A Long, Hot, Emotional, Exhausting Day

First of all, let me just say ..... this has not been a good day. I am exhausted! I'm so tired I'm having trouble putting sentences together so they make sense. I've already started and stopped several times.

The wind blew ferociously the whole day, and I felt like I was driving a buckin' bronc! And I drove hard because I wanted to get here before night, arriving feeling as if I'd driven several days in a row. I rolled in to Mason about 5:15. Barbie was waiting for me, and we drove to the shelter. I got out of the car for the first time in four hours, and I was struck with how hot and humid it was. I was expecting to be in West Texas, but it didn't feel like it ... it felt like Midwest oppressive humidity.

Inside the shelter, she lead me to the kennel with my three dogs, and I was disappointed to find that she had two Lhaso Apsos and a smaller dog that at first was not definitely identifiable. The Lhasa Apsos were black and white, beautiful, or at least one was. The other was so horrible terrified of us that I could never get a look at her. All three were matted unbelievably badly. I went into the kennel and knelt down, holding my hand out for them to smell, moving closer slowly over time, and I was able to pick up the smallest one. It was a boy, and I think nearer maturity than Barbie thought, I believe he is about a year old, and I also think he is a Shih Tzu. He has a much shorter snout than the others, and he is a dark brindle. He settled down as I handled him, and I think he will be very workable. He is a little smaller than China, probably about 10 pounds, and has a typical underbite.

Over time I was able to handle both the LAs, and we determined that they were both females. One was a little bit OK with me, and might be manageable over time. The other was just a mess! She spent most of her time either running panic stricken around the kennel or in a corner with her face buried. Even her face was matter from being shoved in the corner so much, and I couldn't really see her face. Both the girls were larger by far than Ali who is 14.5 lbs, at the upper end of STs. I'm guessing that the girls weighed about 18 pounds. that isn't very big, but lifting them up and down in the car, etc., I'm afraid over time that would be too much for me to handle.

I explained to Barbie about the differences between the LA and the ST, why I was sure the girls were LAs. I also told her I wasn't sure I could take them, and I started crying. Geez. She put her arms around me and told me not to feel guilty, and apologized for the mislabeling of the dogs. She said the vet looked at them and called them Shih Tzus because of their underbites, but he must not know much about the two breeds! I told her that I will take the boy, and after thinking about it tonight I will let her know in the morning about the girls. The one has possibility, but the second one ... sadly I just don't know. I can't imagine leaving them there, but Barbie assures me that she will keep them as long as she can or until she determines that they cannot be "pets."

I drove back to town, found the motel, and got into the room, and there I found the air conditioning unit half way torn apart and unplugged! So back to the office I went. The girl at the desk went to the room, returned in a few minutes saying that she didn't know why it was like that, but she had reassembled it, turned it on, and it was blowing cold air. I unloaded my things and went to get something to eat. Back in the room, it seemed cooler, but not yet comfortable. I brought DQ ice cream which I shared with the babies, and boy, did that taste good!! Over the next half hour I found that if I sat on the bed, right in front of it, I was OK, but if I moved anywhere else in the room, I began sweating. So I called the office and they moved me to another room. It's larger, nicer, but most importantly, it's c.o.o.l!!



As soon as we got in the room, China found the cold tile in the bathroom.....









And Ali stretched out on the floor beside me......
















Then I looked in the mirror, and started laughing! The wind whipped my hair really badly earlier so it was standing out, then the humidity did its work, and curled it up all over my head!








This is an awful picture, but I'm putting it here so you can see just how wild my hair is!












And this is even worse, but what-the-hey! Would you look at that mess!!!










After getting into the good room, I was still hot and flushed, as you can see in those pix, so I got back in the car, drove about a block to a convenience store and bought four 44-ounce cups of ICE!! Since I got back, I've been munching on ice, and not even caring about what fell from the cup and down the front of my blouse! I've finished one and into the second one.

A few things I observed along the way today....

The temperatures in that stretch between Carlsbad, NM, and about Sonora, TX, were between 102 and 105. Thank goodness for air conditioning in the car!

Between Ft. Stockton and Ozona, there are those giant windmills, you know, the ones that look like some alien ship hovered long enough to implant three-armed monitoring devices across the horizon. I mean, there are SO many of them in that area that it is just eerie!

I think I've commented on this before, but I'm struck once again with the fact that TX has 80 mph speed limits on the interstates. It's a good thing .... it is one freaking big state, and I'm glad they realize that people have to go that fast to get from one place to another before sunset! Even the 2-lane highways are 70 mph.

As I left the interstate and traveled the 40 miles to Mason, I couldn't help but notice the change in the landscape. It had become greener as I drove east, but as I drove northeast away from the I, the trees doubled and tripled in height from mostly scrub-type trees to regular 20-25 foot tall trees. Huh. Interesting.

OK, I'll let you know tomorrow night what I take home with me. I'm having very mixed feelings. I'm a ST person, not a LA person, but I don't want those girls to face ... well, you know. At least one has a potential, but I don't think I'm the right one for them. Am I being told I should just take one for now? Or am I being told I should "think outside the box"? Oh, gawd, I hope I can sleep tonight. Keep good thoughts for me, alright?

PS - oh, yeah, and my cell phone doesn't work here!! The local phone service is Verizon, my cell is Verizon, but it...does...not...work!!! ARGHHHHH!!