What a wonderful life!

This has just been the most incredible week ever!

So, Friday started with me covered in goat poo. That's always a good way to start the day. I got ready to start the day - dropping a dog off for a neuter, picking up the newfie and chickens, etc but had to take care of the goats meds before anything else. I got lazy and held the them wrong and one poo'd right down my side. Gah! So I had to re-shower and change before I could do anything else.

I ran to the Carthage area to get the chickens and the newfie and wound up lost three times. Nothing unusual for me. Finally got there and thougth a bear had gotten stuck in the dog pen for a minute. Um, no, that's just a freaking massive brown newfie!! Holy crud! If that boy ever loses his tail for any reason people will mistake him for a bear, right down to the way he walks!

I decided to get chickens first thinking I'd just grab them and toss them in the crates before having to wrestle what is easily a 150+ pound dog. Well, that didn't really go as planned either. The farm has multiple out buildings and I was there alone. It took a while to find the right building the chickens were in. Now, when I had chickens they were extremely tame and when I went in their pen they came right to me. I'd sit in a chair and be covered with 21 chickens sitting on me. Being born and raised on a very tiny island, I'd never had experience with chickens other than my own. Allow me to let everyone know now, my chickens were unusual. Most don't like sitting on you or letting you hold them. I found this out the hard way. 20 minutes of being outsmarted at every turn by a hen house full of flapping screaming chickens, I'd caught one that had shredded my arm. Hmmmm..... Might need to re-think my strategy! I quickly realized that I alone could not catch these chickens. I gave in and decided to tackle the dog.

I approached the kennel and realized he's probably about my weight, maybe a bit more. His head is double the size of mine at least. Just a massive dog. All I could think was 'please be nice, please be nice, please be nice, please don't eat me'. That wasn't a problem at all. As long as you were there to pay attention to him he was all about the love! I opened his pen thinking 'please have a collar' only to quickly realize he didn't. I didn't know if he's a runner so I had to be extra careful he didn't escape and run off. I looped the leash around him and he came right out, happy as could be! I walked him to the Explorer at which time I realized rides are not his favorite thing. Ok, no problem. I can just pick him up and put him in. We're fine. But as soon as I tried, little 8 pound Barney in the front seat decided to let him know immediately he was not getting in his vehicle!

So here I stand with a 150+ pound dog butt in my arms trying to push him in the SUV while the 8 pound chihuahua in the front seat is scaring him and he's trying to push his way back out toward me. Oh, if only someone had a video camera, we'd be rich right now. It had to have been comical. I did manage to settle Barney down and get Jack loaded up and off we went as fast as humanly possible to meet Barney's moms.

Barney got to meet his new moms soon after and wasn't too sure at first. He's not trusting of strangers right off the bat, and I'm sure because things had been so crazy he was feeling a bit frazzled himself. But as soon as Phyllis picked him up and Kim started petting him you could see him relax immediately. They've got a gift with animals and Barney is headed to his new home with them in Kentucky to live with his very extended doggie and kitty family!! While we will miss him so much (he's a fabulous snuggler) we know he's now in two incredible ladies' hands and they will love him more than anyone else ever could.

Once Barney was settled we headed back to Cookeville to get Roscoe from the clinic and realized we were a bit late. I'd hoped to make it up on the drive, but found I-440 closed. Gah!!! Why today, why me? In a panic, knowing I'd never make it on time, I started calling the other rescues I know to see if anyone could grab him for me and hold him for about 30 minutes. Everyone has a life outside of rescue - who knew? LOL As a last resort I called the clinic to see if they knew of anyone that can hold for them until I get there and was so grateful that Terry offered to hold him for me. She met me right at the interstate with him which was an unbelievable help for me!

So we got him home and settled, settled in the 'big dude' and hit the e-mail account. I sent an e-mail to a rescue that's familiar with the breed and said he must have been very poorly bred as he's brown and gold. Don't get me wrong; he's probably one of the most gorgeous dogs I've ever seen in my life!!! But Newfies are black and he's most definitely not black. She said he's actually very much pure bred Newf, but is a rare brown newfie. Not many of them out there and some people go far and wide to find them. Wow! You learn something new every day!

We sent photos and info to the people who have asked for information. To that point we'd had one application for him that had been approved, pending a home visit. They are still interested and the visit is planned (tentatively) for Thursday. We had another application last night when I got home so we'll check that tomorrow and see what happens Thursday. However, if the visit doesn't go well, his second option is the rescue that's been helping us. They'd offered to take him in but have fallen in love with the big guy and asked to adopt him. Thursday will tell us where he will go! Either way, he's going to be a very lucky guy!

The two goats are finally getting better. The one will probably be blind all his life, but he's learning his way around their acre pen very quickly, and even knows where their 'room' is and where his bed and food and water are in the room. He's navigating steps and sidewalks just fine. The injured goat has rallied quickly and even was walking at a rather quick pace last night when he saw us come out for his evening penicilin injection. Giving them those injections, while we know it saves their lives, is heart breaking. If you've never heard a baby goat cry you'd be surprised. They sound so much like a two year old child crying it's shocking. Once they get them though they get extra yummy treats like carrots and apples and lots of love and petting. We're just thrilled to see them both doing so much better.

The little kittens we took in are doing great as well. They are very eager eaters and strong little fighters, a very good sign. We had to take them to the adoption event with us yesterday as there was no one at home that would be able to care for them. The little calico girl managed to get out of her blankets, out of the container they are in, and out of the kennel and was snuggled up with Star, our foster dog. And Star was thrilled, curled around her to keep her warm. Animals are just incredible!

Speaking of the adoption event, it was out best yet! Star got a home and family all to herself!! A wonderful woman asked about her and we told her she has to go to a home with children. She said she lives by her daughter and her granddaughters are there all the time. They walked her around and she just adored the children. We just couldn't say no! By the time they left she was so happy with them she didn't even look back as she walked out the door. It's a good thing; she didn't have to see our happy tears. Congratulations and huge thank you to the Allen family in Murfreesboro for giving her a home! We love you Star and will miss you, but we know you're in absolute heaven with kids to call your own again!

We have applications pending right now for Alvin and the Golden Retreiver we accepted in our program, Murphy. We'll be working on those this week and hope to have them in their new homes soon too.

In the meantime, we all sit and eagerly await the return of our newly engaged adoptions coordinator!!!! Yay!!!!!!! She had a very romantic proposal on the beach while she was in Florida this week. The e-mail we got of the entire account was so sweet and so romantic it had me in tears! I couldn't be happier for them. Who knows, maybe this time next year we'll have little Adoption Coordinator in Training feet at our adoption events!