The Right Time

Every pet owner I know agonizes over when the right time is to let a beloved animal cross the bridge. It is a painful decision. Usually made over a period of time. It involves vet visits, hope, despair, and resignation. Resignation is not a bad thing. Letting go is a true gift of love.

My sweet boy Mick is having health issues. We are doing the vet visits, hoping for answers, and praying for him to get better. And in the meantime, I sit with him in the recliner every night, lay with him on the floor, and hand feed him when necessary.

If he was feeling better, he would think he is in heaven. He had a cheeseburger for lunch, and scrambled eggs and bacon for dinner. I hand fed him the eggs. Yesterday he had some dill havarti cheese. He's probably wondering why I've been holding out the good stuff for so long. Kibble, all these years you've fed me kibble? Oh ya, that dollop of yogurt was supposed to be the icing on the cake? Seriously!


I don't know who is deriving the most comfort from our cuddle time. I do know it's part of the journey. And in time, we'll know how it all ends. In the meantime, please keep us in your thoughts.

I've Decided...

In raising kids I always believed in giving the kids choices. Just because they are young adults, out on their own doesn't mean I've lost all my influence.

It occurred to me yesterday that it would be awesome if one of my kids married a veterinarian. A friend suggested it would be cool if one became a veterinarian. That would be cool, so I'm giving them a choice. Be one, or marry one. No pressure there. See, choices are good.

It would be okay if they became independently wealthy. As long as they remembered the years they depended on me. I trust they would be hell bent to lavish their love and earthly belongings upon me.

As it is, I'm blessed that one is a mechanic, one knows how to program my phone, and that one is an amazing chef. Still a vet in the family would be sweet. All they really have to do is use the gifts God gave them, find their bliss, and be open to future spouses with initials that say DVM.

That's not too much to ask, is it?

Adopted!!!

Mick and Hank are doing the happy dance because Snowflake has found her forever home. Yup, we set a personal record for shortest time a foster was in our care. Twenty-four days from pick up to placement - not too shabby.

It all worked out just the way it was supposed to. Application and home visit on the same day. Adoption final the very next day. Good thing she was already in Omaha for training. It certainly made it easy for her new Daddy to meet and fall in love with her.

Now, I'm going to remember, next time a puppy needs fostering that puppy mentoring is not my strong suit. Reno, however, is amazing with them. That makes us a good team.

I think it's easier to let them go when they are only with you a short while. They don't own as big a piece of your heart then. Still, I wish I'd gotten to tell her good bye and kiss her schnozzle one more time. I would have told her to be a good girl, to not eat any remotes, to watch out for wine racks, and that carpet is best left unchewed. Hopefully, she learned that in her short time with us.

Happy Forever Home Snowflake.

Finishing School

This week Snowflake is in Omaha for Finishing School. Well, it's also known as Boot Camp for Incorrigible Puppies. But we told her it's finishing school. We are hopeful she'll finish up being wild and unruly.

I know she's just a puppy. I will be the first to admit not having oodles of puppy behavior shaping experience. Hence, I question my sanity when I said "oooooh, let's foster of puppy!"

Here is the good thing. Great Plains Pointer Rescue has a trainer who is kind enough to work with Flake this week. Foster support is crucial. I wish I knew more about training puppies. It's been disappointing to not be better at it. But, there is no shame in asking for help. I plan on taking advantage of some personal training as well. In fact, I offered to go to Omaha for a week of training and leave Flake at home with Reno, Hank and Mick. Funny how I was the only one embracing that idea.

Puppies are hard work. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention how quiet it is without her racing through the house stirring up....well...everything. But, I also miss that cute little attention seeking face. Like all our fosters, she's wormed her way into our hearts. We will be happy to see her at the end of the week. We're happy she's getting some expert training that will make her more adoptable. It's all good in a boot camp sort of way.

Kennel Up

We have been working on crate training for several weeks now. Face it, who of us can't relate to learning new behaviors, new ways of doing things. We resist, we struggle, we squirm. Even when the treats are enticing we drag our heels.

Snowflake (aka Flake) has been a wee bit reluctant to embrace the process of going into the crate under her own power. There are times when the schedule allows for a slower entry process. Sometimes the schedule requires a quick departure so it's a assisted entry. Sometimes I'll say kennel up and find Hank standing in Flake's crate. One couldn't ask for a better role model than that. I don't think she's impressed with his abilities.

