Category Archives: dogs

A Heart Aches…

Posted on July 11, 2012 | 8 comments

Good morning Everyone!

I have that rarest of opportunities in a working mom’s life to enjoy a little bit of a summer vacation.  Thanks to some very kind people at my firm, I have been granted a few weeks leave of absence to refresh my spirit and just rest. At one week into it, I wonder, given the time it takes to do the running around I need to do to get caught up while I am off of work, how I ever accomplished it while I was at work!

I had an appointment to go to yesterday in a nearby city where Mark’s Mom lives, so I took Kayla with me to visit with her while I took care of my business.  For no particular reason, I decided that we would drive a different way than usual to see if it was any shorter.  When we were in the very heart of (as Kayla would say) the middle of nowhere on our way to somewhere, I noticed a woman walking down the road carrying an object on my left.  In that split second that you have to observe things at 55 – 60 mph, it seemed to me that the women was very upset and sobbing, so I did the only thing I could do, which was turn the car around to see if there was something we could to do help.

What Kayla and I discovered was one of the saddest sights either of us has ever seen.  The woman was carrying her dog, which had obviously been hit by a car and just as obviously had just been discovered by her.  She was in those first awful throes of unrestrained grief, when try as you might, you can’t contain your feelings.  I pulled up to the side of the road, hoping against hope that the dog was still alive where we could help her get it to the vet in time, but there was nothing that could be done – the dog was already dead.

After asking the woman if we could at least drive her home (aside to family members – no I do NOT normally offer strangers rides in my car but this woman was genuine and I bet any of you would have done exactly the same thing) – she said no, her house was just steps away – Kayla and I drove off both feeling very sad, impotent to help and carrying a heavy, sad feeling in our chests.  I told Kayla that the feeling we had was exactly the feeling that is meant by the words, “my heart aches.”

I didn’t know this woman and know nothing about her, but I do know what it is like to have your dog die, and I can empathize further how awful it would be to discover the dog hit on the roadway.  So could Kayla.

The rest of the ride in to the city was very quiet.

This story is very different from most of the things that I share with you, but I do have a point to it.  Kayla, who currently would like to be a vet when she grows up, announced afterwards that when she had her own vet office, she was going to hand out flyers to every customer asking them to be sure to keep their dogs safe, and out of the road, and with this post, I guess I am asking those of you who don’t already to do the same.  Some accidents just can’t be avoided – for example, we had Mandy escape from us once when we first had her, and she proceeded to venture quickly forth on a mile and a half joy run, part of which involved running across a very busy road (we heard the brakes squeal as some kind person threw his or her brakes on hard to keep from hitting her), and there would have been nothing we could have done about that.  But I see a lot of dogs out running loose on the road, and not all of those can be escapees.  And, if you did let your dog out loose and it got hit, I certainly am NOT saying that you or the dog deserved what happened to you.  I am saying that your dog will  be a lot safer if kept properly in a fenced yard, large or small, and walked outside of the house on a leash when possible.

Let’s try to keep those heart aches down to a minimum!

And, on that sad note, have a good day everyone!  I will find something more lively to talk about tomorrow.

Nancy

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Mandy’s Turn

Posted on June 29, 2012 | 4 comments

husky basset hound mix

Me!

Hi!

I asked the people puppy what our  Mom is doing when she sits in front of the big black rectangle and moves her fingers while I eat breakfast.  My people puppy told me that Mom was writing, and showed me some of the posts about me in the blog our Mom writes.  I think she was a little confused when she wrote them.  She’s not really a morning person, you know – I have to work really hard to wake her up at the proper time.  Sometimes I have to circle the bed from 4 a.m. until almost 7!  I used to be able to walk on her hair to wake her up, but for some strange reason she cut most of it off, and now it is too short for me to do that.  It’s a shame, because she made some really neat noises when I would do it.

Newfound Gap

My people puppy

Any way, to help her out and make sure you don’t get the wrong idea, I thought I’d give you the real scoop on things.

