We had a few minutes to ourselves, but damn it all, the dog urinated all over the front room carpet! We walked in and were immediately bowled over by the smell. So Joey is working on the carpet with the steam cleaner; the dog is acting out because I took in a stray cat two weeks ago.

But she goes back to the police department tomorrow. Unfortunately, she brought in three birds yesterday, and for us, not much could be worse. Our yard is geared for birds; we have goldfinches, cardinals, doves and robins dancing among the sparrows and wrens.