The Tornado Dogs are our June 2, 2013 Pups of the Week

Meika

Friday night I sat in front of the computer scared to death.  I wasn’t watching a frightening video or watching stories about how the humans are messing up the world, I was reading post after post from my beloved friends who were living in the path of killer tornadoes.  

Thankfully all have checked in and were spared from the storm’s wrath, but it made me realize just how fragile our hold on life, and our friendships, are.  One horrible storm can cause so much havoc and devastation it is unimaginable.  The names of towns become synonomous with destruction, Moore, Joplin, Oklahoma City, Rainsville, like the towns that became famous for Civil War battles:  Fredricksburgh, Antetiem, Shiloh, Gettysburgh.

Practically every day we bark with our good friends Reese and Mieka from Missouri.  Reese is very proud that he can howl just as loud as the tornado sirens.  But his talent scares us.  We never want him to use his howler because that means danger is coming.  On Friday night they were excitedly waiting on word of twin family members being born in Michigan.  But they couldn’t contact their family, and they couldn’t contact us, so there was a big circle of worry going on.  We were happy to hear from them yesterday, but their human twin cousin is in a hospital and in need of prayers.

Then there are our very good friend Koda, Josie, Wills and Emme.  They all had to pack up and leave their farm Friday night as tornadoes were headed right for it.  Thankfully the twisters spared their homestead and by the next morning they were back at the farm, but for one night there were lots of prayers said in their name.

Chey’s and Kaizer’s Mom had to ride out the storm in their basement.  They lost contact when the tornadoes grazed their neighborhood and all us friends held our breath. They came through the storms in one piece but the hotel where many friends stayed during last year’s Baronfest was hit.  Chey’s and Kaizer’s Mom made a wise choice pushing this year’s Baronfest until after tornado season.

On Wednesday Chelsea and Junior Johnson’s family got a warning about a major tornado and had to hunker down in their bedroom.  Two nights later they had to go through the same hell and then again on the 30th.  Their Mom’s Facebook page became tornado central, as did many other peep’s pages.

Shakira, Napa, and tiny Travis had to go into the storm cave to wait out the tornadoes that swirled around them.  It was Travis first storm but he came out fine  thanks to his Mom being so calm and Angel Apollo watching out from overhead.

There were lots of other pups in the path of these terrible storms like Summer Grace whose stories we have not told.  But we want them all to know we prayed very hard for them and are so happy they came through the darkness OK and pray it is a long time until they face another week like this.

For now we give you and your parents a big tip of the tail for being calmer and braver dogs then either us or our parents could ever be.

May you have nothing but sunny days for the rest of the summer. 

Kaizer is our June 15, 2012 pup of the week

I think we can all agree that we have been hit with a long streak of bad luck.  Friends flying to the bridge like frightened birds from a tree.,  We’ve prayed together, cried together, mourned together.  And there are sure to be more sad days to come.

But let’s take a moment to celebrate some good news.  For every friend we lose to the bridge we welcome a new friend and none are more important than those who were rescued.  Which is why I want to take today to celebrate Mr. Z, the K-man, Kaizer, new brother of Chey, living in the house where the legendary dog Baron, also known as Bear, once roamed.

We first started hearing rumors that Chey’s mother Auntie Monica was thinking of adding another German Shepard to the family way back in April.  She became aware of a GSD who was being fostered by a group called MOGS (does that mean Monster?) and she visited him and Kaizer looked at her and said “I want this Mommy.”  Of course there was so much more to it than that.  There were visits, troublesome home visits, and the biggest question, how would Chey like a new brother?

Auntie Monica is a very smart puppy Mom so the first night she brought Kaizer home she put him in a crate.  (There was some talk of changing his name to Chance but a Kaizer is a Kaizer.)  The next morning Chey and Kaizer were introduced and they played like old friends.  (Of course, not wanting to take a chance, Auntie Monica wisely kept the muzzle on Kaizer until they became better acquainted.)

Auntie Monica tried it without the muzzle and there was some snipping back and forth but Chey let him know who was boss and Kaizer came away with a little cut over and his eye and a lesson learned,  Soon they were sleeping in the living room together, one on the couch and another on the comforter,  

And Auntie Monica was doing her best to put all those bad things that happened in the past out of Kaizer’s had.  When she took him to where he had been boarded before they met the staff was amazed at how calm Kazier had become.  He even let the owner’s eight year old daughter walk him which he had never done before.


She even pulled off the very hard task of getting them to eat together without attacking one another, something our Mommy has not figured out with Pocket and I.  Like all Moms who adopt, especially ones that have a dog at home, Auntie Monica had a crisis of confidence not knowing if she was doing the right thing bringing Kaizer home, but it soon passed.  Anyway, there wasn’t much she could do, Kaizer did pick her.

She still had to work on all the tough things to make Kaizer a house dog.  Giving him a few rooms at a time to stay in when he was alone.  But Kaizer passed the tests, except for a random couch cushion and we are not sure who we are blaming that on.  Could have been a burgular.

When Kaizer was boarded during the day Chey missed her little brother and was so happy when he got home.  A pack, a family, was born.  And Auntie Monica soon realized that she needed to train Kaizer so he could stay with her family when she was out because, one day, when she picked him up, she realized he thought he had been abandoned, and it broke her heart.  (Nice play Kaizer, you learn quickly.)

Auntie Monica is still working on Kaizer.  He has been peeing in his crate and that needs to be corrected.  But he is also picking up so much.  Being able to go on car rides with his sister was a big step.

So thank you Auntie Monica because each day us original members of DS who are still there, or have splintered into other smaller groups are getting older and we are going to need dogs to carry on in our spirit, and our memory, so we are never forgotten, and our Moms stay friends forever.

I can’t think of anyone better to lead us in the future than Kaizer.  And think you Auntie Monica and Chey for turning him into such a wonderful dog.