Slight Progress

Sally has diarrhea right now. Oh yeah!

Nothing like waking up to the smell of poop. Let us say that I've stocked up on newspapers to line her crate.

I put her outside to clean inside and she buried herself into the bushes in my backyard. She has done this before, but the terror in her was lost. I was able to come close and pet her similar to when she's in her crate. The time I took to pet her in the house is paying off. I was able to pull her out of the bushes and put her leash on. There wasn't the panic like before.

Yet, I will take the panic over the poop any day. I smell it now but don't see any. UGH! For what I've researched, a diet of rice and boiled chicken is at hand for a few days.

James Taylor Fans???

Found out a gem here. Free download...so HURRY.

James Taylor
Live at Fillmore East, New York, January 25, 1971.

Paul McCartney was in the audience. The Beatles’ Apple label had given Taylor a big boost by releasing his first solo album and a grateful Taylor opens the show with a Beatles song. Similar to John Denver in style and content, Taylor played "drifting songs" about faraway places and times past. His songs struck a chord with a generation of youths growing up and out of their teenage rages. Fire And Rain, Carolina On My Mind, Sunny Skies all had a calming effect on a generation grinding to a halt after years of experimenting with the counterculture. Together with his fellow singer-songwriters, Taylor was one of those who created the soft-rock category but unlike them, he never grew out of it.

At this show, James Taylor previewed several new songs from his next album Mud Slide Slim And The Blue Horizon

Stitches Out

Sally got her stitches out this afternoon. I keep learning lessons from this dog.

The first was when I took the top off her crate. As soon as I unscrewed the top of the crate and lifted it, she bolted out. The first time she ran into my TV room, under the table. She is brilliant at hiding. It was work to get her out and very stressful. She clings to the carpet for dear life.

I get her back in the crate.

I let several minuets pass and try again. As soon as the top comes off...BOOM...she bolts through the sliding glass screen door outside. Just went right through the screen like a knife through butter. I took off after her with a gusto I haven't mustered in a while. If she gets into the ivy or back fence, I have a tremendous fight on my hands getting her out.



She runs all the way to the end of the yard, which is fenced-in thankfully, and then back towards the house. I am hoping she will go back intp the house. If she gets down the ally, she is out front and then I have an entirely different scenario. She could get into the street and I would never get her.

Chasing her, I realized how out of shape I am!

She goes into the house and I hear a bang. I see the front screen door open.

I run out through the screen door and don't see her. I go back in the house and look at all the places she hides and don't see her. She is a black dog so it’s difficult to spot her in a small corner. I go back in the TV room and she is stuffed in a corner under the coffee table.

This couldn't be worse for her trip to the vet! I wanted her to be relaxed and she is totally stressed out.

I put the bottom part of the crate in my back seat and finally get her in the car with a towel over the top for seclusion. We head off to the vet.

The stitch removal took ten minutes. Very nice people. I can tell a well run vet/Dx's office the first few seconds I enter. This place was good.

On the drive home she did well. I'm sure she was petrified of all the noises. I was encouraged in how she exited the car when we got home. The first trip back from the vet she was so afraid it was nearly impossible to pull her from the carpet--she cleaved to it for dear life.

This time with leash on, she walked out and right up the driveway to the yard and then into the house. In the house she goes to her bottom stance until she finds a secure place. I put her in the laundry basket and she snuggled in my dirty clothes.

After getting the bottom portion of the crate from my car, I attached it and she went inside. I gave her a rub down then a treat. She is resting now.

Back to a dog's life...

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A Safe Place

I've had Sally for almost two weeks. I take her to the vet Tuesday to get her stitches out after being fixed.

Sally reminds me of an autistic child. She seems to have little emotional connection. I think she was a feral dog that will most likely always be wild at heart.

She sits in her crate 23.5 hours a day. She just sits and stares. This is not a good life for a dog. What the heck does a dog's mind contemplate? It seems her entire existence is to be safe. That's all she is interested in...being safe, and her crate is safe.

