Hilda and Bobo ae the June 9, 2019 Pups of the Week

Enough with the endings.  I have spent weeks chronicling dogs at the culmination of their songs.  This week we celebrate dogs who first few notes are beginning to play.

A month ago when Hazel went to the Bridge, she was determined to find another pug for the Idaho Pug Ranch.  The ranch was constructed to house multiple dogs but now only had one inhabitant, