Well, we got the house. That in itself is some good news since we all now have somewhere to live next year. The house is small, but it's a nice kind of small. It has three large bedrooms and one medium sized bedroom and a bathroom with no bath tub. The no tub thing is actually the only part of the house I'm not fond of. I really like taking my books and taking a long, bubble bath. Oh well. The house is also right next door to some of friends and a short two to five minute walk from campus depending on where you need to be on campus.
I like the house and I'm super glad that the lease is being drawn up as I type. Hopefully, this will be my home for the next two years.
Now for the really good news. I asked the landlord about puppy raising again. And, before anyone gets too excited, no I didn't ask whether I could raise a puppy full time. I asked if I could keep my status as Boarder. He said that he would be fine with me watching a dog from time to time! Which means that I won't have to be completely puppyless for the next two years!
Not only is this good news because I will be able to get a puppy fix from time to time, but because it means that he might be open to the possibility of me having a full time puppy in the future. I might bring it up with him before the Winter Holiday. I think that if we prove to be clean tenants he might open up to the idea.
I have a theory that him finally meeting us helped him see the kind of tenants we would be. We were discussing the state of the house at the moment (let's just say that it had been cleaned and was still what I would call a complete mess) and I said, "If they would just vacuum it would look so much better. I mean, it's not hard to take twenty minutes out of your day every two or three days to pick up all the fur." I think the landlord picked up on my exasperated tone. In all honesty, I wasn't even trying to make a good impression or try and persuade him to allow a puppy. It's who I am. I let things get a little the few days before a deadline, but that's about it. I just like things clean...
Anyway, that's my good news for the day.
Oh! And I can start planning my summer travels! Who knows where they'll take me? *grin*
The Complete Adventures of Raiser Erin and a couple of naughty puppies.
Showing posts with label New House. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New House. Show all posts
Friday, April 27, 2012
Saturday, April 7, 2012
A Much Needed Update
Sorry for being a little absent over the past week. I've been enjoying my spring break by sitting around playing computer games and watching TV all day. OK, I've actually been spending and hour or two a day on school work, but you all get the idea. It's been nothing but relaxation. In fact, I've been so relaxed that I forgot to renew three books online from the library on the day I was suppose to pick up my mother from the airport. *sigh* I guess that was one thing on my "to do" list that didn't get done. Oh, well. Nothing to be done now except pay the fine and get on with it since I have no one to blame but myself.
Anyway, I thought I would share a few updates. Some of them are good and some of them aren't so good.
First, Danvers from my puppy group is graduating today with his blind partner from the Oregon campus! Congrats to him and his two family raisers. I knew from the start that he was one of those puppies who, if he passed the medicals, would go on to be a Guide. He's just such a wonderful boy and his partner is super lucky to have him. I also hear that he is super lucky to have his partner. Apparently, his new partner is a wonderful guy. He'll be following Pauli and Rocco to Canada. That makes him our third puppy in a row to be placed in Canada. *grin*
Next, little Teesha was Career Changed about a week ago before going into harness training. She was apparently have some inappropriate people reactions in the kennel and she started baulking when going into the vet's office (which is pretty funny because her raising family owns a vet clinic). We like to say that she knew that's where she was spayed and definitely didn't want to go back there. Haha! Her raisers adopted her and will be taking a break for a while since they now have two Career Changes and a few pet dogs and cats. Hopefully, this summer Hilly and I will be able to get together with both Rockford and Teesha. The two "T" sisters loved Hilly.
Thirdly, there's our puppies still in training. Lance *finally* made it back into phase 8 after being dropped back to phase 7 for six weeks! Hooray! We're hoping that Mary will get the call in the next few weeks about him being in class. Hey, they obviously saw something special in him to work so hard with him. Then there is Stuart and Tippin. They are both in phase 4. That's half way there for both of them! Go pups!
Finally I'll update you on my situation.
