Mothering

I've been doing this Mom gig for quite a while now. Let me tell you I'd do those baby days over in a heart beat. Not at my current age, mind you, but back when I was young, semi-clueless and full of energy. It's been a privilege to be called Mom, Mommy, Mother, dog-Mom, foster dog-Mom.

I still wake up at the crack of dawn with the dogs. Years of being "on call" with the kids trained me for this. One ear always open for them stirring. One heart beat away from concern that something might be wrong with a precious little one. I'm at the stage in life where my kids are on their own, self sufficient and our circles don't cross much. Not complaining at all, mind you. Except for missing the joy of them walking in the door when you don't expect them.

Now I just "Mom" the dogs. Believe me, with Layla it's a full time job. She is a digger, chewer, hunter of moths, go getter that has no off button. At her first obedience class the teacher used her as a prime example. We might never get her to 'sit', we need to pick our battles. Great, first class and we are a shining example of non-compliance.

But, and there is always a but, she keeps us on our toes, makes us laugh, entices us to throw the tennis ball a hundred times a day and keeps Mick and Hank from being stodgy couch potatoes.

Kids are like that. They keep us from complacency and at the same time make our hearts grow. Makes me realize how lucky I am in my role as Mother of both, the two footed and four footed variety of kids.

Prancing In The Dark

Ms. Layla, who believes she is part retriever, loves her tennis balls. Thanks to a neighbor kid who plays tennis, she has quite a collection. There are at least 6 if not more in the yard. If she wants you to throw it, she'll bring it and drop it near you. If you don't respond she'll go get another. Just in case we prefer one ball over the other. Let me tell you, she's hard to resist.

Last night we played what I call "prancing in the dark". Imagine a young, blonde bimbo..err...young liver pointer playing fetch in the dark. We would toss the ball, but she was clueless as to where it went. No matter that. She would run circles in the yard until she found a ball. Doesn't matter which ball. Any ball will do. Game on! Granted, if she only had one ball it would have been a different game. Way more intense than her little brain could handle. Since there were many she was like "Oh yea! A Ball!.....run, run, run, wait for the toss. Run, run, run, Oh hey! Here's a ball. Run, run, run. Wait for the toss...run, run, run...Heck Yes, I'm a night vision retrieving genius!

Maybe she's a genius. Could be she's the Einstein of canines. Or, maybe, she's a silly little pointer girl prancing in the dark. Thankfully she lives in a yard where it rains tennis balls. ...wait for the toss...run, run, run...

Tough Choices

I have a dear friend who asked me how to make sense of euthanizing a beloved pet when the bible says though shalt not kill. She asked me to share this dilemma with those who read this blog in hopes of making sense of this.

She knew she had no choice to love her dog across the bridge. Playing a role in that is the worst part of pet ownership. We all dread that day. We fret and worry when the time is near. We walk those last steps with a heavy broken heart.

How do we find peace with that? I hope it is found in humanely ending the suffering of our furry friend. It can seem both easy and yet profoundly complex to understand. As I write Layla lays beside me on the recliner. She trusts me to care for her needs, in good times and in bad, sickness and in health.

Thou shalt not kill. But, we should end suffering when we are able to do so. So I turn this over to you, to help a grieving friend find peace.

New Things

Layla would like to thank Mick for the important tutorial on how to tear the filling out of a dog bed today. Valuable knowledge - for future escapades no doubt.

Hank just wants to say he's still got it going. He's the man. The other day he flushed a bunny, chased it down and snatched it up. When I opened the door to call Reno for help removing it Hank raced inside and deposited it on the carpet. I also nearly deposited something on the carpet. As much as I was appalled, I was also proud at his catch of the day.

And for the record, someone has been eating all the blossoms off my pansy's. Someone?? I don't have to be Sherlock Holmes to know it is a four-footed culprit. I just haven't caught anyone with petals stuck to their lips. It's only a matter of time.

The last new thing is that we moved the last of our belongings out of the house in Omaha pending it's closing on Monday. This time next week I will not have a "home". No, I won't be homeless, but I will be less one home. It's bittersweet. To say the least. New things are like that. Let go of one thing to receive another. It's not easy, but, the best is yet to come.

One of THOSE dog owners.

I have a confession to make. I've crossed over to the other side. Today, for the first time in all the years and all the dogs I've been owned by, I sent one to boarding. OMG. So far, I've always had the luxury of leaving my dogs with
Reno, or my kids. They have been troopers over the years helping me out. But now that the kids and I live in different cities, it's a whole new dog biscuit.

Ms. Layla is being boarded for the weekend. I feel like I've sent her to a concentration camp. Realistically, I know her needs are being met. She'll be fed, get attention, get play time. She will get far more there than before she came into rescue and found her forever home.

But, I hated to leave her. I wonder if she wonders if we are coming back. I wonder if she is having flash backs. I wonder if she'll be twice as goofy when we return. In a way I'm glad there is not a doggie-cam for me to check on her. I'd like to watch, and I'm glad I can't.

Never thought I'd be such a worry wart. But then, I've never left a pet with total strangers before...well, we both know they aren't total strangers...but she doesn't know that.

Our House

"Our House is a very, very, very fine house. With three dogs in the yard. Life used to be so hard, now everything is easy 'cause of you..." Okay, so I took some artistic license with an old Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young song. I feel pretty sure they meant to write three dogs, instead of two cats. But maybe they were cat people instead of dog people. Could be they felt the cats needed a little help in popularity polls.


We have three dogs in the yard. And a couple of squirrels that talk smack to them. We have two senior dogs and a youngster that thinks life is a cabaret. Well, make that, life is a tennis ball, fish toy and a rope toy. Life is for running willy nilly. It is for flopping down when you can't run any more. Buckets with wood soaking for the bbq become the equivalent of bobbing for apples. It's fun to see her shenanigans and to watch the boys snooze in the sun. Young bliss and old bliss coexisting. I wish I had her energy, and I envy the boys their nap time.

Most everything is easy 'cause of you'...dogs. Or at least easier, in this very fine house. They don't take themselves seriously. Nor should we. Although they do take play and naps seriously. Good lessons to learn for our own very fine house....

Why do you....

Layla has questions.

Why do you leave for part of every day? Seriously, we could play all day every day. Why can't we?

Why do you go in the little room, behind the curtain and get rained on every day. Are you in Seattle? Do you mind that I peak in to see if you are still there?

Why does Hank want so much of your attention? He has had it for years and I've just gotten here.

Why does my tennis ball roll under the neighbors fence? And what do you mean I can't dig up the neighbors rose bush under the fence? I know you love roses.

Do I really have to "give it" when you say so? Do I really have to "come" when you say so? Why is walking me like walking a whirling dervish? I just like to be everywhere and the leash makes that impossible. You may want to walk forward, I prefer side-to-side.

Why does the squirrel get to run on the top of the fence? I want to do that!!! Does Hank really not know how to play? OMG - how sad is that. Why does Mickey sometimes play like an old man. Ohhhhh, he is an old man.

Do I really have to behave when you are out-of-town? I rather like being non-compliant.

Why, why, why....I just wanna know why?

~Layla