Adventures around town

What a busy week we had!  My work days have been so busy, that our mid-day walks haven't been happening like I wish they would so that means more walks and adventures after work to make up for it.

On Monday we drove to Preuss Pets to do a little shopping.  It made for the perfect opportunity to get in a walk around Old Town and I decided to take a walk before going into the store to burn off a little energy.

Preuss has a lot of things that are very interesting to the girls and I don't take them there often, so they are always excited when I do.  Peaches especially loved this fish tank.  She also completely forgot how to act appropriately while we were there.  She tried to steal treats, she knocked over so many things, and nearly took the finger off of one of the employees who asked to give her a treat.  Thankfully Mina remembered her manners so I didn't look like the worst dog owner ever.

I bought some training treats on our trip, and I decided to take a second walk around Old Town after we left Preuss to practice our manners.

Thankfully they were more well behaved on our walk and I was able to get some nice pictures of them. 

We had a nice, peaceful walk which we all enjoyed very much.

And we made a stop for ice cream on the way home.  

Tuesday the girls spent a lot of the day outside. I was busy again, but I did take one short walk with the girls and enjoyed my crocus.  

After work, I was trying to figure out where we should go for our evening walk, and while I was driving aimlessly around town looking for that perfect spot, I decided we'd stop at Mt. Hope Cemetery.   It is a great place for a walk and we thoroughly enjoyed our time there. 

I was able to get the girls out for a lunchtime walk on Wednesday and another short late afternoon walk.  I was glad I could do that since I had to go to the shelter for our Wednesday night dog walking club.

We walked Rhydon and Bora Bora who were both really nice dogs.  It was a nice walk and, thankfully we made it back to the shelter before rain moved in for the night.

Thursday I was able to get the girls out for a walk on my lunch again, and I was glad I could because after work I had plans for dinner with Nicol, Tyler, and Fiona.  Our dinner was an early celebration of Nicol's birthday which is coming up this week.  She wanted Chinese and so I picked up takeout from our favorite spot and we ate at their house.   

This was Fiona's first time having Chinese food and she definitely approved! 

It was a quick visit, but it was nice to see them all.

Friday after work I met my parents for dinner in Owosso.   I thought I'd have time to get the girls out for a walk before leaving Owosso, so i brought them along with me, but dinner lasted longer than I expected and by the time I left the restaurant, the sun had set.  

I decided before heading home I would take the girls into the Tractor Supply and Pet Supplies Plus which were in the shopping strip behind the restaurant.  They sniffed and got some love and treats from employees at both spots, and then we took a walk around the parking lot before getting back into the car to head home.  It wasn't what I had planned, but they got out and seemed content with their adventure. 

We woke to a rainy Saturday morning with the promise of rain most of the day.  Surprisingly the girls were happy and content with a quiet morning at home, but I knew we needed to get out for some excercise despite the rain.

I loaded them into the car and we made a couple of stops.  Our first stop was in Okemos for a short walk on the Hartrick Trail.  Our walk was shortened even further when we reached a spot in the trail that was flooded and the rain had picked up to a petty steady pace.

We then headed to the Sycamore Trail for another short walk.  The rain had slowed down so I thought we'd see how far we could go and once again, our walk was stopped by flooded trail.  

We got back to the parking lot and the rain had completely stopped so we continued on along the trail in the opposite direction.  We ended up walking nearly two miles, but never got much farther than a quarter mile from the car.  We finally had to call it quits as the rain began to pick up again.

We got home and ate a late lunch before I had to leave to pick up a special guest visitor.

On Friday night, I learned about this little guy who had shown up at the shelter, turned in as a stray.  I asked if he could spend his stray hold at my house and was told he could if he hadn't been claimed by the end of the day Saturday.   So after a busy afternoon in the rain with the girls, I picked him up from the shelter.  He is just 4 months old and he'll find a home quickly, I'm sure.

I'm calling him Karl, and Mina is thrilled he is here.  He is a little nervous and unsure of things and he isn't always a fan of her obnoxious play style, but after a very crazy Saturday evening, they finally settled in for a quiet night.

They spent Sunday morning alternating between wrestling on and napping on my lap while Peaches got the whole sofa to herself.   Pretty sure she was very happy about that.

I then got brave and took them all for a walk.  We made it almost a mile pretty successfully

It was a gorgeous afternoon for a walk.

And then they snuggled some more.  Peaches was just happy they weren't jumping on her!

They got in more wrestling before I left them home and took a drive with Peaches to get groceries.  We both needed a puppy break! And after putting away groceries, we headed out for another walk. After all of the playing and the nearly three miles of walking, I'm hoping for a quiet night 

Karl is a very sweet boy with a few naughty habits, but I know with the right family, he is going to grow up to be a great dog.  This is the first foster I've had since Hershey died last year and is Mina's first foster.  She's going to need some work and I'm not sure she's the right fit for every foster dog, but she just wants to play so much!  I think she'll get better with time and experience.  

I will say that this experience has reinforced for me just how great Imke and Maddie were and how lucky I was to have them to help with so many foster dogs over the years.  I hope some day Mina will be just as good as they were, but if not, that will be okay too.  I love the little stinker and she's going to be awesome in her own ways.