I Really May Be On To Something!

      OK folks! Either I am on to something and the blue emu gel (  Blue Stop Max Gel ) really works wonders, or the fact that my daughter rubs it into my knotted-up-like-crazy muscles has somewhat relaxed them -- or maybe a little of both, but for the first day in a long time, weeks in fact, I haven't hurt so bad I wanted to cry.  The knots still hurt when she rubs in the gel, so much so I have to ask her to stop, but it gets better each time.  So, for what it is worth, there you go.
      And I saw something on Facebook today that explains a communication problem between me and Zoe:
 
     
     

And That Just Sums It All Up!

      Remember back on February 3rd I posted that I wanted all my February posts to be either funny or uplifting?? Well, I didn't plan on my little Gracie passing away ten days later.  Not too much laughing going on at my house today but I am going to try to think happy thoughts. 
      As one of my blogger friends posted, I am going to try to pick myself up, put my tutu on, and turn myself around.  Here is a funny photo of Andy.  He has to wear an inflatable "cone" so he can't lick....  This is what he thinks about the whole situation!  Me too, Andy, me too.

Gracie Didn't Make It

   

2009 ~ 2014

Gracie did not make it through the day.  She had lost too much blood and fluids.  I know the vet did everything she could to save her.

     She was a sweetheart.  I didn't know I was going to be getting a dog the day I met her.  I had gone to the city pound to get a discount coupon to have Zoe spayed.   When I went in the office there was this beautiful, but skinny, black miniature schnauzer that someone else had just considered taking home.  A volunteer had groomed her and she was just precious.  I had never seen such a starved dog in my life though.  Her skin actually hung down between her hip bones.  I suspect the other people did not take her because she looked so unhealthy.  The staff at the pound told me she had one more day before her time would be up.

      It was late November, in the middle of a horrible, frigid, snowy spell and the dog pound runs are cold concrete. When I saw how gosh darn thin that little girl was I just could not leave her there to freeze.  I have had schnauzers for about 30 years.  I love them because they have personality, they don't shed, they are intelligent, loyal, protective.  I would be happy to have another one.

     When you adopt a dog at our pound the fee includes spaying/neutering and you can not take the dog home until the contracted vet does the surgery.  Actually, I didn't think this emaciated  dog could survive the surgery but by golly by paying her adoption fee I could guarantee a crate in a warm vet's office, possibly with a blanket, for the night instead of a dog run open to the frigid winter air.  If she made it through the surgery then I would have myself another little girl to love.

      Well, she survived the surgery and I got to bring her home.  She attached herself to me and would not leave my side for the next 4 years.  If I sat down on the couch or in my big chair Gracie would be snuggled against my left hip.  She slept in my bed under the covers curled up in the bend of my knees.  I haven't been to the bathroom without her since the day I brought her home.  She did not approve of me leaving home without her.  Whenever I came back she had a specific wro-wro-wro bark, obviously telling me how much trouble I was in for leaving her home.  After she ate her dog food she always got in my lap, gave me kisses, looked me in the eye and I knew she was saying thank you for feeding me.

     Since I adopted her the day before she would be put down you might think I saved her.  The truth is she saved me.  I adopted her just a few months before my horrible, no good, very bad, mental breakdown and trip to that hospital.  When I came home from my 5 days in the hospital I was pretty much a couple of steps up from a vegetable.  I couldn't comprehend to read, I couldn't fix a meal, I couldn't function.  I couldn't make a decision to save my soul.  I couldn't drive.  All I did was sit and love Gracie.  For a long, long time. 

     Gracie refused to get out of my lap.  She insisted I pet her and if I didn't she would take one little paw and tap me until I did.  She cuddled with me, gave me kisses, snuggled with me and she loved me through the hell of a total mental breakdown.  She let me cry into her fur and when I would speak to her she kept her eyes locked on mine, listening to every word I said. 

