Hey friends! I’m back to the full time working grind, and honestly – I’m pretty excited to be back into a real routine again. Don’t get me wrong, having two weeks off was amazing, and I spent most of it at home, sleeping in, crossing off my to-do list, and enjoying lots of snuggles by the fire. Was I productive? Eh…not really. But do I feel like I’m actually refreshed for the first time in a long time? Heck yes! So I’m taking that as a big win 🙂

One of the things that I didn’t quite planned turned out to be one of the more chaotic highlights of the time off. I’m part of a neighborhood Facebook group page where people post if they’re giving something away, need a dog sitter – you know, the usual exciting neighborhood stuff. But on the Friday of my first week off, someone posted a picture of a tiny Carin terrier that someone found roaming the neighborhood by a busy street. The poster said she was sure that she must be lost, but she couldn’t take her in since her dog didn’t get along with other dogs. I impulsively (as usual…) volunteered to take in the little dog while we looked for her owner – but as soon as I got her home, I quickly realized she might not actually have one considering she was covered in fleas (whoops!) and looked like she recently had puppies.

I named her Scrappy, and spent the next few days taking care of her at home. She quickly bonded to me and didn’t like the fact that Milo was around and wanted love, so I had to keep them separate for most of the weekend. But despite some barking, she was the sweetest little pup – a big lover in a tiny fluffy body, and great at sleeping in her crate and taking long walks around the neighborhood. I think it’s a blessing in disguise that Milo and her didn’t get along, otherwise my relatively small condo would likely have another furry inhabitant 🙂

After calling around to a ton of rescues in the area, I finally found this wonderful local woman who runs a Carin Terrier rescue. So many of the rescues locally ask you to drop off a found dog at Chicago Animal Control to hold onto him or her for 10 days before a shelter can see if they want to take the dog in, and knowing she was a good hearted dog that would make an amazing pet, I wanted to give her to a rescue directly that could take good care of her. Thankfully I was able to drop her off and she’s already found an amazing foster family (who will hopefully adopt her!) outside of Indianapolis. Fingers crossed it all works out and she finds an amazing home!

And while Scrappy was a good friend for a few days, what really restored my faith in humanity was how many people stepped into help, volunteer to look after her, offer supplies or get my in contact with other shelters and organizations who could help. I had so many nice people reach out to check in on her, and even adopt her once she was taken care of at the vet! I’m usually not someone to reach out to ask for help but it really made me feel more connected to my new-ish community and want to help out more.

Update: Scrappy (now named Gracie!) was dropped off last weekend and found her new home in Indianapolis! The couple lost their Carin Terrier a few weeks ago, so it’s serendipitous that they happened to connect with Shell, the volunteer coordinator of the rescue. She now has tons of space to roam inside, a big backyard and a sweet couple who will totally spoil her. I hope she wins their heart (like she did mine!) and she stays there with her new forever home 🙂