Life Can Be Like An Online Casino

 There are so many things in life that are unpredictable.  You may think you are prepared for every possible thing, and then something happens that knocks you flat on your back.  It's kind of like your life is a game of chance, just like an online casino.  When we moved into this neighborhood, one of the biggest positives was that there is a leash law. But because our luck is the way it is, one of our neighbors has a dog who runs free.  This dog terrifies Brandi.  I have had words with the guy who owns it, and Ryan has had words with his wife (I do not agree with what Ryan did, and he got in trouble for yelling at an adult, but that's a whole other post).  We can not go to the maintenance man, because the dog owners are his friends, and he is aware of the dog running free, and does nothing about it.  I hate that Brandi is terrified to go outside now, but I don't know what to do.  We are new here, so I don't want to cause problems. 

I'm just thankful that we will be spending a lot of time at my mom's house this Summer, so she will not be stuck inside all the time.  Junior is also going to buy her a dog whistle, just in case this stupid mutt comes into our yard.  I just wish for once, people would obey the rules.  I mean, they are rules for a reason, right?

Dog Shampoo

My family had a variety of pets growing up. I remember having a huge fish tank, and my dad filled it with fish he caught in the lake. It was really cool feeding them, because if you held the food right above the water, they would jump for it. My parents also rescued a baby squirrel once. You know what? I think we might have had a couple of different squirrels. I remember bottle feedings, and the babies sleeping under the heat lamps. When they got old enough to go outside, they would climb up my dads leg. If I remember correctly, we let them go in a friends backyard because he lived in the woods.

We also had cats and dogs. There was one time my parents brought home a dog from the pound, and she had serious problems. She was petrified of paper bags, and would go nuts whenever we brought home groceries. I think she had a skin condition too, because she was always chewing on herself. I think my parents returned her to the pound because she never really adapted well to our family. There were five of us kids, and they needed a dog they could trust around us. We ended up with a Golden Retriever, and had her for years. She had papers, and was beautiful.

I remember my dad bathing her regularly with dog shampoo. She loved the attention, and always smelled clean. Does your dog smell clean all the time, or is he or she scratching all the time, and stinky? If he or she is stinky, you might want to try Dinovite's all natural dog shampoo Dogosuds. This shampoo rinses easily and leaves your dog smelling wonderful for a long time. It contains pure, therapeutic grade essential oils that have natural, healing properties. It is also a flea deterrent, which is great, and it contains no chemicals, perfumes, or fillers. This makes it easy on your dogs skin.

I wish sometimes that Brandi wasn't afraid of dogs, because I have fond memories of our dogs growing up. I would love my kids to experience that, too. Maybe someday, when she is a little older, we will be able to get a dog.

I really want a Golden Retriever.

The Right Dog Shampoo

I have cats. Two of them. They live outside.

I do not have a dog. The number one reason is that Brandi is afraid of dogs. Big dogs scare her a little, but she is absolutely terrified of little dogs. I have found that dog lovers have a hard time understanding her fear. Some can be downright cruel about it, but that's another post.

The second reason I don't have a dog is because they smell. Okay, so maybe that is a general statement, and not all dogs smell. But I have found that most dogs I have come into contact with do, indeed, smell. Do you have a dog that smells, or that is itchy and scratching all the time? Maybe it's because you are not using the right dog shampoo. I know if I had a smelly dog I would be bathing it every day until it smelled clean. I would use Dinovite dog shampoo, because it is known to make dogs smell clean, and not for just one day. It contains 100% pure, therapeutic grade essential oils that can heal your dogs skin, helping to keep him smelling clean. This shampoo is also a flea deterrent, which is awesome, because scratching fleas makes their skin flaky, which just leads to the whole smelly thing.

Will I ever be a dog person? Who knows. Maybe once Brandi gets a little older, we can try and help her get over her fear. I would like to have a small, shaggy dog. We had one years ago, before Brandi was born, but had to give her away when we moved. For now, we will love our cats.

Dog Shampoo

We always had a dog growing up. The last dog we had was a golden retriever. Her name was Sadie. I remember when I was in middle school, my dad bred her, and she had eight puppies. They were the cutest things, but they smelled so bad. I'm not sure if it was because there were so many of them in one room, or if puppies just smell. I remember my dad bathing them with dog shampoo before people came to look at them. They looked so cute all lathered up, but it was so hard to get all the shampoo out of their fur. I had the same problem with a dog named Woody we had a few years ago. She was white, with long shaggy hair, and it was always getting dirty. I would lather her up with shampoo, and it would take me forever to rinse her off. The shampoo would continue to foam, and it was impossible to rinse all of it out.

I wish I knew about Dinovite back then. It lathers nicely, and rinses easily. That's right, it rinses easily. It doesn't have any chemicals or perfumes, so your dog just smells clean. You can use it on sensitive skin, and it even works to remove skunk odor. My friend Jenn was recently looking for something to get the skunk smell off her dog, who was sprayed in the face. I need to remember to tell her about this shampoo.

Roxy's Issues

Growing up, we always had a dog. Most I remember vaguely, but one I remember fondly. Her name was Sadie, and she was a golden retriever. I don't remember how old I was when we got her, but she had a litter of eight puppies when I was in the ninth grade. She lived a long time, and will always be my favorite dog.

You would think with those fond memories I would have a dog now, but I don't. I am more of a cat lover. Not that there is anything wrong with dogs, but to be honest, I can not stand the way most dogs smell. This is a picture of my sister's dog, Roxy. She is a boxer, and she stinks.

