I Left My Mark

Before I begin, Daddy, Mommy and I would like to thank everyone who sent cards, left comments or wishes after Chloe's passing.  We miss our little girl, and it meant a lot to us to know people were thinking about us.

  

I also have an announcement to make.  Now that I'm taking over the blog, Aunt Pat will now be known as Mom, or Mommy.  Mommy  may have been Chloe's aunt before she moved in, but I've always known her as Mom.

Yesterday, as a  matter of fact, I left my mark.  In the Vet's office.  On the clay pot that held one of their floor plants.  I smelled so many smells there, and got to sniff another dog that looked a little like my cousin Jade, only this dog was black, and Jade is blond like me.  I just had to leave my calling card.  It didn't matter that Mom had taken me outside right before we left, and that I left a little message outside the office as well.  Mommy was mortified, and cleaned up the mess right away.  Everyone at the Vet's office understood.  I gave almost everyone kisses as an apology, and they accepted.  I'm fine.  The Vet gave me a very thorough check up.  I went for my kennel cough vaccine because I meet and play with other dogs, plus they board dogs at the rehab vet I may run into.  

 A few days after Chloe passed, our friend D brought Sarah and Weezie over for a visit.  I save special kisses for her, since she's the one who introduced my old mom to Daddy and Mommy so I could live here.  It was so nice to see all of them again!  Sarah, Weezie and I had fun running around the back yard and playing with the toys in the house.

 Sarah sniffed all over the house and jumped on Daddy and Mommy's beds like she used to do when she stayed here.  Mommy and Daddy put the baby gate up to try to keep us out of the kitchen when they ate lunch.  But, Sarah was able to get through, and we all had a little treat.   They pooped me out.  I took a break on the sofa while they ran around. Weezie came to check on me, though.  She's a very sweet girl.

I made a boo-boo though.  When D was ready to go, she asked if Sarah and Weezie wanted to go for a car ride.  Well, I heard the words car ride, and I was raring to go.  I got right up and started over towards her.  D had a really nice truck that would fit us all comfortably in the back. Oops.  Maybe next time they come I'll get a ride around the block or something.

Chloe 2004-2013

 I'm sad to report the sudden passing of Chloe, who blessed us with her lively spirit from the time of her adoption in  2006 until this morning.  According to her adoption papers, she was born in 2004.  

 Chloe was fine on Christmas, but this past Thursday, she started with vomiting, and not eating.  She still seemed to have her usual get up and go, so we thought she had stomach upset from a joint supplement that she'd been taking.  So we started a bland diet, and watched her.  Over the weekend she seemed to be panting more, so we took her to the Vet on Monday.  He had trouble hearing her breath sounds, so he did an x-ray, which showed a great deal of fluid in her chest.  He removed some of the fluid and diagnosed her with a Chylothorax.  The Vet wanted to drain some of the fluid in her chest and take some blood to test the triglyceride levels in each fluid to confirm the diagnosis, and to schedule the ultrasound.We started her on a low fat diet and a supplement called Rutin.     

The Vet drew enough fluid for the test, but didn't drain it because Chloe's breath sounds improved, and  the ultrasound images would be better with the fluid in place.  She actually ate a couple of small meals; seemed more comfortable; and was more interactive.  

 Yesterday, her condition worsened.  She started having more trouble breathing, and she looked more uncomfortable.  The ultrasound showed extensive lymphoma in her abdomen, and in her chest, what appeared to be clots and fibrin/fibrous tissue around her heart, and more fluid in her chest.  This morning, Chloe joined her sisters Heidi and Katie, her friend Tony, and Freddy's mother Grace at the Rainbow Bridge.  She was very peaceful, and finally appeared to be at rest.

 Chloe was smart, sweet, stubborn, temperamental  and had a zest for life.  She loved going for her morning walks, which my brother referred to as the morning "Sniff and pee", since the sniffing and peeing over other dogs' scents seemed to take more time than the actual walking.  Chloe also loved a set schedule, and any alteration in walking time, or nap time, or play time resulted in a look, stomping of her paws, and a horse-like whinny, that indicated her disapproval.  We called it, getting all "Hubba-bubba.", because that's the noise it sounded like she was making.  If Chloe wanted something, and the humans weren't responding quickly enough, she would do some silent doggie communication thing to get Freddy off of the sofa to come over and nudge me to pay attention to her.

Chloe was also very social.  Whenever we went for a walk, or saw another dog, rabbit or other creature, Chloe assumed the other creature wanted to meet her as much as she wanted to meet it.  This resulted in friendships with her friend Tony, the dog that lived with our neighbor, another neighbor dog named Lucy, and of course, Sarah and her sister Weezie.  It also resulted in a nice scratch across the face when the rabbit she chased  in our back yard kicked her.  It also resulted in her being picked up and carried on some of her walks when some of the other dogs weren't interested in being her friend, and Chloe wouldn't stop barking at them. She also enjoyed visiting Freddy's family and meeting and playing with the foster dogs.

