My Life in Dogs

Today is International Dog Day. I couldn't let it pass without mentioning the dogs that have made my life better and my heart fuller.

Before I ever had a dog of my own, I would hear stories about the dog my mother grew up with, a black Chow-Chow named Pete. Like most dogs in other people's stories, he sounded perfect, smart, cuddly, and irreplaceable. You know, like all dogs ever. ❤️

And then there was Whiskey, a wire-haired fox terrier that was on the scene before I was born. I really don't remember if he was my parents' dog when they were first married, or when my sisters were kids. But apparently he had quite a personality! 

The first dog I remember is Herman, a beagle/bassett hound mix that my father found by his workplace (a common theme for a lot of our pets) when we lived in Chicago. I remember being so excited to have a dog! His favorite person was my middle sister, Mary Ellen, who thought he was OK, but wasn't as crazy about him as he was about her, LOL.

In second grade, someone my dad worked with was giving away a dog for who knows what reason, so of course my dad brought him home. (Side note: my dad was as animal crazy as I am - I get it honestly!) That was Bud (Sir Budweiser Carlton III to the AKC), a black cocker spaniel. I remember pictures of me dressed for my first communion on our front porch, posing with Bud. ❤️

Next up was Toby, a Standard Poodle/Airedale mix puppy that my mother got from a friend whose dog had puppies. Toby, God bless him, let me dress him up, teach him some tricks, hug and kiss him to within an inch of his life, and probably never had a moment left alone if I was home. 🙂 He was stolen from our back yard.

He was the last pup that was part of the family while I was still at home. I had other dogs I adored, and would take care of for friends and neighbors over the years (;ong-time readers probably remember Doughoy!), but the next dog who was part of our family was this one:

Dug the Doodle Dog! ❤️❤️❤️

Followed a few years later by Hamlet, the Retired Seeing Eye Dog ❤️❤️❤️:

It wasn't until earlier this year we adopted our Angus Podgorny ❤️❤️❤️💔:

And then most recently, the ridiculous Miss Katie Potatey❤️❤️❤️:

I will admit that my first love has always been cats - maybe because no matter what else was happening, or where we lived, we always had a cat. And we've also had birds, fish, turtles - whatever I could talk my parents or The Tim into. I am still, at my age, wishing for more animals in my life!

But dogs are different, as you know if you've had one. It's a different relationship than with other animals - just as all relationships are different with any creature. For the most part, I would say that at least the dogs I've had are willing to put up with a lot more active attention than anyone else. Heck, even The Tim wants to be left alone more often than not! 🤣

So thank you to every dog, past and present, that I've ever even come across, for letting me love you, and for giving some of it back, even if I've just been able to pet you in passing. 

And to my own dogs, past and present - I love you more than my own life and always will. ❤️. If you have a dog or other friend in your life, remember to hug them and thank them. I would bet they will love you right back.

When The Right Thing To Do Is Awful

Please note - Mosf of this was already posted early this morning on both Instagram and Facebook, so unless you have the desire to feel bad again, feel free to wait for the next post. I've added a few things, but it's mostly the same.

*****

OK I just want to get through this. Warning - this is a long sad post, but I just wanted people to hopefully understand both our decision and our heartbreak. Sometimes the best thing is also the most awful.

First meeting, and adoption day a few days later.

This weekend we had to return our beloved Angus to the foster parents who had him when we adopted him from the rescue he was in. On Saturday, he attacked Alfie, and though Alfie is fine, it was the second time that it happened (the first was when he first came home; it was less serious and we realized he was new to everything), and this time, @philly.tim had a much harder time getting him to stop and let go.

We were told from the rescue that he was fine with cats, but even though our cats are very chill and are not running around all day, he never was completely able to even just co-exist with them. We tried our very best for 8 weeks and two days, but after Saturday, decided that it wasn't fair to Angus, the kitties, or to us to continue.

The small comfort we have is that he went back to his previous foster parents, who adore him. But a huge part of my heart and soul has been ripped out of me.

