In an interesting place. OK. I see I haven't added anything on my pet saga. Shit. Where to begin?
The Dog died mid March. Decided I would get another dog eventually, but I would take a year to be able to do things without having to worry about the logistics of having a dog. And try to get a girlfriend. Procrastinated on that for awhile. Then attempted it (halfheartedly?). Realized I don't entirely *want* a girlfriend. I've got my life pretty much figured out. I've got my house pretty much the way I want it. I can go do what I want, when I want. There are no compromises or interpersonal hassles.
So The Plan was to stop by the pound, which is on the way to work, and get a cat. Because I don't have time for a dog while I've got a vacant rental and need to buy another rental, get it renovated and rented. But I can fit in a cat. But then something inside me told me it was time to start looking for a dog. And I found one. Two, actually. The one I was looking for was a female lab mix pup and appeared to be a borador. But while I was looking for her, I found a 9 year old lab who had been surrendered. Having just lost a dog and knowing the life expectency of labs, I didn't know that I wanted a dog with about a year left. And I didn't really want to have to bury a 90# dog. But he needed me. And I could give him the year I feel like I was robbed of with my dog. So I started the process on both of them.
Ultimately, I guess someone came and got the old lab. The shelter with the pup...they got their start in the '30s as an AKC chapter before shifting to shelter services. But that lineage still shows. Very picky. And snobby. With a focus on purebreds--particularly golden retrievers. Now goldens are fine dogs. But somehow, they just don't appeal to me. I certainly wouldn't pay a premium for one--and not an even higher premium for one with papers. So I went through a screening that may be harder than the one to become a foster parent. And I was told I could NEVER EVER use my front door, because the dog could escape, since there wasn't a fence there (never mind that my front door is off an enclosed porch, so there's a second door making it impossible for a dog to get out it--unless it can phase through doors, which makes the idea of having to have an open door moot, but I'm rambling). And I could NEVER EVER walk her off-leash. Now, do these people understand how retrievers work? What they're bred for? Border collies? You HAVE to work them off-leash. Or they go crazy. And so do you. Also the bungee cord that holds my gate shut absolutely wouldn't do. The latch would have to work. Now any dog that could remove the bungee cord could absolutely flip open a latch--or just jump over the 3' fence. But I bit my lip and smiled and nodded. Oh, and they told me the off-leash dog park my dog absolutely loved was shitty and terrible and I should NEVER EVER take a dog there. (I'd come within a second of mentioning said park and how great it was.) There were other things. A few hours later, the head dog person called up and expressed her concern that, working 2 nights a week, I wasn't a good choice to adopt a puppy. By this point I'd pretty much decided I wasn't a good fit for this place, but didn't want to burn any bridges, so I was trying to diplomatically extract myself from the call. Took fucking 15 minutes, while my just out of the oven dinner got cold and my TV show went on without me. It was like breaking up with a girlfriend, but eventually I got it done. So I went from potentially 3 pets to 0 pets in 72 hours or so.
OK. Fine. I also had a look at my bank account after my latest paycheck from the job I hate and absolutely said I was done with in March hit. They pay me a lot. Maybe enough to keep doing something I hate as long as they want me. Also, today was my day to do personal business stuff. Some bills to pay, some calls to make, some meetings to go to, and some work on drainage at the vacant rental. This gets me to the previous post. Instead of doing any desk work, I did all shovel work. I don't regret this decision, because it needed to be done. Starting to think I should just forget about property managers since they clearly aren't interested in my money and just continue to manage my own properties. I've learned from my first 2 renters. When it's working, it consists of going to the mailbox to pick up a check. And when it isn't working, you can deal with the headaches and get it fixed (I mean, unless your friend has roped you into a stupid miserable remote work job that takes up all your energy and free time).
But then, on a hunch, I had a look at dogs and cats online. And the local pound that is literally on my way to work has more than one cat that looks perfect for me. And a dog that looks like a pretty good match. So now I've kind of vacillated back from "get all your ducks in a row first" to go get some pets ASAP.*
*ASAP is arguably different for me. Stands for "As Soon As Possible." Most people interpret that as "right away." But for me, "possible" is really more like "practical." If there are obstacles that make it difficult, then it isn't "possible," in my book.
