Meet Locke.



He's home.  Oh boy, is he ever home.  He has some POWERFUL lungs, and he makes his opinion known all. through. the. night.  >.<  Ah, but that is puppyhood for you.  He is a wonderful puppy, and sure to develop into a wonderful dog.  He is outgoing, and clever, quick as a whip and so incredibly clumsy.



Precious boy.  The both of them...



His first bath.  "Is you sure us labs be waterproofed????"

Well, the Special ED crew and I are all doing quite fine.  We've had a few recent additions to our numbers, however, in the rather lengthy respite I seem to have taken from LJ.

Did I mention we have ferrets?


5 of them, to be exact.  They are as follows:

Pixel.


Babooshka. ("Baboo" for shorts...)


The Rover.


Buttercup.


And last but certainly not least, The Dread Pirate Roberts.


I have always wanted a ferret.  Hank grew up with ferrets.  So, naturally he was quite alright with the decision to get some.  They are wonderfully entertaining.  Our small room off the kitchen has been converted into their 'play room' in which they romp a good 4-6 hours a day.  It is filled to the bring with odds and ends for them to crawl through burrow under, dig into, or climb on...not to mention the wide assortment of toys for them to tackle.  They're living it up, here.

I know what you're thinking.  5 ferrets!?  Thats a LOT of FERRET!  ...Well, if it weren't for the room we had set aside for them, then no, it would not be so easy, I'd imagine.  But being able to just open their cage doors and let them out into the ferret room to play their little hearts out while we go do our thing is a godsend.  I scoop their litter once a day when I get home.  Their bedding is washed once a week.  Hank feeds them and checks their water before heading off to work in the morning.  Its our system, interlaced with the care of our other critters.

The ferrets are certainly OK with it.  And so are we. :D

We've been getting regular updates on Hank's puppy.  He is a roly-poly 6 weeks, now!  2 more weekends until we are due to pick him up!
He is one of these, we just don't know which yet:


Gah, the CUTE.

That will effectively make:
 5 dogs
 5 ferrets
 2 fish
 15 snakes
 2 birds
 2 cats

...In the Special ED household.  Are we nuts, or what?

Its been a while since my last post.  Mostly due to the fact that I have not been snapping many photos 'round here.  Bad Sawie.  This, we must remedy.

The Special ED crew is all well n' good, though.  Idolon lost a nasty battle with what we suspect must have been a bee.  She looked like her papa was a shar-pei.  Poor little naughty-spotty-doggy, she was downright pitiful until her face deflated...


She was back to her perky, pointy face in no time, though...

"Hai yes, you has things to throw for me?"


Most of our days the past couple weeks have been Lay-zay.  Last Sunday we attended our friend Jenny's house, where her family threw things for the dags to fetch until their feet bled.  Literally.  We kinda overdid it... *wince*  ...So, that meant that this past week turned into a restive one.  Monkey was alright with this, however...ever wekk is a restive one for her.



This also meant that the girls got to spend some quality time snuggling, for we all felt downright terrible about their pauvre little feetsies...





Well, we have news.  There will be an addition to the Special ED crew in a mere 5 weeks or so.  We're getting a puppy.  Yes, you read that right...a PUPPY.  And, not just any puppy.  An black english lab puppy.  He is to be Hank's birthday gift, his new best friend, and heaps and heaps of fun n' trouble!  ...These were sent to us via the breeder last weekend...baby pics, 2 wks old:



Hank's best friend in the whole world when he was a kid was a black lab named Jake.  This will be his first puppy since.  :D

We struck out last Sunday in pursuit of a marvelous way to spend the afternoon.  Success!  We found it: Arabia Mountain Park.  A perfect place to spend one's birthday, if I do say so m'self...

At least, Ido seemed to think so.



*AHEM*  It's *my* birthday, naughty spotty doggy, not yours! 

"Ooh.  My bad."


Ido made a new friend...and he totally made her afternoon.



"I believe you tossed this, sir..."


Despite the fact she was the most photogenic on our venture, Ido was not the only dag out there.  There was also a Monk, illusive and immersed in the scrubbery...



Rune was there too...occasionally.


Hank soon discovered that Ido and Rune were far too fetch-savvy to fall for the fake throws...

"Yeah right, sucka...Now throw it for real!"


Though he was very good at chucking things far out into the waters...



He was also good at providing the background music...



