View Full Version : A Day of Disappointments
fidgiegirl
7-25-12, 6:08pm
First world disappointments, to be sure, but I'm still disappointed.
First, I had my heart set on two poodle brothers but they got adopted when we were out of town.
Then this afternoon, I found out my program at my old school is essentially going to be eliminated with me carrying on in a different role next year (this part was by my choice). I thought the program might be cut - it's a hard to staff position - but I'm disappointed nonetheless. And mostly I'm disappointed that though I asked my supervisor to keep my updated on the developments, I found out through my husband, who works at the school I used to work at, that it's pretty much a done deal. I worked so hard on developing that program, but I couldn't be the one to carry it on . . . just hoped someone would be able to. Also, it pretty much means the decision to ever go back is made for me . . . even if they HAD to create the program again since I am on a leave of absence (which I doubt they'd have to do), I wouldn't have the heart to start it up all over again. I'm in a two year contract and that kind of a gap in kids' learning is pretty much is the same as starting over.
Ok, just need some strokes.
Oh, honey. Some days are diamonds, some days are coal. I am sorry this has been one of those days. Hugs. And GnT.
Hugs, fidgiegirl. It might be hard to think about this right now, but oftentimes things really do happen for a good reason....even though we can't see it at the time.
Hang in there....tomorrow will be better
Hugs to you. I have found that when I am disappointed about something, I need to find what I am learning in the situation that I will need for the next part of my life.
Those weren't the dogs for you, I'm guessing. Keep your antennae out... http://www.kolobok.us/smiles/artists/connie/connie_08.gif
fidgiegirl
7-25-12, 7:54pm
Thanks, all. I am feeling better. I sent my supervisor a short and polite but to the point email asking about the chances that the program would survive and stated that I wish I had known before an e-mail went out to the whole community about it. She apologized for that. That's one good thing about my supervisor, she is very approachable that way.
My mom called and my brother is having a tough time right now, too, $$ wise. It's all relative. I feel a bit better now, thanks for the good strokes.
And boy o boy, Jane, the doggy antennae are a flashin' . . .
Oh yeah. You need a dog!
Sorry.
But remember: nobody's dying and this will pass.
wanh! no poodle brothers! But there is another very cute and loveable dog in your future, perhaps bulldog sisters?;)
Sorry you had such big disappointments today, Kelli. Tomorrow is a new day and I hope it will be a better one for you!
P.S. Midwest Pug Rescue DOES have a Twin Cities branch..... Just sayin' ;)
frugalone
7-25-12, 10:24pm
Fidgie, I am sending you hugs. And wishes that tomorrow is a better day for you.
((((FIDGIE))))
((sorry))
That is disappointing to see all your hard work shut down.
And then the dogs on top of it.....these didn't happen to be standard poodles did they? The big ones? I'd love to have a standard someday..
Tussiemussies
7-26-12, 2:43am
Sorry to hear about your happenings today. Hope things get brighter for you right away!
Glad to hear you're feeling better. I know what it's like to not get the animal you thought would be coming into your life. But since you ARE feeling better now about these disappointments, I'll just sign off with "sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug!" :)
P.S. Midwest Pug Rescue DOES have a Twin Cities branch..... Just sayin' ;)
pug siblings!!!!!!that would be swell.
Do get two dogs--twice the rescue, and they won't get lonely. Fingers crossed the perfect ones will find you soon.
fidgiegirl
7-26-12, 11:30am
Well, we already have one, so two more will put us to three . . . I like the thought of it, though :)
Missy (http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/21356539) & Cookie (http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/21497004) are still waiting (maybe some of you will remember them from a few months ago), but I really really really really want to get dogs that could be trained as therapy animals. However, seniors tug at my heart . . . oh now we are really off topic, but that's a good thing in this case, methinks.
Heart is the key word here. Listen to it.
fidgiegirl
7-26-12, 12:37pm
Jane, you are tempting me a lot!!!!!!! :) :) :)
There could be worse temptations . . .
Is it possible that Missy and Cookie are just what you need now, and the therapy-trainable dogs would be better in the future?
fidgiegirl
7-26-12, 1:40pm
You too, Rosemary?!?!?! Well, maybe I will have to give Missy and Cookie's foster mama a call . . . .
Gardenarian
7-26-12, 4:44pm
(((hugs))) fidgie!
Remember - happiness is a warm puppy.
If I were in a nursing home, having Missy and Cookie come visit with me would just be the swellest thing.
Not every therapy dog has to be young and strapping.
Blessed is the person who has earned the love of an old dog.
I too was wondering about the qulaifications to be a therapy dog.
I'd think that (now please don't be offended, pug) that a chubby sweet and not-too-bright pug would be a perfect therapy dog. One of my French bulldogs, the 13 year old, is very sweet and like a pug or chihuaua, she'd be so happy to sit on the lap of a little old lady all day, every day.
I have an elderly white shepherd who would - and does - sit quite happily next to an older person in a wheelchair, letting them pet and pet and pet. For hours.
