If Only I Could Save Them ALL....

I have purposely waited a few weeks to write this post. I wanted to gain a little distance from the incident in question to avoid filling the screen with ranting and completely miss the greater point.

So, on one lovely Sunday summer afternoon, we set off to meet great friends of ours for a little kayaking adventure on Lake Michigan. Hubby and I rode our bikes to the lakefront and met up with our pals. We noticed a couple of things immediately: 1) it was an exceptionally windy day, even for Chicago and 2) of the few kayakers on the lake (usually there are tons), most were capsizing, fighting the current and getting nowhere and just getting beat up in general by waves that truly do rival most oceans I've seen. We decided to walk to the water's edge to observe up close. Yep - looked like a little more adventure that we'd really been hoping for that day. We made an executive decision to save our first kayaking mission for a less windy day. Not wanting to waste the otherwise beautiful day, we opted for a fun beach walk instead.

Fast forward to the beginning of the incident in question. We were enjoying our walk, chatting with each other, staring in wonder at the kite-surfers, stopping along the way to pet puppies and comment on cute kids...you get the picture. Then we came upon the dog beach. Typically, I love the dog beach and think it is great fun. On this day however, fun was nowhere to be found.

I caught sight of a chocolate brown cocker spaniel digging her claws into the sand as tightly as possible to avoid being pulled into the water by her "owner." Said "owner" was approximately eight years old. Cute little thing. Pink bathing suit. No parents in sight. For some reason, I could not remove my eyes from this dog and I just sensed that this wasn't going to end well...

The little girl proceeded to pick up the dog, struggle to the water's edge (the dog was pretty large for her small frame even though a small dog overall) and promptly toss her into the water. Oblivious to her actions and their potential catastrophic consequences, this little girl jumped in after her dog and started to excitedly wade deeper, all the while tugging on the leash which was attached to a CHOKE COLLAR firmly fastened to the pup's neck.

For the rest of my life, I will never forget that dog's eyes and the sheer panic I saw there. I watched her struggle to keep her head above water and attempt in vain to make her way to the shore only to be tugged backwards again by her screaming, excited child-owner.

What happened next was pure reflex and I am sure will be met with a variety of different opinions and reactions. All I can say for sure is this: I could no more have watched a child be drowned than I could have stood on that beach that day and watched this dog meet a cruel and most unnecessary fate.

I took off toward the edge of the water, I yelled at the top of my lungs for the little girl to please bring the dog to shore. Nothing. No response. She could not hear me. I jumped in fully clothed, waded to this panicked pup, reached beneath the water's surface and pulled her to fresh air where she promptly began panting, sneezing and whining. The little girl watched with a look of shock and followed me as I turned to walk back to the sand and place the dog on firm ground where she happily shook herself off and headed further away from the water. Before she could follow, I knelt to the little girl's level and pleaded with her to not do this again. I explained that a dog cannot keep their head above water like a human and that although she wanted to have fun with her dog, this was actually a really scary event for the pup, etc etc. She looked at me with large brown eyes that were equal parts curious and frightened. She did not say one word, but she nodded her head.

I sometimes wake with a start in the middle of the night remembering that dog and the second one that was also being forced into the water with a leash and choke chain that day. I've begun the frustrating and long process of looking into what, if anything, I can do to prevent this from happening in the future. I've talked with the Chicago Anti-Cruelty Society and Animal Control. I now have the number for the Chicago Park District and am being routed to my third person at that organization and have found the name of yet another who could potentially help. Or point me to someone else who could.

Perhaps I will find a way to make a small dent in this small problem. Or maybe I will not. But I know as sure as I have ever known anything that I owe it to that sweet cocker spaniel pup - and other dogs like her - to try.

I can't help but wonder what might have been had that little girl's parents just been a little more responsible. After all, Lake Michigan is no joke as far as large bodies of water go, and she was completely unsupervised. It is a shame and it breaks my heart to know just how common this behavior really is. I see children all the time hitting, kicking, throwing things at dogs. Often the pups just take it, tentatively wag their tails and offer licks. And when they don't - when they do what is natural to them and defend themselves, they are "put down" to rid the world of yet another dangerous dog. I adore children and I treasure the special bond they can forge with pets as I did when I was young. It is so heart breaking when they don't have the role model at home to show them the right way to treat their furry friends.

These precious creatures are so close to my heart. There is nothing I wouldn't give or do if only I could save every last one.

