It's about time for an update!!

Life has been hectic to say the least but I am happy to say it's been a good hectic for the most part. It has been an adjustment having Aaron back in the house. I don't mean that to sound bad but it had been just me and the hubs for over a year. Aaron is still on electronic monitoring. It has been quite the pain in the ass. A little description.... Aaron has a monitor around his ankle, looks like a watch. There is also a small "machine" in the house plugged into the wall. This "machine" uses cell phone towers to transmit it's signal. It's signal is dependent on the monitor Aaron wears. It's signal is also dependent on how well the cell phone towers are getting and receiving signals. If it rains, or is cloudy, and sometimes even windy this signal is disrupted. If it is disrupted there is a company that calls and Aaron and he has to take a piece off of the machine and take it outside for 5 minutes so it can connect again. The first couple of days this wasn't to big of a deal but by the end of the first week they were calling 7 to 8 times a day, one of those calls was around 2 AM. Aaron didn't have a phone so they were calling my cell phone since we don't have home service. Now when you miss answering a phone call they assume Aaron is not where he is supposed to be. I got a call from the probation dept. asking me to verify that Aaron was at home at a certain time. I mentioned to the PO when he called how often the phone calls were happening and at 2 AM I'm sleeping because I have to work and was told they have a lot of problems with the signals sometimes. It must have been coincidence that the call frequency dropped 75% after my complaint.

Ok enough of how things work lol! Aaron is doing great!! I kept him busy for several weeks. He painted the inside of the store and replaced the drop ceiling tiles. He has painted 3 rooms at home plus wood work and cabinets. He has been busting his ass looking for a job. Jobs are out there if you look for them. Even for felons. If someone tells you they can't find a job it's one of two reasons. They aren't looking very hard or they are not willing to take just any job until something better comes along. Aaron has had to turn down two jobs last week because he is not allowed to leave the state of Kentucky. We live 20 minutes from the state of Indiana. The two jobs required travel into Indiana. Probation dept said to bad, you can't go. He had an interview yesterday with the city gas dept. Four applied, two are being considered. Aaron is one of the two. Aaron has somebody pulling for him for this job. That person is the woman that Aaron stole from. Imagine that!!

Aaron is eating us out of house and home. Anybody willing to donate to the food budget? LOL! He has taken over most of the care of Maizy. He's still not willing to get up and take her out and feed her at 5 AM. I'm OK with that most of the time since I have other animals to take care of at that time anyway. About three weeks ago he had given Maizy a bath and she was running and jumping all over the house. At some point she jumped onto the couch and over my little 4 lb dog, Spirit, catching her on the head with her foot. It caused a head injury that we weren't sure she would live through. She is 11 years old but still in good health which worked to her advantage. She has been recovering nicely. 3 weeks ago she couldn't walk, today most people wouldn't notice what is wrong with her.

Maizy and Spirit on guard duty

I am doing good in the enabling/codependent dept. I did help Aaron get a prepay cell phone. He worked hard for it! He is now responsible for his check-in phone calls. Potential employers can get a hold of him. I have let him use my car twice. Once for a job interview and the other time to go to the college to get help with filling out his college app and filing for financial aid. It has been easier than I thought to trust him. On occasion mistrust rears it's ugly head but has been completely unjustified. 

Today we are good!!!

Finally!! Call number one!!!

Yesterday I received the call from parole for the home placement assessment. They are not going to do a home visit. They are aware of the firearms in the house and aware that Aaron does not have easy access to them. Aaron's home placement was approved. Now I sit a wait for the next phone call. The phone call to pick him up and bring him home. According to Aaron everybody that has been released on HIP have gone home the day after the home placement assessment. THAT IS TODAY!!!!! We are hoping anyway. I didn't get the call until 3:30 pm. I'm going to assume since the call was later in the day that it may not be until tomorrow. I told Aaron the same thing, hope for Wednesday but don't be surprised if it's Thursday!

I'm surprisingly ready for this!!!



Edited to add: As of 10:15 CST, the jail website now has a scheduled release date for Aaron of 2-21-13.
My boy is coming home tomorrow!!!!

Two down four to six to go

Until he is released! I'm getting antsy! I catch myself looking to far ahead and need to get myself grounded to the here and now again. Right now my biggest fear is relapse when he gets out, my second biggest fear, which is were I need to stop going for the moment is will Aaron take care of Maizy when the hubby and I take our annual trip to Vegas towards the end of April. I actually catch myself thinking about it more often. I keep coming up with alternative plans. Plans that can happen at a moments notice if the need is there. I feel like I will need a babysitter for Aaron to make sure he is taking care of the animals. I almost wish he wasn't getting out until May now. Normally my daughter would stay at the house while we are gone. That is not an option this year but I am able to take the little dog and sugar gliders to her house. I can board Maizy if I have to so that only leaves the cats at home who for the most part as long as they have food and water they take care of themselves. Daughter will be able to stop in and check on them also. I worry  more about relapse happening while we are gone. Then I start worrying about whether or not Aaron will have a job by then. How will he get to work and home. I can't leave a vehicle for him. We do not live within walking distance of anything! So the plan changes to asking my oldest son to stay at the house with Aaron but he also doesn't have a car but I am willing to leave a vehicle for him to use. OK, now that I have it all out there maybe I can get myself back into the present!!

Coming home soon?

It's a very good possibility that Aaron will be home in February. He was supposed to have an interview with the HIP (home incarceration program) coordinator yesterday. I'm assuming this did happen. He will fill out home placement forms listing our house as where he will stay. They will contact me in the next few weeks to do a home visit and then decide if he is eligible for the program. I am actually starting to look forward to Aaron coming home. Let's hope he can keep it together when he does!!!

More on Maizy

She's wonderful!! She's very sweet and loving, not at all hyper like we expected. She has overcome an issue with chasing my cats. She sounded like she was going to kill them when she would chase them. Finally one of them stood up to her and whopped her ass and she found a new respect for felines lol. I have decided she will need more training as far as walking out on a leash. She tends to pull way to much. She may only be 30 pounds but she is solid muscle. She wants to chase the squirrels and is very hard to control when other dogs are in the area, but otherwise everything with her is great!! I've added video of her "working out" in the gym!!!

Merry Christmas!!

Wishing you and yours a Merry Christmas from all of mine, including Maizy!!

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