Monday, January 22, 2007

Three dog nights

It's been a lonely week here at the ranch. The exciting news is that we managed to lasso an eco-diesel engine that will be dropped into one of the Vegas, and sounds like it will get over 50 mpg on the freeway running biodiesel. Yeeha!

All week, the man and two biggest dogs have been out ridin' the range, leaving the three smallest dogs behind to guard the hens. It's been freezing most nights, and I've been grateful to have the three little ones cuddled up on the bed.

Most of our ranch dogs are shelter dogs. We're lucky in Santa Barbara to have an active, creative volunteer group at the County Shelter, so most adoptable dogs in the area get a chance at finding a good home or temporary foster home. One of the really cool things that the Dog Adoption Welfare Group (DAWG) is doing is taking videos of adoptable dogs and posting them to YouTube. Awwwww! So cute!

It's too bad that dogs, like gardens, have been pushed out of so many places: lots of shops, all restaurants, some parks, and too much housing is off limits. There are a lot of reasons, including irresponsible owners, "health" concerns, liability fears... it's always a bit of a trick to negotiate the civilized and natural worlds, but I don't think there's any question that it's worth it. Allowing people to share their homes and workspaces with dogs has too many benefits to ignore, CC&Rs be damned.

In today's news, yet another report about how dog owners live happier, longer, healthier lives. So even with three dogs, I guess I'm only 60% as happy and healthy this week as I have been lately. I'm looking forward to having my other two dogs back at home again. Best of all, they're bringing the man home with them.

Good dogs.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yeah for dogs! Except when they barf on your shoes or scratch on the bedroom door - ALL MORNING LONG - because they want the bed the other dog is sleeping in. We threatened to take them to the drop off box at that very shelter, but turns out we know someone that volunteers there. She'd be sure to recognize them.

Unknown said...

I'm not sure if I'm more impressed by the 50 mpg and the biodiesel or the fact that you have a Vega. And even more impressive is that you apparently have more than one! I don' think I've actually seen one since.... uh... a real long time.