Walkin' in LA

Mission Persons said, "Nobody walks in LA!"

Well, Sally did last night. We went on our longest walk ever...at night. It has to be dark and quiet for her to relax, so about 12:30am I took her out and she walked on the street at a normal pace. By the looks of her nails, she needs to walk more on solid ground to widdle them things down some.

She's still reluctant to come out of her crate, but last night after our walk I laid my hand in the cage and for the first time she rests her head on my hand. Normally, this would be no biggie...but with Sally and all I've been through with her, this was an event.

One Step Forward, Three back?

This morning I took Sally for a walk, do her business, etc. She was very skiddish from the get-go. My neighbor decided to rent a room to a guy that has turned the backyard into an autoshop. He's a nice guy, but...

Sally did not respond well to the power tools, revving engine, and loud clanking. So I walked her through my neighbor's yard to the front yard and then out to the street. More noises! Cars, stupid barking dog across the street (anybody have any mace?), helicopter overhead...it was too much. She never relaxed.

I determine her feelings by her tail. Normally it is tucked so far between her legs, she looks like a he. Every now and then it relaxes to hang straight down the the ground which is better than the full-curved tuck.

Instead of pushing it, we walked back and she belined for home to her crate. When she marches home it feels like a dog that loves to walk, pulling full steam ahead rather than her typical sheepish creeping.

So, it's a one step forward, three steps behind kinda thing. She requires a lot of time and patience.

One Step at a Time

Last night we had the longest walk so far. She seemed to walk like a normal dog, sniffing the ground. It was late and dark which puts her at ease.

Today I walked her and although it was bright and sunny, she responded as well. Cars that drove by which used to scare her immensely did not have the control they had previously.

I made a thread about dog training in a few forums and received some good advice. I need to get her some yummy treats.

I can't help but think of a psychology professor in college. At the end of the semester she said, "Class, I have a confession to make...I have a PhD and to be honest, the best advice I've ever read on behavior was from a dog training book!"

Sally, Sally, Sally

Well, I've had Sally almost a week now. I picked her up last Tuesday from the vet.

I believe we have made progress. When I first got her she was classic feral dog. All she wanted to do is hide. She was petrified of life. Her eyes were dead and all she did was radiate fear. It was very sad.

I felt good about one thing...ME!

I knew she would get the care she needed. I live in a very quiet home off the street with a good size back yard. If this dog can be rehabilitated, this is the place. I am also out of work right now so I have the time to spend with her. Ideal really.

Since arriving, Sally will go outside for a walk. She takes at least 20 mins to acclimate herself to the outside. ANY noise causes her to jump, even if I sniffle. After 20 mins, she will follow me walking on her leash. I walk very slowly and let her roam. Eventually she starts to act like a healthy dog and sniff around. Her tail is always between her legs. I've only seen it relax once and then it was straight down.

She has gotten loose from her leash three times. The first was early on and she bolted. I have a body harness leash but she can back up and pull her front legs out. Collar leashes don't hold her and I refuse to use a chock leash. They seem so harsh.

The first time she dug into a corner of ivy in my backyard. It was just getting dark outside. Luckily my neighbor was out and she helped me grab her.

The second time was scary. I had her on the leash outside for a minute while I went inside. She pulled backwards, off came the leash. I ran like a rocket outside my front door to catch her as she ran down the ally. No Sally. I knew she had to still be in the backyard...but where?

I scoured the backyard for 30 mins and was feeling very nervous. It was an empty feeling. This happened when I lost my hamster last year. I prayed for her actually and was giving up hope until I saw her out of the blue. I felt like it was a little miracle. I was hoping for one with Sally.

I asked my neighbor once more to help me look. We went through all the common hideouts she would seek. I tried to think like a scared dog. Where would I run to? I was stumped.

I went inside to call the helper from the dog rescue center and when I walked inside, there was Sally, crunched up to the side of my bed. When I was running outside to my front door, she ran inside behind me. Crazy!

