Long and boring update of my life

I started my final cycle of training this past week. Police dispatching. For those who may not be aware, my training thus far has been 911 call taking, medical call taking, fire department dispatching, records and information over the radio to the officers training and now this is the final step to becoming a full fledged dispatcher.It can be very frustrating and can go from 0-100 in .3 seconds but I think I'm going to like that channel. At all moments, the thought should be Officer Safety, Officer Safety, Officer Safety. One wrong move or judgment call made by the dispatcher could mean the difference in whether or not an officer goes home to his wife. No pressure. This is by far the most challenging job I've ever had and I still really enjoy it.

In the love life department, I might actually have one. It's with a friend I've had for over 10 years so we're kind of shooting from the hip on the how-tos. It's hard to adjust to a change in the parameters of one's friendship, even if it's to grow into something more. We'll certainly keep working on it but fingers are crossed for us to find our way.

We had a scare this week at the house regarding our dogs; well, 2 out of 3. David left for camping on Friday at about 2pm and when I got home at 3:30, the dogs were not in the backyard. David had gone through the side gate and left the carabiner off the the latch. The one locking mechanism that stands between Xander and his freedom. Xander has a torrid past with lifting that latch and going for an adventure and this time, his partner in crime was none other than David's 10 month old pup, Shasta. Needless to say, I immediately started searching for them. Their most likely destination? The creek and woods near our house. I searched for nearly 3 hours all through those woods and around the neighborhoods near the house and came up with nothing. I put the food down in the back and left the gate open in hopes they would return. I went out, came home around 10 and around 11 I heard whining at the back door. The mischievous mutts had returned!!

Xander, however, was limping. He hurt so much he had tucked his leg under him and would NOT put any weight on it. I checked him out and luckily did not find anything broken, nothing bleeding. We decided to give him a few days to rest it and see what happened before we took him to a vet. I also gave him some prednisone, a corticosteroid that is also an anti-inflammatory I had left over from Kody. (obligatory disclaimer that you should not give medications without a prescription) I'd say shame on me but I'm practically a vet tech with all the practice I had with Kody and I had everything labeled with what it was for. Anywhoo, it seems to have had a positive effect on him because he started to use his leg shortly after it and now only has a limp. He probably just pulled something trying to keep up with the pup and not get her lost.

We had been really concerned because even though we knew Xander would return, we were not sure about Shasta. Would she stick with Xander or strike out on her own? Would she know the way back? With that adventure, the only good thing to come out of it was that those questions were answered. That means less worrying IF this ever happens again.