Australian shepherd mix, dog in back yard, dog in sun

My sister, Tyra

It may surprise you to learn that I am adopted.  In fact, all of my siblings – my people puppy and Darwin and Tyra – are adopted as well.  It doesn’t matter, though, because Mom and Dad love all of us lots.  I do think it is a little unfair that the people puppy gets to go everywhere with them, and I don’t, but I try hard not to mind because I know that Mom and Dad love me best – why, they call me “Bad Dog” (that’s one of my nicknames) more than any of my siblings, which means that I am very special.  (My sister, Tyra, rolls her eyes when I say that like I am wrong, but I know that she’s just a little jealous about it.)

Black lab, crazy Dog

My brother Darwin – he’s a little crazy!

Although I would like to travel with Mom and Dad more, my life here is pretty good.  Darwin, my younger brother, and I play together a lot, although I am still having to teach him about proper food etiquette – I don’t like it when he tries to hang around my food bowl.  My sister Tyra is very sweet, but has a hard time moving around the house now without someone to help her.  Mom and Dad do a really good job helping her.  That’s a good thing, because if they didn’t do it, I’d probably have to!

Mom and Dad are a little odd about some things, though.  I’m always very polite and wait until they’re done, but if they’re finished with their food, why can’t I go ahead and help myself to it?  It’s not like they want it anymore!  The same is true with stuff in the trash can – does it really matter what happens to it once they are through with it?  Any reasonable person would know that such things are fair game once they hit the trash, but not Mom and Dad!  I guess every set of parents have their eccentricities.

Family picture

Mom and Dad, in 2008, during yet another trip I wasn’t allowed to go on!

They also spend part of their nights watching this square frame in the living room that makes sounds and shows pictures.  I watch it sometimes, but it,s not really that interesting – nothing on it is real.  You can see and hear the pictures, but there’s no smells attached to them.  Every thing that’s real has a specific smell.

Oh, and I need to set the record straight about the day I came home.  Mom wrote that I ran away twice, but I really didn’t.  I was just so happy that I had a chance to stretch my legs that I took a couple of joy laps.  The look on her face was really funny, too, each time that I did it!  The best part was when she picked me up in the pet store and the people puppy introduced me and told my story to every one we saw.  It really made my day!

Christmas, 2007

Mom in the morning – this was Christmas, 2007 and she was more awake than she usually is in the morning. Still, she wasn’t exactly bright eyed and bushy tailed, even then!

Uh-oh – I can hear Mom emerging from her lair now to get ready for work, so I better sign off.  Just remember what I said, keep the story straight and forgive Mom for her inaccuracies.  Poor thing, she doesn’t understand how to get up in the morning!

Mandy

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The Great Chicken Caper

Posted on June 26, 2012 | 4 comments

Good morning Everyone!

Welcome to Mystery Investigations – Going to the Dogs, a new reality show that chronicles the investigations performed by our intrepid adventurer who refuses to stop until she has reached the truth.  Today’s episode features “The Mystery of the Missing Chicken.”

I brought home a serving of chicken and rice as takeout one evening, and unfortunately Mark did not like the chicken.  I went ahead and fixed him a can of soup, so while I was doing so, I placed the chicken plate on the kitchen counter and then forgot about it – until I brought the soup bowl back in the kitchen, where I found the following plate awaiting me:

Rice, Chicken dinner, left over food

The Plate With (or Without) the Missing Chicken!

While I am not a trained investigator, it was difficult to miss the fact that the leg and breast quarter that formerly resided on the plate was now missing. Even worse, it was completely missing – there were no left over bones lying on the kitchen floor, no grease anywhere, no chicken skin or spare pieces of chicken.  Not a single speck.

Since Kayla wasn’t home that night, we only had three potential suspects.

1) Our oldest dog, Tyra, an Australian Shepherd mix who is 10 years old.

Dog

Tyra

2) Our middle dog, Mandy a/k/a Bad Dog, who is somewhere around 5, but I never can remember exactly how old she is.

Basset Hound Husky dog

Mandy, Our Husky-Basset Hound Mix

3) Our youngest dog, Darwin a/k/a No-No, who will be 3 on December 15.

Lab, Dog, Darwin

Darwin

Using the time-honored method of means, motive and opportunity, Tyra was quickly eliminated. Not only is she completely blind, but even on her hind paws she would never be tall enough to reach the top of the counter.

