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My Side of Thanksgiving….

24 Thursday Nov 2011

Posted by in animal families, border collies, cancer in dogs, Dog walking, dog/human relationships, dogs, Dogs named Bailey, letters, loving dogs, loving life, missing your dog, nature, parks, Petfinder, rescue dogs, second chances, talking dogs, Thanksgiving, The Rainbow Bridge

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Dear Mommy,

That last letter you sent was so beautiful and it made me cry thinking about how much you miss me. I feel exactly the same you know but I don’t want you to be sad. You have to celebrate the love we shared everyday from now on, okay? I mean, it’s okay to msis me and cry too, but I rather you be smiling like in this picture, which I love of us. You are holding me so sweetly, like you always did – like a mom who loves their furry child the VERY MOST!!! – YES! That would be be ME!

Let me tell you why I am thankful, since this is my favorite holidaytoo especially cause it involves my favorite food- Turkey!

I am thankful for you finding me and giving me the BEST home in the whole universe.

 I am thankful that you helped me get rid of a lot of different health problems from the very start.

 I am thankful that our cat, Safari liked me so much and let me herd him around.

I am thankful that you worked at home and got to be with me 24/7!

I am VERY thankful for getting to have two big houses with lots of room.

I am thankful for everytime you brought hom new food, you were thoughtful and brought me some new veggie bones and a new toy.

Can you imagine how thankful I am for all the turkey you gave me – not the deli stuff either – you only gave me the real cooked stuff – so delicious!

I am thankful that you never got mad at me when I gobbled down Safari’s food when I first came to love with you and daddy. I LOVE cat food!

You mentioned all the zillions of miles we logged on foot and by car; SO TRUE! I am so thankful for that – not to mention the doggie parks in PA and Florida AND OUR FAVORITE PLACE TO WALK – BUHL PARK!!!!

I am thankful you always took me shopping in FL – Those gals at Bath and Body Works and Dillards really loved me!

I am thankful for my very special Red Maple tree in Buhl Park and the beautiful dedication that honors me – I am sure I am the ONLY dog in the 400 plus acres that has their own tree!!!

Mommy, I could go on and on and on and my list would probably never end because our family was the BEST family. You could be a dog because you are such a loyal person. I see how you treat daddy too and how much you love and care for him and of course Safari too! That is just who you are, as your friend Jennifer likes to say. Loyality is very important to us dogs and it’s nice to see that some people have that too – it’s just that you go above and beyond – And, by the way, I KNOW this is true, cause I read all the cards you got after I crossed over the Rainbow Bridge and EVERYONE said that in their cards about you and how well you took care of me! You never put yourself first and you are a very thoughtful person and I love that about you. I knew it the minute we met and THAT is why I kissed you immediately so you would take me home and see, you did! I knew right then you loved kisses too!

Today Mommy, I want you to think of all the things you and I have to be thankful for. I’m thankful for www.Petfinder.com  who helped you find me! Had you never been searching for Border Collies on there, we would have never met, so I have to say I AM VERY thankful for that. Remember that we have much MORE to be thankful for than not and most of all I am simply thankful for US!

Barkley, Bingo and I are having Thanksgiving with Caru and Onwen. I am so excited. There is PLENTY of turkey up here for everyone. We are having it at my doggie den. I am making a beautiful table like you enjoy making- you taught me everything! 

I love you so much. Write me back soon because I love your letters and I know you love mine. What’s not to love because they are from each other!!!

Your Loving, Smiling, Sweet, Bailey Girl (kisses! nose to nose!)

 

 

 

 

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

A Vet Just Has to Know…

17 Sunday May 2009

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IMG_3901On a recent Sunday morning, earlier in the month, Bailey woke up and would not eat. Of course, this is not normal dog behavior, especially for Bailey, who likes to get up and eat as soon as possible. She had also been panting hard in the middle of the night and that too, was not right.

We went to see Dr Hakim Hamaci at 24/7 Emergency Vet Clinic, who decided to do bloodwork to see what was going on. The results showed that Bailey’s liver enzymes were elevated and diagnostically speaking, it could point to various problems. He wanted to get an ultrasound done but would have to wait to call his specialist to set up the appointment.

On Monday, I was told his guy could not come until Thursday which for me was unacceptable as we were leaving to go back up North for the summer on Sunday and I did not want to wait.

I found Dr. Larry Scrabis at Estero Animal Hospital and luckily he had a cancellation for Tuesday to do the ultrasound. We went in at 9am on Tuesday and instead he wanted to do a STIMM test, thinking Bailey has Cushings Disease. It’s a simple blood test done in two part, which ultimately cam eout nortmal. The next day we did an ultrasound to rule out a mass or other such horrible things.

We could clearly see her liver was slightly enlarged and even though he thinks she has what is known as Cushing’s Syndrome, it is now two and  a half weeks later, we are back in Pennsylvania for the summer and I still do not know if she has Cushing’s. Last week a sample of her blood and urine went off to Michigan State and I will find out sometime this week what the Cortisol test shows. It can only rule out Cushing’s, not rule it in. It is a very tough illness to diagnose, even though Bailey has all the  symptoms. It is a very treatable disease,  but it has to be diagnosed because you cannot give the drugs to a non-Cushing’s dog.

