Say hello to my new little friend

I don’t mean to alarm anyone, but I am pretty sure they are cloning dogs in Northern BC.

We (mainly me) have been talking about getting another dog for a few months. I was thinking since Rusty is slowing down and getting a bit older, it would be good for him to have a buddy, and it would be good for the kids to have a younger dog to play with. Rusty loves the kids, but has never been a playful kind of a dog. He is more of a pet me from a safe distance, then feed me and walk me kind of guy.

And - even though Anders won’t believe me – dogs are actually easier is pairs since they keep each other company and play with each other. 

I have been cruising all the local dog rescue sites, and out of habit, I always check the website of the animal group (Turtle Gardens Animal Rescue) which we got Rusty from. That place is run by this amazing woman and her family, and I don’t think it would be exaggerating to say that they have probably saved thousands of dogs throughout their lives.  

So, during one of my normal Internet cruises for our new dog, I sort of stumbled across this dog – Nina – which they have posted as available for adoption on the Turtle Garden’s site. I swear to God I thought they had accidentally reposted Rusty’s adoption picture from 2003. This dog could be Rusty – right down to the pink nose, rotting teeth, and messed-up, Fraggle Rock looking fur. The only difference is that this is a GIRL Rusty –and that is exactly what I was looking for! And - instead of a suspect IQ, she is smart but has suspect hearing. I was told she is most likely, if not totally deaf, then at least pretty hard of hearing.

There is no way that these two aren’t related. I don’t know the back story on Nina like I did on Rusty, but I can tell you there is a crazy little bunch of meerkat/terrier/spaniel/possum dogs running around up near the small town of Topley, BC. 

Say hello to our new little meerkat/terrier/spaniel/coyote/possum friend Nina (or maybe Nora?) They think she is about six to nine months old. 

Nina...working the beach

And here is Rusty. Clones or cousins? Hard to tell but there are definitely some shared genes here.

Rusty...working the latest in Nordic dog apparel

The last piece to this is that I think I just adopted her. Okay, I did just adopt her. I sent an email to the group asking about her, and then I actually got a call from the nice woman who is fostering Nina (lovely woman), and then then next thing I know – I got an email saying I was her approved adopter and they can fly her out.

Say a big hello to Nina (or maybe Gracie?) the newest member of the Jonsson family!

Nina's little face

Rusty's little face - a bit older and more grizzled - but definitely related!

We worked out all the logistics today, and she lands in Calgary tomorrow afternoon. The kids and I are over-the-top excited…and Anders will come around.

According to woman who is fostering Nina – Nina has a personality just like Rusty. The woman said that Nina is calm, gentle, loving and sweet and added that she loves to cuddle, is housebroken, and she is slow-moving. Plus – she is Rusty’s family…and you can’t say no to family!

Street racing...but on foot - so way less cool, and a lot slower

Last night was the kick-off to our long-weekend without children. We were like a couple giddy kids who had a hall pass and didn’t quite know what to do with themselves. Since we don’t have any family in town, we rarely get any couple time. We have also never been away from the kids for longer that two nights (and that has only happened once in three and a half years). So the thought of FIVE whole nights, kid free is enough to send us giggling and skipping over the edge.

We are planning to make the most of it and do all the things that are either a total pain in the ass to do with kids in tow, or that we just don’t do - because we have kids in tow.

Tomorrow we are finally going to go and test drive all the vehicles we have been wanting to, and then on Sunday, I am shopping with girlfriends while Anders goes fly-fishing all day. We are also planning to eat out for dinner every night - and we may even get really wild and go see a couple movies at the actual theatre. Who knows how crazy we will get!

To kick it all off last night, we decided to hit the mall…on a school night…after 6pm. Are you still with me? I lost a locking backing to one of my favourite earrings a few weeks back, so we decided to head to the jeweler at the mall to get a replacement and have some dinner while we were there. We also wanted to check the pot selection at the Bay as we needed to add a few more to our set. But – and here is where the crazy kicked in - we ended up getting a fabulous deal on an 11-piece, copper-bottomed pan set – and – a 5.3c litre Le Creuset French Oven. I also ended up having a bit too much beer at dinner (and maybe Anders did too - since he agreed that buying all new cookware on a whim was a great idea). 

Anywhooo – that brings us to this morning. 

We actually slept in since we didn’t have to wrestle any children, and we managed to have a leisurely coffee (and two Tylenol for me) before heading off to work.

I parked the van in my normal spot and started my five block walk to my office. I am on the tall side, and walk pretty quickly so I am used to passing people along the way. What I am not used to is almost passing someone, and then having that person turn and give you the "Hell No!" face and literally run for half a block to get ahead of you.

True story.

This morning on my walk in I caught up to this totally normal and sane looking guy – he was about my height and my age – and as I was passing him, he looked over at me, and then he just took off running. It was weird, but I was like “wow – that guy must be in a hurry” since a lot of walking commuters do that. They kind of run for about 100 metres, then walk quickly, then run again. It is like no one wants to commit to the full-out run – so they do the weird walk/run combo which actually looks just as weird. Either run or walk people – commit to something.

Anyway, I keep walking and catch the guy again! This time as I go to pass him - he looks over and sees it is me, and instead of running he starts doing that pinched ass cheek, elbows flying, super-fast speed walk to get ahead of me. All the while he is glancing back over his shoulder to see if I am catching up. 

So – now I get what is happening and am like – “Ohhhh…it is on bitch! You have picked the wrong lady to get into a random speed walking race with! I am well rested, slightly hung-over, and generally don’t give a shit what people think of me since I am super klutzy and used to being a bit of a spectacle. BRING IT!” 

So I cranked up the speed and manage to catch him just as we hit an intersection and a red light. As we stood there on the sidewalk waiting for the walk signal – I stood right beside and him and started at his head. He was looking everywhere and at everything - except for me. He was checking his watch, his shoes, looking at the sky – basically anywhere but directly to his left where I was standing.

As soon as the light changed - he flew across the street like a guy out of the starting blocks. He was a speed walking maniac – all sucked-up ass and flying legs. It was like racing Michael Flatley – that dude from the Lord of the Dance. I managed to keep up, but I could tell that for whatever reason this guy was getting more and more panicked as his breathing was getting pretty loud and he was sweating. Plus his glances backwards started getting a desperate quality to them – like he looking back and seeing the hounds of hell chasing him or something.

I started feeling kind of bad, so as we got near my office, I shouted at him, “Okay - okay you win! I have to stop here!” and the guy turned around and gave me the double middle finger. What the hell? I have no idea what happened, or who he thought I was, or what he thought we were racing for. It doesn’t even really matter as it gave me a chuckle on a Friday morning - and in my head I was like, “Story to tell at upcoming holiday parties – CHECK!”

Anyway – it is officially the weekend now. I am back at home, hanging with Rusty, having a beer (me, not Rusty – I think he is more of a Bailey’s and milk kind of guy), and am waiting for Anders to get home. Tonight we are getting all kinds of crazy and hitting Costco. Who knows what kind of shenanigans we will be getting up to!