Enter Maizy stage right part 2

Act 5976, scene 30120. Enter Maizy stage right.

Set: Inside pole barn, cat perched on table, inmates standing around talking, 6 dogs present.

Maizy leaps onto the table, head butts the cat off of the table into pack of patiently waiting dogs. Inmate #4 swiftly grabs cat saving cat from an untimely demise. Inmate #1 (Aaron) retreats with Maizy to her kennel. (end scene).

Yes, the above did happen!!

It has come to my attention that I didn't finish my last post. Don't know what happened there other than to say I must have gotten side tracked. 

Maizy, she is such a cute dog, I haven't met her yet. Her story is sad. She has been a throw away dog. She has been adopted several times and brought back to the rescue each time. She is a problem child. She does things she shouldn't, knows she shouldn't do them but does them anyway. Has a passion for food or as Aaron calls it, an obsession. Can dogs be addicts? The rescue here in town got Maizy from another rescue who also couldn't find her a permanent home.

After seeing Aaron's interview, I got my happy ass down to the jail for an 8 PM Friday night visit. Aaron walks through the door grinning asking if I seen the news. All I could say was "you confuse me". He went on to explain the circumstances behind his comment. Maizy is a rambunctious girl, she wanted to play with one of the other dogs but, said dog, didn't take to it very well and bit her. She ended up with stitches on both sides of her neck. Maizy was left with two options. Option one, she would stay at the rescue until somebody possibly adopted her because they could no longer offer her at the adopt-a-thon, or, she would go through the 10 week jail program again. This upset Aaron and knowing we had already offered to adopt her if he wanted her he told them his family would take her. Saturday morning I adopted Maizy and will get to pick her up when her stitches come out. 

The captain at the jail in charge of the dog training program was at the rescue while I was there. He explained what really has happened with the inmates and the dogs in this program. He said the first couple of weeks the inmates were frustrated with the dogs because they didn't seem to be learning anything. As the weeks progressed the dogs and the inmates finally came together and the dogs started obeying commands. As the  inmates seen the changes in the dogs the captain seen changes in the inmates. Bonds started forming. Not one inmate would admit they were bonding with these animals, but it was clear. Of six dogs trained, four were adopted by inmates families. 

I am both looking forward to her coming home and kind of not looking forward to it at the same time. Maizy likes to run, if she manages to get loose she will not stop running until she gets tired. I'm to old for that!! OK, who am I kidding, I'm not in shape to chase a dog. Maizy will have to be crate trained in an effort to keep her out of trouble. No, she won't be in a crate 24/7 but won't be able to have free run of the house when we are gone or sleeping. Of course for this to work with an energetic dog, she will have to be exercised regularly. I'm looking at this as a way for me to get my daily exercise in also. This may be a good thing as , well, bluntly put, I'm fucking lazy!! However, I can't wait to love on this, I am told, sweet, lovable girl.

When I was at the rescue filling out paperwork a woman working there told me I better take care of her girl, said I had no idea about all of this and started crying. Little did she know I know exactly what she felt. I have hand raised and re homed many animals over the years. Most recently two orphaned kittens, two weeks old that I had to set an alarm every two hours to bottle feed. Not to mention that four days previous to this I had to bury one of my cats who died very suddenly and unexpectedly. So anyway, under no circumstances, can Maizy not live at our house. It will be a big adjustment for all of us, probably more so for us than her. We are going to have to change our habits to accommodate Maizy in order for her to be the best dog she can be. I think Aaron sees a little bit of himself in Maizy ( I know I do) so failure is not an option.

How can you not love that face!!!

Enter Maizy stage right

We are adding a new act to the play called "Our Lives"

Act 1445, scene 327. Enter Maizy, stage right,
     Leaping in the air at the ball the dad is holding, Maizy gets sidetracked by the roasted chicken adorning the table in the kitchen just minutes away from the family sitting down to eat their supper. Maizy springs onto the table, grabs the chicken and darts under the table. Chaos ensues! (end scene).


OK, so a playwright I am not. No the above scene has not happened at my house, yet!

More on Maizy   There is a picture of Aaron and Maizy in this article but they have misnamed Aaron.

