Howdy all,

Well, it's been a week or two and I thought I'd type out an update on Fred. He seems to be adjusting well to living with our pack. There have been a few moments, but there have been less than I expected. He pretty much ignores the cats, even when they fish at him when he walks by their perch. He is somewhat guardish about his food, but we're working on it. He is excellent with my grandson, who will reach a year old this June. He tolerates being patted and pulled on by the infant very well. He will come along and sit next to the child as he plays on the floor, so it can't bother him too much. He also allows Linny to clean his eyes. (This is Linny's job. He takes it very seriously.) He scampers up and down the hall and to the kitchen when I come home from work, but I think he's trying to convince me it's crunchy time. Unfortunately for Fred, it takes more than a happy scamper to the kitchen to convince me. He has started playing a little with the other pack members. I'm pretty sure that during ball time, he's chasing the others more than the ball. He has been spotted carrying around a baby, but it's an unconfirmed sighting. He did have a bit of a problem when I was working first shift and seemed quite put out with me whenever I walked in the door midmorning. All in all, he acts a bit like the older gentleman that he is. He reminds me a great deal of my Grandfather.

A trip to the vet revealed much about poor Fred. He has no ear drum and significant scar tissue in his right ear. The Doc also said that the bones that "float" in his skull do not do so anymore. They now over lap somewhat. He feels this and the damage to his ear came from a significant blow to the right side of his head. He wants to do a procedure to correct this situation and the rescue group is working on procuring the money for it. Though we were told that he had previous treatment for heart worms, the Doc says that his ticker is going strong. His eyesight was evaluated as "adequate". I'm not quite sure what that means, but he seems to see well enough to get by. He occasionally rotates into furniture or other items when he's excited, but I'm not worried about it as I've seen Renegade run full tilt into a tree while playing ball. (He was fine, I made sure.)

Well, it's looking like Fred will be here for a while. Frankly, I don't mind so much. He doesn't have any habits that are worse than any of the rest of the pack. It will probably be difficult to place him as he's older and somewhat eccentric, but that's okay, too. I'll be trying to get some pictures of him up soon. I have the weekend off (!) and it's on my "to do" list.

Good bye for now, or as Charm would state: "Ruff!"