My little one is much improved. She's not 100% for sure, but a lot better. She had a fever yesterday mid-morning, and none since. She is tired and whinny today, but mostly A-OK. Oh, she's hungry. She ate breakfast, then 20 minutes later ate breakfast, and then when I sat down to eat a few minuets later, she put her bib on and asked for... breakfast.
Now, for some other news. Let's start with history. When I was two years old my family bought a dog. Some neighbors up the road had a new litter of puppies, and we picked the runt. She was a cute little black puppy. She was a mutt, but mostly a Coca poo. We loved her, a lot, and kept her very busy. That little dog went through so much with us. How could she not being in a family of 7 kids? She was my best friend growing up, available 24/7 to listen to my sorrows and my ramblings. By the time I was past the annoying little kid for a dog stage, she picked me as her favorite (I hope my sibs don't read this). She slept with me every night, and if my twin brother tried to take her for a night, she would cry and scratch at his door until he let her out and she found her way upstairs to my/her room. I remember walks and taking her on car rides. She would get so excited to run free, and would run circles around us in the yard or in the park, yapping happily. We even took her sledding with us. She would chase us down the hill barking and trying to bite our mittens. We think she was actually scared we were in danger and was trying to slow us down and protect us. Even when I was an older teen and very busy, I always made it a point to pet her and greet her each time I walked by her. She often slept right in the middle of my small bed, with me manoeuvring my body around her to not disturb her slumber. When I was way too old for an early bed time and she was getting old, she would sit by the door to my room and wait for me, crying to go to bed. The door was open, the bed available, but she wanted me in there with her. There were many times during those growing up years that I told her my sorrows, or cried into her fur. Somewhere I have a picture of her curled up on my bed. That's how I usually remember her, the skinny, wonderful little dog named Bridgette.
Around Christmas during my senior year of High School, Bridgette got a tumor in her mouth. My twin brother and I were on winter break, and drove her to the vet. We had no idea how sick she was, as no-one had noticed this thing growing on the roof of her mouth until all of a sudden it was there and huge. The vet said she had cancer, and would likely not survive any experimental treatment due to her age. He was also concerned she would be terrified to be separated from us during any long term hospital stay. He told us she was in a lot of pain, and he suggested we put her down. The vet called my mom who said to please do it right then, as she thought it would be too hard on the family to have her home for a night or two to say goodbye. Both my brother and I were very upset. He could not be with her while they euthanized her, said goodbye, and left the room. I couldn't bear the thought of leaving her to die alone, and I held her while they gave her a shot. She died in my arms, with me telling me how much I loved her. (Yeah, I'm crying remembering it). Honestly, the God Dog probably timed it right. I don't think she would have tolerated being separated from me when I went away to college, and I would have been that much more upset to think she died from heartbreak, with me so far away from her. At least this way I could be with her. She was almost 17 years old.
Growing up, or even after Bridgette had died, had someone done a survey and asked each member of my family to name one or more of us kids who would not have a dog in the next 20 years, I am sure my name would not have been mentioned by any of them. Everyone expected me to have a dog, including me. Alas, things don't always turn out as expected. I went to college, then Mexico, and then lived in apartments. In 2002 I rented a unit in a duplex and bought a cat. I loved her, and still do. We have been through a lot together, me and Isis, and she is a very good friend. In 2003 I bought a house, and expected the dog to come soon after. The house even came with a fenced-in back yard. It was missing a back door though, and I wasn't quite ready to be walking the dog around the house every time I needed to let her out. I was a new home owner and on the brink of a layoff. Yeah, that was a stressful time! Then came Joanne, my wife. She didn't want a dog, yet. But hey, she cut a hole in the back of the house, put a door in, and built a deck. Oh, from that time on I started the slow pressure to get a dog. Of course I did. We'd talk about breeds and suitable characteristics. I was making some progress, but not really close to results. I thought I'd have to wait for our daughter to get old enough to ask Joanne for a dog directly, and repeatedly, then we could gang up on her. Only a year to go, I hoped.
