Today we thank The Cat on My Head for helping us to say Happy Mother’s Day with our Selfies! To settle the argument of who got to go first, then next, then next, Riley declared we shall go in age order, starting with the oldest. Here we go, and this one’s for you, Mom!
Mom Amy: Y’all make it a great Mother’s Day, my dear girls and sweet boy. I’m so happy everyone is healthy and happy. I love you too!
Xena: Why are you all dressed up in this picture, Mom? Are you going somewhere? Mom: No, this is a picture from last night just before your Dad and I went out ballroom dancing. Chia: You mean when you left us alone with no food or anyone to bug,umm, I mean, pet us? Lucy: I was afraid you wouldn’t come back! Riley: Happy Mother’s Day!
Xena: First, I’m thankful to Brian for hosting Brian’s Thankful Thursday! And I am thankful to Angel Sammy for the fun picture this week. I can’t wait to see what all my friends have come up with, too! Here’s the picture:
Fatherly Advice by Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess
I love you lots, my little son, but hear now what I say. You must to be mindful when you want to go outside to play. No messing with orangutangs or fooling with the chimps! They’re not like us…hear me now! You treat them with contempt.
The lions, we know, all think that they are kings of the jungle. But they’re just cats…not like us…they’re just some monkey’s uncle. We’re smarter, bigger, stronger, tall; we are full of power. We use our arms, our fists, our brains, we don’t need gun powder!
Remember, Prince Abinawah, on you I will depend… “But Dad,” Abinawah exclaimed, “you haven’t met my friend!” A gorgeous girl, so sweet and fun, I call her Clementine. I have her picture cause some day she’ll be a wife of mine!
Xena: That’s right, long one, go bother Lucy. I’m stayin’ here with my Daddy. *singing to herself* “There ain’t no mountain high enough, ain’t no valley low enough, ain’t no Chia wide enough, to push me away from you, Daddy.”
Thanks to Miss Sandee at Comedy Plus for hosting Awww Monday!
Hi! It’s me, Riley! I’m RiBoy, the BDay boy today! And I’m 13 years young. Mom Amy’s got a special treat for all my friends…13 pictures of me! She’s gonna start with when I was just a whippersnapper, and work her way up to now. I hope you enjoy them!
Clockwise (Mom Amy told me how to do clockwise) 1. My first week in my new home, November 2010 2. My first birthday, May 1, 2011 3. Me with my girlfriend Maebe in 2012. We’d been working on our joint Freestyle routine. A few days later when we got to the venue where we were to perform, Maebe dumped me and wouldn’t even do our routine. (She found out I’d been making eyes at a gorgeous white standard poodle.) 4. Me with my boy. He and his Mom and my person Andrew lived with us for 2 years. I moved out with them when they left. I’ve been back to stay several time since then, and I’m pretty sure this is my real home again.
Here we go with years 2014 through 2017 1. Me and Lucy were great friends (and still are) and played together and sometimes even ran away together. Mom always found us. 2. That’s me and My Person Andrew up at Rock City for Rocktoberfest. 3. 2016 is the year Lexi crossed the bridge. We’re at My Person Andrew’s house. I was telling her everything was going to be ok. 4. Me and my Little Buddy Piper in 2017. He joined Lexi the next year.
Me, Lucy and Xena. I think Xena’s a bit afraid of me, so that would be why she doesn’t bother me much. Here, taken in 2020 we’re the 3 amigos!
Chia appeared on the scene, as they say, and brought out the puppy in all of us.
This is from Christmas last year (2022). I got my Racky D, and he’s only the second stuffie who I haven’t deadied. Right now he’s soaking up some sun in a lawn chair in the dog lot. I might go out and play with him.
Chia can be braver than she is smart. Earlier this year she slid off the top of the couch onto my back, pulled the blanket down to make a bed and settled in for a nap. On me! I decided to let this travesty go and save my energy for bigger fish, as they say.
I hope you enjoyed my meander down memory lane in pictures. I hear My Person Andrew is coming over after work today, and I think there may be an order in for pizza. I love my raw diet…I’ve never had such a good appetite as for that food. I come running every morning and evening when I hear it being prepared. But pizza…*drool*
Hoping to see you again in May 2024 and lots of times in between!
