Pothole, Fire and Cement

It has been an interesting week at the King Casa so I thought I would share my experiences with my three followers of my blog.

The black cloud of doom hanging over our heads started on Saturday morning.  As everyone knows by now, I broke my right leg and have been unable to drive the car.  My husband has been dutifully driving me everywhere and so it was off to the bank at 9 am Saturday morning.

I hobble to the bank to take care of business.  I came out of the bank to see my husband and several Dominicans standing around the car with the hood up.  Ross is holding a small, plastic cup and at 9 am, they are't having a friendly Cuba Libre. We drive a piece of shit car so I know that they aren't admiring the horsepower of our fine racing machine.   Our car had been on fire!  Holy shit is all I can think.  Ok, I will admit my response was a little stronger than that.

This is what an alternator looks like after having caught on fire:

Ross drives the car home with a friend driving along with us in his car to ensure we make it home.

We get home at about 9:30 to discover that we had been robbed.  Some enterprising thief decided that it would be a good idea to pry the iron bars off our spare bedroom window and relieve us of some of our earthly possessions.  We discovered a missing television, hammer drill, Ross's Kindle, Wii, mini laptop computer, and Ipod.  It should be noted that the laptop, Wii, and Ipod were all broken so we kind of got a good laugh about that.

Through process of elimination, and a huge bump on the nose, we know which dog finally got the thieves out of the house.  Gaby saved the day!  We are pretty sure that they must have tried to fight her off by hitting her with a golf club.  She's absolutely fine but insists on checking the bedrooms everyday to make sure all is well.

The damage to the window was just about the most irritating part.  Now we have major repairs to make and with the help of recommendations and talking to people, we have workers!

Prior to having the welder arrive, Ross had to take a hammer and chisel and finish knocking off all the window frame.  Damn thieves couldn't even do that right!!

First we have to hire a welder to reinforce the two other vulnerable windows as well as put the iron bars back in the damaged window.  These men were amazing on how well they did the work and how quickly.  We were most suitably impressed.

Now for the cement repairs.  I must admit this was a bit of an entertaining show but the guys that did the work were very, very good too. I have a cement frame around the window again and it just needs to be painted in a few days after the cement cures and dries.

I started this event feeling absolutely violated (they even went through my underwear drawer!) and incredibly angry.  This didn't help change what happened so an attitude adjustment was required.  When anything crappy happens in my life, I always try to find a lesson to learn or something positive/humorous. 

This is what I learned:  We have great friends that offered emotional support.  We have great friends that went out of their way to help us find the proper people to do the work that was required to fix our house at a very reasonable price.  Everyone who helped us in anyway (large or small) knows who they are and we can't say thank you enough times.  That's what good friends do, they help each other in times of need.  Not all Dominicans are nasty thieves and that there are those that genuinely want to help you without looking at you as a wealthy gringo/gringa.  (We have met many lovely Dominicans and my statement is a general one that is in no way intended to insult the great, good people that live here.)

This is just another huge pothole in the day to day challenges of living here.  I guess the most important thing is that we are unharmed (maybe a little emotionally scared) and our dogs are all doing just fine.

The car will be dealt with in due course.

Onward......and upward......

Inspiration, Hurricanes and a Broken Leg

I have made a new friend.  Her name is Meems.  While I believe that Meems is not her real or full name, she has inspired me to do something I have not done in a long time - blog. So, this morning, blog I will!  I might add that the inspiration from Meems came at 3:30 am this morning as we were chatting........

I checked out the date on my last blog entry and low and behold, it is almost two years since I blogged.  My bad.  I re-read some of my old blogs and there is a theme there - long periods between blogging.  I'm lazy and blogging makes me make my brain work.  Brain work lately seems to be a very tiring activity.

What has happened in two years?  What hasn't?!

Let's work backwards cause my long-term memory isn't what it used to be!  We'll work with three recent events.

