The One That Got Away

I forgot to tell a funny story yesterday.  Sadly, it happened so fast by the time I thought to get my camera out it was too late!

Here's what happened...

When Hubby mowed the brush the other day he went over a couple of prairie rat compounds hidden by the weeds.  Apparently this frightened and confused at least one of the little creatures.  When the mowing was all done he took the dogs out to show them the new field.  

The dogs loved it and were running around.  Then it was time to go in and when Hubby whistled for the dogs to rally he saw Gus dart down and grab something in his mouth.  Then he sprinted for the front door.  Just as Hubby opened the door Gus dropped his "prize" and pranced inside the house, so proud of himself.  At that same moment Hubby saw something dart behind the wood box.

We both went out and saw the trembling creature between the woodbox and the wall.  It was a little prairie rat.  We finally managed to get it out but then it went darting around the corner and down the deck towards the back.  We ran after it and found it under the bbq.

Then we managed to get it out from under the bbq when it suddenly made a beeline for the edge of the deck and it did a lemming imitation.  It went sailing about 12 feet to the ground below.  We rushed to the rail and saw it take off for the far beyond, aka across the driveway into the unmowed area.

Unfortunately I don't have the photographic proof, so you'll have to trust me.  We giggled all night about it.

Well, maybe you just had to be here, but it sure was funny at the time! 

Gus's Surgery And More

During the week right before the birthday party we had noticed a rather large and hard lump on Gus's throat. We brought Gus in to the vet right away and she took a needle biopsy. That turned out to be inconclusive so we scheduled surgery for him on the Thursday after we got back from our quickie Oregon trip.

Before we brought him in we found another lump behind his elbow. I told the vet about that and she said it was more likely a "fatty tumor" but she would check it out. Gus was also going to have his teeth cleaned while he was out.

Here he is back from the vet, resting.

When I picked Gus up the vet told me the armpit lump was indeed a lipoma and no cause for concern. The problem was the neck lump. She said it worried her because she'd never really seen anything quite like it. We would find out for sure when the results came back from the lab on Monday.

Monday we got the news: Gus's lump was not cancerous. Basically it was a deep hemotoma that had become encapsulated. Here is a description from Wikipedia:

Hematomas can occur within a muscle. Some hematomas form into hard masses under the surface of the skin. This is caused by the limitation of the blood to a subcutaneous or intramuscular tissue space isolated by fascial planes. This is a key anatomical feature that prevents such injuries from causing massive blood loss. In most cases the sac of blood or hematoma eventually dissolves; however, in some cases they may continue to grow or show no change. If the sac of blood does not disappear, then it may need to be surgically removed.

So that was a big WHEW!

Also on Monday was my husband's mediation for his bus accident from about two years ago. That did not go so well. That meant a trial would start the next Monday. That also meant I would probably have to testify (as to the changes in his joie de vivre, etc).

On Tuesday morning promptly at 8am the movers came to get all the big stuff and stuff we wouldn't be needing immediately.

Flora, the pony, got her last trimming from her farrier. (She was later moved to the stables where she will be trimmed by Star's farrier if they're still there when that time comes.)

Wednesday we picked up the U-Haul truck so we could start packing our immediate needs stuff. The plan was that Wil and I would drive to Oregon on Saturday (hubby couldn't go because of meetings with the attorney), take possession of the rental, unload, spend the night at a hotel and return home on Sunday. While I was waiting for paperwork I got to talking with the U-haul guy and mentioned how I was a little stressed out because the guy that was going to buy the cow and this year's calf backed out and now I didn't have a place for the three cows. He mentioned his sister had some room and he called her. She said I could bring them over and my only requirement was that I pay for hay (no extra board fees). Hooray!

Thursday was Thanksgiving. We were packing and cleaning. I can't even remember but I think we had frozen microwave dinners.

I spent most of Friday bringing the animals to where they had to go. The bull went to my sisters'. The cows to Laura's (2 trips in the two horse trailer). The pony to the stables. The dogs and Kneadermeier to the kennels. Ollie had disappeared and we couldn't find her anywhere. I had to buy hay and bring some to my sister and some to Laura. Then the final cleaning of the now empty house. My vacuum cleaner broke at the most inopportune time so I went next door to borrow theirs.

