Perpetual Ruminations

Friday

Home from work and getting in here a little earlier today. We didn't get the five to six inches of snow they said, but did end up with about three. The wind didn't pick up as much as it was predicted, either. There was some drifting on the highway this morning, but nothing too bad.

I cleaned up snow at work, and it wasn't bad out. It was cold, only about five degrees, but with no wind it didn't feel bad at all. I had the guardhouse and slab all cleaned up by the time the snow removal crew showed up; about an hour and a half of shoveling.

I picked up a couple of gifts for Rhonda before coming home, and need to get them wrapped up before I go pick her up from work. I still have to get a few things more for her, and we need to get some gifts for the dogs. Hyko will open his own presents, just like Klarissa used to do, but I don't know about Hanna.

This will be her first Christmas spent with someone. As far as the Humane Society knows, she was never worked with or interacted with much at all. It's kind of sad, she didn't even know how to play with toys. But, she is learning fast, and I think she will pick up on opening her gifts pretty quickly.

The guy at the Humane Society claimed she was two and a half years old, but she has her puppy looks, hasn't quite grown into her feet, and acts like she is about a year old. They also claimed the person who had her was moving and didn't have room for her. But, they also said she had never been worked with, trained or interacted with by people.

I don't understand how she could have spent two years as a pet without interacting with anyone. Also, she does not act like she has been isolated for long. No, I'm not buying it. I have a hunch she is actually about a year old, and was a mistake between two breeds of hunting dogs.

There are a few places around here that breed and sell both Labs and Spaniels. I suspect that one got in with the other and that's how she ended up with us. She's half Lab and half Spaniel, and has her tail chopped off. I think that someones dogs interbred and Hanna is the result. She has many qualities of the Spaniel, but she looks like a Lab. I think as a young pup, she looked more like a Spaniel, and they chopped her tail and tried to sell her.

But, she is kind of high spirited and probably got picked over. As time passed, she began to look more like a Lab, and there was no possibility of selling her by this time, so they took her to the Humane Society. Of course, they couldn't tell anyone they had a mistaken litter come along when the Lab and the Spaniel got together.

How ever it came to be that she was born and ended up with us doesn't matter; what does is that we found her and she is now a part of our family. She's smart, very well behaved, and very loved. Of course, she returns as much as she gets, and that makes it all even better.