Day Seventy Five

I have been slackingon the blog posts, and for that I apologize. The good news is that soon we will be in Vanderhoof, and I won't have those nasty things like going out and having fun to get in th way of my blog. I Joke.

Today was actually an amazing day. We were up at 8 (early for a Saturday morning in Katmavik) and were greeted with the first snow fall of the year. By the time I was up, there was already a good 2 cm on the ground. It was the white, packy snow that allowed for snowballs to be made and then thrown. While the wite fresh blanket made me think of home, it also made me remember how much I hate snow. I am really not a ski bunny.

By 10 o'clock, we were all piling into the Katimavan on our way to a little bit of volunteering. Little did I know that I was about to fall in love.
We arrived at the SPCA half an hour before it even opened, so we had to wait a while. From where we were waiting, we could already hear the dogs barking, eager for the day to start. Once we got in, it was a mad dash to get to the dogs and choose the one we wanted to walk. There were little dogs, puppies, black dogs hyper dogs an so many others. One interesting girl that caught my eye was a little skinny brown dog, not older than a year. She had the most startling eyes I have ever seen on a canine. But in the next room I saw her. Her name was Pacha, and I loved her right a way. She was a medium sized dog and stood just taller than my knee. Shehad intelligent, human-like eyes and was completely covered in three inch long white hair with a black patch on each ear and covering her nub-like tail. While she did bark when in her pen, once we were out in the snow, running around, she was a true gentle giant. She was strong, but did not pull, ran beside me, not with me. She didn't pay much mind to the dogs making a ruckus around us, just wanted to be with me.
Bruce and I stopped for a minute to pat her, and give her "some lovings". Pacha really enjoyed it ad bgan to lean into us. Since we were already in a very precarious position, her added weight just toppled us over. She ended up laying on top of us both, our butts in the snow, and none of us seemed to mind. Pacha just layed there, soaking up all the attention.
I could tell she was the type of dog to climb into bed with you at night or to let you cry into her long fur. I wanted to take her home so badly and not return this sweet girl back into the loud, cement enclosure.

Please, when looking for a pet, don't let pride get in the way of considering the pound and shelters as an option. My family adopted Maddy, our neurotic, ridiculous, loved, "pure-bred mutt" from a shelter ten years ago, and I couldn't imgine my chldhood with out her. All shelter dogs come with such a personality that is so unique, that it is a crime that some are as crowded as they are.
(And I guess that this all applies to cats as well, but I hate cats, and they hate me, so think what you will of the felines...)

We now have one week left of work until leaving for BC. It is such a surreal feeling that I am leaving again. Fredericton was bad enough, but I feel that I have so much more to see and experiance while I'm here. I'm certainly not ready to leave Quebec.

Every day is a new adventure, so No Worries