Well, my so called life in Reno has been cut short. The company I’m working for lost the Nevada state grant that pays my salary, which means my job is no more; therefore there is no reason for Rich and I to stay in Reno. Its okay, thank goodness I’m eligible for unemployment, which lessens my panic. And having the rug pulled-out from under our feet caused Rich and me to make some decisions we have been mulling over for years. We have decided to move to Los Angeles so Rich and I can both pursue our careers and passions in school, his for the arts, and mine for social work. This is a good thing - we are very excited!
Sorry for the shortness of Reno posts, life has been a little crazy lately, but what else is new? Let me fill you in. First of all we did not adopt Zule, I sent an email to my landlord for approval, and he replied that he wanted a 3rd, yes 3rd pet deposit of $250 before we could bring Zule home. And if he did not receive the 3rd deposit before we brought Zule home, the $250 would be non-refundable. Mind you, we have already paid a $500 non-refundable pet deposit, but he still wanted more? I tried my best to remain calm, but I could not hold my tongue in my response. I mentioned that we have already paid a $1750 deposit, $500 of which is non-refundable, and I could not imagine any damage we or the animals could do totaling $2000. I also reminded him that when we moved in to his house, we moved in “as is” which meant the walls were not freshly painted and still had nails in them, the carpets needed a cleaning, and the wood floors were dirty. We have since scrubbed the walls and banister clean, scrubbed stains out of the carpet, and thoroughly cleaned the floors. In other words we have done nothing but improve the house since we moved in. Needless to say I saw red when I received this reply:
“I just want you to know I feel like I'm getting slapped in the face… now you are telling me that you want a dog that you cannot afford…etc, etc.”
Slapped in the face? Seriously? Talk about a drama queen!! I never said I could not afford a second dog, I said having to pay a $250 adoption fee + a 3rd $250 pet deposit = $500 was more than I WANTED to spend. Alas, that was the deal breaker.
I got to thinking, while Zule’s adoption fee was totally reasonable considering the rescue vaccinated, boarded, and neutered him, the Nevada Humane Society provides all the same services for their dogs, and they were having a June “Big Love” special, all dog adoptions $25. A purebred Boston terrier will have no problem finding a home, but there are dogs at the Humane Society who are there for months, even years, who are far more in need of a good home. It was June 29th, and I wanted to take advantage of the “Big Love” special, so with only two days left of June I decided to take a trip down to the shelter after work to look around. Richie couldn’t be there because he was in class, so Corine agreed to join me, and off we went. Within five minutes, Corine and I couldn’t help but notice Shadow, a little mutt looking guy, with a huge heart. While all the other dogs were barking and running away from us, Shadow was staring at us with those sad puppy eyes, and walking right up to us for pets and kisses. Oh we had to meet this guy! The volunteer brought Shadow to the visiting room, and I can only imagine he knew it was show time, because it was nothing but smiles, licks, and tricks! He sat, fetched, and could even shake! I was nervous because I didn’t have Rich with me, but they made me walk him back to his cage (OMG), and it broke my heart. It was closing time so I went to the front and asked for an application, thinking I would go home and talk to Rich, and come back tomorrow the last day of June. But the Director was in the waiting room and said "you can go ahead and fill it out now we will wait." I hesitated, but in the heat of the moment I agreed, thinking it would take a day or two to process my application anyway. Nope. I turned in my application, they looked over my information, and just as I thought it was time to leave they were bringing Shadow to the front office. What was I supposed to do? Say oh never mind I wasn’t serious? Or look at that happy excited puppy face and ask them to take him back? I did what any dog lover would do and I scooped him up and brought him home to meet his sister Ginger, and confused Papa Richie. It was a rough first couple weeks, and Rich was not happy with me for making this decisions without him. I can’t say I would have reacted any differently if the tables were turned, but Shadow (now Buddy Reno) and Ginger are now best friends, and we have fallen in love with this little guy.
Oh, and we were planning on paying our landlord his 3rd pet deposit, but now that we’re moving soon, we have decided what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.
So after the craziness of fighting with Rich, and house training a dog that was obviously accustom to living outside, things started to mellow-out. Rich passed his math class, and was getting ready to sign-up for classes in the fall. We were considering moving when our lease was up in July as the house was becoming too expensive, but graciously our landlord lowered the rent $100, and we planned on renewing our lease. I fell in love with a sectional, and was saving-up to buy it for our large living room. And my bosses were planning to move our office in September, and I was looking forward to having a private office. Everything seemed to be going smoothly, and my life was becoming normal in Reno, and then poof one phone call changed it all. The grant was pulled, my job is gone, and now Rich and I have to move not one, but two dogs, back to California. And of course there is the issue of our already strained financial situation, and paying for another move across state. But we have decided to accept the hand that fate dealt us, and run with it! We are making the best of this situation, and taking life into our own hands. Sure we are probably going to be stressed-out for the next few months, but in the end I know we will be happy we made the move to Los Angeles. And hopefully within a few years I will post a blog proudly announcing my graduation from graduate school with my masters in social work, Rich’s graduation with a bachelor in fine art, and our new fabulous careers doing what we love!!
My mother’s immaculate timing never fails. She just sent me a quote from Audrey Hepburn who nicely represents Rich’s love of art and the industry, and her words mirror my passion for humanitarianism. I think this quote nicely sums-up this post:
“For attractive lips, speak words of kindness. For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people. For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry. For beautiful hair, let a child run his/her fingers through it once a day. For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone. People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone. Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each of your arms. As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands; one for helping yourself, and the other for helping others.”
Audrey Hepburn wrote this wonderful poem when asked to share her “beauty tips.” It was read at her funeral years later.