Next door neighbor Dean and his family were at Disneyland so my husband and I spent the night at their house. We woke at four o'clock and by four thirty Wil, his friend Evan, and I were on the road to Oregon.

We hit some snow in the Lake Shasta area and again over the Siskiyou Summit but fortunately it wasn't bad enough to have to put chains on. However as we were coming down from the Siskiyou Summit the cars on the other side were all lined up putting their chains on. I guess we timed that one perfectly.

When we reached Grants Pass I thought I'd better call the rental office to see how long they stayed open. The girl said they closed at 4pm. I was a good hour away and it was already 3:20 by then. There was no way we were going to make it and I needed the key! She was so nice. She gave me her cell number and told me to call when we got to town and she'd come back to the office to give me the key.

Long story short: We got the key and got everything unloaded. We spent the night at a hotel. We turned in the U-haul the next morning and headed back to Bakersfield. The roads over the summits were clear though there was more snow on the sides. It was smooth sailing until we got past Stockton, then it was stop and go for miles and miles and miles.

I had forgotten about the holiday traffic. I remember when Clyde came home my husband hit the exact same scenario near Las Vegas. In fact it was Thanksgiving weekend four years ago. After we finally got home I figured I drove 24 hours in the last 48 hours!

Time to hit the hay. By this time my husband had moved to a hotel and that's where I drove to when I got back to town.

Oh yeah, my husband managed to snatch Ollie up the next day and took her to the kennels.

...more tomorrow!

Volunteer Banquet

Yesterday I was talking about Gus and his nose, and how hopefully it will heal up before our next Therapy Dog visit for Hoffmann Hospice, the outfit we volunteer for. What I failed to mention was that my son, also a volunteer with Hoffmann, my husband, and myself were going to a banquet that evening. It was the Hoffmann Hospice Volunteer Banquet, held annually, to honor their volunteer workers. I didn't mention it because I really didn't think it was going to be a big deal.

I was wrong.

We all met in the banquet room of Mauricio's, a nice Mexican restaurant about five minutes from our home. We sat with Marylee and her husband. You may or may not recall, Marylee is the one who got me started with the whole volunteering thing with Gus.

After everyone had socialized for a bit we lined up for the dinner and then it was time for some speechifying. There were some potted plants on the table and we were all laying claim to them. A small raffle was held, but none of our group's numbers were called. Then Kim, the volunteer coordinater started speaking. She acknowledged several volunteers who had already given about ten years of service. They all received some nice baskets with some goodies in them. We watched a really nice slide show that showed the volunteers and the patients they visited. I was proud to see several shots of Gus doing his thing. There were also pictures of some of the other Therapy Dogs, of course.

Then Kim started talking about the special program started last year that was especially dear to her. It was the Pet Therapy Program, aka Hoffman Hounds. She started talking about the "volunteer of the year" and I was thinking it was going to be the lady that first evaluated Gus, as she wasn't a volunteer at that time with Hoffman, but now is. Kim was saying how this person (her pick for volunteer of the year) had never had any prior experience doing this sort of thing, yet jumped in with both feet and went to work. I knew that couldn't be the other person I had been thinking of since she had several years of Therapy Dog work prior to coming to Hoffman.

Next thing I know, Kim is announcing MY name as her "Volunteer of the Year". I could hardly believe it. Check out the loot I got!

There was a bucket with microwave popcorn, a box of Good and Fruity, Jujyfruit, a bottle of non-alcoholic grape drink, and a DVD of "Marley and Me". In addition I received a bracelet with doggy charms.
This one is my favorite.

And there was a little pin I can put on my shirt that has a tiny picture of Gus in it. He really is number one!
All the volunteers also got certificates of appreciation and a DVD with the slide show on it. If I ever figure out how to post it here I will.

It turns out my husband had known about this for three weeks. Marylee's main job was to ensure that I made it to the dinner. I really had no idea this was going to happen. While I'm not all that convinced that I deserve the honor of being named "Volunteer of the Year", I'm certainly not going to hurt Kim's feelings by turning it down!


