ollie the terrible

Well. It has been a turbulent three weeks, I must admit. Ollie the Australian Shepherd has been with me almost a month now. He is an interesting fellow. He's about 6 weeks older than Ace, but acts more like a 1 year old.

Ollie mouths, jumps on people, chases my cat and barks. He gets nervous and barks at people, gets excited and barks at dogs, gets anxious and barks at the people upstairs, and finally, gets playful and barks at Archie. Have I mentioned that I HATE BARKING???

But really, he is getting better. Just very slowly. I'm hoping I will start to actually enjoy having him here soon, but for right now, he's still a pain in the butt.

He's very driven, which I was expecting. But he reminds me of a little kid, the way he always has to win. He throws a bit of a tantrum if he doesn't win. His biggest problem is that he focuses on the wrong things, and I have a hard time getting him to focus back on me. But I think that is a bonding issue as well - he'll get better as he's with me longer, and likely have to start again with the next person.

I was in touch with the coordinator today, trying to get his status to move up. After almost a month, they still had not started looking for a home for him, or advertised him as up for adoption. Now I'm happy to have him here, but he is a very trying dog, and I would like to see him placed permanently earlier rather than later.

So his bio is written, and hopefully it goes up soon!

archie the cat

I've been told I don't talk about my cat often enough. Probably because although I love my cat, I'm not really a cat person. However when I had been out of my parent's house for about a year and a half, I just could not stand being without a pet. Longest year and a half of my life! I decided to volunteer at the local humane society, obviously that didn't last long. I was a horrible volunteer who adopted after a few months and stopped volunteering. Anyways, here is Archie's story.

Archie looking pretty for the camera

I adopted Archie 4 years ago from the Kitchener Humane Society. He was 4 1/2 at the time, and had been dropped off in an outdoor bin during the night. He was neutered, clean, and a little overweight; clearly a house cat! I've always wondered where he came from. My best guess is that he was probably owned by a little old lady who either passed away, or moved into a nursing home. If the family didn't want to keep him, they could have dropped him off at the shelter overnight to avoid paying the surrender fee.

I faced quite a bit of discrimination adopting Archie. Even though I was a volunteer, the first person I spoke to said they would not adopt him to me because I was a student and had never had a cat before. I continued to go back on different days, hoping to talk to someone else who would consider me. I eventually found someone who agreed, but required letters from my landlord, parents, and all my roommates to go meet him. I know other students who went in to look around and came out with a cat, so all this hoop-jumping pissed me off quite a bit. But I persevered, and ended up with a great cat!
 

Archie sleeping on an abandoned dog bed, beside some dog toys

I do admit, adopting Archibald was a big risk - many cats despise change and I have a very mobile lifestyle. However Archie has successfully moved with me nine times in those four years. He loves visiting with people, so going to my parent's house or the cottage for the weekend is an adventure to him! He is an indoor cat - with all the moving I do, I'm not comfortable letting him roam around outside.

And I admit, I am a control freak. I would worry about him the whole time he was outside.

He is a pretty funny fellow. Some days he follows me around and won't stay out of my lap. Other days I only see him at meal times (his favourite time of day). He is very skilled at breaking into food containers, breaking curtains, stealing food, terrorizing my fish, and getting into various other types of mischief.

Another admission: dog behaviour I understand, but Archie continues to boggle my mind, even after sharing my life with him for so long. Cats are crazy.

Archie snuggling on my lap

Sleeping in his hideous cat-house

I could never give him though, because although he's pretty wacky, he's my kitten. I love his little purr and dirty nose, and have learned to deal with his many misadventures. And honestly? My favourite time of day is right before bed, with Ace sprawled across my legs and Archie curled up on my chest. I love my beasties to death, and am so grateful for all the things they have done for me.
 
I know I would not be the same without Archie.  

imminent arrival

It appears my first ARPH rescue dog will arrive next Sunday! After years of thinking and months of planning, I have officially been approved as an ARPH foster family. Yay!

Ollie is my intended first foster dog, a young male with black tri colouring. Housebroken, crate-trained, good with kids and other dogs - he will likely only be with me for a few weeks, but I think he will make for a great first rescue foster!

