Connecticut - Day 21 - Westerly, RI

Mystic KOA
Wednesday, 21 November 2018

today's route

I really didn't want to move today but had no real choice: this morning I was down to less than 1/4 tank of propane, with a forecast of overnight temps in the teens.  The only choice was between moving the RV to buy propane or plan to freeze to death.  As I said, no choice.

I've also been looking for a coat for Dexter to help get him through this intense cold, but can't seem to find one to fit him.  The coats that fit around the middle are either much too long on the back or much too short.  One pet shop employee told me that's not uncommon because even within a breed - like labradors - different dogs will have different chest sizes, let alone the problem if they're also overweight.  Uncommon or not, I keep trying because I think it'd be good for Dext.  Of course, he's not sure he agrees and has been resisting all my attempts to try them on him.

Anyway, I thought I'd go find a PetsMart that I knew was in Westerly (RI), because that's only a few miles down the road; there don't seem to be pet shops in Mystic, and New London is quite a bit farther away.  As you know, I try really hard to stay inside the state whose month it is, but I also wanted to keep my dog warm - gotta keep your priorities straight.

I went down the wrong road in Westerly and found another pet shop, and they had a selection of dog coats, but again they just didn't fit Dext.  Same at the PetsMart, where they had a better selection, but still no luck.  (Oddly, I saw the same St. Bernard at both stores.  I recognized both the dog and the people.)  While I was there, though, I noticed a pretty gray and white cat in the adoption area, and the upshot is that she'll be mine on Friday.

She's 11 and her name is Lily, which I'd change except that's been her name all her life; I'd change it if she were younger or if it was just a name the shelter gave her, but not after 11 years.  Her previous family moved and kept their dogs but decided to get rid of her.  (Boo!  Hiss!) 

I explained my situation to the PetsMart manager, about Jasper and Roscoe, about the RV and the dogs and the travel, about being turned down by the previous shelter - all of it.  I felt like I was blithering after a while, but I didn't know if she had influence with the shelter people over who can adopt and thought the more information she had, the more I'd feel even being turned down was fair. 

But it turned out that she (the manager) has been designated as the foster parent of Lily by the state of Rhode Island, so she has the say-so about who gets to adopt her - not a system I've run across before - so I was talking to the right person, after all.  And she decided I'd give her a good home despite its unconventionality and told me to come back Friday after the paperwork got processed.  So I've almost given myself a Thanksgiving present (just a day late).

After that the dogs and I went back down the road into CT and on to the Tractor Supply where I filled up on propane and got a second pair of thermal underwear.  Now I can stay semi-warm, but I just wish I could say the same for Dexter.