Hans and Petra

Dog Shaming

Have you seen you seen the internet craze of Dog Shaming yet? I'll wait while you check it out.
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Our giant dog-in-law, Tucker, (120 lbs of black lab & Newfoundland?) earned himself a photo shoot for a submission to the site. I'll let you know when/if his his picture makes it though.

Wednesday morning started out great. Around 11:50 we headed out the door so I could babysit my little buddy Jace, and discovered the front of our Jetta, Hans, was destroyed. Besides scratches in the paint, missing half a license plate frame and tooth marks in the plate itself, the worst of the damage is the part of the grill he pulled off.

Tucker, is huge. Nothing about him is small. His toys include boat buoys, not sticks but tree branches, you don't play with him you literally wrestle. Small toys don't survive. He was bought a toy duck made out of kevlar that didn't survive. But he is very friendly, doesn't bite, and is not a destructive dog (his own toys don't count). He doesn't know how big he is. So we know he didn't just decide to chew up the car. Besides that, there is the start of a large hole in the ground right near the front tire where he was clearly trying to get under the car. Ed's mom and I backed up while Ed popped the hood to see just what it is the dog tried to get.

Bunny!

We believe Tucker chased this little bunny under the car. The bunny found himself a safe spot in the engine compartment, and Tucker did his best to get to the poor thing. We weren't really sure what to do. Turned the engine a few times to try to scare him out (which did nothing). Found a long skinny stick to try and push him out (which caused him to move into a more unreachable spot under the transmission). Finally we closed the hood, put the dog in the house, and borrowed Ed's mom's car.

When Ed picked me up about 3 hours later in our car, I asked what happened and got "I'm not sure." for an answer. So.. I can only assume that once the dog and the people were gone and it was quiet outside, the poor little guy found his way out and took off.

Sad puppy.

Petra

In other vehicular news.. I can officially introduce Petra, the 1999 Volvo V70 XC. Featuring:

• Keyless Entry
• Turbocharged engine
• All wheel Drive
• Leather Interior
• Side Impact Airbags(SIPS)
• Power Driver's Seat & Power Passenger Seat
• Power Moonroof
• Newer Pioneer CD Player with XM Satellite and IPOD hookup
• Cruise Control
• Tinted Windows
• Winter package featuring headlight wipers and heated seats

This is the giving-into-my-inability-to-drive-a-manual car, as it is an automatic. Kirk got the idea in his head last Sunday, and spent the week shopping on CraigsList for the right car. Mainly looking for Volvo's, but had  checked out a few other makes (including a super pretty blue new Bug) but none of them were quite right. Kirk found this one Thursday night after dinner, worked out the details Friday morning and by 1:30 in the afternoon he and I were on the road to Portland to pick it up. It runs great, handles well. Kirk had them put brand new tires on it today, and we ended up getting a brand new battery put in free of charge as well. Also has recently replaced brakes and timing belt.

It was pouring rain in Portland, and traffic was bumper to bumper which didn't make for great test driving conditions but we are both very happy with it. We had dinner across the street from the Shell service station that had it, to let traffic clear up and I drove her home! We paused in Salem for coffee, I called Ed and said "You know what's awesome!? Having a car that GOES when you step on the gas!!" (As at the end of it's days, my old Neon did NOT go when we stepped on the gas.)  Besides pouring rain and Portland/freeway driving, the trip back was great. Especially once we were out of Portland. There was the challenge of driving Santiam Pass in the rain, in the dark, and for the first time ever, but there was very little traffic, so it wasn't all that bad. Driving for pretty much the first time in years, and a in a car I'm not familiar with, I don't think it could have gone better.

Until I start working, at whatever job I end up getting, Kirk is going to be driving it to and from work instead of his truck. So we're sharing it until Ed & I are able to make the payments and cover the insurance.

Speaking of working... Ed was offered the position of Assistant Swim Coach for the Swim Club tonight! Couple more hours, more pay. He's been working with the Water Babies (how cute!) during his swim class hour, but with this position he'll be working with the middle school and high school aged kids as well. Fantastic news!

Drove home from Portland in the rain and a "new" car and didn't throw up!