As April 11 draws nearer I am finding myself regretting not keeping Indie. I know it was the right thing for him, but I'm missing him. Isn't that funny. I'm missing the puppy I never got to meet. I'm thinking about asking to borrow Frankie for a day so I can have a baby around even if it is just for a little while. There is another reason I am regretting not taking Indie besides me missing him. You see, we're looking to move next year. Not because we don't love this place, but because we know of a four bedroom house that is super close to campus and is about 100 pounds cheaper a month in rent that what we're paying now. We are friends with the people who will be moving out of "#11" so we know what the house's problems are and what benefits it provides. Now, we also know that the current tenants have a pet dog. You guys might remember Qualia, well she lives in this house. Because of this, we all assumed that my condition of "the new house must allow me to keep my puppy" would be met. I figured I would have to pay a deposit or something, which I was fine with. Well, the landlord is now saying "no pets of any kind." I'm more than a little bummed. Rented places in Aberdeen are hard to come by and this one is perfect in every other way. Plus, I would save over 200 pounds a month in rent and bills. It's really an opportunity that I can't pass up. Not only because of the savings but because it's the only other 4 bedroom house on the market that is within everyone's budget and if I backed out now two of my friends wouldn't have a place to live next year.
I think what bothers me most about it is this. The landlord is worried about the smell. That's fair enough. Any house with a dog has a distinct odour. I'm very aware of this and I'm very aware that I am renting. So, when there's a dog over here I sweep everyday and vacuum as often as it needs. I also bathe my dogs at least every month not only to keep them clean but because part of their job is going into public. I want my dogs to offend as little as possible. Which means good and frequent grooming. So, while I can't erase the smell I can certainly lessen it. But, here's my real issue, one of the current tenants has not cleaned his room since moving in last summer and whenever the door is opened a sickly smell wafts through the house. I swear, it smells worse in that room than a house with a dog has ever smelt. Especially if the house is cleaned on a weekly basis. I've never had someone cringe when I opened the door to my house. Lisa and myself almost threw up when his room door was opened. If the landlord is so worried about smell, he should have kicked this guy out a long time ago. At least we would keep things cleaned.
Anyway, I've asked the landlord if it would be possible to keep my boarder status because having one dog for less than a week every other month probably would not make the house smell. It would give enough time between sittings to air the whole place out. But, as it stand right now, I will not be getting Guide Dog Puppy #4 in the near future. We'll see if this new landlord turns around and says "yes" but it's looking unlikely.
Anyway, I thought I would share a few updates. Some of them are good and some of them aren't so good.
First, Danvers from my puppy group is graduating today with his blind partner from the Oregon campus! Congrats to him and his two family raisers. I knew from the start that he was one of those puppies who, if he passed the medicals, would go on to be a Guide. He's just such a wonderful boy and his partner is super lucky to have him. I also hear that he is super lucky to have his partner. Apparently, his new partner is a wonderful guy. He'll be following Pauli and Rocco to Canada. That makes him our third puppy in a row to be placed in Canada. *grin*
Next, little Teesha was Career Changed about a week ago before going into harness training. She was apparently have some inappropriate people reactions in the kennel and she started baulking when going into the vet's office (which is pretty funny because her raising family owns a vet clinic). We like to say that she knew that's where she was spayed and definitely didn't want to go back there. Haha! Her raisers adopted her and will be taking a break for a while since they now have two Career Changes and a few pet dogs and cats. Hopefully, this summer Hilly and I will be able to get together with both Rockford and Teesha. The two "T" sisters loved Hilly.
Thirdly, there's our puppies still in training. Lance *finally* made it back into phase 8 after being dropped back to phase 7 for six weeks! Hooray! We're hoping that Mary will get the call in the next few weeks about him being in class. Hey, they obviously saw something special in him to work so hard with him. Then there is Stuart and Tippin. They are both in phase 4. That's half way there for both of them! Go pups!
Finally I'll update you on my situation.
As April 11 draws nearer I am finding myself regretting not keeping Indie. I know it was the right thing for him, but I'm missing him. Isn't that funny. I'm missing the puppy I never got to meet. I'm thinking about asking to borrow Frankie for a day so I can have a baby around even if it is just for a little while. There is another reason I am regretting not taking Indie besides me missing him. You see, we're looking to move next year. Not because we don't love this place, but because we know of a four bedroom house that is super close to campus and is about 100 pounds cheaper a month in rent that what we're paying now. We are friends with the people who will be moving out of "#11" so we know what the house's problems are and what benefits it provides. Now, we also know that the current tenants have a pet dog. You guys might remember Qualia, well she lives in this house. Because of this, we all assumed that my condition of "the new house must allow me to keep my puppy" would be met. I figured I would have to pay a deposit or something, which I was fine with. Well, the landlord is now saying "no pets of any kind." I'm more than a little bummed. Rented places in Aberdeen are hard to come by and this one is perfect in every other way. Plus, I would save over 200 pounds a month in rent and bills. It's really an opportunity that I can't pass up. Not only because of the savings but because it's the only other 4 bedroom house on the market that is within everyone's budget and if I backed out now two of my friends wouldn't have a place to live next year.