(By the way, we had to play a game for the potted plants. Marylee won!)

He'll Sleep Anywhere!

This doesn't look very comfortable to me, but Gus wasn't moving!

Reindog

I've always been a little jealous of those people who have the therapy dogs that can do cool tricks and/or wear rabbit ears or funny hats or whatever. My dogs usually will wear it for about two seconds and then shake their head and the item goes flying. Gus's trick repertoire includes "sit", "shake", "down", and "crawl" where he will creep on his belly to where you point your finger.

I decided to give the headgear another try when I was at the drug store and I saw some antlers on sale for about $1.00. I figured that wouldn't break the bank if it didn't work.

Yesterday evening was my day for visiting the nursing home but first I had to make a stop at the hospice office because it was time for my annual TB check. This would be the perfect time to test how Gus did with his new antlers. Plus I thought if he got the attention I thought he would get it would help convince him that the silly head gear was a Good Thing.

As he got out of the car I put the leash on him and then the antlers. Before we even got to the building we got several big smiles from some people. Once inside while I got my TB test shot one of the ladies took Gus around to show the employees. He came back with his tail wagging and a big smile on his face. His antlers were still on his head.

At the nursing home it was much the same. Everyone loved the "reindog" and Gus's tail never stopped wagging. The bed bound Hoffman patient we visit was asleep, but her room mate was awake. She can't speak and her arms are permanently curled up around her chin. She usually smiles when she sees Gus and I'll put his front legs on her bed so she can see his face better and they can say hello to each other in their way. When she saw his antlers she had the biggest grin I'd ever seen on her and I dare say she almost laughed out loud.

Usually when I pose Gus for a photo he gets a serious look on his face, but you can see in the shot above he was smiling. I think he figured out the antlers were indeed a "Good Thing".

The Thanks I Get

Hoffman Hospice, the organization I volunteer for with Gus, has a Children's Grief Therapy Group every Thursday evening. Gus and I go to those meetings about once a month or so, rotating our visits with the other Therapy Dogs.

Usually I sit and watch the kids while they do their activities with the counselor and Gus does his thing. Prior to starting the meeting he may run around the room with the more active kids, chasing them or being chased. Later he will lay quietly and let the kids love on him when they finish their projects. Once I saw a younger child carefully examining Gus's mouth, touching his lips and teeth. Gus was ever so patient and endured it all.

I sometimes wondered if it was worth the trouble to give Gus a bath and make the trips to sit in the room for the while. I recently received these two notes from a couple of the kids. (I blurred their names out. HEPA laws and all... Click on the first picture to enlarge--I don't know why the second picture isn't enlarging.)

I'd say it is.

Happy Thanksgiving!

New Over The Weekend

We are back from our trip to AZ for my MIL's 80th birthday. We all had a great time with lots of good food and fun catching up with everyone. We hadn't seen any of them since last year. I also got an opportunity to sneak a quick visit to my oldest sister who lives just 17 miles away from my MIL.

I have a gazillion photos to go through to pick the best ones to show you tomorrow and/or the next day. In the meantime this nice article came out in the spring edition of the Hoffman Hospice Reflections magazine. It makes me sound so nice! (If they only knew!!)

I thought you might be able to click on the picture to enlarge it so you can read it but for some reason it isn't working today. I don't know why sometimes that works and sometimes it doesn't. If anyone can clue me in on that, please do so. Otherwise if you want to read it I guess you'll have to get your magnifying glass out!

First Visit--Or Not

Today was supposed to be Gus's and my first visit as volunteer visitors for Hoffman Hospice. Like I said before, I was a little nervous. But I knew everything would be okay because we had met the client at Hoffman Hospice a few days ago, and my boss, Kim, the volunteer coordinator, would be with us while we made our first couple of visits.

The Therapy Dogs are supposed to be bathed within 24 hours of each visit. I didn't bathe Gus yesterday, so I gave him his bath today. He wasn't real thrilled with the whole ordeal.