These pictures cover our first meeting to his last morning here (yesterday morning). The last photo is his "luggage" we were sending with him. He arrived with his collar, leash, and a peanut butter treat bar; he left with food, treats, clothes, toys, and a whole bag of peanut butter treat bars. Not to mention our hearts and souls.

We will ALWAYS love you, Angus Podgorny Clancy, and you'll always be our sweet boy. I'm sorry all of the wonderful and joyful things about you in our lives was undone by your only real fault. I hope you find a family who will love you beyond reason like us, in a wonderful, cat-free home. God bless both you and your foster parents, who immediately were ready to take you home again, who absolutely love you, and will not let anyone but good people adopt you again.

I truly believe we did the right thing, but oh how it hurts.

My last photo of him - yesterday morning after a walk. 

His luggage. Not shown: our hearts, which cannot be placed into bags, but that we hope he knows are always his. I am counting on Duggie and Hamlet to watch over him for us.

I am at a loss, since having Angus really gave strucure and extra joy to my days. As you all know, dogs are different companions than cats are. And Angus was my shadow, my walking companion, and my partner in crime.

One of the best things about our neighborhood has always been the amount of dogs in it. Being out and seeing them with their people, sometimes getting to pet them, and generally just watching how happy they were to be going along, makes you smile. But I have to say today, and for a while going forward, that's also going to be one of the most tortuous things about our neighborhood.

And yes, I know that I'll be OK, that I'll get used to it even though I won't get over it. I know that, because of an entire lifetime of experiencing heartbreaking loss. I know he is being loved and adored with his foster parents, and that they will not allow him to go to any family but a good one.

 I got dressed and took a walk this morning and it was agony, even though it's a lovely day. But right now, and for a while, it just sucks too much to bear.

Anyway, now you know. I'm turning off comments for this post, because I know how all of you will commiserate with me and offer your love and prayers, and that is appreciated more than you know. But right now, I am 100 percent certain that I couldn't handle reading them, much less responding. I'm hoping you will understand.

*****

I will be posting tomorrow, because as is often the case, with the worst news also comes reasons to smile. So I'll talk to all of you again then. 

Stuff Happened, But I'm Back!

Hello there! I hope all of you are well, and that there are things that are making you happy. I've been pretty MIA, and for many reasons. A lot of them are not my story to tell, but what is my story to tell is that our wi-fi was having serious issues. We called more than once about it, and finally a guy came to the house and said, "Oh your router is completely shot. I guess that has been the issue." YA THINK? Anyway, he got everything going again and here I am. I tried to post a few times, but things would just stop working in the middle of a post, and then the info would be gone. So frankly, I just gave up.

Onward, right? 

I've been spending a lot of time with these goobers, which is always a good thing because they are the important things in my life.

Things are still in the early stages, as far as everyone getting along. They are all doing better, but it's still not really good. We have hired a behavioral trainer who will come at the beginning of May to help us out, and I'm really hoping that will make a big difference 

I'd like to say that in the interim time that I've not been here, I have been knitting up a storm. But to be honest, my knitting mojo has been pretty non-existent for a long time, which was frustrating. Part of it was that I had some yarn that in the end, I just did't like, but kept trying to use for something. Then I just put it down and walked away. I finally realized that I should let it just sit for a while, and if in another month or so I still just don't want to deal with it, I'll destash it. 

But the good news is that I'm starting to get back to it. I started a new sock on this past Saturday, with the assistance of my knitting buddy.

When I started, I thought if it didn't feel like it was working, I'd just put it back down until it was time to try again. The good news is that it was enjoyable again and I want to keep going, so I think/hope that means I'm back on track! 😊

I have been reading, so it's not like I've just been in a funk. And I have been planning and thinking and organizing in other ways for other projects and activities. 

And like nearly everyone else in the world, trying to keep going everyday in spite of the horrors and stupidity that make up our lives these days. 

So that's it for today, I hope you are knitting, reading, doing whatever things make you feel good and make your life worthwhile. I'll be back sooner rather than later - at least that's the plan! In the meantime, thanks to those of you still here and reading. 

Happy Spring! And, An Introduction.

I was originally planning to write this post this morning, while it was still winter, but now Spring Has Sprung!

