It should not surprise anyone who has been paying attention to this blog that we had to say goodbye to Garrett in January, at the ripe old age of 13. Since then, the house just hasn’t felt right. Sure, it is nice to not have to worry about feeding, and keeping the yard locked and safe, and to be certain to not stay out too late. But all that convenience pales in the absence of a buddy.
To partly fill the void, we have been sitting two wonderful Greyhound girls, Falcon and Clara who have brought joy, a bit of chaos, and the love of a greyhound back into the house. But still, something was missing. No permanent addition to our family. (more…)
People tell me that California has been in a drought. Bullpuckey. It has rained constantly for almost three weeks. The ground is saturated, my car is waterlogged, and I am tired of getting soaked walking our dogs.
At the risk of being heretical, I would like the rain to stop. Living in an apartment is not easy (I am unsure how people do it long term, I am hoping that we won't be here any longer than we must), add in 2 80 – 90# dogs, and heavy rain, and it is a chore.
Have a house, with a back yard, and the regular potty walks are just tossing them out of the house, and you are done. Now we have to suit up in rain gear, put the dogs in rain gear, and practically drag them out. So painful.
Here's to hoping to be able to buy even a tiny house next year.
We are lucky to have found an apartment complex that welcomes our greyhounds. Especially after a brief survey of the houses (that rent for more than $1200 a month more) are mostly no pets, or cats only, this is quite a find. However, I wish that all the dog owners here would just clean up after their dogs.
Part of the problem I believe is that until recently, they had a 25# limit on dogs. That means that there are lots of small dogs. Chihuahuas, Pomeranians, Boston Terriers are common. These diminutive canines produce stools that are roughly the size of Tootsie Rolls, so their owners probably think that is “too small” to have to pick up. Sigh.
Alas, walking on any of the grassy areas is navigating a minefield of little poop-bombs.
Convenient receptacles for pet waste with baggies
It is not like there aren’t trash cans all over with “poopie” bag dispensers. I count 4 of them, all conveniently located near the large grassy areas.
Or, there are three parking lots with multiple trash dumpsters. Yes, that means you need to carry your own bags. We do. Having larger dogs (Greyhounds), we appreciate the heavier duty “Mutt Mitts“, as they are better suited for the larger stools.
Of course, the rules are clear that you must clean up after your animals. But that is about as effective as the “No Smoking” signs in the common areas.
Settling into apartment life is interesting to say the least. There are benefits and detriments of course in the life. This episode I will be just have some random observations.
The people
We are lucky that all our neighbors are pretty friendly. We wave and say “Hi” and they all say “Hi” back. This is easy for us, as we generally try to befriend our neighbors wherever we are.
