Dogs #10 and #11

 We're done with long-term fostering, but we're keeping the door slightly ajar for very occasional short-term back-up fostering. We have had two dogs pass through, recently. The first was a lovely older gentleman who adores people - but dislikes other dogs on and off the leash and has a mighty desire to kill small animals. He's been in foster/boarding for a looooooong time, and we were asked to give him a break from the boarding kennel. 

The second is a young dog who also adores people, wants to murder small animals, and is unpleasantly leash-reactive to other dogs. Her foster family had an emergency and had to leave town for a few days on a few hours' notice. This girl is the snuggliest dog we've ever hosted, desperate to crawl into everybody's lap and nibble on your ears. 

When I packed up her crate and food so she could be picked up by her foster family, she got really worried, and lay down and moped (not her normal state), clearly alarmed by the prospect of yet another abandonment. (She was super-happy to see her foster people and their dog, though, when they arrived.) 

One of the things I've learned from fostering is that while dogs are resilient - some more than others - they are damaged by abandonment and neglect and that damage doesn't go away. You can help them work around it, you can heal them up a bit, and it fades over time, but it never goes away. I think the kids have learned that, too, - I hope they will never make the mistake of getting a dog without committing to the whole dog and the whole dog's life.

It's fall.

 School has begun! The kids have had seven days of 7th and 11th grade so far. There have been multiple cases of covid in their schools already, but none so close to them that they're considered "exposed." (I did buy some at-home tests, so we're ready.) They were both very exhausted by the first few days of school - spending time with actual humans in person is extremely draining.

Vacationing close to home.

Vacation update! Instead of going to Japan, we took a 5-day trip to a part of Oregon we haven't visited before. 

Phase One: Newport! We camped on private property in Eddyville, and visited Cape Foulweather, Yaquina Bay, and Yaquina Head.

Phase Two: Reedsport! We camped at Umpqua Lighthouse State Park and visited Heceta Head, some nifty dunes, Shore Acres State Park and Cape Arago State Park. Verdict is that the Oregon coast is very, very beautiful.

Phase Three: Eugene! We stayed one night at a hotel downtown, which it turned out was housing some of the competitors in the Prefontaine Classic, which meant that Cook went for his usual jog in the morning and found himself literally running amongst Olympic medalists.

And then we came home. Where we must face all the work we haven't been doing, the imminent start of the school year, and... the news. But we had a really nice time. We all liked our visit to the Oregon Dunes best (John Dellenback Trailhead, in case you're interested), but we saw cool things every day, and we still liked each other at the end, so it was a pretty good vacation.