Vacation Dilemma

With apologies to Shakespeare and Hamlet for trivializing Hamlet's life or death dilemma, I present the following original verse:
 
To vacation, or not to vacation-
that is the question addressed in this post.
Whether 'tis better to stay home with the
pets and know they are being well cared for,
or to take chances with sitters for them.
Or do we dare kennel them and worry
how they will handle their time in the joint?
Should we plan a pet-friendly trip somewhere?
Perhaps 'tis best we never leave our homes
and just become known as the crazy pet
people who cannot go away.

I am an English teacher. I find it cathartic to emote via iambic pentameter.  hahahaha

The hubs and I are going away for two days. TWO WHOLE DAYS. And that means we have to find someone to dogsit Wiley. Wiley's total aversion to a crate, plus his terrible attachment issues and fear of strangers, precludes kenneling him. I also don't think he's ready to go on any trips, because if he did we could never leave him, not even for an instant, in a strange place. So we are trying out a new sitter.  We have successfully left him with a sitter before for two days, but she is unavailable. 

Enter Meredith. Mer once sat with Wiley right after we got him, when I had to go away for the day. She did a stellar job, and I feel she is more than up to the physical task of caring for Wiley. She may be a bit mentally fatigued when she's finished though. 

All of these pictures show Wiley's reaction to her on various visits to our house. He is always trying to get himself into a position where he can kiss her face.  

Mer has plenty of dog experiences of her own. Here she is with her precious Nala.

We've shared Nala in a few Photo Share posts. She is very sweet; I've met her. She is loving and well-behaved. Here she is looking at Pop-tarts the same way I always look at Pop-tarts.

She is also compliant with being dressed up, like a true lady.

  I feel Meredith will do a good job. On the other hand, I have a dog-sitting experience to share with you that exemplifies why some dog owners never go away.

 Leroy's dad, Luke, went away on a fishing trip this past week and left Leroy in the care of his girlfriend Kim, whom Leroy adores.  It did not go well. It did not go well at all. 

Kim is a nurse, and after the first long day of being at work while Leroy was at his house, this is more or less what she came home to:

Ok, that's actually what the window looked like by the middle of the week. I don't want you to think I'm exaggerating. Oh yeah, and HOLY CRAP LEROY! WHAT THE HECK!?!

He's always had separation anxiety. He has destroyed various parts of Luke's house, with the worst destruction occurring last year during Luke's annual fishing trip. Leroy ate through the dry wall surrounding the door and nearly made it to the outside wall of the house.  

Before you ask, yes Leroy is well-exercised. He is also medicated. Kim spoils him with an extraordinary amount of love and affection. And if you're wondering why Luke continues to go away when he knows he'll come home to this, read this explanation of the trip.

So Kimberly took me up on my offering of help. 

Now, side-note, I have to show you these cute pictures of the puppy who lives next to Luke and Leroy. He was out one day when I stopped by. His name is Lincoln.

 <---He was talking to me in this picture. He wanted me to throw the ball he's playing with in the picture on the right.

Anyway, getting back to the problem, I went to visit Leroy during the day when Kim had work. I walked him. I played with him. I hung out for hours. I took a nap on the couch.  I cleaned up with him while having a nice long talk.  While I was sweeping up some of his window shavings, he joined me but pretended to not notice what I was doing:

  He spent a considerable portion of time looking around attentively, honestly probably searching for Luke. 

Guess what? He still destroyed the house after I left.   And I would get so mad at him when I walked in the house to a mess, but then he would give this look:

Who can be mad at a dog that looks like a Sesame Street muppet? By the way if you glance closely at the cabinet in the background you can see some of the damage he's done there.

I have mentioned he loves Kim, right? Here's a picture she took right at the beginning of the week, when she was still hopeful. 

And when he was with her, just like when I was there, he was a perfect little angel.

A perfect little angel dreaming of when he would be reunited with Luke, and how many windows and countertops he could destroy between now and then.

So, getting back to Wiley, we shall see how it goes. I know the amount of time he spends trying to force himself on Meredith's face for a kiss is not necessarily indicative of how he'll be while we're gone.

I will not be posting a new blog entry at all while I'm away. I will continue to promote this post, and I hope if you like it, and you've experienced some of the issues described here, you'll pass it along and share it. If you miss me and Wiley too much you can just come here and reread this. ;-) 

We hope to be back to blogging on Wednesday, with our next Oral Fixation Photo Share. It's not too late to get your pictures in to me. Email me at pabibliophile@gmail.com.  And say a prayer for a nice, calm, relaxing time for Wiley (and me) if you would.

PS: Here's a ridiculously cute picture I took of Leroy on one of our walks.

