I just have to say this, to you that dislike pets, you don't know what you are missing ! They bring such joy to our lives and sometimes sadness. I'll take the risk of possible sadness for the joy they bring. I am presently pet less but I hope to see that change soon.
The funny thing about cats is that a lot of cats aren't particularly friendly toward people outside the home. They're more aloof. So, never having owned one before, I didn't think they were particularly cuddly creatures. My in-laws were the ones that had cats and most of them would accept a pet from me and then bite me. Owning a cat is much different. They are pretty cuddly (when they want to be). But the built in radar for puking in less than desirable places is true!
I'm quite disappointed in adopting a dog. I still have not heard anything regarding Jet. DD and I talked and she said she'd accompany me to the next event on Sunday morning as there was a female that I was interested in. I sent a note to my coordinator to let her know and she wrote back that the female has been adopted. So now I have no desire to drive another 200 miles round trip to look at some of the dogs that really don't interest me that much.
Allison, have you checked PetFinder, surely there is more than one lab rescue in Southern California. I'd bet on it !
I have been trying to adopt a dog through the local SPCA and it just isn't working, just when I think I have found ,it is not available, most of the time they have been adopted or there is some other reason. There are dozens of animal rescues in my area and the SPCA lady made a suggestion and I am thinking it over. She said re: adopting from a shelter, those dogs have been temperament tested and you have a better chance , actually of getting a better animal , if they turn out to be biters for instance the shelter will not let them be adopted.
PS Palm Springs Animal Control has several labs looking for homes.
bargoo, the people objecting to the pet gossip in threads other than weekly chat do not "dislike pets." What they object to is off-topic discussion in threads that have a different focus.
bargoo, the people objecting to the pet gossip in threads other than weekly chat do not "dislike pets." What they object to is off-topic discussion in threads that have a different focus.
Allison, have you checked PetFinder, surely there is more than one lab rescue in Southern California. I'd bet on it !
I have been trying to adopt a dog through the local SPCA and it just isn't working, just when I think I have found ,it is not available, most of the time they have been adopted or there is some other reason. There are dozens of animal rescues in my area and the SPCA lady made a suggestion and I am thinking it over. She said re: adopting from a shelter, those dogs have been temperament tested and you have a better chance , actually of getting a better animal , if they turn out to be biters for instance the shelter will not let them be adopted.
PS Palm Springs Animal Control has several labs looking for homes.
I window shop at Petfinder at least once a week. I check out PS Animal Control, Animal Samaritans, Coachella Valley Animal Control and others equally as often. What I normally find is that those lab mixes are usually lab/pit mixes and I don't really want a pit. Although a friend of mine recently got a puppy from Animal Samaritans that was listed as a pit mix but she didn't think it was. She did a DNA check and it turns out the dog is boxer/rottweiler and two others (neither lab or pit). I guess if a stray is found, there really isn't any way of determining exactly what it is--if it is an owner turn it, they have a better idea. When I was looking for Chico, I visited all the different shelters and rescues in the valley. Again, mostly just pits (or chihuahuas).
The other day on my Labrador chat forum, someone asked what breeds were found in their local shelters. Pits and chihuahuas were prevalent in So Cal, labs were normally found in Texas and the southern states. Kind of odd.
Speaking of pets, I find myself sorely missing Fritz, my mother's cat. He slept with me at night and he got me up in the morning by walking over me and settling down by my head about 10 minutes before my alarm went off. During the day, when I was working at my laptop, whenever he wanted to be let outside, he would rear up on his hind legs and rest his paws on my thigh and stare at me. If I ignored him, he'd dig in, just a little. When I let him inside, as he sauntered in, he'd meow briefly, to say hello again or thanks. He often bumped my legs with his forehead, looking to be scratched under the chin and behind his ears. And if I was watching TV or reading a book on a living room chair, he'd start walking around me and rubbing the furniture, wanting to be invited up beside me, to crawl in my lap. Patting the furniture would make him leap up immediately. I always loved Fritz, but now I **love** Fritz.
But no, I won't get a cat at my apartment. It's not a good environment for a cat, and I have unpredictable hours, and would be a rather distracted owner often.
