Saving Teddy

One morning a couple of weeks ago, I headed out for a morning run through the neighborhood as I often do. I didn't bring Franklin with me, as the weather in MS in July is not too friendly to a dog with thick, curly hair. He's ok with this arrangement. When he does go outside, he looks at me after about 10 minutes, tongue hanging out bright red, with a look that says, "why did you think this was a good idea?'

About 2.5 miles into my run, 2 little dogs started barking ferociously at me. However, I noticed they weren't exactly looking at me, but rather behind me. I turned around, and there was a dog following me! Just trotting along, happy as can be to be out on a morning run. I stopped to say hi and pet him, then kept running. He loved being petted, then also kept running behind me--for 3.5 more miles. When a car came, he ran into the bushes to hide. When the car was gone, he sprinted to catch up with me. I gave him some water when I got home because the poor guy had earned a drink.

I knew he couldn't come in the house, so I sat outside with him a lot of the day. He had no leash, quite a few ticks, fleas, and was pretty skinny. When we tried to tie him up, he just lunged trying to follow me, got himself all tangled up, and I felt terrible for him. We ended up untying him to ease my guilt. This little guy thought he had found his new home- he stayed on our porch all night. I had called the humane society earlier in the day and they said no one had reported a missing dog. I called the closest vet, and they took my name and number and told me they would call if anyone was looking for him. One of our friends posted on the neighborhood facebook page about him, with no response. We drove around and looked for posters. We walked around the area he started following and talked to a few neighbors. But no one seemed to recognize or claim our new friend!

The next morning, when Josh went out for an 8 mile run, our new friend left with him and followed him all 8 miles, with no leash. At this point, I started to fret because I did not know what to do with him. I called my mother and father in tears (not the first tears I had shed for him), knowing they had thought about getting a dog. Miracle of miracles, they agreed to take him! The next question was how to get him from MS to NE...after looking into a few options, we decided it would be fastest to meet halfway in AL for the drop-off.

We took our new friend to the vet the next day to have him examined, look for a microchip, and see what he needed done. Since we needed a name for him to make all of this happen, we decided to go with Theodore, or Teddy for short (sticking with the Roosevelt theme we started with Franklin). The vet gave him all of his shots, and we boarded him there for the weekend while Josh and I went on a previously planned weekend getaway.

Monday, we picked him up and headed to meet his new family. He rode in the car like a champ! He also thoroughly enjoyed his night of luxury in a hotel...the first thing he did was jump up on the bed, which did not last long.

Since starting his new life in NE, he is happily adjusting to life on the farm--riding in the truck, going for long runs on the dirt roads, and best of all, smelling and chasing the chickens!

I instantly fell in love with Teddy because he loved me! He is the happiest dog and soaks up every ounce of attention you can give him. He loves belly rubs, any type of food, cold floors, and running. He worked his way into my heart, and he found himself a home because of it :)

While this little guy caused me a great deal of anxiety and a few sleepless nights worrying about his safety and belonging, I am beyond thrilled that he has found a home, and a home that gives me updates about him anytime I ask!

Meet... Franklin!

Getting used to riding in the car

This is Franklin, the newest member of the family! Isn't he the cutest dog you've ever seen?!!! He is an 8.5 month old goldendoodle.
Josh and I have wanted a dog forrrrevvvverrrrrr, and we are finally in a situation that we can have one!
Josh found out last week that he can take a dog to his office during the day while he is working. His office is in a farmhouse, so it's perfect for a dog. Once we learned that, we started looking tirelessly for the perfect match for us. Thanks to Cesar Millan,we knew what we needed to do while we were looking and what we were looking for in a dog.
There is a dog trainer nearby who got Franklin from a puppy mill. He was 8 months when she got him and had lived his whole life in a kennel :( She rescued him and was trying to find a good home for him at the same time we were looking for a good dog!

Franklin's first run! Pooped. 

It was pretty much love at first sight. He is super calm and attentive to whatever we are doing and listens to us really well. The trainer only had him for 1.5 weeks, so he is not trained in anything, but we are working with him and he has already learned so much!

He hasn't had any accidents, can sit pretty consistently (esp. with Josh), and is very patient. He can also sit for his leash. He doesn't know how to jump (so sad!) so we are working on that. He also doesn't really know how to play or fetch, but he's starting to catch on! He acts just like a big puppy--very uncoordinated, big paws that he doesn't know what to do with, and curious. Everything is pretty new to him--toys, balls, running, etc.! It is so exciting to see him learn new things so quickly. 

 He loves his bed!

Tuckered out from us trying to teach him to jump!

We are so excited to have Franklin!! I am obsessed with him, so there will be plenty of pics. And he will go everywhere with us that he is allowed. I was a little disappointed that he couldn't come to church with us today (...ok, a lot disappointed), but hopefully that is the exception and he will be able to come [almost] everywhere else with us!

Acceptance, Annoyance, Anxiety, and Peace

Whew! This week has been crazy and exciting and noteworthy.

1. Acceptance.

I got accepted into the University of Delaware School Psychology Specialist Program!! I will officially be a blue hen (weird) starting Fall 2011! I am so excited. It was so frustrating to be moving somewhere when I had no idea what I was going to be doing with my life.

I knew it was the right place for us to be going, but that didn't get rid of the big question mark on my mind all the time. Luckily, I know that the next 3 years of my life I'll be in school! And I can't think of anything that would make me happier. I have always loved school, probably because it is one of the few things I have always felt really good at. And who doesn't like doing something they're good at? I just wasn't quite ready to give that up yet.

2. Annoyance.

Many of you have probably seen the latest Carl's Jr. commercial starring Miss Turkey. For those of you who have not seen it, look it up, but I don't want to put it on my blog because I hate it. Or, even better, read a great blog about it and other awful fast food ads here. I had a mix of emotions when I first saw it, including disgust, disbelief, and outrage. There are so many things I disagree with in this commercial. First of all, a woman in a bikini has nothing to do with a turkey burger. That seems to be obvious. Second of all, not only is she 90% naked, but there are close-ups of her butt and boobs! As if the bikini itself wasn't enough. Third, there is a mother covering her son's eyes when she walks by...so if a mother wouldn't want her son to see this, should it really be on TV at all? And last, THIS DOES NOT MAKE ME WANT TO EAT AT CARL'S JR! Clearly, you can see the impact this commercial has had on me. Ugh. I just feel gross and mad whenever it comes on.

Needless to say, I feel very strongly that this commercial, and others like it, are unacceptable and wrong. Which is why I am boycotting Carl's Jr. And I love Carl's Jr (even after I discovered my meal had 1000 calories in it)! And even though my $10 probably won't make a difference to them, it makes me feel better to feel like I'm doing something. If you are also disgusted by this, you can also boycott Carl's Jr, you can write them, and dislike the video on youtube (I stole these ideas from the BYU WSR).

3. Anxiety

...is what I have been filled with until Saturday, when we signed a lease on an apartment! Finally! Even though it is not our ideal place, it is a place. And it has a washer, dryer, and dishwasher, which make it 100% better than where we live now! We are allowed to get a pet, so we are already planning what kind of dog to get :) These are the options so far:

Golden Retriever: Too bad the puppies cost $2000.

Jack Russell Terrier.

All of this (minus Carl's Jr.) had led to...

4. Peace!

Josh and I both feeling a lot better now that we know where we're going, where we'll live, what we'll be doing, and how we'll get by (for the most part). I know there is still a lot more learning and change ahead of us, but for now, I will enjoy this momentary peace.