Camping!

Ok, ok before you get too excited, The Missaroo and I are not actually going camp. Not right now anyway, maybe one day. But what we do, do ((insert joke here)) is camp out on the living room floor a lot. Mostly because it's so darn hot! I only have an air conditioner in my living room and nothing in my bedroom so it's always much cooler out there. Plus it feels GREAT to sleep under the fan. I also sleep on the floor when I'm having a tough time emotionally. But that hasn't been the case lately.

So back to the story... I guess I should really start the story over. What I should say is I've been camping out on the floor lately. I tried to make it an adventure for the Missaroo. I make sure to lay real close to her bed and everything. But nope, she's not having it. She's been sleeping on the couch! Ok what's wrong with this picture? I'm on the floor and the dog is on the furniture!?! Yep that's right. The Missaroo has out-smarted me once again. And this time all I was trying to do was have another made up adventure. Kind of like when we go to the pet store and visit all the creatures and I pretend we are really at the zoo. Did you know dogs aren't allowed at the real zoo? Now that would be a true adventure.

I guess I'm just going to have to really take the Missaroo camping instead. Consider it added to the must-have adventures list.

Milk, It Does a Doggie Good

Missaroo and I were HOT last night. We were without our car all day, so that meant lots of walking in 90 degree heat. We all know the Missaroo doesn't do so well when the temperature starts to rise, so I tried to keep her cool as possible in between the ventures out.

By the end of the night, the apartment just didn't seem to be cooling off. I hate to run the air conditioner and if it were just me I wouldn't. But the Missaroo was struggling to cool off so the AC went on. Then I had an idea. How about a late night snack.

Did you know that dairy products lower your body temperatures? It's true, I learned that from my best friend Bobbi. So I thought if it works for me, maybe it will work for the Missaroo.

As much as I seem to be anti-people food when it comes to Miss, I'm actually more like anti-processed people food. She has some "snacks" like carrot bits or the occasional strawberry slice. And then every once in a while, like last night she gets an extra special treat, a bowl of milk.

Now, I'm not really sure it cooled her off any, but it couldn't hurt right? And besides she deserves a little special treat every once in a while, and I deserve to feel like a good dog mom. Don't you know: Milk, it does a doggie good.

The Playful Side of Missaroo

I can't decide, is she smiling at me or just sticking her tongue out at me?

Either way, I'm just happy she's happy. Love you Shmooie :)

All You Need is Love

Missaroo and I have had a crappy week. And now today on my Friday, I am happy to report the Missaroo is all smiles thanks to my forgetfulness.

Long story short, I wrote some very important info that I need for tomorrow on my work notepad. After the long night of breaking news, I packed up without the info. I remembered it about half way through our walk. Luckily, I live across the street from work and actually pass it on my home from our walk at night. I was hoping to be in and out, and for the most part we were. But what a surprise for the Missaroo when she saw the love of her life standing there. I thought maybe we could sneak by on the way out, but in the end I was glad he wanted to say hi to her as much as she wanted to say hi to him.

BOY did she go crazy! I wish I had taken video of it. She was up on her hind legs dancing around and barking. She went NUTZO. I think she even scratched his lip with her paw. She really just can't control herself.

After our hello we headed home. The Missaroo was all smiles. She's my little happy camper, if nothing else at least for the night. And when the Missaroo is happy, I'm happy too. Turns out all you need is love to turn a crappy week on it's head. Thanks Missaroo for another life lesson.

Cancelling our Trip to the Beach

I've tried my best to give the Missaroo every adventure I can possibly think of. I've never really let our circumstances stop us from living our dreams. I'm really a no excuses type person for the most part, well at least I think I am. But those circumstances have caught up with us and for the Missaroo it means a life jacket without a body of water to swim in.

It all started with my decision to go home in September. My cousin Mike is getting married and there is nothing that would stop me from being there on his big day. Mike and I are only a year apart and even went to grade school together for a couple of years. As adults we've drifted, but as kids we were practically siblings. I can still remember helping his family move and unpack their new home in Yorkville. We thought it was the best house to play hide and go seek in.

Unfortunately, there is no such thing as flying for free. One of the downsides of living in Washington is the cost it takes to get back to Illinois for any reason. So the flight home I didn't exactly save up for, plus the new computer I'm blogging on, plus my car needing work, plus all the other expenses we can barely afford as is, means the beach just isn't do-able at the moment. I feel terrible.