Flying the Friendly Skies

So, I actually DID attempt a couple of posts over the weekend with video footage of our guys at the park, but technical difficulties prevented us from sharing. We'll try again, don't worry.

The weekend was glorious with another dose of picture perfect weather and we spent all of our time outdoors playing, being active or watching the crazy aircraft ZOOM over our neighborhood as part of the Chicago Air & Water Show. I returned from Secaucus (who knew I'd become so familiar with that place?!) for work on Friday and then just enjoy lots of quality time with all three of my guys.

I'm very excited for this coming weekend - BJ heads to Portland tomorrow and I am going to join him on Friday. It will be my first experience at one of his events and my first time checking out Oregon, which I've always wanted to see. I plan to peruse the world's largest bookstore (or something like that), get in plenty of outdoor fun, and eat yummy food - maybe a little shopping too. Photos forthcoming, I promise.

Have a great week all!

Toto, We're NOT in Kansas Anymore

Life is moving at a furious clip these days...almost as though summer is winding down and we are determined not to let a moment go by that isn't completely relished. :) We now know what follows summer here in Chicago, and we've learned the hard way that time outdoors is precious and to waste it is borderline criminal.

All that to say I've been MIA with posts lately, but for good reason. We are out there creating lots of good subjects and I'm filing them away to keep a good cadence coming your way in the next few days, weeks and months...so definitley stay tuned and set your feeds to visit us often. :)

First up, not sure if you heard, but Chicago was hit by crazy, wicked storms last Monday (exactly one week ago). Now it is not evening news that the Midwest has wacky weather...and it isn't even ALL that rare to have evening TV viewing interrupted by those annoying comcast alerts that tell you neighboring suburbs and places in Indiana are in for yet another thrashing by Mother Nature.

THIS alert, however, was different. First of all, there were about five of them, in rapid succession. The last one loudly screamed (and I'm sure by imagination and fear made said "scream" the loudest ever) THIS ALERT INCLUDES THE CITY OF CHICAGO - PLEASE TAKE SHELTER NOW. Then it proceeded to run through the tornado's "course," quickly naming a variety of Chicago neighborhoods (ours included) and giving an estimated time that we should expect this most unwelcome visitor. BJ was cooking on the grill outside (NOT kidding - he isn't really phased by these storms) and I began frantically glancing from the screen to my watch (it was 8:02 pm and the alert voice from the TV said we should expect the storm at 8:14 pm). Next, the city sounded the official warning alarms to make you take immediate cover (or in my case, nearly collapse from a heart attack). Then I did what any sane girl who has been living in CA for the last 6+ years would do. I grabbed blankets and pillows and my 2 fur babies, sprinted through the kitchen to our first bathroom, ruled it out IMMEDIATELY due to the fully glass enclosed shower and then ran to our second bathroom. I decided this was the spot. I screamed for BJ to join us - he said "are you serious?" I said, "do you not understand that we are having a TORNADO?? GET IN THE $%&#! tub!!!!" He obediently turned off the grill, closed all doors and came into the bathroom. There he found his (sort of frantic) wife huddled with both dogs in the bathtub on top of a duvet cover and a couple of pillows (hey, we didn't know how long we'd be in there, and I wanted to be comfortable).

**Side note - I actually did think at this point about having Hubby run and grab the camera for a couple of pics - would have totally added to the quality of this post- but I thought better of it and went back to my repeated litany of GET IN HERE WITH US NOW PLEASE.

Picture it - one (small-ish) tub, one 6'3" hubby, myself and 2 dogs huddled together listening to the crazy sounds of wind dragging deck furniture around, flinging flower pots wherever it chose (my poor flowers), and just otherwise terrorizing poor me. BJ was just on his computer - ya know, tracking the storm and catching up on sports news. After about 30 minutes (not kidding), BJ's laptop informed us that the warning had been lifted. The funnel clouds had been spotted above the city, but had never touched down. We filed out of the tub and proceeded to watch the news and eat dinner. Some folks were without power for days - luckily we were not among them - and there were pretty spectacular storm reports, video and photos circulating. I am happy to report that other than a spontaneous re-arranging of our deck and patio furniture, and my poor flowers being pummeled within an inch of their life, Casa Carretta made it through that crazy night just fine.

Apparently we are in store for a very active storm season. Does anyone have any DIY tips to build a basement?? Until then, if you hear about major storms in the Chicago area, you know where to find me.

Happy (stormy) summer!