My family is very big on calling and inviting until you get a result. Sadly, some people need to be bugged.

Health~ma for your uncle, sj.

And high sulfur coal~ma for Aim's relatives.

smonster, D sounds like a really nice guy.

Well get ready, b/c you are about to find out how much D likes carrots satsumas.

Oh, bonny. Don't be too hard on yourself - you could have been a boddhisatva and she still would have responded like a bitch. Doesn't sound like she treats her bf much better, honestly.

Aims, could you at least call your fam and just tell them that you and Joe would appreciate it if they came, and it would mean a lot to Em? Or would they not react well to a direct request?

Steph, I'm glad Tim had your back. He's a good one.

Health~ma for your uncle, sj.

I must have skimmed over something... hope he's okay.

First, I love the word 'satsuma.' Can't say why. I especially love the word, as pronounced by David Tennant. There IS an explanation for that.

Yeah, smonster, she really was bitchy to everyone around her...including a male non-boyfriend in tow. I just could not get over how she was yanking on the dog as if she was doing something wrong. Being an energetic puppy is not a crime.

BUT...I should not have stooped to her level. That was totally within my control. No excuse there.

The worst of it is, in retrospect, I suspect that there is a huge possibility that, quite apart from being horribly snooty, the woman really is frightened to be responsible for this living thing.

She said, in exact words, that she doesn't know what she is doing. That can't feel nice.

I just wish a) she hadn't taken on the task without getting some training first, and b) that she hadn't reacted in anger well before she got free help!

I need to put it in perspective. I had a truly wonderful doggy lama appointment yesterday, that might lead to big things for me...and the person wrote to day to say that the last 24 hours were the best her family has had with their new rescue. When she called me last week, she was ready to take him back to the shelter. So. Bonus there.

Plus, I was able to comfort a neighborhood woman whose dog I knew well, shortly after they had to euthanize him last night. The poor dear had to get away from the house because she was so sad. Fortunately, we were able to chat for a good long time and she is focusing on her living dog...an incredibly rare, white Doberman with totally white eyes. She's a sweet girl and very lucky this family adopted her.

The woman even spoke about getting a new rescue for Christmas. Bless them. I'm saying a prayer for Ocs, their recently departed. He was a blue Dobie and an absolute doll. I think I may have linked a picture of him from last year's Howl-o-ween. He played Hannibal Lecter quite convincingly. Sadly, he was only 5 when he died yesterday. The woman said he was just 'genetically broken.'

Anyway. For every bad experience I have, there are 20 or 30 lovely ones. I just need to shake the bad ones off faster.

BUT...I should not have stooped to her level. That was totally within my control. No excuse there.

Don't "should" on yourself. You are wonderfully, fallibly human. Will judging yourself harshly help you behave in the way you would like? You have compassion for her (she sounds overwhelmed and scared, for sure); can you have compassion for you?

First, I love the word 'satsuma.' Can't say why. I especially love the word, as pronounced by David Tennant. There IS an explanation for that.

Oh, absolutely. It's maybe even better than how Eccleston says " FanTAStic."

BUT...I should not have stooped to her level. That was totally within my control. No excuse there.

Please! If Mr. turn the other cheek dude can get mad and turn over the tables in Temple, you can get mad a gal treating a dog poorly.

can you have compassion for you?

Yes. Later. Not right yet.

Oh, absolutely. It's maybe even better than how Eccleston says " FanTAStic."

Ooooh. Now that is a real toss up.

I love Eccleston's huge, devilish grin, while I am totally taken with Tennant's anime sad-eyes.

Just yesterday, I finished watching all the episodes of the retooling Netflix offers. I'm going to miss it!

Please! If Mr. turn the other cheek dude can get mad and turn over the tables in Temple, you can get mad a gal treating a dog poorly.

You made me smile just then, omnis.

bonny,

unless you choked the woman out on the street, you didn't stoop to her level. You said harsh words for someone mistreating a dog. I think someone who mistreats a dog knowingly deserves harsh words.