Thirteen Months

Yes, as Clair so astutely observed, my hair is getting quite long these days compared to what most of you remember of me. I have been at Best Friends for 13 months now and I am starting to see more and more familiar faces, especially the folks that use their annual vacation to come volunteer at the sanctuary. In January, I wrote a post about a volunteer named Nicole that came to volunteer for three weeks and spent most of her time volunteering at the Lodges (Changing Plans and Visiting Angels). She arrived at Best Friends only three days after her last radiation treatment for breast cancer and on her second to last day she went on a shopping spree and brought back a car load of goodies for the dogs of the Lodges. Well, Nicole is back to volunteer some more at the Lodges and I saw her in the lobby yesterday. This time, instead of a fuzzy, pink hat to keep her chemo-balded head warm while she walks dogs, she is sporting a full head of curly black hair and is looking great. We had a good laugh in the lobby because she didn't recognize me with my long hair and I probably wouldn't have know her had Megan not tipped me off that she was back in town. It is wonderful to have her back at the sanctuary, even though I don't get to work with her anymore, now that I am at the Garden. She is a wonderful woman and I am so happy that she is doing well. It is always great to see the faces of the volunteers that we know and love.

It has been a bit of a week for blast-from-the-past stuff. I got an email from Tasha's mom saying that Tash is doing great and went to a place called Ewetopia to start learning how to herd sheep. This is a newer concept in the dog world, not sheep herding, but the facilities that let people bring their dogs to learn and practice herding sheep. It is a really good way to exercise a dog's brain and body and let them use some of the instincts that most dogs never get to use, except on neighborhood squirrels. Tasha did a really good job and was so exhausted by the experience that she fell asleep sitting up during the car ride home! Here are some photos from her day at the farm! (They are kind of blurry, but still cool!)