Xena: I’m thankful for Chia making me feel like a young pup again. She’s a lot of fun to play with, and I’m always thinking up new ways to get her to chase me and play with me, instead of her getting in trouble for bothering Lucy.
Chia: I’m thankful for my sis Xena. She never gets mad at me or gets me in trouble (I do that without anyone’s help). I hope someday I’ll be able to be the church dog, too!
Chia: We decided to do something called “collaborate” on the picture poem today. It was really Xena’s turn, but she wanted us to do it together.
Xena: Our poem today was written by me, Xena and me, Chia. I start it out, and then Chia gets every other line.
DreamLand by Xena the Schnauzer and Chiathe Jacksund
I found a place where my dreams play And where my thoughts will often stray. A place that’s a fancy curly que, One built just for me and you. We sing and dance and have such fun, We hop and skip and then we run! The grasses all are good to eat, And then we stop to wash our feet! I hate to wake from this sweet dream But I heard someone say, “Ice cream!”
Thanks, Teddy and Angel Sammy from Two Spoiled Cats for the picture inspiration for today’s poem!
Hey friends, this is Riley. My first thankful today is that I get to do a post a lot more since Xena took over the blog. Angel Lexi was very selfish with her blog, and only grudgingly let anyone else (me) post anything. So thanks, little sis.
My second thankful is even better. It has two parts. Part one: My Person Andrew came with me and Mom Amy to the vet for me to get my diagnostic X-rays and an ultrasound on my tummy and chest. It was to see if I had a heart murmur or what was going on. Even though I was really high on some good sh*t Mom Amy gave me, I still knew he was there with me and it made me feel even more good than the drugs.
Part two: The tests showed no fluid in my abdomen or in my chest. It did show my heart is slightly enlarged, but all y’all already know I have a big heart, right? *grin* No heart drugs or anything else is needed. I’m feeling good and am eating all I can get ahold of and playing with Chia a little bit and also my stuffies. Hey, I’m gonna be 13 in just under a month, woohoo! Hope I get something good for my birthday!!
Xena: Thanks Riley. I’m glad you understand this is still my blog that I inherited from Angel Lexi. And you can use it anytime you want, since you inherited the position of alpha dog from her.
I’m gonna be real thankful when my right ear is back to normal. The culture the vet place did showed it’s full of yeast, but no bacteria. the new med that Mommy has to put in my ear every day hasn’t helped at all. So now — because we’re at the “end of our rope” — I have to take a half a pill called prednisone. I sure hope that works. I hear everyone gets extra hungry when they take that pill, but I’m a schnauzer, meaning I’m always extra hungry!
Those are our Thankfuls, so next up is our picture poem! Oh, and thanks to Angel Sammy for another great picture.
Angel Lexi the Schnauzer by Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess
An empty slate, like an empty plate, Always leaves you wanting more. It’s so unfulfilling and makes you unwilling To turn around and walk out the door.
Our Angel Lexi took steps whence she Could fill the void on the wall Our hearts still miss her, our wonderful sister, But she still has the power to enthrall.
Thanks to Angel Sammy for giving us a blank slate to work with today!
First, big wags to Rosy and Sunny over at the LLB Gang for hosting Nature Friday!
Riley: Mom Amy seems to love the wild violets we’re seeing everywhere. These are in our dog lot. It’s a wonder they survive what is always happening out there.
Xena: Hey there, totally changing the subject, we’ve got our very own grazing grass right here in our side/back yard. You see, Mommy left parts of a bale of straw sitting around after Halloween last fall, and they started to grow grass. Our side and backyard is losing dirt and grass, so that was a pleasant surprise! Riley found it first and we heard him say, “Mmmmmm, so goooood!” So of course, the next time we got out in the yard, we all had to check it out!
Chia walked through first to see what all the fuss was about and to sample it.
Chia’s like our Mikey from that cereal commercial. So if Chia liked it we knew to jump right in. Lucy and me, we staked out our claim.
Then, because Chia thinks she has to be close to Lucy at all times, she went and started grazing in Lucy’s area.
Lucy: I didn’t care, as long as she didn’t start her crap with me. I am just so over that. Thank goodness she was too interested in this new treat we’d found.
Meanwhile…
Riley: Hey, where’d everyone go?
Xena, Lucy and Chia wishing everyone a happy Friday. Hey, where’d Riley go?
