Well... he TRIED!!!

Last night, as I watched thoughts of tormenting the cat enter Maks' head, I admonished him to, "be NICE to the kitty cat.". He was shaking from the amount of control it took, but Maks managed to very carefully and thoroughly cover Jack's face in puppy kisses. Relief spread across his face as I told him what a good boy he was for being so gentle and nice to the cat. Being nice to the cat is exhausting. So it makes sense that Maks would want to flop down for a bit and relax after that ordeal. He stepped away from the cat, turned around, and proceeded to sit ON the cat. OOPS!!!

It seemed like a good idea at the time...

Yesterday was absolutely beautiful - a perfect fall day, all sunny and warm, such a great day that it screamed for an outing to the park with the furry ones.  One of Lilly's favorite parks is Barfield-Crescent in Murfreesboro, so that was our destination yesterday afternoon.  Maks had never been to the park before, so this was his very first trip.  It probably seems strange that he's nine months old and only now going to the park for the first time, especially when I take Lilly all the time.  But, Maks hasn't been up for a park trip until now.  He just hasn't had the stamina (he is still a puppy after all) to keep up with Lilly and I for more than a two mile walk through our neighborhood.  Which means that he definitely could not manage the four mile up & down hill off road hikes that Lilly and I head out on.  With the day being absolutely perfect, I decided that he could probably manage the shorter easier loop at the park that is just about 2 1/2 miles long.  So, into the car we all got and off to the park we went. 


Driving into the park, I noticed signs saying there was a Halloween event and saw some bounce houses over by the softball fields.  I really didn't think much of it since we were headed to the other side of the park.  I probably should have paid a bit more attention.  We parked the car and headed up the trail.  All was going great, Lilly was overjoyed to be out hiking again and Maks was having a great time sniffing everything in sight.  Until... we came around a corner and met a GIANT turtle sitting on the side of the road reading a book.  Miss Social Butterfly (Lilly) got all excited and went over to inspect the person and costume and had a grand time making a new friend.  Maks hid between my knees and refused to walk past the turtle.  Just when Lilly and I had managed to convince him that it was safe to continue on the trail... a GIANT frog came walking up the path toward us.  Lilly busied herself making yet another friend, while Maks did his best to become invisible by hiding behind me.  Maks finally decided he'd trust me enough to follow Lilly and I further down the trail and we didn't run into any more characters for over a mile.  Unfortunately, on the last half of our hike all characters were in place and poor Maks was repeatedly spooked.  First it was the fairies with flapping wings, then the lights across the trail that were off until he went to step over them and someone plugged them in just at that moment, then the trombone and tuba playing lobsters, the singing raccoon, the bubble machine, and the fog machine.  At each of these Miss Lilly Ann stopped to make new friends and socialize while Maks hid behind me yet again and refused to move past the scary monster.  Lilly was quite fascinated with the singing raccoon and even got a tummy rub at that spot - it was the only place where Maks even attempted to be social, he let the raccoon talk to him and got close enough for the raccoon to pat him once on the head.  I was quite glad to be done with that portion of the trail and decided to head back to the car a different way to avoid more characters.  If you haven't figured it out by now, we walked through a children's Halloween hay ride exhibit (thus the toddler - not Maks - friendly characters).

The trail I chose to take back to the car is a gravel service road that goes past the frisbee golf section of the park.  OOPS!!!  I had unwittingly chosen the Haunted Halloween trail for teenagers and grown-ups.  Again Lilly was fascinated by the characters - gory, bloody, moaning corpses and all.  Maks however was less than appreciative.  I was afraid I was going to have to carry him past all of them.  Evidently moaning corpses are a lot scarier than trombone playing lobsters!  We finally managed to get off the service road and onto the frisbee golf course where thankfully there were no more scary characters and Maks was able to relax and enjoy the rest of our walk to the car.  Lilly, on the other hand, had so much fun making friends with all of the characters that she wanted to head back to the haunted hay ride and visit some more.  I told her we had tormented Maks enough and judging by how fast he was trotting AWAY from the goblins I was pretty sure we weren't going to be able to convince him to turn around.

I wonder if Maks will ever want to go to the park again?