I shall end this entry with a picture of me, as they do not often reach this blog.  I do not play the guitar, it was a prop.  As is the short-bus next to me.  :D

"We graduated!"  ...The crates have been tucked away, and the girls have been baby-gated into the 'laundry room' of the house.  They've done very decently, no gate-jumping, no accidents...I think the next step, once we acquire a washer and dryer, is to bump them over into the studio room.



It was a rough first week--we had no water!  So a steady supply of jugs was kept on hand.  We drifted back and forth between the house, and Hank's brother's house.  My car is also still in KY...but that shall be remedied soon.  I've three job interviews next week.  Things are moving along...

Rune likes the new back yard...it has squirrels!


Ido thinks GA soil smells funny.



Monkey thinks it tastes...different.



But she's OK with this.

Because there is STICKS! ZOMG!


The weather has been lovely.  I couldn't ask for prettier days.  I've taken a few strolls around the neighborhood with the girls, and hopefully we'll be able to attend some nearby parks soon. 

Ido heard me mention the 'P' word....uh oh.


Our new place kinda looks like this:

Hai.  My name is Barkley.  Nice to meet you.



I'm cute.  And I know it.



I've got some BIG shoes to fill...





Barkley is my friend E's new 'brother'...her parents used to have the most wonderful bearded collie mix named 'Chase' who they lost to cancer a few months ago.  It was heartbreaking for the entire family...even to the point they considered selling the house.  But time heals all wounds, and in time they found themselves missing the presence of a dog in the house.  They tentatively browsed some rescues...and they found some good dogs, just none that fit their situation.  Then, they came across a very good reputable breeder in IL.  After some discussions, Barkley's future was set in stone.  They picked him up this past Tuesday, and brought him in today for his first vet visit.  I promised I'd bring my camera.  We all loved Chase, very much.  Barkley has big shoes to fill, but we have no doubt that he's up for the job.  He's precious, and everything you could ask for in a puppy.

To Georgia that is!

Yes, me and the special ED crew are headed south.  We have a lovely house picked out, with a gorgeous sun room and a pleasant back yard.  Its in a decent piece of town, and within range of several vet clinics I hope to apply to.

We've been spending much of the past week saying farewell to old haunts.  I took the girls out to Long Run Park on the way out to see my dad this weekend.  We hadn't been there in AGES.


Monkey liked the fact that the fields had just been cut, therefore grass tossing became prime sport:


Rune could hardly contain herself.  Really.


"O-hai...dis my tree hows."


Monkey was immersed in the wilderness...!  She got in touch with her rugged side...


Uh...really, really rugged side...?



Rune sped off on an adventure...


I think Ido may be part squirrel.....she is way too at home up in the whole tree thing.





So, GA....yeah.  We leave this Saturday.  Signed the house over... its out of our hands.  What, you ask, is bringing me to GA?  Bigger and better things, a fresh new start, new opportunities.  New and old friends...new and old love.  Just another chapter in this life, as just so long as my girls are by my side...well, we got 'dis.

Wassat?  Nap time?  Why, I could use a little shut-eye...specially when you have eyes as big as dis.



This is what it looks like when I bed down for a little afternoon nap...



Yeah.  I sleep with a bunch of bitches.  :D

Well, its been a while since I've come out with fresh photos of the feline crew.  I felt they were due their share...and besides, I've been cooped up with them all week, I couldn't NOT take pictures of them!


I think this is one of Turtle's most sultry come-hither looks yet...


The kittuns had it out the other day...

Beezle vs. Babbette...







All that wrasslin' tires you out....



I have turned to mush over several encounters with cuddly piles of bittun this week...





Don't ask me why they're still here! *sigh* Precious things...I do have a couple coming to see them this weekend, though...Cross your fingers.  They're gettin' big.  O.O

We can has lots and LOTS of snow!  O.o





In fact, we can has a bit too much snow...



*facepalm*



In all truth, the downed limbs and trees were due to an ice storm that swept in the evening after the first snowfall.  *sigh*  We spent the entire evening waking up every 10 minutes going "Uhh...what the hell was that????"  That, my friends, was more of this...




Gak!




Well, at least the girls have taken it upon themselves to do away with this whole tree limb invasion...