I have mentioned the program at the county jail with inmates training dogs. Aaron has been training Maizy for the past 10 weeks. Early on during one of our visits I had asked Aaron if he would be interested in owning Maizy when she came up for adoption. He replied no and stated several reasons. Again this past visit on Sunday I asked. He again said no and stated several reasons why. I said that is fine I just wanted to make sure because I didn't know what kind of bond they may have made and if he wanted her we would see what we could do. We left it at that AND THEN, Aaron is interviewed by the local news station about the program and the adopt-a-thon that takes place today.

Watch for yourself and you will see why I am confused by this man (boy)!

Inmates help rescue dogs find homes

A toast for all!!

May you have the hindsight to know where you've been, 
The foresight to know where you are going, 
And the insight to know when you have gone too far.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

The review

I remember in my mid to late twenties, working as a cashier in a grocery store. I had so many wonderful conversations with customers. I couldn't even begin to remember how many conversations I have had that were geared around how fast time goes by. Countless people would say... "if you think time is going fast now just wait until you hit 30"! I learned after 30 that they weren't kidding!! Of course once your in your 30 the saying becomes... If you think time is going fast now just wait until you hit 40! Once again not to long after turning 40 I discovered that they really knew what they were talking about. Forty to forty-five has been a blur, which in some moments has been a good thing. What I have also found is if your waiting for a parole review to take place at some point in a particular month... time, becomes very slooow!!! I was beginning to wonder if the day would ever get here. Well today was the day. I missed Aaron's first call. I hate when I can't hear my phone!! The wait becomes even longer wondering how long he will wait before he calls back. Do you have any idea how long twenty minutes can seem even though it's not any longer than any other 20 minutes of any other day. HA HA how do you like how long I have drawn this out? Does it seem like "forever"? OK back to being serious. The verdict is parole upon completion of a substance abuse program. This mean he will not be home in December. At some point in December he will be visited by somebody on the board and they will let him know where he will go. Now here's the kicker. If they tell Aaron he will go for 3 months he'll go and will be out in March. If they tell him he will go for 6 months he will refuse the program, lose any "good time" he has accrued and be out in March. No, that is not a typo It's March either way. As I see it right now there is a serious flaw in this program. Aaron applied for the SAP program last October. He has never been called up for it and now with only 5 months left they want him in a program that has the potential to be a year long program. I personally do not see any inmate no matter how serious they are about maintaining their sobriety staying in a jail setting any longer than they have to. So March it is. It's very confusing to feel disappointment and relief at the same time, disappointment because he won't be home for Christmas again this year but relief because it's five more months free from the stresses that accompany being a POA. Let the countdown begin. I bet it flies by!!

Still waiting for a decision

Aaron's parole hearing is this month. No word yet. I am starting to get excited about the possibility of Aaron coming home, and hoping that we don't end up disappointed instead.

Possibly not much longer?

In about a month Aaron will find out if he makes parole. If he makes parole he will be home in December. If parole is denied he will be eligible for release with the HIP program in February. Now here is where it gets tricky and confusing, if he is told he will be paroled upon completion of the SAP program then the game changes. As I understand it right now.... Aaron plans to refuse the SAP program at this point as it will keep him in jail longer than what his actual time left to serve and also means he will not be out in Feb on the HIP program. Although I really would like for him to complete the SAP program I can understand why he would refuse it now. Considering he applied for the SAP program a year ago and still has not made it into the program. He has completed several other drug programs while he has been in jail. He has forwarded all of his certificates of completion to the parole board to make sure they are aware that he has taken every other opportunity that has been offered. He is currently in the STEEP ( I think that is what he said) program. Right now he is learning CPR. There are also job opportunities at the end of this program. Of course we all know the real test will be how well Aaron can handle sobriety once out in the real world again. I'm trying to have faith that he will be able to do this. Hopefully the faith will build from the right actions from Aaron. Right now I don't have much faith that it will happen. No sense in getting my hopes up? 