I have already noticed some buds on some trees and flowers, so hopefully we won't get a freeze that kills them off, because they look so happy! And I have all kinds of plans for what I would like to try and do with plants and flowers this year. So maybe at least one of those ideas will actually happen. 😊

*****

Now I must introduce you to the newest member of our family. A couple of months ago, The Tim said we should get another dog. No argument from me! He said that he wished we could get another Golden Retriever or a mix, because those are his favorites. Well, as you might be able to imagine, those are few and far between in rescues, especially around here.

So after I spent a LOT of time looking for that kind of dog, he casually mentioned one day that we should instead look for a smaller dog, Towards the end of both Dug's and Hamlet's lives, they had trouble with the steps, and The Tim would have to sometimes carry them up and down. He said that he thinks he couldn't really handle that anymore. OK, so I was on the hunt for a smaller dog. Trying to find a dog who was good with cats proved to be extremely difficult. But one day I was perusing one of the rescues I had been checking (having expanded my area for looking out of just the city), and I saw this photo:

Now really, when you see a face like that, you have to fill out an application, right?  Well, the description said he was approximately 7 years old, was part Schnauzer, and weighed 18 pounds. It also said he was good with cats. So I applied to adopt him, and we had a meet and greet with his foster, and on March 6, we brought him home!

His name at the rescue was Paper Boy, but we changed it to Angus Podgorny, which was the name of a character from an old Monty Python sketch that we always wanted to use for a pet.

Angus looks a bit different now - when he got to the rescue and was vetted, it was discovered that he needed several teeth pulled, and that his fur was so matted that he had to be surgically shaved (as opposed to shaved to look like a Schnauzer, I guess). So now he looks like this:

 

Get a load of the ears! I freaking love dogs with weird ears, and his have two entirely different lives!

He is very sweet, but also quite crazy and completely ridiculous. We do not know what cats he was tested with, but he's sure not calm around our cats, which we're hoping with time and training will no longer be an issue (the cats, I'm sure have already alerted PETA to their plight). But he's catching on, and already understands a few commands. It's only been two weeks today, so he gets some grace, you know? 

And he kinda sorta does look like a Schnauzer until you see him next to the purebred Schnauzer across the street! Then it's clear that there's something else going on, but he remains a man of mystery regarding that part of his heritage. 

Considering everything is still new to him, he's doing better each day. I have plans to hire someone to help me train him, just so he becomes a better member of society - people and animal-wise. The rescue said they had no idea how long he had been a stray, but they guessed quite a while from his condition when he was brought in to them. 

Next week we have a visit with a vet, because I wanted to establish a relationship before he would get sick or need care urgently. When I called, the woman on the phone asked me his name, and I said, "Well, we call him Angus, but his complete name is Angus Podgorny," and she responded, "Oh I LOVE a good Monty Python reference!" so I think we'll do OK there. 

So hello from Angus, who I'm sure you'll see here somewhat regularly. 

*****

Our plans for this weekend are to start cleaning up the garden, and also do some shopping. The weather is supposed to be agreeable for the most part, so hopefully we can start to make some progress on moving biggish pieces of trees that ended up there after storms out of the way. Also, we had a crazy couple of extremely windy days, so a lot of paper stuff flew into the garden one way or another and we'll clean that up too. 

And that's the news from here. I hope that Springtime will bring some light and happiness to all of us, and that whatever you decide to do (or not do), that you have a good weekend!

Do You Know What Today Is?

Yes, it's the last Friday in June, but it's apparently also Take Your Dog to Work Day!  All I can think of his how happy it would have made both Dug and Hamlet to go to work with one of us - especially Hamlet, since he was used to going with his previous person all of the time.  😊  

This meme showed up in a couple of places today, and I just love it:

Anyway, whether you have a dog or can/cannot take them to work, I hope your Friday goes well, and that you have a good weekend.  

A Smile for the First Day of May

We all could use some happy, so here's one to send you in to your weekend.

 Who's a good dog???

If this doesn't make you smile, nothing will!

(And for anyone who is wondering, this is Hamlet-approved.)

Take care everyone, and have the best weekend you can!

