, I’ve not felt much like getting engaged with pretty much anyone … between the new grandbaby’s arrival, Cindy’s passing, the work BS getting worse, and hubby undergoing a second surgery I’ve pretty much been on overload.
The kids and grandbaby are doing well and hubby’s second surgery seems to have been a success (finally!) so he’s happy that he can finally at least see out of his left eye and that the facial twitching is hugely reduced. Hopefully it will go away completely over time. There’s not much I can do about work right now … it just flat sucks. Though I do have minions now. It only took pointing out to the twits I work for just how much is needed between now and February.
As if that all weren’t enough, we picked up little Miss Samira on Halloween. Man is she a kick and a half! She’s super cute which is good for her since she’s obnoxiously bossy. She loves to be with her people especially if a nap in a lap is available, but she hates to be held. We took her to the vet two days after we got her and she had a fit while I was holding her in the reception area after her checkup. I don’t do crates and had her on a harness and leash (she does great with them) but was holding her while waiting to pay. She wouldn’t shut up … kept yelling in my ear! I put her on the counter and she still kept yelling. I finally set her on the floor and she happily wandered around the entire area. Such a goofy cat.
A week or so prior to picking Samira up from the breeder, I stumbled across a pup I thought might be a good fit for us. I’d been checking Border Collie rescue sites online for a couple of weeks, not doing any super serious looking but wanting to get another dog sooner rather than later. Anyway, I found a little girl at a local German Shepherd rescue. They thought that she’s a Shepherd/Border Collie mix … I’m positive that she’s Border Collie with a little shepherd. What was odd was that the folks at the rescue kept trying to talk me out of taking her. Yeah, she’s a bit younger than I was looking for (she’s 6 or 7 months old) but I really wanted to meet her.
During one of our conversations, the gal I was talking to said something about her getting “kicked out” of her foster home, I guess thinking that would scare me off. I asked what she’d done to get “kicked out” and was told that she was bothering the dog that lived in the home and then got destructive. Um, duh … she’s a puppy and wanted to play, probably got yelled at by foster mom and was acting out because she really didn’t do anything wrong. Hell, I’d act out too. Of course now that we know she’s got a lot of Border Collie in her, that makes even more sense … you can’t train a BC the way you train a German Shepherd. It just doesn’t work.
The Saturday after we picked up Samira we went to the rescue to meet her … and brought her home. She’s about 34 pounds and we think she’ll probably top out around 45 or 50 pounds … smaller and more petite than Cindy was. And such a little doll! She’s very sweet and wants to please so training her is going to be really easy. We’re currently working on manners around people and other animals and she’s already showing a huge improvement.
She’s got a bit of an attachment issue. Then again who wouldn’t with what she’s been through … the rescue found her at a shelter, then fostered her out, only to have foster mom be upset and send her back to the rescue. When we picked her up she’d been back in the kennels a week or so. Poor baby! Even so, she’s only chewed up one thing so far (while we were at work) and I haven’t puppy proofed the house at all. I totally expected a complete disaster at home after our first day leaving her alone while we were at work but there was just the one thing. Nothing at all on the second day she was home alone though there were a few things she’d “moved”. I think she just needed someone who understands how to “talk” to her to help her learn.
She and Samira should eventually get along fine. We’ve pretty much got her to where she understands “calm” and “gentle” with regard to Samira (though she isn’t convinced that Sami isn’t playing when she hisses and swats at her face). Samira is learning too … she seems determined to “own” the entire house but has figured out that the new pup isn’t trying to hurt her, nor is she going to leave. We ended up getting a pet gate to keep them apart in order to go to work … even though there isn’t any intent to harm, Phoebe (the new pup) is 10 times Samira’s size and she’s still a puppy so she gets a little over excited at times and the potential is there for her to hurt Sami accidentally. But when we’re home and they’re both out, they’re doing really well together. Sami is even showing signs of wanting to try and play with Phoebe.
So … our boring, quiet home life is now energized by these two youngsters! Even the folks at the vets office thought we were nuts to have both a kitten and a puppy at the same time. Hell, at times I think I’m nuts. LOL But both girls are super smart and total love bugs. I look forward to the day when we don’t need a gate to separate the house to maintain the safety of both of them.
© Copyright dragonfae 2012
Among the Crystals, Dragons, and Fae 
Aw, never a dull moment…especially with animals! I’m sure we’ll be seeing many humorous posts about these two!! I look forward to them!