Hurricane Maria is bearing down on us as I write.  I don't believe Maria is going to be all that bad but what the hell do I know?  Preparations include putting a few things away that could potentially be flying projectiles.  That's about it.  What do you really do when the wind is forecast to be 125 km an hour?  Duct tape the house to the ground?  Side note:  I love my generator!  Our beloved/hated Edenorte will most likely cut the power as they did with Irma.

Hurricane Irma left a swath of minor but annoying destruction in my already trashed yard. Irma blew its way in, knocked down trees, blew leaves everywhere especially into the pool from hell.  Holy windy!  Didn't enjoy that experience one little bit.  We went 42 hours without power but what really drove me insane?  NO internet for almost 12 hours.  How does one stay in contact with the outside world with no internet?  Might as well cut off my right broken leg!

Now, I should not make light of Category 5 hurricanes.  While we were just brushed by Irma, there were many on this paradise island that did not do so well.  Many lost their homes and belongings.  We lived in a concrete tent and were just fine.  Those that lost everything will struggle to rebuild.

This next story isn't even a good vodka story!

38 days ago (yes I am keeping track - I have scraped marks into the wall like one would in a prison cell), I broke my leg.  I am the queen of shuffling on a "walker lawn chair" and hobbler on crutches.  What a stupid ass thing to do.  I slipped and fell in the mud and wet grass.  I'm lying by the carport, rolling in the mud, hyperventilating and thinking, this can't be good.  I heard the crack.  But, I convinced myself that it was only a "bad sprain".  Finally, my loving husband looks out the door and says to me, "are you ok?  Do you need help?|  No dumb ass...I'm counting ants running towards me because I might be rotting meat.  WTH? Yes, I need help.  There was a lot of grunting and groaning (and not the good kind), but Ross did get me out of the mud and into the house.

Good friends came and picked me up at 9 pm some four hours after the incident to take me to the local hospital.  My loving husband would have taken me but with the pack of dogs, he would have never helped carry/walk me to the car without further injuries occurring to me and to him.  We would have had dogs in the ER and that would not have worked out well for the staff.

So, no matter what happens in life, I always try to find something positive and/or funny with every shitty thing that happens - here it is:  I'm in the x-ray room.  I've been filmed.  I'm waiting.  I look at the air conditioning unit in the room (I think it was -10 C in that room as I was shivering uncontrollably because I have been living in 35 C temps for so long) and that unit is being held up by a couple of 2x4s.  Now, I'm laughing.  X-ray is done.  God love cell phones.  The x-ray tech is now taking a picture of my x-ray.  Guess that's better than porn or a road side accident.  I know he's going to take it home to show all his friends what the dumbass gringa has done.  

Now, back to see the doctor who has arrived from consuming his dinner cause he's got bits of something stuck in one of his teeth.  I didn't think it was a good idea to point it out as it was rather late and I probably disturbed his fine dining of chicken, beans and rice.  Anyway, x-ray dude proudly shows him my x-ray and everyone surrounding me confers and declares that my leg is indeed broken.

The verdict:  immediate surgery or a cast for six weeks.  Decision made - cast for six weeks as dude, there is no way you are operating on my leg with food stuck in your teeth.  Dude I know you want to get back to your dinner and there is no way you are rushing through my rebuild!

My husband has taken on cooking, cleaning, yard work (including the dreaded picking up buckets of poop with minimal gagging...every day), laundry, assisting with shopping (Super Pola has the most awesome electric scooter/cart that I've tried to figure out how to steal without success...damn security guard keeps a close watch on me like he knows what I am planning), driving (have lost several years off my life as I am a control freak and hate to be in vehicles operated by anyone else) and most important, looking after the dogs.  While Ross is generally a very patient man, his patience has been tested.  The man can yell.  Not just raise his voice, he can yell really, really loud.  The dogs know it.  

Now with all this going on, just prior to the leg event, we ended up with a seventh dog. Funny how shit happens - karma decided to take a vacation and bring us another dog.

