Month: May 2020

I forgot to brush my teeth this morning. Ick! It’s Bessie’s fault for distracting me. To get her used to being away from me, I leave her in the sun in the backyard for a while. I still keep a close eye on her from inside so I can try to stop bad habits—like digging (especially by the small hole at the bottom of the fence) or barking—before they’re out of control. When she’s sleeping […]

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Bessie’s tail has been a valuable tool for evaluating her emotional progress. For the first few days it was droopy and tucked. Little by little it lifted, and tentatively swished side-to-side. Today, when Elana came home with groceries, it was whipping around in full circles. Now that Bessie’s more comfortable, some less desirable behaviors are emerging, including but not limited to: barking, continued whining, big-time separation anxiety and neediness… and eating Elana’s potted plants when […]

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Oh, she won’t have any separation anxiety. She’s very relaxed and will just wait by the door for you, the former-Dusty’s foster mom assured me. So why, after I went out to the backyard for literally a minute to scoop up Bessie-droppings, did I come back to find that fifty pounds of mutt had jumped from the floor to a chair to the top of her huge crate and then on up to my sewing […]

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I had to cancel my second consecutive trip East to see my mother. I (with Molly and her fella) was going to head back in late June. But that’s still too soon. I have plane reservations for October as well. We’ll see about that. I really miss my mommy. I know I’m not alone in that. What I did today: have the weekly Zoom with my girls, talk to some friends, and do lots and […]

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