From the Rose Garden, to Restwell Rd., to Easy Acres Dr., to Pleasant Valley, the summer camping is fabulous in Eugene, OR this summer. We're living off the grid, on the cheap, and meeting new friends everyday, all day long.
Yesterday was the first day of summer, and we celebrated our good friend Bessie's 54th birthday with friends and relations. Dancing by candlelight, laughing and singing in the new season.
Spring has been cold, rainy, and stormy. The weather may be changeable here, but you can depend on the wet. The ground is spongy, the river is high and charging up it's banks threatening loose soil and rock. Our four reservoirs have been opened, to make room for more snow melt. Migratory birds are back; swallows and twits first, who populate the thorniest bushes; first come first served; and Turdis Migratorius (Mr. and Mrs. Robin Redbreast), has landed. I found half of a beautiful egg in the grass, and said a prayer that the little fellow made it to the sky.
My labrador Phoebe loves camping. Living in an apartment is for inmates at the shelter in her opinion. In mine, it's like incarceration. Camping means freedom, which as we know, is another word for nothing left to lose. We'll be back to pleasing a landlord by fall, but for now, it's fun, fun, and more fun. Imagine 5-20 requests to be friends on FaceBook, every day. It takes some sifting when it comes to accepting these requests; as always, risks must be taken. Miracles happen.
Three days ago, we rescued a pitbull puppy, only 7 weeks old, from a young girl who couldn't keep him. We found him at the laundromat. She gave him to me, along with half a bag of IAMS puppy food, a leash, and a collar. She said he was purebred, had been wormed but had no puppy shots. She'd seen his parents, she said they were "about 45 or 50 lbs." I took him with the intention of rehoming him, but I couldn't find a rescue that would take him! The County pound requires money to accept an animal, as does the other non-profit shelter in the county. LuvABull Rescue wants $50 to surrender a pit. Save the Pets Eugene never returned two messages, and never ansered their phone. WAG couldn't help me. Eeeek. No wonder there are so many stray pets. If you just pick one up and try to find someone to adopt it, be it cat, dog, hamster, or whatever, there's nowhere. But wait, the story gets better.
I had little Sparky, which was my temporary moniker for the cute little fellow, for three days, making phone call after phone call, when I took my friend to a doctor's appointment at 3 pm yesterday. My girlfriend and I had decided to take Sparky to a big department store's parking lot, write a sign with a Sharpie, and find someone to take him. (It's called 'flying a sign' in homeless parlance.) We pulled up to the doctor's parking lot, right next to a lovely little classic Mercedes sedan, the only shade in the lot. First, I ran across the street with Sparky in my arms, to the grocery store, hoping to find someone to take him. Two people loved him, but couldn't take him. I was at the end of my rope. Bessie's Jack Russell Buddy attacked little Sparky that morning, while we weren't looking. Poor Sparks sustained a bite wound in his mouth, which bled a lot, but only briefly. We comforted him, and he was all right, but we knew that he'd have to find a new home asap.
I decided to call Animal Control, give them a false name, address, and act like a rich, middle aged concerned citizen, and get them to take him to the pound. They didn't answer their phone! Neither did Police non-emergency. That's when I totally gave up, sat down on the curb under a tree, and gave it all up.
Who do you imagine walked right up to me that moment, but a 10 yr. old girl, who LOVED Sparky. Her parents emerged from the clinic. They belonged to the Mercedes Benz! Holy smokes, did I launch into my tale of woe, and how wonderful Sparky was, but that he needed his shots, but I didn't have the money, and girlfriend's dog bit him, and we had to find him a home right away, and he was free, and ... 'won't you please take him'?
"Well...mom and dad said, "We have been talking about getting a dog for Clarice, but we were going to give it plenty of time ... but this seems to be kind of coincidental that we run into you" ... "Oh my gosh," I gushed. "He is SO nice. And I don't have the money to get his shots, or take him to the shelter, and I could just go to the feed store and buy a shot for $8, ... do you know how to give a shot"?
They had a conference. Mom and Dad only. Then there was a Clarice conference. Then there was a conference with me. "I've never had a dog," Mom said, "but we do have a friend who works at the shelter, so we could have her help us with him". I told her, "Clarice could take basic obedience classes and have the time of her life with him. He's a very clever little fellow." Mom said, "I think so too, and we're going to take him. Let's exchange phone numbers, OK? We'll call you and let you know how he's doing".
Oh My Dog! He handed me his card. He's Rabbi and school supervisor at Temple Beth Israel! Holy Responsible and Rich Family Batdog! We all promised to pray for each other, and off they drove, hopefully to live happily ever after. Is that really special? I think so. What a GREAT day!
More to come later.
Your friend
Chris&Phoebe