Our new hobby

So I got a wild hair up my arse and decided I would like to go canoeing and camping. We have always camped. We still camp with a tent but ( in my opinion) we take to many comforts from home with us. It should not take two vehicles plus the boat to get all of the supplies for a two night stay to our destination. I want to take minimal supplies so canoeing to our destination has made that possible. 

The beginning of our trip.

We managed to turn it over. one of the coolers came open and we had to chase water bottles down the river. I told him shouldn't bring that lantern!

Our island retreat

I can't wait to go again!! We had a blast!! I will have to admit that the next time we go we will have a slighter larger tent, an air mattress and a battery operated pump for the mattress. We tried without the air mattress and learned that it is not a comfort from home we will give up again.

An update of sorts

Still visiting Aaron every week, our visits are good for the most part and I still enjoying seeing him weekly. He is now convinced he will be out of jail by Christmas because he was told by somebody that he should get some time served for completing rehab, blah, blah, blah. I'm not holding my breath on this because I personally don't consider his participation for 3 months at a homeless shelter as rehab. He has written the judge asking to be giving this time off of his sentence. Whatever!! 

I'm going to have to go back and check my posts to see when I mentioned Aaron starting a new substance abuse program in jail. This program is a 12 step program. Sunday Aaron said they have completed the steps and he should be getting a certificate of completion soon. I'm wondering exactly what is involved in completion of the 12 steps. I didn't know they could be completed so quickly, or so it seems to me it was quick, I really need to check for that post. Is there a difference between completing and actually "working" the 12 steps? If he's been "working" the 12 steps then where the hell is my apology??? I think I really need to learn to let that one go but it's hard when you feel you genuinely deserve one.

And now for the brother update

He is out of jail. I don't know all of the details except for....drum roll please!!.... the "girlfriend" he is charged with assaulting bailed him out!!! She's an RN, works hard for her money and yet was stupid enough to put $2500 up to get him out. I'm taking bets on her thinking she can be the one to change him!! PUHLEASE!!!!! 

And life in general

Going back and reading this post I see I sound pretty pissed off. I'm not really, just very tired. The last few weeks have been hell. It started with finding one of my sugar gliders ill. During his recovery one of my cats managed to get a hold of his tail through the cage. He is now missing almost 2 inches on his tail. He is recovering very nicely but it has been discovered that he is blind. This blindness probably caused the illness to begin with because he couldn't find his food. It is also the reason he wasn't alert to the cat being by the cage. Poor little guy!! During his recovery and while he adapts I am getting up several times a night (they are nocturnal animals) to make sure he eats and then to make sure he gets his "naps" in also. My kids as newborns weren't this much work!!

On June 17th a body was pulled from the river. Several days later the body was identified and it was my cousin. My cousin had been homeless for many years. This was by choice. To my knowledge, he is not and addict or an alcoholic but did have some kind of mental illness. He had several family members he could have stayed with but he just didn't want to. He liked being alone. He had just gotten out of the county jail on June 9th. He did 2 years for burglary but ask anybody that knew him and they would tell you the same thing, winter was coming, he's getting older (54), no excuses but it is the most likely reason, he wouldn't burden family. On June 13th, he had been at the home of his foster sister (his mother raised her). He had dinner at her house and played chess with one of her kids. She has numerous children in her house, some biological, some adopted through foster care and some are foster kids. She has always taken in high risk children. On June 29th, two 16 year olds, an 18 year old, and a 19 year old were arrested for his murder. The four kids that were arrested are her kids. One biological, 2 adopted and one was placed in her home about a month prior to this night. They called my cousin, Uncle. It makes no sense. They stole his atm card and bought $30 worth of snacks and drinks at a gas station. One of the 16 year olds has now been let go but may still be charged at a later date. The cops were told by the mother that one of the kids had placed his hands around her neck and looked at one of the other kids and asked if they ever wondered what it would be like to choke a person until they took their last breath. My cousin was beaten and then choked to death. He was then tied up and put into the river. He didn't defend himself other than to put his hands up to his face while he was being beaten. He would't hurt a fly, he was a very gentle man. We used to talk on the phone on a regular basis until the mental illness took over and he took to the streets. We hadn't talked in over 20 years but he always kept in contact with his mother and brothers. What a tragic world we live in.