The last time she got away was actually progress. She once again backed up and instead of bolting she ran to the screen door. Because it was closed she scoured to the side under a storage table. I let her go for a few minutes then gently walked up to her. She allowed me to come nearby. I picked her up and brought her inside.

Tonight I did some research on feral dogs. Not a lot of positive info. The rule of thumb is if they had no human contact after six months, they will most likely never be comfortable with humans. I sense this with Sally. No matter how much I pet her, she still acts like we first met. Her flinching has gone however and she seems to relax in my presence.

I Googled for dog training forums and found a few. I registered and made a thread in each. Hopefully I will get good advice.

Well...more to come. As soon as I get a camera I willtake some pics.

Meet Sally!

Sally has had a hard life!

She is a German Shepherd mix puppy that was abandoned and probably really abused by some #%@$#% person. She was in LA and taken to a vet to get fixed. Before that, she was destined for the chamber in a kill shelter. If it weren’t for the good hearted dog rescuers out there, she would be dead.

I was browsing through craigslist this week in the pet section. I NEVER have done this before, but was thinking about getting a cat. My hamster ran away...the third one, so I gave up on the pet thing for a while

As I was browsing, I saw an adoption for a dog close by named Don. He was a cute white mix that needed a home. The rescuer emailed me15 questions to look at. By the time I got to question 10 I knew I wasn’t ready for the commitment of a dog...that is do own a dog the way one should, with respect and dignity. I am too busy right now...so I passed.

I went back to craigslist and saw an ad to help rescue this little puppy in a kill shelter. They only needed someone to take her for a few weeks until they found a place to keep her and nurture back to health.

The next day I was told the little guy wasn’t well and would probably not make it but there was another puppy. Now we're back to Sally.

I picked up a crate, went over to the vet and picked up Sally.

I had an idea of her temperament, but she was more scared than I thought. She wouldn’t walk. Her eyes were dead. She was coiled up in a self-protective ball. I was pissed.

All I could think of was kicking serious Rambo ass on whoever hurt this dog. Then I shifted to Sally. Eventually I got her in the car and home. Getting her out of the car was difficult. She cleaved tenaciously to the floor of my car.

In her crate she felt secure. It’s large so there is plenty of room. I gave her some water and food and a little classical music in the background.

Let the healing begin!

I can't really explain what having this dog has done for me, even these few hours. It taps into my guardian personality.

I will have Sally for several weeks to get her healthy enough for adoption. The gal at the vet clinic said I would end up keeping her. I told her, “Not me…I am good at detaching.” On the way home, about a mile I already knew this was going to be tough.

I'll make updates on her progress.

It's Not Fair!!!

Record snowfalls mean big meltdown


The U.S. winter of 2007-08 — which meteorologists classify as the months of December, January and February — will go down as the coldest since the winter of 2000-01, with a national average temperature of 33.2 degrees, NOAA reported Thursday. Yet, despite the chill, the winter was still slightly warmer than the 20th-century average of 33.0 degrees.

However, it's the snowfall that may be the most memorable element of this winter.

"We had 13 inches of snow on Feb. 1 alone," said Springfield, Ill., resident Julie Becker. "We haven't had 13 inches of snow in years."

Southern Californians can't relate!


I try to relate, but I can't. I know there are people that are indoors, have cabin fever, are gloomy while I am sitting in my lawn chair, shirt off, soaking up the sun. In fact, today was nearly perfect. It was about 78, blue sky, direct sunlight but not hot outside, zero discomfort. These are better than summer days. You can lay on a beach towel, get sunned out, and feel like it is still just outside the summer season. Hard to explain...perfect day imo.

Slack-A-Licious

Huge kudos to the Grooviest Slacker in America...Jen from Rhode Island! (wherever that really is)

Why is Jen so groovy you ask?
Well, let's go back about two years. This CA punk needed some advice on blogs. I Googled around and somehow fell on Casual Slack. I liked the look of this blog and emailed Jen.

