New Job

New Job

The new job is great, THANKS FOR ASKING. (ahem)

Petsitting Fiascos

Petsitting Fiascos

I must go to bed. I really don't have time to post the details. But I just wanted to share that I am a little keyed up and unsettled ... I'm dogsitting. I'm in a house by myself (w/ 2 labs) and I just got here this evening, went out to dinner w/ Lex & Christine, and when we came back a weird man was IN the car belonging to the vacationing owners of this home. I'll post the whole story soon, but the short story is he hurried away, the police came, fun night.
But this is just the latest in a string of frequent mini disasters since i started petsitting at another house Wednesday night. Where I had an oven fire, the dog attacked a puppy at the park, i lost one of the cats for a little while, i constipated the other cat by giving it food it couldn't handle, and i forgot my friend Christine is deathly allergic to poison ivy & i think the dog walked through some & i invited her over and the dog jumped on her and now she might get a horrible reaction. please everybody thing good thoughts and will it not to happen.
But honestly i'm a really good petsitter!

Wendy

Wendy

Do you still need bumper stickers for your art?

News of the Weird

News of the Weird

"Mr. Jian Feng, of Hegang in northern China, suspicious when his wife gave birth to a baby he regarded as seriously ugly, got her to admit that, though she was not adulterous, she had herself been seriously ugly before she met Jian, but had had major plastic surgery in South Korea and now did not much resemble her genetic look. (Even so, Jian divorced her and in May sued her for fraud.) [South African Press Association-Deutsch Presse-Agentur, 5-19-04]"

Work In Progress

Work In Progress

Bear with me while I try to figure out how to make everything look like I want it to. I will be changing the fonts soon. Maybe adding a profile & some other stuff.

Shopping Fun

Shopping Fun

• iheartmypenis


• doggystyle


• dog bedding


• scroll down and click on the mona lisa driving a corvette with a pug garden flag


• bitch & stud collars


• jolly roger dog tag


• for the alcoholic pooch


• scary-ass dog in a carrier


• Thundercats, ho!


• Wendy has her own line of products!


• If you're excited about this, you're a dork.


• jesus stuff


• your very own harry potter broom!


• tp

Should I Go?

Should I Go?

(to my high school reunion)

Last Day

Last Day

I'm training a new girl named Laura on her first day on my last day. Today. (After I sleeeeeeeeeeep and get up.)
I am tired. I have been working long hours trying to get as much back-logged work done as possible before leaving. Tonight I did inventory of leashes & collars in our boutique and entered quantities from the last 4 months and prices into the computer. Earlier I fixed the water fountain, caught up on filing, put prices on dog food, and filled spray bottles with cleaning solution. Last night I did data entry. I've also been busy updating cleaning-assignment sheets, daycare reservation lists, paperwork for new employee training, and adding behavioral & health notes from the last month & a half to dogs' files. Earlier in the week I printed a bagillion different forms, information sheets, coupons, & tons of crap that we were low on, and then collated & stapled or sliced on the papercutter or hole-punched. I organized all the documents in the computer, making folders and deleting old crap. I made pencil holders for 3 of the rooms and compiled a binder of important info & forms for our newest playroom. I'm having trouble forming sentences now because I'm so tired. I did all of this stuff after hours, staying til about 11:30 each night for the past 2 weeks.

Oh and each of my hands was bitten twice in 2 days. Ow. Two tiny raw spots on knuckles and two very sore bruises.

Stephanie made me a going-away present. :) Here's a pic of adorable homemade dog magnets in a heart tin w/ dog stickers on it. Thanks, Steph ... you rock!

Dog-Sitting

I didn't end up dog-sitting Jackson for these past 2 weeks. He boarded instead. His owner originally thought he'd be happier in his own home. She knew his sitter would have to be someone he knows because he FREAKS OUT when strangers come over and would never let someone he didn't know get close to him, much less get him out from under the table, onto a leash and outside. He knows & likes me from coming to daycare all the time, so she felt that would work out. Then while she was sick, her husband took Jackson for a walk and he freaked out about it not being her. He slipped his collar and ran away and wouldn't come back to him. They did get him back, but the incident scared her. If he won't even let him walk her, she no longer had confidence that I could. The clincher was that she herself had dog-sat a dog that acted the same way and he did the same thing when she tried to walk him, except he ran into the street and was killed by a car. Sooooo.... we all feel better having Jackson safely contained at Happy Tails. Goofy freak.

I will miss having dogs in my everyday life. But not yet, cuz I'm booked up for dog-sitting. I'm staying in Lex's neighborhood for nearly 2 weeks starting Wednesday, watching Gabby the golden & 2 kitties. Lex is going to watch them 2 days while I'm double-booked ... Next weekend I will be staying with Indy & Farley (or Farley & Indy, as their owners phrase it), 2 spastic chocolate labs from Happy Tails. They live near Lex & my new job too. I will probably take Gabby to my new boss's 4th of July cookout. I get 4 days off from dog-sitting, then it's back to Gabby's house for 9 more days.

