Friday, July 30, 2010

My bubba-loos

Yup, it's official...I am attached and in love. With my bubba-loos. My stinker-winkers. My baby girls. I am going to miss these crazy kids while we are in Japan.

In their hyper-active terrierness last night (that is going to be a word...terrierness), they both learned how to jump up on the couch! Such a big leap for the little ones. I think that it was their heightened state of energy that allowed them to do so as later attempts to repeat said ability failed. There is a learning curve to these things.

Today is shaping up to be a busy day. I need to run to the vet to get more puppy food and will probably spend a good chunk of the day packing as we leave tomorrow morning. My friend is going to come to pick up the bubba-loos this afternoon; I will go with her to her house and make sure that they get settled in.

So, I imagine that I better get a move on.

I'll leave you with this.....

And isn't it amazing how they can go from that to this in a matter of 5 minutes?!


Oh, puppies...how can you not just adore them?? :)

Edited to note: Sophie has now jumped up on the couch this morning 3 times. Learn to jump up on the couch...check!!

Monday, July 26, 2010

日本



This time next week, I will be here..............

YAY!!! :)

(source)

Which is better?

I took some pictures today of where the puppies were dumped/hiding/living.




They were hiding under these cement blocks and that is why it was such a challenge to catch them since they were petrified of humans (except when I was trying to feed them and even then it was touch and go).




This construction company site is right next to a busy 4-lane road.




This is where the puppies were napping this weekend and are currently snoozing.



Life is good.

Monday, July 19, 2010

The big red monster

The name game

I was right not to get my hopes up as I still have two puppies sleeping in the bedroom on this Monday morning. The person who was thinking about adopting BG #2 already has 2 dogs (both male) and was worried about the dynamic of bringing a little lady into the house. Sigh.......

However, I'm trying to get the word out the best I can. The shelter has posted pictures on their website, the vet has agreed to display a flyer and pictures at his office, and an email with the flyer went around to the international community. So, the word is out there and now I guess I just need to wait.

I have tried some different names with the puppies, but the originals are sticking....

BG#1 = Sophie


BG#2 = Maddie


This weekend they got to venture out of their bedroom and now our living room has turned into a puppy playground. This week marks the two week point since I rescued them, and I feel like they are already getting bigger. I almost forgot how quickly puppies change!!

Yes, she would be pulling on her sister's tail in the above pic.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Feeling more hopeful

I am hoping that I have found someone to adopt BG#2 through a local friend; I don't want to get my hopes up too high though because this has fallen through in the past.

Also giving me more hope is the fact that I was able to reach the woman who heads up the animal protection organization here in Podgorica. Turns out that she is the one who also oversees the shelter. During our conversation on the phone, her love of animals became abundantly clear which put me more at ease. I will be able to care for the puppies here and then take them to the shelter on Adoption Day which they have once a week. On that designated day, the public can visit the shelter to see if there is a dog they want to adopt. The shelter also makes sure that the people who are adopting have the right facilities/capacity to own a dog; they just don't hand out dogs without looking into the situation.

Also, we just recently found out that we are going to be going back to Japan at the beginning of August...yay!! But then the problem that keeps me from 100% committing to keeping one puppy arises...what to do with the puppies when we are gone? There is a kennel here, but I hear that the conditions are quite bad. I asked the lady from the shelter what I should do, and she offered that I could bring them to the shelter for that week. She would put them in their own box in isolation from the other dogs (since they don't have the money to vaccinate them), and she would let them out to feed them and play with them. Sigh of relief...........

So, I am hopeful that this situation will turn out well...whatever the course may be!

And on a side note, the hubby was craving brats the other day which they, of course, don't have here. Hotdogs were the next option (eeww, I know but you do what you have to do!). They actually tasted quite good...guess that is what you resort to when you live in a country with no McD's. ;)

Here is what I found in the grocery store....


God bless America.

Friday, July 9, 2010

Definitely double the trouble

BG #2 makes her debut...


It has not taken her long to come out of her shell. For good reason, she was terrified when she first came in to the apartment, but now she is quite the playful pup like her sister. She has a wider white marking on her head and has longer fur than her sister. Makes me wonder what exactly they are mixes of, but they are definitely terriers! And boy, do they get the looks when I am outside; everyone thinks that they are adorable and wants to meet them. Two cute...yes, the typo is on purpose.



Today was bath day. I have a little laundry bucket that acted as their tub within our tub. I imagine that it must feel good to get clean after living in the dirt, under cement blocks for a few days. I have put them both on the same medicine regimen (worms, fleas, ticks, etc.) so that both should be good to go for their health checks and vaccines tomorrow at the vet. I have been fastidiously cleaning the apartment and vacuuming, washing everything at the highest temperature, and learning that equal combinations of water with apple cider vinegar or lemon juice make great homemade, natural fleas sprays for the puppies and our furniture.



Angie is just sleeping away in the kitchen...she will go back home on Sunday, and I think that that will make my life a little easier. Her mom has been trying to contact the shelter for me with no luck. Not a good sign that they do not have enough staff to even answer the phone. Makes me think that they are not exactly going to give the puppy/puppies the attention that I give them. I have been tossing around the idea of advertising them/her (depending on what my final answer is about keeping one!) to the international community. There are plenty of diplomats here with kids that would love a rambunctious puppy, I am sure. ;)

I have been reading quite a bit on raising puppy siblings. It usually is not recommended because puppies need so much individual attention and to bond with their human. One fear with siblings is that they may bond with each other rather than the human. Some things that I was doing instinctively are right on the money...feeding and taking them outside separately (giving them both one-on-one time with me). One thing that is recommended is that they have their own crates so they do not become too dependent on each other. Guess I will have to pick up an extra carrier at the vet tomorrow.

