Happy 12th Birthday Olivia!

You’re beautiful as ever!! 

These shots were taken this morning (with my phone) as we took our morning walk.  Olivia has very little vision and can barely hear but you would never know it!  She knows her way around the yard, on the trails and through the woods! 

      

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A day at the Inn….

Rin Tin Inn that is!  The Jakester and Miss Brita!  …..and Forrest!

    

Thanks to Mellissa Berri for sharing the photos!

 

 

 

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White Dog Black Dog

 

White Dog Jake - 1976–1990

Black Dog Kobie – 2001-2011

Love the look so I had to share….  Thanks Candace for remembering….

         

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Boys and their toys….

What do eggs, tomatoes and a trash can have in common?

 

  

Let me first say that the tomatoes and eggs are at the edge of my kitchen counter and the trash can is in full view in the kitchen.  It’s the first time in TWENTY years that I haven’t worried about a dog “counter-surfing” or digging through the trash! 

Yes, I’ll admit… it was a training issue with Josephine…. but then 20 years ago, I knew nothing about actually training dogs so over the years she trained me.  Everything that smells like, looks like or tastes like food – out of reach!  I was very much in the habit of putting things in or on top of the refrigerator.  But I’m not perfect, you see, and I remember her eating a box of raisin bran (eeewww – stinky), a bag of bagels (bloated), half a container of Nestles Quik (hyper), uncooked rice (bloated again…. I could go on… And trash cans… under the sink with a lock…

Josephine and Kobie overlapped by about 6 months and I was now in a rhythm of putting things away.  Sometime after I lost Josephine I realized she had a protégée – Kobie - who took great satisfaction in scoffing up what she could and running out the dog door into the yard or woods to dine on her catch.  White “to-go” boxes were her favorite I think because she never knew what was going to be in them…. and, actually, it was quite beautiful to see a black dog running across the yard with a full mouth bite around a white “to-go” box!     I tried to explain to her that they were for me “to-go” home not for her “to-go” out!   Kobie’s pancreatic insufficiency didn’t help the matter any and I reasoned that her drive to eat would override any training so I chose to continue to do what I had done for so many years.  Things I do recall:

• coming in the house to find the pot of brats that I was boiling for treats all gone and 2 girls (Brita and Kobie) licking the floor.
• making spaghetti for a friend who was stopping by, going to greet him and then realizing that Kobie was alone in the house with the spaghetti (in a covered dish on the counter)…. yup… no spaghetti!
• remembering I got eggs out to hard boil hours later because the entire 12-18 eggs and the container were gone and for me it was a case of out-of-sight  …  out-of-mind.   (no she didn’t eat the container but it was somewhere in the yard.

So… now I have a trash can… it’s open sometimes and not a problem… I am amazed!  I leave things on the counter… and they don’t disappear… oh my gosh…  I hardly remember those days!  …but for sure…. I miss you Josephine and Kobie….

Did I see a goat???

If you haven’t seen this video, it’s a must watch one!! 

 

…so did you see it…  the GOAT, that is??

 

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Closing the barn door….

Well, yes.  Maybe it is like closing the barn door after the horse is out.  But, in my defense, there are more horses….so to speak. 

• Could I have used it in 2007 when I had to take Ari to the vet when he was in a coma when he had an Addisonian Crisis?  yes.
• Could I have used it in 2009 when I brought Teddy home to bury him on the hill in the yard?  yes.
• Could I have used it in 2009 again for Ari for the same reason – to bury him on the hill in the yard?  yes.
• Could I have used it recently when Kobie had to be taken to the vet on her last day?  yes. 

Well, those are the horses (so to speak again) that are out of the barn.  There are 3 left – Olivia, Jake and Brita.  And at 70 pounds or so, I just can’t lift them AND if an accident happens, maybe they shouldn’t be lifted but gently put on a stretcher. 

So, after looking online and seeing various versions from what appeared to be a simple blanket with a handle in each corner (which would require more than one person anyway) to a more elaborate one with wheels, I went for the more elaborate one that a single person could handle …and surprisingly enough, it wasn’t all that much more expensive.

“This Dog Stretcher with wheels is PERFECT for anyone with a large disabled dog! This dog stretcher features a mesh 'envelope' that completely covers any size animal up to 200 lbs. giving complete control over your pet, while calming them and allowing them to breathe. The envelope stabilizes fractures and helps your pet feel secure while being transported.

The wheels allow you to wheel your disabled dog in the dog stretcher with ease, even on rough surfaces! The bottom of the dog stretcher is made of a solid vinyl bottom, so if you have to bring your disabled dog out to go to the bathroom, the dog stretcher can be easily hosed off should your pet urinate while lying down.”

  Check it out for yourself.  You can purchase it here for $105 or here for $88  same stretcher! 

The next pictures you see will me of my dogs “practicing” lying on it and being wheeled around!  We’re working on that!