Mom has decided that she is cutting back on Memory Mondays to be only the first Monday of the month. That was today. Dad was trying all day long to install a new solid state hard drive in Mom’s computer, so she couldn’t do anything on my blog. Long story short, her computer rejected the hard drive, so here we are, waiting for the poor old drive to fail. Maybe Mom could give it shots of adequin, like she puts in my leg. BOL!
We finally sold our house in Red Bank, TN last week. That means I don’t get to go over there and sniff all around the yard any more. I think I am going to miss it. I thought I would post some memories in the form of pictures about my life on De Fue Street.
This is me and my Dad on my birthday in 2008. I don’t know why he has such a funny look on his face.
This is me waiting for Christmas dinner, 2007.
I liked to sit in the chair on the front porch and watch everything happening in the neighborhood.
Mommy planted flowers in pots and made the porch pretty. Look at my crazy beard!
On cold winter nights I would lay on the ottoman in front of the fireplace. Mom used to say it was the most expensive dog bed she ever bought.
I would go out the back door into the great big fenced yard. My screen house was out there too, and I could duck under the screening if I wanted to be inside it.
A dog and her stick. Goodbye, sweet De Fue Street House.
Mommy wanted to try typing patella luxation because it is such a cool sounding word (or words). She should have done it somewhere other than in my post.
I do not have that. My knees are great. The doc even said so.
I have hip dysplasia in my left hip.
Mom, would you please get it right next time? Just sayin’.
Mom gave me a bath early this morning, then she took me to the doctor. Don’t they do enough nasty things to you without having to get a bath first? Yes, the requisite glass stick was stuck up the you-know-what. Then the nice lady doctor checked my back leg, driver’s side, that has been bothering me for a long time. It goes out from under me sometimes, and I have trouble jumping up on the furniture and, worst of all, my kitchen table chair. Mom has been cleaning yellow discharge from right eye, so she checked that too and said the retina thing looked very good. She listened to my heart and said it sounded strong. I have started shaking my head and scratching at my left ear, so she looked in it, too. The lady doc said she wanted to take an expensive x-ray of my leg, and the extra benefit of it was that she could see all my internal organs, too. Eewww. That just sounds gross, and I have no idea why Mom was so enthusiastic about it.
Results: I have one luxated patella. Dr. Sally said it was not genetic or they would both be like that. More likely, I injured it at some point in the past, and neither Mom nor I even knew about it at the time. It was probably when I jumped off the kitchen counter onto the hard tile floor. Don’t ask. Or it could have been when I jumped off the dining room table. Don’t ask. Or when Mom dropped me on my head in a store onto the hard concrete floor when I was eight weeks old. Oh wait, I jumped out of the buggy and landed on my head. Nope, that didn’t hurt my leg. Whatever caused it, it’s there and not going away.
In the xray she also saw a stone in my bladder. I did not eat any stones, I promise. My heart and my liver are slightly enlarged. So now what?
Dr. Sally said the number one thing that would help everything is for me to….are you ready for this….lose weight. Four or five pounds.
This can’t be right!
Mom has a lot to do to take care of me now:
1. Eyes and ears are probably allergies, so she got a medicine like Claritin that I have to take every day. That means more treats, like coconut oil! I can see I am getting around this diet already. She also has to put special drops in my ears every day.
2. Because of the stone in my bladder I can now only drink distilled water. I wonder if that is like moonshine. Mom bought a gallon jug of it, then went back and got two more gallons to take to each of our work places. I have my very own water!
So this is my new water?Are you sure this is ok to drink?
Mom has to start giving me a shot of adequin in my back leg twice a week. She said it cost more than the x-rays, but I am worth it. 🙂 After a month I get it in one month, then every three months. I hope Mom can remember all this. I am to keep taking my fish oil pill and my dasuquin, which are both good for my internal organs as well as my joints. And they taste good, so I still have those treats, too. I am supposed to go on walks or swim a lot to keep building up the muscles in that leg. Not to procrastinate, we left the vet and went on two short walks on the way home. The temperature was in the 80’s with high humidity so we couldn’t walk for too long. Pooh, who needs to exercise when I can have fun walking? I must have read a dozen different stories along the way.
