TELEPATHY

Thought I would repost this one from about a year ago. I came across 2 different blog posts about dogs today, one without a happy outcome and starting thinking about our beautiful Maxine who was put down almost a year ago. 

_______________________________________

We have noticed a bit of a phenomenon with our dog. Throughout the years when Friday would roll around our dog would get all antsy in the morning. She knew that on Fridays my BB Guy would be going to the cabin and she most likely would be going too. She would pace and she would follow him all over. Even before he would start to pack up she would start because she knew what day it was. 

I remember my sister telling me about the time she had her daughter's dog for a week. On the day they were coming home the dog started to wait at the top of the stairs. My sister told him to go lay down because they were not expected until late that night. No way. He stood his ground and an hour or so later there they were in the driveway, coming home that morning instead of that night. 

Well tonight we were sitting having dinner and the dog was quietly lying on the floor not really paying any attention to us when suddenly she jumped up and ran over to my BB Guy. I made her go back and lay down but it seemed so strange that she would just leap up and head over to him in the middle of our meal. I asked him if he was just thinking about her and he said he was just thinking that she had been laying down so nicely that he would save a piece of pork chop for her. Honestly, this is really kind of freaky. 
Have you ever had this sort of thing happen? 

MY HEART IS BROKEN

Today is a bad day. Today is the day that we had our beautiful black lab, Maxine put down. Maxine was almost 14 years old and has been having a rough time this past year steadily deteriorating. 
Maxine has had an amazing, fun life. 

We remembered how as a puppy she jumped up in my BB Guys lap and stole the Subway sandwich right out of his mouth. Well let me tell you that never happened again. 

We remembered how she would pin our son on the ground with her big barreled chest with her paws on either side of his head so he couldn't move and she would lick his face while he laughed so hard he couldn't catch his breath. 

 We remembered how she actually smiled while riding in the boat while my BB guy was fishing. 

 We remembered how she stopped barking at the doorbell at a very young age... as soon as she realized that sometimes that doorbell meant there was pizza at the door. 
We remembered how she would try to push me off the bed at the cabin during the night because it was actually her bed up there and she didn't think I should be in it. It was for her and the BB Guy. 
 
Our hearts are just broken and we can't stop crying but she really had a good life and we owed it to her to make the hardest decision of our lives and let her go.  

SPUR OF THE MOMENT

At the last minute at work on Wednesday I suddenly had a great idea. I have invited everyone...well everyone who was still there at closing, to come by my house tonight and we will order pizza and have a gab fest. 
I contacted some that are on my Facebook page too. The rest I will have to nab at work today. 
That also meant I had to clean my messy house. More so the messy dog. It is so sad that our black lab who is almost 14 years old is peeing herself all the time. She will not be around much longer. She can barely get up the couple stairs needed to get outside when we let her out. 
It isn't that she doesn't know to go outside any more it is just that with all the lumps and bumps growing on her one of them seems to be pushing on her bladder. The result is that she is always soaking wet with pee. It smells really bad. 
We give her baths all the time but she is pretty heavy and we can't really lift her in and out of the tub so she has taken some pretty bad tumbles getting out. She doesn't mind the water but it breaks our hearts to have to put her through this every day or so. 
Secondly my house stinks of dog pee. Ugh. She has been relegated to the downstairs which is fine because she can't get up them hardly anyways. So what to do about the smell with guests coming? 
Well the door down there will be shut. Don't worry she has a soft bed to sleep on...which she ignores to go and find a piece of concrete floor instead. 
I will be leaving for work shortly and coming home with guests so I am going to run the crock pot all day with cinnamon, cloves and allspice berries, orange peels too. 
I just hope when we come in the front door the aroma of the simmering spices will be the only thing we smell. Fingers crossed. 
Hooray it is Friday. 

THIS COULD HAVE ENDED BADLY

This is Maxine our only pet. Maxine is 13 years old and she is really starting to go downhill. She has so many lumps and bumps on her and in her that we gave up  counting. She has trouble breathing no doubt due to lumps pushing on her organs inside.