That left me with only two suspects remaining, Darwin and Mandy. Both of them had the means – Darwin is tall, and Mandy is long. Both of them had a sufficient motive – cooked chicken apparently is a far cry better than Kibbles and Bits! Finally, both of them had opportunity, since they both were out of sight for at least some period of time while I was sitting with Mark while he ate his soup. So instead I had to turn to the less reliable and normally inadmissible realm of character evidence.

Dog, eating, counter

Character Evidence, Exhibit A: Mandy Leaving the Counter in our Old House

In court, evidence regarding a person’s character in the past is not admissible to prove guilt for the crime the person is currently accused of. There are exceptions to that rule, and I judicially decreed another exception for dogs who steal chicken off of the counter.

Reviewing the character evidence available to me, it was clear that the culprit was not Darwin, but Mandy.

First, Bad Dog did not earn her name unjustly. She likes to chew, will do so unabashedly and will pluck things off of a table or a counter in a heartbeat, as this video shows:

Second, before Mandy was found and put in the Montgomery Humane Society Shelter for Kayla and I to find her, she survived scavenging in the dumpster at McDonald’s, and probably other places as well.  She has still not forgotten how to scavenge, and isn’t afraid to practice her survival skills at a moment’ s notice.

Third, Mandy was the only dog who looked like this when an inquiry was made about the chicken:

Mandy, dog, husky basset hound mix

Mandy post-chicken

Even without the post-chicken bone digestive problems the next day, I think I had an air tight case against her, don’t you?

Have a great day everyone!

Nancy

4 Comments

Posted in dogs, Food, working mom

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Attaching the Unattached

Posted on May 24, 2012 | 4 comments

Good morning Everyone!

When I load pictures into my blog, I usually just load them straight from the “New Post” page on WordPress, but yesterday morning I decided to check the tab on My Dashboard marked as “Media” (for the uninitiated, I assume that is short for “Media Library”), when I came across a forlorn group of miscellaneous pictures grouped together under the label “unattached.”

Unwilling to allow them to languish forever in this lonely place, I have chosen a few of them to share with you today, accomplishing two purposes – something to write about today, and the creation of a “happily ever after” relationship for the pictures-formerly-known-as-unattached by providing them with an attachment here.

My first picture came from a couple of days before Halloween, when I took pictures of Kayla in the Rapunzel dress my mother made for her this year.   Here, she is working on (pretend) needlework.

Rapunzel, Halloween

My next choice was this picture from Christmas 2007, when Mandy (aka Bad Dog) was investigating what Kayla was up to Christmas morning.

This picture caught Kayla waiting for the Southern Star (one of the dolphin cruise boats in Destin, an experience I highly recommend).

Boat, Southern Star, dolphin

This sunset over the Gulf of Mexico was too spectacular to leave languishing in the realm of the unattached:

Sunset, Gulf of Mexico, Destin

Sunset over the Gulf of Mexico

So was this picture of the bridge across the Destin Pass.

Bridge over the Destin Pass

I loved this picture of Mandy (Bad Dog) looking up from her fortress spot from which to view the world at our old house.

Dog, Couch, Window, husky-basset hound mix

I also liked this picture of Darwin (aka No-No) coming into the kitchen begging for food.  He’s good with the sad face look, isn’t he?

Dog, Labrador Retriever

So there you have them – seven pictures who have happily been relegated from the forlorn category of “Unattached”  to the “Attached”!

Have a great day everyone!

Nancy

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Posted in dogs, Travel, working mom

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Through the Donut Hole

Posted on May 22, 2012 | 6 comments

Good morning Everyone!

Sinclairs, Lake Martin, Kowaliga

Sinclairs at Lake Martin, from the Sinclair’s website

My mother was visiting us last weekend and while Mom was here we decided to drive over to a restaurant that is on the banks of Lake Martin, Sinclairs on the Lake.  We sat down to a beautiful waterfront view, and an excellent meal, but before the meal arrived, Mark and Kayla completed their ritual walk along the boat pier that lets boats dock right by the restaurant.  While they were doing so, a little black and white cocker spaniel streaked by them, bound and determined to get into the restaurant, having just seen her master go through the door.

