Pajero's Blog - Day 17

Guy and Thelma are home! I heard Dan and Allana talk about their conversation they had with Guy earlier today. Guy was pretty busy his first day home and he was in charge of the dogs as it was Ramon's day off. Guy and Thelma came home to numerous e-mails and phone messages and were trying to return all the calls and get caught up on the endless e-mails. The great news is that they were able to follow my blog while they were in Europe. They really appreciated being kept up to date on what was happening here and enjoyed all the comments posted by friends. I get to go home on Saturday and I'm very excited to see them. I've really missed home but Guy was worried I maybe got a little spoiled while here at the Hemenway’s. I don’t think I have been spoiled at all.

While reading the Hurricane Ike headlines today, I noticed that there are 400 people that are missing and are feared to be washed out to sea during the storm. That is more people than students and staff at Allana's high school. I worry for those people who do not know what has happened to their loved ones. I'm glad I have family here and at home.

Pajero's Blog - Day 16

It is hard to believe that it has been 16 days since Hurricane Ike. I've enjoyed being an evacuee here at the Hemenway's, but I'm sure many people are anxious to be back home. There are still 145,000 people without power in the Houston area, but what a difference from 2.2 million just 2 weeks ago. I think CenterPoint Energy has really done a great job on getting people back on-line with electricity. I am glad that I am not one of the 145,000 customers who are still without power though. I’m also grateful that I have a home to go home to.

Today was rather uneventful. I think I like weekends better as Dan and Allana are home more and I get to go out and do things such as picnics and mystery shrub shopping. The mystery of the shrub may be solved though! Thank goodness for a professor at Texas State University that was able to identify the sad looking stick in the picture on Thursday's Blog (Day 12). The stick may actually be an ornamental pomegranate. I hope Dan is able to bring one home soon so that Allana stops feeling sorry for the stick. Dan is trying to re-pot all the remnants of the shrub. There are cute little planter pots all over the carport. I hope it works out for him.

I’m enjoying another evening on the loveseat. It is wonderful this evening as the sable hairy mop elected to stay outside so I don’t have to share. I love comfy couches.

Pajero's Blog - Day 15

I got to go to the Sheltie Club Picnic today! It was great. Being the eldest dog there, everyone wanted to pet me. I love it when it is all about me! The weather was perfect so I was able to spend the day outside under the trees and on the front porch with all the people. The best part of the day was that the sable hairy mop stayed home and I got to go! I have to admit that things were rather “chilly” when I came home. I think I made him very jealous. I’m feeling a little guilty. The sable hairy mop would have had a good time too. I’ll try to be really nice to him tonight. I’m sure he was lonely all afternoon.

Another puppy followed us home from the picnic. The yard is starting to look like a puppy play park. All the activity outside makes me glad that I’m inside. Last night, I was able to sleep in the bedroom again. I’m so glad the Hemenway’s finally understand where I am supposed to be.

Pajero's Blog - Day 14

I had thought when Dan and Allana went out shrub shopping this morning that it was going to be a gardening type of day, but I was wrong. When they came home shrub-less the plans for the day changed. I wish the puppies would not have eaten that shrub as Allana is on a serious mission to replace it and I don’t think it is going to be an easy process. I think she may have needed something else to do and that something else involved me.
A “Day at the Spa” is how Allana referred to it. Yes, I had a bath, deep condition, teeth brushed and a pedicure. I do think I look better, but I would have preferred to just hang out instead. Allana was busy and several other shelties had to experience a “day at a spa” as well. In an effort to keep my ruff clean tonight all the chew bones have been picked up. Darn.
Guy and Thelma will be home tomorrow and I am excited to hear how their trip went. I do hope they had a wonderful trip. Tomorrow brings the San Antonio Sheltie Club picnic as well. I hope Dan and Allana pick me to go. I’d love to go and see everyone. Since I’ve been retired from the show ring, I don’t get out to see everyone as often as I’d like. I do hope I get to go.

Pajero's Blog - Day 13

It's Friday night and Allana is actually home and not at a high school football game. I do love hanging out in the family room at night. Last night I even made it past the baby gate and slept in the bedroom until Dan came to make me go back outside one more time before bedtime and then he mistakenly put me in a crate instead. I hope Allana has spoken to him about the new sleeping arrangements. I don’t do dog crates anymore.