To help my heart and liver, I am not allowed to drink alcohol – that’s ok, I have my very own non-alcoholic Kahlua. But because I have to lose weight I am not allowed to have that sugary goodness. Again, with the weight loss thing. Daddy said the vet has a stamp for my chart that says, “lose five pounds” that she uses every time I go to see her. That is so not funny, Dad.
Oh, and I have plaque on my teeth. Dr. Sally: “Didn’t I give you a tool to remove the plaque from Lexi’s teeth.” Mom, looking sheepish: “Yes, but I’m not good at it. I will try again.” Dr. Sally: “If I have to do a dental, I will remove the big fatty tumor on her chest at the same time.” So now they are planning a chest reduction. OMD, what is next?
Mommy was pulling weeds in my dog lot alongside the house this morning when she about “jumped out of her skin,” as she put it. Right over her head was a writing spider. Her first thought was to “whack” it, then she remembered Charlotte. It looked a lot like Charlotte, but too small.
Mini-Charlotte
So she left mini-Charlotte alone and got out the mower. Have I mentioned that it has both rained and sunned a lot here lately? The grass was so deep and thick that the mower barely got through it. Mom decided to call a neighbor who cuts grass to do the rest of the steeply-sloped yard. She took a picture partway through mowing in case anyone would like to see how tall the dog lot grass was.
Grass. You know, Mom, this is so boring.
We walked around the back of the house and lo and behold, there was Charlotte way down by Dad’s office window. She had built a big, new web and was patiently waiting for her next victim. Update #1, Charlotte is alive and well, and has apparently expanded her territory. Her old web is intact, too. Perhaps she is building a franchise.
This is Charlotte’s underside. I think she was busy sucking the juice out of something.
Update #2: Our BFF in PA is doing much better. Some of you may remember when we went up there earlier in the summer. The hospital bed is gone from the living room and she can walk with crutches now. Her leg is healing real good and she can even go up the stairs to her bedroom and bathroom. Next will be the repair on her hip, and I hope that means another trip for me and Mom. My away-from-home- dad, Buddy, misses me and I miss him too.
Now for the camouflage.
Can you find us? Hint: red dog on red sheets; black and gray dog on black and gray bed.
You may notice I was careful to only put my silver-colored paw on the gray part of the bed. Mom found us anyhow. I think the bow gave me away.
I am Lexi, the camouflage, spider-watching schnauzer.
I don’t get to go to nursing homes anymore, not since my Grandma died. Sometimes I still think about it, though, because I still like older people. And sometimes when we go to the children’s hospital, we sneak into the section where there are sick big people – mostly older – and I feel their need. I give them the very best therapy possible. Hmmm. I think I will ask Mom to start taking me to nursing homes again. They need me. I have asked Mommy to type my memory Monday part in blue so you will know when it ends and we are back to now.
Memory Monday: My first trip to a nursing home.
March 20, 2007: Mom came home from work early on Friday and took me to a nursing home. At first I thought I was going to see my Grandma who lives near there, but I got to see lots and lots of other people who are old like my Grandma. Their rooms all open out to hallways, too, so they wouldn’t be able to let me stay all day either. They all talked to me nice and petted me.Mom told everyone about me being Toto in the Wizard of Oz. The bling on my collar was the picture button with me and Dorothy on it. No one had met a real, live star before, and I think they liked that. I felt very proud. There were a lot of cookie crumbs and I cleaned them up for everyone. I am a good helper. It was hot and stuffy in there and my throat got parched. It smelled funny too, like stuff I am not allowed to do in the house. I started whining and Mommy looked like she was going to be sick, so we left. She said we might go to a different nursing home next time.
