Tag Archives: rescues

The Two Sides of Thankfulness…

21 Monday Nov 2011

Posted by in animal families, border collies, cancer in dogs, Dog walking, dog/human relationships, dogs, Florida, loving dogs, loving life, missing your dog, nature, New Year's Eve, parks, Petfinder, rescue dogs, second chances, talking dogs, Thanksgiving

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My Sweet Girl,

Oh, how I miss you. With Thanksgiving coming up I am conjuring up images of you and the pleasure you derived from Turkey. Of course you ate your turkey everyday, but you always knew it was my favorite holiday and for the first time in many years, and perhaps in protest, I am not making my favorite dinner this year.  Instead we having it with friends at their club. Perhaps it was fortuitous that Ronna asked us this year to join them; I am not feeling in the holiday spirit by any means. It just does not seem like the holiday season without you and I am thinking of skipping the tree as well because without you here to search under it for a new ball, bone or toy, what fun would it be?

I know I should go through it all for Safari, he loves the Christmas tree and knocking off the ornaments, so maybe I will, but I am not feeling the seasonal glow, let’s say. Then there is New Year’s Eve and I will be thinking about how I really hate 2011 because of losing you and then it will be 2012 – a new year without you in it. I am not sure this will ever get any easier for me, Bailey. We were just so joined at the hip and so perfect for each other – I cannot imagine another doggie bearing your greatness. My friend Jeff told me not to think of it that way and I know he is right. he said, just like people, doggies are all different and no two will ever be the same. I understand that logically, but mentally I am not there. He just went through it with Marlowe and now he has Harper and they are very different and he loves her very much, but I still think he has an extra soft spot for Marlowe that will always be there. I never even met Marlowe and I can just feel it from talking to him about it. I think Marlowe was much like you – tenacious and feisty, smart and beautiful and attached at the hip.

So the question is to give thanks or not? I cannot give thanks for you getting cancer. I cannot thank God or whomever is in charge of taking you from me at your young, senior age of only 10. I guess I can think of some things to be thankful for. I am thankful that you still ate like a horse to the very end! I am thankful you NEVER looked sick- EVER! You are the most beautiful dog on or above the planet.  I am thankful that I got more than a year of fun with you after your diagnosis. I am thankful for your Red Maple Tree we have dedicated to you in Buhl Park. I am thankful for the thousands of miles we logged on foot and by car. I am thankful for all the doggie friends we made and the people that we met along the way. I am thankful for all the fun we had going shopping together at our many stores in Coconut Point. Most of all I am thankful that we found each other through Petfinder, kissed each other literally thousands of times and shared a love that most people never feel as strongly. We were lucky for sure, just not for long enough, but as you said, Bailey, we had a lot of quality time together and that is more important that quantity.

I still cannot help but miss you so don’t ask me to. I do love hearing about all of your adventures and I am VERY thankful for your letters and I am thankful you are having a blast in Hyfryd and have met good dog friends and that you are taking care of little Barkley – who I miss as well as Bingo. So keep those letters coming my sweet girl. Know that you are are very much missed in so many ways, but I carry you with me in the Ruby heart necklace and earrings Russell had made for me in honor of you. Your leash stays with us always in the car so you travel with us in spirit and we celebrate you everyday in our thoughts, pictures, magnets on the car – you name it – we are still attached maybe not within physical reach, but in the most spiritual way, in our hearts and especially mine.

Thankful for your love always – Mommy

Single? Get a dog!

29 Friday Jan 2010

Posted by in border collies, dogs, loving dogs, Uncategorized

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Recently I went to Starbucks to get a coffee. Bailey loves to go for coffee, because she knows she is going to get a little lick of whipped cream. And a man came up to me as I was leaving with my coffee to ask me what kind of dog Bailey was. He proceeded to tell me how beautiful and soft she was and he quickly whipped out his wallet and showed me a picture of his dogs a Corgie and a German Sherpard. “My mom told, me you have a picture of your dogs in your wallet but not me,” he said. Right then, I knew he was single. And after that moment, I knew he was a guy that was looking for a woman who might love him and his dogs.

