The Old Ones

-Author Unknown

Although the author of the above is unknown, I would like to thank him or her for understanding the plight an older dog faces at an animal shelter. I am using the poem as an introduction to Watson, a 15 year old Dachshund, who is up for adoption at the Basset Hound Ranch.

It is believed that his human companion passed away and younger family members were unable to provide him a home. Obviously, they were not breed savvy or they would not have thought him to be a Basset Hound, but that is beside the point.

My daughter Kristi brought Watson home with her for a few days, but due to problems beyond her control, she was unable to keep him. The problems were not caused by Watson, with whom she fell in love at first sight and who not only was tolerant of the babies, but who was indeed, a gentleman dog with the best of manners.

So Watson is back at the Basset Hound Rescue and although safe and well-fed, I am certain he would love a warm, secure and loving home for his final days. If you live in Southern California and this touches your heart and if you have room for an old Doxie who is a bundle of love, let me know either through a comment or an email. I will be happy to put you in touch with the rescue group.

I titled an earlier post Twin Invasion after a visit from Kristi and the Babies to our Ridgecrest home. There have been many visits back and forth but this time we met in Lancaster and since Bob had two Military Officers meetings to attend over the week-end, we drove down in the motor home with the entire family i.e., two birds, two puppies, and a docile old doxie.

We were delighted when our daughter, Kristi and our twin grand babies, joined us for a Prime Rib dinner at the Elks Lodge on Friday night. Our Coachmen was parked behind the Lodge in their RV Park so after dinner, we all walked back so that the twins could meet the puppies for the first time. It looked like love at first sight on both sides of the pen.

We visited for awhile before Kristi had to leave and since her truck was in front of the Elks Lodge, Bob walked with her to get it and then return with her to the motor home where the twins and I waited. Suddenly, the puppies did not hold their attention, but every drawer, door, and nook had to be investigated. Grabbing the camera and following the search activity was this photographer’s dream. Eric played in the dogs’ water dish while Danica found the shower and the kitchen cupboard. I just clicked away happily.

Kristi and Bob were back quickly, babies were loaded into their car seats, and goodbye hugs and kisses exchanged. Then Bob and I returned to our home on wheels for a soothing glass of wine. Viewing the now quiet RV, I started to laugh, raised my glass in a salute and stated, “At the house we had a twin invasion, but tonight what we experienced was a twin bombardment.

. . . And a most delightful bombardment indeed!

I have been a victim of my own carelessness. Domain Registry of America sent out the above notice with the bold heading of Domain Name Expiration Notice. The letter with its tear-off at the bottom to send back resembled the return with check message that is common to all bills. Looking only at these two items and ignoring the smaller writing about transfer and renewal, I sent in a check for fifty dollars which they assured me was a bargain price for two years.

When my hosting service e-mailed me that I had been scammed into changing domain registers for more money per year and a hefty dollar amount to move from my current registrar, I was appalled. Fortunately, a lock was in place on all customer”s domain accounts because this had happened previously to another unsuspecting customer. As a result of this lock, the change did not go through. Thank heavens for good thinking and protective ways on the part of my hosting service.

As I stated I should have read the notice more carefully. As you can see, it looks like a bill in its familiar form. Cleverly, it has my Domain name and date of expiration. I believe it was designed to deceive the average person and I expect the scam works more than it doesn’t After all, I knew I had a Domain Name that would expire soon and that I would be expected to pay. When this sham came in, I wanted to pay it, like all my bills, promptly.

I called the company and told them I had misread the Expiration Notice and that I did not want to change domain registrars. They quickly assured me a refund check would arrive in four to six weeks. This seemed to make the notice less of a sham, however, a friend pointed out that what they are doing is against the law. She went on to say that there is a strong similarity to those old Publisher Clearing House or Readers Digest contests that stated “You’ve Just Won $1,000,000 Dollars!”, when you actually won nothing. You just got to spend your money for subscriptions for the chance to win. I believe, they were prosecuted for deceptive advertising and had to change their tactics. Domain Registry of America, in my opinion, is doing the same thing in a different manner.

This has shaken me greatly. I know of shams and schemes on the Internet and now I know what it feels to be the victim of one. Companies like this prey on the misinformed and we are all misinformed at times. What Domain Registry of America didn’t bother to include was that their price for two years was 40% more than what I am presently paying. They also failed to tell me that my currant registrar will charge me for the transfer and the maximum they can charge is $500 dollars.