Jen emailed me back! That's a good start.

Jen helped me with my rudimentary questions. Sure, her mind bubble probably said, "Geez...this guy's a moron, but he seems nice enough...I might as well feed the fish with my blod-wisdom."

So I asked Jen last week if she could help me fix a problem with the cover of a book I wrote. After a week of emailing, she fixed it...and did it for FREE!

So folks, if you want quality nonsense, served fresh, daily...Casual Slack truly is the place to be.

THANKS JEN!


































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* FIRESTORM--Praying in Time of Tragedy

“The moment when faith is hardest and least likely,
then faith is most needed”

When we hear about streams of wildfires, some of which seem to be acts of arson, our first response can usually be to pray away the pain or pray that this will never happen again. People seem to become either too emotionally attached or detached in such events.
How can we pray beyond the fear and shock, beyond the most obvious needs, to have a Kingdom perspective in all of this?



As a nation watches this firestorm on TV, we here in Southern California (some of us can actually smell the smoke burning) from a human perspective are unable to make sense of the horrific situation faced by those whose homes are engulfed in flames.

The flames themselves create vivid imagery that life will not last forever; that there’s an end in mind. They force us to ask, “What really matters in life?”

I received an email yesterday from a friend that gripped my heart;
“As you might know, the So Cal fires are really bad, and the Santiago Canyon Fire is now upon our neighborhood. It is surrounding the community of Foothill Ranch where we live, and there doesn't seem to be enough fire crews or air support to fight it effectively at this point. We have packed up our cars and are ready to evacuate. Would you take a moment to please pray for our community as well as the many others being impacted by this horrendous fire season.”



We have packed up our cars
and are ready to evacuate.

What will we pack in our cars when we are told by an exhausted fireman that it’s time to leave…NOW! It is important to listen to God in these times when our consciences are sensitive.

The following are suggestions to draw closer to God in prayer during this firestorm. Take time to reflect on the scriptures below in their context (click on the passage)

Praise
Though it is difficult, start with praise. Focus on God's character.
* Praise God that He is sovereign, that He has ultimate control over all, and that nothing takes Him by surprise (Is. 45:5-7).

Petition/Intercession
* Ask God to use this situation to bring unprecedented spiritual openness to people affected by the tragedy, and ask Him to show His face to them.

* Ask God to bless the ministry that will be thrust upon the church or community affected by the tragedy. Ask Him to empower them with a powerful witness when they are called upon to speak about or reflect on the situation.

* Ask God to stand against the enemy's attempts to make families experience unresolved anger or guilt over the loss of loved ones.

* Ask God to focus the minds of public officials on the need for prayer and to provide people who will continue to pray for the situation.

* Ask God to equip leaders who will be called upon to mentor and minister to people in the aftermath of tragedy (Heb. 13:20-21).

* Ask God--for yourself and others--for a passion and love for Christ that drive out fear (1John 4:18).
Thanksgiving

* Thank God that the enemy has made a tactical error, since martyrdom and persecution have always strengthened the church, and that God will use for good what Satan has intended for harm (Genesis 50:20-21).

* Thank God for the people who will be drawn to seek God's face because the overwhelming nature of the tragedy leaves them nowhere else to turn (Jonah 2:1-9).

* Thank God for a vivid reminder of your own mortality and vulnerability, asking Him to prepare your heart and spirit for a faithful response when you are faced with
tragedy.

More on the power of prayer

Using Opera as my Browser

So far so good...Firefox was too slow after it ran for awhile.

World Series Bound!

Life with Father

My dad has never admitted being wrong in his life. Now go and try to have a relationship with someone who is so insecure they can never admit they are wrong. Can you say manipulative bastard? Well, can you?

Ah, pops. Well, that’s my dad in a nutshell. He has no communication skills outside of my way or the highway. Sooo fun to be around. This is where the roots of sarcasm starts…right here!

Ok…here’s Sunday’s conversation. If it weren’t for the Red Sox game, I might be insane right now.

