My Dogs, documented criminals

Sam and Cheney are now documented criminals.

Yesterday when I got home, there was a note taped to the door: My dogs had been picked up by the Animal Control Police and taken to the pound. I was immediately furious. There has been an ongoing, low level anti-Sam and Cheney campaign in the neighborhood - - - they bark, a lot. When Sam is outside, he wants to be in the garage, he barks and whines; when Cheney is a little hungry, she barks in a little boxer way. So, I figured, it was a little cold, a little windy, and Sam and Cheney's barking had finally pushed the nice lady behind me over the edge and she called the Animal Cops. I was soooooo mad, I was thinking of all kind of evil anti-neighbor things I could do (remember, I am a Green Beret and trained in such creative stuff) but decided not to do anything because it could cause a problem.

I went to the vets and got all of their shot records and drove through DC/Northern Virginia holiday traffic, STEAMING and SEETHING at my neighbors, the traffic, the fact that the Animal Shelter was soooooo far away, the radio (there are honestly no good radio stations in the nation's capital outside of NPR), and at the Animal Control Police. The nerve of those folks, going into my backyard and grabbing poor, little Sam and Cheney because they barked a little bit. That is one of the 4 or 5 things that dogs do: They eat, sleep, go for walks, and poop. I had visions of a draconian dog catcher, breaking down my gate, using one of those pole catchers to drag Sam and Cheney out of their houses and putting them in a big truck full of other snatched dogs.

I had my speech all lined up and was ready to vent my anger. I finally found the pound (Animal Control Shelter) and seethed in line, I got to the front of the line and presented my documentation to the lady that works there - - - I decided not to get mad at her, she was really nice, cheerful and helpful, I would get angry at the dog catcher.

I patiently asked the lady (she was wearing a santa hat, who can get mad at a santa hat?) why my dogs had been arrested and she checked the record. She had to call her supervisor over to help her with the computer, I also didn't get mad at the supervisor (she had a Christmas sweater on, who can get mad at a reindeer sweater?) and she told me that Sam and Cheney had attacked another dog, the neighbors had to separate them and animal control had to be called.

What? Huh? NO WAY. My dogs stay in the backyard, was the other dog in my backyard? Nope, Sam and Cheney had made a break for it and were roaming the neighborhood when Toby (my neighbor's very cute and well behaved - - so well behaved he doesn't need a leash when he plays in the front yard) came outside for his afternoon play. Sam and Cheney went into attack mode and the rest is well documented by the Fairfax County Animal Control Police.

Apparently, during the very high winds the gate to my backyard had blown open and enabled the crime spree. when I got back home and checked the latch, it was misaligned and would allow it to be opened by the high winds.

Fairfax has a dangerous animal law, if an animal attacks a human or companion dog more than once, he or she could be destroyed. I talked to the Animal Control Officer (a really nice lady, who can get mad at a really nice lady when she is carefully explaining the crimes my dogs committed?) for a while, she was concerned about Cheney being so skinny, I told her about the blanketectomy, damaged pancreas and pooping processes. She pretty much told me that she didn't think that Sam and Cheney were dangerous dogs, but they had to be entered into the system.

When Sam and Cheney were brought around, they went into their "totally innocent" act: Cheney started bouncing like a boxer, licking everyone's face. Sam sat down and put his paw up for a handshake, which is his way of breaking my anger at him down. Both of them were flashing their brown eyes, which normally make me lose all of my anger at them; totally unfair, but works every time.

After paying Sam and Cheney's fines and license fees, I recovered my criminals from the pound and headed home. I went to talk to my neighbors, a really nice Indian family, to check on Toby, they said it was no big deal and were worried that I would not know that Sam and Cheney had been arrested in time to get them out of the pound prior to the holiday shut down. I also paid Toby's vet bill, no damage done outside of dog-pride.

The criminals are now sleeping in their cage in the garage. They didn't get a walk last night, I figured they had enough running around.

Other news, Fantasy Football:

I am not in last place in the family Fantasy Football League, I am slightly ahead of my niece, Sydney. Syd went with the all name team, focusing on Seans and Jacksons (who knew LeSean Jackson was going to have such a season?). No science or analysis, just cool sounding names. She is close to passing me up. If she does, I have to keep the trophy (a fantasy football strategy guide that Wade found in a bookstore) for a year. There is a bright spot, my brother in law Mark is fading back to me. If I have a few more good weeks (come on Aaron Rodgers and Peyton Manning) I may not have to keep the trophy and Mark or Sydney will have to.