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Yeah, these two are anything but dull! I agree that as they continue to settle in and become pals that we will likely have plenty of entertainment. 🙂
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Aww! I’m so happy for you! LOL, it’s funny how fast the little critters just worm right into your heart, isn’t it? Pictures, we need baby pictures! 🙂
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Oh yeah …they’re definitely doing a lot of worming! Hubby, who claims that sitting politely 4 feet away is “begging” and constantly griped about Cindy watching while he ate had that little kitty in his lap, feeding her tidbits at dinner her first night here! Hypocrite. 😆
Ah yes … guess I need t do an Aurora update don’t I? I’ll see if I can get one out soon. 😉
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It will be wonderful that you will be able to leave any of the work issues behind as you have these two at home to take up much energy and time. Perfect duo. You are going to have fun the next few months. And congrats to hubby on the successful surgery.
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Thanks hun … I’ll pass that on to hubby. I know I haven’t had time to read much or post to other blogs but I did scan enough to see that it seems you are doing OK after your surgery. I hope yours was successful too. *hugs*
And yes, these two definitely don’t give us much time to sit and dwell on work stuff much. A very good thing. 🙂
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Sorta reminds me of a pair of human adoptees I know!
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😀
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A word of caution. Border Collies, even partial ones, love activities both physical and mental. They’re great chasers – check out “flyball” on the net. If you can keep her even moderately entertained, you should have no trouble with any destructive habits. But be VERY careful at what you laugh at – our boy Red developed a few bad habits as a pup ’cause he was cute as a 5 or 10-pound pup. As a 75 lb adult, well, not so much!
Otherwise, congrats on joining the wonderful world of Borders. You may be exhausted, bewildered, frustrated, or in hysterical laughter, but you will NEVER be bored! 😀
Glad to hear hubby’s doing better, too. and as long as Sami has some high ground for her own, she’ll be fine, too.
And now you have minions? Do we have to get you a monocle and a swivel chair for your office, or just a nice Darth Vader helmet? 😉
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How quickly we forget … John dear, Cindy was a Border/Lab mix. ‘Tis how I know for sure Phoebe has a lot of Border Collie in her. 😉
I remember researching the breed before Cindy found us and running across a statement … Border Collies will quickly figure out what you think is cute and will do that all the time. 🙂
No worries for Phoebe. She’ll have plenty to keep her busy.
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Um .. I’ll give you your choice. If you know things automotive, we’ll call it “brain fade” – kinda like “brake fade”. If not, we’ll call it a “brain fart”. That’s probably better – brain fart from the old fart. 😉
By the by, there may be one thing the books didn’t tell you. Borders see – well, something we don’t. Some will watch it, others will try to chase it. Our friends, from whom we got Red, had one who would stare for HOURS at the same point in empty space, occasionally erupting in a single bark. I’d say it was because she was “special” (we’re talking short-schoolbus “special”), but others of their pack did it, too. One of the things that make Borders so … well …. special. 😀
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😆 Fade or Fart … either works for me. 🙂
Yep … with ya on the “seeing”. Cindy used to chase things (probably brownies or house elves) late at night and once cornered something in the kitchen (we think it may have been some sort of gremlin).
In addition to being super smart, both our new girls are very high-vibration little beings and can already read energies pretty well. I think that’s why both had to come stay with us … we understand what they are and can help them learn whatever it is they need to learn, As long as they don’t piss off the fae here I’m good … pissing off the fae is bad!
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Ooops … missed that last part reading on the phone earlier. I already have a swivel chair at work. Not sure the monocle works with contacts though and not really thrilled about the helmet. Perhaps I could keep a broom at work … think I could talk my boys into wearing monkey suits? 😆
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Congratulations on getting back on the saddle so quickly with pets … and no less, a cat and dog. Hope they become friends .. meanwhile, love the pics!
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Thanks Frank! I think they will be friends, and probably soon. Samira is trying to play with Phoebe so we’re still encouraging the pup to be gentle (she gets a little too excited about play). Once Sami gets a little bigger and they figure out how to play together they’ll be chasing each other all over the house. 🙂
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I’m happy to hear that you have not one, but two new pets to help ease the transition after Cindy’s departure. I’m sure they are keeping both your mind and body plenty busy 🙂
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Thanks Dana … they are definitely keeping us on our toes! 🙂
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Those two are too cute for words! I hope all has continued to go well. Two new (and young!) pets can’t be easy, but I bet they’ve added a lot of of love (and amusement) to your life. 🙂
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Thanks Robin! Yes, much amusement here … and the unconditional love from animals is the best. 🙂 The girls are doing really well together and they both want to play all the time. Hubby is the funniest though … he’s like an overprotective mother with Samira. 🙄 He’s afraid Phoebe is hurting her when Sami growls and gives me a skeptical look when I assure him that it’s a play growl. I’ll have to do an update on their progress (yes Brea, I’ll do one on Miss Aurora first) but they are having a ball together.
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That is a very sweet kitten!
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Ha! Well … she looks sweet. As her personality blossoms though, she’s actually turning into an obnoxiously bossy little brat! 😆 She’s even gone so far as to try and set the pup up to get her in trouble.
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