It's been a minute

 I didn't realize I hadn't blogged for 6 months!  Oops.

I guess I'll start with Curie, since I left off with her. Her birthday is next week!  She'll be one, still a big baby.  She still has a lot of energy.  She did 2 training classes: puppy and intermediate.  She passed the first, but not the other.  We'll retake it at some point, when she's calmed down a bit more.  She love running zoomies in the back yard.  And digging!  This is the diggingest dog we've ever had.  She loves Bronwyn, that's her person.  Bron will grab Curie and hug her, and her tail goes nuts.  In the fall, she cut her paw on something (we never figured out what) and needed stitches.  I think that was $1100 we weren't planning on.  Prior to that she got spayed, which was fine, and the adoption agency paid for it.  She's learned a few commands: sit, paw, down, go to bed.  She loves Monty and the cats. The feeling isn't mutual, except from Waffles.  She likes Curie.  The dog also love boxes!  Well, destroying boxes.  

Speaking of dogs, my dog walking gig is really taking off. I have 2 semi-regular "as needed" people, and 3 weeklies.  Miso is three days a week, Allie is three days, Eddie is 2 days (but his walks are an hour long), and Munch is once a week.  I'll be adding a new dog to the rotation called Enzo, they just live a few blocks away, and he'll have 4 days a week so it's a nice addition.  I had a few one-offs as well.  All in all, I made more that $2100 last year.  I feel really proud of that.  It's been so long since I earned any money.  (While my job, domestic engineer, has a high value, it's unpaid).  I was able to pay for Curie's stitches with my walk money.  I had 2 cat sitting jobs over Christmas as well.  They are the easiest, as they pay well, and they're quick.  Half the time, the cat never comes out.  

Another thing for my last 6 months was tattoos.  I got a matching on with Jessica in September (a silhouette of a cat sitting atop a book) and after that I added on to my flower arm piece (marigolds for dad, lilac for mom, gardenia for Grandma Street and a gerbera, just because I like them.  I got the lines done in one session.  And some of the colour (marigolds) done.  But then Curie got hurt, so I couldn't afford to finish.  After tax time, I'm going to make an appointment to get it finished. 

Last year I read/listened to 109 books. A new record!  If the kids are in school, I can finish the average audio book in about 2 days.  I like podcasts too, but I don't listen to them as often.

Bron just had her annual IEP meeting.  She's doing really well.  The goal, for never year, is to do gen-ed with RSP, and no SPed.  I think that will be a good fit, as she is getting irritated with some of the kids in SPed. And she's doing quite well in the mainstream class.  She is moving into 3rd and 4th grade math on the computer.  She's been in ABA since May, but I haven't seen really any progress.  I was hoping for a little, but it's not doing much for her at the moment.  And, also, we still haven't received a bill for any services.  So that will be a  heavy hitter, if it ever shows up.

Over the Christmas break with dealt with lice for hopefully the only time.  Bron likely brought them home from school.  And somehow, despite very often sharing a bed, I didn't get them.  No one else got them, but her.  We tried for a week, to get rid of them, but kept finding more.  We ended up going to a lice clinic, and $270 later we were lice free.  (fingers crossed)

I spent most of last week sick with a stomach bug.  I had to cancel a couple of dog walks, which I've never done before.  I was so tired.  I forgot how much is sucks to be sick.  And I lost 4lbs.  But I'm sure it's all back now.  Bert had the bug too.  I'm pretty close to well, but he's still not 100%

Curie

 There has been some excitement at the Keeley house of late. 

We have been talking about getting another Greyhound since Zelda died in 2019. We've looked off and on, but they are much harder to come across then the used to be. The track where Zelda had raced closed, and that was a major source of greyhounds for California. Florida also outlawed dog racing (yay!). Which means, in the US, West Virginia is the only state that allows racing. So there are a lot less retired racers around. Some are imported from Australia. And some are used as blood donor dogs for a time and then retired. Others are rescued from China or Korea. So, I had kind of put the idea of getting another Greyhound away, because it seemed unlikely without having to buy a purebred (which I am against). In fact, the agency we got Zelda from has since shut down, because they had no more dogs to help.