Last week was my b-day. I told my parents I was going to be out of town (gotta have some b-day fun right…) and so they wanted to get together for dinner. I drove over Wed night and we had dinner at a small restaurant. It was the usual meaningless banter (think that Seinfeld episode where George is with his folks before he runs into the hand model agent).

I ask my dad about my cousin’s recent death (dropped dead of a heart attack a month ago. I was wondering what was going on back east (all relatives live in NY area). I asked him 5x…and then finally said, “Forget it.”

Here’s the transaction after that:

Dad: So you’re not communicating with the family now?

Me: Uhh, what?

Dad: Your just going to not communicate now, is that it?

Me: Yeah…I guess (not worth the effort…)

Fast forward to Sunday.
Dad calls my answering machine 5x over the weekend. He knows I am out of town…Oh wait, he doesn’t listen. I know my mom did because she called me Friday to say good-bye. I guess they don’t talk much.

After deleting messages, Sunday around 4:30pm (30 mins before Red Sox game) I call dad.

We are supposed to go up north to San Jose to have some type of celebration of my cousin’s life with his friends. I guess my relatives from the east coast are flying in. Dad called 5x to ask questions about some things I didn't understand...sleeping bags, a band???

Me: Hey dad, you called 5x…remember I was gone for the weekend. You asked about sleeping bags and a band or something. I told you I was going out of town Wed at dinner…did you forget.

Dad: (silence…as though I said nothing)

Dad: We need to talk about this trip. Do you have sleeping bags?

Me: What…what for?

Dad: You said you were going up north next Sat.

Me: Ahhh…we spoke about it Wed before we went out to dinner…remember dinner? I suggested we fly up to San Jose, rent a car, then fly back the same day. You seemed OK with that.

Dad: No…no that won’t work.

Me: Why?

Dad: We will be in a pasture.

Me: Whaaat?

Dad: It’s very secluded.

Me: What is very secluded…what are you talking about?

Dad: We are going to a secluded ranch…there is no water or toilets. This is what your cousin’s girlfriend wanted.

Me: I’m totally lost here. I thought we were going to fly in and fly home in one day. Why drive five hours one way, spend six hours and then drive home? That makes no sense to me.

Dad: We’re not going to drive home, we’re sleeping at the ranch, but it’s not really a ranch, it’s a pasture with grass.

Me: Where are we sleeping?

Dad: In the camper.

Me: WHAT CAMPER?

Dad: I’m going to rent a camper, that’s why we need sleeping bags.

Me: This is totally stupid. I have no idea what you’re taking about. Where is Aunt Flo and Uncle T going to sleep? Are they going to get a camper?

Dad: Yeah.

Me: HOW? They live in New Jersey!

Dad: They will get one out here. What have you against spending time with the family?

Me: What are you talking about! I thought we were going to fly in, pay our respects, spend about 10 hours with whoever is there and fly home. What's so important about Sunday...isn't that the day everyone is leaving? I mean, it's not like there is a hotel or anything. Now I know why mom isn't going. When are the relatives leaving?

Dad: I don't know.

Me: didn't you speak with Aunt Flo today? Surely you asked her how long she would be in CA...I mean since you're all about spending time with the family and all.

Dad: Didn't come up.

Me: That's just stupid. How could make such a big deal about spending tile with the family and you don't even know your sister's plans?

…IT GOT WORSE AND WORSE AND WORSE!!!

This conversation got so insane we were at each other’s throats. I was an asshole, he was an asshole, we were both assholes. Then I hung-up.

Dad calls a minute later and round two goes off. It was more volatile. I hang-up.

Five minutes pass and dad leaves two messages. They both went like this…

Son, you have real problems in life. What happened to you? You really need help. When are you going to enter the adult world and be an adult? What have you got against the family anyway? Why can’t you be with people? You really need some help…we need have a looong talk to help you.

Ahhh…I can’t wait for father’s day!

RED SOX WON!