Xena: As promised, I am back today to tell you about my 3 hour trip to south Georgia to my breeder’s, Grammy Toni. It was a real nice day and a nice ride down the interstate. I mostly slept in my favorite kennel in the back seat of the car while Mommy drove.
Sorry for the bad picture. The kennel is soft and blue and has a fluffy pillow and my stuffie JenJen bear and my stuffie Priscilla.
Mommy warned me that there would be two fellas there with their schnauzers that they got from Grammy, too. Here are their “babies.”
L-R Katie Ann, Savanah, Bo
We’re all cousins, or something like that. Let’s just say we’re related.
I was really nervous about the whole thing. New place. New people, new floor to have to walk on. And most of all, seven new dogs to meet. I have to admit, I didn’t do so well at the meet and greet.
I mostly sat in Mommy’s lap or under Mommy’s chair. All the other schnauzers came up to me to sniff me and say hello, and I growled at them. I didn’t lift my lip or anything, I was just kinda scared. Not shaking-in-my-furs scared, just stay-away-from-me scared. The men were really nice and knew all about schnauzers, so they tried real easy-like to be friends with me, and I even got a treat from one of them. (This trip was rather short on treats.)
Mommy sat down on the floor and had what she called a Schnauzer-Fest. It made her really happy, and she kept smiling and offering to take one or the other of them home with us. But they all said they liked where they were, thank you very much. (Do you think it was cause of me?) Anyhoo, we found out that I’m related to all of Grammy’s schnauzers, too. Grammy lost her heart dog just a few months ago, and the fellas kept saying how much I look like him. When Mommy saw his picture, she couldn’t believe how true that was, and said she would have sworn that was me. He was my brother. What do you think?
This is Socrates. This is NOT me.
I would have liked a lot to have met my brother Socrates yesterday…we were twinsies for real! And then Grammy would be happy, too. So me and Mommy, we’re dedicating this post to Socrates (I will call him Socrates the Great), who is on the other side of the Rainbow Bridge.
Xena: Hey friends, I’m on my way with my Mommy to visit my Granny, Toni, who is my breeder. It’s been over five years since we saw each other! I wonder if she’ll recognize me. It’s a three hour drive each way, so I sure hope Mommy packed lots of snacks for me. Just as I reminder or for the first time for my newer friends, this is me at 13 weeks of age getting ready to leave the only home I ever knew and make a new life with a new family.
I wonder if I’ll remember Granny or anything else there. I hope Mommy brings some treats. (Did I already say that?)
In the meantime, Chia promised to keep Daddy company. I wonder what they’re doing?
At home:
Xena: I hope they’re having a lot of fun. I’ll be back as soon as I can to tell you about my day with Granny!
Hey everyone! Look what I found hiding in Mommy’s junk email folder on her ‘puter. Good thing I checked it!
Xena, Lock in Up To $250k of Term Life Insurance for as little as $15/mo.. Yep, isn’t this cool? I have to ask Mommy to get this for me. Or maybe I’ll ask Daddy…
Welcome To Medicare 2023 Xena Not sure what this one is for, but I think I need to check it out.
Xena, Get $100,000 Coverage for Only $1* I can get $100,000 for only one dollar! Woohoo!! I bet that’ll buy lots and lots of treats!
Lucy: Xe, wasn’t there another word next to all of these?
Xena: Oh yeah, it just keeps getting better. Along with the special offers, everyone was also giving me a can of spam. I stay home on Wednesdays, so I’ll get on Mommy’s ‘puter tomorrow while she’s gone to work and doesn’t need it and accept all of them. Won’t she be surprised!?
And a big thanks to Miss Sandee at Comedy Plus for hosting Happy Tuesday Blog Hop!
Riley: Xena what’s called in legaleze “the first right of refusal” for today’s selfie. She was sleepy after quickly devouring her breakfast, or brekkies, as she calls it, and refused on the basis of not wanting to go through getting “prettied up” to be presentable.
