Lost and Found Skunk

We had a bad scare last weekend. We were getting ready for bed and let the dogs out for a few moments. Then, when we counted noses, we came up one short. And of course, it was Skunk--the only one who wasn't wearing a radio fence collar or regular collar with tags as he'd heard his neck a while back, and the vet had said to leave him naked for a while.

My husband and I took turns walking up and down the streets and Gage Canal until 12:30 am, calling him (softly, so as not to wake up the neighborhood, but loud enough for a cookie-loving dog to come running). No luck. We stayed up till 2 am making signs and then started posting them at 8 a.m. My little girl and I started knocking on neighbors' doors at 9 am. Some people didn't answer, others came still in their bathrobes, but all were understanding when we showed the photo of our beloved black and white Pomeranian. Several people said that they'd seen him and another one of our dogs (who had come back to us, acting like nothing had happened!) and chased them both but hadn't been able to catch them. Then, at 11 am, a woman called to say that she'd seen one of the flyers. She had been driving home and had seen both our dogs in the middle divider on Arlington! She had gotten out of her car and helped another woman catch Skunk while the other one fled. Then the other woman told her that she would take him home with her to Moreno Valley before dropping him off at the animal shelter the next morning.

I immediately turned the car around, and we headed off to Moreno Valley. As soon as we walked in the door of the animal shelter with Skunk's flyer, the people behind the desk told me that they had him. They'd already given him a bunch of shots, and I had to pay some fees, but it was well worth it to get him home. And it turned out that they had already found his microchip and alerted the call center (there was a message on our home phone when we got back--but they never called our cell phones!).

We brought Skunk home, where he seemed quite relieved and a bit tired after his adventure. My daughter kept saying to him, "Don't you ever do that again, Skunk!" Then we had to go around the neighborhood, taking down the flyers. Whew! We were exhausted.

Ever since then, whenever I take Skunk out for a walk, people in the neighborhood wave to him and even honk their horns occasionally. He's famous now and doesn't mind it a bit.

To find out about getting a microchip for your dog, you can go to:
http://www.homeagain.com/

How many roommates can you have?

From time to time, I've heard that there's a 4-person limit on roommates in the neighborhoods around UCR. Then I run into houses where there are 6 or 7 kids living. I finally emailed my councilman Art Gage and got an answer: a maximum of 4 unrelated people can live together unless it's a "sober house" (ie., halfway home). (Wow, that's fewer than dogs, my husband commented. As I explained to him, dogs ARE family.) Of course, it's dependent on the neighbors watching, counting, and complaining to the city.

I recommend the following: if one of the students is on title (or his/her parents own the house), that person in particular should meet the neighbors at the start of the year, presenting a friendly and responsible face. Otherwise, have the most personable student do so. Keep the grass in front short (it may be worth it to have everyone chip in for yard care). Smile a lot, wave, give little gifts (like flowers for grannies), and don't kiss the neighbor's babies. If you are going to have any parties, tell the neighbors ahead of time, keep the noise and trash under control, and shut down at a reasonable hour. If they get mad at your for some reason, fix it as fast as you can. Believe it or not, this will help a lot. Of course, there will always be someone too curmudgeonly to win over, but if most everyone else loves you, it will be ok. Truth be told, I'd rather live next door to a dozen well-behaved students than two lonely louts. Who wouldn't?

Driving on Cooking Oil

While out door hanging near UCR a while back, I ran into a man working on a car in his driveway. It was great--he was rebuilding an old car, so that it would drive on used cooking oil. Now, I've read that a couple of men have actually driven from Alaska to Argentina in a car that runs on used cooking oil. They picked up all kinds of oil along the way, and everything worked. Now, that's what we need. Wouldn't it be great to refuel your car in a fast food drive-thru? Hmm, I wonder if trans fats are also an issue for machinery...

Yahoo news article on Alaska-Argentina drive