      She loved my white schnauzer, Max.  Gracie was feisty and strong willed.  She was going to do anything Max did.  She even taught herself to lift her leg while peeing just like Max did.  :)  Max passed away a couple of years ago.  I know Gracie is with Max now, doing everything he is doing and they are having a ball.
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Sandie asked about HGE... this is what I found ... Hemorrhagic gastroenteritis (HGE) is a disease of dogs characterized by sudden vomiting and bloody diarrhea. The symptoms are usually severe, and HGE can be fatal if not treated. HGE is most common in young adult dogs of any breed, but especially small dogs such as the Toy Poodle and Miniature Schnauzer.^[1] It is not contagious.  The cause is uncertain. "Stress, anxiety, and hyperactivity are thought to be possible contributing factors in many cases of canine hemorrhagic gastroenteritis."   
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I was so stressed over Andy and his surgery and I think Gracie just picked up on my stress because she was so attached to me.  Andy's surgery was suppose to take about 30 minutes but because of complications it took 2 and 1/2 hours.  The vet was very worried that his internal stitches would not hold when he had a BM and that he would need to go back in and redo them if that happened.  Andy came home this morning but had to go back this afternoon for them to check because he started bleeding.  He goes back Sat. morning and Monday morning.  He can only have chicken broth .  He is going to be a hungry dog.   

     

Andy Is Going To Be Just Fine!

      Andy was able to come home today after a few days in the doggie hospital.  He is going to be just fine.  However, my little black schnauzer, Gracie, is now in the doggie hospital! 

       Bless her heart, I just about lost her this morning.  She developed HGE and lost a lot of blood between 3 a.m. and 9 a.m. when our vet's office opened.  I was up at 3 a.m. and didn't notice anything wrong, but when I woke up at 8 a.m. there was blood all over the house and she was as still as could be.  Scared me to death.  
        She is on IV treatment and most likely will recover just fine as well.  Had I not gotten her to the vet as quickly as I did she probably would not have lived.  She will need IV treatment for at least 24 hours.      
      When I got her to the vet she was so limp I really thought she was all but gone.  She couldn't lift her head, much less sit or stand.   My third dog, Zoe, was hiding in the bathroom, looking as scared as I felt. I don't know how much more I can handle this week.  I am hoping for a dull, uneventful few days. 
     I do not handle stress well.  When i asked our vet what caused this condition in Gracie she said well, stress can bring it on.  I told her that Gracie had obviously been  looking for Andy, getting in his bed, smelling his "baby" and Andy's special blanket the day before, acing like she was trying to figure out what we had done with Andy.  She would smell his bed and toys then run in and out of the doggy door all day like maybe he would show up in the yard.  I think she was stressed over Andy being gone and obviously picked up on my stress as well.  That figures that I would have a stressed out dog!

Prayers Requested For Andy

     Remember Andy, my granddog?  He belongs to my daughter but he has lived with me for about 2 years because he has such separation anxiety my daughter could not leave him alone in her apartment.  He has wonderful lungs and vocal cords.  When she would have to leave him in the apartment everyone in the complex knew it.  People across the street knew it.  He made such a ruckus it sounded like he was being tortured.  He is fine with me and my dogs, even when I have to leave them alone for awhile, so Andy came to live with me. 
      Andy has a momma and a grandma that love him to pieces.  Our dogs are not animals - they are children who happen to have more hair and more legs than some of the other children.

       Andy developed an ailment that required treatment on a monthly basis, then more frequently.  The vet wanted surgery to be the last option after we tried everything else.  Well, after 14 months we had exhausted all means of help for him so Andy had surgery today.  
       It was suppose to be a very routine and easy surgery.  My daughter took him at 9 a.m. and he was suppose to be home by 3 p.m.   His surgery did not go well.  There were complications.  It turned into something more extensive than planned.  Andy had to stay the night.  Probably will have to stay at the vet's tomorrow night.  The vet would not let him come home because if he starts to bleed out he needs to be there where he can get the medical help he needs as soon as possible.  
      If Andy does not "make it" my daughter and I both will be just devastated.  We are worried. We are scared.   And it reminds us too much of when Max, my white schnauzer, had to have surgery at the same vet's office a couple of years ago and didn't make it.  It wasn't the vet's fault. Max had extensive cancer.  
      We knew how serious it was re: Andy's surgery when the Dr. said he had to stay overnight, maybe longer.  One of the treatments Andy had last summer involved anesthesia and when Andy woke up and realized he was there without his people he started his vocal separation anxiety protest to the extent that they had to call my daughter to come get him RIGHT NOW.  Evidently he was ok when they left for lunch but when the staff returned at 1:30 they could hear him from the street.  By the time they got the building unlocked he had all the other dogs barking and crying as well.  After that, they made sure my daughter was with Andy 100% of the time when he is in their office for any treatment.  