I, myself had just settled in for a long last-day-of-winter nap when asked if I wanted to do the Sunday Selfie. Since all I had to do was look at the camera, I said sure, why not? So here goes…
Besides I have news from going to the vet — my favorite vet place where I love going — on Friday. My belly has been really big, and I’ve been chewing on one side of it. Plus I’ve been hacking up clear, foamy liquid a couple of times a day. This all brought a big uh, oh from Mrs. Dr. Vet. Listening to my heart, she said my murmur had gotten decidedly worse, too. So I get to go back to visit with them again in two weeks for x-rays and stuff. And I get to take drugs before I go, but shhh, don’t tell anyone. Mom asked if Mrs. Dr. Vet couldn’t just put me on the heart medication she had talked about, and the answer was a bit scary. Something about if it was the other thing, like a growth or tumor or something like that, on or around my heart, the medicine for a heart murmur could make it – and my heart – explode! Eeeyikes! So Mom Amy and Dad Jeff decided to spend the money on diagnosis. Whew. I’ll let you know what happens. But at least I won’t be having an exploding heart…I think that would hurt a lot. Your buddy, Riley
Oh, and thanks so much to The Cat on My Head, for hosting Sunday Selfies!
Xena: Last week I got to go to Mommy’s workplace for the first time since I was just a puppy. It’s a new place, and it’s a church again. Mommy went from temp status to hired! So now I’m the official church dog. My first day there was Tuesday a week ago. I got so nervous that I had a runny, stinky accident. I didn’t get to go back last week, after that embarrassment to both me and Mommy.
Anyhoo, this week I got to go back to work with the promise I would only potty outside. I went on Monday and again yesterday. We don’t work on Fridays which is why we’ve got our vet appointment today. I’ll tell ya’, it’s hard work. My office is right in front of the front door, and it has big glass windows both in the front of the office and on both sides of the front door so I can see anyone coming. I have to grrrrrrr real quietly with my mouth closed until I know they are OK. Then I run up to them and welcome them with a wagging tail.
After work I went to the vet to get my ears checked again. They were much better, but still not 100%. So I’ve been getting this globby stuff in them every night, but one of them is actually worse. We’re all going to the vet today to get blood pulled for our twice a year DNA HW test *shake* *shiver* so the vet is going to look at them again then. I’ll be shaking so hard I probably won’t even notice. *sigh*
Working all day can be exhausting. We must have walked up and down the long hallway to the coffee room and the lobby (they call it a narthex) 87 times yesterday. Sometimes I just nap in Mommy’s lap.
Can you see her green top she wore a day early for St. Patty’s Day?
I like to schmooze the pastor, too. I follow him into his office and ask to be pet and to sit in his lap. He says I’m a real cutie and a good girl. (He doesn’t know about my accident down the hall.) He said I can come every day except Wednesday when there’s lots of people there. That’s OK by me! I also like to lay in Mommy’s lap while she works on the ‘puter. I haven’t gotten my own ‘puter yet — maybe we’ll get another one from the Good Will store like I had at the other church.
Mom: Whatcha’ doin’, Xexe? Xena: Miss Nancy fed me all my treats. Is it time to go home yet?
Well, that was my long way of wishing you a very happy St. Patty’s Day, and don’t drink and drive, BOL!
And here’s one for my Daddy, who’s something called a “Trekkie.”
First, thanks to Miss Sandee at Comedy Plus for hosting Happy Tuesday Blog Hop!
Today I honor miniature schnauzers across the world. No, this isn’t a federal holiday or even one of those made-up Hallmark holidays — although I think that’s a great idea! I just love the breed. I found this on FB, where I rarely look at anything at all. My hubby laughed, knowing that only by the grace of God, we only have one schnauzer…for now!
I was always a “big dog” person. I had Alice, my dalmation until she passed at 11 years. After that, my “then” husband and I bought a house in Cleveland, TN, where we could have more dogs. He always talked about having a schnauzer, so I got him one for his first birthday in our house. I’ll admit that I got this 6 week old puppy from a backyard breeder. I had never heard of backyard breeders at the time, but something sure seemed “off.” About a year later, when I found out what kind of breeder and person this man was, I went back to try to get my pup’s mother, but he said he didn’t have her anymore. Here is Freda.
When her dad left us, I wouldn’t let him take her. She and I bonded while grieving together. She developed terrible allergies, and the steroid shots caused her to have cushing’s disease. At age five she went mostly blind. As long as I didn’t move the furniture, no one could tell she couldn’t see. She even led the way on our hikes down wooded paths! She was smart, feisty, “top dog” in all situations, had attitude, and wanted most of all to be with me no matter what I was doing. In other words, she was a miniature schnauzer! She taught me about the breed, and they embodied all the things I admired and could want in a companion. When, at 13, she passed from the terrible effects of the cushings, I found someone who needed to rehome their mini schnauzer.