The more and more I blog and live my life every single day, the more convinced I am that Missaroo is the kid I'll never get to have. So there is nothing I want more than to give her everything. I really wanted to take her swimming, to give her that opportunity. I thought I was doing all of this for her benefit in the the end, but it seems my decision making has done nothing but take away from her recently. It was bad enough we had to stop daycare and take away any opportunity she had to run around with other doggies, now this.

I hope you aren't feeling sorry for me. That's not the point of this. If anything, feel bad for the poor Missaroo, I know I do. But this is life. And my life includes struggling to survive sometimes. But the Missaroo and I are scrappy, we've been on the brink of homelessness before what's one more time? And who knows, maybe this isn't so much a cancelling of our trip to the beach as it is a postponement. We'll get there one day, we always do.

No-Kill Right Now

As I think most of you know, Missaroo was abandoned when she was less than a year old. There was nothing wrong with her and by all accounts she is the perfect dog. How someone could just leave that face to fend for herself is beyond me. She was lucky though and still very much is. She was found by a woman who was already a foster mom through Pet Over Population Prevention in the Tri-Cities. She took the Missaroo in and gave her a place to stay for about a month before I found her.

Also lucky for the Missaroo, she was never on a chopping block. Her life wasn't ever in danger and now it never will be. But that's because I consider her my kidaroo, not simply my property. Did you know by law I have the right to "destroy" her if I so chose? There was actually a woman who committed suicide and then left it in her will that her dog should be killed! Because the law considers pets "property" the woman could legally do that, even if it wasn't morally or ethically right. At least not in my book. Lucky for that dog, some wonderful people came to it's rescue, saved the dog's life, and essentially kicked off the No-Kill movement.

I'm getting my Master's degree in public policy. Maybe one day I'll be able to re-write the law. Until then, all I can ask you to do is spread the word about pet adoption. Adopt a pet, tell your friends, and make a difference. You would truly be saving lives. I actually work pretty closely with one of the animal shelters here in town, SpokAnimal. I've teamed up with them for a few projects for school. They are a kill shelter BUT last year they only put down 1 dog! That is amazing for this size of a town. How did they accomplish that? They worked hard to get those dogs adopted. They are now in the position where they are actually taking in dogs from Dallas who were once on the chopping block and giving them a second chance at a life. I don't think any animal should be killed, I understand they shouldn't suffer through extreme sickness though. I haven't really made my mind up about all of that. But I do know No-Kill is a reality. But it takes all of us. Think of the Missaroo. In the end, did I really save her life or did she save mine?

All the Wrong Reasons

Our funny, little dog blog is nearing the sixth month mark. It's hard to believe you are still reading this and more importantly now you are voting for us for world's best dog blog. You guys are really great. It's amazing that everyday I come up with something knew I want to do in this world and everyday I have people in my corner telling me I can do it. And the best part is, recently I've freely been able to tell people my ideas without anyone saying something ridiculous to me like "how much is that going to cost me?"

My most recent thought about what I want to do reconnects me not only to the blog ((which I love)) but also to my grad school pursuits ((which I also love)). I read the latest blog post on PetsAlive ((there's a link on this page to it)) and it made me realize as much as I love this little blog there is so much more I could be doing with it. It's time this blog isn't just about what the Missaroo and I do everyday. It shouldn't just be about my every thought either. It's time to spice things up and take it to the next level. It should be about making a difference.

I love telling stories about the Missaroo because she brings such a light to this world. She lights mine up that's for sure and she puts smiles on faces where ever she goes. I'm hoping she will inspire people to consider adoption first. Adopted is our favorite breed by the way. So I guess what I'm saying is we'll still tell our funny stories about running into polls and buying life jackets, but we'll also work harder to keep all those pets who aren't as lucky as her in the back our minds.

I want to spark this blog into something bigger than just us. It started off as a way for me to vent, which I've done. It started as a way for people to keep connected with me since I'm pretty darn far from my loved ones. Done that too. Now it's time to find ways to do all those things and help pets along the way. Not sure how exactly we are going to accomplish this goal, but like everything else in our lives we'll manage. I look forward to this new adventure with all of you. Thanks for sticking with the Miss-Adventures of Me and the Missaroo!