Where have I been?

Dealing with this 

Between T-giving and C-mas we found a pretty little girl who was shot and left for dead in northern MN (that's the tundra for those of you not from here.) The group I work with rallied around her and managed to raise $15,000 for her medical care. The major university in town used experimental surgery to remove portions of her stomach and she is expected to live a hearty fully life. Sweet huh? Because we were picked up on 4 local stations and CNN, it has been CrAzY here for the volunteers.

But since we saved a life, I'm imaging I'll be forgiven right?

Take a look at Miss Orphan Annie, how cute is she?

There is a local car dealership that is donating all of their space for a HUGE party for everyone to meet her, people  have been sewing her coats to keep her warm in the sub-zero temps since most of her fur was shaved off, donations have come from as far as TX and NY. It's been a crazy response, but makes me feel so good that for all the crappy people I meet in this line of work that there are some great ones out there. 

I like me some challenges....

...apparently. 

First off I want to say belated Happy New Year and all that jazz. Hope the life and the furrys in your lives are treating you well, if not better. 

A new guy came to town right before the New Year and let me tell you, this guy puts the Great Jackdini to shame. I have a feeling this guy is going to stretch my dog resources to the max. But hey, if I wanted easy I'd have kids right? Kidding. (I'm gonna get slaughtered by bi-ped moms just for saying that.) 

Hawk is 2 years old (I think) yellow lab/Coonhound mix. He was abused as a puppy and then ran away or was dumped and ran wild with a pack of 5 stray dogs in the country for 6-8 months. He was live-trapped and set for euthanasia when he was rescued by his first foster mom in July. Poor guy knows NOTHING about humans. He was with first mom for about 4 months or so and still doesn't trust most humans. He was moved to us in hopes that transferring his bond to another human would at least start to expand his world a bit. 

He spent his first 4 days with us hiding in his kennel or behind the couch, which is a pretty tight fit for a 65 pound lab. He is slowly starting to come out of his shell and will now let us pet him and will sit with us on the couch, chair, or bed. But never on the floor. The floor is like hot lava to him, he can't handle being at a level below us. Doorways are a novelty, as are stairs and the fenced in yard. He can't handle the openness, it makes him so nervous he freezes into a dogsicle. You can just forget about putting him on a leash. Believe it or not this is actually leaps and bounds above where he was four months ago. 

So here we go again, embarking on a challenge. But I can't help it, it's a compulsion. Pics and funny holiday stories to follow.