The pug has little use for laps.....perhaps he's a freak in his breed :) But so many other dogs would love to do that, even if it's not through a structured therapy dog training program. Our local assisted living facility just loves well-behaved canine visitors.
fidgiegirl
7-26-12, 6:59pm
You know guys, I hadn't really thought of it that way. I had always thought you have to have certifications, which are available, and etc etc. My understanding is that as long as a dog has a good disposition toward all kinds of people (mine doesn't, there are several subgroups he doesn't like) and have basic obedience skills they can try for the certification. But that doesn't mean any animal couldn't brighten someone's day.
DH is reluctant to get seniors because he is very moved by pet death, more than me. I am like a stone cold rock compared to him. Not that I don't get upset, but he gets MORE upset. So he's not keen on inviting in love that will just go away in a very few years.
That said, I think if we met Missy and Cookie, we'd be bringing them home.
I know how difficult it is to lose a pet... been there many times.
BUT I have a really soft spot for the older cats at our shelter whom I know are unlikely to be adopted.. some of them seem to do ok there, but clearly some of them would do better in their own home. The young ones are always adopted, and quickly. Everyone (and I'm not excluding myself here) looks at the older ones and thinks about how few years are left.
The local humane society has info about therapy animal training on its web page. I'm thinking a calm, older dog would be a perfect therapy animal - so often younger ones are so excitable.
fidgiegirl
7-26-12, 7:28pm
I signed up for the AHS intro to therapy animals class, Rosemary. Even if we don't have an appropriate animal at the time, we can learn more. Thanks for the tip.
fidgiegirl
7-28-12, 7:55pm
I called about Missy and Cookie last night, but nothing back so far. I'm getting a complex! Why haven't they called ?! :D
I called about Missy and Cookie last night, but nothing back so far. I'm getting a complex! Why haven't they called ?! :D
haha, hey but--you DO have an application on file with them, right?
fidgiegirl
7-28-12, 9:19pm
Not this org. We have one ready to go through another org, but little cute dogs (unsurprisingly) go fast. I get so confused as to who wants applications and who just adopts out at adoption days or which is in between. When I got Corky the org I got him through did not require an app, but did come see my place. I will take another look at their website to double-check their application process. Thanks for the reminder.
fidgiegirl
7-28-12, 9:22pm
Their website is disabled according to the web host. So no chance of checking the app process that way. The e-mail provided has the same domain. So if I don't get a call back, I think I'm SOL.
Did you try looking up the dogs on Petfinder.org - perhaps the organization's website or contact info has changed?
fidgiegirl
7-28-12, 10:21pm
Yep, Petfinder is where I first saw the dogs, and Petfinder is where I got the link from. Maybe I should just Google them and see if they have a new web address. Or perhaps the group is defunct, but no one wrapped up loose ends - i.e. delisting the animals on Petfinder.
Nope, same result on Google. Oh well . . . I'll hope for a return call, but with this new info, I don't hold my breath. Thanks for the encouragement though, all! Maybe in a few days I'll have more news.
Perhaps there are other dogs on Petfinder...Just a thought. http://www.kolobok.us/smiles/artists/viannen/viannen_03.gif http://www.kolobok.us/smiles/artists/viannen/viannen_03.gif
fidgiegirl
7-29-12, 2:03pm
Perhaps there are other dogs on Petfinder...Just a thought. http://www.kolobok.us/smiles/artists/viannen/viannen_03.gif http://www.kolobok.us/smiles/artists/viannen/viannen_03.gif
Indeed :)
I probably sound obsessed with these two. I'm not. Just thought I'd offer an update.
Too many others on Petfinder . . . wish I could take them all . . .
jennipurrr
7-29-12, 4:58pm
Hey Fidgie,
I am just reading this, sorry to hear about your bad day :(
I wanted to mention that in the deep South we have waaaaaaay too many dogs and there is a rescue here that has a regular run to a group up in Wisconsin. Even the cute little ones often get euthanized here. I am not sure how far the group they work is from you, but if you want I can try to find out if you'd like their info.
fidgiegirl
7-29-12, 6:13pm
Thank you for the kind offer, jennipurrr. (Glad to see you BTW, it feels like it's been a while! But I was out of town, and out of touch, for a while, too). From what I understand there is quite a pipeline of animals from the south to many of the orgs up here. I wish I understood the "economics" of the pet industry better. Why such lopsidedness?
Thank you for the kind offer, jennipurrr. (Glad to see you BTW, it feels like it's been a while! But I was out of town, and out of touch, for a while, too). From what I understand there is quite a pipeline of animals from the south to many of the orgs up here. I wish I understood the "economics" of the pet industry better. Why such lopsidedness?
I think there's some economic and cultural reasons. More poverty=less animal care, and some areas have a culture where it's less expected to spay/neuter. We saw this, unfortunately, firsthand: in AZ we must have taken at least a dozen dogs to the pound, and these were only the ones who were clearly friendly and clearly not owned. OTOH, in CO rescue groups get dogs from AZ and NM to adopt out into CO. Here, we have taken exactly one dog to the pound and we're pretty sure it was lost but had no tags or chip. This is the only dog we've seen that we couldn't identify an owner or yard it likely belonged to, which was frequently not the case in AZ. So in general, people seem to take better care of their pets here. Whether that's because of culture or means or (most likely) both, who knows.
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