I am finding, at feeding time, that patience pays off. When I put the bowl in and let her go in the crate in her own way it happens nicely. Not quickly, but nicely! Picture one 5 month old puppy doing laps in a tiny living room, prancing towards the crate, darting away from it, leaping with excitement. She nudges me from behind as if to say - hey you go in there and eat. If you wait through her antics the lure of the food wins out.

By then of course Hank has bolted his food and tried to lick the silver off the stainless steel bowl. Mick is waiting patiently for his food and wondering when Flake will leave for good.

Progress can be measured in little steps and prancing leaps. Flake can testify to that.

Old Dogs

Mick is my very first pointer. All the other pointers, and there have been many, owe their presence in my life to Mick.

Now, Mick is getting up there in age. He's roughly 10 1/2. Until now, he's been a healthy happy camper. Of late he's had some issues with what we think is arthritis. X-rays tomorrow should answer that definitively for us.

He has good days and bad days. Funny how we take the good days for granted in life. Shame on us. Recently he's had some hard days. That means I have hard days too. Last night I ended up sleeping beside him on the floor. If that is what it took to give him an ounce of comfort I was all for it. How I felt did not matter. That I could be with him was paramount.

Some people say I'm a good dog Mom. I say I'm lucky to have a good dog and it is the very least I can do. Old dogs are precious princes. And Mick is the most charming of all.

Two Weeks

Little Miss Snowflake, Sierra, or Little Bit has been with us for two weeks now. Sometimes I think she hasn't learned a thing, and other times I pause to realize how far she has come.

She is settling in. Some things still tempt her. For example, the laundry hamper. Have you ever seen anything more tantalizing?? Dirty socks are her favorite. But she is not adverse to boxers or panties. Dragging towels is great fun. Outside, she likes to dig in the turf, grab a piece of the sod and run with it.

This week she was spayed. So now she is definitely adoption ready. Oh yes, she is learning that leather love seats make cozy places to sleep. Any dog that comes here will learn that luxury. Sometimes the dogs even let us enjoy that pleasure too.

Funny how two weeks can be such a short time and a long time all at once. We're learning a lot from her. One only hopes she learns as much from us.

Respite

Ahhh.....everyone needs a little break. Snowflake is in for her spay procedure today. Boy oh boy is it quiet without her.

Several names have been suggested instead of Snowflake, or Sierra as we call her. Wild Child is used frequently. Vortex has been mentioned. Motion and Commotion hits the nail on the head too.

I must have had a temporary lapse in judgement when I suggested fostering a puppy. Truthfully, one look at her face makes it worth every moment of chaos. When she slows down, after approx 4 hours of non-stop activity, and snuggles up to you to sleep she is pure angel.

Youth is like that. Mick and Hank are not. I feel bad that Snowflake has a couple old fuddy duddies as her housemates. She drew the short end of the stick as far as playmates go. Sure they can teach her alot, but they don't help her burn that puppy energy off. She hoped for the Tasmanian Devil as a playmate and got The Odd Couple.

So it's on my to-do list to find her a young at heart pup to play with. A tired dog is a good dog. Around here, four of us are exhausted and one is raring to go!

Beginning and Ends

The end of one year and the beginning of another is foremost in our minds today. I used to never be a fan of New Years, because I never knew what the New Year would bring. Funny, and sad how I expected myself to know those things. We never know from one moment to the next!

Life is all about ends and beginnings, beginnings and ends. And the multitude of moments in between.

With a new foster dog every moment is a revelation, an investigation, and teachable moment and an adventure. I need a holster for my squirt bottle! I need eyes in the back of my head, and a bottle of Nature's Miracle.

That's not to say we are not making progress! Oh we are! Crating is so much easier. Potty training is going well, as long as we are diligent about ins and outs. I don't think she's potty trained, but we definitely are. Leash training has commenced. Laughing at the audacity of that sentence. Rome wasn't built in a day. It's not quite the lunge-fest it was the first time out.

Hank is going to earn his wings with this little one. She sits on him, crawls over him, leans into him, tramples him every chance she gets. Mick is not so friendly. But, in his defense old age is plaguing him with arthritis pains so her shenanigans add insult to injury.

Her pace is non-stop, and I'd just like a moment in one place. I have a new appreciation for my old dogs and a sense of humor about young dogs. It's part of the process of fostering. Ends, beginnings, middles, beginning of ends, ends of beginnings. Much like the New Year.