I am a therapy dog now. I hope I don’t have to learn a new name again, like I did for the play.
Saturday I get to see my good schnauzer friends, Piper and Marley.
The Three Amigos: (L-R) Piper, Marley and Me
We are all going to get tested to be therapy dogs for hospitals that take care of children. I like all the children petting me. I am so sure I will pass whatever the test is. I hear that Marley is a little worried about this because she never liked kids. I think I will talk to her about it. After all, I never liked kids either until the Wizard of Oz. I will let her know they are really OK. Sometimes they are yummy sticky and they usually drop food, so it’s good to hang around them. I am Lexi, the new nursing home dog.
See, I even said way back when I was only 4 years old that I am a nursing home dog. Yep, gotta’ get that going again.
I normally start my work day on Tuesday. However, Mom has an appointment this Wednesday morning and cannot take me to the church on the mountain, so she took me Monday morning to make up for it. Some making up (yes, this is sarcasm). She forgot my food!The good food Dad had already fixed with my canned topping. Did she forget her food? No. Did she have plenty of time to pack it? Yes! Once she realized her huge mistake, a mistake affecting my life, my happiness, she texted my bestest friend Jentry, who she knew was coming up the mountain, and asked her to bring my dog food that was in my bowl on the floor near the living room. Those were her exact words. Did my ex-bestest friend Jentry get it right? No! She brought me dry dog food in the wrong carry-out container. If you are going to bring me the wrong food, at least put it in the fake butter container with the red lid, not the orange Tupperware with the starburst lid! I can’t get that lid off!! I think it was a conspiracy to starve me.
This is a picture of how I feel about dry food without topping, after being delivered in the wrong container.
If that wasn’t bad enough, Mom went upstairs in the church to her staff lunch meeting, and took her good-smelling food with her. She shut me in the office with my ex-bestest friend with nothing to eat! When Jentry stepped out of the office to make unimportant copies of unimportant stuff on the machine right outside the door, I scratched politely on the door to let her know I wanted out. I wanted to go up with my Mom where all the food was. She ignored me, so I started pounding on the door with my paw. I can pound pretty hard, hard enough to shake the door, so hard, in fact, that Jentry thought I was head-butting the door. No, Jentry, I was saving that for you! When she finally opened the door to the office I took advantage of the opportunity to run upstairs to Mom and all the other people eating without me. Mom immediately realized her second mistake of the day and gave me the piddly little bit that was left of her lunch. Before I could finish it, here came Jentry after me. She swooped me up into her arms, apologized for the interruption, and carried me back to the office, all the while scolding me with “bad dogs.” *hurumph* My pitiful looks finally started to work and she said since she was hungry too, and had brought me the wrong food, she would take me to McDonald’s.
Yea! Micky D’s! My bestest friend Jentry bought me Micky D fries and, even though I stared at the bag as hard as I could the whole way back to the church, she made me wait. Once she started feeding me the fries, they were so good I forgot about being mad at her. A short time later while she was in the hallway talking to some people, telling them what a bad dog I had been (I think one of them was my Mom, but I was too busy at the time to be sure) I managed to get the so-called empty bag unfolded and stuck head in it. After some man made a comment about getting a picture of the schnauzer with her head stuck in a bag – but before said deed could be accomplished – my almost-friend Jentry ran back into the office and pried my mouth open before I could swallow the ketchup packet. I guess I will have to try Micky D ketchup packets another day.
Today I was thinking about elevators and how they have become a part of life. I ride an elevator at least twice every time I go to therapize the sick kids at the children’s hospital and even understand the etiquette of elevator riding: turn to face the front and be quiet.
