What's a good home improvement newsgroup?

Some of the dogs we sit will become guide dogs for blind people later, the ones that make it through tough training and tests. The training and pairing up happens here, it's mostly volunteer-run:

There is a scratch on the desk where I sit right now. It's from one of those puppies, now a big Labrador. Every time I see the scratch I think about him and the blind person he is now guiding.

Some day there's a slim chance he might be back?

From the web site:

Q: What happens to the dog when it retires? A: Retirement is really a powerful and unique part of our whole program. When a dog is ready to retire, we offer our graduate the opportunity to adopt it as a pet. If they decline, the dog usually returns to its raiser family. If neither option is viable, we will find a loving adoptive home for the dog.

:-)

--Joel

Very slim. Most of the time the dog either stays with the blind person together with a new guide dog, or within their family. Which is really the best for a retired guide dog.

You couldn't wish for a better pet than a former guide dog. But one has to realize that they are not at all used to be alone, and thus shouldn't be. So this may come with some lifestyle changes.

They're remarkable critters, alright. This show is worth watching if it happens to be on public TV in your area one of these days:

Octopi are also remarkable critters (live octopus here! --

---Joel

I hope you aren't using one of these:

I've carried several corkscrews thru TSA, including one of those huge "bat-handled" types ;-) ...Jim Thompson

But have you ever been so desperate that you used a drywall screw and a claw hammer?

On a sunny day (Mon, 25 Apr 2011 17:35:12 -0500) it happened " snipped-for-privacy@att.bizzzzzzzzzzzz" wrote in :

Bit of GPS, some PICs, and you are done :-)

On a sunny day (Mon, 25 Apr 2011 16:56:49 -0700) it happened "Joel Koltner" wrote in :

I guess old dogs do not taste so good, but in some parts of the east 'dog' is one the menu.

Joerg schrieb:

Hello,

if the carpet tiles were laid some years ago and you replace some with spare tiles, the difference between the used ones and the spares will be seen easily. The color is a little bit darker.

Bye

Yes, that's the downside. But the same if you cut a piece of carpet and sow in a new patch. With tiles that's a lot less work. Having one darker tile is better than looking at that yellowish stain all year ;-)

You want to have some kind of pattern.. either in the tiles or arrange different tiles in a pattern.

We've used ones from this company, and are very happy with them:

Real tiles don't stain, only grout does. Get a grout saw. ...Jim Thompson

Thanks. I had looked at them over a year ago and AFAICS it's still mostly for businesses, the short flor stuff, loops and such. That is what I have in the office here but in the living room we'd like something more cushy. Maybe 1/2" high or more.

A grout saw don't help that much with carpet tiles :-)

Carpet tiles belong in offices, not homes ;-) ...Jim Thompson

Ask guide dog puppy raisers/sitters about that :-)