I think what bothers me most about it is this. The landlord is worried about the smell. That's fair enough. Any house with a dog has a distinct odour. I'm very aware of this and I'm very aware that I am renting. So, when there's a dog over here I sweep everyday and vacuum as often as it needs. I also bathe my dogs at least every month not only to keep them clean but because part of their job is going into public. I want my dogs to offend as little as possible. Which means good and frequent grooming. So, while I can't erase the smell I can certainly lessen it. But, here's my real issue, one of the current tenants has not cleaned his room since moving in last summer and whenever the door is opened a sickly smell wafts through the house. I swear, it smells worse in that room than a house with a dog has ever smelt. Especially if the house is cleaned on a weekly basis. I've never had someone cringe when I opened the door to my house. Lisa and myself almost threw up when his room door was opened. If the landlord is so worried about smell, he should have kicked this guy out a long time ago. At least we would keep things cleaned.
Anyway, I've asked the landlord if it would be possible to keep my boarder status because having one dog for less than a week every other month probably would not make the house smell. It would give enough time between sittings to air the whole place out. But, as it stand right now, I will not be getting Guide Dog Puppy #4 in the near future. We'll see if this new landlord turns around and says "yes" but it's looking unlikely.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Bait Bag Contest/House
Alright, first on the list of "back log". Do you guys remember, way back when, when Mimi and CC Cabana told us about homemade bait bags and within that post was a possibility of winning a homemade bait bag? I know, it was a while ago, but try very hard to remember. You do remember? Well good, cause guess who won the homemade bait bag? That's right! Yours truly here did.
I'm pretty excited about this for various reasons. The first of which is because when I went home over Winter holiday and had Rocco for that month I, of course, had to use my old bait bag. Now, I seem to have bad luck with the bait bags given to me by my club. My first one the clip that allows you to attach it to your body snapped off and the adjustable belt went missing. So, for a while I had to use a very old bait bag that had no external pockets or anything. It was just a bag for kibble. The second one I got (and the one I used for Rocco throughout his time with me), one of the butterfly joints broke almost immediately when I tried to open it. It's not like I wrenched it open or anything. The clips but just have been brittle or something. It didn't really cause a problem so long as I didn't flip the bag completely upside down. If I did, there would be kibble everywhere so I ended having to be real careful where I set it down in the car otherwise I would spent the first 10 minutes of an outing trying to collect all of the kibble that fell from the bag.
The second reason I'm pretty excited about this actually has to do with the second on my list of "back log" posts. I finally found a place to live next year. *FINALLY* I'll be moving in with my friend Lisa. Unfortunately, we couldn't find a four bedroom house in Aberdeen so we did have to split into two groups of two. So, besides the fact that Lisa and I have a really nice flat for next year in a really nice neighbourhood for relatively cheap there's more icing to the cake. The landlady is very, very nice so I told her that I was hoping to raise for Guide Dogs here. Guess what she said! If you guessed that she said that I was crazy for wanting to do that and that she wouldn't allow it in her flat you'd be DEAD WRONG. :D She basically said the opposite. She said that she's very excited that I wanted to do this and that she'd give me full permission to have a puppy (so long as it was a Guide Dog Puppy in Training) while I was leasing from her. Pretty cool huh!? So, this means that I'll be able to use the bait bag for more than just the three months I'm home with my new transfer puppy. I won't have to pack it away for 3 years while I'm here in Scotland. I can bring it with me and use it with the puppy I get here.
