Atomictumor

While at the bus stop this morning, I heard our neighbor call out, “Watch out! Here comes a strange dog!” I looked up the road, and sure enough, a dog was approaching, attached to a chain and rope that was no longer attached to anything but the dog. The dog came and sat on our sidewalk, looked at us and wagged his tail - his whole body, really. He didn’t seem aggressive in the least, but not knowing his history, I instructed the kids to get on the deck and called Bos out of the house for some assistance.

Bos lead the dog over to our fence, tied him to our tree and gave him some fresh water. The dog very obviously belongs to someone, as evidenced by the chain and rope (I could go on a HUGE soapbox about that, but not today). Finding his owner seems a daunting task, however, and we just don’t really have the room to keep him here until the owner is located, so my first reaction was to call Animal Control. We looked it up here and called the after-hours number, which is actually the police department. Bos spoke to the fellow, who was surprised that the PD is the after-hours contact for Animal Control. The guy said to call Animal Control, but that they probably wouldn’t answer the phone until after 1:00 PM. Sigh.

The thing is, I don’t want to send this dog to Animal Control. If his owners don’t have the sense to check the shelter when they realize their dog is missing, I fear that his fate would be most unpleasant. Then again, we really, really can’t keep the dog, even on a foster-home basis. So what do we do? What alternatives are there to Animal Control?

I am going to contact S.A.R.G. (Shelter Animals Rescue Group) and see if he qualifies to be placed in one of their foster homes. Other than that, do any of you folks out there know of any options?

***

Update:  Mailman to the rescue!  Our awesome mailman just knocked on my door to let me know that he recognized the dog and that he belongs to some folks a little ways up the street.  He’s going to let them know that the dog is here.  Woot!!

I’ve screwed up three times at work within the past week.  Two of the goofs were relatively minor and have been resolved.  The third is potentially a big headache, and I’m avoiding directly dealing with it, even though its unresolved status further stresses me out.

Yep, that’s about it.

I spent my morning
With a rake, hoe and pruner
Attacked flowerbeds

Sickly irises
Overgrown and neglected
There’s a story there

Irises that are
the children of irises
my brother planted.

They have bloomed each year
that we have lived in this house
despite my neglect.

An old rotten stump
Once a foul persimmon tree
There’s a story there

A drunk driver swerved -
hit a utility pole
and it snapped in half.

The pole had to go,
but the tree was in the way.
So they chopped it down.

***

I worked the dirt
And watched cars carry people
on their way to church

…the dude, easily twice my size, who decided it was okay to cut ahead of me as I waited in the car line to drop off Lugnut this morning.  Not a big deal, in the grand scheme of things, but highly irritating.  Of course, it didn’t help matters that I called the guy out on it, and that he stopped his car, got out, and yelled at me.  Lug, fascinated by the exchange, said, “That dude in trouble.”

I should have just left it alone, ’cause I don’t want to be making trouble at the preschool.

The Moaning Meme, via Vixen’s Den

5 people who will be annoyed you tagged them.

• Nine Months

4 things that should go into room 101 (??) and be removed from the face of the earth.

• Ticks.
• Ball-point pens.
• Anything disposable that doesn’t have to be.
• Video game systems.

3 things people do that make you want to shake them violently.

• Make mouth noises: smacking lips, chewing loudly, etc.
• Let very young kids run amok and without supervision. I see this all the time at school functions.
• Refuse to be accountable.

2 things you find yourself moaning about.

• The phone, when it rings and I don’t want to talk to anyone.
• The crappy food served in school cafeterias. Would it kill them to have something whole wheat?!

1 thing the above answers tell you about yourself.

• I don’t like annoying most people, ’cause the thought of tagging five people to do this makes me very anxious. So, I just tagged Bos. Now I’m feeling less anxious, ’cause it’s fun to annoy him.

RULES

• Link to the original meme at freelancecynic.com so people know what it’s all about!
• Be as honest as possible, This is about letting people get to know the real you!
• Try not to insult anyone - unless they really deserve it or are very, very ugly!
• Post these rules at the end of every meme!