I was checking out the Dinovite website, and they have a solutions center where you can enter the problems your dog is having, and they will recommend products that will help solve the dogs problems. I answered the questions about Roxy, and they said that she suffers from nutritional deficiencies. They recommended that an all natural daily supplement be added to her food; one that will work well with the grain based food that she eats. This should help to stop her itching and smelling.

I am sure my sister will be elated when I pass this information on to her.

Not So Friendly Neighbors

This afternoon, Junior, Brandi and I went out to look at the garden. The neighbor was outside with her friend, and they had the dog out. After a minute they got up and went in, but left the dog outside. As soon as they shut the door, the dog took off towards us at a full run, growling.

Brandi lost it. She was hysterical, screaming, scared to death.

Junior picked her up, and I went to knock on the neighbors door. When she answered, I told her that her dog, who was biting my ankles while I spoke, had tried to get my child. She said, "oh, sorry". That was it. Her dog continued to bite at my ankles, and she said nothing. So I told her that she may have chosen to have a pit bull around her kid, but I have the right to chose NOT to have one around mine. She got pissy with me and told me that her dog would stay out of my yard if my cats stopped spraying in her yard.

Um, okay. My vicious attack cats versus your pit bull.

I don't think so.

She has no intention of tying up the dog, so I came inside and called the management company. It took me about 45 minutes to get the owners wife on the phone, and when I finally did, i broke down. I told her what had happened, and she said that Chase, her husband, had been out earlier in the week. but they weren't home. She said she would call him and see what to do, and that she would call me back.

Five minutes later she did, and said she had spoken to Josh, our neighbor, and he admitted to having the dog, and was "very apologetic" about what happened. The owner gave him five days to remove the dog from the premises, and in those five days, the dog is not to be outside unless it is on a leash. She said she would be out Friday to make sure the dog has been relocated.

So, when we came home before, Junior waved to Josh because he was outside, and he just turned away. Junior went out to fix the wipers on our van, and the both of them were sitting on their front porch, looking at the lease agreement. I am sure they are looking for a way to get us into trouble. So we are going to spend the weekend cutting grass, and cleaning up the toys from the yard.

Well, Sunday we'll do that. Tomorrow I am going to watch Alex dance.

Progress

A plan has been made.

When Junior got off of work today, I had him take me down to the management company so I could discuss things with them. I walked in, and the receptionist asked if she could help me, and I told her I wanted to talk to someone about my neighbor. As I was speaking, a woman walked from the back hallway, and asked if I was there about the dog. I said I was, so she took me into her office so we could talk.

I told her that I hated to complain, but that something needed to be done. She knew what I was talking about; apparently she had spoken to Junior on the phone the other day. She said that she had spoken to her husband (the guy who owns the company) and they decided to come out on Tuesday to check our water meter. While there, they would happen to "notice" dog poop, and knock on the neighbors door. She said this would be a good way for them to not know that we complained. I told her that I didn't care anymore if they knew it was me.

I found out that once they talk to them about the dog, they will have five days to remove the animal from the premises. If they don't, they can be evicted. I told her I had pictures, and as I was leaving she asked to see them. They were still on my camera, so as I was scrolling to find them, I saw the pictures from where they hit the bridge. I told her that story, about how they weren't in any rush to fix it until Junior went down and started working on it. I realized while talking to her, and I told her this, too, that my neighbors are young. They may not realize that the things they do have consequences, especially for us. They were in no rush to fix the bridge, because they don't have kids who cross it every day. They don't clean up their dog's crap because it's in our yard, so they won't be stepping in it. Well, from now on, I am not cutting the grass on their side of the yard. I am not going out of my way to be nice to them, when they don't care about the things they do that affect us.

Am I rambling now?

Sorry.

Oh, and the water meter? They are coming to check because our water bill this month was really high. She asked if I knew why? I said I sure did, because our bathtub has been running for the past two months. I told her we called when it first happened, and then again a week later, and we were told someone would be out to look at it. She looked in her computer, and we are still weeks down on the maintenance man's list.

She said someone would be here Tuesday to look at it.

Finally. I just hope the dog is outside when they show up.

My Nemesis

Here is a picture of the pit bull that is causing me so much grief. I took these pictures yesterday to bring to the management company, so they can see what we are talking about. Doesn't she just look mean? I am so tired of her being in my yard, and to be honest, I am a little afraid of her, and I am never afraid of dogs. Well, I am afraid of pit bulls, because they are so unpredictable.

I hope something is done about this, soon. Junior is one step away from calling animal control.

I Can't Take It Anymore

I am so frustrated right now.

As most of you know, I live in a duplex. A few months ago, we got neighbors. They are a young couple, who just had their first child. For the first few weeks, the seemed nice enough.

Then the puppy came. A pit bull puppy.

Now, it against our leases to own one of these, due to breed restrictions. We have been nice, and not said anything. At first, they always came out with the puppy, and took it back in after it did it's business. Now, they just shove it out the door. It's now pooping in my yard.

Saturday, Junior went over and asked if they would tie her up when she's outside. She's getting big enough where I am nervous about her being around my kids. The guy said the dog would no longer poop in our yard.

Well, I went out this morning to water the garden, and the dog was running loose, again. And there are two loads of crap in my yard, where my kids play.

I don't know what to do. I am thinking Junior will have to let the management company know. I have to walk in front of their half of the duplex to get out the driveway, and it is getting to where the puppy comes and nips at my feet. Now, I know there are pit bull owners who think these dogs are great pets. That is there choice. It is also my choice to not have one around my kids.

Ug. What should I do? What would you do?

***update: Junior just got home, we discussed it and decided to call. The management company was understanding, and want me to call the next time the dog is outside. They will send someone out, supposedly to check on something else, so that they can see the dog. Then they will talk to our neighbors. They said they wouldn't say we called, and I really hope they don't.