      When the Dr called my daughter after Andy's surgery and to tell her he couldn't come home today my daughter asked about the separation anxiety problem.  The vet said Andy would be on pain meds and would sleep.  It would be too dangerous to let him come home before tomorrow at the earliest. 
     We trust this vet and have used him with all our dogs for decades.  Even though his office visits have often been unpleasant, Andy loves to go to the vet's office and loves the entire staff.  He wags his tail and gives them kisses.  I know they will give him the best care they can.  But prayers are requested for Andy and for Momma and Grandma.  

      Remember Andy's "baby" that he has to put to bed every night? (Oct 25, 2013 post)   It sure was hard tonight at bedtime to see his baby in the floor, and no Andy to put it to bed.  My daughter and I both had a good cry.

    

Roverdose

I will actually write a post again someday but until then this tickled my funny bone...

Amarillo-Panhandle Humane Society added a new photo.

Moving On

     My daughter -- the one with the husband who wanted a divorce for Christmas -- is moving into a duplex on Wednesday so I probably won't be here for a few days.  She needs help packing and she has some painting to do.  She is going to need some help.

     The photos of the cute little duplex that she saw online showed milk chocolate walls with white baseboards and trim.  When she actually went to see it the current tenant had painted the living room green, the kitchen purple, one bedroom orange, and my daughter was so blinded by color she can't remember what shade the bigger bedroom was, other than it was awful. The landlord was agreeable to her request of painting it back to neutral colors as long as he didn't have to provide paint or labor.  He had it professionally cleaned, but painting, no.  Sigh.  

     The rent is what my daughter could afford, the neighborhood isn't scary, but mainly it is the only place in her price range that would let her have her big dog, a lab mix. I don't know how much Simmons weighs but a lot more than the 20 lb limit most apartments have for pets. He is a big ol' baby, and he thinks he is a little dog.  We know he is spoiled rotten. He is family to her and her boys, and he will make her feel safe so I am glad she found some place that would let Simmons move with her.

 
 I'm really, really glad because if she had not been able to find a place that would take him Simmons would have ended up with me.  I could not have added hurt to my grandsons by saying no, I won't take in your dog. 
   Snatch this place before someone else gets it, I advised my daughter.  It will be cute once it is painted.   That's my story.

I'm Up To A Challenge

I have never participated in a blog challenge before but here goes...

HERE IS A CHALLENGE (from my blogger friend Granny Annie at http://granan10.blogspot.com/2013/12/here-is-challenge.html )

Try taking a selfie of you and your pet/s.  Let me know in the comments that you have posted your efforts and I will link you on my blog.  If you don't have any pets, let's see the inside of your refrigerator.  You can tell I'm not preparing any Christmas dinner.  Are you?

My cell phone is a cheapie... only good for talking and texting so I can't do a selfie but here is a photo of my 2 dogs and my grand-dog, who lives with us.  Zoe and Gracie DO have eyes, but they are asleep and in need of a grooming so right now you can't see their eyes.  Andy is the sweetest Beagle ever. Gracie is the black blob next to Andy.  It is hard to get a good photo of her. Zoe blends in with my couch.

 Zoe, my schneagle ~ Andy, my grand-Beagle ~ Gracie, my little Schnauzer

Yes, I am cooking.  I don't know who might be here but I am cooking a turkey, dressing and fixings. I bought a turkey at Thanksgiving but I did not cook it since I later learned that none of the kids were coming to my house until the Saturday after Thanksgiving.  By then they would have had turkey for lunch and dinner Thursday and Friday so I didn't think they would care to have it on Saturday as well.   That turkey is still in my freezer so I am going to thaw it out and cook on Christmas day.  I have invited my 3 children and their families that live here in Amarillo but they also have a dad & stepmom, and in-laws, and want to have Christmas at their own homes, so I am not sure who will be here at a meal time.   Good thing this challenge made me think of it, I guess I need to put that turkey in the fridge to thaw.  :)
Anyway, here is my fridge...

