required decompression...and dogs don't mix

   I woke up very early this morning...4ish. I couldn't sleep due to overwhelming thoughts about my sisters. Rebekah-gone. Bethany-misery. Elizabeth-compromised. Melissa-stranger. So I did a little house work, read a few blogs, worked through a bit of school paperwork and made some coffee. Then I got my guys up & out the door to their Chitudo practice in Coarsegold..and then demo in Fresno.

If you don't realize....let me clear it up for you. I needed to be alone with my thoughts. Today had the potential to give me that clearness that only comes from being alone in the stillness.

 It all started out well, me isolated in quiet, dogs sleeping in kennels.  However as soon as I moved they begged to be let out. They eagerly searched the house for the guys. When they could not be found they panicked, as they always do. Now I had two watch dogs with puffed out chests perusing the joint. Which translates: NO MORE ENJOYING TIME ALONE.

 They become super heroes when all three guys are gone. I don't know why, but both dogs feel an intense need to protect me. When my guys are home they slack off. When it's just me and the dogs...watch out world.

  Sweet you say? Yes I will give you that it makes me feel mind blowingly special. However let me draw you a picture. I tried to do an exercise video, but from what I could hear they just about jumped through the front window. They sounded particularly gruff. So after stopping the tape, because I just had to make sure, and dressing appropriately for neighbor viewage, why do I have all the blinds open anyway, I walked out into the living room to see the mailman walking off our porch, I should have known better. Sweating and gross from the video I decided to go take a shower. I only had 8 minutes left to the hour long thing anyway. As I got in the shower they started up again. I told myself to ignore them...that it was just a squirrel or something. I did finish the shower, but it was not the long steaming therapeutic one I had dreamed of. You see because I ignored those two doggies they upped the anti. They came into the bathroom and sat at the shower door and cried until I got out. Then once I was dressed they parked themselves back in front of the living room window. Giving a careful eye to possible danger. Sweet? Yes. Peaceful? NO!!!!!

Sigh- so be it.

Why do I have cats?

I am allergic to cats, yes its true. I can't cuddle up with my feline friends. I shut my door at night so they won't sneak in bed with me. I vacuum my furniture regularly (which they also scratch). They are the reason I can't have indoor plants. It is common for cats to try & use the soil for a liter box and that is bad, but my cat does worse. Kansas plucks each leaf or pedal right off the plant/flower. No, he doesn't eat the plants. They are toys in his eyes, well everything is really.
They are destructive! I left a ceramic sugar bowl out on my counter one night. I woke up the next morning to sugar all over the counter & cat scratches in it...not like litter scratches...but like they were batting at it. The ceramic dish was spared somehow. But fear not, they got into the dish drainer & knocked a platter onto the aggregate flooring. Millions of tiny fragments flew in every direction. I was barefoot. It was still dark. Yet I didn't step on even the tiniest of pieces. I made it to the light, but when I turned it on, I just wanted to turn it off & go back to bed.
No, this is not uncommon. Why do I have cats? I guess because even though they do things like scoop the acorns out of a bowl on the coffee table. They are cute and oh so funny! They make me laugh and I need to laugh. there you have it!

Well it happened again...

When Leroy first began to show signs of hormonal changes he & Larry fought over food. They had their little tiffs. Leroy was left with a scar on his snout. For the next few months Jeff monitored every meal. He was ready to discipline any dog who was trouble makin'.
Fast forward to the present. We have an Adult Leroy & an up & coming "teenager" Eddy. Thanksgiving evening we were late getting home. The dogs, therefore, were late in getting dinner. B&R feed the dogs as usual & walked back into the house. (they are fed in the garage because we can't keep Kansas out of their bowls.) Anyway we heard a loud yelp & went to investigate the crime scene. Long story short-Jeff is monitoring dog dinners again. Eddy has a bite out of his front leg that we are doctoring. Leroy has a new extension to the original snout scar. Apparently that's the place to "get" him. By the way no one is grouchy. Both dogs appreciate the others company. It is just a food thing.
Nope, no vicious killers here. Just two dogs that need to know they can't throw temper-tantrums because they want whats in the other guys bowl. The most frustrating part is that we just got over kennel cough. When Eddy ran away he brought back that gift & shared it with Leroy!
Remind me why I have dogs????