Sponsoring a Compassion Child

Yesterday I sponsored a child through Compassion International.  It's $32 per month.  I don't have an extra $32 a month.  But, Rose and her family don't have $32 period.  So, I've told God that I'll trust Him to help me find the money while still paying my bills.  Because Rose needs that money a whole lot more than I do.  She lives in Borel, Haiti with her mom and will turn 5 years old on July 27th.  She is in pre-school and her mom tries to make ends meet by farming.  Rose had been waiting for a sponsor for over 6 months.  It was so hard to choose.  There are so many little ones that need and deserve sponsors.  I wish I could sponsor them all.  But, for now, I will help this one and pray that she grows up to help others.

Maks

Puppy kisses are wonderful!!!  That is, if they're being given to a giggling 3 year old.  As for me, as much as I love that Maks adores me, I wish he'd cut back on the amount of puppy kisses I get.  If I hold still at all while he's around, my fingers/toes/elbow... SOMETHING is going to get licked.  His favorite is when he manages to catch me with a big ol' smooch right on the kisser... YUCK!!!!!!! He's getting so big! It's getting harder to shove him away.  He uses this to his full advantage, climbing on top of me and pinning me down to get in as many wet slobbery kisses as possible before he gets shoved away.  Although I end up with most of his kisses, I'm certainly not the one who appreciates them the least - that designation would go to Jack the Cat.  Poor Jack.  Being pinned down and licked by a squirmy bouncy puppy is most definitely not his idea of a good time.  Lately I've caught Jack giving Maks looks that say, "DIE!  DIE ALREADY!!!"  To which Maks responds by giving him a big wet slobbery kiss across his face.  To Jack's dismay, everyone who sees Maks thinks he's CUTE, and he does some of the most adorable things...

Like the other night when I was filling the dishwasher & had the bottom rack pushed in and only the top rack out - I looked down to see Maks (all 35 pounds of him) standing with all four feet on top of the dishwasher door and his head inside the dishwasher licking the dishes clean. 

Or when he follows me from room to room, waiting for me to stay put long enough so he can lie down by my feet and snooze.

When he sits in the kitchen staring at the refrigerator willing it to open so that he can get to the watermelon.

And last week I woke up certain that somehow the garbage disposal had gotten turned on... it was Maks snoring away on the bed beside me.

He loves everyone and everything.  Life is met with ENTHUSIASM!!!  He's HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY about everything.  It's impossible for him to just wag his tail - his entire butt wags right along with it.  We laugh and call him "Tigger" 'cause he bounces everywhere and half the time doesn't even notice the chaos and destruction he leaves behind (such as the squashed kitty cat that used to be sleeping until it was pounced upon - on accident, of course).  With Maks everything is just one big happy bouncy accident - just like the day we found him.

Another gift from God...

Three weeks ago my friend from down the street and I were out at an old abandoned house that burnt down 50 years ago.  Our purpose for this outing was to dig up some iris, daffodils, lilac, rose, and any other plants that looked interesting.  The woman who used to live here was an avid gardener.  No, we weren't stealing (if it's abandoned it's not stealing... right???).  We were relocating neglected and abused plants to a location where they would be loved and cared for.  Now, doesn't that sound much better than stealing?  Funny thing is, I had called Jamie and asked her if she'd rather go up to Nashville and watch the fashion show of scantily clad firemen at the Southern Women's Show.  Nope, she wasn't in the mood to watch half-nekked firemen.  What woman in her right mind isn't in the mood for that???

Anyhow, God must have been watching & laughing at what was about to happen next.  My consequence for absconding with those plants.  In the middle of our digging, two puppies clambered over the disintegrating rock wall and came running toward us.  They were only about 2 1/2 months old and so hungry/thirsty that they were trying to eat the cactus plants growing around us.  So, of course, being the softy that I am - I scooped them up with the intention of figuring out where they belonged.  The nearest place was an old lumber mill, so that's where we went first.  And that's where finding two adorable fluffy puppies became a pretty big problem.  The guy at the mill informed us that he'd watched someone dump the puppies off earlier that day.  He had tried to catch both the asshole who did this as well as the puppies and wasn't successful at either.  I could almost hear God laughing at me.  Jamie keeping the puppies was out of the question due to her two dogs - both of them are extremely intolerant of other dogs (they can't even be around each other).  And as you'll recall, I've got three dogs at my house.  So we sat there on Jamie's deck watching the puppies play in the front yard (after giving them water and food) wondering what in the world we were going to do.  I made sure to point out to her that we COULD HAVE BEEN WATCHING HALF NEKKED FIREMEN! 