Cold, cold riding

Well, I am determined to keep riding to and from work, I figure I can keep going until there is ice and snow on the bike paths. There are a couple of areas where I depend on a bike trail for my route, I figure I can keep going until those routes are covered. Bikes and ice don't mix.

With the cold, I had to break down and buy a pair of riding pants, basically riding shorts (padded in the right spots) that have an extra layer of insulation in them. They were a huge plus. I have also started to ride in a pair of snow-boarding mittens. They have a finger slot so my hands look like a lobster's hands. The finger lets me shift when I need to, when I am in an area where I don't have to shift, I put my finger with the other four fingers. I carry the pair of gloves Aunt Faye gave me three years ago in case my hands get too hot. That normally happens in the afternoons when I ride home. the mittens are great for the cold mornings (normally the temperature drops right before sunrise, exactly when I am riding), but can be too warm for the afternoons.

With then new routes that I take I end up riding 13.6 miles in the mornings and just over 14.5 in the afternoons. In the afternoons I go around one of the hills that I hated (basically it was riding up a steep hill so that I could ride down the other side): It took me down a steep hill on Van Dorn avenue, to a big intersection at Kingstowne Mall, then back up a hill behind the mall area. By staying on top of the hill I avoid the big intersection and going down a hill with a lot of traffic. Going down hills is fun, but if there is a lot of traffic, it takes the fun out of it.

OK, non-riding stuff. I am buying a house in DC, 5618 9th Street Northwest. A very nice house, 3 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms, big deck and a 2 car garage. The house is a detached house, very rare in DC. It has a small backyard, but is fully fenced. The area is in the process of gentrification - - a lot of the houses that are on the market in the area are houses that were foreclosed on and re-done. The house has a new kitchen, new appliances, new plumbing, new wiring, new HVAC, windows, floors, mostly everything but the bricks and roof. The roof is a slate roof that is supposed to last the life of the house. I thought it was a good deal, I will find out what the appraisers think of it next week.

It is kind of interesting to compare the googlemap streetview pictures (if you don't know what that is, ask a teenager please) which represent the "before" and the "after" house pictures from the real estate webpage. I will put the link in here and see if it works.
http://mrislistings.mris.com/Matrix/Public/Portal.aspx?k=2325295XPTU5&p=DE-129373979-855

The most frustrating part of the house buying process this time for me has been the mortgage process. I have had 12 mortgages over the past few years, mostly on my rental properties, some re-financing and so on. 8 of those have been paid off and I never had a late payment. Most of those mortgages involved sending some paperwork, talking on the phone, lots of signatures and a quick approval. This time around most every aspect of my financial life has been under the microscope. So, if you are out there in the house buying mode, be prepared for intense scrutiny from your bank.

Sam and Cheney updates

Cheney is over her stomach problems and putting on weight. For folks that aren't tracking on Cheney and her digestive history, I'll give a brief history. Cheney is a pure bred boxer and has a narrow rear end, as most boxers do. Because of her narrow rear quarters, she was prone to digestive problems. Her first problem was a twist in her intestines; now her intestines are stapled to the wall of her stomach cavity so they can't twist. About a year after that, she ate part of her blanket, which didn't digest well. Another operation (the blanketectomy) later, she was fine. Somewhere along the line her pancreas was damaged. The damage caught up to her this year and her pancreas stopped producing the enzymes that allowed her to digest her food properly. Bottom line, she would eat, then poop, and it wasn't the optimal sort of poop the dogs in the TV commercials brag about. A very sharp vet at Hayfield Animal Hospital recognized the problem and solved it to my great pleasure (cleaning up non-optimal poop is no joy). Now Cheney poops mostly normal, as normal as a dog with 8 inches fewer intestines can poop.

Sam pretty is pretty happy, he no longer has to figure out how to walk along the paths trying to avoid the non-optimal poop.

Enough of that . . .

Husker Update

The Huskers ended their Big 12 career with a second straight loss in the Big 12 Championship Game. Good game, but we had no answer for the defensive speed of the Oklahoma Sooners. Our prized freshman quarterback (Taylor Martinez) looked like a freshman quarterback instead of the lightning fast, hyper-accurate passer he was in our earlier victories. I don't think the offensive game plan really helped him out. There were no quick pass routes opened up, no real misdirection plays and no reliance on what was working: The Rex Burkhead led wildcat ground game. I have no idea why the offensive coaches went away from that type of play, 4-8 yards a pop and the most accurate kicker in Nebraska history - - Alex Henery.

Ten wins is ten wins though, with a good chance for 11 wins with a bowl victory. I hope the Husker faithful think well of this, I distinctly remember the torturous Callahan era and remember the 4 win, losing seasons that brought us.

Oh well, next year . . .