It is hard to believe that it has been 2 weeks since Hurricane Ike. Most of my friends in Houston have power, but there are still over 400,000 people without power. Some schools have started back, but there are still schools without power that have not reopened. It is hard to imagine what so many are still dealing with as I lay here in the air conditioning watching a movie on a Friday night. I even have the hairy sable mop to keep me company. He’s turning out to be quite a nice companion. I can't believe I just said that.

Pajero's Blog - Day 12

The problem with puppies is the constant supervision they require. Allana was very angry at my grand puppies today. After she left for work this morning, the puppies had over 2 hours of beautiful unsupervised time in the backyard. To entertain themselves, they completely chewed up one of her ornamental shrubs. Allana spent the evening on the computer trying to research the type of shrub it was, but she had no success. She has the remnants of the plant soaking in root starter but it is starting to look like a Christmas tree in late January. I think Dan is in trouble for the demise of the shrub as it happened on his watch and because I heard Allana tell him that they would be visiting every plant nursery in the area this weekend. I hope I get to go shrub shopping on Saturday.


The good thing about puppies is that they are incredibly cute so even after they got in trouble for devouring the shrub, they were quickly forgiven. I even saw the puppy collars, leashes and the treats come out as the puppies went for little individual walks tonight. I guess all is forgiven. I wonder how long it would take me to be forgiven if I did chew up the baby gate.

Pajero's Blog - Day 11

I understand the safety issues of confining a pet. I appreciate having my own backyard or dog run area to keep me safe from the outside roaming critters, but I feel completely safe inside the house, so what is the deal with baby gates? From what I can tell since I've been here at the Hemenways, there are no babies, so why do they have these baby gates in their house? What could possibly hide under a grand piano that could hurt me, or do they really have monsters under the bed that I need to be protected from? I think not. From what I can tell by flipping through these pet magazines on the coffee table, the pet industry has decided to restrict our roaming rights inside the house. I guess I can understand the use for puppies as puppies will chew up anything and don't always mind their manners in the house, but please, I am way beyond that! Even the sable hairy mop doesn't seem to chew furniture so why are we barred from the hardwood floor areas in this house without supervision? I need to research my rights. I'm sure I'm being unlawfully detained or confined. Maybe I can work with the mop to figure a way to open this gate. Wish me luck!

Pajero's Blog - Day 10

Let me start with "it is not my fault". All I was doing was enjoying being in the family room in front of the television. I was curled up in the sheepskin bed and had found a nice chewbone to munch on. Things were going well when I noticed the chewbone was stuck. I tugged and tugged, but it didn't move. I continued to struggle with it but had not luck getting it to break free. It was stuck in my ruff. This was very embarassing. I have what some people would consider "coat factor" meaning I have lots of hair, but this had never happen to me before. I stopped struggling with the bone only look up and meet Allana's gaze. She looked at me and just blinked. I could not determine what she was trying to say. Then she walked away and came back with a brush. Now normally I love to be brushed, but something told me that I was not going to enjoy this. After some shredding of my coat, the bone was free and Allana was mentioning something about a bath. My perfecty good evening was ruined. Wait... I think the sable hairy mop just took my chew bone!

Pajero's Blog - Day 9

So you are probably wondering why there is a photo of a cat on this blog. Well, I would like to address the issue of cats and why cats should be cats and not enter the dog domain. Now a typical cat should fear dogs, yes, even a sheltie. I know many cat lovers out there would disagree, but I was brought up in a traditional world where cats truly feared man's best friend, the dog. Back home at Kismet, there is a kennel cat that comes and goes as she pleases. She sleeps all day in the towel closet and roams around all night, so we really don’t have a lot of interaction with her. This works great for me and for her. Now at Camp Hemenway, there is a cat that I truly believe has identity issues. First of all, Dan and Allana refer to the black mess as “Felix”. The black mess does not live in the world of cats, but must truly think it is a dog. For example, how many cats do you know have a name tag on a dog crate that reads “Felix”? This cat sleeps in a crate and eats in a crate. It roams around the building all day and when we, the dogs, try to go in and out of the building, it pounces out of nowhere and wraps its little paws around us. It assumes we want to play with it. It willingly jumps onto the grooming table and begs for treats. This is not normal cat behavior. This high level of interaction between the cat and us canines is ridiculous. Tonight it even stole a piece of my dog food right out of my dish. I’m starting to appreciate the sable hairy mop more and more.