Then, one day, one of Joanne's employees told her he had an older puppy that he was going to bring to the pound if she didn't take her. She was a good dog, he said, he just didn't have room for her in his mobile home. She was mostly an outdoor dog, he said. I said YES, and Joanne said no, but I'll look at her. He was going to bring her by to work on the way to the pound. She said if she liked her, which she doubted, she would take her for a weekend trial. That Thursday she called and asked to meet me at a restaurant for dinner. This wasn't unusual, it's a little neighborhood place we like to go to once a month or so. Ah, well, no dog then, I thought. I pulled up, she got out of the van, said "stay" toward the door, I looked and.... A DAWG, a real DAWG. I went to say Hi to the dog through the window and she shrunk away from me. She wasn't too keen on me later, either, when I was outside at home, alone with her. She thought she was Joanne's dog. I told her she had to warm up to me, and she didn't realize it yet, but I would be giving her at least as much love and attention Joanne. I think her whole initial sole attachment to Jo worked in our favor though, cause she was very loving to Joanne every time she came into sight. There is nothing but that kind of love and devotion to facilitate attachment. We had her for the weekend and then on Sunday night Joanne and I talked. We talked about the problems, jumping on people, etc. and agreed that was all solvable with training. Joanne said she liked the dog, but wondered if we were ready for dog. Well, after 15 minutes of talk we finalized it, and the next morning announced to the pup that she was an official member of the family. So yeah, after almost 20 years, I am again a dog owner. Each of my other siblings, including one who never really liked dogs, has been a dog owner for y-e-a-r-s.
The dog's name is Maddie or Madeline. She came to us with the name Maggie, but we changed that. She is a medium sized dog. We don't know if she'll grow to be a big dog, or just a little bigger medium sized dog. Her paws don't look that big for her body now, but her head is kind of big. Her fur is golden, as are her eyes. She was born sometime in November of 2007. Her first evening in our home was Thursday May 1, 2008. She wants nothing more than to be around us and be loved. She is easily trainable I think, we just need formal training to assist with that (which we are working on). She has not had any shots or any medical care. We are working on that, too. She is trying to figure out who is at the bottom in the hierarchy of the family, her or Romie (yea, we're working on that, too). She's good with Romie, but wants to play, and push her over, and can be very jealous if Romie is getting love and attention and Maddie is not. She likes to be a lap dog. She is an indoor/outdoor dog. She is outside when we are gone and overnight, and mostly inside when we are home. She can apparently climb the fence, however, and Jo is working on making some adjustments outside to prohibit that. She is wary of strangers, but warms up quickly. She doesn't bark a lot unless someone she doesn't know is outside next door. She is not a great walking companion, but the gentle leader I bought is helping, and again, we are working on getting to dog training classes. Finally, I think she is happy to be part of the family, and we are happy to have her home.
Now, for some other news. Let's start with history. When I was two years old my family bought a dog. Some neighbors up the road had a new litter of puppies, and we picked the runt. She was a cute little black puppy. She was a mutt, but mostly a Coca poo. We loved her, a lot, and kept her very busy. That little dog went through so much with us. How could she not being in a family of 7 kids? She was my best friend growing up, available 24/7 to listen to my sorrows and my ramblings. By the time I was past the annoying little kid for a dog stage, she picked me as her favorite (I hope my sibs don't read this). She slept with me every night, and if my twin brother tried to take her for a night, she would cry and scratch at his door until he let her out and she found her way upstairs to my/her room. I remember walks and taking her on car rides. She would get so excited to run free, and would run circles around us in the yard or in the park, yapping happily. We even took her sledding with us. She would chase us down the hill barking and trying to bite our mittens. We think she was actually scared we were in danger and was trying to slow us down and protect us. Even when I was an older teen and very busy, I always made it a point to pet her and greet her each time I walked by her. She often slept right in the middle of my small bed, with me manoeuvring my body around her to not disturb her slumber. When I was way too old for an early bed time and she was getting old, she would sit by the door to my room and wait for me, crying to go to bed. The door was open, the bed available, but she wanted me in there with her. There were many times during those growing up years that I told her my sorrows, or cried into her fur. Somewhere I have a picture of her curled up on my bed. That's how I usually remember her, the skinny, wonderful little dog named Bridgette.
Around Christmas during my senior year of High School, Bridgette got a tumor in her mouth. My twin brother and I were on winter break, and drove her to the vet. We had no idea how sick she was, as no-one had noticed this thing growing on the roof of her mouth until all of a sudden it was there and huge. The vet said she had cancer, and would likely not survive any experimental treatment due to her age. He was also concerned she would be terrified to be separated from us during any long term hospital stay. He told us she was in a lot of pain, and he suggested we put her down. The vet called my mom who said to please do it right then, as she thought it would be too hard on the family to have her home for a night or two to say goodbye. Both my brother and I were very upset. He could not be with her while they euthanized her, said goodbye, and left the room. I couldn't bear the thought of leaving her to die alone, and I held her while they gave her a shot. She died in my arms, with me telling me how much I loved her. (Yeah, I'm crying remembering it). Honestly, the God Dog probably timed it right. I don't think she would have tolerated being separated from me when I went away to college, and I would have been that much more upset to think she died from heartbreak, with me so far away from her. At least this way I could be with her. She was almost 17 years old.