Spotted Bliss

When Ricky was a baby he was introduced to 101 Dalmatians, the Disney film. He was instantly in love. I don't know why, he just was. As soon as he was able to articulate the words he began asking for a Dalmatian. He even had his own word for them. He called them "Puppies" & all other dog breeds he called "Gogs"
Ricky continued to ask for a Dalmatian for 11 of his 12 years of life for every single Christmas & every single Birthday. He received many toys, book, clothes, posters, bedding and even movie sound track cd's-but no real puppy.
Our friend, Jenny, told me "You really need to get that kid a Dalmatian". Well did you notice that our two dogs are of mixed breeds? Can you say cheap? Also after getting a 2nd big, hyper dog, there was no way I wanted to add a 3rd!!! Well, Jenny said to me "He has to have a Dalmatian & I'm going to get one for him...someday".
So when I knew our Larry was going to be put down, I called Jenny. I like having two big dogs up here. Besides, Leroy needs a buddy. The Grandparents, us & the Shugerts with Jenny at our lead found Edison Boaz. He is perfect. He is the cutest little thing, a charmer.
Jenny & I drove to Aptos to pick up Eddy Bo. He threw up on me 4 times on the ride back to her house. There we waited until Jeff brought our boys. Jenny sat in her room with camera in hand ready to get Ricky's reaction on film. We all expected him to be wild & hyper when he found out the Dalmatian was his. But he didn't, he cried! It was a sweet moment & I'm glad Jenny nagged us.


Thank you Jenny.

Thank you for loving our Ricky.

Thank you for being a good friend.

We love you very much.

What a Week!

When it rains, it pours. We woke up Tuesday morning to a very depressed house hold, especially our German Shepard/Chocolate Lab, Leroy.
Yesterday was still lingering on everyones heart when Billy & Ricky went out to feed our Goats, Callie & Maggie only to find a pack of wild dogs in our yard. We all ran outside, but it was too late, the goats were done. We were devastated.
Now before you think our girls were just live stock, let me assure you they were not! We purposely picked these goaties because they were bottle fed & kid smothered. We actually got them earlier then we were supposed to because the Mama had too many babies & wasn't able to feed them all. The owners had to completely bottle feed them, so they asked if we would like that experience. Wow, that was exactly what we were looking for!
We set out on our new exciting endeavor. We intended on milking them when they were old enough & even keeping a few of the babies. We took Callie & Maggie on a walk every day. They were completely leash trained, no I'm not kidding. They ate from our hands. If we sat on the ground, they sat in our laps. They were like puppies actually. Our girls loved when company came over. They loved to follow the kids around.
One of the memories that will forever be etched in my mind is our two boys, two dogs & two goats running up and down our hillsides together. Everyone happy, everyone with a stick in hand or mouth. Yes, even the Goats. The boys had hiking sticks, the dogs wanted you to play catch & the goats always had a snack for the road.
Okay, we are nuts, we spoiled our goats. So what of it, we had fun. We made wonderful memories & we miss them terribly. Our hearts burn with sorrow. Our yard is quiet, the stillness is overbearing.
We have kept our Leroy in the house, only going outside to potty. Today is Saturday morning & he has just found out that two more of his playmates are gone. He is very mopey. He has stopped looking out the window for Larry to come back, he knows that isn't gonna happen. He understands everyone is gone. Poor baby.

What is a Larry?

When our boys were 2 & 4 we got Larry, our black dog. The boys are now 12 & 14 & Larry 9 & 1/2. Larry Boy was the type of dog everyone dreams of having as part of their family. He was "Nana", like in the movie Peter Pan. He believed with everything in him that Billy & Ricky were HIS responsibility.
Larry loved life! He went on vacations with us. He loved to go for car rides. He had an obsession with sticks, frisbee's, balls, basically anything he could get you to throw for him. Larr let babies crawl on & take toys from him. He was always patient, always loving.
Larry loved everyone, everyone loved Larry. As a matter of fact I can't even tell you how many times we have gotten phone calls with parents asking what kind of dog Larry was, what training he had or where we bought him, they wanted their very own Larry. For the record he was 1/2 McNab & 1/2 Black Lab, he was our McLab.
Three years ago Larry began showing signs of hip Dysplasia. We went through a list of diet changes, exercises & medicines to keep him with us as long as possible. We even got him a puppy. Leroy did bring a bounce back to Larry's life, for about 2 years anyway.
Monday morning we had to put Larry down. It was time, he was no longer our "Larry Boy" the pain made him too uncomfortable. It completely broke our hearts & we will forever miss our Larry Baby.