Her best friend was her sister Katie.  Katie was older than Chloe, and I think acted as a little mother to her.  They were very close, like Yin and Yang.  Chloe was saddened at Katie's passing, but really seemed to come into herself afterwards.  

 Chloe was sweet and loved a good cuddle.  It didn't matter if it was two in the afternoon, or two in the morning.  She would swat one of us with her paws and roll on her side or back indicating her need for a tummy rub.  She would also curl up right behind her back, nearly causing me to fall out of bed on more than one occasion, and causing Andy to sleep on the sofa more than once.  She also like to jump onto the sofa and onto my lap, especially if I was knitting or crocheting.  She would sprawl across my lap and sometimes stand on my project, ensuring that the only way I could continue would be to put it down and pay Chloe the attention she deserved.  She also sensed if you weren't feeling well.  She would stay close by and snuggle.

Chloe wasn't afraid to try new things.  She enjoyed obedience class, and even started going into the swimming pool once she became comfortable around the water. 

Chloe's favorite perch around the house, besides her pillow on the sofa, was the table in front of the living room window.  She would lay there and watch the world go by, barking as needed at anything, anyone, or something only Chloe could see.

Chloe will be missed, but we know she's no longer in pain, and the Furry Horde of Doom, or the Three Musketeers are finally back together.

Merry Christmas!

 Freddy, Aunt Pat, Daddy and I want to wish all of our friends, relatives and readers a very Merry Christmas!  It's been very hectic around here, getting ready for the big day.  First was a stop at our fabulous groomer, to get ready for our formal portrait that you see above.  Note the snazzy bandannas, and the bows in my hair.

Then, of course, Aunt Pat does a lot of baking as gifts for our vet, Freddy's vet for his knee, our groomer, and some friends.  Freddy and I helped Aunt Pat this year.  We sniffed the cookies to ensure they met our standards, and sampled a couple that Aunt Pat dropped.  It didn't hurt that I surprised Aunt Pat by laying down behind her.  Just keeping her on her toes, you know.  We also cleaned the floor of anything that may have spilled.  One must have a clean kitchen, you know.  

 Plus, we helped Aunt Pat with her Christmas shopping, and we've been keeping her company while she made stuff for her craft shows.  She would sigh and tell us we were hogging the sofa, but we wanted to let her know she had our full support.  A good cuddle puts an artist in the right frame of mind to make wonderful creations.

Christmas Eve, we went to see Freddy's family.  Aussie, Chase and I were having a nice chat about what we thought Santa would bring.

I was trying to say hello to Crystal, a toy poodle they're fostering for Blue Moon Meadows rescue group, the same group that's trying to find a new home for  Aussie, aka Crispin.  She's a very nice little dog, but they have her crate elevated a little bit so she can have some privacy from the big dogs.  It's a penthouse crate. 

Stanley was enjoying his tennis ball, and Jade enjoyed a tummy rub, or should I say a very long tummy rub that Daddy gave her.

 Finally, Christmas morning!  Santa came!  Daddy and Aunt Pat brought their presents down a day or two early, and Freddy and I sniffed them.  I assured Freddy that Santa would come and leave us gifts, and I was right.

 Freddy had to sniff everything!  Santa brought us some treats, toys and a stuffed animal for each of us.   Freddy's family gave us two big stockings full of toys!

 I'm playing with my frog toy.

 Freddy, however, like a typical boy, had to get his snout into everything and try everything first!  He managed to get the squeakers out of both the toys from our stockings, chew the ear off his cat stuffed toy, and open up the tummy of my frog.  Boys!

 Daddy and Aunt Pat brought me some of my toys while I rested in the armchair.  I got to play with my toys, though, and Daddy and Aunt Pat gave me some extra tummy rubs to help me feel better.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Freddy and I would like to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving.  We have a lot to be thankful for.  We have good friends' family who love us; a nice home and good food.  We're very thankful that Aunt Pat made a big turkey, in a roasting pan that was a little too small. We're also very thankful that it was such a warm day, that Aunt Pat and Daddy could open the windows to let the smoke from the bird drippings falling  onto the electric heat element, out of the house.

 Daddy loves leftovers, so he ordered a 24 and a half pound turkey.  Freddy and I knew it would be a good bird.  The minute Aunt Pat walked through the door with it, Freddy stuffed his snout in the bag to sniff it, and I sniffed it from the other end.  It smelled so good!  Aunt Pat knew it was a little big, but she thought the pan would be big enough, and some aluminum foil placed beneath the roasting pan, would catch any drips.  It didn't.  That gave me, err, Freddy and me the chance to help clean up.  I've been helping Aunt Pat all week licking the floor, err, cleaning the floor when she was baking the pies.

 We're sorry if some of the photos are blurry, we were moving around a lot to make sure the kitchen stayed as clean as possible.