I have learned an important lesson about reading carefully and I feel it is important to pass that information on to others by way of my blog. We all need to be aware of opportunists of this variety.

For further information on this comapny see the links below.

Court Bars Canadian Company from Misleading Consumers in Marketing of Internet Domain Name Services
Domain Registry of America” scam
Who will stop Domain Registry of America?
Registry of America Scam There’s an audio link on this one.

Yesterday our Doxie, Sammi ,went in for her yearly check-up and her shots. We were there at 3:30 and again at 5:30 because she suddenly puffed up like a very overweight Dachshund. We had to remove her collar as her neck was swelling rapidly and she looked extremely uncomfortable. Our second trip got her two shots, one for Benadryl and the other a steroid. Within an hour she resembled a happy hippie after smoking Mexican Gold. She slept through the night and woke with a voracious appetite . . . ready to tackle her breakfast and the puppies breakfast as well.

This morning it was the puppies turn to visit the Animal Clinic. They had a 9:00 appointment for their first check-up and their second series of shots. Needless to say, they were the hit of the clinic and everyone ooh-ed and aah-ed over them. Bob and I just stood around grinning like proud parents. I have been watching them all afternoon for some unfortunate reaction to their boosters. but so far all they want is a little extra sleep.

Tweetie also accompanied us to the Vet’s. It was wing trimming time and we decided to get it all done in one (well actually two) trips to the animal clinic. Parrots are funny. She talked and entertained us while we waited for the Vet to finish with the puppies. She kept requesting popcorn in a nice clear voice. I am not certain what smell or sound in the office triggered Tweetie’s desire for popcorn, but it was obvious that she thought somewhere in one of the cubicles there was a microwave and a bag of corn popping away.

There have been times that I wished I lived in a larger more exciting city, but there was something personal and unique about walking into Crestwood Animal Clinic to Dr.Sund who fondly remembered our Yorkie who passed away six months ago and who rejoiced with us in our decision to bring home two new puppies and to Lauren, the office manager who I have known since 1972. Lauren and I chatted about old times, dog clubs, and of course old friends. It meant so much to us that she took time from her record keeping to love a little on Lucky and LuAnn. So I count among my blessings, the sweet enchantment that comes with small town living.

So now it is late afternoon and I am happily at the work station. Tweetie and Josephine are enjoying a peanut treat, the puppies are curled up in their bed, and Sammi is asleep on the couch. It has been a good day.

We have survived the California winds, rains, and cooler than normal temperatures. Knock on wood, but I have not come down with a cold inspite of taking puppies out to a muddy, cold, backyard at two and five in the morning. There is nothing like sinking sneaker deep into icy and darn right frigid mud while attempting to catch two puppies to bring them back in so I can continue what is left of my night’s sleep.

All right, I know my blogger friends from the east coast and the mid-west are saying, “You think that is cold? Wait until I tell you what your California storm brought our way.” Unfortunately it is true that we Californians tend to whine a lot about weather.

I have arrived into 2008 a few pounds heavier, and a little more out of shape, I started back to the gym today. Then after watching the news on TV showing office work stations that include treadmills, I decided it would also work for a home office. I asked Bob to add a shelf to my treadmill, added my laptop and here I am typing this blog while walking at 0.7 miles. Granted this is a very slow pace, but it is easy to keep up with while using the laptop at the same time. For someone like me who has trouble chewing gum while walking, this is quite the accomplishment.

Since my treadmill is in the sunroom, I have the additional advantage of keeping the parrots company and watching LuAnn and Lucky enjoying the sun while in their outside pen.

We have a second treadmill in the storage shed so if this works well for me, Bob will set that one up for himself.

Update

Here is more information on Workstations that Bob found while on the internet. I found this very interesting and there are some things that I might add to mine. Anyway, if you are interested these are great links.

Steelcase Treadmill Workstation — Office of the Future?
Posted By adriamooney On October 29, 2007 (4:50 pm) In Uncategorized, Chairs and Furniture, Office Ergonomics, Human Computer Interaction, Product Design, Occupational Safety

I wrote in the past about the “walking while wo…
Article taken from The Ergonomenon - http://ergonomenon.com
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