Pajero's Blog - Day 8

While Allana was out washing her car, I was able to jump on the computer and catch everybody up on what has been going on. I had a beautiful Sunday. I spent most of the day in the house or in the backyard. A few dogs got a bath, but not me! While not bathing and grooming dogs, Allana spent her day training puppies and playing with all of us while Dan spent the day in the workshop and building a fire pit. I guess he has finally found a solution for all the dead trees around here. The mop is back on the loveseat as I type this. I thought we were way past that, but I guess I could move onto the couch and let the mop have the loveseat. The couch has two pillows on it so maybe it is a better place for me. I just heard Allana say something about cooking smores over the fire so I think I had better go and investigate. I'm sure she will need my help.

Pajero's Blog - Day 7

Yipee! I'm still here with the Hemenways and I'm relaxing in the family room. There are a few less of my friends here as several went home to Kismet to keep Ramon company. Allana told me that things were looking much better in the area. Most of the traffic lights were working and the there were no major line ups for gas and gas was $3.39 off of I-10. All businesses in the area looked open. She even went to Target and Petco while she was in Richmond. The Fort Bend Schools are planning on opening on Monday, but only a few schools will open on Tuesday in Houston. There are still 1.02 million people without power in the central Houston area, but CenterPoint Energy has restsored services to over 1.1 million people in the last week.

Through eavesdroppoing on Allana's phone conversations yet again, I found out that the puppies with Clyde and Suzie are doing well and Chris and Katie were going to head back to Houston tomorrow as Katie's classes are set to start on Monday. They were hoping they would have power back at their home before they returned.

I have the loveseat to myself tonight as the sable hairy mop has relocated to the sofa. I wonder if I can sleep in the bedroom tonight? I think it is worth a try. If I act real sleepy maybe they will just let me sleep on the loveseat and then when everyone turns in for the night, I can sneak down the hallway. I almost made it earlier this morning, but Allana redirected me when she saw me in the guest room. I just need to be a little more sneaky. I just heard the freezer door open, maybe I'll wander back into the kitchen and use my beautiful dark eyes to get some ice cream. I haven't had ice cream for weeks! If the mop stays asleep I won't even have to share! This is great!

Pajero's Blog - Day 6

I'm not sure what will happen on Saturday. Allana said that some of us were going home to keep Ramon company. With Guy and Thelma on their family vacation I don't think I will have any quality time on the couch home at Kismet and I do know that all the ice cream melted when we were without power for so long. I'm hoping I get to stay. I know Dan can't stay at home with us forever, but the sable hairy mop wasn't even all that annoying on Friday night. I wonder what Saturday will bring...will I stay or will I go?

Pajero's Blog - Day 6

I'm not to sure what is going to happen on Saturday. Allana said that some of us were going to go home to keep Ramon company. I wonder if I will be staying or Saturday will be my last day at the Hemenways. With Guy and Thelma on their vacation, I won't be spending quality time on the Kismet couch and I know all the ice cream melted when the power was off for so many days. The hairy sable mop wasn't evening annoying on Friday night. I wonder what Saturday will bring for me...

Pajero's Blog - Day 5

Well, I think I got the better deal staying at home today. Dan was home with us again and when Ardon arrived back from being at Allana's school, he looked like a little hairy disaster. His hair was sticking up all over the place and he looked very tired. It must have been those 600 students and all the petting he got. The Mauldin's left on their trip to Prague today and after I found out it was a 9 hour flight, I decided I didn't want 9 hours in the sherpa bag so I'm glad I'm here. I'm sure knowing their home had full power and water made it easier to leave and Thelma can look forward to new appliance shopping when she returns. I'm still a little confused how hurricane Ike managed to destroy their appliances as all I heard during that night was the howling wind and the rain. I'm glad the nights here have been cool and quiet. I hope the 1.27 million people in Houston that still do not have power can sleep as well soon.

Pajero's Blog - Day 4

What a brillant day! Everything was falling in place. I was able to eavesdrop on a telephone conversation and find out water and temporary power were finally back at Kismet! It is hard work to eavesdrop on a phone conversation with portable phones. As Allana was talking on the phone she was walking around and I had to follow from room to room. When she got off the phone she patted me on the head and told me how cute I was for following her around. She didn't have a clue I was just trying to catch up on the news back home. Anyways, the evening got even better as I got a nice relaxing brushing while the sable hairy mop got a complete bath. It was great! I was cherishing the moment until she mentioned something about the mop going to school with her tomorrow! I couldn't believe it! Why him? I am the one who understands three different languages and am world travelled! She didn't even ask me if I wanted to go! I needed a plan.