First I cleaned his ears out with doggie ear wipes. He puts up with that pretty well because I have to do that on a weekly basis anyway. Then I brushed him thoroughly. First with an "undercoat rake" to help remove dead hair. Then with the pin brush to collect any other hairs. Then I used a "stripping knife" to remove fuzzy hairs that weren't supposed to be there. As if you didn't know, Golden Retrievers are very hairy dogs. Gus loves the brushing part.

Next comes the actual bath. I got him in the tub and since there's no shower on the end of a hose I used a large plastic tumbler to help wet him down. I took off my socks and shoes, rolled up my pants and got into the tub with him. I think he liked that. After I got him all wet, I sudsed him up real well. I think he didn't like that.

Then I had to rinse all the lather off of him. That took a while because I was using the cup. Finally he was rinsed clean. He stood with his front paws on the rim while I towelled him dry.

At last he was towel dried to my satisfaction. Now he was clean!

He was also ready to get out of the bathroom!

I let him outside to finish drying. He was happy to be out!

Our visit was supposed to be at 4 pm. I figured Gus would be totally dry by then and I could also go over him one more time with the pin brush, just for good measure. Kim called around 1:30 and said we were going to have to postpone our visit. With the Christmas holiday hubbub we decided to wait until after the first of the year. Things will be calmer then.

I told Gus the news. He said he'll keep the baby company until we can make our first visit...

Dogs Are Family Too (Part Three)

Otis's health was rapidly going down hill. We often had to give him a hand to stand up. I wasn't sure how much longer he would last. Roscoe had gone through something similar. We would have to pick him up under his stomach until we got outside where he would collapse immediately on the grass when we took our support away. From there he would pick at his dinner and do his business. We did this for three days before I said "Enough!"

I was watching Otis carefully because I didn't want him to have to suffer the same indignities. When he got to the point where his legs could no longer support him I said it was time. The family said goodbye and I took him to the vet.

When it comes to emotional issues my husband is a bigger softie than he would let on. He cannot handle this aspect of animal ownership well and the sad chore always falls to me. I love having dogs but the sad truth is they don't live as long as we do and that is a fact of life we have to deal with. In the meantime we do the best we can to ensure they live in a wonderful, happy, and safe environment.

We were definitely not a one dog family anymore, and the loss of Otis left a big hole. Even Elmo seemed to be looking for his pal. Carli had been talking about having her own puppy. Like all kids who want a dog there were the absolute promises that she would totally take care of all it's needs. She promised to feed him, pick up his poops, bathe him, play with him, and whatever else would be necessary. I knew that it wouldn't really happen, but it was time to get a new dog anyway, so what the heck.

I was pretty sure I was done with dog shows by then so we looked in the paper for something local and found a litter of Chesapeake Bay Retrievers in Taft, a tiny town about 30 minutes away.

I had see Chessies at the dog shows, and I've got to say, the father of this litter did not resemble them much. He was the biggest and most rambunctious Chesapeake I've ever seen. If I had read John Grogan's book Marley and Me before then I would have politely said "We'll keep on looking" and backed away.

two month old Chester

Carli picked out a pup and held him in her lap on the way home. I persuaded her to name him "Chester". Gee, I wonder how many Chesapeakes are named that? But it was easy to remember; Chester the Chesapeake. I never even bothered to send in his registration papers. Both his parents did not have the same "type" I'd seen at shows. Like I said, I knew I wasn't going to show again, and we were definitely going to have this dog neutered early, something we'd never done before. (It must be a "man" thing. The husbands always seem to be against neutering, like it's somehow going to transfer to them and make them "less of a man.")

Chester came home and he and Elmo immediately took to each other. Chester filled the missing dog role in Elmo's life and Chester had a new dog family member to replace the ones he'd been taken from.

Chester & Elmo

Unfortunately Chester turned out to be a bit of a disappointment as far as a hunting dog goes. Let me just put it this way: If he's in the same room with you and you sneeze, he runs for another room. Sometimes I'll have a sneezing fit and the first sneeze he'll try to climb on my lap, but as I continue he runs to hide. I don't know why he has this odd idiosyncrasy. We always try to reassure him that everything's okay, but there is something in his brain that can't accept it.