Sometimes I rode the elevator when Mommy and I worked at St. Paul’s. One evening we were all there (Mom and Dad and me) teaching a ballroom dance class. There was a good mixture of parishioners and folks from the big band that my Dad plays in. They all know me and know enough about me to realize what a talented genius I am. We taught in a large room upstairs, with the elevator just outside the door. Eventually, I got bored and headed down the stairs, then down the long hallway to the kitchen, which was at the other end of the church. I thought maybe I could get a little snack before going back to help with the class. While I was gone, something made the elevator ding. The class stopped and, suddenly realizing I was gone, everyone looked questioningly out at the elevator. Finally, someone voiced what everyone there was thinking: did Lexi push the button and get on the elevator? BOL! I am not tall enough to push the buttons!
I want to share with you the story of my first elevator ride in today’s Memory Monday.
February 6, 2007
I had my first ride in an elevator. Mom carried me onto it. It started to go up and when she tried to put me down I clung onto her like crazy. No way was I going to stand on this thing that was moving under us. She caught me with her knee as I was sliding off her and she saved me. The doors of this elevator thing slid open and she carried me out into a hallway. Then I got to visit my Grandma in her new apartment. I was so excited to see her and she was excited to see me too. When we were done visiting Mom held me on the elevator ride back down.
A few days later I went back to see Grandma and had to go on this elevator thing again. Mom tricked me – just walked right onto it with me on my leash. I was looking at this person that I thought would pet me and wasn’t paying enough attention to where I was going. I could feel it begin to move, but I kept my eye on that bright metal circle in the middle. I think that was the thing making it all happen. We made it up OK and I was wiggly happy to see my Grandma again. Grandma had a piece of toast all ready just for me. Mom thought she tricked me again when we left, but I knew that as long as I watched that circle thing, it would be OK. I just wanted to share that with all of my friends so you would know to just watch that metal circle and you don’t need to be afraid to go on an elevator. The elevator will take you good places, like to see the people you love. I am Lexi, the brave elevator-riding schnauzer.
By the way, since I posted this eight years ago I have come to realize that not all elevators have metal circles in the middle and that isn’t what makes them work. I am older and wiser now!
Every night after we eat supper, Mommy and I take our fish oil pills. When Mom first hands it to me, I refuse it. Then she forgets which one is hers and sticks mine in her mouth. Every single time!!! Then she says, “Uh oh, this one is yours,” and gives it to me. I always take it then because I am afraid she will eat it if I don’t. Silly Mommy!
It’s Memory Monday time, and I’ve been thinking about my half sisters, Lily and Ivy, who have crossed the rainbow bridge. Ivy was my hero, everything I wanted to be. She taught me how to be a good leader.
Ivy, leader of the pack
They only lived with us every other week, and I was always testing Ivy to see if I could be in charge. I clearly remember the last time that happened. She decided not to put up with my insubordination any longer. Ivy put me on my back and stood over me, moving her open mouth back and forth in front of my face. I squeezed my eyes tightly shut so I couldn’t see myself die and started to scream. It took what seemed like an eternity (at least 2 seconds) for Mom to come running into the kitchen to rescue me. The rest of the account is from Mom, since I had my eyes closed and was making too much screamy noise to hear anything.
Lexi’s Mom here. I politely asked Ivy to move off of Lexi and she did. Lexi, still on her back, just kept on screaming. Ivy and I looked at each other and if a dog could shrug their shoulders, I would swear she did. We both looked at Lexi again and back at each other. I finally said, “Lexi, it’s over. You can stop screaming now.” Lexi peeked through her eyelashes and started the wind down screaming. It kept getting softer and slower until she finally stopped.
It’s me, Lexi, back to pick up the story. I swear I saw my life flash before my eyes. I was only two, so it didn’t take long. After the “incident” I made a wide berth around Ivy for a while, just to be sure. I never challenged her again.
Lily
Daddy was just leaving for vacation when a young orange-colored dog showed up at the house where he was living. He told her if she was still there when he got back that she could live with him. She conned different neighbors into feeding her until he got back and lived with him ever since.