Cocker Spaniel

A black and white cocker spaniel similar to the one we saw.

Mark helped to catch her, and inside the restaurant, Mom and I watched the cocker spaniel being brought back to the boat to await her owner, struggling against the leash all the way.

Shadow, Dog

Shadow

It reminded me of an experience we had with our first dog, Shadow.  Even though she was half cocker, half lab, Shadow detested the water.  However, paradoxically, she loved to ride in the boat.  Her favorite speed was wake speed; she would sit in the front of the boat then and enjoy watching the world go by.  Whenever we went faster, my appearance was required in the front of the boat to hold her as we sped through the water.  When she decided that Mark was going too fast, or the ride was too bumpy, she would jump out of my arms and walk back to where Mark was driving, and stare at him.

Bayliner bowrider boat

A new model Bayliner similar to what we owned back in the day from www.bayliner.com

She was the smartest dog we ever owned, hands down, although Tyra comes close.  Once, she was too smart for her own good.

We had taken Mark’s sister, brother-in-law and our nephews, out in the boat, found a likely spot on the lake and anchored the boat where we could play and swim in the water.  One of the toys we were using was a huge inner tube.

Inner Tube

Inner Tube Similar to the One We Owned

We left Shadow in the boat because we knew how much she hated the water.  She sat on the front of the boat, watching us, and we went ahead with our water sport.  Before we  could turn back around, a black streak came flying off of the boat, ringing the inner tube in the center and slipping right through it.

It was at that moment that I learned that dogs could cuss.

Apparently, Shadow had eyed the inner tube carefully, and not realizing the hole in the center was floorless, had decided that she could jump onto the inner tube to be nearer to us as we were playing without getting wet.

She came up from under the inner tube swimming (it’s not that she couldn’t swim; she just hated the water) and mad as a hornet, blaming us for her misadventure.  She did deign, however, to let Mark help her back into the boat as she scrabbled up its fiberglass sides, desperate to get out of the hated water.

All was forgiven, of course, once we all got back in the boat and headed back to the dock.

Dog in Boat

Shadow riding at wake speed.

Have a great day everyone!

Nancy

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Posted in dogs, When things don't go as expected, working mom

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Words, Urns and Shotgun Shells

Posted on May 4, 2012 | 10 comments

Good morning Everyone!

Mandy, Our Husky-Basset Hound Mix

I begin this morning with a plea for help – someone (probably from Britain, since they use the word “mum” for “mom”) has been searching my blog the last few days for information on husky-basset hound crosses.  Please, please, please whoever you are, put me out of my misery and tell me why you want to know!  I’ve already been fortunate enough to “talk” to another dog owner who has a husky-basset hound cross, Neda, who owns Sawyer and would love to add to that number!

Frosted Flakes

Frosted Flakes Box

I went grocery shopping Sunday night, and had only two things on my list – napkins and Frosted Flakes.  True to character, i.e., The Perils of Absent-Mindedness, I came out of Winn-Dixie with two different types of roast, four instant packages of rice, a large number of apples, three types of ice cream, Italian bread, spaghetti, Ragu sauce, apple sauce and canned green beans along with various other items – but had bought neither napkins nor Frosted Flakes.  I didn’t have the heart to go back for them either, so I guess we will live without napkins or Frosted Flakes this week.

Flip Flops

The results of Monday’s poll are in, and by a score of 3 to 1, you have declared that it is, in fact, evil to put peanut butter on your daughter’s flip-flops if they are left out under the sofa to encourage the dogs to destroy them.  There were also two “other” votes, but unfortunately the poll did not save the word with “other.”  If those of you who voted “other” have time, please leave a comment letting me know what your “other” word was.  However, alas, based on the vote, Kayla’s flip-flops are safe.  And it was such a fun idea to fantasize about!

Dictionary

Words

Yesterday, I learned that it is not only my daughter that can make funny mistakes when it comes to words.  My art teacher is going to have her gallbladder out, and while I was at my lesson, she and I were joking about what she would do while she was “incapacitated.”  A high school age student, also in the room, looked up in horror and asked, “Isn’t that when they sever your head?”  I swallowed a laugh (I’m getting very good at it), and said, straight-faced, “No, that’s decapitated.”