Chester & friend

The other thing with Chester is he loves to climb on the table to look out and about. We've caught him on the dining room table a few times. I suspect he jumps down when he hears us coming. It's not really that he's looking for scraps because the table is bare. He just likes to be up high and survey his dogdom.

Surveying his dogdom

I've heard it said that Chesapeakes have a peculiar, very disagreeable, distinctive odor when they get wet. (I think most wet dogs stink anyway!) While this is somewhat true of Chester, it's not as bad as I had been led to believe. He does love to swim. We are fortunate enough to have our lot back up to a couple hundred acres of water storage ponds. When the ponds are full we often open the gate to the back and Chester goes racing to the water. He leaps in and swims around and around, and back and forth, barking at his own splashing feet. This continues until he has to come to the edge of the water, vomit the gallons of water he has swallowed, perhaps poop and pee what has gone even further and then go back and do it all again. It is very difficult to get him out of the water unless he's already worn out from all his swimming.

The ponds are currently not full because work is being done back there and we noticed Chester is getting a bit of a paunch. I hope they finish soon and refill. He needs his exercise.

One day when Carli was about 15 (about five years after we brought Chester home) she came in the door carrying a little yellow puppy. She claimed she rescued him from the street where he'd almost been hit by a gardening truck.

Upon closer examination, the puppy appeared to be a purebred Golden Retriever, about eight weeks old. I really didn't want a third dog and especially not a golden retriever. My sister had been given a pair several years earlier because their owner could no longer take care of them anymore. Every time I saw her she had long blond strands of dog hair all over her clothes. (We all have dark hair, well, gray hair colored dark now.)

My husband was even less thrilled than I. But we agreed the best thing to do would wait a few weeks and look in the paper every day for a "lost" ad. My husband also drove the neighborhood looking for flyers of a lost puppy. I didn't put an ad in the paper because #1: "lost" ads were free and "found" ads were not; and #2: if I had put an ad in who knows who would've called to claim him? It could have been someone lying to get a nice dog. I didn't want to take that chance.

After several weeks of seeing nothing we had to come to the conclusion that we now had a third dog. We named him Gus. We took him to the vet (a new place, closer to home) to start his vaccinations. She even checked for a microchip, but found nothing. The staff were all surprised that such a nice puppy had gone unclaimed.

The vet told us there were two types of golden retrievers. They were great family pets either way, but there were the kind that were very active and needed lots of exercise (hyper), and there were the cool, calm, relaxed, laid back type. We had yet to see what we had.

Gus relaxing at my desk

We got lucky. Gus is very laid back. He'll happily plop down on the sofa with his head in my lap. He often lays at my feet while I'm typing. He has the same type of look in his eyes that Roscoe had. He just wants to make his humans happy.

Gus & Chester

The first time my husband took Gus hunting with him it was to hunt quail. Gus had never had any sort of training so he really didn't know what to expect. He shot a quail but it was only wounded and ran into some brush on the side of a very steep hill. As my husband walked along looking for the bird he spotted it hunkered down about five feet away. He called Gus over and pointed to the bird (isn't it supposed to be the other way around?). Gus walked up to the quail and began to lick it. He's such a gentle soul! Nowadays he knows what he's supposed to do and happily finds and retrieves the downed birds. That dog has natural talent!

Elmo & Gus sleeping

Eventually came the inevitable day when Elmo started doing poorly. He was only nine years old. His breathing was becoming more labored and he wasn't getting around too well anymore. He was stone deaf and his eyes were cloudy. He suddenly became incontinent. His time had come. My husband wanted to go to the vet with me. I think he was hoping she could give him a shot or some pills and he'd be cured, but in my heart I knew better.

After examining him she gave us the bad news. His heart was not healthy and had fluid built up around it. There was really nothing she could do for him. At this rate he would not have lasted out the week on his own. She added he just wasn't the same Elmo she had come to know. I agreed. He didn't seem happy anymore. The decision was made and my husband left the room to wait for me in the truck.

A few weeks later my husband surprised me by saying he really liked having three dogs around. I wasn't ready to get another just yet. That wouldn't happen for another six months.

one more left...