To be completely honest, I'm not sure if I will be raising a puppy right away. I know that I'm going to wait until at least mid-October to get the puppy so that Lisa and I have time to settle down in the flat. I want the puppy to be at least 4 months of age by my exams in January so that I don't have to be taking him/her out every 15 minutes to go potty. If I get the puppy in October that solves the exam problem and it also means that I'll have my schedule for next year and I'll have gone through a month or so of classes so I'll know when I can come home to feed the puppy and relieve it because the puppy probably won't be ready to sit through hours of lectures. Of course, puppies do have a wonderful way of surprising us, but still...a 6 week old puppy (yes, puppy walkers get the puppies at 6 weeks here. Whereas back home GDB doesn't usually start sending out puppies until they're 8 weeks of age) in a lecture could be a bad thing. If by October I don't think I'm ready for a puppy I'll wait until the first of December to get one so that I have a month to spend with the puppy while I'm not in classes. The puppy would just have to deal with being in the crate for 2 hours while I took an exam in January. But, it really is up in the air. I want to get a job as well so that I can pay for frivolous things like DVDs and clothes and that means I'd have to look for a job that would allow me to bring a puppy into work. So, lots of stuff to consider, but I'll probably try it. Or, I'll get a job from September to December then get a puppy. Yeah...still up in the air but I'm sure I'll work something out that'll allow me to use this cool homemade bait bag for years to come.
Soooo...
I'm pretty excited about this for various reasons. The first of which is because when I went home over Winter holiday and had Rocco for that month I, of course, had to use my old bait bag. Now, I seem to have bad luck with the bait bags given to me by my club. My first one the clip that allows you to attach it to your body snapped off and the adjustable belt went missing. So, for a while I had to use a very old bait bag that had no external pockets or anything. It was just a bag for kibble. The second one I got (and the one I used for Rocco throughout his time with me), one of the butterfly joints broke almost immediately when I tried to open it. It's not like I wrenched it open or anything. The clips but just have been brittle or something. It didn't really cause a problem so long as I didn't flip the bag completely upside down. If I did, there would be kibble everywhere so I ended having to be real careful where I set it down in the car otherwise I would spent the first 10 minutes of an outing trying to collect all of the kibble that fell from the bag.
The second reason I'm pretty excited about this actually has to do with the second on my list of "back log" posts. I finally found a place to live next year. *FINALLY* I'll be moving in with my friend Lisa. Unfortunately, we couldn't find a four bedroom house in Aberdeen so we did have to split into two groups of two. So, besides the fact that Lisa and I have a really nice flat for next year in a really nice neighbourhood for relatively cheap there's more icing to the cake. The landlady is very, very nice so I told her that I was hoping to raise for Guide Dogs here. Guess what she said! If you guessed that she said that I was crazy for wanting to do that and that she wouldn't allow it in her flat you'd be DEAD WRONG. :D She basically said the opposite. She said that she's very excited that I wanted to do this and that she'd give me full permission to have a puppy (so long as it was a Guide Dog Puppy in Training) while I was leasing from her. Pretty cool huh!? So, this means that I'll be able to use the bait bag for more than just the three months I'm home with my new transfer puppy. I won't have to pack it away for 3 years while I'm here in Scotland. I can bring it with me and use it with the puppy I get here.
To be completely honest, I'm not sure if I will be raising a puppy right away. I know that I'm going to wait until at least mid-October to get the puppy so that Lisa and I have time to settle down in the flat. I want the puppy to be at least 4 months of age by my exams in January so that I don't have to be taking him/her out every 15 minutes to go potty. If I get the puppy in October that solves the exam problem and it also means that I'll have my schedule for next year and I'll have gone through a month or so of classes so I'll know when I can come home to feed the puppy and relieve it because the puppy probably won't be ready to sit through hours of lectures. Of course, puppies do have a wonderful way of surprising us, but still...a 6 week old puppy (yes, puppy walkers get the puppies at 6 weeks here. Whereas back home GDB doesn't usually start sending out puppies until they're 8 weeks of age) in a lecture could be a bad thing. If by October I don't think I'm ready for a puppy I'll wait until the first of December to get one so that I have a month to spend with the puppy while I'm not in classes. The puppy would just have to deal with being in the crate for 2 hours while I took an exam in January. But, it really is up in the air. I want to get a job as well so that I can pay for frivolous things like DVDs and clothes and that means I'd have to look for a job that would allow me to bring a puppy into work. So, lots of stuff to consider, but I'll probably try it. Or, I'll get a job from September to December then get a puppy. Yeah...still up in the air but I'm sure I'll work something out that'll allow me to use this cool homemade bait bag for years to come.
Soooo...
Thanks Mimi and Cabana! I can't wait to see the Bait Bag!
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