I love this dog.

How do you resist this face?

Everybody's working for the weekend! Now I am too.

After graduating in December, I found myself in the same position as many Americans. 9% of Americans including myself are unemployed. We are jobless. We have no source of income. Its a shitty situation and the reality of today's economy. I have searched high and low. I have been to job sites I have never heard of. Sites like www.indeed.com, www.usajobs.com and www.minnesotaworkforce.com. I have written my name first, last, and maiden so many times I could scream. I am over qualified for many, not qualified enough for some (yes, I did in fact apply for the Dean of Education position at Brown College) and simply don't have the experience for others.

Well, this is simply not the case anymore. I am no longer a statistic. I am no longer one of the 9%. I am now once again among the working class. As of Monday, I am returning to my roots as a preschool teacher. I am now the lead teacher in the Pre 3 classroom.

My Dog Fergus

Fergus is MY dog. My very first, all on my own, dog. I had dogs and other pets growing up, but they were always family pets, never just mine.

Dave and I had been married about 6 months when we started kicking around the idea of getting another dog. That way our older dog could help train the new dog. We thought of getting a different breed than the one we had. We were the proud owners of a beautiful golden retriever. Dave and I had successfully bred our dog Tork the summer before. There was such a positive response from the friends of the owners of those puppies that we were also thinking of breeding Tork again. My only stipulation was if we bred Tork then I wanted to keep one of the puppies. After that discussion and the countless inquires as to when we were breeding Tork again we decided to go for it. Using the same sire as the last litter, Tork was successfully pregnant within weeks! I nursed Tork, (the mother) through this pregnancy. I stayed up all night, first at the emergency vet and then in her whelping box, helping if needed to deliver the puppies. When they were ready I taught the litter to sit, how to go outside, and how to come. I carefully watched each of the puppies to see which one I would choose to be my very own. I knew going in to this big venture that I wanted a big cuddly puppy. Dave said he wanted a male. So, we were on the lookout for our big cuddly male.

After a while 2 presented themselves as possible matches for the criteria. There was only one real factor I was looking for. Each day when I went to play with the puppies' one always came to see me right away. A male. A big male. A big cuddly male. All my criteria were met. I had found my Fergus. I put a bright red collar on him to keep him safe and all mine.

I got the name Fergus from a book that I used to read to the preschool class I was teaching at the time. It was about a little white dog with a big white collar. The book Fergus loved to get in to trouble and something about the dog in the book reminded me about the potential for trouble that MY Fergus would be in soon enough. I loved the name because it was unique and I didn't know any other dogs with that name.

 

Fergus at about 5 months!

Fergus Fun Facts:

Fergus is 2 and ½ years old.

His loves include: chewing on bones, snuggling and humping the ones he cares most for.

Tricks: he can play hide and go seek, fetch and give high fives and we are currently working on some new ones.

 

Fergus is my constant companion. He is the bright spot in my day and he loves to give kisses. I tell him all my secrets and he never judges me.

You are probably asking yourself "why the hell am I reading this stupidly long post about a dog?" Here's the explanation. Recently, I have gotten a lot of grief from friends about my picture posts on Facebook about Fergus. I apparently post too many pictures about him. People are "overwhelmed" by them. I thought I would let the world know about Fergus and hopefully see why I love him so much. Really though, if you don't like it, un-friend me. I put up with the pictures and post about your kids and how life is screwing you over constantly. So, you can deal mine about my dog.