Don't Stop Believin'

Today we enter into Day 3 of Dog Wars. Maggie 10, Parents 0.

Yesterday my mom came into contact with Maggie three or four times. As she finally left the park at 8:45pm, Maggie was lying near the park entrance. I can't imagine how infuriating it must be to see her, be that close to her, call to her, and have her BOLT. No wonder my mom takes it personally, maybe it IS personal.

They've tried coaxing with Milkbones and Snausages. Other people in the park have tried to get her, too. She's just not interested in people. How long will this go on?

In other news, I'd pay you $100 for me not to have to go to work today! I was in a meeting for 5 hours yesterday. Sorry, I did have a one hour break after the first hour of the meeting, but it was still 5 freaking hours!

I remember when I worked one summer at a non-profit in a rural county near Richmond. It was either every Friday or every Monday that we had a staff meeting. They never lasted more than one hour and there was usually food involved. I actually enjoyed these meetings. I was young and stupid!

That place was pretty great, actually. We worked out of an old house. Just being in a house rather than an office seems to make the day a little better. I know some people that worked there didn't have such a good experience because the boss was very hard on them. It was odd because she was very sweet to me. I looked at the website recently and noticed she's not there anymore.

Boyfriend is making fajitas for dinner, so there's a plus side, right? Our apartment had a meet and greet game and pool party this past Saturday afternoon. There was a trivia game, and of course he couldn't pass that up. He won us a margarita set - four margarita glasses, four shot glasses, a pitcher and a little salt/lime plate. When I came home from work yesterday there was a giant bottle of margarita mix sitting on the kitchen counter... I think he's trying to tell me something.

Still No Dog

I just finished making a LOST poster for my parents with Maggie's picture. You see those posters around all the time, but for some reason I never thought about those animals were lost.

My brother had been calling me like crazy since Sunday, but I was avoiding his call like the plague. The last thing I wanted to hear was his take on the whole situation! Finally last night on my way back from my Anatomy & Physiology quiz I gave in. He said,

"You're not being a dumbass and busting mom's chops about this mutt problem are you?"

I honestly had no idea what he was talking about. Was he thinking I was pressing her to take off work and find the dog? That I would make her feel bad for being so upset? That I would tell her it's her fault the dog slipped out of her collar and ran off?

Apparently it was the latter. Why would I ever say that to her? That's the kind of thing he would say, perhaps. Something must have pissed him off because he tried several different ways to bait me into an argument. Lucky for him I was in a very good mood at the time (I got an 85 on my quiz and the class average was a 69!).

He also wanted to debate about how I was "an emotional child," my marital status, and the last episode of The Sopranos. That about covers it all, right?

I don't think I linked to this article yet, but if you were at all into The Sopranos then you should definitely read it. It makes some amazing points about the last episode, and now I really enjoy the way it ended. I love finding a good article.

Off to another day of sitting in meetings and having no time to finish any of the "top priorities" on my desk! Hoorah!

Once upon a time, we had a dog...

That's right, yesterday Maggie (like so many before her) decided she'd had enough of living with my parents.

My brother came home Saturday evening, I guess for father's day. Yesterday morning they all went for a family walk in the park with Maggie; it was only the third week we've had her.

One minute she's walking on the leash, the next minute she's slipped out of her collar and she's leash-free. I wasn't there (thank God... it was horrible pandemonium), but from what I understand it happened incredibly fast. Maggie charged off into the woods.

They all looked for her, and they had a few sightings. They couldn't get her to come to them. They looked, in shifts, until 9pm at night. Her last sighting was around 2pm, and then she was gone.

I have to make light because it's just so awful. The whole thing has been awful since we got her. Maggie was not adjusting so well at the house. I don't think it's unreasonable for someone to want a dog that greets you with a wagging tail when you come home after work, that looks forward to seeing you.. man's best friend? Maggie seems to have gotten worse once she moved in instead of getting better.

She's incredibly shy and anxious. She's one year old, and she spent her whole existence living outdoors. She loves the outdoors and fears houses. She also fears most people. To my dad, my brother, one of my dad's friends at work, and boyfriend and myself the last time we were home... she just shakes and shakes like one of us is going to kill her. She backs away and hides in a corner. But the day we got her she was friendly as could be.. she didn't start the shaking until a week after we'd had her. I just don't understand.

Everyone has advice about how to deal with a shy dog, but really nothing had worked so far. Plus, it's probably just too great a task for first time dog owners who both work 10 hours a day. They need something with more loyalty than intelligence that easily accepts and loves the role of family dog.

So, my brother and father probably didn't like her too much. They don't have a lot of patience, and seeing the dog shake and back away every time they go by, when all they've done is be nothing but nice to her, is disheartening.

My mom sees it as a personal attack. She gave the dog a warm home, toys, food, and love and yet the dog would rather run away and go live in the woods. She's a complete mess.

I hadn't gotten to know Maggie that well yet. Of course, I hated how afraid and shy she was too. I wanted to play with her and enjoy her company. It's not her fault, of course. Who knows what kind of life she had. But the thought of all the time and energy we put into this and all the high hopes we had makes it incredibly disappointing... plus terrifying... what's going to happen to her?

They're going to keep trying to find her, but what happens even if they do? She'll probably just run away again. She doesn't really get the concept of her name or coming when it's called. She certainly doesn't enjoy the company of really anyone in the house except my mom. She doesn't really understand how to be a pet.

I feel like we've all failed. I have no idea what's going to happen. Will they find her today, 6 months from now, or never? Will there be another dog? Is this it forever? Should I not worry yet because maybe they'll still find her? That park is huge and densely wooded.

What the hell happened? Why can't we just have something nice like normal people!

Sometimes, I swear... it's like there's a black cloud above my parents house where everything turns to shit!