Pajero's Blog - Day 3

Thank goodness Dan stayed home from work again this afternoon to be with us as Allana came home very late. Dan had me in the house already so the night was going well, but then, the sable hairy mop was let in. Allana was muttering something about him being neglected and having things so rough. I almost lost it! Neglected!? Things rough? I was the one that had been forced to seek shelter here due to a category 2 hurricane! Guy and Thelma are still without power and water and no electrician showed up again today! And the mop has it bad? I stayed under control only because I was on the loveseat, but then it happened. The sable hairy mop jumped up and started snuffling around and laid on the pillow! I was no longer feeling any "love" on the loveseat. Allana mentioned something about "behave boys" and "sharing". With Guy and Thelma preparing to leave on their trip to Prague on Thursday I'm wondering if I would fit in a Sherpa bag and under their airplane seat.

Pajero's Blog - Day 2

Day 2 at the Hemenways and all is well. It was a very cool day today so all the young dogs were trying to get me to play. Fortunatelly Allana finally came home from work and brought me inside so I could lay by the computer and watch the sable hairy mop dog turn green with envy as he was outside and I was inside. It was great. Now he knows who's the boss around here. I heard a phone conversation that there was still no power back at Kismet and the electrician had not shown up yet. The tree crew came and started and they are expected back tomorrow to finish. Kismet friend, Chris Jones, came by to pet me and walk some of the puppies earlier today. Him and his wife evacuated to San Antonio and they are still waiting to have power at their Houston home. I know he came by to visit just me but had to pretend to enjoy the tour Dan gave him of the property. Well, I just discovered this giant sheepskin bed in the middle of the floor of the family room, so I'm going to move in there for awhile and have a rest. This should drive that sable hairy mop dog crazy.

Hurricane Ike

Sunday, September 14, 2008
The day after Hurricane Ike, I found myself driving towards Houston. It is early in the morning and I saw the sun rise when we left our home, but as I approached Houston, the sky was getting darker and darker and the rain started to hit the Odyssey. My husband, Dan, was sleeping soundly as I joined in the convoys of coach buses being led by State Troopers and pickup trucks with generators in their beds. The only traffic coming out of Houston on I-10 was clusters of ambulances and other state vehicles. I was starting to doubt why I was going to Houston on such a day, but knew that Guy and Thelma Mauldin would be doing the same if I needed help.
As we drove up the driveway, I quickly realized, we would not make it very far as fallen trees and limbs were occupying all of the concrete. I spotted the Mauldin’s and Thelma’s brother using a hand saw to try to remove a downed tree that was the blocking the Mauldin’s vehicle in their driveway. The place looked like a disaster zone and was not in the manicured state I was accustomed to seeing. It was a good thing we had packed our work gloves and that Dan loves to play with a chainsaw.
There were some great moments during the day. More help arrived and just like on the T.V. commercials, the Mauldin’s insurance agent came to the house to take photos. When I mentioned it would be nice to have a gas blower to clean the leaves of the driveway, he jumped in his truck and returned minutes later with a blower and spent the next hour blowing the mess we had created from raking the branches into little piles. It made a huge difference and if you need insurance and service, I would recommend Chris Mims from Farmer’s Insurance. Like I said, it was just like a commercial!
At the end of the day, the front yard looked much better, the driveway was passable and I decided that it was a good thing my parents forced higher education on me as manual labor and I are not a great team. We packed the van and headed home after a hard day’s work. One very special sheltie named “Pajero” came home with us. I’ll let “Pajero” tell his story….

Pajero’s Blog
Sunday, September 14, 2008
I really can’t believe I was into the second day of no air conditioning! Thank goodness dad said that Auntie Allana and Uncle Dan were taking me to Camp Hemenway where there is power. I was sure I was going to start shedding soon if I didn’t get some cool air on me. I was still a little confused as to why we were evacuating after the hurricane instead of prior to a hurricane, but all I kept hearing was that 2.1 million people were without power and that it would be 3-5 weeks before power would be restored. I was very happy to jump into the van as I could feel the cool air coming my way. The trip to Camp Hemenway was fine and when I arrived, I found myself in the backyard with lots of trees to sniff. The only problem I encountered was this hairy sable dog that felt he owned the place. I had a little chat with him and Auntie Allana removed the sable hair mop from the yard. I think she calls him “Ardon”. After a nice supper, I retired to the air conditioning again for a little nap. I really thought I should be in the family room on the couch, but I saw the shaggy sable mop in there, so I decided a crate would be just fine for tonight as I was tired and ready for bed. Thank goodness for water and electricity for air conditioning.