Thanks to Vicki K. in Missoula one of the lab pups went home today. Sad to say all those great homes we thought we had turned out not to be so solid. The new home was pleased to pick the active girl since they may want to try to hunt a little with her. I, as a foster home, was happy to be left with the bit lazier boy.

We have been having a yard sale of sorts here. One of my friends had a cute little dress shop in Stevensville which she recently closed so we are selling much of her inventory and a few other odds and ends. The danger of having a yard sale with your friend is that there is a certain amount of trading junk that goes on.
Friend 1 - "OOOOO you are selling that? I gotta have it! How much do you want for it?"
Friend 2 - "That? You want that? You can have that!"
Friend 1 - "No no no....I want to pay for it what do you want for it?"
Friend 2 - "One penny."
Friend 1 - "Well then I am not going to buy it"
A FEW MINUTES LATER
Friend 2 - "Oh my gosh why are you selling that? You should keep it"
Friend 1 - "No I am sick of it...I am definitely selling it."
Friend 2 - "Oh I will trade you this for that."
And so it goes until we each have a little corner filled with stuff that is no longer for sale.

Monday night my friend Pam called me in a panic. She had been hiking and found two lab pups at the trail head. In talking to everyone she could at the site she learned that these pups had been there all day and had tagged along on some hikes but no one claimed them. It was nearly dark and a storm was rolling in so what else could she do? She loaded them up and called me for help. Fortunately I had room for them in the kennel. They were pretty tired when they crawled into a warm dry crate together. They shared a bowl of kibble and sacked out. I actually had to wake them up for a potty break. The days have rolled by and the ads we ran and the fliers we plastered all over have gone unanswered. It is looking like these two were dumped. Fortunately the vet where they were taken for scanning had some leads on homes for us. We have 3-4 really good spots for them. It looks certain that good lab-lovin' homes will be ready for them soon...WHEW!! Pam brought me lunch on Tuesday. I couldn't tell if it was the guilt of dumping the pups on me or just the desire to play with the pups that brought her out bearing food. We picnicked on my porch. It was cold but the dogs didn't mind. I had bought these fancy dog cookies and this seemed like the perfect day to break them out. They come in a package like Oreos and are sandwich cookies like Oreos but they are peanut butter and cream. They are stamped with this really cute doggie paw print and they smell great. Total junk food for dogs but they loooove them. Later that evening I was wandering through the kitchen and I noticed Darrin was snacking. I saw his eyes widen and he stopped chewing. Through his crumb filled mouth he said "Are these DOG cookies?" He had spotted the paw print on his cookie. I nodded and he ran to the garbage can spitting and gagging. You would have thought he was poisoned. I had a good laugh but the best was yet to come. After he rinsed out his mouth, drank some water and regained his composure he said "You know the first two were pretty good!" He said when he knew they were dog cookies he just couldn't swallow. That innocent paw print saved the dog's cookies. The dogs are happy to know they won't have to share with him....at least not very often.