Clean it up, spare, another wayward dog

Last night when I got home I did the normal mode version of this month’s BB challenge.

I followed up with a very clean dinner. It was the first time I used the juicer since Ali moved out, supplementing my wrap with a juice consisting of beets, carrots, spinach and tomatoes.

I literally had pizza or warm up pizza for dinner the last four nights in a row, it was time to get back on track. As a result, the numbers on my cool bamboo decked bathroom scale have been creeping upwards a bit.

Since Ali moved out my self discipline hasn’t been quite as iron clad as I would like it to be.  I think it is not abnormal to have some personal slack when you find yourself in a new mode of life.  I will be pulling some of that slack back in.

I had a big ass box at my door last night, it was a used SSR wheel.  Why in the world would I be getting a single wheel?  Well, for a spare of course!  The SSR has NO spare tire whatsoever, not even a shitty donut spare.  The factory instead provides you with a tire patch kit and a cigarette lighter powered inflator, like that would actually work on the type of tire hole that would knock you off the road. (it won’t)

So basically if you have a serious flat in the SSR you are done.  Well a guy on SSRFanatics had bought an aftermarket set of wheels for his truck so he was selling his old ones that were not in great shape but perfectly useable.  He was selling the wheels super cheap, I only paid $50 plus shipping for it.  My next move will be to go to a place like House of Flats and try to find a cheap, used 255/45/19 tire to have mounted on the rim.

Boom, there is my instant spare.  I would simply put the wheel in the bed of the truck and leave it there, especially on long road trips.

I decided to remain productive last night and gave the SSR a much needed bath, washing off the highway scuzz and beach film that was coating it. It looked tons better when I was finished.

As I was washing the truck I had a visitor.

The house that is across the street from mine and down one spot is a rental house.  There have been a round robin assortment of individuals living there over the past few years, none of which seemed very impressive.  Well my other neighbor across the street had reported that this latest hispanic family apparently has a dog, a young German Shephard that they don’t pay attention to.  She said she saw the dog hanging out in my yard multiple times.

Now of course the fact that a dog is in my yard doesn’t bother me in the least. But I am bothered by people that don’t care enough about the safety of their dog to restrain them.  There are tons of assholes in our vicinity that have no issue flying down our road at twice the 30 MPH speed limit.  The idea that a dog could be killed because of lazy, irresponsible owners sickens me.

Well anyway, I got to meet this shep in person last night.  When she saw me she cautiously approached, acting like she was in trouble.  I called her over in a friendly tone.  As she got even closer she took an extremely submissive pose, practically crawling towards me on her belly.  Her body language makes me think that her human owners have little issue wailing on the dog.

I knelt down and told her it was ok.  She was obviously still very young, surely less than a year old.  She laid on her side and wanted me to rub her belly.  I looked the dog over as I was petting her, I was pretty sure she is kept outside based on her appearance, another typical move for hispanic/Mexican families, many view their dogs like lawn furniture.

Once the shep realized I wasn’t going to hurt her she was glued to me.  I went inside to give her some water which she gulped down immediately.  I then grabbed one of the girls Milk Bones and gave it to her.  The dog acted like I gave her a piece of gold.  She immediately ran back over to her property with the bone in her mouth.  I assume she ate it over there as she came back a little later looking for more.

I hate situations like this.  If I go over to these people’s house, assuming they speak English, I see scenarios where the dog is punished for wandering by being shackled to a chain or beaten.  The property does have a manual gate that can be closed to keep the dog contained but it seems like they are very forgetful in doing so.

I also have the option to contact domestic animal services and let them know about the dog roaming free.  They will come out and warn the owners and even fine them if it would continue.  I again however see this resulting in more pain and suffering for the dog. It sucks.

I told Ali about the pooch.  Of course her answer is I should just keep the dog. That would be a simple resolution with complex consequences long term.