Well, I am back to try again, this time maybe with pictures if all turns out well. Things have been very busy at the police department, even though we are small. Yesterday was like "full moon" weekend with a constant barrage of stupid phone calls, walk ins and unfortunately, break ins. Vandalism seems to rise dramatically when the kids are out of school, at least in our little town. We have a great park right across the highway from our PD and we have an outside camera so that we can monitor it even at night. There is a skate park within the park and the kids use it constantly. It is not fenced or monitored as was the one where I worked in Florida. That one was a pain in the butt thanks to the city mayor. This one is wide open for the kids to enjoy and in the 16 months that I have worked there, I have not had to call for an ambulance or send the police over. However, even though the skate boarding part of the park is lit by street lamps when the rest of the park goes dark, our city manager in his infinite wisdom, doesn't want the kids there after 9:00 PM. (And yes, I know, why aren't these kids at home and why aren't the parents supervising! ) So what do they do - they break into empty houses and cause damage. Yesterdays toll was $30 K on a $250 K house vacant and for sale. And they just gave this man a $10K raise just for changing his job title. He is interviewing in another part of the state and we have hopes he will be hired. We also have an 82 year old mayor who surprisingly does find his way home from his office. He only has one more year left in his term. Maybe things will get better........or not !!

Okay, my first picture here is Murphy, our 14 year old male. I bought him from someone that worked in the police department in Florida. He was 6 months old when we got him and had not been treated well. Caged all the time. He also came from a pet store. This was before I learned about pet stores/puppy mills and became a rescuer. Murphy had allergy problems all his life until we moved to NM. It was like someone hit a light switch. No itching, no sores. The most beautiful coat of fur ever. Too bad we didn't move sooner. All those years on and off Prednisone have taken a toll on his overall health although he is in pretty good shape for his age.

The second picture is Sheda, who is my poster girl for rescue. I picked her up in GA at a schip lovers weekend gathering in 2000. She was one of 3 girls rescued from a puppymill auction and so pitiful looking when we got her. She was to go to another family in Tampa, but her arrival didn't fit in with their vacation plans. So - she stayed with us and we have never regretted it. We are unsure of her age as the papers that came with her were not hers. We think she is between 10-12 and due to no early medical treatment, has lost many teeth and has a partially collapsed trachea. She coughs a lot when she gets excited or plays too hard. She has also lost her hearing within the past 3 years. But she is my baby girl and sticks to me like glue. This picture was taken in February of 2006 when I had to go to Santa Fe for 3 weeks to New Mexico's Dispatcher Academy. I stayed in a motel instead of the dormitory and my husband came to visit on the weekends and brought Sheda and Tala to visit. Murphy doesn't enjoy traveling like he once did, primarily due to his age I think. He enjoys sleeping in the A/C and eating. Not much else gets him excited !!

The last picture is of Tala on the left and Phantom on the right. We adopted Tala in September of 2004 while still in Florida. She was 3 at that time. Her owner turned her into schip rescue as she didn't fit into her lifestyle anymore. She was so frightened and even though she had belonged to a woman, she attached herself to my husband and stayed in his room most of the time. She didn't want to socialize with the other dogs. At that time we had a 10 year old female rescue, whose owners had died, and Tala and Lena didn't seem to like each other very much. Unfortunately, we lost Lena very suddenly in October of 2005 to a lung problem that no one knew she had. Tala has now come around and gets along with the rest of the gang, although she is very leary of strangers and will nip at their heels when they walk through the house. She usually ends up locked in my room until company leaves. It is difficult to try and sell your house with a 15 pound fur ball chasing you!! And last, but by no means least, is Phantom. On my husbands' first trip back to Florida to pickup rescues and re-locate them, he met Phantom and it was love at first sight. My husband has never really been attached to dogs as I am, but Phantom is a whole different story. Bob can't leave the room without having his "shadow" and Phantom camps outside the bathroom door and waits for him. He is 13 years old and has lost his eyesight to cataracts since he came to us. It has not changed him in any way, other than just slowing him down a little. He is the sweetest most loving little dog I have ever met. He was left at his vets' office for boarding as his family said he didn't get along with their 2 year old. (I will not comment further here as I am sure many of your prefer children to animals. ) Okay, now you have met the fur family ....... and I must get ready for work.