Grecian Urn

In the “that can’t be true but unfortunately it is” range of stories, I came across the oddest advertisement on the internet yesterday.  A company called lifegems.com advertised that it would create a “certified diamond” in the lab from the “ashes/carbon” of “your loved one.”  Cremation is, in fact, used more and more often, but really, folks, somehow the idea of wearing Aunt Bessie’s remains in a diamond eternity ring is NOT appealing to me.

Of course, this company is not the only free enterprise seeking to find a good use for cremated remains.  I heard on the radio a couple of months ago about a little company here in Alabama that two men have started where they will, if you so desire, take cremated remains and use them in shotgun shells.   This being the South, the radio news team found Billy Bob from Nowhere, Alabama to interview about the idea, and Billy Bob proclaimed that he could rest easier knowing that he would be used after death to bring down a five point buck!  Only in Alabama.

And on that macabre note, I wish each of you a good weekend!

Nancy

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Catching Up

Posted on April 18, 2012 | 18 comments

Hi Everyone!

I thought I’d use today’s post to catch you up on various happenings.  

First, many, many thanks to Bassa at Bassa’s Blog, who has awarded me the Just Kidding award.  Here is the link to the award post:  http://bassasblog.wordpress.com/2012/04/17/35-today/

Per Bassa, the award is given to “those who bring a smile and chuckle in our lives; or appreciate our humor and brighten our day with their posts.  They [Author’s note:  I assume “they” refers to the inventors of the award] said that to receive this award you need to have a good sense of humor, and appreciate others who like to have a chuckle or laugh with you.” There are no rules attached, either.  Simply receive it, and enjoy!  Still, since I can, I am going to award it to a couple of the blogs I read.

Bassa, the Caucasian Shepherd, when she was a puppy.

If they hadn’t already received it, I definitely would give the award to Bassa and her tall person for Bassa’s Blog.  Bassa is an 18 month old Caucasian Shepherd dog who lives in the city of Tbilisi in Georgia.  Bassa  and her tall person write about their adventures and share pictures from their walks in and around Tbilisi on the blog.  De and the little person round out their family, along with a new addition – Barnaby, a kitten they rescued and whom Bassa is training. 

A picture of the new-born lambs up at thekitchensgarden; they were born in the last day or so.

I also would check out Cecilia’s blog, TheKitchensGarden, where she shares her adventures on her and her husband John’s self-sustaining farm, recipes and stories from her past in New Zealand. 

Another fun blog is Kana’s Chronicles; Kana looks at the funny side of life, but spares no punches either.  It is a difficult line to walk to remain funny while staying unabashedly honest, but she walks it well. 

Sadie Lou, the Chesapeake Bay Retriever, at Just Ramblin'

Just Ramblin’  is another dog blog, replete with pictures of Miss Stella, a young Newfoundland, and Sadie Lou, a Chesapeake Bay Retriever.  It also is a blog replete with amazing photography; Just Ramblin’s author is quite a photographer! 

Miss Stella, the Newfoundland "pup" at Just Ramblin'

Oh, and you shouldn’t miss Lisa’s blog, The Big Sheep Blog, where she looks at the funny vignettes that arise in daily life from a sarcastic …  smart aleck unique point of view.

 I am sure there are many more of you that deserve this award, so please forgive me if I have left you off the list.

The Sooty Tern Pastel

To turn to another topic, congratulations to Mark K. and  Lisa F. who won the drawing for my sooty tern notecards.  They will be mailed to you soon.  (My family will tell you that my normal definition of “mailing soon” ranges anywhere from three months to the current record of three years.  Actually, the three-year item never did get mailed; the relative it belonged to just came back to visit after three years and remembered to take the item home with her.  However, I will try to make it sooner than that for the winners.) 

Finally, our move is proceeding fairly well.  We have gotten the essential furniture and other items to our rental house, and are settling in.  I have taken Kayla back to her old school and picked her up two days so far, and have managed to survive getting up at 5 a.m. without too much trouble.  