Friends were on a road trip by Cabrera.  In a condensed version, they found a five week old puppy on the side of the road eating her dead brother than had been run over by a car. They took the puppy home after a visit to the local vet.  Landlord sees puppy, says you go or puppy goes.  So, we ended up with a seventh dog that was a foster puppy.

Who the hell am I kidding - I am a failure.  I am a foster failure.  Xena is thriving and growing like a bad weed.  She's a Cocumut.  Smart little thing and this morning as I write, she has figured out how to jump up onto the dog ottoman.  There is officially no safe place for the big dogs to hide from her.  She was pretty proud of herself.

So, my loving husband has also been house training a puppy.

And how has the last two years of your life gone?  Anyone want a puppy?

Five Years

Five years…….

It’s hard to believe that we have been living in the Dominican Republic for five years.  Five years ago today Ross and I were sitting in a hotel room with Jack, Shelby and all our worldly possessions.  Where has the time gone?  The days seem to run into each other with a constant flurry of activity.

I’ve been reading back on some of my old blogs and can’t help but laugh at some of the things we have experienced.   Watching the “locals” doing things we just can’t contemplate as being wise or safe.  We thought we were seasoned – boy were we “green”!

We’ve experienced tropical storms, hurricanes, earthquakes and have decided wholeheartedly that these are events that not only should not be taken lightly, but we really don’t want to go through them on a regular basis.

We’ve made some amazing friends, made a few enemies, lost good friends whose health just gave up.  We have laughed and cried (well maybe more crying by me than Ross).  We’ve had our hearts broken a few times too.

We’ve missed family gatherings, and lost contact with a few family members for reasons we can’t begin to understand – but, we still think of them often with a variety of emotions.  We can only control our thoughts and actions and not those of others.

People often ask us “what is it like to live where you are living?”  Well, it is sometimes a daily challenge but isn’t life a challenge wherever you live?  What makes living in Canada right compared to anywhere else in the world?  Life is what you make it – so make the best of what you have and make each moment count. 

Living life in the DR is sometimes like living in the Wild West.  Lawlessness sometimes is the lesson of the day.  Petty crime and sometimes not so petty crime abounds around the world and it is not different here.  One of our biggest challenges is trying to figure out the concept of guilty until proven innocent. 

Weather was a big factor in deciding where Ross should spend his retirement years.  Who can complain about warm temperatures 365 days a year?  No snow although I must admit I do miss fall and early winter.  The aches and pains are not nearly as exaggerated as they are by cold temperatures but as we age, they are there.

One of the funniest questions I think we were asked was “so, what to you guys eat?”  Keep in mind, this came from someone who had never been to the DR.  My initial response wanted to be “bugs and grubs”.  Well, to live in this country, you must love chicken!  Fast food and convenience foods are not practical so you are forced to make a lot of “homemade” things.  You eat healthier.  We cook healthier as almost everything here is not fed antibiotics or sprayed with toxic fertilizers.

We’ve added to our dog family – thanks to a dear friend who lost his battle way too early in life introduced us to the love of Belgium Malinois.  We have a pack of amazing, intelligent dogs who keep our lives interesting to say the least.

The end of the first five years brings many emotions.  Where do we go from here?  Well, I would say to the beach but for anyone following my blogs, the beach isn’t always a good idea when you take dogs with you!  We will just keep on the path we are following and enjoy each day as a gift.

I have a dog

No, actually I have six dogs.....There should be a self-help group for people who have more than two dogs........

I have one dog who has an over-active bladder....she won't sleep more than five or six hours and begins to bark because she needs to pee.  I can sleep for seven hours before I have to pee.    A dog should be able to do the same.  I am tired.  Ross is tired.  You can not continue to sleep when this dog barks at you.  The dog should learn to use the toilet.

This is Gaby who is seven months old.  Gaby needs to learn that 5 am pee times are not appropriate.  Her sister, Titch, can hold her bladder for 10 hours.