       I am constantly taking photos and carry my camera in my purse all the time but even this was strange for me ... my daughter asked me why on earth I was taking a picture of the inside of the fridge!!!

 

Santa Came Early This Year

 Santa knew just what I wanted.  The best Christmas present I could ever ask for came a little early this year ~~~ a new grandson to love and spoil!  My granddaughter will make sure he loves books as much as the rest of the family.  I need to talk to my son & d-i-l ~~~ their new baby is 5 weeks old and does not have a library card yet!

Santa came early for Andy, Zoe & Gracie as well.  He dropped off three new dog beds. This large one pictured here was for Zoe since she is a big girl, and two smaller ones just like it for Andy & Gracie.  Well, Zoe has claimed a small one and Andy & Gracie both want the big one, preferably alone!  
 



Back in the day (a long time ago) I received many Christmas cards and mailed out quite a few cards.  I absolutely loved getting them in the mail and loved sending them, but like most people I know my budget is strained and cards & stamps are on the extravagant list so I mail very few.  A sad tradition to lose.  Question of the day .... do you mail out many Christmas Cards?

Pawprints

The Crazy Dog Lady

Some of my favorite girls ... my granddaughter with my dogs, Zoe and Gracie. My granddaughter is going to be the birthday girl a few days before Thanksgiving.  She will be 3.  We are all pretty excited about that birthday party coming up.  While my children and grandchildren are my biggest blessing my dogs are a close 2nd.  At this stage of my life I can't be with my children and grandchildren as much as I would like so I sure am glad I have dogs.  They give me somebody to talk to when I am alone.  They make me get out of bed when I am having a bad spell of depression and just would stay in bed all day if they would let me.  They make me laugh.  They make me feel safe when I am alone.  They make me feel loved.   I still cry over  my schnauzers that have passed away --- Fred, Maggie, Max.  I can not imagine a life without kids and dogs.

The little black schnauzer is Gracie.  Andy's baby is in the background.  I don't think Andy meant to leave him by the trash, more likely the back door that is just around the corner.  A few nights ago I had company for dinner --  2 rowdy grandsons and a rowdy granddaughter plus my 2 daughters & I talking loudly since I am hearing impaired. The house was noisy and while Andy loves the kids after awhile Andy likes quiet.  Andy was probably trying to help his baby escape!  Last photo ... Best buddies, Zoe & Andy 

Andy's Baby

As I said in a couple of posts ago, Andy has a baby.  Not a real, live puppy but a baby to him nonetheless.  My favorite store, Kohl's, has $5 stuffed animal toys and books right by the checkout aisles.  100% of the net profits go to children's programs.  Since 2000, 231 million dollars have been donated.  I buy the toys and books as often as I can afford.  **disclaimer** No one at Kohl's knows me, no one there cares that I love their store, or gives me free things, other than the Kohl's cash any customer can get.  Last year one of the books was the classic Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? and of course the toy was a bear.  I brought home both, intending to put them in my "gifts" box in the closet. You know, that gift box I talked about several posts back.  Well, Andy saw that Brown Bear and claimed it as his.  
This is photo is of the baby after he has been well loved for a year or so and has lost his eyes.  Sometimes Andy plays a little rough with him. I assume the baby is a boy and you know how boys like to wrestle.
      That dog, Andy, was in love as soon as he saw Brown Bear sitting on the table, just out of reach.  He wanted that toy soooo bad!  There was no way I could look at those lovesick puppy dog eyes and keep Brown Bear from Andy.  I intended it for my granddaughter but, nope, Andy and Brown Bear connected in some unexplained way. From the moment I let him have it Andy treated that thing like a real live puppy. He carries it around in his mouth and takes it out the doggy door to let it take a nap in the sunshine.  He sometimes holds it up to the window so it can see outside.  He lets it rest on the porch.  He naps on the couch with it.