But earlier this year, we started looking again. There are still 2 greyhound adoption agencies in the Bay Area. The first one said our house wouldn't be a good fit for the dogs they get (mostly Australian) because the have a high prey drive, and we have cats. The second agency accepted our application and said they'd contact us when they had a good fit. We waited and followed up after a couple months. They said they had 2 greyhound puppies, would we consider a puppy adoption? We had previously said no, because puppies are a lot of work. But we thought, why no consider it. We decided to go visit the puppies, and see if either were a good fit. 

On Sunday morning, we drove to Santa Rosa (2 hours north) with Nana, Bronwyn and Monty in tow. Bertram refused any part of getting another dog. (He is a staunch cat person). Our main aim was to see if Monty would get along with a new dog. He is not usually very friendly with other dogs. Not aggressive, but likes his space. The ride was uneventful, if not long. When we arrived we met Marni who is fostering several dogs, including the two Greyhound puppies, who was 6 months old. Aaron and I met the dogs first, who were all riled up. Then Bron tried to meet them, but they were too jumpy for her. Then we met the dogs one on one. Lyra had A LOT of energy and really wanted to play. She was not as good on lead as the other puppy. Monty didn't like her, she was too playful. And didn't understand what his low growls meant. So she was put away, and Ursa came out. Ursa was calmer. And when Monty met her, she understood he didn't want to play.

They were happy to exist near each other. So we decided to take the leap. She has had all her puppy shots. She'll need to be spayed in a couple months.

She didn't want to leave or get in the car, so Aaron carries her. Then she didn't want to be in the bed in the back of the van. So she crawled up and sat in my lap.

After a short while, we switched spots. Aaron sat in the third row with her and I drove the two hours back home with Monty on my lap. 

When we got home we introduced her to the family, who were all down the street. Aaron walked her a few times that evening. She ate, but didn't potty until 1230am. But she went outside, so that was fine. She likes the paddle pool.

She is very strong on walks, but doesn't walk very straight yet, so that is a work in progress. And she wants to have everything. Anything she can get she'll pick up and take the her bed. (While I've been typing this, she picked up 2$ and brought it to her bed). She is food motivated, which is good, it makes training easier. But we had to move Monty's food and the cat's food where she can't reach.  None of our other dogs have been interested in toys, so we only had a couple things for her. Yesterday, I went to Ross, Home Goods and PetSmart and bought a plethora of soft toys, chewy things and treats, so we are now well equipped.

After going through a few names, we decided on Curie. Though, today I was thinking Laika would have been a good fit. 

She went to the vet for a check in yesterday. She looks good, except her ear need a little cleaning. She weighs 36 lbs, which will probably be close to  half of her adult weight. She starts puppy class on Saturday.

So far, no accidents 🤞🏽 and she already learned to use the bells to ask to go out. (Something Monty has yet to learn). The cats are getting used to her. Waffles is kind of a badass and just does what she wants, nonplussed about Curie. Oona and Shy Guy are much more circumspect. But everyone is adapting. 

Bron has done amazing with Curie. She knows not to run, or the dog will chase her. She doesn't panic if Curie jumps up on her. She pushes her and tells her down. Bert has had very little interaction with the dog, which is how he prefers it.

She goes in her crate at night and when we leave the house. So far, the longest we've been gone is an hour or so. She's not too fond of the crate over night. Actually, that's not true, she sleeping in it right now. But if I close the gate and go back to bed, she starts whining. So for now, I'm out here with her (and Monty, the Velcro dog). 

All things considered, she has been very easy so far, especially for a puppy.  (I said I would never have a puppy. Never say never, I guess).