My dogs like to eat.  They eat clothes, linens, trees, grass, rocks, five gallon water bottles, the fridge, bugs, dirt, money, cardboard, whatever is made of anything chewable and naturally their food.  It must be noted that when picking up poop in the yard, it is easy to find after they have consumed any colourful type of plastic.

We have the neighbours from hell.  They have 14 dogs.  Their dogs bark and howl 24/7 most days.  They are ugly dogs.  They are stupid dogs.  Our dogs hate their dogs.  You can probably see where I am going with this.  They need to join a self-help group.  This will make them and their dogs leave....permanently.

Our neighbours from hell are also deaf.  They yell, they don't talk.  They yell, their dogs bark.  They have their TV outside.  When they yell over their TV, their dogs bark and howl.  I think living close to the airport would be quieter than the volume on their TV.  They watch cartoons on Italian channels.....sometimes until midnight.  Our bedroom window faces their terrace.  I am learning Italian whether I want to or not.

I noticed that it has been two years since I blogged.  Where does time go?  Well, the obvious answer is that it flies past, and fast.  The days seem to run into each other and with our insane social calendar, life is flying by.

We are going to a Dominican Style Pig roast this week.  We have a birthday party invitation this week.  We had a going away gathering at our local colmado earlier in the week.  I have my volunteer work two half days a week.  Ross is busy trying to entertain the dogs from hell every day - Ebony Gaby and Titch are Belgium Malinois x German Shepards.  They are working dogs.  they need constant exercise and brain games or they wreck/eat things.

At some point we try and find time to clean the house.  And I forgot about the swimming pools that need to be cleaned by Ross three or four days a week (our dogs like to swim).  Oh, and there is my English Muffin sales plus a small bookkeeping job.  No rest for the wicked as they say.

About two weeks ago we had our second annual Calgary Stampede breakfast.  We showed our friends once again exactly how to have a great breakfast party.

I guess I should be grateful that our health is relatively good and we can enjoy each day.  We take the punches that this country gives us and we just keep on going.  Chin up and all that (I am learning to speak British - we have a lot of British friends.  They are learning to speak Canadian although I must admit, they don't learn very quickly).  We wake up to sunshine and warm (OK HOT) days as it is summer here.  The pool from hell keeps us sort of cool.  We are blessed with family visits occasionally.  We have great friends who offer a support network when times are tough.  We are alive and kicking!

and they sleep.......sometimes.....

Spanky’s and Shat

We found a new bar – Spanky’s.  You get free pour drinks.  My limit I think is three but who is counting.  Actually my head is pounding and not counting.  I don’t believe Ross’s limit is much different than mine.  You can attempt to play pool after a few drinks but in my case I had difficulty trying to even hit the white ball.  What a fun bar to go to though…lots of laughs.

Now as I start writing this blog, I have come to realize that I haven’t blogged for a very long time.  Now, I don’t have many blog fans but hey, someday someone might find some humour in what I wrote.

Oh, and before I forget, don’t let anyone forget that when I leave this grassy paradise for greener pastures, I want to be buried with my pruning shears! 

I have sort of a mish/mash of thoughts running through my head (might be a result of those three, free pour vodkas from last night), so bear with me…or is that bare with me…whatever.

Swimming pool - *****ing pool isn’t fixed.  Chantel messed with that little process again so we are in drying mode again.  But, that’s ok…gives me more time to cut down the shit that is growing because of Chantel.  Chantel was a bit of a disappointment…all talk, no action…LOL  We got a ton of rain, a little bit of wind and three very unhappy dogs.  The thunder and lightning was spectacular.  Some of the lightning bolts were so close to us we could feel the heat.  Guess that’s not a great thing when your electrical isn’t grounded and you have iron bars on all your doors and windows.

Rain makes things grow…you have no idea how fast things grow in the tropics.  I swear that it rains and the grass grows an inch a day…you prune something back and a week later you can’t tell you pruned.  I have also discovered that it is just about impossible to kill a plant.  I pruned back some hibiscus trees and took a couple of branches, stuck them in a pot…and they are now growing.  I’ll get my free hibiscus hedge yet…oh wait…that will have to be pruned.

