The Weekend Story

I'm very excited for this weekend; mainly because I have no responsibilities whatsoever with the exception of being creative. I'm about to get started, but I wanted to give the blog a little love before I head on down to the basement and fire up the torch.

I began last night...catching up on a wedding order, and working on two new focal pieces for some necklaces that I have in mind. I hope to get them to the point where I can post some pics later today or tomorrow; I'm pretty pumped up about all of them. I also need to fill some orders for rings this weekend; including Stepping Stones and Delicate.

The previous evening's jewelry making activities, however, bring me to my story for today...the other dog in my yard. Last night while I was soldering my pieces together, I heard my dogs--Betza and Gus (two St. Bernards)--flipping out in the kitchen. About a week ago, we had a bear visit us three times, so I figured the big guy was back. I went upstairs and found that the screen door was wide open, which I then realized my dogs had learned a new trick--how to open it themselves. Needless to say, I was a bit worried.

So, I went to the door and started calling for them, expecting to see a giant furry big guy walking on all fours, but instead I saw this halogen light coming from another four-legged creature who was definitely not bear-sized. He wasn't even St. Bernard-sized. I grabbed my Petzl headlamp and went outside in the dark, only partially nervous at this point. It turns out that the light was being worn by a Black and Tan Coonhound puppy named Samurai. What a cutie he was! My dogs liked him, too...but he had all of this equipment on and I was scared that during playtime with the big pups that it would get ripped off or hurt one of them. So, I sent my kids inside to their dismay.

I then called the phone number on Samurai's collar, and about ten minutes later, his owners showed up. It turns out that "Sam" the Coonhound was being trained to hunt raccoons, and this training was happening very near my back yard. The owner thanked me for not getting upset about Sam, and I got to meet their two other dogs, each of which were apparently avid raccoon hunters as well. I said my goodbyes and then I felt bad because I'm such a sap for dogs (and animals in general). In my opinion, I don't think Sam liked doing the job for which he was being trained for. He seemed a bit timid, and when I went inside to wash my hands, they were FILTHY from petting little Sam while I waited for his owners to arrive. This leads me to believe that he's just being groomed for hunting rather than being taken in as a family pet. I really hope that's not the case and that I'm 100% wrong. I know the purpose for hounds is hunting, but if I had one, you better believe he'd be squeaky clean. I'd also treat him like one of my kids, similar to how I treat Betza and Gus. Yes, as mentioned, I am a sap for animals. And that's fine with me.