Labor Day Update

Abbi got her hair cut really short this summer. It has been awesome. Much less hair in the house, and she seems to feel wonderful.
Deep fried Snickers bar at the MD State Fair. Worth every single calorie.
I don't understand this one, but the Deep Fried Twinkies are popular.
Giant turkey leg at the MD State Fair. Caele was patiently waiting for a piece to fall . . . but it never happened. Caele came with us to work the BARCS booth at the Fair - she was a "representative" of the rescue dog community - but we had plenty of people asking if she was available for adoption!

We have been so very busy this summer! Turns out that job hunting was a full time job, then when I found a job that was also a full time job! I have neglected the blog, but want to bring folks up to speed on some cool things:

- I am working for the State of Maryland/Department of Health and Mental Hygiene/Family Health Administration/Office of Health Policy and Planning as a Public Health Policy Specialist. I really like it; my boss is a super lady, co-workers are good people, the work is very interesting . . . gush gush gush. Right now I'm working on a big Needs Assessment document about Primary Care in Maryland, as well as learning the process for getting areas in Maryland certified as federal Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA's). Soon I will be working in our legislative unit as Maryland figures out how to put the laws passed into action here in our state.

- We have started volunteering at BARCS (Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter): http://baltimoreanimalshelter.org/

Adoption and care used to be part of Baltimore City's Animal Control unit, but 5 years ago that part of the operation was split off to a separate non-profit agency (BARCS). Since then, adoptions are up 3000% (that's three thousand percent, not a typo!!). This is such an exciting time at BARCS as they have made tremendous progress, but there is still so much work to be done in Baltimore City where many people don't understand how to care for an animal, the importance of spaying and neutering, and that pets are lifelong commitments. We are still in training, but so far we are really enjoying ourselves. We have met lots of wonderful people who also care about animal welfare, and what a great feeling to take a shelter dog for a walk and give them a belly rub; they are so excited to see us. We hope that all of our Balto area friends considering adding to their family will look at BARCS first as there are so many wonderful animals there. If you're like us and the "inn is full," please mark Saturday, October 23 on your calendar for Barcstoberfest - BARCS's biggest event of the year. Held at Patterson Park it's a wicked awesome festival for dogs, people, and people who like dogs. We'll be there!

- Next weekend I start a 9-month training to become a certified yoga instructor. This is going to be pretty intense.

- We're still running. I'm registered for the Baltimore half marathon, as well as the Manchester City half marathon.