There is no shortage of limbs and sticks to chew and shred and wrestle over...which is  causing me as much anxiety as it is causing them joy. I just know I'm going to peek out there to discover a stick somewhere it shouldn't be...like gaping out of an eye or something.  Oi.  But its hard to deny them the pleasure...there is just too many damned limbs!!!  I'll be forced to board them for a day or so when we decide to cut up the tree squashing the fence and repair the damage.  As it is, that tree is the only thing keeping them IN.

All the same, its going to be hard to say goodbye to the snow...because that means its melted, and everything left behind will have turned to MUD. o.O



Even though we have a hole in our ceiling/roof, trees and limbs down all over the place, a squashed fence, a smashed grill, and a very slippery driveway....it has provided me with some beautiful photo material...





I hope the rest of you are faring well with all this freezy weather...

Hai.




My name is Fae.  I like tugging on stuffs.



And teezing Ido.



And, lets not forget scrutinizing the camera...



Hee.  This is Fae.  Fae is the super-est sweetest puppy EVAR.  And it would seem that she is super aware of this:



Talk about UBER cute, omigosh.  Fae has thus far learned how to:

Sit.
Lay down.
Walk nicely on a leash.
Heel on a loose leash...for short periods of time, for as you can tell, she's all puppy, complete with the attention span of a hummingbird on crack. :D

Ido and Rune are still shooting me looks that openly scream: "Mom, you OWE us MAJOR for this one..."  And Monkey has taken it upon herself to teez the Fae into short bouts of zoomies that nearly always end with Monkey biting off more than she can chew. (*headsmack*)  ...But both are learning to respect boundaries, and they're coming along quite nicely.

Ah, yes...the Runey-Toon turns a whopping 3 years old today!  Doesn't she look pleased with herself?



Ah, Rune.  You've grown into a beauty, no doubt about it.  My short-bus-special, my lovey-dovey attention whore, my "blanket" dog...Rune, I love you precious girl.  So does everyone who meets you.  The one dog I can count on in almost any situation--just so long as it doesn't involve squirrels!  Rune, you hold a special place in my heart.

I wish I could say we're hosting a party for her this weekend, but my darling black and white has gone to Paducah.  Why, you ask?  When she was a baby, I was going to be gone for a week and my friend Anne agreed to puppy-sit for me.  She brought her home to Paducah with her, whereupon her dad fell madly in love with her.  Well, its been over a year since that visit, and Anne mentioned that her dad still asks about sweet Rune.  So, as Anne was going home this weekened, I let her take Rune along with her to pay a visit to those that missed her.

Oh, and as for the GSD puppy, he's gone back home with Dr. K, who will be negotiating with the family this weekend to see where he will end up.  Hopefully, it will be agreed upon that he does not belong under the supervision of an 87 year-old woman.  Maybe they can get grandma a sweet old cat to warm her lap...no more puppies!

Ido is relieved to discover the tail-muncher is gone.  Now she may get back to more serious things...such as staring a hole in my head in order to get me to toss the damn ball:


Monkey kind of misses her little buddy, though.  They did get along famously, after all...

Well, someone thought this "little" guy was a great idea for a Christmas present to an 87 year-old grandmother...



Hm.  I...really can't imagine why.  Because he is going to be a VERY big boy...



But for now, he is a precious bundle of GSD joy.  I took him home last Friday when Dr. K brought him in.  He was planning on boarding him there while he was treated for strangles, and so they could figure out what to do with him.  Well, I couldn't stand the thought of the little guy there all weekend on pred, with only a couple walks a day.  So, being the sucker that I am, I offered to take him home.  Monkey loves him, and he's just SO CLEVER.  Smart as a whip, this one.  He is going to make some one an awesome dog one of these days.

And as if he weren't enough..I got three foster kittens this weekend.

Meet Barnaby:


Beezle:


And Babette:


The only good way to tell Babette and Beezle from one another is Babette has a white tip on her tail.  They were terrified the day they arrived...and now, they're little bundles of bouncing love.  They have a whole room in the basement to themslves.

Its been a full house around here, to say the least!  We got our new sofa yesterday, and I must say...I think the girls approve:

 

Well, I decided to whip out the Santa hat and torture Ido tonight.  Its almost humiliting what this dog will do for a ball.

"Merry F-ing Crimmus to you too, bish...now throw the damn ball before I kill you."  Yeesh.  Scrooge!



"What did you say?  Cookies for cute faces? I can handle that."


"Ok you gonna throw the---Heeeeey...!"


Oh, the cute.