 Finally, the turkey finished cooking.  Actually, Aunt Pat was not at all happy at how long the bird took to cook.  Aunt Pat had read one of her late mother's cookbooks which said that a stuffed turkey of that weight would take anywhere from 7 to 9 hours to cook.  But then, the Buffalo News had a column that said to multiply the weight of the bird by 15, 15 minutes a pound at 325 degrees, unstuffed, which gave her about 6 and a quarter hours. Aunt Pat doesn't stuff her turkeys, because a few years ago somebody said it could make people sick if the turkey and dressing didn't cook long enough.  Being an anal-retentive ex-ICU nurse, Aunt Pat is all about not making people sick.   So, Aunt Pat and Daddy were expecting the bird to be finished, if she put it in the oven at 5:30am, by around 11:30 or 11:45am, instead of 1:30pm.  It wasn't.  She kept taking it out and putting it back in, checking the temperature, moving the leg to see if it would budge, but it didn't.  Aunt Pat was not happy, because she had timed the dressing, the potatoes and corn to be done by that time as well.  I have not heard foul  language like that from her mouth in a while.  Turkeys hatch, and they don't really know their mothers, let alone do that with them.  I took her for a walk around the block so she could cool off.  Daddy watched the bird to be sure nothing else happened.

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 Daddy tested some of the breast meat, and it looked done, so he carved the turkey.  Thankfully he dropped a couple of pieces so Freddy and I each had some.

 Even though the breast meat was mostly done, the dark meat, Daddy's favorite, wasn't quite finished.  He wasn't upset, though. So, after dinner, Aunt Pat put the rest of the dark meat back in the oven until it was cooked.  Freddy and I were pretty tired, so we made sure Aunt Pat had some quiet time on the sofa to relax.  Freddy and I even curled up in her lap for a while.

 Aunt Pat learned a lesson, though.  Always trust mom's old cookbooks, and get a roasting pan bigger than the bird.

Happy Halloween!

I bet you thought I'd say something silly, like Happy Howl-oween.  But, I didn't.  Or, I bet you thought I'd say something like "It was a dark and stormy night.  The wind howled."  Nope.  Not gonna do it.  Yes, it is Halloween, and we all hope you have a safe and happy one.  Please, don't give chocolate to your dog.  It's poison, and can cause some very nasty problems, even death.  We highly recommend Charlee Bears or Zukes Mini Naturals...in large quantities.  They're low in calories, and are very tasty.  Sometimes diet food can be pretty blech.  We won't be trick or treating.  We'll be upstairs sleeping, and barking at the doorbell, er, keeping Aunt Pat company.

 The past couple of days have been all business for us.  We weathered our "dark and stormy night" from Sandy just fine.  The power flickered a couple of times, but it stayed on.  It did go out a block away, and the last two mornings we've heard generators on our walks.  The storm was very loud.  Aunt Pat and Daddy had a hard time sleeping.  I was concerned about falling debris in the yard and insisted upon going out a couple of times to check on things.  Daddy put a leash, of all things, on me to make sure I didn't blow away.

 We didn't have any trees or shrubs uprooted, but there were a lot of leaves and sticks in the yard.  Freddy and I have been picking up the sticks.  Freddy likes to have Aunt Pat throw one before he picks it up, or have her chase him.

 Of course, I supervise and make sure he stays on task.  He'll lay down with the stick and bite it so Aunt Pat can put it in a trash bag or bundle it up with other sticks.

Sometimes I like to play a little too...only when I think nobody's watching.

What? Me? Scared?

 I'm not scared of a little wind and rain.  Hurricane Sandy can just bark her way back to Broadway and her pal Annie where she belongs.  Arf.  Just because I've been snuggling up to Aunt Pat more, and whimpering for attention, doesn't mean I'm scared.  I'm trying to divert Aunt Pat's mind from the storm.  I know she usually gets really bad migraines before something like this, and I want to keep her mind off of it.  

Plus, this is the first really bad storm that Freddy's experienced since he's come to live with us.  I'm snuggling up to him to be sure he's not afraid.  He may look calm, cool, and collected on the outside, but he could be a bundle of nerves on the inside.  He's been on and off of Aunt Pat's lap all weekend.  I'm just doing my part to keep the household running smoothly. 

 I've been under the weather the past few weeks.  Just having some tummy trouble.  I kept throwing up, and the humans couldn't figure out why.  They took me to the Vet, who thought it could be a food allergy, since Daddy and Aunt Pat changed my food to a wet formula.  I was having some trouble chewing the kibble I'd been eating.  I started vomiting shortly after the switch.  

Aunt Pat was kind enough to make some home cooking which I ate for a while, but then got a little tired of it.    So, Daddy and Aunt Pat switched me to a special veterinary formula.  Turns out, it wasn't the food, but I'd been secretly eating rabbit poop in the backyard.  My friend the bunny was back one night, and I wanted to help him or her avoid predators.  So, I figured I'd eat it's poop so the bad guys wouldn't get him...or her.  I can't get close enough to tell if it's a boy or a girl rabbit. I got tired of the vet formula, and Daddy and Aunt Pat switched me to a limited ingredient diet just in case I was allergic to something in the other food.  I threw up a couple of nights ago, but it wasn't anything major. It was probably something I ate...again.