Our New House

I have some pictures of our rental house before we moved into it I will share with you soon; anyone wanting pictures of the house once we are completely settled and set up the way we want will have to wait a while; there is quite a bit of arranging still to do. 

Tyra

Those of you interested in the dogs will be happy to know that Tyra has adjusted to the house in a way that is quite amazing.  It helps that the house is smaller than our old house, and that it is all one story with only two small steps that she needs to navigate. 

Darwin

This is Darwin’s first move with us as a family, and it has caused him a little anxiety.  Sunday, Darwin dived into the back of the Escape when we opened it to get something out, thinking we were going back to the old house.  Not wanting to be left behind, he refused to come out of the car.  I couldn’t coax him out, but Mark finally convinced him that it was okay to come out, since we were staying put.

Mandy, Our Husky-Basset Hound Mix

Mandy –  well, Mandy is happy about anywhere with only one small problem, which any dog owner will recognize.  Mandy requires specifically placed geographical locations to complete certain necessary biological functions.  Those spots, unfortunately, could not move with us to the new yard, although the grass in the new yard looks even better to me than the grass in the old yard did.  However, Mandy has not yet found anything in the new yard she is very comfortable with.  That problem should solve itself naturally quite soon. 

Bassa now, along with her kitten, Barnaby

And on that last indelicate note, I will say thanks again to Bassa and the tall person.  Have a great day everyone!

Nancy

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Posted in dogs, Just stuff..., On the Home Front, working mom

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A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words….

Posted on April 3, 2012 | 8 comments

Good morning Everyone!

What’s wrong with this picture?

Have a great day!

Nancy

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Posted in dogs, Pets, working mom

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Smiling Through Our Tears

Posted on March 13, 2012 | 25 comments

Good morning Everyone!

One of my favorite pictures of Tyra ever

Last week, Tyra went completely blind in about two days.  You may remember from earlier posts that she was already blind in one eye due to canine glaucoma.  Last week, the retina in her good eye detached.  The name for this is something like Sudden Retinal Detachment Syndrome, which just means that her retina detached and no-one knows why.

The effect, though, is obvious.  Our sweet, loving, smart, obedient Tyra cannot see.  At all.  And while she does not appear to be grieving or upset, rather instead focusing her energy on learning how to get around, the human contingent of our family is quite sad about it, even while we also work on what we need to do to help Tyra and the other two dogs adjust.

This picture, taken in January, shows you her "bad" eye on the right.

The purpose of this post, though, is not to make you sad, either, but to point out that even in sad times you can find things that, if not funny, at least make you smile.

A pastel I did of Tyra

For example, there was my casual observation that while I wouldn’t want this to happen to any of the dogs, at least it happened to the smartest one of the bunch who is able to figure out ways to cope.  If it had been Mandy, she would have spent all weekend in a standoff with a wall.  She doesn’t move for anything she collides with, but rather expects it to move for her.   Convincing her, with her combination basset hound/husky stubbornness  that she would ultimately have to yield for a wall, would be nigh impossible.

Mandy, studying the treadmill

One of the things we have to do is teach Tyra how to find her water bowl, since water is difficult to smell.  After she refused to drink even when we put plain water in a coffee cup in front of her, I suggested we at first give her a glass of sweet tea.  The sweet tea innovation was very popular.

All of the reading I have done about dog behavior and characteristics finally paid off, too, when I remembered that a dog’s sense of smell is a billion times (or something like that) more acute than ours, so we then took the next coffee cup of water and laced it with just a splash of sweet tea, which also was popular with the blind dog contingent of the household.

Tyra laughing at Callaway Gardens this winter.

It is also nice to finally have a use for all of the coffee cups that come with every set of china that we buy beyond those we reserve for visitors.  We don’t drink coffee, so they get very little use.

Mark had Tyra up on the couch beside him Sunday evening, and he was drinking sweet tea in a large class.  She could smell it and started trying to lick the side of the glass, clearly believing that she is now entitled to sweet tea, too.

Kayla and Tyra, 12 days after Kayla came to live with us

She found the water bowl by herself Sunday afternoon, and the whole family stood up and cheered. at least metaphorically.

