Caved

The temps dropped to -50 this morning with no hope of a relief until next week... if we're lucky...

I was going to load the dogs in the truck despite what ever discomfort they may have in resting for hours on end but James caved in and invited EVERYONE inside.

For those of you who know James you know what an amazing sacrifice this is. Not that anyone is going to mess up the house, after all they each come in on a regular basis, but having this many in the house at once is going far beyond his comfort zone.

I am extremely grateful that he allows them to come in at all but to allow them in all at once, wow, its something I never would have imagined he would be okay with. After nine years of marriage its wonderful to see our lives mesh and to see us grow closer every year. The dogs and I are blessed beyond words.

Here is the breakdown... ten dogs in my office (Thani, Hermes, Juno, Ajax, Gaea, Chronos, Griffin, Calypso, Boreas and Salmon in her kennel), Mercury is resting in my Jeep (in the garage) since he has trouble being in close quarters with some of the others. Reba and Madeline are in the garage in separate kennels, Ichabod is in the entry way in his kennel. Spock and Buddy are downstairs on the couch while Remus has use of his insulated house outside. Hera and Gemini are also taking over the two remaining insulated houses since they are terrified to be indoors.

Most of the dogs know what to do since they have had plenty of time inside but they need to learn how to work with each other all at once in this cramped space. So far their favorite spots are being held without too much trouble but there is some posturing and growling every now and then.

Dogs like Calypso are a godsend since all she wants to do is find a corner and sleep, most of the time under my desk. But things get stirred up when a big boy like Boreas wants to walk over here and disrupts the harmony. Ajax likes to be under the desk too and is constantly getting stepped on. Its a juggle for everyone as he sits in my lap and learns to let the other dogs mob him, and me, with their noses.

My headache isn't helping things much either. I feel like a lump... the longer the weather stays like this the harder it is to think. Its much less stress having so many of the dogs warm but its a lot more stress having so many inside. Its tough either way to resume 'normal' life at the moment... the only sure plan is to wait it out and do our best with what we have even if our downstairs heat is on the fritz and we have to keep the upstairs much hotter to compensate. Its not ideal for the heavier coated guys but its better than 50 below.