Well not yet, really. But, since I have been off of work, I have been spending a lot of time with my dogs. And they are awesome-sauce. I hesitate to tell you how many we have. First, understand that all but one is a stray that either showed up at our house or that we picked up on the side of the road. Also, each one was checked for a microchip. Several of them we tried to get homes for but most people only want a puppy and not an older dog. It’s tough out there people!

And for all of the complaining and yawing my husband does about the dogs, he is worse than I am about picking up animals! Mostly, he comes home with birds, a crow, a screech owl, a Rosetta Spoonbill, etc. The owl was just stunned and flew off into the night. The other ones we have taken to the Texas Wildlife Rehabilitation Center here in Houston. It is a great organization. But it isn’t for dogs nor cats.

Have we tried shelters? Of course, but most will not take a dog if you call up and ask them to. I guess you have to drive up and drop the dog at the door? I mean we’ve tried them all at some point, SPCA, CAP, Humane Society. Anyhoo.

So to lighten things up around this joint, I thought I would begin introducing you to some of our besties. While they don’t have anything to do with my health issues, in a way, they really do. They keep me company when I am stuck in bed with migraines and nausea. They give me a reason to get up in the morning and to stay on a schedule (you know, feeding schedule!), they make me laugh out loud with their antics sometimes. They help to keep me grounded and they keep me from being too self-centered all of the time.

So first up will be the more famous of our hounds, the lovely LuAnn. You can find her on FB as #Luannticcs. LuAnn hails from the side of the road between East Hungerford, Texas and nowhere. I was on my way to pick up my nephew for a holiday visit December 2012. It was in fact the coldest weather we have had in years. As I was driving, I saw a reddish spot on the left side of the road. It looked like a puppy. I swung around and threw my hazard lights on. She was skin and bones and she growled a little at me from the bank of dead weeds she was trying to hide in. I coaxed her and got hands on her. She was so full of fleas, it gave life to the cliche “her skin was crawling.” It was insane. She was literally starving so we drove through McDonald’s for a sausage/egg biscuit. She swallowed it in 2 bites. Then, she drank almost every drop of the water I had with me.

She slept the whole way to the destination and then back to the house again, almost a 4 hour trip. We got her washed up and fed and well, the rest is history. LuAnn is almost 4 years old and a healthy if not overweight 70 pound hound. Now LuAnn has some issues to say the least. For the first maybe 4-5 months, she was a chewing machine. We normally have a doggie door we keep open at all times for the crew. But that came to a halt for awhile when we first got LuAnn. She ruined several good pairs of my husband’s shoes and a few of my books. There were also several pillows, sheets, and blankets involved. She finally just stopped, Thank GOD!

Now you may ask, why is she FB famous? She is goofy as hell. And when I say goofy, I mean goooooofy!! So needless to say, we have some great snapshots of her, well, being Goofy! LuAnn is also afraid of the riding mower, although she will chase it around the yard. She also will bite at the weedeater. She does not like when I sweep the floor or when I vacuum. She took over one side of the couch. While she has somewhat of a sweet disposition, it also seems like she has a loose screw. She is not the brightest bulb in the pack if you know what I mean.

Happy Friday, my peoples. Soak up some LuAnn. She is known for bringing a smile to those she meets! -B