puppies, tampons & heaven

Yesterday the kids didn't have school (at Oasis) so I decided that rather than tackle fractions, multiplication tables, phonics and the like, we would have a swim lesson followed by an Exercise in Patience, Charity & Good Samaritanism, and Going With The Flow 101. The swim lesson was great, as Willo now swims as well as Jackie, and yesterday we worked more on their breathing technique (in freestyle). And I got to cool off from my extremely hot run. After breakfast I finally got through to the Humane Society, who told me to go right on over with my 2 puppies who are traveling to CT on the 26th, for their examination. We rushed out the door with Negrita & Feisty (who has been named Janessa by Lili, the 6 yr old girl who is waiting for her in Torrington, CT, who with her mom looked up popular names for Puerto Rican girls and that was Lili's favorite). Although we were the 1st ones there, we had to wait an hour because the vet didn't arrive for another half hour or so, and the dog that arrived after us with what looked like a humongous tumor in her side got priority (fine with me). While we waited (the Exercise in Patience, a very tough one for Willo), I discovered 5 more little puppies. Apparently they also had been abandoned. They look just like Negrita & Janessa ("Jess")! There are 2 males and 3 females in the batch. The kids of course begged me to take them home but the staffers at the Humane Society agreed to keep them alive and not euthanize them before letting me know (I guess they realize I'm serious about this puppy saving thing). Anyway, the vet checked out our 2 jet setting pups and gave them the thumbs up so I left with my certificates, as well as a list of the vaccines they were given, so I could give this list to the new owners of Daisy & Honey. We drove over to Esperanza to give Emily (Daisy's new owner) the list, and the instruction to bring her back for round 2 of shots on 3/25, as well as a flea collar Saint Stephanie had brought from New Haven. We found Daisy taking a peaceful nap in between 2 mountain bikes at the Black Beard store while Emily tended to customers. All seemed perfect with them. Since we had 2 pups with us I suggested we walk along the Malecon for a bit, to see if anyone else would be interested in a pup. At this point, Jess & Negrita are merely for advertising purposes, since they've got their flights booked. Several gringos here on vacation stopped us but it soon became clear to me that the Humane Society has completely missed the mark on something. These people would have happily taken a puppy home with them but the problem is they're leaving this weekend - not enough time since they need the paperwork to be completed exactly 10 days before their flight, according to some stupid PR law. Last night, while having dinner with a friend of ours who works at the W and is on the board of directors for the HS, I asked her why the heck this isn't advertised? If it were up to me, I'd do some guerilla campaign, well, first about the whole sterilizing thing (for locals) but also, for visitors, about how easy it is for them to help these animals simply by taking them back to the US with them, where they have a much better chance to get adopted. After all, anyone coming to Vieques goes online to do some research - the HS should put a photo of one of these puppies with the caption "HELP ME" and then talk about how you can make a difference without having to make any long term commitments. Anyway, she didn't have anything really to say about my question, since she says that the HS claims to be doing its job with marketing. Um, I beg to differ. Proof: I just posted an announcement on Craigslist, and this was the only one from Vieques. *SIGH* As Bill would say, "well, it is all volunteer-based..."

After lunch, I dragged my content-to-be-at-home-in-the-air conditioning kids out to the Humane Society again, this time with no pups in tow, just my Canon 40D (I rarely take it out these days, since it's a mental burden compared to my iPhone & waterproof point-&-shoot). We went into the pen where the 5 new orphans are kept, and took pictures of them. Then we went into the main part of the HS to take a few pictures of some older dogs, and there we met Gretchen, who was there with 3 friends, looking to adopt dogs. Gretchen came over and asked me if I wasn't the one looking for a home for some puppies? I said yes, I am, but there are 5 more right there, pointing in the direction of their pen. Her friend had picked a year-old shephard mix, but Gretchen was leaning towards a puppy. Their other friends, Anthony & Katrina, were just along for support. They ended up deciding to come back to my house to meet Negrita, but being Bohemian youngsters from Martha's Vineyard, with no set itinerary of any sort, they didn't have a car. So all 6 of us piled into the Jeep (2 squeezed in the back with all my beach paraphernalia) and we came to our place. Anthony told me that he and Katrina are the reggae band that plays at Lazy Jack's on Friday & Monday nights. Their manager back home promised them several gigs here, decent money, and they were jipped and got neither. So they're living on $100/week. Yikes. Anyway, Gretchen fell in love with Negrita (who wouldn't) but decided not to jump into anything as her future is a bit unstable. I reminded her that while it's wise to not let ourselves be carried away by our emotions, when it comes to having children or adopting animals, if you go by rational thought alone no one would do either. I then gave them a ride back to the other side of the island so they wouldn't have to shell out the $10 cab fare. Gretchen is coming back on Saturday, as it turns out she's a licensed masseuse, but hasn't done it here in Vieques as she didn't bring a table. Suddenly I remembered there's a massage table in our closet, so I'm going to get her some customers. The W is scheduled to open in 8 days and there are a lot of very stressed out people round here (including/especially Bill)!

This morning, when not brainstorming about solving the Puppy Problem, or how to make $$ while over here, I was thinking about what I consider one of the best things about our time over here. Because our days are so unstructured, and I don't spend endless hours doing errands (there's nowhere to errand here) and shuttling round kids (activities are limited to Oasis and beach), I get to spend a lot of time just Being With Them. Sure, this has its definite downside in the form of sibling warfare and - well, that's pretty much it - but one of the many plus sides is that I've gotten to know the kids even more, through their conversation and questions. Just in the last day, these are the types of questions/comments I've had to field:

"why do women need tampons?"

"can you explain stocks to me?"

"why is Microsoft Word so stupid?"

"what's asthma?"

"what animal does bacon come from?"

"what did you study in college, and what did you want to do with it?"

"I'm going to adopt babies when I grow up, because 1) it hurts too much to give birth and 2) I want to do something good. And they will be either from China or from India"

"I hope the Humane Society workers are married to men who make good money, because they probably don't make much money themselves even though what they do is so important"

"why can't we have heaven here, why do we have to die first?"

Etc... As you can imagine, some interesting conversations! Alright, must go fix some lunch and feed the 3 puppies still in my custody. Please be an angel and forward the link to my blog to everyone you know, to spread the word about the Puppy Situation. People do not have to commit to taking in a puppy, they can simply find out if their local shelter would take one, if it's no-kill. Thank you!!!!!