No Dog Parks

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

I cant believe it has been 6 months since I lost my job and DH and I sold our stuff, packed up the car with pets and THEIR stuff, and drove half way across the country to the inlaws.

It has been a busy time, and we finally acclimatized to the cold 

 after buying shoes and Gram-Gram made a fleecy coat

Well, we have finally gotten on our feet and are ready to move out

Now, its not quite how we hoped - neither of us have got that magical job, but we are happy to have our own space again

Yeah, its not going to look like that! 

The grandparents of DHs friend buy old houses, renovate them, and rent them out. They are doing us a HUGE favour letting us rent the main floor of the house they are currently renovating (it should be finished in a few weeks) on a MONTH TO MONTH basis, and they are bending their own rules and letting us have pets (3 cats and Cooper-doodle).

Why month to month - well, we just dont know whats going to happen and dont want to sign a years lease. I have been applying for ecology jobs all over the country, and we are really hoping ill get a job in St Johns Newfoundland - I had 2 phone interviews with a company in Nov and Dec, they took up my references in Jan and said they would love to hire me if a position is available in spring. Havent heard anything yet (and I emailed them friday letting them know I was still interested) so we are thinking its not going to happen. Which is a big shame because this is the company I have been wanting to work for for years, and the area looks fabulous!

Anyway, I digress

The houses in the city (we are currently in the country) dont have fenced yards. I dont know why, they just dont. And as we will be in the city centre (not that theres much of a centre, its a really small city) we wont have much outside space. I dont like the idea of dog parks much, but when needs must...

Then I found out there are NO DOG PARKS in a city of 75,000 people!

The city say 

No person shall permit a dog to run at large, including in parks, in the City. A dog, off the owner's property, must be on a leash no longer than 6 feet. (By-law 98-211) 

[Bryce P]

Keep your chin up.

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

Fingers and toes crossed here too for you.  Don't worry about the dog parks, they can often be more of a curse than a blessing.

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

Kaytlin, don't feel bad. The dog parks around here are unfit to use. My regular park has turned into an outhouse this spring and there's a regula boxer dog that grew up with Sophie, always playing together in the park, who has started to suddenly attack other dogs. I'm too nervous to go back. the owner is a young girl who just sits at the pic nic table smoking for hours on end and never pays attention to what her dog is doing. That is the kind of stuff that happens in dog parks. I have always loved my park but it has gone down hill in the past couple of months and we haven't gone back in weeks. It was so stinky and poopy when the snow started to melt we just couldn't use it. I bumped into someone who said that she was there the other day and all the dogs had diarrhea. So yea, you aren't missing much. Do what I'm doing: make friends with people who have back yards and then ask to borrow their yard for an hour a day in exchange for baked goods or other favours such as babysitting.

I really hope you get that job in St. John's. That would be sometime - from one end of the country to the other!

[Bonnie and Kona]

Hoping for the very best job to come to you soon! Congratulations on the opportunity for a place of your own!

[Deanna & Desi & Cori]

I'll be sending good vibes for you to find your perfect job soon!

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

GOOD LUCK in your interviews....fingers crossed.  It's great you can have your own space for a while until you figure out exactly where you are going.  At least you will probably move somewhere that DOES have dog parks :)

[Doris, Knox & Flash]

Forgot to say that I love the pics! Cute blog!!

[F, Calla & Luca]

Congratulations on the new quarters. I think it will be great to have your own place. Good luck with the job, we need all the environmentalists we can get!

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Well Kaytlin your adventures continue!  You must be excited about getting your own place again.  We actually have to go out of town to get to an off leash park too.  There are very strict leash laws in our town...so a couple of times a week we take a "road trip" and the rest of the time we walk the boys on leash.  We cheat with Guinness...we let him drag the leash but he heels right next to us, so we can pick it up in a hurry if we see the animal control truck.  It is kind of a pain, but my guys are used to it, and it works okay.  Keeping fingers and paws crossed that the job comes through for you.

[Pat and Traveler]

Love the pictures of Cooper in the car and in the pink outfit...!  Best of luck with the job search.