The puppies were obviously part Chow Chow - so absolutely no way would we take them to the pound (the Chow would make them unadoptable).  Luck happened to walk by in the form of Jamie's new neighbors across the street.  They have three kids & no dog.  Now they have a dog and very happy children.  Which left Jamie and I with one dog too many (well, it's better than two).  It was getting late, so I took the little guy home and put him in the spare kennel for the night.  After a week of looking for a home for him, one of my neighbors agreed to take him for a few days on a trial basis.  A week went by & my neighbor brought him back - just not ready to deal with a puppy.  So, it's been a third week since then and Maks (he had to have a name) is still at my house.  He's decided he lives here & judging from the lack of other homes for him, I guess he's right.  At this point he's part of the family and has even earned himself a nickname: Monkey Maks - he sounds like a monkey when he's playing.  Gabriel is overjoyed at having a playmate and the boys are the bestest of buddies.  Lilly Ann likes playing with him too & really likes that he helps entertain Gabe when she wants a break.  Sarah just doesn't care as long as she gets left alone - kind of sucks to be an old lady with all of these young things running around.  Here are some pictures of Maks - he's the cutest baby!

My house is soooooooo SAD this week!

I think even the most die-hard Pollyanna would get a case of the blues if she spent more than an hour at my house.  We miss Rocco horribly  - and it shows.  Sylvester wanders the house meowing - looking for our buddy.  He usually settles on sitting on Rocco’s bed and meowing rather pitifully.  Lilly has been refusing to eat.  She too spends a lot of time on Rocco’s bed crying & sniffing his blanket.  She doesn’t look for him though, she understands he’s gone.  She has hidden Rocco’s teddy bear in the front window behind the sofa and chases the other animals away from it.  When she has fallen asleep, I’ve caught Sylvester curled up in the window with buddy boy’s bear.  Both of them have been sleeping curled up pretty much on top of me at night and have been extremely clingy.  Last night I cooked scrambled eggs and mixed it with cottage cheese & a few pieces of kibble for Lilly and sat with her so she’d eat.  It took some convincing, but she managed to finish her dinner.  As for me... I didn’t think there could be this many tears.  Tuesday, while cooking dinner, Lilly and Gabe were playing in the living room & Sarah was hanging out in her room -- I ended up bursting into horrible sobs because Rock wasn’t in the kitchen talking to me.  For over 12 years he has followed me around the house, talking to me the whole time - especially when I was in the kitchen.  The silence with him gone is heartbreaking.  Wednesday I broke down when I looked at the calendar and saw "R-adequan" written on several future dates... reminders to me to give him the miracle series of shots we never got to try.  As for today... I’m hoping I can keep it together.  My eyes are starting to get permanently bloodshot and puffy, my nose is chapped from blowing it so much,  and my sinuses could sure use a break.  So, if you see me and ask how I’m doing - I don’t mean to be rude by brushing you off or ignoring you.  I’m just trying to get through this day without another disastrous sobbing episode.

Goodbye Buddy Boy

Rocco got a lot worse on Sunday.  He ended up paralyzed from just below the ribcage and could not feel anything at all in his hips or legs.  So yesterday Lilly & Rocco & I went to the vet.  I couldn’t leave Lilly at home - she’s never let me leave her if I’m taking Rocco and yesterday was no exception.  Besides, I didn’t want her searching for him.  So, she waited in the car while the vet examined my big beautiful boy and told me what I already knew - there wasn’t anything else we could do for him.  So I held my buddy boy in my lap while the vet gave him the drugs to put him to sleep forever.  And I cried.  Once he was gone, I brought Lilly in to say goodbye.  She sniffed his body and then came to me and asked for a hug.  Poor little girl, she really depended on him for his eyes and ears.  After Lilly and I left the vet we went to Percy Warner Park and went for a hike through the woods.  She mastered walking across a beam over the river, jumping over a log, and enjoyed wading in the shallow parts of the water.  Then it was back home to reality.  A too quiet house without Rocco.  Both Lilly and Sylvester slept curled up with me on my bed last night - something they have never done before.  And today I found Lilly lying on Rocco’s bed sniffing his blanket.  She’s not looking for him.  She knows he’s gone.  She just misses him.  I do too.  I know the tears will fade in time, but for now I cry spontaneously.

 

Progress

Today was rainy and thundering - a grey dismal day. But it was full of progress and hope for the furry ones in my home. Rocco had his vet appointment yesterday and got the first of the series of magic shots. Today he is standing better and able to walk more on his own. He still needs a lot of help, but is better. Jack, the cat, finally had enough and beat Gabriel up -- twice.   :)    We're thrilled that he's finally decided to stand up for himself! And Gabe went for his first big dog walk with his harness on. He did very well and walked half a mile before deciding he was too little and needed to be carried the rest of the way home. The girls have both been very good today and unusually quiet - none of their normal barking at each other just for fun. NOT that I'm complaining! So, despite the weather outside, its been a great day!