Now when I head Upstate, though, I am looking forward to a reunion with Fritz. If he remembers me. I am never sure how well cats remember particular people, or if they're glad to see us. They are not as demonstrative as dogs. They don't wear their hearts on their sleeves.
I'm sitting in my rather chilly, recently renovated office, calming down a little after a hectic morning. I'm situated on a vast floor full of white cubicles, which reminds me rather of an airport. Maybe 50-60 people work in this big area. And today, on a Friday in August, I'd say there are, at most, 12 of us sitting around here. That's how many are out on vacation or working from home. It makes me not want to work so hard, and to schmooze with my office friends who are here, too.
The other day on my Labrador chat forum, someone asked what breeds were found in their local shelters. Pits and chihuahuas were prevalent in So Cal, labs were normally found in Texas and the southern states. Kind of odd.
'Cause that dog'll hunt.
Seriously. A lab is a huntin' dog. In the portion of my life that I spent in rural Upstate NY, guys & their families had labs. In urban downstate NY, chihuahuas make good apartment dogs, and pits are the prevalent breed.
Re: animals at rescues and shelters, it is not always know what breed they are sometimes it is an educated guess as to their parentage, sometimes they are strange combinations. I had a friend who had a dog that was part German Shepherd and part Afghan, that was one weird looking dog. Yes, there always seem to be a lot of pits, I am not interested in a pit, and yes a lot of chis, don't know why there are so many chis. A lot of dogs at shelters were strays but some are owner relinquished for various reasons.
Remember my rant from the other day? Things are getting worse rather than better! DH and I are literally shaking from a couple stressful situations at work. So I'll ask: what would you do in this situation?
As you know we bought out our former partners and we finished a 4-year payment with them last November. We asked that he acknowledge that the buyout was complete, he never did. We've been named in a lawsuit (two, really) and our lawyer looked at the contracts that our former partner signed and determined that he failed to stipulate a few things on the contract so we are liable in these lawsuits. The former partner claims that in our buy-sell agreement, he is not liable for any current or future lawsuits that arise from when he was here, but our lawyer says he does have a fiduciary responsibility if he made a mistake (which he clearly did). So far, lawyer fees and settlement costs have had us pay about $25,000.
So we got a letter from our health insurance stating that we were getting a refund (wow, $1944.00) and we were to distribute it to our employees in one of two ways: refund for past payments OR reduce the next year's premiums. We pay 100% of our employee's health insurance, but if they want extras (PPO over HMO or family members on the policy) they have to pay for those extras by payroll deduction. We have three employees who have family members on their policies. We met with these three employees and said that we would take this refund money and refund it to them by paying that extra premium for their families for three pay periods in October.
Now our former partner, who we also paid 100% of his health insurance premiums, got a copy of the letter from our health insurance and he feels he is due his portion of the refund. He didn't pay any of the premium himself, but as part of our buyout agreement, the health insurance premiums we paid for him were part of the buyout. He feels entitled to the refund.
DH and I are livid. He's bickering over what might be a $300-$500 refund while we mull over the fact that he refuses to own up to his mistake that has cost us $25,000 (and one lawsuit is still pending).
Allison, good news on the car. I just wish you could take me for a ride in it. About your business dilemma I can't help much other than to say trust your lawyer. The old partner is pretty much of a ******* , though.
Saef-- the kitty will remember you. I really think you'd to great with a cat. They do wonderfully in apartments. You could always get two so they keep each other company when you are gone. My Charlotte and Wilbur are brother and sister.
Allison- so glad you get the car. So sorry about your business situation. Are there grounds to sue your former business partner?
Saef - really do well in apartments, and they need much less interaction than a dog so the crazy schedule wouldn't really faze one. I used to live alone in a small apartment with a cat, worked 12-15 hour days quite often. She was fine. She just laid on my lap on the couch when I got home or wrapped herself around my head on the bed. I had a LitterMaid cat box that cleaned itself and used small spaces optimized cat litter, had cat toys on the doors, etc.
Allison - I'm glad that you are getting your car! And also sorry about the business partner - I know that you've had nothing but trouble with the ex-partner.