She shudders like she is having strokes now and then. She falls over when her back end gives out. She doesn't get up very often and for a while was peeing in her sleep. Thank goodness that has stopped. She still eats like a horse and has a really good appetite but we can tell she is rather confused at times.

We almost lost our sweetheart yesterday. My son looked out the front window when he heard a truck honk its horn. "Where is Max?" he asked.  "There is a black lab in the middle of the street".
She must be downstairs I said. Max is never, ever out front by herself and even with us she needs to be on her leash because we live on a busy street.
My son ran out the front door so fast he didn't even put his shoes on. The dog was far enough away from the house that he could barely see her. There was traffic lined up in both directions while our old girl stood in the middle of the two lanes. Thankfully everyone stopped to make sure she didn't get hit. She happily ran over to the direction of my son's voice and came trotting home with him.
Apparently the side gate was left open, I presume by the lawn guy who comes on Thursdays. This was Saturday and I guess she finally noticed it. Had it been a few hours later she likely would have been hit in the darkness and we didn't even know she had left the yard.
You can bet the lawn guy will get an ear full. She may not have long left but I'll be damned if I want her to die on the roadway.

Did you like a post? Click on the SU button to Stumble it. Thanks.

SUNDAY FAVORITES

Sunday Favorites is a re-posting of an old post that other may not have seen before. I have had several new followers lately and they may not have met Maxine before. She is 12 years old now and is really showing her age. This was posted back in March of this year.
Head over to Happy to Design and visit Chari and the other sites that have joined in. You should join in too.

My dog thinks I am the greatest hunter in the world. I am so amazing that I can bring in 4 different meats in one morning. I barely break a sweat doing it either. No running, no chasing, no taking out the weakest member of the herd.

I just leave the house as usual and when I come back I have beef, chicken, pork, fish. Her nose goes crazy following me from the garage to the kitchen. She must dream about the chase. Her feet are running in her sleep. Little yelps come from her. I bet she is helping bring down our prey. No wonder I am the leader of this pack. I am the Great One.

Remember to enter to win 500 business cards for your blog. Click here. 

WHO IS SMARTER? CATS OR DOGS

Image via Wikipedia

After reading about Jo's dog getting swatted by a cat @ Cornish Beach Brummie it reminded me of our own furry fisticuffs.

We had our cat, Alvin for 18 years. We got our dog, Maxine when the cat was an adult.
The cat was not impressed with this Labrador puppy and made it very clear to said pup to stay away.

This point was driven across by a flurry of swipes at the pups head. I cleaned up the spray of blood off the walls and told the puppy to stay away.

Image by WSK_2005 via Flickr

Now we all know puppies are stupid. Cute yes but stupid in the ways of life. So back she would go to sniff at the cat. The cat would smack down the dogs face again and I would clean up the blood from the walls and floor. No puppy, no.

Now this scenario went on for a year or so. Every few days the dog would stick her nose where it really didn't belong and the bloodletting would begin anew.

Gradually the cat stopped using the claws and just pummeled the the dog with his paws. Finally after many, many years the dog could stick her nose right into the cat's butt to the point of lift off and the cat would just walk away. I think he got to liking it.

Note: these are not my actual pet's photos. They are very close facsimiles. I don't have any photos of them on my laptop and quite frankly I am too lazy too go downstairs and scan some pictures.

YOU KNOW IT IS SUMMER WHEN

"I knew this was where I left my stick"

When the rapid flow of the river slows down in the summer Maxine will spend every moment she can in the water. She is 12 years old but becomes a puppy again as soon as she gets to the cabin. From early in the morning when she first heads outside until she goes to bed still damp at night she is finding rocks and sticks and bugs in the cool clear water.
Many of you know her from her calendar photo "Miss February" in the upcoming
Tulameen 2010 calendar but I think she could have also taken the July spot with this photo.

This post is brought to you by a sponsor of mine UPrinting. They are Eco Friendly using vegetable based inks, recycled paper and also recycling all paper scraps.

UPrinting.com is a leading online provider of business cards, color brochures and mailing postcards.