Getting Old SUCKS!!!

Rocco turned thirteen in October '07, so this is no surprise... he's old.  But knowing the aging process is happening, knowing the time to say goodbye is getting closer and closer... knowing about it absolutely does not make dealing with it any easier.  

This time last year I was worried he wouldn't make it much longer.  His hind legs were so weak he couldn't go for walks anymore and just the act of standing had them trembling with the effort.  Then we discovered his low thyroid, got some magic thyroid boosting pills, and suddenly life was better.  He got stronger and has spent the last year walking a mile per day.  

Until last week...  

Last week he fell, hard.  And now the degenerative nerve disorder in his hips is creating all sorts of havoc with his ability to stand and walk.  He can't feel where his hind feet are placed, so he falls frequently and ends up dragging his hind legs behind him.  This is not a strength issue, it's an inability to feel where & how the legs are placed and a lack of communication between the brain and the hind legs.  ~~ Kind of like trying to walk with your legs completely asleep. ~~  I have to use a sling under his abdomen to support him so that he can walk without falling.  This upsets me so much more than it upsets him.  He'll drag himself over to his sling, look at it and then bark at me - he likes that he can walk fast again when we use it.  When he first figured out the sling made it easier to walk, he took off running down the street with me chasing behind trying not to drop him & yelling at him to slow down.  He hasn't moved that fast in over two years!  I'm not in good enough shape to be jogging down the street in the best of circumstances, but carrying the back half of a 105 pound dog while doing so sent me into an asthma attack.  We've been walking one block per day - he would like to go further and attempts to drag me along with him, but I just can't carry him any longer than that.  

We're seeing the vet later this week.  She might have one more magic pill up her sleeve - actually it's a series of shots.  Other than his hips, my beautiful boy is in excellent health.  His heart is good, his hearing hasn't diminished a bit, and mentally he's as sharp as ever.  So I'm hoping the shots work.  The same hope I had as a child and had to deal with my little Patches dog getting old.  Because, just as I wasn't ready to say goodbye then, I'm not ready now.  And just like Dr. Aldene managed to pull some magic shots out of his bag of tricks to give me several more years with my little Patches, I'm hoping Dr. Torchia's magic shots will give me more time with Rocco.  Because I'm just not ready to say "goodbye".

 

Perspective

Nothing like sliding off the icy road into the ditch and then sitting there for two hours to help you see the positives in an otherwise ordinary day. First; I wasn't hurt. Second; the car wasn't hurt. Third; at least a dozen people stopped to make sure I was ok - almost everyone that went past. Fourth; the idiot good Samaritan that was driving too fast and hit his brakes at the last minute thinking he'd stop and help, but instead causing his SUV to slide around on the road, didn't hit me. Fifth; the tow truck managed to pull my car out of the ditch without sliding into the ditch with the car - things were pretty icy and the tow truck was sliding quite a bit. And most important, I'm home and no longer sitting in a ditch out on a snowy icy country road.

Sometimes God has other plans...

I thought there were enough animals in my house.  With three dogs and two cats all living indoors (a total of 232 pounds of animals), I THOUGHT my home was full.  No more four-legged furry creatures.  That's what I thought.  But evidently God had other plans.  Because there is now a fourth dog living in my house.  

Well, he's really more puppy than dog.  We're guessing Gabe is about 8 weeks old.  He weighs 5 1/2 pounds.  And no one has a clue what he is - best guess is some sort of hunting breed mix due to the black ring around the base of his tail.  As for how he came to live at my house... well, he just kind of fell out of the sky.  At least that's the vets explanation, "Puppies just sort of fall out of the sky here in Tennessee and no one ever figures out where they came from." 

My sister and I found Gabe walking along the center yellow line of the road out in the country where homes are at least 1/2 mile apart.  After checking every home in the area, leaving notes on the homes that didn't answer the door, & leaving a note at the church to please announce it during the service (it was Sunday)... not a soul had ever seen him before or knew of anyone whose dog had recently had puppies.  We weren't even supposed to be on that particular stretch of road at that time - we were running 20 minutes late.  It was one of those mornings where the clock is moving in fast-forward and you're trying to move in quicksand.  No particular explanation for running 20 minutes late, the clock was just moving extra fast that morning.  But, if we hadn't been late, we wouldn't have found Gabe, and maybe the person who did find him in the middle of the road would have been driving too fast and hit him.  