As you may know I've pretty much been obsessed with Australian Shepherds for a few years now, and I'm hoping they will live up to my expectations :)

end of year one

Well it's official, I'm finished the first year of the Masters of Landscape Architecture program! Yay!

So, now what?

Well, since I have two more years to go in the program, there's no point in getting too excited yet. Two more years of homework and loans. Yippee.

But for now...work! Which is ok. I'm still part-time at the pet store, which works out well. I'm also driving out to Oakville to do a garden maintenance job two or three days a week, so hopefully I will make enough money to survive. Likely won't get any vacation though, which is unfortunate.

Also not helping my poverty, Ace and Archie had they're annual check up/vaccines/titers today. $500 for two animals, and neither was even sick! Out of this world.

On the plus side, I am eagerly awaiting my first rescue Aussie. I'm not really sure of the status of my application, but I'm hoping to get a foster in the next few weeks.

Hopefully I will have some better news to report in my next post!

foster application submitted!

Well, it's official. I sent in my application to foster for Aussie Rescue last Thursday.

It's been about two years in the works, and I can't wait to hear back! My apartment has been so quiet since Willow left, I need more doggie challenges! I've been in touch with the coordinator several times in the past week doing reference checks for adoptive homes, and she mentioned that my references are really good, so I'm hoping they'll do a home visit in the next few weeks, and that I might get a foster dog by the end of April :)

I do have one concern with the process though. As far as I know I will be expected to pay the dog's vet bills and be reimbursed at a later date. I can afford basic exams, but I do not have enough spare money to spend on a spay/neuter... I hope they will be flexible is this. Maybe they have an ARPH credit card, or another family will pay the cost and submit the claim. We will see. It's possible that even if I am approved, I won't actually be able to foster until the fall, when my OSAP comes in and I have a little extra money in the bank.

But... I'm hopeful it all works out! I've essentially been obsessed with Aussies for years now, I can't wait to learn more about them.

a great day at the pet store

Had a great dog fix today at work! I probably would not have gotten much homework done anyways, so it was nice to get to play with some puppies and make some money. I got to pet a few little babies including 2 mini Dashunds and a German Shorthaired Pointer. I got to visit with a beautiful Golden Retriever named Barrett who I hadn't seen since he was just a little guy (he's 9 months now), and another little havanese who I used to see about every month or so, but haven't seen since before Christmas.

Many days there are predominant breeds to come in, it's really strange how it works sometimes. Some days we'll see three Great Danes in the store, other days it's German Shepherd, or Labradors. Maybe it has something to do with weather? Or mud? Today was border collies (at least three!) which was neat because I rarely see purebred border collies. And in a year at the pet store, I've only ever seen one collie.

Stormy was 14 year old border collie who came in for a visit, amazingly she had the energy and flexibility to put her paws up on the counter... I was very impressed. His owner was a youngish guy who said she had done lots of agility and flyball in her younger years, no surprise with a border collie. I thought  flyball (and frisbee) dogs tended towards tons of arthritis in their older years because of the impacts, but I guess not always! Happy to be proven wrong... maybe it is a dog sport I should consider with my next pooch?

I've been down to one dog for almost two months now, and I'm still missing my Willow. Can't help but think about my next dog prospect: an Aussie Rescue foster dog. I'd still like to foster a few to decide if I want to go the purebred route or if I want a heinz-57. Worried about passing the application process already, and I won't even be applying until August!

Ugh, now that I'm worried all over again, I better get back to my schoolwork. Too many distractions!

winter at the cottage - pt 2

A few weeks ago at the cottage, I had a great time testing out my new camera! I took a few landscape shots...

Night shots... 

And action shots!

Ace had a blast playing fetch on the ice with his chuckit frisbee. I do have doubts I should be letting him jump around like with with his bad elbows, but I figure once in a while is ok since he loves it so much!

Don't forget the game of tug with my reluctant mom!

And once in a while, a big miss...

Although we didn't see much sun, a fun weekend was had by all!