If you’ve noticed it’s been awhile since I took a moment to bitch about my fellow man, wait no further! The day is upon us. Happy Easter.

This past week we had what I can only hope is the final snowfall of the year. While it wasn’t in the class of the big dump of a few weeks ago (mental images welcome), it was more than we needed or cared for; probably 5″ or so here, a little more to the south of us. It was the final opportunity for lazy-asses to drive around with their cars buried in snow, and everyone with that propensity was on the road. It’s to those people I have to say:

What the hell is so difficult about clearing your windows of snow? Are you really so damned goofy as to think that clearing a hole the size of your head right in front of the driver’s seat is all the vision you need to drive a car? Do you drive with blinders on the rest of the year? Do you ever check your mirrors to see the traffic around you?

Look, I can understand being caught in October by a freak early storm before you’ve had a chance to toss the snow brush in your car. I can even see it in November if we’ve had an unusually long Autumn. BUT IT’S FUCKING MARCH. YOU’VE HAD YOUR SNOW BRUSH IN YOUR CAR FOR FIVE MONTHS. I don’t care if you were an idiot this morning, leaving the house in flimsy shoes and a light jacket. WALK YOUR ASS AROUND YOUR CAR AND WIPE THE SNOW OFF WITH YOUR SLEEVE IF YOU HAVE TO.

I don’t need you merging into me because you’re such a loser. Go run yourself into a tree, but STOP ENDANGERING THE REST OF US.

Amen.

A while back I was rooting through some moving boxes of shit we still haven’t unpacked and I came across some old photo albums. One in particular is a collection of photos and ephemera from high school into my early 20s. I’m not brave enough to post any photos just yet but I thought it was fun to see some of the concerts and performances I went to as I’ve saved some of the ticket stubs inside the album. It’s not a complete list but here it is in roughly chronological order (look at the prices!):

Motley Crue with guests Autograph, Pacific Coliseum, Nov 12 1985, $19

Van Halen, BC Place Stadium, Oct 23 1986, $25

AC/DC, Tacoma Dome, Aug 19 1986, $16

David Lee Roth with guests Cinderella, Pacific Coliseum, Dec 7 1986, $19

Bon Jovi, BC Place Stadium, Jul 2 1987, $22

Motley Crue with guests Whitesnake, Pacific Coliseum, Oct 16 1987, $21

Alice Cooper, Pacific Coliseum, Dec 28 1987, $18

Monsters of Rock (Van Halen, Scorpions, Dokken, Metallica, and supposedly Kingdom Come as the opening act but I swear it was Queensryche), Seattle Kingdome, Jul 27 1988, $38

Aerosmith with guest Dokken, Pacific Coliseum, Jan 20 1988, $21

Kim Mitchell with guest Alannah Myles, The Orpheum, Oct 15 1989, $24

Poison with guests Tesla, Pacific Coliseum, Apr 23 1989, $27

Bon Jovi with guests Skid Row, BC Place Stadium, May 11 1989, $27

Sam Kinison, Paramount Theatre, Seattle, Jun 9 1989, $19

Motley Crue, Pacific Coliseum, Jun 9 1990, $27

Paula Abdul with guests Color Me Bad, Pacific Coliseum, Nov 18 1991, $33 (WTF ??!!?)

The scan above is a photocopy of a torn cigarette pack (a friend took the original but I bet he lost it) bearing the signatures of Nikki Sixx and Tommy Lee of Motley Crue. We ran into them in downtown Vancouver the day after one of the concerts.

Dixie and Jack, originally uploaded by daveronku.

Dixie seems to be getting over her skittishness pretty quickly. She had her first day in the office with me yesterday and did very well.

We parked in front of the Chamber of Commerce, right around the corner from my office. The three of us went in to say hello to Stephanie, a big dog lover and a fan of Riley’s. She’s been anxious to meet the new girl. After a few minutes of tearing around checking the place out, Dixie went to Steph and made her first new friend of the day! She had a couple of treats and allowed Steph to pet her. We stayed for about 15 minutes and by the time we left she was getting full body rubs (Dixie, not Stephanie).

Next she met Steve and James, the two guys I share the office with, as well as the postal carrier and the window washer guy. It took her just a few minutes to warm up to the guys. By the time the mail came and the window was being washed, she was getting the hang of it. When the door opened, she’d bark once or twice, and both dogs would charge to the top of the stairs to see who was coming in. Riley would act all cool and race halfway down the stairs to show Dixie how it’s done. They both said hello with licks and pets. So it seems Dixie’s really taking her cues from Riley, which is great.

Last night, Jack stopped by to meet Dixie. Again, after a few minutes of shyness, she was ready to make yet another friend. As you can see from the photos, it didn’t take her long to nuzzle up to him and get all the rubbin’ she could get.

Other than a couple of accidents in the office, I’d say Dixie had a fantastic day. The vet called to say that her lab test came back; she has Giardia. That would explain some of the urgency she had yesterday. She’s not quite housebroken yet, so we still have to deal with that.

Beauty shot, originally uploaded by daveronku.

Say hello to 62.5 lbs. of fun: our new Fox Hound-Boxer girl, Dixie!

Dixie came to us via a pretty circuitous route. A few weeks ago, Julie checked petfinder.com to see the dogs currently being fostered by the group that had Riley. She found a boy dog, Metro, a 1 1/2 year old mutt who we thought would be a good match. We met him a couple days later and liked him enough to arrange a meeting with Riley.

That week, Metro and another dog, Dixie, were featured on Dick Goddard’s ’save our pets’ segment on the local news. We asked the foster organization to bring both dogs to our meeting.

We met on neutral ground at a house in Euclid. It quickly became apparent that it wasn’t going to work out between Metro and Riley. Metro definitely wants to dominate, and at half Riley’s size that was going to be an issue. Our boy just wants to play with every dog he meets; when challenged he usually just projects an attitude of ‘whatever dude, I’m outta here.’

Riley and Dixie hit it off immediately, tearing around the back yard and wrestling. We decided that it’d be a good idea to meet up again, this time at our own house. Again, they got along well, and we decided to take a chance on this little lady.

Here backstory is rather sad. She was dumped a couple of years ago by an unknown person at an animal clinic on the west side run by a terrible vet who’s been in the news around here for her unprofessionalism. She kept Dixie confined to a crate for the better part of a year. The poor dog was only allowed out a couple of times a day to do her business. Eventually, she was condemned to be put to sleep.

Our rescue people heard about her and took her to a trainer who owns a rehab kennel out in Chesterland. He’s a former Sheriff’s Deputy with extensive experience in training police dogs. Since breaking a hip during a drug bust, he’s retired from the Sheriff’s Dept. and now makes a living rehabilitating “death row dogs.”

Dixie spent nine months in that kennel, going from a frightened, skittish dog who could not be approached without her lashing out, to a sweet gentle girl who loves to snuggle and be petted. The trainer did an amazing job of bringing her back from the brink, and we thank him for his efforts.

Riley enjoys playing with Dixie, but he seems to be a little put out by this usurper taking some of our attention. But they’re getting along so well after such a short period of time that we’re confident they’ll become the best of friends. Wish us luck!