Monday, December 24, 2007

His demeanor is better


Here is Duke outside right after his bath getting rid of excess water. Look at his demeanor changing already. You can see it in his stance. He's still timid and skittish, but he's coming into his own, holding his head higher and strong enough to stand up straight. His fur is growing in, but both of his eyes are still so red. We're treating it every 12 hours with an antibiotic ointment. He does not like it at all and it takes both me and Harold to get the ointment applied.

And boy does he (WARNING! TMI!) poop! But he's eating like a hog and what goes in, must come out. Ha ha ha ... OK. Now for MY bath. A must after bathing a dog.

PS. Look at those feet he's going to grow into. He's going to be one big dog!

We're almost there!

Sunday, December 23, 2007

Our New Additon



Meet Duke/Buddy. The rescue group that had him named him Unser, but I'm here to tell you that he told me his name was Buddy. And he likes that name. OK then.

I found Buddy on Petfinders.com and when we got to his picture that was that. I filled out a lengthy application with the American Black and Tan Coonhound Rescue Group and heard from the organization the next day. It took a couple of days to iron out the details as I wasn't in shape to talk yet as I was burying my late Bubbas, but the decision was made to add him to our home.

Harold immediately said, his name will be Duke. I'm thinking to myself, why not? Duke. How regal. His foster mom lived in New Orleans. The gal that brought him to Wildwood, FL for me lived in Texas. She picked him up and off she went. After multiple vehicular problems and not accounting for the time change the meet ended up being at about 11PM this past Friday. We chatted for a few minutes and off we both went in our separate directions.

But I'm exhausted and didn't make it far before having to take a nap in the rest area. I know my limitations. We didn't arrive home until 3:30AM. And all the way home I couldn't stop calling him Buddy. Come on Buddy. It's OK Buddy. I'm thinking, why can't I call him Duke? What's with all this Buddy stuff? When I arrived at the house I looked at his paperwork. On his vet paperwork he name was listed as Buddy. OH MY GOSH!!! He'd been telling me his name!

The first day Buddy was very timid and afraid. I have Charlie here after all and he is no lap dog. And to complicate matters further we're babysitting our granddog, Buster, as his father is in Pennsylvania. However we had a great day as far as potty accidents in the house. Woohoo!!!

The 2nd day, today, went much better. He came into himself and was interacting with the dogs and me. He's sooooo cute. When I talk to him he cocks his head to one side and then to the other side. I called him to me today and he was offering his paw to me. He's got such a sweet spirit.

You will note in his pictures that he is severely underweight and is still recovering from mange. He was an owner surrender to the pound and that's all I know about the previous owner. Poor Buddy has an eye infection, had an ear infection, was totally infested with fleas and of course the mange and being emaciated. He had to be wondering if pain and torture were all there was to life.

But that's all changing and now he's eating Blue Buffalo dog food twice daily. Two HUGE bowls. One in the morning and one in the evening. Each one with cod liver oil drizzled over it and 2-3 dollops of plain yogurt planted on top. And he's loving it. And I chuckled when after Charlie and Buster had left some in their bowls for a snack a bit later, Buddy went and gobbled it up. It won't be long before the combination of this good nutrition and his medical treatment will make the dog you're seeing above in the pictures obsolete. A long ago thing of his past. He's got youth on his side along with good nutrition and proper medical care. And Buddy deserves that much.

Today, being just two days before Christmas, I was in the kitchen a lot. All of a sudden I heard him, hmmm ... how do I describe it? It wasn't a bark. I KNOW!!! It sounded like a boat horn. So I howled back to him and there we were talking back and forth. Ha ha ha ... he's such a cutie. And a welcome addition to our home.

Welcome Duke/Buddy!!!

Sunday, December 16, 2007

As we continue to observe ...

... the Christmas Cactus coming into its full glory.

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Better Times


This picture is cut out of the New Messenger, Fremont, OH's newpaper, I believe in May of 2000. It was an unseasonably warm day and I took Nugget to Lake Erie. He loved going to the beach so much and it was the best treat I could do for him. He loved the water and chasing his stick. He'd keep me at it until he pooped me out and then I'd be sitting on the beach and he just barked and barked at me until I threw the stick back in the water and we'd start all over again. He would swim until he sank -- like a rock -- to the bottom from exhaustion. I'm not kidding either. I had to catch him by his collar/harness and pull him up and get him to where he could stand on more than one occasion. Reckless boy that he is. Ha ha ha ...

... and all of a sudden I noticed a man wading out to me in the water with his clothes on and camera in hand. Um. Can I help you? I mean, after all, how weird was that? It was just me and Nugget on the beach and here comes this man. He asks if he can take some pictures. I asked if he was from a newspaper and he told me he was. Oh geez, I remember thinking, me in my bathing suit! But Nugget took over and we were on the 2nd front page of the paper a few days later. Ha ha ha ... in all our glory.

Make sure to take note of Nugget's stick in the upper right corner. I'd just released it and he was on his way after it.

Anyways, I went out and bought a cherub angel statue and am in the process of making it into a memorial. Little healing things I'm doing to get me through. I miss him so much.

Monday, December 10, 2007

In Loving Memory of Nugget (Bubbas)



December, 1995 -- December 10, 2007

Today I took Nugget to the Humane Society and lovingly ended his misery. I had made up my mind to do it over the weekend and darned if today he couldn't get up on his own this morning. His hips were shot. Gone. Kapute. I never thought I'd be so torn up over a dog, but this dog caught my heart back when he was just a pup and my daughter owned him. Oh, I was so delighted the day that I received the phone call asking if I could keep him for good. YES!!!

Nugget loved me more than he loved himself. He totally trusted me with everything. When his hips were getting especially bad he didn't flinch when I held him down for prolo injections with huge needles into both hips. He trusted and knew that I knew what I was doing. And he was the same today when they stuck the needle in him to gently put him to sleep. My head was next to his and with tears streaming down my face I lovingly thanked him for being such an important part of my life, and for his undying love and dedication to me. And then his head rolled off to the side. He was gone running with the angels. Crossing over into the light and most importantly he was no longer in pain.

Thanks so much to Jesse for coming with me and helping me through this. And then taking over when we were digging the hole. He let me help, but once we laid Nugget to place and I put the first couple of shovels of dirt on him, I lost it, and Jesse insisted that he had it from there and for me to go.

Oh how I miss him!!! But I know he's running and enjoying himself and is no longer in pain. Until we meet again my dear boy.

Much love, your mama

Friday, December 07, 2007

For the 3rd year

May I show you my Christmas Cactus. This thing is HUGE!!! I'll bet there's a 1000 buds on it. You might want to go into my history and check December, 2005 and 2006 for comparative values.

And, as usual, you'll be seeing her in all her stages of glory.

Monday, December 03, 2007

After all my vet bills ...


... related to Nugget grabbing cats off the street and shaking them like rag dolls. Who'd have thought they'd be laying so close to each other? And Charlie? He loves O.C. so much. They play and have a great time together, and take naps together too.