I am not single. I have been happily married for many years, but after I thought about the brief chat about dogs, I recalled my girlfriends who are single and how they should get a dog! This was not the first time this has happened to me either, but for some reason, I never thought about it. Guys come up to me all the time when I am walking Bailey! When I was single I had cats- I still have a a cat and always will have cats in my life, but dogs are true men magnets and I never thought to get a dog when I was single, in hopes of engaging a nice guy who also loved animals as much as me. So why did I not think about that? Have you?

There is a wonderful a ticle by John Homans right now on the cover of New York Magazine http://nymag.com/news/features/63232/ about dogs and people. For dog lovers, or anyone who shares their life with animal companions, it is a must read article.  The love I feel for Bailey is just like having a child, so the thought of two single people meeting who both like dogs could be a great study in interpersonal communication because immediately you share a ground more common than who looks good. I mean one’s look can change over time for the good or better, but the unconditional love that is shared between an animal and their person and then yet another person is simply special.

I met my husband in a very romantic way and it could have not been more ideal and it did not involve cats or dogs, but I wish my girfriends who long to meet the right guy would just make the commitment to rescue a dog. First, I believe in the good karma it brings and second, they would be putting themselves out there in a manner that they have not yet before. Of course having a dog is unlike having a cat. It’s the total opposite. But, if you ever wondered about what it would be like to have a child in your singleness – just get a dog because the wondering will end. They are the real deal. They demand constant time and attention, money, playtime and all the love you can muster. They will take it all and give it back twofold. So if you can meet someone else who is willing to have this kind of commitment to a dog, just imagine what a wonderful relationship you might build together. With your dogs and cats, of course!

After She Finished the Book

16 Monday Mar 2009

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me-my-mommy-feb-9Mommy finished The Art of Racing in the Rain By Garth Stein this morning. She was crying so hard she could not even breathe and it was scaring me. I decided to write again because she was just so worked up. She said it was one of the top five best books she has ever read–and she has read a lot of books!

Of course she was hugging and kissing me so much while crying because it was told by Enzo the dog, whom I think she became very fond of, even though it was simply a charachter. But I think she felt Enzo could have been anyone’s special dog companion.

I love that mommy loves me and Safari so much. We love her too. I kiss her on the lips all the time. I like her bright pink MAC lipstick best. She told me its name was maaaarvelous (spelled like that) which they do not make anymore, so I am getting in all the licks I can while she still has some. She really has become so enthralled with me. Safari gets mad sometimes, but he likes me in general cause I kiss him too. I am a big kisser just like mommy. She notices the funniest things about me like when I go outside to pee. She told me this morning while I was doing my business that I go into a pleae, just like a beautiful ballet dancer! I think she tells me how beautiful I am at least 100 times a day. She is always wanting to photograph me and I don’t really mind, so I let her even though the flash on the camera is too bright for my big brown eyes.

I know I could not have gotten rescued by anyone better. In the book she was reading, Enzo was Denny’s from the time he was a puppy. We did not have that luxury. Last night she was staring into my eyes (which look much like hers) and telling me that I must have been THE CUTEST puppy ever. And when were at the Farmer’s Market on Saturday (one of my favorite things to do!) everyone tells me what a cute puppy  I am! HA!  They think I am a puppy! I like that! I guess I look good for my age – which will be 8 on May 23rd. She takes excellent care of me and that will help keep me young!

Today we went to The Garden Corner so daddy could look for some supplies for the garden and then we went running and playing in the park which was a lot of fun. I smelled everything. A lot of dogs go there and when I walk my nose is like a vacuum, inhaling every scent on each  blade of grass and patch of sand. I have to say that the grass is much better in Western, PA where we live in the summertime. I LOVE the grass there. It is lush and so green and I want to eat it all the time, although she won’t let me because I tend to throw it up – so I do not blame her!

I just had to write today because she loved that book so much and I know she thought of me being an older dog. But I want her to know that I will be with her as long as I can because I love life with her and Russell and Safari, but most of all her. She said the book had a lot to do with destiny and I completely believe we were meant to be together. We both feel that everyday – especially when we are kissing.