I Don't Know About You, But ...

I needed this today. :-)

Furball Friday

When it's a very cold Friday, and you are a small, one-eyed kitty, sometimes curling up for a nap is the best idea.

It also works well if you are a large, 80-pound Golden Retriever.

Here's hoping your weekend will be cozy and relaxing!

You *Can* Go Home Again ...

... if your name is Hamlet!

A week ago today, we had made plans to take Hamlet back to visit the family that he spent most of his life living and working with (the past 7 years or so).  It was the first visit since we adopted him in July, and both persons in the couple had been matched with new Seeing Eye Dogs since.

First, the cast of characters:

Hamlet - you know him!
Karma - a black Lab mix, and Hamlet's guide dog partner and companion before he was with us
Jeff - Hamlet's former owner, now matched up with:
Mike - a Golden Retriever/Lab mix
Sharon - Karma's former owner, now matched up with:
Oakley - a black Lab
Karen - Karma's new owner

We had a lovely day for our visit, so we got Hamlet into the car and headed over the bridge to New Jersey.  When we turned onto the street leading to the house where he used to live, Hamlet got really excited.  When we pulled up in front of the house, he started wagging his tail and whimpering. 

He could not wait to get out of the car, and ran right up to the front door.  Jeff opened the door, and Hamlet dashed inside.  Once inside, Jeff was really excited to see him, but the first thing Hamlet did was run around and gather all of the toys!  Then he realized Jeff was also there, and immediately sat on his lap.

Sharon was upstairs, as they were keeping Mike and Oakley up in their room, so they could introduce them slowly.  First, Mike and Hamlet got to meet.

That, of course was very exciting.  Before Sharon and Oakley came downstairs, Karen arrived with Karma, who could NOT wait to see Hamlet again!  (She had already met the other doggos.) 

Finally, Sharon and Oakley joined the group, and hilarity ensued!

Hamlet was also very happy to see Sharon, and had to go and shake hands with her.

There was a lot of running, chasing, playing, and "fighting," and a couple of times Hamlet disappeared upstairs!  (Jeff said he was probably checking to make sure everything was where he had left it, lol.)

Mike and Oakley "attacking" Karma

After a bit, things settled down, with all of the dogs getting quieter, and eventually all of them lined up and nearly asleep!  

Hamlet and Oakley

Hamlet made sure that he got lots of cuddle time with Jeff, supervised of course by Mike.

It was all really fun and really wonderful.  It was fun to see Sharon and Jeff, and meet Karen, who we had never met before.  We loved seeing Karma again, as she is just one of the sweetest pups, and a fan in particular of The Tim.  And getting to meet Oakley and Mike was such fun as well, as they are still somewhat puppy-ish (they are each about 2 years old), and busy as only young dogs can be.  We caught up with everyone's news and stories of their Christmas celebrations, and it was just enjoyable to know that all of the dogs had not just had a good time, but worn each other out!  We were all amused that Jeff's dog is named Mike, and decided he sounded like he was from South Philly, and that he "knows a guy" ... :-)

When it came time to leave, we were wondering what Hamlet would do.  In July, when we went to bring him home, he hid behind Jeff and whimpered, which was heartbreaking.  But when everyone was getting ready, Hamlet walked over to The Tim when he got out his leash, and seemed ready to leave, get back in the car, and come home.  Jeff said that means he has completely bonded with us, which of course is the ideal result.  Hamlet was pretty zonked on the ride home, and let me tell you, the excitement and fun of the whole day wore him out for a few days!

The cats found it interesting as well, since Hamlet returned home with many new and intriguing scents on him - they probably were wondering just where we'd taken him!

We made tentative plans for another get together in the spring, this time hopefully outside.  We told Hamlet he'd better start storing some energy now ... 

Sunday Sicko

No real post of any substance today, as I woke up coughing, with a sore throat and chills.  So I'm just gonna take it easy and hope that this is the worst of it.

But here is a picture that will hopefully give you a smile on this Sunday.

Dug and Milo - best buddies since the first moment they met  

Have a lovely Sunday!

NaBloPoMo Day #15