Lily was usually everyone’s favorite because she was such a sweet and friendly girl. By “everyone” I mean anyone new who met them. Mommy said that she liked Ivy’s cocky attitude best from the moment she met her. One day Mom was laying on the couch feeling sick. Ivy curled up with her and Mommy almost instantly felt better. Dad said he had never seen Ivy take to someone like she did Mom. After that, he called her Mommy’s black healer.
Once in a while Lily would make a break for it. About a year or so ago, Riley unlatched the fence gate while Lily was out in the yard. When she got out and started running down the street Riley was smart enough to realize he had made a big mistake and took off after her. My BFF Jentry was in charge of the dogs when this happened. She quickly discovered the jailbreak and was about to start through the neighborhood in search of two red dogs when she saw them coming back down the road from the cul de sac. Riley – even though responsible for Lily’s escape – had been a good brother and stayed with her to be sure she was ok. Lily was about 16 years old at the time.
Sometimes Lily was a clown. This is a picture of her when she got a feather stuck on her nose.
Lily the clownLily in my kennel
Lily was terrified of thunderstorms. She would try to hide in the most ridiculous places, like in the 2 inch crack between the stove and counter. Here she is hiding in my kennel. It is a large kennel, so it was much more comfortable than in a crack. She got pretty deaf in her old age and that actually worked for her, as she couldn’t hear the thunder any more.
Ivy in our bed
In the summer Mommy would shave both Ivy and Lily. They were so much cooler without all that thick hair and undercoat, and it sure did stop the hair balls doing the tumbleweed dance around the house. As Ivy got older, she got to be more reclusive.
Lily the birthday girl
Lily was a real party girl and loved celebrating birthdays as much as I do. The difference is she didn’t mind sharing. Lily would be proud of me for sharing these memories with you. Ivy would have just said, “Whatever.”
Mom hates bugs of any kind. So when she investigated what Riley and I were staring at on the patio floor and found it was a small lizard caught by a spider’s web, she set the little guy free.
She then got her broom and started knocking down the many webs around the patio floor, furniture and ceiling, finally moving outside to get any there. Imagine her wide-eyed, try-to-hold-it-together, freeze-in-place look when she saw this creature under the house eaves just outside the screened patio.
Unidentified, scary spider
The markings on its back look white in the pic but are yellow. Notice the distinctive web design in the lower left of the bottom pic. It looks like a phone cord.
Can anyone tell us
What kind of spider this is and
If it is dangerous and
If Mom should kill it? (she is leaning toward death to all spiders)
My all-time favorite thing…the stage. And this is a montage, so it counts as one picture, as Noodle said!I love to go to Rock City with Mom and Dad for Rocktober Fest. I always see some of my peeps friends there and there is good German food for a good German dog, too!This picture is from my 10-year-old birthday party. I had a Healthy Choice meal with my Mom and Dad and then my very own cake shaped like a dog. I know, kinda’ weird, but Mom meant well. Can you see the happy all over my face?This one is from my last Freestyle competition. I love Freestyle!Another birthday pic, this one from this past May. I love birthdays and I love Micky D’s!!I love boating on my Sammy Joe, feeling the wind in my face.I love to help Mom in the kitchen.
There are so many more pictures of things that make me happy, it is hard to choose the last one. Should it be of me at work at the church on the mountain? Or rolling in the ivy? Or taking a trip?
This is one of my nite-nite rituals with my Dad. Happy endings to happy days.
It’s now time for me to nominate the following blogs/friends:
It’s Memory Monday time again and I wanted to try once again to explain why I am not BFF’s with Riley . He is an imposter, an imposer and an imposition. (I am practicing my i words today.) He wants to do everything I do. Here are two examples. (No Mom, I don’t think I am obsessing over Riley.)Memory Monday:
June 18, 2012
Riley’s Diary: I am an agility AND a freestyle dog.
Me and Andrew at Agility!