I’m attempting to grow a new plant – moringa.  This will be my second attempt…Ross killed the first attempt but I have forgiven him.  Supposed to be the next plant to save the world…you can eat it, drink it, feed it to your dogs….and get this….the more you prune it, the faster it will grow…see why I LOVE my pruning shears. 

We have evil cats.  They are six months old now and may not see seven.  They have attempted to flee to the outside world but Boss and Shelby have discouraged that behavior.  I have had bathing suit strings eaten off, a bedroom screen pulled out (that encouraged a number of creepy looking bugs to move in but gave the evil cats something to do before Ross came along and killed them – the bugs…not the cats).  These cats are like crows…if it isn’t fastened down, they will carry it off and destroy it.  Their newest toy is a stick and several cardboard boxes taped together.

There are a lot of strange people in this world.  I have come to witness some of them.  When you people watch (national sport in this country – not baseball as everyone assumes), you have to seriously think ‘are they opening a Walmart here?’  And the way some of them dress…you just know that they didn’t look in a mirror before they left the house or in the case of the men…they simply don’t have a wife to correct their bad dressing behavior.  I must say that everyone has his or her story as to why they are here and it is kind of fun trying to figure out their “story” and then finding out your vision of that person was completely wrong. 

Now, I don’t like to admit I have been wrong but I’ve been proved wrong in people observation once or twice.  Oh well, shat happens…..

Now, speaking of shat…I’m still rotflmaopmp…

So, we were invited to an impromptu (well for us anyway) birthday party.  All started innocently enough.  Met up with some friends for a quick beer and then off to another bar for the birthday party.  Grown-ups drank at the bar, kids were swimming in the pool having a blast.  Little ones running around nekid…kind of cute in the nicest way…

The food (pig roast) and sides were fantastic.  The Dominicans know how to cook a pig!  I enjoyed it until someone made some comment about it being chased around the field this morning and now, here we are enjoying it…

Anyway, the shat…so one little girl (about three years old) is running around nekid…stops….gets a real serious look of concentration on her face…standing BESIDE THE SWIMMING POOL……and….out pops a poop…not a big poop…but non-the-less…a poop.  So, don’t fret, the poop didn’t make it into the pool, her dad came along and picked up the poop.  If I had had one of my dog park poop bags leftover from Canada, I would have given it to her Dad to use.

So after the pig and the poop, we were off to Spanky’s and thus my rambling thoughts.

Happy New Year

I was going to write in my blog on Christmas Day but we ended up having a really busy day of phone calls to my girls and a lovely Christmas dinner with good friends.  Then, I was going to write on New Year’s Day but that didn’t work out so well either because of the fondue with good friends, cards, and too much wine (wine will do that to you every time), so I decided that today was the day!

I looked back to see when I last blogged and can’t believe I haven’t written since September!  Now, I have to rack my brain to try and remember everything that has happened.

I found out that I am going to be a Great Auntie.  My niece, Megan, is going to have a baby in May and she is really excited.  Of course, I had to bug my brother and Megan’s mom about being grandparents!

Many of you have read about my love/hate relationship with our swimming pool.  My relationship with the pool has deteriorated again.  The pool has several holes in the bottom concrete and our pool is empty, trying to dry out so we can begin the repairs and repaint the pool.

Boss is still going to obedience lessons.  He loves to run on the beach before lessons.  He loves the car ride to and from lessons.  He does not like being told what to do.  He is a very strong dog.  He’s learned some of his commands both verbal and hand.  “Stay” really isn’t working all that well for us yet…

Ross is a stalker.  I don’t know what it is with Ross and Russian women.  We were in the grocery store shopping.  Ross doesn’t usually come with me but for some reason he decided to make the trip with me.  He was pushing the cart for me as I was getting the things on my list.  I turned to tell him something and he was gone.  I saw him pushing the cart looking at things he would never look at…shampoo, soap, tin foil…I couldn’t figure out what he was doing until I saw the “woman”…she was stunning (I don’t usually check women out).  He was following her around the store.  Finally I told him I was finished; actually I was getting tired of following him around the store.  We went to the checkouts were the “woman” was…she walked up to two of the nastiest looking old Russian men, one of who was holding a toddler…she picked up the toddler…Ross’s fantasy was crushed!