I took Evie to the vet after picking her up, and was told she had a bad heart murmur. I then took her to UTC Vet School in Knoxville, and was told it was a class 4 murmur, as bad as it gets. They could do surgery, but there was no guarantee. She was only seven months old. She had very little energy, and just cuddled or hung out quietly with my other two dogs.
All I can say is she had a good life…boating, sleeping in my bed, going on trips, and playing with the big German Shepherd who was living with me at the time. Well, let me define playing. The GSD would run through the yard, slowing when he reached Evie so that she could grab ahold of his neck with her teeth and hang on him like a giant engorged tick while he kept running. When she was 19 months old I came home from work and found her gone, still warm in her kennel.
After that I was determined to find a well-bred schnauzer. After researching, I contacted a breeder, Becky, who lived three hours away in southern GA. One of her females had just had a litter, and she emailed me pictures of them a couple of times a week. I picked one out and gave her a very Southern, girlie name: Anna Belle Lee.
When they were six weeks old I made the trip to Becky’s to meet her and Anna Belle Lee and leave a deposit. I would have to return in two weeks to pick up my puppy. I sat on the floor for three hours watching them all play. I met their Mom and Pop, who were also house dogs and seemed happy and well cared for. Anna Belle Lee was every bit as beautiful and sweet as I had imagined. But I was still living with the GSD, and I was concerned this wouldn’t work. There was another puppy who stood out as the one who could deal with him..and pretty much anything. I left to get some lunch, and when I returned I had made a decision. On the way home I knew I had to come up with a different name for this one, the one who tore up all the newspaper while the others slept; jumped and bit at the air coming out of the floor register; and generally, although physically the same size as them, had a huge presence amongst the other little ones. She was no Anna Belle Lee. I named her Lexi. Many of you knew Lexi, who was the inspiration for this blog.
To the right, Ara is doing an alligator roll with 8 or 10 week old Lexi’s head in his mouth. She wasn’t a bit afraid, but I was holding my breath. He did this after she had repeatedly grabbed his lip and pulled it until he screamed. At least she stopped pulling his lip…
There’s not enough space in one blog to elaborate on everything Lexi loved and did, but here’s a condensed list.
Agility
Titled in Freestyle
Played Toto in 3 plays, each 2 years apart, and won the Annie Award in the The Chattanooga Theatre.
Received a life-time pass to attend any Chattanooga Theatre production
Advertised the Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra from a pedi-cab
Made a guest appearance with a children’s ballet troupe
Helped us teach ballroom dance for 3 years to a group of homeschoolers
Did therapy with physical rehab patients
Visited nursing homes
“Therapized” at T.C. Thompson Children’s Hospital for 10 years
And more, so much more
Lexi with her headshot and Annie Award from The Wizard of Oz. She was very proud and possessive of the award.
Cancer took her in 2016 when she was 13 years old, only three months after she was diagnosed. I lost my partner and best friend. While I can’t say I’m done grieving her, someone else won my heart about a year later.
It usually takes me a while to actually, really love anyone. The day I brought Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess home from another renowned breeder, I fell in love with her. Even though this is her blog now, and you see her all the time, she wants me to include her picture in this post. Like all my schnauzers, she loves having her picture taken.
She was 13 weeks old when I got her and took this picture. This is how the breeder groomed her, and I’ve tried to stay true to it. Oddly, her leg hair or “feathers” and her beard have never grown.
The personalities of all four schnauzers have been extremely different; they have been their own, unique dogs. Evie was too sick to be anything but docile. Lexi was self-confident, brave to the point of danger, was able to change to meet whatever was needed of her, and quick to see the upside and make the most of all the different situations I put her in. She didn’t like to cuddle.
Xena is a bit shy, sweet, loving, smart, and like the others loves to be with me and do anything I’m doing, especially freestyle. She loves to be outside and “hunt” critters. She’s also fearful of new situations and even of changing textures on the floor. She’s my baby.
If you’ve gotten this far in this long blog, I thank you. I’ll be back soon with more adventures with Xena and her “crew.” Thank you, Sandee at Comedy Plus for hosting Happy Tuesday, Oh, and why don’t you scroll back up and get one more laugh out of that meme?
