Meet My New Furbaby...  

THANK YOU for the information about Angel Food. I went to their website & was not shocked to find out that there is not one here. However, there is one about 35 miles away & several more within about 70miles. I looked at what they have available & didn't see any dog food. They do have some GREAT prices on boxes of human food though. I have several friends in more dire straits that I'm in that could use these services. By the time I saw your post, I'm sure they were closed for the day, but I will be giving them a call to ask some questions. They had so many different box deals that I was surprised there wasn't a Pet box!!! Once I talk with them, I'll know whether it's worth the drive or not!!!

I cut a lot of expenses much like you do. This girl was home all day & seemed to only understand turning on light switches, but the off side seemed beyond her thought process. She knew how to turn on the water, but would forget to turn off. I made polite comments at first. Those escalated into less than polite comments. When I realized that she was completely ignoring me, I sat her down & told her very plainly that since I was footing all the expenses, I really needed her to help me cut back on a few things. When I brought her into my home, I knew my expenses would go up some; but without her help, I wouldn't be able to keep on helping her. My electric bill went up $50 per month after she moved in. All I asked her to do was turn off the lights behind herself & unplug the things she wasn't using. She got really upset & said if I didn't want to help her she didn't have to stay. I told her that I was willing to help her, but I just needed her to be aware of her habit of not turning off things. The next day I come home & she's not here, but Joy was sitting in the bedroom crying. Since I didn't have a spare bed, I gave her my bedroom to sleep in & I was sleeping on my sofa. I really thought she'd be back in a few days to pick up Joy. It's been a week & I've not heard a word. So, I'm assuming that Joy is now mine. I love this little dog, but she's just an expense I had not planned on assuming!!! Now that I have the house back to myself, I will be turning off & unplugging like I was before, so my expenses should drop tremendously!!! I know that after a bit I'll get Joy worked into my budget, but it has been a shock up to this point. I keep hoping she will show back up & take Joy with her. And I've also been hoping I'll never hear from her again & I'll get to keep Joy. I know ALL my furbabies have a good & loving home here & I would be constantly worrying about Joy if she did take her. I don't trust her not to dump Joy off on somebody who doesn't want her & then something terrible happen to Joy. For now, I know Joy is safe & secure & thankfully she gets along with all my other furbabies!!!

Oops, I got so carried away I forgot about Blue. I have found that most dogs give MUCH MORE than they take!!!

She was one lucky puppy to have been found by you!!! I hesitated greatly when I took in the second dog, but found that those two were so busy with each other that they didn't have time for me!!! Now the three are just like the Three Musketeers!!! My first dog insisted on being an outside dog. The second stayed outside with the first plus she didn't like cats & I have 2 inside cats. Joy has always been an inside dog & when I let her in dog #2 gets jealous. I don't know if this is something that I can work out or not. But, for today, I'm just doing the best I can with the situation!!!

I don't know what kinda bunnies you people grow in Europe, but we have cute little bunnies here. The bunnies that run across my back yard aren't as big as my cat. I can tell from the pictures Leif posts of his rabbit, that you don't grow little bunnies, you grow HUGE rabbits!!! I'm finding that Jack Russells are extremely intelligent dogs. Atleast this one fascinates me with the way she finds to communicate with me!!! The couple that owned my house before me raised rabbits too. There was a rotted hutch when I first moved in but it collapsed. Fortunately there were no rabbits in it at the time!!!

Joy is the Mother to the pup that needed a lot of room to run & a loving home. She kept Joy inside ALL the time except to go out to pee. That's how Joy got pregnant...she went out & just refused to go back inside. Now she's in a fenced in yard & has had a hysterectomy. She has a loving Mom in me & she won't be going hungry any time soon!!! This girl had taken Joy in when she was about a year old per her vet. She had her for about 1-2 years. So, only guessing, she's about 3 maybe 4 years old. My male turned 3 today. My other female is about 2-1/2. She was a stray on her way to the pound to be put to sleep when I found out about her & took her in. So, my vet was guessing her age too. If I had the money, I would be running my own shelter for wayward pets!!!