Dr. Thomas Crago, our vet here, has been very patient is helping and listening to all my woes about Bailey. Although he is not an endocrinologist, he is willing to talk to one at Michigan State to see what to do for Bailey next. So all this has got me thinking about vets and how they just have to know what is ailing a furry child. I too, just have to know when something is wrong. There is a sixth sense that is extremely hightened when you have furry kids.  Human kids can say, ouch. I hurt.  My Bailey & Safari do not have that option. I must be keenly attuned to their needs at all times, which makes me exceptional, I think. And what is most amazing about vets is that they have to be so many things – a general practioner who has to heal all sorts of body parts which is most admirable.

The other aspect which makes all this so mystifying is that she was a rescue. I do not know her medical history. I do not know anything about her past. Maybe I don’t need to because we can only start from June 20, 2008 when we cme into each other’s lives. I feel like love helps heal everything and if there was ever a dog who was well loved, it is my Bailey girl. I could not adore her more and I will continue to provide her with all the love I have and all the best medical care there is because she deserves it. Together, the vets and I will figure this thing out for her and she will be grateful as she already is, gracing me with as many kisses she has in that big heart of hers.

It’s My Turn to Talk

08 Sunday Mar 2009

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just-preciousSherri is reading a great book called The Art of Racing In The Rain by Garth Stein.  It’s about a very cool dog named Enzo, but it’s about a lot of different things like love and tolerence and creating your own destiny. The book is written from Enzo’s point of view, so I asked mommy if I could talk on our blog this week and she said, “of course!”

I believe that she was my destiny. I know she wonders how I wound up at Angels for Animals all the time. It drives her crazy that she doesn’t know where I came from. I wish I could tell her if I could talk with words. I wish Angels had more information about me for her. But, what I want her to know, is that it does not matter because everything in both of our lives was leading up to the evening of Friday,June 20th, 2008 when she came to see me after getting an email about me from www.petfinder.com.

I was irrisistable the minute she met me– I know that! And I fell in love with her. I kissed her right away so she would know I thought she was my special person as soon as we got into the “meeting room.” She wanted to see if I liked cats because they brought one in to see how I would react. I could have cared less, but that cat was not happy! I thought it was funny! I figured she must have been living with a cat and she did have a cat named Safari, who I like very much.

Then she asked if she could take me outside for a walk! How did she know I LOVED WALKS! So we went for a walk around the building and she asked me if I wanted to go home with her and live. I looked at her with my big brown eyes which told her that I did! Next, she took me back inside and told the people who worked there that she was taking me home. They said, “Really? ” She replied that she was! I was SO happy I could have cried!

I had to wait in the special room while all the paperwork was being readied. Mommy told me a funny story later that when she went to pay the adoption fee of $120, that the lady in the office said she had to call Maryann. Sherri did not know who she was, but I used to sit under her desk in the office they told her. “Oh, Maryann is not going to believe Bailey is getting adopted. She will be so upset that she is not here to say goodbye!” When the lady called Maryann on the phone, Sherri was writing out the check at the office window, listening to the lady talk to her and then she told Sherri that Maryann had said that she had better take very good care of me or she was going to come after her! Sherri became my mommy at that very instant. “If she knew me, she would love me and know that I will take the very best care of Bailey – she will have a fabulous life with us,” she replied with fervor!

She bought me a leash and said, “I am springing you loose!” She called her sister, April, immediately, who she knew would LOVE the fact she was finally getting a dog. April and her family share their home with THREE dogs.

I met Sherri’s special person right away because he knew we were on the way and was wiating outside for us to arrive. Russell’s first reaction was, “she big!”

When they first thought about getting a dog it was going to be a small, purebred dog. But Sherri was very intersted in Border Collies like me because I am so smart. I am mixed a little bit with something, but Dr. Tom Crago, my vet, says he only sees Collie in me and Sherri agrees.

When I first arrived, I had some problems like peeing in the house, pooping too much and throwing up, which made Russell not so tolerent. They had a big fight one night when he wanted to get rid of me! Sherri never told me that, but I knew I was the subject fo their big fight. She ran to her friend’s house, crying. Obviously, i got to stay, thankfully!

With a lot of work by Dr Tom and Sherri, I am on a special diet, which I have to follow very strictly. I have allergies and that is why I was throwing up and stuff.  The peeing in the house was only leaking due to the fact that I am a bit incontinent because I was spayed too early – I am on a ppe-pee pill for that now and I am good! I have a very sensitive system and it took a while to figure that out. I love to eat but Sherri does not let me overeat–even though I want to–Sherri knows what is best even though I want hamburgers! She gives me teeny bit of other stuff sometimes. Russell thinks it’s teasing me, but she does it so I do not get sick!

I am a very happy girl. I love that mommy and daddy both work at home and are with me and Safari all the time! A couple of weeks ago they took a cruise for one week but they had Beverly stay with me. I like Bev a lot. It was her house Sherri ran to that night Russell was having second thoughts. Bev saw Sherri through that terrible night and she is our true and special friend. We love her. She took great care of me but I know she missed her dog, Shelly while staying with me. I will see them when we go back to PA this summer.

I have a great life. I spend the winter in Florida and the summers in Western Pennsylvania. What could be better than that? Our neighbor, Johnny, back in PA told me that I was a dog that hit the lotto when she brought me home.

Sherri says we both did and that is why I love her. We might not be able to talk with exact words, but we communicate very well. I know a lot of words like food, ride in the car, gotta go pee? let’s go for a walk, kisses, time for a bath, let’s go to Dog Beach….there are a lot of words I know, but LOVE is my very favorite.