Post Script

 We are heartbroken.

We buried Meeko this morning.

 He turned thirteen last May, and other than some arthritis and hearing loss, he seemed to be doing pretty well. 

 Until he wasn't.

 He went downhill so quickly that we wondered if he might have had a stroke.  Within a few weeks, he went from being stiff and slow-moving first thing in the morning (not unlike Ed and I), to barely able to get up at all, and then staggering around when he did get up.   

Our last picture of Meeko

Last week, we knew it was time, but it took Ed four days to dig the grave (that rock-hard clay soil). 

We also buried Bookworm this morning.  She died a few months ago, but at the time, we weren't able to dig the grave, so we had her in the basement freezer.   She had some serious thyroid issues and was quite literally starving, so we put her down rather than let her suffer. 

Our last picture of Bookworm.  She how thin she was?

We buried them together, all of us remembering that she was the reason he was terrified of cats. 

While Captain and Adora are still with us, it feels like the end of one era, and the start of another.

We have two younger cats (both strays) named Kaku and Little Bit. Kyle's dogs, Rex and Gracie are with us too, and about ten days ago, two hound dog pups showed up in our garage.  One male, and one female, both about three months old.  We've tried to find owners, but we're pretty sure they were dumped.  We call them Buck and Bossie (bossy).  

Buck and Bossie

Rex and Gracie (and Ed)

Little Bit

Kaku

We kind of feel like the Lord knew Meeko was about ready to leave us. so he sent those pups.  Buck has already crashed head-first into Ed's knee and Bossie likes to play "catch me if you can". 

Here we go again. 

As much as our hearts have been broken, we wouldn't trade the time we've had with the four-legged members of our family.  Our lives are so much richer for having known them.

Good Bye Libby Lou

I know. I haven't been here in a long time, but I wanted to let anyone know, who might accidentally find their way to this old blog, that we said good-bye to Libby Lou this morning.

Over a year ago, we thought we had lost her, but she recuperated enough to have a somewhat normal life. We moved her and Meeko back to the house and built a fenced-in area outside the front door. Most of her teeth were gone, so she got soft food with some pumpkin thrown in for fiber to keep her "regular". 

She still barked at birds, trucks, ATV's, etc, and still would not come when called.  The only difference was that she got tired pretty quick so she wasn't that hard to catch.  She was stiff and sore in the morning and she was also showing some mild signs of canine cognitive dysfunction (dog dementia).

The last picture of Libby Lou, taken last October

The last month or so, though, she went downhill pretty fast. Then overnight, she went from the arthritic slow to get up and down to not getting up at all.  It was time.

She lived to be almost 13 and had a good, long life. 

We love you, Libby Lou.

RIP

There Is Always Somebody

There is always somebody that has to be difficult. Its true with people in general, its true with kids, and its true with pets.

As I posted last week, the dogs did pretty well in the house last week. We did find a few Libby holes in the blankets when we washed them, but they weren't bad ones, and considering that I wasn't expecting to be able to use the blankets again at all, I'll take a few small holes.

The cats on the other hand, were not at all thrilled about the dogs spending so much extra time in the house. Again I was proud of the dogs. They could have taken up the chase at least once every time they came in. I only had to tell Meeko “no” one time.  Still the cats all acted like they had to run everywhere they went, as if the dogs might jump out at them any time. They kept doing it, even when I put the dogs back outside.

They did have reasons to feel put out. The litter box from the bathroom was moved to the hall, and they were locked out of the warmest room in the house. Bookworm lost her spot in the sink, and went back to Katherine's room. Marshmallow has moved back to our bed. Adora has hijacked the wood pile.

Then there is Captain. As I wrote a few weeks ago, Captain has moved into my office. My office is only about 5x8 and is crammed full of stuff. The stuffing has only become worse as I try to do post Christmas cleaning.  You know how cats are about piles of stuff. If they can't lay on it, they will “fix” it so they can.

Her favorite place to sleep is my chair, but when I come in she always jumps up on the table directly on top of whatever I next to the lap top, which is where I keep the things I need to be working on. So we play this game every time, about forty times a day. I push her down. A few minutes later, she either comes back to the same exact spot and tries to nuzzle on me, jumps on the back of my chair and tries to eat my hair, or gets under the desk and starts digging around. I wasn't worried to much about the last one until I actually saw what she was doing. I had a big shopping bag full of receipts. You will note, I said “had”.

Here is a video Katherine made one day last week. Its a little long, but I don't have the right editing software on my computer to shorten it.  Just keep in mind, the recording was made by a 13-year-old, and the camera “wanders” a few times.

She mentions Captain “eating” my phone. I'll have to see if I can find that video. Here it is. Katherine had it on her Youtube channel.

Right now, we're having much nicer weather, and all the animals are enjoying some extra time outside.
We are too!

Until next time,

Connie

Surprised and Proud

According to a friend's facebook post, were were "colder than Barlow Alaska" this morning. Our overnight low temp was about 9 below with wind chills pushing 30 below. Not normal for west-central Missouri. Although the dog house is extremely sheltered, and full of straw, we still thought it best to bring the dogs in last night.

We decided the bathroom was probably the best place, so we set about dog-proofing. We removed the dirty clothes basket, the trash, the toilet paper, the shower curtain, and all reachable towels and wash rags. We took in food, water, toys and two blankets.

"You aren't expecting to get those blankets back, are you?" Ed asked me. No, I wasn't. Thats why I chose those blankets.

