UsernameEmailRegionInterestAOL IMICQ IDYahoo! IDMSN IDJabber

random stuff
I guess it's time for a more personal update. Things are going really well. I am still getting A's in all my classes, and finals are next week (and the following week). I was able to get the classes I wanted for next term, which is a big deal since there is only one Lit class available which is taught by one of my current professors (one I really like) and I was afraid I would end up on a waiting list.

Ollie is doing really, really well for having been a puppy mill dog. He's opened up to us and has started to play with Gizmo and is learning what toys and snuggles are. For people unfamiliar with what kind of life these dogs have led, check this website. There are some fairly graphic images and descriptions, and while extremely disturbing, it is important to know exactly what buying from a pet shop (or from anyone who is not an established, responsible breeder) is supporting. Here is another site, which details how to rehabilitate a puppy mill survivor and begin to get them accustomed to what many house pets have known their whole lives... a home, a warm bed, playtime, walks in the park, snuggles... these are things puppy mill dogs have never known and some never fully recover from their experience. 

With that in mind, I am very pleased to see how affectionate Ollie is, and how he has begun to trust, knows how to walk on a leash now and really enjoys the park... he was somewhat standoffish when we first got him (as much as a Griffon can be... they are a very affectionate and social breed) but now he has discovered that he really does like belly scratches and human contact. I look at him and I am amazed at how strong he is to have survived such a horrific experience (when we got him, he was emaciated and starved - he would overeat and then vomit because he didn't know when the next meal would be coming - this is how they live) and then I look at Gizmo, who has never known anything but love and being spoiled rotten, and I cannot imagine him going through anything like that. Dogs are resilient.. we could learn a lot from them.

On a more personal note, my left hand is still blistered and bandaged from the second-degree burns. I am told not to pop the blisters, and that it could take 4-6 weeks to heal, so I am just waiting. One of the concerns with these types of injuries is staph infection, so I am being very careful. My aunt was in a horse-riding accident and got a staph infection after a skin graph, and it took months to recover. No thank you! I'd rather have the blisters! :)