Hi friends. I completed my first agility course with my people brother Andrew and got a nice piece of paper for it. Not edible. Andrew is going to keep it because it is his first time doing anything like this. Well, it is my first time too, but I love Andrew so I guess I will let him keep it. We are now in Agility II and doing stuff called teeters and weaves. I am slowly getting used to stepping on a training board that moves around. It is a bit scary, but I am getting braver every week. The other dogs are all running across the real teeter. I need to think about it a bit longer before I trust it. Agility is really great though, cause I get tons and tons of treats while I am there, really good stuff I never get any other time. The best part, though is that Andrew has a new toy he plays with me only when we are there. I want to play with the other dogs, too, but I have to understand that this is not the time for it.
Me and Milo practicing our Freestyle.
I have also been going with Mom and Lexi and Milo to Freestyle training. I have to sit in a crate a lot, but boy do I ever love it when I get to go on the floor and strut my stuff. Everyone says how very beautiful I look with my long legs, just like a Tennessee Walking Horse. Now I don’t know what that is, but it must be really pretty.
I am so happy to get to do the things my talented little sis does! She’s the best! Riley
Now here is a Memory Mondayfrom my best guy, Noodle.
Mommy reads a blog called Morning Story and Dilbert. She asked me to share this short excerpt from it, as it pertains to all of us dogs who want to dig our tunnels to visit each other, whether from Tennessee to Florida or Australia to Canada!
Two brothers decided to dig a deep hole behind their house. As they were working, a couple of older boys stopped by to watch.
“What are you doing?” asked one of the visitors.
“We plan to dig a hole all the way through the earth!” one of the brothers volunteered excitedly.
The older boys began to laugh, telling the younger ones that digging a hole all the way through the earth was impossible. After a long silence, one of the diggers picked up a jar full of spiders, worms and a wide assortment of insects. He removed the lid and showed the wonderful contents to the scoffing visitors.
Then he said quietly and confidently, “Even if we don’t dig all the way through the earth, look what we found along the way!”
Their goal was far too ambitious, but it did cause them to dig. And that is what a goal is for – to cause us to move in the direction we have chosen; in other words, to set us to digging!
But when we fall short of our aim, perhaps we can say, “Yes, but look at what we found along the way! Look at the wonderful things which have come into our life because we tried to do something!”
It is in the digging that life is lived. It constitutes the joy in the journey.
Riley on MY bed. I am busy here praying for deliverance. Where’s my Mother Mary night light?
Today, Mom left me home with Dad, because he missed me so much while I was on my special trip to PA. She also had to go to the doctor to get another shot for the lingering poison ivy on her way to work this morning. So, I was laying around in MY bed when I discovered Riley was intent on making himself at home there too. You would think he had the run of the house while I was off on my mission of mercy. Hurumph. You can see that I decided to pray for deliverance from the Dufus Riley. Mommy said that was so not nice.
So that got me to thinking about when Riley first arrived, and this is the story of that.
Memory Monday
November, 2010
A dog now named Riley has come to live with us. Riley can’t claim a pedigree like I can. He is a mutt, a mongrel, a totally undignified mix of un-papered dogs who had a quick tryst, if you know what I mean. I shudder to think there are more like him running around out there. I couldn’t believe it when Mom brought him home in the first place. She called him Dufus the first couple of days he was here, and boy, did she have that right. She says she found him side winding like a rattler with legs down the middle of a busy back road and it was a miracle he hadn’t been hit by a car. When she stopped to save his life he splayed all four legs to stop her from putting him in her car. That shows what little intelligence he had even then. Who wouldn’t want to ride in a comfortable Toyota Avalon with heated leather seats? At the time Riley was only six months old and 28 pounds, plenty small enough for her to win that battle. She walked in the house announcing she had found a dog, but don’t worry, she wasn’t keeping him. She would find his owner or put him up for adoption on a website and that would be that. My BFF Auntie Jen and my Dad just looked at each other, shook their heads and laughed.
