Tuesday in class, Shane jumped 8" very well. We took it easy. At behavior class Tuesday night, we were promoted to Level IV, which is the last level in the program. Shane did so well in class. I was very proud.
Wednesday, as Shane and I were walking, I suddenly felt a presence behind me. Startled, I turned around and there was a man on a bicycle. "Excuse me," he said as he rolled past us without giving us a chance to get off the sidewalk. Glad Shane is at a level that he didn't go nuts. We start walking again and the man turns around to look at me. "What?" Mind you, I hadn't said a word. I shouted, "Could you ring a bell or give me a warning?" He didn't hear me, and asked his wife who was on another bike what I had said. Not sure what she said, but he asked me again. I shouted, "give me a heads up that you are behind me because you'll scare my dog". "I don't care about your damn dog." Lovely. He said, "We're going to be here every morning, so get used to it." He rides away. People suck. I need to learn to not say anything when confronted with stupidity.
Back at the homestead, I start writing an article for the HOA newsletter on how to share the sidewalk. It's enough to share the road with all the bicycles here in Austin, but now the sidewalk too? Grown people riding bikes on the sidewalk expecting pedestrians to just get out of their way without any warning. We'll see if they publish my article. I guess even if they provoke a dog and it bites, it's the dog's fault. Lovely.
While I was writing, Maggie just became intolerable. Shane has stopped playing with her. Not sure why, but Shane just sits there while Maggie barks and barks and barks at him. Maybe he's just yanking her chain, but it's driving me nuts. I decide to take put her in day care while I'm at class with Shane Thursday. Hope that knocks both of them out so I have a peaceful afternoon.
Thursday, Maggie pukes three times on the way to class. She does great in day care. Shane does great in class. No puking on the way home. Both dogs still nuts. Eat lunch. Landscapers show up. Run out to unlock the gate and am mowed down by a loose dog. Unlock the gate. Catch the dog. No collar. Put a leash around its neck and walk it back down the street the way it came. Nobody searching. Back to the house. Dog is sweet and friendly. Bring the dog inside. Attacks Maggie. Whoa. Throw dog in crate. Maggie goes on the attack. Whoa. All dogs barking. Chaos. Take dog outside and tie up in garage. Put Maggie and Shane in crates. Take picture of dog. Make a flyer. Put dog in car and drive around to post flyer. Decide to drive to the nearest vet (not my vet) to scan for microchip. No chip, but they have the name of a woman who brought in a dog a few weeks ago that looks just like this one. Back home. Bring dog inside. Let Maggie and Shane out. Fight. Back into the crates. Can't keep this dog. Call the woman and left a message. Post a lost dog on the HOA website. All dogs barking. Way too nuts. Throw dog in car and take it to TownLake shelter. They find a microchip. Will find the owner. My afternoon evaporated. Back home, the woman calls. Fills me in on the rest of the story.
This dog was loose and followed her son and his friends to the community center. They took it home and fell in love with it. They wanted it. Dog got loose twice. Decide they couldn't keep it safe. Her son's football coach wanted it. They keep it for a week, and then at the last minute, the owner calls. They had gone on vacation and left the dog. Now it was loose again. I sure hope they don't wait a week to contact the shelter. I told the woman to call and use my name to get that dog if they want it. It's really a sweet dog.
Finally, it's Friday. Long weekend ahead. Try to get some work done. Dogs are going nuts. Take them outside. Maggie dives into the hedges. I hear wood crack. Try to see what's going on. Hear her barking on the other side of the fence. Did she get out? I yell for her and out she comes. Everyone in the house. I go out to the neighbor's to see what is going on with the fence. Maggie has punched a hole in the fence. Back to the house. Dogs going nuts. Trim the grasses to find the hole. Takes 6 bricks to block the opening. I'm exhausted.
So at least the weekend is mapped out for us now. Trim all the grasses and figure out a way to shore up the bottom of the fence. Home Depot here we come.
Update: Called the vet to let them know the shelter found a microchip, so perhaps their wand needs a new battery or something. The woman answering the phone started to argue with me that there was nothing wrong with their wand. "The microchip probably migrated." What? "We only check the top of the dog. If the chip moved, we won't pick it up." Huh? I said, "Look I'm just giving you a heads up." Whatever. I've got to stop trying to fix things and make the world right. It's just crazy. People are crazy.
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