Granted Wishes Greyhounds: California

As the link indicates with pictures, I have moved to a beautiful spot in Southern California (SoCal). The hounds love it here, and I don't regret the big move one bit. It's a bit scary getting enough students and work to make enough money to afford to live out here (rent is a whopping $1,380 a month; that was the cheapest/best I could find!), but it's going according to plan so far.

We recently found a local dog park. This park is FREE, unlike in Michigan where I had to pay a membership fee. It's quite nice, but small in comparison. All the dogs we met were friendly, though one had definite guarding issues of its owner. Pictures to come when we go tomorrow morning.

So, why the big move to California? I left friends, family, and successful work for my boyfriend, Rick. When did this happen? May 25, 2010 we FINALLY became an official couple. He was my roommate's fiance in college my freshman year. That whole soap opera affair is finally over, and he broke up with her in February of this year. Upon accepting that it never would have worked despite his best efforts, we grew closer and closer until he finally realized (as I had known for years) that we would be great together. I was right... we are.

We drove over from Michigan (see enclosed link) over a period of 3 days. Day 1 we arrived in Olathe, KS after 14 hours. Kibeth and JoJo did fairly well. We stopped every few hours for a potty break/stretch. Kibeth was antsy: panting, slobbering, restless; but only at the beginning. Once we got going, she did settle down after about 30-45 minutes and nap with JoJo. JoJo wins queen of travel -- she was perfect. The 2nd day, we drove to Albequerque, NM. We stayed at La Quinta, and that was our first experience in a hotel. Much to my chagrin, both girls settled in instantly after a moderate walk and slept well. JoJo on the bed with me, Kibeth on the dog bed we brought along. Day 3, we drove over mountains and through the desert to reach our final destination at last.

Kibeth and JoJo love Rick. He's awesome if he drives my Vue with them in tow. They like how he drives much better -- he's super careful and gentle. It's so wonderful to have someone to go with on walks with the girls, and especially to the park, where he can photograph us. He's getting into photography as a hobby, and possibly has a side job. These photos I'm going to be posting will be fabulous for sure. ;-)

I'm open to suggestions for getting an online, public photo collection going. Maybe even some videos. iPhoto has a link to flickr. Any good? Google has Picasa, which Rick uses. Is that better?

Once I am stable income-wise and my credit card is paid off (I have 0% interest to survive the move transition), I fully intend to enroll in obedience and agility classes for JoJo. Kibeth hates car rides, so we'll see how she does going to/from the dog park before I make her endure regular car rides to/from class.

JoJo celebrated her 7th birthday on September 19th. Kibeth just turned 8 on October 26th. Gosh they're getting so old! You'd never know it though. This December, I will have had 5 glorious years with Kibeth. She's so hard to bond with, I can never tell if she really likes being with me, or just getting to do the stuff we do. JoJo is serving as my Emotional Assistance Dog (EAD) beautifully, and I'm beginning to use her as my service dog. If I have a panic attack while we're on our evening walk (as I sometimes do, unfortunately), she will let me brace against her to make it home if I'm a bit wobbly on my feet.

So that's what's going on. Sorry for the hiatus, it is now over. Just a bit more scenery for today: