Samson Arrives After All

 

Like always when I decide to do something I keep thinking about it, did I make the right decision? I kept thinking with his breeding, a littermate of Watson, he should be a good bloodhound. After 21 months maybe he could use a different environment. I was pretty sure my three would be okay with him. Their only experience of having another dog here was last spring when the bulldog Hank stopped by to visit.

So sometime after 10am and about the time I was going to text the owner to tell him that I had changed my mind and I would take him. The picture above showed up from the owner. How could you resist a face like that ??? LOL

I Deleted The Post About Samson

 

I deleted the post I wrote yesterday about adopting Samson because it's not going to happen. The later the night got, the more thoughts of common sense came into my head. Various reasons to adopt him a just as many not to. A few years ago when I was thinking of rescuing a basset hound or bloodhound, I can't remember which, a friend told me "Steve you cannot save all of them". That rang true last night.

The problem was with him, unlike Stella in 2015, Samson has a biting problem. Some things might be consistent in what causes him to turn aggressive but it was said he could at a "flip of a switch" for no reason. THAT would be hard for a non-profession trainer (me) to fix. It would take a lot of time and training to get him past that.

For all the time it would take would be less time I spend with Watson, Henry and Walter. Less attention for them to give attention to the new bloodhound. No matter what anyone says, you can only give 100% and it's hard to spread that out evenly.

Watson has really responded to his new training. I would hate to change his routine right now and have him compete with a new bloodhound that would be in a lot of training. Even if Samson got along with all my hounds and the dog, who's to say one of mine would not like him moving into their territory or want one of their bones. I am afraid it would turn into a hound/dog fight that I could not break up.

This morning I notified the owner and the lady that is trying to place him. I have not heard back from the owner but I have from her. She understood but it was hard to read "you were the best chance he had".

I may have been but those words ring in my head "Steve you cannot save all of them".

Just An Update

This a different kind of post and really nothing more than letting you know I have a pulse. The hounds and dog continue their normal routine although most of the days this past week they were dodging standing water when they went outside. The large rug inside the patio door is doing its job, thus the hound and dog paw prints are at a minimum on the floor when they run back inside. 

A Long Discussion About The Yard

It was darker outside when I took these four photos. It is the first trip outside for the hounds after they woke up. Walter always stays inside until after he eats. You will notice though, the standing water was already gone at 6:30am, soaked into the ground after all the rain we had up to midnight light night. It was good to see, with sunshine and mid 50's today, at least for part of the day.

As Predicted - A Wet Wednesday

Warning ---- only one dog and no hounds photos tonight in this short, unplanned post. Two --- I know all about the rain in California and this is nothing compared to that but California rain has nothing to do with this blog post. Three --- Walter will NOT go outside no matter how long he has to wait to poop and pee. Luckily he went out after his lunch and right before the rains started around 12:30pm. It is 5:16pm local time as I write this with solid rain until a little past midnight.

Wow Was I Confused ???

 

I was confused yesterday when I said I did not have any new photos because I found some this morning on my iPhone. Then I am still confused today because when I uploaded the photos I took this morning (shown here) plus the "missing" photos, I saw I had used the "missing" photos here on my January 9th post. I had used my iPhone, Nikon, and Cannon in the past 8 days. Luckily when I load them into my "Import" file here on my iMac they are sorted date taken.

Blogger is also confused today. I have uploaded the photos in this post 4 different times and Blogger still puts them in reverse order than the way I loaded them. I even shut down my browser on the last two attempts but it did not work. So all these photos except the last two, were taken this morning.

Some Old Hound And Dog Photos

It might say it's 51° this afternoon but it still feels cold while having a day of light rain off and on with an overcast damp feeling to the air. So when I checked the photo import folder for recent hound and dog photos, I did not find any new ones since my last post. I felt like blogging today so I went back into my photo library and found a few older ones.

This is Heidi in July 2011. It was one of her photos on her adoption ad at Basset Hound Rescue. I made arrangements to drive up to met the foster mom and her in a parking lot in back of shopping center in Merrillville Indiana. She was happy to sit on the extended bed in the passenger seat for our 4 hour drive home.

A Surprise Snow

The two times I got up in the middle of the night, I would look out the window at my neighbors security light and could tell it was raining and the wind was howling. I didn't expect any rain but the last time the hounds came inside last night, it was cold outside and actually felt like snow was on the way as I stood on the patio. 

Leading the hounds and this morning, the dog to the patio first thing in the morning I didn't know there was any snow until I turned on the patio light. Watson and Henry loves the snow so they were right out in it. Walter didn't hesitate either. He has changed a little this year as he will go outside in bad weather. He did not before under any circumstances.

Birds Or Squirrels ?

Stepped outside a little past 12:30pm today and it felt like a day in April. It was 42° and April is still four months away. The day was still nice and with a jacket and hat on, it was nice to sit out on the patio and enjoy the sunshine.

We're Back

I know, I know, never say never. I guess I just needed a "rest" from blogging for a month. The urge to blog again had become a daily thing recently so here we are. Me, the hounds and the dog. 44 photos in this post to catch up and a surprise at the end. I went hiking yesterday at New Harmonie SP with my old friend. 44° and 4.8 miles later, I was feeling it in my hips and legs last night. That's good.