A new member of the family

After leaving the Blairsville area we headed to our daughters home north of Atlanta for a visit and some quality time with our grandson Aleister.  On the way, we hit some amazing traffic on back country roads and realized we were in the middle of the apple production region of Georgia on apple festival weekend.  So rather than getting stressed out, we made a few stops to get in on all the excitement.  At one stop there was a large crowd including another Winnie View, so we knew we must be in the right spot. There were apples everywhere and you could purchase some in any quantity you had in mind of varieties that I have never even heard of along with all the ones you will find in the supermarket.  We made our apple selections and had our first ever fried fruit pie.  Speaking for myself, even though it was well made, it will likely be my last.  I think I enjoy my fruit better in its natural state.

Once we arrived at our daughter's home and set up in the driveway, we quickly all agreed that the first thing we would like to do was visit the local Prater Mill fall festival.  This is nearly an annual event for our daughter's family and would be our second visit. It is a reasonable large affair at a historic water driven mill just a short drive from their home. We did the tour of all the craft booths and found a number of great items, we while we enjoyed looking at them were able to resist adding them to our collection. Anneke continued her food experiment with a baked apple pastry and it was a big hit.

We then headed to the old cars , tractors and assorted other items to see if there was anything here we had to have.  Luckily, there was not! Aleister and his dad did enjoy a quick "train" ride around the premises. Finally, we were about ready to head home, when we had to pass the Humane Society booths.  Aleister's dad spent a lot of time looking and talking with the helpers and the next thing I knew everyone was looking over this rather impressive looking Alaskan Husky.  He was a very cute dog, but there were some issues.  He was found on the streets just a short while ago with no know history and he had heart worm disease.  He, of course, had been given all his shots and neutered per society policy.  They also said that "Blue" had been treated for the heart worm.  So after much discussion, we were trying to figure out how we were going to get this large dog in to the cab of a pickup along with the five of us.  Let's just say it was a tight ride home.  Blue proved to be a good natured dog and did not seem overly alarmed at his change of circumstances.  He quickly settled in at home as part of the family.

Aleister also had another first this weekend, as he announced that he wanted to learn to cook and the first thing he wanted to make was a cherry cake.  So with a great deal of help from his mother, he completed his first project, which I can personally attest to as being excellent. 

Now for the rest of the story. Our daughter decided that she had better have the dog checked by a Vet first thing Monday.  When the Vet examined Blue, he found that the heart worm was still active and wanted to keep the dog until he could confer with the Humane Society. Long story short - the Humane Society, at best, mislead them about the treatment. In fact they lied to them.  What they told the Vet was that they could not afford the heart worm treatment and had simply given him a double dose of the preventive heart worm pill.  After  we left, the family decided to keep the dog and pay to have the expensive and tricky treatment done.  We can only hope this will have a happy ending.  As for the Humane Society, they have moved way down my list of good guys.