You're correct Tamara, she's NOT much of a friend!!! I've been her friend for over 20 years. Fortunately, I've never had to test our friendship until now!!! I'm disappointed, but NOT shocked at what she's done. Since I couldn't walk away from any of my babies, I was a little shocked that she left Joy behind. I like to think it is because she knew Joy would have a good home, but I sometimes wonder if she even cares!!! Then I tell myself that had she cared, she'd have said I've found another place to stay...will you please keep Joy until I get straightened out. As it is, she hasn't even called to see if Joy is OK. I'm hoping that she's slipped by my house while I was away to atleast say hey & check on Joy...but who knows???

I was not really shocked with her disrespect. I have seen her use people before, but I was naive enough to think she wouldn't do it to me. If I was honest, the dog was the main reason I agreed to let her move in. She had planned to take her to the local shelter & I knew she would be put down there because she's at the age nobody would adopt her. So I opened up my home to both of them thinking it wouldn't cost me much to have an extra body here. Boy was I wrong!!! My utility bill has gone down $70 since she moved out. She had also volunteered to do my housecleaning as an exchange for a free place to stay. I'm still cleaning up the mess she left behind!!! I will say I've got a wonderfully sweet little dog & my bed back which are 2 good things!!! Actually, I couldn't afford to let her stay much longer with ALL the waste in utilities. I was going broke.

NO, I don't want anybody to adopt her!!! Actually, I have become VERY attached to Joy since she's been here. She is a sweet little dog, very well behaved & listens real well!!! My complaint is that I wasn't planning on taking on another dog & after having my friend stay here my checking account is lower than it should be. Now I have an extra dog to feed. I'm sure that in the long run Joy will be worth it as she is a very sweet & loving dog. I don't see me getting rid of her just because her previous owner was ignorant!!! I'm back to turning off & unplugging electrical appliances & I'm making many adjustments to my grocery shopping. I'm going to call Angel Food Ministries in a bit to see if they have any deals on dog food. I'm sure I'll get everything worked out in the next few months, but this was a shock that I hadn't anticipated!!!

This won't stop me from helping anyone else!!! I'll give anyone the benefit of the doubt up & until they prove me wrong. I couldn't imagine being in her situation & not even trying to help keep expenses down. It didn't bother me that she didn't know how to save on utilities. However, it did bug the hell outta me that she wouldn't even try when I showed her how simple it was to do those little things to cut corners. I mean, how freaking hard is it to flip off a light switch when you leave a room??? It's NOT that hard to unplug a power cord either. Jack Russells are intelligent little dogs. She seems to be full of love!!! She doesn't seem to be missing her old mom (thank goodness). I know in my heart Joy is going to be a very good companion & I really don't want her to go. but still it was a shock that I now have 5 little mouths to feed....an expense I hadn't planned on taking on. I'm the type that likes to have control over my actions & adopting another dog just wasn't in my plans at this point in time!!! I know me well enough to know I'll make peace with this & even find a way to work Joy into my budget. It has just been a BIG shock. Sometimes I wish I didn't fall for every sob story coming down the pike!!! In my heart, I can't let somebody go hungry if I have the means to feed them!!!

AWWWW, Gaby, do you really think she is an ungrateful so and so??? I started to not offer her a place to stay as I feared losing a friend. However, I NEVER dreamed she'd do the things she did!!! I especially was shocked that she just walked off & left Joy behind!!! For the first couple of weeks I thought she'd be back to get Joy...even if she waited until I wasn't home to take her. By week 3 I was beginning to understand that I had a third dog whether I wanted it or not. On week 4, I started worrying how I'd feed 3 dogs. I'm still concerned about feeding all 5 of my babies, but I'm cutting corners everywhere I can. My expenses went down a lot once she was out of my home & I'm not feeding them canned food as often as I was before. The dogs actually prefer the dry food to the canned food so they don't care. The cats are fussing daily because they want their canned food back. I know I'll get all this worked out over time, but I just can't look my 2 cats in the eyes so far!!!