The vet said that steps would be the one thing that she would have a hard time handling, and since the back yard is only accessible through a steep set of stairs down from the porch, we have been walking her on a leash in the front of the house.  She loves it.  The other two dogs were not happy the first time we took her out on a leash, leaving them inside (and folks, I am just not up to the crazed Hittite charioteer routine two or three times a day), but over the next couple of days they seem to have mellowed out about it.

There has been the pride Mark and I feel as parents in Kayla, who has been as sweet and loving to Tyra as anyone could wish.  The only problem is helping her understand that she can’t keep Tyra 100% safe; Tyra has to be allowed to explore her surroundings, which means she does bump into furniture once in a while, and the other dogs have to be allowed around her so they can adjust.  Kayla  also has been a great help with the other two dogs, giving them extra love and attention to help keep them from feeling left out.

Mandy and Darwin confer

Mandy and Darwin haven’t quite figured things out yet.  I think they know something has changed but they’re not sure what.    They do not harass Tyra in any way, although Darwin got a little confused when Tyra didn’t respond to his play bow Monday morning.  Dr. Mitchell said that one of them eventually will take over as sort of a guide dog for Tyra.  No sign of that so far, but then it is early days yet.

Blind or not, Tyra still expects (and gets) elevator service onto our bed at night.  The only difference is that she also gets lifted back down when it is time for her to get off.

Another favorite picture of Tyra

And then there is Tyra herself.  Dogs can mope just as humans can, but there has been no moping in Tyra.  We can’t explain to her what has happened, but she knows that she can’t see and rather than waste time feeling sorry for herself, she is, instead, working on learning what she needs to learn to carry on.  If she looked miserable or sad all the time, we would be hard pressed not to be ourselves, but she wanders around the house happily, then finds somewhere comfortable to lie down, and as soon as she hears our voices starts to thump that tail of hers.  She follows us when we lead her on the leash with absolute trust, and even got a couple of walks around the neighborhood this weekend which she really enjoyed.   We still see her laugh quite a bit.

It is these small blessings that make adjusting to this new phase for all of us  possible, and we are grateful for them.

Have a great day everyone!

Nancy

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Posted in dogs, On the Home Front, working mom

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Mondays

Posted on February 13, 2012 | 4 comments

Good morning everyone!

I may have already had a full Monday type Monday morning (you know, the type where everything is discombobulated around you, none of the material you need for everyone to get out of the house in an orderly fashion such as notes for school, book bags, and other such paraphernalia was in the right place, including the precious doctor’s note explaining that Kayla missed Friday at school because she was running a fever and you end up slamming cupboard and closet doors – at least they’re closed!  See, On Cupboard Doors and Closet Shelves ), but the birds outside are completely oblivious.

In the trees at the edge of the court, there is a symphony of song birds greeting the sun.  (I’d be greeting it, too, if I had to sleep outdoors last night; it got down in the 20’s!)  The volume of sound is really astonishing, and if I had more time and it was about 40 more degrees warmer, I’d love to sit down and just listen for a while.

There even is one brave bird sitting on the fence chirping at intermittent intervals.  I think he or she is part of the brave family of birds that nests in the huge rosebush in the back.  Most of the hatchlings, at least three, didn’t make it three years ago, because Mandy and Darwin found them, thought they were really interesting chew toys that squeaked, and Kayla and I couldn’t get out there in time.  After one more year of growth, though, the rose bush was out of the dogs’ reach and some member of the same family (I assume) comes back every year to build its nest.  I really wonder if the principles of natural selection shouldn’t weed this family out (after all, building your nest in the middle of a yard with three dogs who are very interested in sounds, sights and smells is not the safest place) but I’m glad those principles haven’t done so so far.  I like the idea of the sheer stubbornness it takes to come back to a place to claim it as your own even after someone much bigger and larger has tried to chase you away from it.  Now, of course, with the bigger rose bush with corresponding bigger thorns and better height, I believe the nest will be quite safe.

Is there a moral there somewhere?  Probably, but I’m too busy hunting my shoes and my cell phone so I can get out of the door to think through it more deeply – maybe you can come up with one?

Have a great Monday, everyone, or at least a better one than I am having so far!

Nancy

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Posted in dogs, Reflection, working mom

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