A couple of times he has propped his baby in the doggy door, half in and half out. I gather the baby needs some fresh air but it is too cold or too hot for him to actually be outside.  Sometimes he races from the bedroom and out the doggy door like oh my gosh, the baby can not hold it one more second, HE HAS GOT TO GO RIGHT NOW! PEOPLE, GET OUT OF THE WAY!  Occasionally  he drops the baby by the dog food bowls ---- obviously the baby is hungry or thirsty.   Andy loves to play in the snow.  Evidently the baby does too as Andy took him out in the snow fairly often last year.  As soon as it starts to get dark Andy gets frantic.  Andy runs around with his baby in his mouth, whining at the same time, because all of a sudden he has remembered his baby needs to go outside to do his business, he needs a bath,  he needs to get in bed, where shall he sleep???  Why he doesn't have one spot for the baby's "bed" I don't know. I have no idea what goes through Andy's little head.  Some nights he carries the baby around, whining all the while, for 30 minutes or more, trying to decide which people bed the baby will sleep in, or on Andy's favorite red blanket on the couch, or just where. Once he chooses a bed then the question is should the baby sleep on top of the comforter, under the sheet, on the pillow. It is such a problem for Andy.  I have no idea why.  One night this week we had our first freeze.  That night Andy made sure the baby was under the sheet and blankets, right next to my leg.  I guess it was too hot under there for Andy since he then curled up on top of the blankets.  When I saw this photo I thought maybe Andy saw Brown Bear's nose and thought to himself "hey, he has MY nose--must be my boy!"

I had a car wreck about this time last year, had some broken bones and my dominant hand was in a cast.  My son moved home with me for about 6 months to help me. Andy seemed to think my son should share parenting responsibilities with him.  My son often worked until way after dark and Andy would be frantic until my son got home and could help Andy get the baby in my son's bed.  That I would open my son's bedroom door and try to get Andy to put the baby to bed did not matter. He needed my son. As long as my son was here with us Andy let the baby sleep with him.  Andy would sleep with me.  You know, being a single parent is so stressful. Apparently Andy needed my son to take over and give him a break from that baby. When my daughter, who is really Andy's momma, comes over sometimes Andy runs around with the baby then decides my daughter needs to babysit awhile and he drops the baby in her lap.  Andy then takes off to take a nap somewhere else or to play outside. Andy also liked for my son to babysit whenever he was home.  Maybe the baby liked the music my son listened to, I don't know.  Andy loves me, but for some reason he does not want me, my grandkids or the other dogs messing with his baby.  He never brings it to me to babysit.  Andy doesn't snap at us or anything, ever, but if we look like we are going to touch his baby he watches us very carefully and then will get it in his mouth and run all over the house and yard until he figures out where he can safely set him down.  But the weird thing is, other days he will walk past the baby laying in the floor or wherever like he has never seen it before in his life.  I just don't know what Andy thinks.

You've Got A Friend In Me

        As an empty nester I depend on my friends for so many things.  Sometimes I need a shoulder to cry on, or someone to talk to.  I used to laugh all day long but the last few years have been kind of hard so I need my friends that make me laugh.  I treasure everyone that I hold in my heart as a friend but I have some special ones. I want to tell you about  three of my BFFs.  Oprah Winfrey said "Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo  but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down."  These three friends, no doubt, would push the bus if need be...if they could.
        The first one is a beautiful, natural blonde ... and a typical blonde.  Lots of things go over her head but she is real good natured about it.  Kinda crazy, up for absolutely anything. She is so funny, always smiling a great big smile.  It is impossible to be sad for very long around her because she is just so gosh-darn happy.  She is very affectionate and loving. I need that.  Whenever she sees me she always lets me know how happy she is to see me.  That feels good. I don't know what I would do without her some days.  She is one of those nonjudgmental type friends everyone needs.  Like me she is a full figured girl because we both love our food!  LOL! When we eat together she always wants to try what I am eating!  We have a real good time together.  I am so glad we are BFFs.
       The second friend came into my life during a very difficult period.  It seemed like left and right, up and down, everything was falling apart or going downhill, fast.  Really a sad, sad time in my life.  I wasn't looking for a new friend when we discovered each other but I am glad we did.  We just ran into each other one day and knew we would be friends. She had been through a terrible, horrible, no good very bad time as well. We understood each other.  We became BFFs immediately, even though I was a little standoffish at first. I wasn't sure I had the energy for a new relationship of any kind but I  wanted to help her.  She turned out to be more clingy than I ever expected. She would not take no for an answer!  She decided we were going to be practically joined at the hip!  She was not going to let me wallow in my depression without her there to try to pull me out of it. Turns out I thought I was helping her but she ended up saving me.  She is a good friend, always there when I need her.  When I talk she just listens with every fiber of her being.  She is a petite little thing but a spitfire!  She can give me a piece of her mind every now and then.  Her heart is good though. She doesn't smile a whole lot but when she does her glaringly white teeth are worthy of a toothpaste ad and light up her entire face. 
     The third BFF I want to tell you about is a guy.  Great big brown eyes. Trim body.  Lots of energy and very playful, kind of a rowdy character.  He can curl his lip just like Elvis.  It is a hoot!  He is All Boy!  He can be a grouchy old man sometimes when he gets tired but all his good qualities make up for that.  His photo is below.  I love that redhead!  He has a baby and some time I will write about how it cracks me up to watch him and the baby.   It is so funny watching their bedtime ritual.  I sure wasn't looking for a guy at the time I met him.  Actually, when we first got together he belonged to someone else but that didn't turn out well as a long term live-in thing.  Andy needed a place to go so I let him move in.  I have never regretted it. Oh, I still share him with that other woman, but he lives with me.  He is my protector, my bed-fellow, my good friend ... and he is extra good to my grandkids.   This is my friend Zoe ...                                                               
 