So now there is this little brindle & white spotted munchkin that God has trusted us with living in my home.  He's smart & is very good (for a puppy).  The big dogs tolerate him as long as they get lengthy breaks with him locked in Rocco's old crate.  Miss Lilly Ann has discovered that he makes a better playmate than Sylvester when it comes to games of chase and tag.  Sylvester has beat him up several times and Gabe has finally figured out to steer clear of that particular cat.  Jack the cat is trying to learn not to run from Gabe - he did a bit better at that today and didn't get chased anywhere near as much.  We keep trying to tell Jack that he needs to take a page from Sylvester's book & just wallop Gabe while he's still bigger than the little brat, but so far no luck.  He's such a cute baby.  I'd really like to get my hands on the moron who dumped him!  As for what I'd do to the idiot... well, I think I might get in trouble if I wrote it out here - I'm sure your imagination can come up with some appropriate punishments.

Miss Lilly Ann - It’s been 10 whole months!!!

I can't believe it's been 10 whole months since Lilly joined our family!  

The timid, scared of everything, pees if you look at her wrong little girl is no more.  She is a confident, happy, precocious two year old little girl that is rarely intimidated.  She has gone from knowing 5 signs when I adopted her to 23 signs today.  Little Missy has learned to fetch and will bring specific toys when asked.  She loves walks now & does just fine having her harness and leash put on (no more rolling over and peeing all over herself).  She gets in and out of the car by herself and is confident enough to sit up and bark at the cars behind us.  She also learned about the lake this summer & discovered how much she LOVES to swim.  She still hides under the bed when told she has to take a bath, but will actually crawl out on her own now and doesn't fight being put in the tub or jump out at the first opportunity.  I no longer find pockets of dog food hidden throughout the house (there's still a small stash hidden under my bed for "emergencies") and she no longer tries to guard all of the food bowls (just hers).  We haven't had to use the crate in over 5 months and there have been absolutely no "scared the pee out of her" accidents in almost 4 months.  She gets along very well with big brother Rocco, still hates cousin Sarah with a passion (the girls can't seem to settle the argument of who is in charge), loves it when Grandma visits with cousins Toby & Maverick, and is best friends with Sylvester the cat.  It's hilarious to watch 45 pound Lilly and 21 pound Sylvester play tag and hide & seek through the house - yes, they take turns.  It's even better to watch them play ball.  Lilly will throw the tennis ball toward Sylvester and then wait for him to bat it back to her.  They'll play this back and forth with the tennis ball for a good 20 minutes before Sylvester gets that disgusted cat look on his face and walks off.  She has mastered the art of greeting other dogs while we're out on walks without getting scared and freaking out, and has even discovered that it's o.k. to let human children pet her and will sit quietly beside me to let them tell her how soft and pretty she is (this is something that had her crying, rolling over on her back, and peeing all over herself back in March '07).  Lilly has learned that any light flashing on and off (both inside and outside) means you're calling her.  She has also learned that when outside, if she looks away she doesn't see the light flashing on and off and can therefore ignore you until you go get your shoes & coat and actually go get her.  Fortunately, she has not figured this tactic out with hand signals (the deaf dog I had in high school, Vander, figured this out and would actually cover his eyes with his paw so he didn't have to "listen").  She is a huge fan of the well executed tummy rub and will take advantage of any opportunity to climb in your lap and lick your hand until you comply with the tummy rub request.  She was ingenious enough to learn that if she climbs up on the back of the sofa and walks across it, she can reach her leash and harness that hang by the front door - she hasn't managed to get them off the hook yet, but it makes it quite clear what she wants.  I know I'm a bit biased, but I think she's pretty amazing for a severely abused, deaf, and partially blind little girl who was in at least 2 shelters and 3 homes before coming to live with me at 15 months old.

Our goals for this year are to continue learning new signs, completely stop scratching holes in the wall next to the door when she wants out (she's gotten much better, but I'd like to be able to repair the drywall without her digging another hole in it), stop guarding food altogether, successfully visit the dog park (we haven't even tried yet), have fun being left at the groomers/dogie day care for the day (haven't tried this either), and actually go get in the tub on her own when it's bath time (Rocco does this).  They may be a bit ambitious, but she's progressed further in 10 months than I'd even hoped for in 2 years so I thought I'd set the bar a bit higher for 2008.