After a few days of advertising and no one claiming him, Mom declared he needed a name other than Dufus. “I mean,” she said, “who will take a dog called ‘Dufus’?” So she and Auntie Jen got on the internet to look at dog names. When Mom saw “Riley” she decided that fit him really well. At this point we were all supposed to start calling him “Riley” instead of “Dufus.” *sigh*
The next day Dad took him to the vet who said he had almost every worm known to dog, except, thankfully, heart worms. So he got Dufus Riley de-wormed, vaccinated and on heart worm prevention. Oh, and did I mention he also had ringworm, which is really a contagious fungal infection, not even a worm? Aghh! Mom asked why Dad spent all that money on a dog they weren’t keeping. Dad said, “When you named him I knew we were keeping him.” Mom still denied it.
Then they bought him toys. So he wouldn’t chew anything in the house with his puppy teeth now starting to fall out. How that worked out is another whole story. Suffice it to say that we don’t have a sheet or blanket left in the house without at least one hole in it. *sigh*
Six month old Riley with his new toys.
That’s the end of myMemory Monday. Hop on over to my sweet guy Noodle’s blog and check out his newest Memory Monday.
We left our BFF’s house early this morning and are back home. I already miss my newly trained Uncle Buddy. He took good care of me once he understood what a good communicator I am. Back home, Riley’s still here. Peeps brother Andrew is away. Haven’t seen the boy. Jentry is here mowing the grass. She needs to stop doing that and come in and cook something.
Whew, it was a hot ride home. Air conditioner all but conked out. I panted most of the way. Mom tried to put an ice pack on me, but I got in the back seat to avoid it.
I’m not sticking my tongue out at you, I’m just hot!
Just south of Cincinnati we passed an exit for a place called Big Bone Lick State Park. I really, really wanted to go there, but Mom said we had to get on home.
If anyone goes, please save me some bones to lick.
Finally we reached Tennessee. I could tell by the mountains and curvy roads. I am back to my roots as a Southern girl.
Just a couple more hours until we get home.
So I am back home, and ready to receive company. Y’all come on by and say hi now, ya hear?
For those of you just tuning it, Mom and I are in PA taking care of our BFF who was in a bad car accident. Pai the dog and Claudia the cat live there. Yesterday, Claud got shaved and this is what Pai looked like.
Paisana, earlier this week.
Mom got up early today. She took me out, fed me, then this happened. I watched. *grin*
Paisana, post groom.
Pai does look happier since her groom, doesn’t she? Tomorrow is Saturday and there is no one left to groom, except…. no, no, no.
My schnauzer cousin Piper just got a bad report from the doctor. He went to the vet with a bladder infection. Then we found out it was caused by diabetes. He will need two insulin shots every day. Also, his Class 4 heart murmur has caused both sides of his heart to enlarge. If that weren’t enough, the enlargement is affecting his lung, which is why he has been wheezing. He is a year younger than me. Still a whippersnapper. His momma is finishing her culinary degree in Italy and will be gone for about 3 more weeks. She is worried half sick about him, and is stressed that she isn’t with him right now. We want to bring him home to us, but his new daddy wants to keep him there. We understand, but still hope he will change his mind. We love Piper too.
Piper and Me on Memorial Day 2015L – R -Piper, Marley, Me 2007
Mom and I have had a busy few days at our BFF’s. Remember Claud the c-a-t?
Claudia, aka Claud, aka the c-a-t
She now looks like this:
Claud the naked cat
Yep, Mom brought her grooming tools from Tennessee and shaved the c-a-t. I saw the clippers come out and I know a look of panic crossed my face. Then I saw Mom carry Claud to her make-shift grooming table and watched as Claud promptly flew off the table, not to be seen again for hours. When Mom finally found Claud and got her back on the table, Mom “scruffed” her during the entire groom. She said it was the only way she could shave her. Claud was not amuzed. (I was.) In the picture above she is hiding in the closet.
