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J.F. Rowan

Wyatt and Finbar


Our house-sit in Coos Bay Oregon.

I wouldn’t say that I was unfeeling about dogs or cats. No, I don’t think I would go that far. But maybe in some areas, you could say that emotionally I might have been a bit selfish, lazy even. If I paid someone whose job it was to delve into the psyche even deeper, he or she might even say there was a bit of fear in there as well. Which is weird in it's own right because I'm not afraid of horses. Maybe it's left over from a German Shepard bite that almost took my family jewels when I was about 8 years old. Yikes! Whatever. What I know now is that I'm much more tuned into dogs then I’ve been before. Sort of inevitable right?

Can you find the Tiger? This is where we will be until The rains stop, which I think will be tomorrow, Tuesday.

So here we are, sitting at our next house sit in the middle of a place called Coos Bay, Oregon. Yet another town whose seemingly sole income has dried up for the most part and whose town folk are trying the best they can to transition. Into what, I’m not quite sure, but they're trying.

The couple, who shall remain nameless accepted our application to watch over their home and two animals for 6 days. Good for us because it’s been pissing rain on and off for the last two weeks and now it is forecast to be steadier for four more days straight. It’s Oregon. It’s normal. But the house is nice and the beds are very comfortable. And Wyatt (the dog) and Finbar, Fin for short (the cat) are very colorful indeed.

Finbar "Fin" for short (L) and Wyatt (R)

Wyatt isn’t quite two. He pulls on the leash like one of the draft horses you see at the fair. You can always tell what arm Yvette used to walk him because when she returns, it’s always longer than the other. I’m not sure, but if dogs have baby teeth, Wyatt must still have his. Like sharp needles, not that he does it on purpose mind you, but sometimes taking the frisbee from him can result in a human yelp of sorts. I find it strange that I’m jealous that his teeth are whiter than mine. His teeth whitening doggie snacks taste terrible. Don’t ask...

"Would you let me in so I can turn around and go out again?"

.

Then there’s Finbar, Fin for short. All the fuss people make about their pets before they leave about how depressed they’ll probably be while they're gone. If they only knew. We don’t tell the owners, it would probably crush most of them. Cats are especially non-reactive. Finbar took to us within 20 minutes of his owners rolling down the road. Sleeps with us at night, and we can’t get him out of our lap for hours. He goes out and does his deal outside, which helps us with the cat box, which must be the exchange for the lap service he gets in return. Cats always worry me though. Like today, when he went across the street and got in the back of someone's pickup which just happened to be attached to a travel trailer (camper), ready to leave for a few nights camping. Ge the picture? He did come back thank god, but now he’s on the roof, so there’s that.

Views around the neighborhood. Coos Bay, Oregon. Sause Brothers Shipyard can be seen in center photo.

I guess what I’m trying to convey is that even if the house is located in a somewhat crowded neighborhood, it’s just nice to be able to do something for a couple of animals who might otherwise end up in a kennel for a week. The house itself is a bit of a diamond in the rough. So no complaints. We’re dry and warm and the RoKu is awesome.

We got a few things done; went into town to do some errands and had lunch/dinner at a great little sushi place, The Tokyo Bistro. It must have been good since we visited twice. It would have been 3 times but they were closed today, Monday. We were able to cook up some chili to eat now and later on the road. Baked some rolls and made some sauce etc.

Next up is our departure to the south, back to Cape Blanco. Not much in the wind for house-sitting for the holidays, but we're still in the hunt. Stay tuned.


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