Posted in In my humble opinion...

SoCS-3-11-23 Adopting Wesson

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “mat/met/mitt/mot/mutt.” Choose one or use them all, any way you’d like in your post. Have fun!



I didn’t have time yesterday to post a stream of consciousness. I may have skipped it all together, but the prompt gave me an opportunity to talk about a kind of ‘mutt’ dog you may not have heard about.

About 6 years ago, we adopted a dog from a rescue in Arkansas. My adult son wanted a companion and my cousin had worked with that rescue as a liaison to bring some of them to New England. {The abandoned dog numbers in the South are astronomical.]

We asked them which dog they had a special interest in ‘saving’ and we happily adopted Wesson. He was named for the man who had found him hairless and abandoned (at about 8 weeks old) whose last name was Wesson.
Wesson was labeled a terrier/lab mix to avoid the stigma attached to the Pitbull bloodlines, but I can see he has some of that too.
Then a year after we got this extremely smart and devoted dog and he became a member of our family, I saw an ad for a dog adoption site labeled “Potcake”. The dog on that page resembled Wesson in every way. So, I researched the label of Potcake and found the information below. I have no doubt that Wesson is a Potcake Dog. Having been located in the Delta region of Arkansas, all of the clues further came together.
I’ve only known one dog equally as intelligent. That was my former pal, Ollie who was an Irish Jack Russell.
Wesson has been a beautiful addition to our family. I encourage anyone seeking to adopt dogs to check out rescues in our southern states. They are quite desperately overwhelmed. Wesson’s specific rescue was from Humane Society of the Delta in Helena, Arkansas. I got another dog (Norah) from there two years later. Sadly, their transport system across the country has since been shut down because of our current dismal economy.
Hope you had a wonderful Saturday, my friends.


Potcakes are mixed breed dogs originating from the Caribbean Islands.[1] They can commonly be found near the islands’ beaches or wandering the islands as stray dogs, but Potcakes are sometimes rescued by organizations or tourists and, despite their unknown gene pool, have since evolved into a breed with a common look. Though Potcakes are mixed breed dogs of unclear descent, many share similar traits with one another.
Did you know? Potcakes were named after their original food source, which was the caked remains of pot rice and pea dishes. As strays on the streets, they had to beg for this food, and likely because of this, they are known for having especially tough stomachs and can supposedly handle some foods that other dog breeds can’t.

https://lindaghill.com/2023/03/10/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-march-11-2023/

Posted in Writing Prompts

FSS #2- Who We Are

This week’s teaser is:

To be clear, what you’re saying is that…


Jenna turned 55 years old and found out she was adopted all in one week. To her, the whole world was now upside down.
In one way, everything made more sense and, in another way, she felt as if her identity was completely erased!
She called her best friend’s cellphone in a panic.
“Hey girl! What’s up?” Natalie answered.
Between sobs, Jenna related the devastating news in a ten minute monologue. Natalie let her go on until a natural pause.
“To be clear, what you’re saying is that you are no longer ‘you’?”
Jenna replied, “I’m erased! All those years, and I haven’t a clue who I am!”.
“Wait, wait, wait, Jenna. I know the news is unnerving but take a breath. You are exactly the woman you were yesterday, Lady! You’re kind… you love your family… you’re my best friend, for God’s sake! Get a grip.”
Natalie then listed a large number of Jenna’s talents and accomplishments. Her lineage didn’t need to be perfect to realize who she is. It had obviously had no impact on how her life unfolded, even blossomed. In fact, Natalie explained, if Jenna had found out sooner, and enthusiastically dwelled upon her birth family history, she may have missed many opportunities that she’d already been blessed to have.
“Jenna. Remember that Critical Race seminar we sat through last Fall? You and I couldn’t understand what the useful possible purpose in it was? Other than to criticize unknown people and our country for nothing that truly defined them, we couldn’t imagine any. What defines us is who we all ARE, and how we lead our lives, not some lineage or transgressions of people we look like. You thought it was HORRIBLE! And now, you’re doing just that to yourself. Stop it!”
After a long silence, Jenna started to giggle.
“You’re so right, girl! That’s exactly what I’m doing. It was all nonsense. GEEZ!”
“You want to get together soon?”
“Absolutely! Gosh, I’m so lucky to know you! Oh, this weekend’s out though. There’s a mandatory White Fragility forum at the University. I’m bringing my headphones because there’s an audio book I can’t wait to finish.”
<Laughter on both ends>

Fandango’s Story Starter #2 – This, That, and The Other (fivedotoh.com)

Posted in Sideshows

Safe Versus Sorry

Foresight is a wonderful tool…

It had been too long since I had owned a dog. In 2004, I was able to convince my husband that it was not a desire but a need of mine.

Once that was settled, names,activities and breed types swirled in my head.

My sister and brother-in-law have owned many shelter dogs.They specifically are drawn to the older, more unlikely to be adopted ones.

I do family day care. I needed a dog without issues. My sister convinced me to look for a puppy to raise and train. Being home all day was the best situation for puppy training. She had heard of a new litter of Irish Jack Russells. I went to see the newborns but was wary of the breed being fit for a house full of kids and 3 cats.

When I met them, I was hooked!

The mother had a lovely disposition and one very special little guy licked the end of my nose when I lifted him in my palm.

Now to the “safer than sorry” part.

One of my daydreams was to take my dog on morning walks in my neighborhood. I live on a busy street but have a fenced front yard. After bringing Ollie home, I realized he may at one time or another have a chance to get out. I have a lot of “people traffic” through my doors.

From day one, I decided NEVER to walk him across the street.

My backyard leads up a hill straight into the woods.

When we walked and played it was always “up the hill”.

One day, my choice saved my Ollie’s life. He did get out! With 20 yards to the street, he opted to run up hill to the woods where I was able to catch him.

Whew!

My decision to give up daily walks was proved to be for the better!

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