Rune was not present during our little photo shoot.  Tomorrow, Benji and I are headed out to NC to visit mum.  Idolon stresses so bad when boarded, mom wanted to meet Monkey, so Rune drew the short straw and she gets to stay at the clinic the rest of the week.  She should keep Turtle and Robot Chicken good company, at least.  Really, for as often as she rides theshort-bus, she takes things in stride relatively well.  It helps that she LOVES everybody.  I'm sort of Ido's security blanket, and so you combine the lack of me with the groomers and their blow-driers on a daily basis and Ido just cannot cope. 

So they both get to meet mom for the first time.  We wont be back until the 21st.  Wishing you all a happy holiday!

Chicken has been settling right in.  Turtle and her have butted heads a few times...but Chicken has her places (the hall closet being one of them) and Turtle has hers, so they're staying out of each others hair for right now.  The problems seem to surface when Turtle wants to play, and Chicken would rather be left well alone.  She's coming around, though...her comfort level around the dogs has increased, and she emerges from her closet to watch them wrestle when things get boisterous.

Ah, but after all that peeking in on the dogs, any kitteh would get sleepy...


I love how cats sleep in comma positions...


We have a Christmas tree this year!  Its somewhat empty on the ornament front, but we have many years ahead to remedy that.  My favorite ornament this year thus far is one of a set that a client sent to the clinic.  They'd taken a sweet picture of the puppy we helped rescue in her new home, and made ornaments from it!  What an idea.  I'm going to get some made of the girls, now.  And Turtle.  Oh, and Chicken.  Maybe Thistle too!  And some of Wingers....

*Ahem* So, with a tree as a backdrop, I couldn't resist taking some holiday-themed photos...

Rune is very put out by the lack of squirrels in the Christmas tree...



Ido is just happy about Christmas being around the corner...


She's also happy I didn't put anything shameful on her...like I did with Monkey.


Hee.  Santa's little Monkey.

Ok.  All together now:


Oh, and btw...we painted the house!  Well, some of it.  The living room is done, thus far.  I like it.  I'm especially proud of the door!


We're having a holiday party on the 27th...hopefully things will be fairly put together by then!

So, we has dis house, ya?  ...And it has space...loads of space to streeeetch out in...


And plenty of places to get cozy in...


Needless to say, the girls approve.  There is a huge back yard, and if it hadn't been so wet and cold and nasty this week, I'd have plenty of pictures detailing just how much they enjoy said back yard.  Unfortunately, the weather had other ideas, and the time I'd have spent taking pictures actually turned into the tedious swabbing of muddy paws before they went zooming through the house.  I did manage to get some caption-worthy shots indoors, however...

"What you lookin' at?"


"ZOMG BOXES EVERYWHERE!"



The new kitty, Rowan (aka Robot Chicken...due to her funny eye.  Those of you who actually get this reference...well, bravo.) has been settling in well.  She is timid, but oh-so-lovey.  Benji says she hides all day from him, lol.  The moment I get home, she's all over me, right against me, and follows me *everywhere*...I think its cute.



Her and Turtle bear a striking resemblance...


Turtle is...still not sure what to think of her.  But I think they're both trying.  They share a couch, now.  But sleeping rights in the bed with us seems to still be a bit of a combat zone.  Thats the only time Turtle ever gets a little snarky over her space.  She really likes sleeping with us, evidently.  Hm.

Turtle sez: "I has to have my space, yo."

What?  Turtle?



Thats not Turtle!

Roughly 3 weeks ago, I was at the local pet food store, taking a gander at the birds, when one of the clerks walks up with this tortie kitty.  She was giving her a walk through.  Evidently, a lady had found this cat roaming the streets, and she had been declawed on all four feet.  The kicker?  She was pregnant!!!  WHO ON EARTH HAS ALL THEIR CATS CLAWS TAKEN OFF AND DOESN'T SPAY THEIR CAT?!?!  *Ahem*  So, anywho...we were in the midst of all the home purchasing mumbo jumbo, but this sweetie's face just stuck to me.  You see, we'd been entertaining the idea of getting Turtle a buddy once we moved.  We were leaning towards an adult cat, as kittens can be so rambunctious. (Not that we don't love fostering kittens!) 

Well, watching this kitty blandly observe the birds, so calm to be carried around the store past other people and pets, it was like a sign.  You see, one of the reasons we kept Turtle was because she was trustworthy.  She wouldn't bother the bird, she wouldn't mess with the snakes, she just wasn't a very prey-driven cat.  She just...fit.  She came and settled into our lives like she belonged there, and has ben our constant snuggle-buddy ever since.  She's good with the foster babies--once she gets used to them--and she loves the dogs.