Monday was our BFF’s birthday and there were people coming and going all day. I was worn out from greeting everyone with hearty barks. Tuesday was the same way. Thankfully, only one couple came by today, and they brought food. They liked me and I got some of the food. It was good eye talian food.
Mom left the house for a while yesterday and said she had a reunion with her whole family. She was gone a couple of hours. Here are the pictures she took of the reunion.
The Family in Oakwood Cemetery
When Mommy came back to our BFF’s, her eyes were red. Her eyelids were all red, too. Apparently, the poison ivy had come back with a vengeance and had traveled to her face.
Poison Ivy by nose and on eyelids. It itches.
It took three days for Mom’s doctor’s office to call in a prescription to the pharmacy and the pharmacy to get the medicine in stock. The rash wasn’t bad when Mom first called the doctor on Monday. By today – Wednesday – it is on it’s way to real bad. Mom is not amused.
Today we weeded and watered our BFF’s garden. She has flowers and tomato plants. I adopted the St. Francis of Assisi statue. Did you know he is the patron saint of animals? I will leave it for our BFF to take care of it when we go home.
My daddy can’t be here, so I have adopted our BFF’s husband to be my temporary daddy. He thinks it’s great that I go to him now to ask to go out and to be fed and to get treats. 🙂 I wonder why my daddy at home doesn’t appreciate all the attention…
Last Friday Mom brought me along to her home town in Western Pennsylvania (I called it pencil vain ya before, BOL!) to help take care of her BFF after she had a bad car accident. It was a 10 1/2 hour car drive, and I didn’t even nap once on the way. This was way too exiting. We made good time and arrived at 6:30 in the evening, plenty early to size up the eating and sleeping situations, as well as to get re-acquainted with the people and the dog and to meet the cat.
Pai, who is always sweetClaudia, aka Claud, aka the c-a-t
What I didn’t realize was going to happen was that I would hook back up with an old friend of mine. When we were both less than a year old I had a lot of fun one day playing with Pai, short for Paisana, which means “friend” in Italian. That’s what this Memory is about.
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2004
My Grandma
While Mom and I were visiting my Grandma at her home in Sharon, PA, we spent a day visiting with a friend and her Airedale/greyhound mix puppy, Pai (pronounced pie). I had just celebrated my first birthday, and although Pai was a few months younger than me, she was already much bigger. It was a Saturday, and we drove to a nearby school where we could run around off-leash and dig in the soft dirt of the playground. We started out digging to China. Then I saw that Pai could dig bigger holes faster than me, so I ran over to her and insisted she give me her hole. She was a very agreeable puppy – and she realized who was in charge – so she said OK and started digging a new hole. Pretty soon that hole started looking better than the one I had just taken from her that she gave me, so I ran over and took asked for that one too. Before long, I owned all the holes in the playground! It was getting late – time to get in the car and head back to Pai’s house. Oops, we’re both covered in mud! Pai’s mom drove the car home to “get the bath ready” while Mom walked us both to our destinies chance to get clean and good smelling again.
Now, be sure to check out my cute boyfriend’s Memory Monday post.
I'm Dalton, a Rat terrier mix and I came here in Sept, 2017, I was rescued from Hurricane Harvey. My birthday is 8-20-2016. My Gotcha Day is 8-27-2017. And I am Benji, a terrier mix of unknown origin. MY Birthday is June 6, 2018, and my Gotcha Day is Dec 28, 2018. I also was a rescue from a different part of Texas. We also have Angel MrJackFreckles, (2-5-2018); and also we have Angel Minko, (6-18-2017); and Angel Pipo, (11-3-2020);There are also Angels Groucho, Simba, Suki, & Toki. We meezers used to be known as WeBeesSiameezers. We'e all from Michigan, Dalton and Benji both came here from Texas, as rescues..
Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess with Lucy and Chia 