Xena: Sure, sometimes we argue over things, like whose kennel is this and who gets to sit on Mommy’s lap. But sometimes it’s like this morning. The kennel door is always open so we can go in and out as we want (except when Chia is in jail!). I actually had the kennel first this morning, and Chia came in asking me to leave. I always hold my ground by simply ignoring her demands. Today she just cuddled up for our morning nap. It was kinda nice.
We had already spent time playing together with our stuffies. I grabbed one and ran so that Chia would chase me. Sometimes we play tug-of-war for a short while and then run and jump at each other and make funny noises. I’ve taught Chia how to dance, and she’s taught me how to, well, how to be a puppy again. Sure, Chia can be extremely annoying, but in my big schnauzer heart, I guess I really do love her.
Mommy, you promised I could do the Sunday Selfie today…did you forget? Yes, I know you’ve been grooming dogs and working out in the yard all day, but this is priority stuff. I can pose lots of different ways and you can take lots of pictures. But we need to get on it, I mean, it’s almost supper time. *drool* almost…supper….time….
No! No! You can’t use that one. You need to comb my hair and wipe the drool off my mouth.
(1 minute later) Now I’m ready. How about like this?
OK, that’s good.Let’s just use that one. Is supper almost ready? Oh, and Happy Sunday everyone!
Thanks so much to The Cat on My Head, for hosting Sunday Selfies!
Xena: First I want to thank Miss Sandee at Comedy Plus for hosting Awww Monday! And show you my picture since I got groomed yesterday after going 87 months without full grooms. I sure do feel better!
Mommy says I’m her Awww Monday every Monday. *wags*
Chia: Grrrr. I wanna be her awww monday. Xena: You are, Chia. Chia: I am? Xena: Yep, you’re her awwwful Monday BOL! Chia” Grrrrrrrr.
Hi friends, it’s me, Xena. It’s poetry Thursday and we’re joining Angel Sammy with another great picture deserving another great poem! Click here to go to the blog of Two Spoiled Cats and you, too, can join in the fun.
Here’s the picture Angel Sammy gave us, and I managed to jump into the picture, too!
The Mean Pie Ladyby Xena
She’s big and she’s mean And I just wanna scream, “Help me Mommy, please help me, please!” She’s goin’ for Chia, whose loud growls shook the trees.
“Hey lady,” yelled Mommy, “you’d best put that down. No one hurts my babies, no one in this town!” Then Mom stomped her foot and gave her “that look.” Mean Lady stepped back and her whole body shook.
“I just came to ask you a question,” she lied. “I’m baking and would you all like a pie?” A pie would be good, and so would a flan. But none of us ever saw her again!
Love. That’s what this month is about. That’s what this post is about.
Lexi spent ten years of her life going the third Thursday of every month (except November, when it always fell on Thanksgiving) to T.C. Thompson’s Children’s Hospital in Chattanooga. Sometimes I took her, and every once in a while the children’s director at the church where I worked asked to take her.
As an aside, I usually visited with the quilting group at the church every Thursdays, except the third one. Lexi would always come with me, and the ladies always made a fuss over her. On one of the third Thursdays that the children’s director had taken Lexi to do her “therapizing,” an older lady asked for Lexi’s whereabouts. I told her Lexi had gone to the children’s hospital to do her “therapizing”. The lady sat very quietly for a moment, then said, “Well, I knew she’s talented, but goodness, I didn’t know she could drive.”
It didn’t really matter who took her; we were just her means of getting to where she needed to be. After receiving her first treat, she took on her demeanor as a therapy dog and it was all business…and love.
One little girl, Kennedy, was there more often than not throughout the many years we visited. We watched her grow, we watched her struggle. During one visit, we walked into Kennedy’s room, where she had her head covered, crying. Lexi jumped on the bed, and the therapy pet coordinator said, “Look who’s here, Kennedy.” She pulled the covers down and a huge smile brightened her face. She grabbed Lexi in a big hug and held her against her chest. Lexi hated being hugged, but understanding how much Kennedy needed this, just laid there, held tight without a struggle until the little girl finally released her.
Lexi also did therapy at Siskin Physical Rehab in Chattanooga. Two incidents immediately come to mind. They both happened on the same day
In the hallway before entering a rehab area, an older man stood guard. He looked down and just stared at Lexi. “I’ve never much liked dogs, been scared of them all my life. I’ve never petted any of the dogs that come here. But this one here, she’s special. May I pet her?” I picked up Lexi so he could pet her, and he continued, “I used to be a pastor, and I do believe that the good Lord sent her.”
