GroupWBench

As I said last time there were about 3 other major things in 2020 for us.  First I wrecked my beloved Dorothy Ann.  Here she is all pretty and new to me. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To this day I still do not know what caused it but I crossed over the painted median, the oncoming traffic lane, off the road and sideswiped some cedar trees. I totaled my sweet truck. I was so lucky that there was no oncoming traffic. I didn't hit anything or anyone except the trees.  It was like I fell asleep but I did not. Everything just stopped existing for a moment and then I heard  the gravel on the shoulder looked up and hit the trees. The sun was very bright and in my eyes but I can't say for sure that was the cause. I wasn't hurt just scared. I called Stan and the cops, I even joked with the cops that Stan had thrown me much harder than I felt in the wreck. Then I had to explain about judo before the cop decided to arrest my sweet hubby. 

Dorothy Ann was totaled by the insurance company and eventually replaced with another Toyota Tacoma.

Unfortunately, as nice and as good a truck as the replacement was, we have never bonded like Dorothy Ann and I did.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another big decision for us was to begin a search for a puppy.  We had sworn off pets after we lost Chaos and Mischief, of course we had already messed that up by bringing Marina Jane, then Tuxedo Isabel in. 

 

So the search began in November.

We had some definite ideas for a new family member.  We knew we wanted a mid size male, one that could travel, hike and camp with us. I did most of the preliminary searching and I marked any that looked right then Stan and I would check them out together. I had my heart set on at least 3 different  dogs that for one reason or another didn't work out then I saw this cute little grayish pup that I would have sworn was a pit mix. It was not local but about an hour and a half away at a shelter so Stan and I drove out to see this pup. Remember this was still in the middle of the pandemic so we had to schedule a time, mask up and all that fun stuff.  When the shelter volunteer brought in a black and white pup that looked nothing like the photo they had posted, we said we'd check him out anyway. They said he was a lab mix and for some silly reason we believed them.       

His sharp puppy nails and vampire teeth did not dissuade us, and we adopted him on the spot. We did not even ask to see other pups. Remember I said we were more than an hour away…. well that little pup cried, shook, puked and peed all the way home. He was so small I used the cat carrier for him. It took about 2 weeks to decide on a name but the final answer was Tucker.  There were many moments when we both wondered if we had made a terrible mistake for as awesome as he was, he was also strong, stubborn and downright difficult. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As he grew in spurts as all dogs do we were sure he was not lab anything so we broke down and did the DNA testing.  The results were a little shocking.     

 44% Great Pyrenees        

40% American Staffordshire Terrier       

5% Australian Koolie       

4% Rhodesian Ridgeback                      

3% Central Asia Ovcharka

Two of these we had never heard of before. After some research we found that all are guarding or herding breeds and all are independent, stubborn and on the larger side.  So much for a Lab mix.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

The last thing for this year was the metal plate they had placed in my foot before broke.  Yep, it broke!  That meant another surgery to remove it, another few months of recovery. At least they did not need to replace the plate just remove it and the recovery was shorter than the first surgery.

              

 

 

 

you can see the breaks in the plate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well that's it for 2020.  I'll start 2021 next week.