Finally, it was time to bring them in. You will remember the dogs get bathed in the shower, which is in the bathroom...

Finally, after some pushing, pulling, blocking, and tackling, we got them both shut in the bathroom. It was quiet. Probably twenty minutes later, Katherine says those dreaded words: "Mom, I have to go to the bathroom." Well, it was bound to happen, it was just a matter of when and whom. "Ok," I said, "let's go."
We unhooked the door and Katherine slipped through, toilet paper in hand, and I shut the door behind her. There were a few shrieks, and the sound of the dogs wrestling between themselves, but she was back out in a minute.

I let them out to go relieve themselves before I went to bed, and getting them back in was a little easier. Ed did the same when he got up for work, and I again when I got up this morning.  Of course, I was expected a very messy bathroom. Was I surprised!

The blankets were still intact, and there was no sign of any pee or poop anywhere in the bathroom! Meeko did decide to mark the bathroom trash on his way through once, but that was all it was; a mark. He can pee gallons when he wants to!

We've let them in and out a few times today, and plan on bringing them back in overnight tonight, but with a lot less stress. Still not brave enough to put everything back in there though.

Libby Loves Straw

With the temps plunging over the next few days, we decided it was a good time to give the dogs some fresh straw. Within a few days, Libby will have it all "rearranged" to suit her.

The weather people are predicting some extemely cold temps for us over the next few days. We have already decided to bring the dogs in if it gets as cold as they are saying. We are just trying to figure out where to put them.

If your weather is anything like ours, please take care of your outside pets!

Out With The Old, In With The New

Year, that is.

I posted this on face book the other day

“Ok, Ed's probably going to choke me for this, but it was just too funny. As many of you know, we have a black lab named Meeko. Meeko's nick name is "King Licky" because he will lick any part of you he can get to. Ed is pretty good at holding him just out of reach, usually telling him, "No licking the Ed!"

Well, today were were out back in the dogs' 1/2 acre, trying to raise a gutter that was so full of ice that it was catching the door. So Ed has his hands up, trying to raise the gutter while I am trying to push a post underneath it. Suddenly Ed jumps. Meeko had noticed that Ed's raised arms had also raised his shirt, and took the opportunity to lick Ed's bare belly! Yes, Meeko is still alive.”

Which received many likes, a few ROFLs and an in depth conversation with Ed's youngest daughter about other dogs who have earned Ed's ire over the years.

Yeah, Meeko licking Ed's bare belly was hysterical, probably not as funny as the time he hiked his leg on him, but close.

We've had roller coaster weather in the last week, and as many of you know, weather changes affect animal behavior, and all of ours have been nuts.

King Licky, AKA Meeko, decided he wanted to follow Katherine down the hall licking her bare calves. She was not impressed, and more than a little creeped out. The next day, he showed extreme interest in her shoes, while she was wearing them. It kind of proved what I had been trying to tell her about those shoes for the last few weeks. Last night, he found Captain sleeping on the living room floor and started sniffing her. Of course, that woke her, and she lay there looking at him as if to say “Really?” Then he licked her! So she hissed at him and he must have heard someone suddenly call  him from the kitchen. I was surprised she was so calm, but then I remembered her previous owner also had a very large, clumsy, St. Bernard/Boxer/Pit Bull mix, named Bobby. I could probably write a whole blog post about him. Maybe I will some time. 

Adora has become my unintentional alarm clock. What she is actually trying to do is get in bed with me when Ed gets up. She wants to curl up on my chest and go to sleep. She probably shouldn't announce herself when she gets in bed. Even if she didn't, the extra fifteen pounds on my chest would get my attention.

When I am not available, she either curls up in the blanket we have stuffed under the back door, on the wood pile next to the wood stove or underneath the entertainment center. If we would need to find her, we just have to follow the snoring.

Marshmallow has taken to sleeping in Katherine's bed, which just annoys Bookworm to no end. However, Bookworm has decided that the bathroom sink is the best place to sleep in the house for the time being.

Captain has claimed my office/workshop, always choosing to lay on what I need to be working on.

Of all the animals, “Looney” Libby has probably been the most calm..maybe its just that she's getting old...Nah, she's up to something! 

Wishing everyone a happy and blessed 2014!

Animals and Holidays

The fish survived Thanksgiving. They are now here for Christmas, and only one of them has to go back to school next week. Apparently Katherine's teacher decided that four fish was two too many. The others went home with another student, who will also only have to bring one back. Either the cats haven't noticed them, or consider them not worth the effort.

Ed remarked that he is sure the irony of names of the two fish are lost on Katherine. I agree. Their names? "Fresh" and "Ice Cold".

We had a very nice Thanksgiving dinner at my sister's house. She is also an animal lover, having several dogs, cats, and a few other critters hanging around. She has a Beagle named "Brutis" and a Jack Russell Terrier named "Doobie" that stay in the house. They do get to go outside, but only under certain conditions.

That afternoon, after dinner, the kids (Katherine and my niece Josie) took Doobie outside. Needless to say, Brutis was not a happy camper. This is his discussing the situation with Ed, made all the more funny by the look on Ed's face. You see, it took about three years for Brutis to determine that Ed was not the boogey man.

A while later, Brutis decided to try me. 

You think he isn't spoiled? This is my sister, singing him to sleep. The music in the background from my boys and Ed.

Unfortunately, I didn't get any animal Christmas pictures. Of course the cats were more interested in the boxes and paper than anything else. Christams evening, we gave the dogs the rawhide bones Santa left for them. The took them and made a bee line for the back door!