In the room, a young man sat in a wheelchair with his therapist standing next to him. After getting his permission, I gently set Lexi in his lap. She sat there while he pet her and the rest of us visited. We usually spent about five minutes with different patients at the rehab. This time, I suddenly realized 15 minutes had passed, with Lexi pawing at the young man’s hand every time he stopped petting her. This was unusual for her. As we walked away I overheard the man’s therapist say, “That was so good! You actually moved your hand!” I will never know how Lexi always knew just what each patient needed.
On the anniversary of Lexi’s tenth year at T.C. Thompson, I got permission for my husband to come along and take videos. Each person and their guardian gave permission to so this. This was planned to be our last visit, as Lexi was already suffering from the cancer that took her a short three months later.
Thanks to Comedy Plus for hosting Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop.
Xena: This is our first time doing fill-ins — we usually have plenty of our own sentences to use, BOL! But when Mom asked us if we would like to participate, we hopped at the chance.
Chia: I didn’t hop, Xena. You’re the hopper in the family. I leaped!
Xena: Semantics.
Chia: Don’t you be calling me names, fuzz ball.
Xena: We want to thank Four-Legged Furballs and 15andmeowing for hosting. Just click the blue links or the badge to get the sentences, then fill in the blanks your OWN way and link up!!
(Xena) I am going to the dogtor on Monday to get my waxy, crumbly-stuff, full-of-liquid ear checked.
2. (Chia) The worst thing in my life is getting my nails cut.
3. (Riley) From my experience, good meat in my bowl is worth its weight in gold.
4. (Lucy) Being in a kennel does not work for me.
We hope you liked our fill-ins and maybe even learned a little about us. Come back and visit us soon. And, umm, prayers and POTP for me and my ear, OK?
Love. That’s what this month is about. That’s what this post is about.
Nan wasn’t raised with a dog, and was a bit scared of them. I got my Mom a little dog from the shelter as her gift for retiring from nursing. She wasn’t sure about keeping her until Nan, said, “Aww, Marion, can’t we please keep her?” So they did.
I wish Nan had known Lexi. She would have loved her.
Years after Nan had passed, Mom finally moved here to Chattanooga into an apartment I had just vacated. I had bought a house only a block or so away. She was in her mid-80’s at that time, and I did not know how unsteady she was, and that dementia was setting in. She was able to hide it on my trips to western PA to visit. Mom delighted in Lexi staying with her in her apartment while I was at work. Mom was usually still in bed in the early morning when I dropped Lexi off, so I would let her in and she would stay with Mom in bed until it was time to get up. One afternoon when I stopped to pick up Lexi after work and visit a bit with Mom, she told me that she hadn’t felt good earlier. She said she was sitting on the edge of her bed when Lexi reached over and put her paw on Mom’s leg. Remember, Lexi was a therapy dog, and they know when someone is hurting or sick; they seem to know what to do. Mom said Lexi helped her feel better, and noted, “She’s a kind schnauzer.”
I noticed that Mom was going through her favorite jam that she used on her toast every morning. She admitted to me that she always made Lexi a piece of toast and jam to eat with her. Since I knew it was useless to try to persuade Mom to stop, I bought Lexi her own, inexpensive, apple jelly. A couple of weeks later I thought to ask Mom how Lexi liked the apple jelly. “Oh,” Mom replied, ” I’m eating that because Lexi likes the black raspberry jam better.” Yes, my Mom loved Lexi.
When Mom fell in the middle of the night, pulling the TV down on her, she wasn’t badly hurt, but it was time to move her to assisted living. She ended up falling there, too, and breaking her hip. She never recovered from that, and ended up in a nursing home. One day I received a call from the home that Mom had aspirated on something she was eating and was unconscious. They didn’t know if she would waken. I immediately called my son and then my husband, asking them to come quickly and bring Lexi. As we sat in chairs on each side of the bed, just waiting, my son and me crying, Lexi sat on the bottom of the bed staring at her grandma. Suddenly, Mom opened her eyes, looked down to the bottom of the bed, and with a huge smile, cried out, “Lexi!”
Today I am celebrating the joy that Lexi brought into my mother’s life, and the love they shared.
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 