This is my friend, little Gracie ...

 
and this is the guy in our life, Andy ...

Life Jambalaya, or This & That

      Today I made a "bed" on the couch for my granddaughter to take a nap. The nap did not work out for her (thus not for me either, dang it) but Andy decided my effort was not wasted. He just needed to get one of the blankets formed into a suitable pillow for himself.  Andy is the resident watchdog that once 9 p.m. hits he lets me know his shift is over, he is ready for me to close my book and turn out the light by moaning and groaning like an old man at me until I do. 

       This evening my sister introduced me to a cooking blog she found, The Southern Lady Cooks ... this is the lady's blog address:   thesouthernladycooks.com   Oh my goodness, I wanted to try every recipe she had on her blog.  In our dreams, my sister and I would be living next door to each other in a very luxurious assisted living place.  You know, the kind where you have a beautiful but small apartment with your own furniture, maid service, medical professionals to check on you, lots of fun activities, a movie theater in the building, water aerobics in the pool, and someone else to cook the meals and do the dishes.  After 59 and 67 years we think it is time someone else did those last two things for us.  Anyway, I told my sister, after looking at The Southern Lady Cooks recipes, that when Publisher's Clearing House visits with the big check we will move to that assisted living place and ask the cook to just fix anything in this lady's recipe index and we will get along just fine.  We would be in high cotton, as we say here in Texas.  If you enjoy southern cooking you just might want to check out her blog. I gained 10 pounds just reading the recipes. I texted my sister that cooler weather just makes me hungry. I wish I had any of The Southern Lady's crockpot recipes ready for dinner tonight. She texted back that it was 84 degrees here today.  Oh.  Well, I told her that it is FALL, and suppose to be cooler, and since last week it was almost 100 then 84 IS cooler. That is my story and I'm stickin' to it.
      My granddaughter is a pretty healthy kid.  She will be 3 next month and other than allergies and one bout of the stomach flu we all suffered through, twice, she has been healthy as can be.  I read today that the probiotics in foods such as yogurt and cottage cheese boost your immune system.  Well, that explains it!  My granddaughter's favorite food from the time she was about a year old has been cottage cheese.  She has some pretty much every day. Me? I wouldn't put cottage cheese in my mouth if I were starving, and I catch every bug that goes through town. 

     I am in the middle of a great book...a cozy mystery by Diane Mott Davidson, The Whole Enchilada.  I believe it is number 17 in her series.  This is the best one yet.  If you like cozies and you have not read this series then get to your library and get the first one, Catering To Nobody. The main character is Goldy Schulz, a small town Colorado caterer. Now I have to get back to reading .... Y'all have a great weekend, and go give somebody a hug, 

Betsy

Here Is A Photo I Took of My Favorite Beagle ~ Provide A Caption Please!