Well, here this sweet ol' mother cat needed a home.  She'd been living in the office of the store for months.  They all loved her, but they wanted to see her get a good home.  I explained my situation with the house and all, how I would love to take her home, but I wouldn't want to stress her out with all the packing/moving...and we wouldn't be moved for several weeks!  So, I talked it over with Benji.  He thought she sounded perfect.  I went up there, told them that yes...we'd love to give her a home...but we wouldn't be ready to for several weeks.  I told them that should some one else want to take her, then yes let her go...but we would really like to have her.  Well, the lady who found the cat gave me a call a few days later.  We talked for almost half an hour.  She told me she'd let the girls know at the store to hang on to the tortie girl until we were moved.  I was ecstatic!

So, today I swung by and picked her up.  There were many tears as I left with her, as everyone there had grown so attached. (I told them I'd bring them photos of her in her new home for Xmas.)  As I type, she is passed out alongside me in the kitty comma position...You may not be able to tell from her picture, but one of her eyes is slightly recessed in her head, giving her a little bit of a cock-eyed appearance.  (I love it!)  It was an old injury from the streets, ad its been checked out as fine.  She is vaccinated, fixed, and UTD on everything.  She is every bit as lovey as Turtle, and she has the same good manners.  Turtle and her have been blowing kisses (hissing) off and on today, but I trimmed back Turtle's nails in case anything should come to blows.  (Which is unlikely!)  They've been slowly checking each other out, and Turtle is actually less fussy than when we first introduce her to new foster kittens.  Sorry for the crappy pic, but I do not have the cable to my camera unpacked yet, and so I had to make-do with the phone.

Now we have only to come up with a name for her.  I like the name Rowan...

In other news, the girls LOVE their new home!  I cannot wait to post pictures!  ...Oooh where is that cord.....

Can you fit in a shoe???



Hey!  Two make a pair!  ...hee.   Rune and Ido sez: "Dis shoo haz flavur."
   

I finally managed to stuff a Monkey in one... (Don't mind the camera strap...it was the only good picture I had of Monkey plunging into the shoe.) ...After much bribery of course.  She was very...nimble...about snatching the treat free and scurrying away.  Typical Monkey.


The rest of the time she just kinda sat back and fantasized about shoe-flavured treats. 

Mmm...Flavur.


Well, once the shoes were devoid of treats, we had to do something else with them...



Oh yeah.  I went there. 

This is the sort of cooperation I got after *that* shot....


Rune was all "Screw You"...Ido was still traumatized, and Monkey was still begging for shoe treats.

So, to make it up to them, we played some ball.


Its been a pretty indoors-only regime here lately.  Its freaking cold outside, and I'm *just* now getting over strep throat.  The last thing I need to do is go cavorting through the frosty air right about now...I have a pathetic immune system when it comes to seasonal colds and ick.  Tomorrow, I'll drag the dags in to work with me I think, so I can get them all baths, meanwhile getting them out of the house...

We're closing on the house next Wednesday.  By this time next week, the girls will officially have a YARD.  A REAL YARD.  I promise you all pics...LOTS of pics.  Involving LOTS of yard doggy fun.  Woo!

"We got this whole stay thing down pat, momma."


That they do.  These were taken a few days ago, on a not so chilly/rainy/bitterly frigid day.  I'm finally getting around to sharing them.  I have a feeling this lot wont be diving into creeks for much longer...




Then again, they probably will, which leaves me standing on the bank exasperated.  At least I don't have to worry about Monkey...she'll just go off to graze somewhere...



I don't know whats so appealing about grass, anyway.  Its stringy.  They have a hard time chewing it.  It makes poopy strings stick to their butt, and I can't imagine it tastes all that great!  ...Then again, maybe Monk was a cow in her past life.  Hm. 

The girls and I sprawled and watched Wall-E tonight.  Scratch that.  I sprawled, they brawled.  At least we all had fun. :D

"And how does that make you feel?"


Ha ha.  Some one is getting revenge tonight!

Monkey feels slightly sorry for me.


The weather has been ICK here...cold, wet, windy, more wet... I hope things clear up tomorrow so we can go places.

Rune sez this would be nice.