Growing up, or even after Bridgette had died, had someone done a survey and asked each member of my family to name one or more of us kids who would not have a dog in the next 20 years, I am sure my name would not have been mentioned by any of them. Everyone expected me to have a dog, including me. Alas, things don't always turn out as expected. I went to college, then Mexico, and then lived in apartments. In 2002 I rented a unit in a duplex and bought a cat. I loved her, and still do. We have been through a lot together, me and Isis, and she is a very good friend. In 2003 I bought a house, and expected the dog to come soon after. The house even came with a fenced-in back yard. It was missing a back door though, and I wasn't quite ready to be walking the dog around the house every time I needed to let her out. I was a new home owner and on the brink of a layoff. Yeah, that was a stressful time! Then came Joanne, my wife. She didn't want a dog, yet. But hey, she cut a hole in the back of the house, put a door in, and built a deck. Oh, from that time on I started the slow pressure to get a dog. Of course I did. We'd talk about breeds and suitable characteristics. I was making some progress, but not really close to results. I thought I'd have to wait for our daughter to get old enough to ask Joanne for a dog directly, and repeatedly, then we could gang up on her. Only a year to go, I hoped.
Then, one day, one of Joanne's employees told her he had an older puppy that he was going to bring to the pound if she didn't take her. She was a good dog, he said, he just didn't have room for her in his mobile home. She was mostly an outdoor dog, he said. I said YES, and Joanne said no, but I'll look at her. He was going to bring her by to work on the way to the pound. She said if she liked her, which she doubted, she would take her for a weekend trial. That Thursday she called and asked to meet me at a restaurant for dinner. This wasn't unusual, it's a little neighborhood place we like to go to once a month or so. Ah, well, no dog then, I thought. I pulled up, she got out of the van, said "stay" toward the door, I looked and.... A DAWG, a real DAWG. I went to say Hi to the dog through the window and she shrunk away from me. She wasn't too keen on me later, either, when I was outside at home, alone with her. She thought she was Joanne's dog. I told her she had to warm up to me, and she didn't realize it yet, but I would be giving her at least as much love and attention Joanne. I think her whole initial sole attachment to Jo worked in our favor though, cause she was very loving to Joanne every time she came into sight. There is nothing but that kind of love and devotion to facilitate attachment. We had her for the weekend and then on Sunday night Joanne and I talked. We talked about the problems, jumping on people, etc. and agreed that was all solvable with training. Joanne said she liked the dog, but wondered if we were ready for dog. Well, after 15 minutes of talk we finalized it, and the next morning announced to the pup that she was an official member of the family. So yeah, after almost 20 years, I am again a dog owner. Each of my other siblings, including one who never really liked dogs, has been a dog owner for y-e-a-r-s.
The dog's name is Maddie or Madeline. She came to us with the name Maggie, but we changed that. She is a medium sized dog. We don't know if she'll grow to be a big dog, or just a little bigger medium sized dog. Her paws don't look that big for her body now, but her head is kind of big. Her fur is golden, as are her eyes. She was born sometime in November of 2007. Her first evening in our home was Thursday May 1, 2008. She wants nothing more than to be around us and be loved. She is easily trainable I think, we just need formal training to assist with that (which we are working on). She has not had any shots or any medical care. We are working on that, too. She is trying to figure out who is at the bottom in the hierarchy of the family, her or Romie (yea, we're working on that, too). She's good with Romie, but wants to play, and push her over, and can be very jealous if Romie is getting love and attention and Maddie is not. She likes to be a lap dog. She is an indoor/outdoor dog. She is outside when we are gone and overnight, and mostly inside when we are home. She can apparently climb the fence, however, and Jo is working on making some adjustments outside to prohibit that. She is wary of strangers, but warms up quickly. She doesn't bark a lot unless someone she doesn't know is outside next door. She is not a great walking companion, but the gentle leader I bought is helping, and again, we are working on getting to dog training classes. Finally, I think she is happy to be part of the family, and we are happy to have her home.
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