On 3 August, GRACE goes home:

Ruffo, Michelle & GRACE

GRACE has joined the family of Roberto & Michelle and Airedale Ruffo on a trial basis. The dogs got along great; he's a big friendly guy who goes to the dog park several times a week and was excited to think he was going to have his very own playmate. ADOPTED!!

GRACE told me she liked it there. She had no problem running in and out of the house. At my house, she is very nervous about the sliding glass door. I don't think she had ever encountered glass before and after running into it a couple of times, was very leery of whether **this time** it was going to suddenly whack her in the head. She also stood quietly and let both Roberto & Michelle pet her . . . quite a lot of progress! ADOPTED!! by another family, as this placement did not work out.

I moved BLACKIE and NINA over here from the kennel today and closed out the account. So far, no problems between BLACKIE & the boyz. NINA thought she would try a little dominance move on Miss Rose, which was quickly and decisively quelled without violence. Rose told NINA loudly to fergettabout it!! and NINA, smart cookie, immediately went into submissive mode (meanwhile looking at me with a twinkle in her eye: "Ok . . . I'll let the long, tall girl think she's the boss". The home gang now kind of just rolls its eyes and says, "Oh, my God . . . she's brought some more in." ADOPTED!!

Naturally, BLACKIE's first instinct upon encountering a vertical surface was to hike his leg. I was able to strongly discourage that and, because he was wrapped up, didn't have to clean up the mess or worry about lingering smells and he got the unpleasant experience of wetting himself. His urge to mark has decreased dramatically in the weeks since he was neutered and I am hopeful it won't take too much to teach him that it is not the thing to do inside four walls. ADOPTED!!

The total costs for the Tucson 8 for boarding, neuter/spay, medications, etc., from 5/24/03 through 8/3/03 has been $3,096.88. Because of the fundraiser (Melissa sent me $1,500 from that), and other kind donations and the adoption donations, I have made it with some to spare. Once I get them all placed, I'll make sure Melissa doesn't need it and then send the excess to the ATCA Rescue & Adoption Committee.

It is kind of dramatic to get 19 all at once, but remember that volunteers all over the country are dealing with these kinds of numbers on a daily basis and it isn't cheap! Support your local Airedale rescue group!

Bad news comes in on 5 August, when Sidney writes:

Zen for LESLIE

LESLIE escaped over the wall of the back yard of her foster home on August 3rd. She was last spotted in a field chasing rabbits. The area is one of our new developments that borders the national forest, which in Tucson means mesquite trees, shrub brush and lots of cholla cactus. It is a young neighborhood, so there are lots of kids and dogs and joggers and walkers. Hopefully, LESLIE's love of other dogs will outweigh her fear of people and keep her close to civilization. There are lots of horse properties in the area with water troughs, so I am hoping that the smarts that allowed her to survive for a month in the wild will serve her well now.

Last night, I took BLACKIE & NINA out to the area she was last seen, hoping she might scent them. We have papered the area with posters showing how she looks now as well as how she will look when her hair grows out. She was wearing a bright pink collar and my Airedale Rescue i.d. tag and she is microchipped.

Please keep her in your thoughts.

On Tuesday night: A glimmer of hope

I was out this evening handing out more fliers (the lovely Homeowner's Association had torn down all we posted).

One of the guys I talked to is part of the K-9 unit and took a whole bunch of fliers, which he will hand out to all the cops who patrol the area.

When I got home, someone I had just handed a flier to had called on my machine and says he is sure that he spotted LESLIE just shortly after I gave him the flier. She was in one of the neighborhoods, which is fantastic news because coyotes are my greatest fear. She was hugging the houses, but not running . . . just sniffing around. She wouldn't let him get close to her, naturally. The neighborhood is only ten city blocks from where she lives. I called Stephanie and she & Jake (Golden Retriever) are out in the area now and maybe Jake can lure her home. As soon as I get the guys fed, we will all head back out there.

Keep that Zen flowing . . . I know it is what has drawn LESLIE toward home.

The next morning:

Stephanie & Jake had a lovely conversation with LESLIE last night. She was quite delighted to see them, but she would NOT be caught. She is running around happily in the area where they are building new homes, probably snacking on leftovers from the construction crew. I thought **maybe** I saw her little head peeping over someone's back fence as we went back to the car this morning. I didn't feel like I could beat on their door at 6:00 a.m., but Stephanie will go down later this morning to see if it might be her.

And that evening:

Stephanie looked in the back yard where I thought I saw LESLIE and there was no dog. No one was home, but we really doubt that if it was LESLIE, they would have been able to get her into the house. They do have a copy of the flier.

Stephanie, Hap & Jake will go back out at dusk, which is when these dogs wake up and start moving around. They spend the hot day holed up sleeping, so it is really useless to try to do anything then. Now that Stephanie & Hap realize just how fast LESLIE can move, they feel they are better prepared to try to catch her.

If they don't have any luck by midnight, I'll go out again.

I feel better now that I know LESLIE is hanging around civilization rather than out in the desert trying to fend of the coyotes and she is in an area of quiet winding streets where lots of kids play in the streets (i.e., no speeding cars to mow her down), but the knot in my stomach isn't going to loosen until she is back home.