FlyGuy flew himself home to IL for a meeting yesterday afternoon. The call came at 11:30pm. I stared at the phone, not wanting to know the dreadful news that always seems to accompany an unexpected late night call. I finally picked up and paused a few seconds before gathering the courage to say hello.

FlyGuy spoke.
“We got the letter, Rosie’s your daughter. She’s our daughter. The adoption is final.”

I whispered, “Wow.”

He whispered, “I know.”

Yes, her name is Rosie.

I’ve decided to embrace country life and take off my watch. I’ve been a slave to my wristwatch for years and I’m still getting used to my naked wrist. In college I constantly checked my watch to make sure I wasn’t late to class or one of my jobs. When I became a teacher, throughout the day I needed to make sure my students followed their various scheduled activities which included mainstream, ot, pt, speech, etc.

I’ve never seen my watch as a fashion statment. I’ve always worn a workhorse timepiece - timex, water resistant, indiglo. I wear (wore) it 24/7, so I can check it in the middle of the night or in the shower.

In the country, however, the only thing that is scheduled is bedtime for Little Lassie and I can ballpark that based on the sun. LL lets us know when she is hungry or tired so we don’t worry about nap or mealtimes.

Today is my first full day sans watch and I’m struggling. Time doesn’t really matter out here for me, which reminds me how far removed I am from regular life. I know its a blessing to be so free from time constraints, but its a double edged sword and I’ve learned to be careful what I wish for.

Those that know me in real life know I’m more than a sucker for stray animals. I am an animal lover- to a fault. I’m a vegetarian because although I love meat and lovely leather shoes and purses, I simply can’t support factory farming, but thats a whole other post entirely.

Today, I need your help. The other day I saw a stray dog on the road and didn’t get to it fast enough, she walked away into the woods. I could tell this was a beat up old mother dog who had too many litters as evidenced by her sagging stomach. This evening, she was outside our door with 2 of her puppies. The mother walked away, the puppies stayed. We fed them and gave them water. They are the sweetest, friendliest dogs, but they are also suffering from wounds, fleas and ticks. After dinner, the female walked off, probably in search of her mother who couldn’t be far. The male continues to sleep on our side patio. I was outside for a while and he followed me where ever I walked.

I’m hopeful the dogs will be here in the morning and I can begin the process of establishing trust and cleaning them up. I’m not familiar with this area and don’t know where to go from here. There are no no-kill shelters that I’m aware of. We are in the south west part of Virginia and need help finding a shelter or homes for these lovely dogs. I will pay for their care and transport if anyone is willing to take them. Please email or comment with ideas or strategies. I’m hesitant to put them on petfinder because we are going out of town soon and my MIL (who’s home we are staying in) does not know we are feeding the dogs. She lives in a new home 40 minutes away. Also, this is an area with dog fighting and I simply don’t know the people and culture well enough to pick an appropriate home. I need a safe, reliable plan soon. Any ideas?

Here are some pictures of the darlings (with my darlings.)