A Pre-Holiday Whirlwind

I've been enjoying the process of getting things done during these weeks leading up to Christmas, despite the additional excitement of an impulsive foster dog acquisition and the time it requires to kiss her and cuddle her to the degree that is proper with a creature such as her.  

We did have time for one new nifty hike discovery, to Fort Foote. Dahlia is great in the car, as long as she can sit on someone's lap. 

Keller is a little more active and some would say, less safe.

This was the first and probably the only hike with all 3 dogs, and they did well! 

It was neat to check out the ruins of Civil War barracks 

and the cannons that remain on this site, one of 68 forts encircling Washington, DC by 1865.  

The fort is also close to the Potomac, so an easy hike brought us to the sandy beach which made Keller so happy she was overcome by the zoomies

Why do dogs get so excited by sand and water? 

Maybe that surface just feels really good under the paws, or maybe being able to see out so far over the water makes them feel joyful and free. 











Kinda the same way we humans feel. 

The fort is close-in and the hike was short and sweet, so plenty of time when we got home to spend the afternoon cooking and making Mom's nutty meatballs and vegan "cheese" balls

And to get ready for a couple of friends to come over to play music. 

When I lived out West, I lived in communities of people who all loved Zimbabwean music and played the mbira, which is how I came to have so many great friends in those places. In the DC area, oddly enough it's been harder to find mbira players than in places like Portland or Taos, NM but finally a couple of old mbira buddies moved to Maryland and we try to play regularly. 


The girls love meeting new people and though I know they probably can't hear a bit of it, 



















they seemed to want to be around the music. Maybe they could hear the vibrations? 

Mbira music does seem to be relaxing to many dogs; maybe they were able to pick up on its energy on some level. 













I'm glad they got to experience it in their own ways! 

Having guests over is a bit stressful, and I don't entertain often since my life and house became completely overtaken by unruly dogs. But when I do, I'm always glad I did. 

Now the final run before Christmas and Keller's transfer to the shelter. Will I be able to do it? Time will tell!

Sweetness and Light

Over the years, I've had foster dogs who were with us for 3 days and foster dogs who were with us for 6 months and foster dogs who never left. Keller is the first foster dog who I knew would be with us for a just a short time, before going back to the shelter.

And of course, she's the one I can't imagine letting go of. 

She is tiny, velvety, all white, and incredibly cuddly. 















She always wants to be close to us, and she sleeps stretched out between our heads. 

They're all cuddly of course, but I don't think many are this cuddly.

She can be an energetic wacky puppy pain in the butt,

but there is an innocence and gentleness about her that make her just irresistible.

She loves other dogs, and gives Dahlia as good as she gets with the wacky wrestling and running and romping,

but she is never testy or grumpy and you can trust her completely to play nicely and have a good attitude.

How am I going to bring this thing back to the shelter? I'd rather just scoop her up and not let go.

Sigh, a lesson about how some of the most wonderful things in life are transitory! 

Fortunately, I know that there is no shortage of adorable pups awaiting a foster home, and that my heart is not done being stolen.

The Only Thing Better than One Deaf White Pocket Pittie

Is two!

As you know, Dahlia is a bit of a handful but also incredibly sweet and wonderful in her own ways. 

I certainly wasn't planning on getting an additional foster dog, not right before the holidays and before we take off on our post-Christmas vacation. 

But when I got the email about Keller, a petite deaf pit bull who was ready to be transferred to a shelter from whence she would be adopted quickly, but needed to be in a foster home for 10 days first to make sure she has a clean bill of health--what exactly was I supposed to do? 

Ignore it? 

Not really an option.

The moment I got her home, she and Dahlia started playing. 

The funny thing is, their play is largely silent. Unlike when Dahlia and Fozzie play, when it sounds like a Tasmanian Devil and a Tom cat are ripping each other limb from limb. 

It's not like they're two little angels. They're smashing into things, getting right under your feet or in your lap or on your laptop as they're playing, and they have to be separated sometimes because they get too intense. 

But they're just much less vocal about it than you'd expect, especially with as much as Dahlia vocalizes when she's playing with Fozzie. 

Fascinating!

Wonder what's going on there? Is there some sort of communication that goes on between two deaf dogs, that is a mystery to those of us who can hear? 


Or is it just that Fozzie, because of his exuberant play style that is loud in ways that go beyond just decibels, brings out the loudness in Dahlia?

Nifty to watch. These dogs sure are good teachers.