Busy ... Celebrations & stuff

I have so much going on. And all I want to do is rest. Man my neck is tight. Ow. My cousin Brian is in town and my whole extended family, all of whom I NEVER see, is going to dinner in Annapolis Sunday but I already have plans with my Brian's parents (Father's Day and his dad's birthday). We're going out to eat and I'm going to get to meet their puppy, Colby, a cocka-poo (cocker spaniel / toy poodle mix). This is significant because they usually don't invite anyone into their home. They really like me. :)

My sister & I are going to make dinner for Dad (& Mom) Saturday since my parents won't be around Sunday. They're helping handle a horse for a friend's wedding. She's going to ride up to the ceremony on it and then it's going to drive a cart w/ the newlyweds in it to the reception.
I guess I'll try to see my cousin during the day on Saturday.
Saturday night the Happy Tails girls are going out in D.C. to celebrate Ashleigh's 21st birthday. And one of the girls is going to be newly single, it seems. Poor thing. She's not taking it too well. And she's been working so much and is really unhappy I'm leaving. She's pretty stressed out. Hopefully we'll have some much-needed fun for all.
Brian will be going out Saturday w/ the boys to celebrate roommate Jeremy's birthday.
Sunday night Brian might take me to a concert at the 9:30 club. I've never been there. He likes the band ... Franz Ferdinand. I actually don't hate them, so it's nice to have something we can go to together.
There was talk of going out after my shift as my farewell, but I think I'm gonna be too tired. I'll just hang out w/ everyone at Ashleigh's thing on Saturday.

Monday I start the new J-O-B. When I get off, I go to Gabby's house for keys and final instructions. Tuesday after work I do the same for Indy & Farley. Wednesday I start sitting. I'm not going to see much of my sweetie. :(

At some point in the next week or two, I have to move out of my house. Haven't quite figured out how or when or where my stuff will go.

Another of the roommates, Tony, has a birthday next weekend. Then the 28th is me & Brian's 1-year anniversary! :)

WWWWWEEEENNNNNDDDDDDDYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!

Where are you?!

Letter to the Boss

Letter to the Boss

Amy,

I'm better at getting my thoughts down in writing than I am expressing them vocally, so I wanted to expand on our conversation with an e-mail, offering further explanation of my decision and detailing my gratitude for the wonderful experience I've had at Happy Tails.

As you now know, my best friend is the manager now at the [pet store name deleted] and they have made me a great offer. The appealing aspects of my new job include easier work, more money, they are now able to offer me benefits, I'll be closer to home, have weekends off and be working with my best friend. She loves it there; it's a great place. I am very interested in all the things I can learn there. The owner and staff are very knowledgeable. The center has been established in the community and surrounding areas for 25 years and is the place everyone goes for expert advice. I will be learning about all kinds of critters and their care. I will have the opportunity to work on special projects, including a newsletter and organizing dog and cat adoption days with local rescue groups. I will also have the opportunity to advance to management. Also appealing to me is the focus on information for the individual pet owner. I will be able to learn more about caring for my own animals, which will supplement the experience I now have of caring for dogs in a group setting.

I am truly sad about leaving Happy Tails but very excited to move on. From the time [my friend] took that job and started telling me about it, I've thought it sounded great.

I appreciate all the opportunities I've had at Happy Tails. I feel I've really grown a lot here. I have felt appreciated and valued and trusted. I've always been excited to come to work and to tell people all about my unique and fun job. I know you were ready to utilize me and teach me even more, but this is the direction I want to go in now.

A big part of what kept me from going before now is my loyalty to everyone who has been so great to me. You, Jill, Lindsay, Dara, Crystal ... everyone ... And so many of the customers. I care about their dogs and wanted to make sure they're being taken care of.

I knew from the time I met you in my interview that you would be a good boss. You somehow combine the toughness of running a successful business with the compassion for your staff members, solid relationships with so many customers who entrust their babies into your care and happily pay you for the service, knowledge about dogs (and all aspects of the business) and the sense to seek out more from other sources, trust in your employees, and the amazing ability to DO so much. I was one of those gazillions of people who came to you and said I wanted to open a doggie daycare. I now have some idea of the astounding amount of work and varied abilities required to do it as well as you have and feel it was a much better arrangement to have you running it and me just there to help ;)

Jill has been so great to work for too. She has always been super nice without sacrificing authority. When things are stressful, she's there with a positive, reassuring comment and upbeat attitude. She's been a great educational resource for dog behavior and health, customer service and co-worker relations. I'm sure you've been told what a terrific job she does of keeping things running smoothly when you're not there.

Lindsay and Dara have each been the perfect combination of supervisor and friend. They lead in a way that encourages effort and responsibility. I have learned a lot from their direct guidance and from watching what they do. Their strong points complement each other. Lindsay really helped mold me into a better communicator, especially with the customers. Dara always had advice when I needed it, especially on offering guidance to newer staff members. They both have always been great resources for issues with the dogs too. They each have a lot on their plates and have done so well with all of that responsibility. I will miss working by their side, helping them, enjoying their company and learning from them.

Same with Crystal. We bonded right away even though our shifts don't overlap very much. She has such a love for the dogs and a fun, spunky attitude. She very quickly stepped up to the role of creating a training program. We really needed it as we grew and she did a great job of organizing it and including so much valuable information. She also taught me a lot. In the beginning, it was about the dogs. Later it was about myself. I learned by her example to improve my efficiency, authority and confidence.

Stephanie was such a life-saver whenever I was working on the newsletters. I appreciate her awesome assistance on all things technical and visual and her willingness to help me late at night or whenever I needed. Again, even though our shifts don't overlap much, I'm glad we got to work together and become friends.

I also learned quite a bit about dog health and behavior from Ashleigh and Christina's experience. They were always more than willing to answer my questions and expand on anything I was curious about. Rachel was also patient with my ignorance about grooming and willing to share with me. I appreciate all that I will take with me and I will miss everyone very much!

Thank you so much for such a great experience!!!!!

-Laura