We had a Christmas tree this year.  Ross and I decided to take the plunge and decorate the house this year.  We went to La Serena (Dominican version of Walmart) to get our goodies.  We came home with a Charlie Brown artificial tree and assorted lights and decorations and I think I would have made Martha Stewart proud with my decorating abilities.  We even had some garland and lights on our door arches.  We had our usual string of lights on the outside of the house.  Boss ate the electrical cord one night so Ross had to make some repairs to the cord.  Boss ate the electrical cord a second night only this time the lights were plugged in…he doesn’t bother the electrical cord anymore.

We had another first sighting of something that just makes you shake your head and ask why.  In December, Ross and I were going to Puerto Plata.  It was raining.  Dominican’s don’t like to get wet.  Dominican’s love plastic.  Dominican’s are very resourceful in avoiding the wet and utilizing plastic.  A grown man is driving his motorbike down the highway in the pouring rain.  He has a very large sheet of clear plastic covering his ENTIRE body.  The plastic is molded over his face as he is driving down the road and all we could see was his mouth open wide as he was gasping for air.  The plastic was flapping in the wind behind him as he went down the road.  I don’t know about you but one of the first things we teach toddlers is to NOT PUT PLASTIC BAGS OVER YOUR HEAD….this guy obviously put some thought into this.

Last night we went to a Dominican birthday party.  A group of friends rented a tourist bus/van to take us all to Puerto Plata to a hall.  We were among the first to arrive.  We all got our drinks set up and were sitting around visiting.  As family of the birthday lady began to arrive, every one of them (young and old) greeted each of us individually and really made all of us feel welcome.  They love their loud music…holy but it got crazy after a while!  Lots of dancing, laughing and then the food arrived at around 9:30 pm.  I made eight dozen homemade buns to be served with the meal. 

We were served first as the guests of honor (I would have thought that the woman, Rebecca, who was having her birthday would have been served first).  They made a traditional Dominican soup/stew called sancocho.  Now, everyone who knows me really well knows how much I don’t love vegetables.  I am also not really into mystery meat.   I googled sancocho before we went so I knew what we were in for.  Good thing I did – if you are curious, and I know you are, google it!  Now, let me say on a positive note that the broth was lovely! LOL 

Today is January 3 – only three more days…50.  We’re having a dinner party with friends at favorite restaurant.  Should be a fun night and I am looking forward to it.

               

Good Times

Jarabacoa

For the first time in almost two years, we have taken a vacation on the island.  Last weekend, we travelled to Jarabacoa which is in the mountains of the center of the island.  Crazy roads driving through the mountains…hair pin curves climbing uphill and downhill. 

I almost thought I was in British Columbia.  Tall pine trees, cooler mountain air, white water rapids on the river…and then, a copse of pine trees with mango trees and palm trees!

We went with our good friends, Bruce and Mary.  We spent quality time enjoying beverages and golfing.  What an absolutely gorgeous golf course hidden in a really beautiful setting.  Very lush and green.  The quench wench drove around the golf course following us with a cooler on his scooter selling us ice cold, frosty Presidente.  The guy had everything for sale:  hats, beer, and food.  It really didn’t matter what we wanted, he would run and get it for us.

Let’s just say that I really, really suck at golfing.  And, that’s all I have to say about that.

We stayed at the Hotel Gran Jimenoa which was a very nice hotel right on the river.  So, if you have ever read my blog, you know I complain about the heat.  Well, we were in a hotel with air conditioning.  Yes, we turned the air conditioning on.  We left the air conditioning running at 18C.  We woke up at 4 am absolutely freezing.  My nose was cold.  I loved every minute of it.  Two heavenly nights of being cold and sleeping under blankets.  I think that was almost the best part of the vacation!

