Tax Dog on Hiatus

Lizzy is really gone. It is still sinking in and I know by the end of this post I will be crying again. Saturday night Lizzy went out about 9:30pm. Usually she is only out about 45 minutes or less but the weather was nice and cool, so I wasn't worried when an hour had passed. When someone set off some fireworks in the neighborhood and she didn't come home, I started looking for her. No luck. I ended up sleeping on the sofa so I could let her in when she came home. Sunday morning I did the laundromat and spent the time my clothes were in the washer and dryer to search the area more. I even checked at the office.  I was assuming she found a friend and ended up out of the neighborhood and  I keep expanding the search area. I did leave a message with Animal Control describing her and sent a fax to the local shelter (both officially closed on Sunday). A little after 3pm I got the call from Animal Control that she was dead, apparently hit by a car. She was found in someone's driveway. They didn't give me any details. I think she hide under a car after she was hit and when they moved the car there she was. It probably happened soon after she went out since she comes home within an hour. I didn't see her, but I did get her collar and the tag numbers match. 

I know I haven't been the best at keeping this blog up but now I will be taking a serious break. I don't know if I will be replacing Lizzy but I won't start looking until the fall. I will also take my time. Lizzy was a great dog for me. Loving but also independent. The cat like qualities of her Chow heritage showed through. And she was a great dog for the office with lots of people coming through.

Once I get another Tax Dog (or Cat), I will post it on my business blog; Our Taxing Times.

Lizzy Is Missing

Lizzy went out last night and hasn't come back and that is not like her. It's been almost 14 hours and I am worried. And since it is Sunday, animal control and the shelter are closed. I have been all over the both neighborhoods and no sign of her. She's chipped so if she turns up I will know (I've already talked to Pet Watch. I honestly think if she is okay, she will find her way back but if she's hurt or someone else took a fancy to her I am worried that I won't see her again.
UPDATE: I won't see her again! About an hour ago I got a call from Animal Control. It looks like she was hit by a car and crawled into someone's driveway to die. Needless to say, a crummy day has become a nightmare.

1040d

Searching for something on the web, I found a tee-shirt design for a income tax return for dogs. 

How fun! I just wish it was in my size.

A Long Time

It's been a long time since I posted. It was tax season then and now it is the 4th of July. Part of my problem is that when Blogger changed hands to Google my sign-in info was changed and I wrote it down wrong. So there have been a couple of times I have tried to post and couldn't get in to do it.

Lizzy has been doing well. I think she misses some of the traffic of tax season. 

It is shedding season again but I found something that helps. She had a vet visit a couple weeks ago and Carol, the vet tech, showed me the Furminator on Lizzy and I was impressed enough from what I saw said to buy one. The proof was in the office carpet. I was vacuuming twice a week before finding the Furminator. But that changed. I had vacuumed on Sunday and Carol did the demo on Tuesday morning. The results were dramatic. By Wednesday, I should have had to vacuum, but the floor was still in good shape. I wasn't picking up hair clumps and best of all, Lizzy wasn't scratching as much. So every couple of days, I use the Furminator and brush her and the fur doesn't fly.

Lizzy's Tax Season

It is almost half way through tax season and I realized I have not posted about Lizzy dealing with the extra people passing through. The basic reason is that there have been no surprises on her part. She greets most people, has a good smell and then goes back to her current favorite spot. Sometimes she stays where she can see what is going on, but most of the time she goes up front. There are times in the afternoon that she is so soundly asleep that she completely ignores clients.
There have only been a few times that I have had to put her in the back room. Mostly, to protect her from badly supervised kids. If only I could have hid with her.
I have been very surprised at how receptive most clients have been to her. They will baby talk, rub her stomach and just make her feel like a queen. I was concerned because she is a bigger dog and thought that some people would be afraid of her. But so far there has only been one older lady who was concerned. And that was more because Lizzy would go away after first greeting her. My biggest concerned is with my older clients. Lizzy has a habit of plopping down where she stops and occasionally that is right behind someone. So I am extra careful with her around clients who have problems moving around.
But like I said, Lizzy is becoming a great tax dog. Now if I could get her to answer the phone.

Guard Dog

Lizzy showed a different side of her personality today. We were at the park and she started barking and acting a little defensive. She seldom barks unless she sees another dog she wants to meet and occasionally when she gets woken up by a loud noise. But today she woke up every other dog in the area with her barking. And I could not see what had her riled up. The only thing in that area was a snowman. As we crossed the park to check out what had her going, it became clear that the object of her concern was snowman . It was not a great snowman, about 3 feet tall and very thin, but a snowman. Once Lizzy got a chance to smell it, she was fine and we went along smelling another area. The strange thing about the whole incident was that we were at the park yesterday afternoon and the the snowman never bothered her. But today was a different matter.

Ice

We had an ice storm last week. Luckily it wasn't a bad one. The second wave mostly missed us but what we had was bad enough for me. It brought up my concern of walking Lizzy since I hate walking on ice. Sad to say I took the easy way out. For several days, I just put her out in the back yard to do her business when we were home. I still had to walk her at work but sidewalks were clear there. Of course, she jumped the fence several times. But she came home within 20 or 30 minutes.
But she finds the piles of ice and sleet left by the plows fascinating. She will sniff on one area for minutes, maybe paw the ice and then jump around excited. Then it is off the the next section of the pile. She is slipping and sliding but it does not seem to bother her if there is a good scent to follow.
The new issue is at work. She has decided to nap on the sofa/futon. Even with the extra padding under the carpet, the floor can be cold but the sofa is not. But I only find her lying there, never getting on it. I think this is going to be a hard habit to break her of.
Next step is to figure out how to contain her during tax season with lots of people coming in and out. Right now the concern is her getting out the door. Actually, my clients are more concerned than I am. I know she is greeting them at the door to start the smelling process. I am thinking a tether to the back desk when things get crazy. Mostly, I'll play it by ear.