Man, I feel like I have just given birth to twins............

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

And then there were two

Look who decided to join the party...

Baby Girl's big day

Baby Girl did not go to the shelter today.

She went to the vet.

And now....

BG has a red collar.




BG has a pink crate.




BG has a pink toy cow that is as big as her and squeaks.




BG needs a name................


Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Too cute


Puppy #1

This morning as I was eating breakfast, I heard a crying puppy next door.

I thought to myself, "Please, please...I hope that they caught both of the puppies this time."

As I walked across the parking lot, I spied one of the tiny puppies tied up next to the guard shack. It was a new man there who had caught it, but he must have heard of me and gave me the puppy. I could not understand what he was saying, but the gist of it was that once he caught the second one, he would give that one to me as well.

One guy there knew an English word. "Present," he said with a smile.

Present...yeah, right! I wish but there is no way I can keep these two puppies as much as I would love to! Present for the shelter, more like it. My friend knows of an animal shelter here that takes in strays, gives them their vaccines, and then finds homes for them. I think that I will make them sign an agreement that whoever adopts these puppies must pass a "wonderful human being" test.

For now, Puppy #1 is sleeping in a box in the guest bedroom...

Monday, July 5, 2010

Puppies galore

This week the hubby and I have a house-guest. Her name is Angie...


Friday night was the Independence Day Community Party at the U.S. Ambassador's residence. Hamburgers, hotdogs, drinks, ice-cream, brownies, sack races, live music, and good times with friends...doesn't get much more American than that! It is strange to be overseas on American holidays as I feel so removed from the festiveness. But the Embassy was able to make it feel more like "home."






(That is Ambassador Moore with his back to the camera in the picture above.)

This past weekend was so nice outside so we took a little roadtrip yesterday with a friend...and Angie, of course! We went to a small village called Rijeka Crnojevica. The river in this town flows into Skadar Lake (from this post, remember?).


It was very quaint and peaceful. Angie enjoyed cooling off in the river, and us humans enjoyed some drinks and conversation near the river before we headed back to Podgorica.


Also over the weekend while I was walking Angie, I noticed that there are two tiny puppies living under a big stack of bricks at the construction company site next to our apartment. They can't be more than a month or two old. You see so many stray dogs here so I try not to feel sorry for every single one I see...but these are little puppies! So helpless on their own!

Since I could not just ignore them, I decided to take some water over to them. As I made my way over to them, I noticed that a man who works for the company was trying to take care of them as well. Of course we cannot communicate with each other but we have the same goal of helping these puppies! Later I decided to take some food to them and also the hubby decided to check out what his bleeding-heart wifey was up to. Luckily, since we have Angie right now I have access to dog food. I soaked a handful of food in water as I didn't think that they were big enough to handle adult food. Those poor little things were starving and scarfed down the food so fast. They are so skittish of humans...for good reason as they have not been treated nicely up until this point! I called a local friend who is also a fellow animal-lover, and she talked to the man to get the story. Evidently some cretin who is not worthy of being called a human being dumped these poor puppies at the site.

Since this weekend, Operation Puppy Rescue has been in full force! There is a group of guys who work there who are now also engaged in trying to catch these puppies. This morning I took breakfast to the little ones, and they again were so happy to see food. I have been able to feed them out of my hand and scratch their tiny heads a little but that is all. They stick their little heads out just enough to get the food and then duck back under the bricks. One of the guys grabbed one of the puppies while I was trying to pet them...oh my goodness, what a commotion! He passed the puppy to me and it was just trembling in my lap...and his sibling skidded back under the bricks and started crying for him. It was so pitiful! The guys got a box to put the one puppy in, but of course, there was no way we could lure the other one out. They both were scared to death!

I had no idea that this is what the guy was planning to do; a major downfall of not being able to speak the same language! My plan was to take it easy and build up the puppies' trust. So much for that although I know he meant well! In the end, they realized the mistake and released the captive puppy back to his sibling. Now the idea is to catch them at the same time to avoid any more trauma!

The puppies are getting some rest now. As I walked across the street to the grocery store just a bit ago, I saw the original man I met sitting in a lawn chair near the puppies. At least I know that they are being watched over while I am not there. Maybe this evening I will be able to regain some of their trust at suppertime!

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Happy July!

A couple of weekends ago, we had quite the adventure...


One of the hubby's co-worker's dad owns and operates this "adventure course" just outside of Podgorica. We were not really sure what we were getting in to (just kind of suited up and took off!), but it turned out to be a blast!



Rockin' the Beckham shirt....













We even got to zip across the Moraca River...whee!




There are also tennis courts at this place so we got some tennis lessons too...fun times!

And some other big news...I was offered a job! As you know, I was substitute teaching at the international school for the last several weeks of the school year. I met with the director the other week, and he offered me a part-time position for this next academic year. I will, in essence, be co-teaching in the 3 and 4 years-old classroom. The preschool teacher will have an academic period in the morning and then I get to do arts and crafts with the kidlins in the afternoon. I filled in one day in this classroom, and to be honest, it is exhausting...both physically and mentally. It is a lot of management and discipline but should be plenty of fun too!

This morning I contemplated going for a run...instead, I made brownies.



All things in moderation, people.