The hotel restaurant served good food.  Breakfast was the only meal that was so so.  The Dominicans really, really like mashed things for breakfast.  Mashed potatoes, mashed plantains, and mashed plaintains with mango and onions.  The plaintains with mango and onions was a lumpy grey/brown looking mass.  Ross was brave and tried it.  Can you say, “wall paper paste?”

This area of the island rarely sees gringo tourists and as a result, everyone speaks Spanish and very little or no English.  Good thing Bruce and Mary were with us as they both speak pretty good Spanish.  I didn’t realize how much Spanish I have learned as when we went for breakfast Monday am (no buffet), I had to order breakfast in Spanish.  I did pretty darn good because everything I ordered, we actually got what we thought we were going to get.  Can you say queso frito?  (Fried cheese is to die for!)

Ross ate beef both nights and enjoyed it.  I had chicken one night (very, very good cordon blue which they call “Gordon Blue”) and pork medallions in passion fruit the next night.  Both were fantastic.

The trip home was rather uneventful until we were approaching Moca.  The area around Moca and La Vega is a rich, agricultural area.  Large potato farms, corn farms and of course banana and plantain plantations.  We were almost at Moca when we came upon a truck hauling what we think was corn feed.  Now, when transport companies in Canada haul loads of feed, there are height restrictions, weight restrictions, proper ways of securing a load. 

 

Well, not in the Dominican Republic.  This guys load was very slowly slipping sideways.  He would hit a bump and the load would shift some more.  This was an accident waiting to happen.  We knew this was rather unusual because as the guy drove through town, even the locals were watching, pointing and laughing.  We were scared to pass the guy because we knew that if that load finally went, the truck would roll and the highway would be blocked for hours.  We finally managed to get past him.  If there ever was a time for a cold beer, that was it so we found a Colmado on the side of the road, pulled up and the dear fellow working there sold us cold beer and we carried on our way.  (No cold beverages for the driver though!)

Ticks

I hate ticks.  We have been enduring an unbearable outbreak of ticks.  The hot, dry summer has been the perfect combination for these little pests to breed.  Our dogs have been banished to outside..tough life for a dog!  They have been sleeping in our basement bedroom which isn’t so bad because they have their own ensuite.  We are going through weekly baths and tick treatments.  Try bathing a 80 lb dog that hates water.  Jack and Shelby have cooperated extremely well but Boss has his own thoughts about having a bath.  Ross has to hold him with every ounce of strength he has while I give him the bath and treatment.

For the better part of three weeks, we have been fumigating and vacuuming up hundreds of these little blood suckers.  I am so sick of tick patrol but we think we have things finally under control.

For the first treatment (we didn’t really know what to do), we packed up all three dogs in the car.  Oh, how the boys love to go for a car ride.  I think they thought they were going to the beach for a run….Oh, I don’t think so…not on my watch anyway…horses, runners….not a friggin chance.  Anyway, we head off to Judy’s Pet Lodge for a bath and tick treatment.  Upon arrival, I take Jack first to the bath area only because he is quite cooperative.  In the tub Jack goes…Ross is still in the car with Boss and Shelby.  By the time I have started back to get the next dog, Ross is being dragged across the parking lot by Boss.  Now, when we arrived at Judy’s, I had left the back window open about a third of the way so they wouldn’t bake. 

Boss can climb out of partially opened car window.

There is a Dominican family living next to Judy’s who has a number of free range chickens. 

Boss really likes to chase chickens.

Ross almost had heart failure trying to catch Boss as he chased the chickens and scared the life out of the family that lives there.  Boss is a big baby but looks pretty intimidating.  Ross is yelling at the family to catch Boss’s leash (we learned from the beach experience that it is a good idea to leave the leashes on the dogs) and they are backing up from Boss not really giving a rat’s ass that he is scaring the chickens half to death. 

I think Ross was angry…..

Our dogs should have movies made about them…..