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Kami

 Puppies are a lot of work. Sometimes people see the cuteness factor and have no idea what they’re getting into. When Michelle saw Kami, however, she didn’t know how much work it would be just to bring her home!

Kami was in the Kent County SPCA in Camden, Delaware when Michelle saw her picture online.  She called right away but they were closed for adoptions. The next day she drove there, timing her arrival with the minute the doors opened so she could be the first one inside. 

Michelle says it was love at first sight as they played together in the meet and greet room. What really made Michelle sure that Kami was part of her destiny was the comical moment when Kami saw some people walk by the floor-to-ceiling window in the room and ran after them, only to be stopped quite short by running directly into the window. 

Unfortunately Michelle found out that someone else had placed a hold on this puppy, and she would have to wait until 6:30 that evening to see if  Kami could be hers. Obviously the people never claimed Kami, and Michelle was eager to go bring her girl home the next day.  

She drove the hour from her house to the shelter, again, only to find out Kami was out being spayed, and wouldn’t be available until the next day!  So far Michelle had invested four hours into adopting Kami and had nothing to show for it.

The next day she had company visiting for the weekend. They were not going to deter her from getting her precious pup though! Her friend Claraann went with her on the trip, and that day she was finally able to bring Kami home! Claraann held her all the way. 

At Michelle’s house, Kami (short for Kamiflauge) was a bit intimidated at first. It didn’t take long for her to make herself at home though! 

She makes the most out of her cushy life, enjoying swimming and lounging in the pool, trips to the beach, long walks, car rides, and everything else life offers! 

Kami was worth the work and the wait, and now she is part of a loving family and a great home. Much love to Kami and Michelle from Wiley and me and all of our readers too! And thanks for finally sharing your story! ;-)  Readers-don't forget you can share yours too!

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Photo Share: SPOILED PETS

Let's step up the cultural significance of the Rescue Dog Blog by beginning today's post with a quote from Ghandi:  “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” 

A few weeks ago I told you about how spoiled Wiley is.  Many people spoil their pets to some degree, and I asked for some examples from our readers. 

First we have Rowdy.

 I love the name Rowdy!  I have wanted a dog named Rowdy ever since Season One of Scrubs, but that's neither here nor there.  I did not realize that Basset Hounds can't swim due to their unusually huge ears.  When Rowdy's dad Tom takes him swimming, he makes sure to include him any way he can.

Here's Baxter.

Baxter is pampered by Raelinn. He likes to get dressed up and has his own costume closet. Here he is in his most recent outfit.

 

In addition to dressing up, Baxter enjoys special treatment, such as getting his nails done.

Baxter seems pretty high-maintenance! 

Brace yourselves, because Stella and Newbie (another Scrubs name!) are up for adoption at the Hillside SPCA. 

What special treatment do they get?  Well they hog all the blankets, and Sarah, a volunteer there, lets them. Here they are on blanket mountain. Awww, they are so cute!

Suzy shared this picture of Isis and some of her other pets (believe it or not this is not all of them) keeping her company in bed when she had the flu.

Speaking of beds, here is Amelia, hogging Stacy's king-sized bed like it's all her own.  She looks like a decoration!

The most spoiled pet, however, is Oreo. 

 It seems impossible to top just how good this cat has it. You see, Oreo comes from what you would call a "handy" family. Her dad Mike and her brother Brandon are good at a lot of things around the house. Her sister Meghan thought she should be shared with us due to this perch, specifically built for her.

Can you see how epic this thing is?  In this picture you can see her sitting in the bottom on the arm of the couch, surveying her new territory. Believe it or not it took her awhile to work up the nerve to try it. Meghan shares that it took a laser pointer and some coaxing, but here she is.

I laugh every time I look at this picture. Most cats would give up at least one of their nine lives to have something like this. I'm sure Oreo appreciates it, but I hope it doesn't give Wiley any ideas. I'm always impressed with myself when I manage to hang a picture on the wall; I can't imagine building a playground for a dog, no matter how much he would love it (and he would really love it). Speaking of Wiley and my desire to spoil him:

Does that cartoon seem all too familiar to anyone?  Here is just one of many pictures of a very spoiled Wiley hogging the bed. He looks tiny here compared to my giant head and the perspective from which I was snapping the picture, but you can certainly get the gist!

That brings me to a perfect segue from this photo share to the next one. We are going from spoiled to sleeping. What is your favorite picture of your pet sleeping?  I have so many I'm not sure how I'll decide.  Take some time to look them over and then. . . send them to me! I'll share any pet you submit, even if it's not a dog, even if it's not a rescue! Get going!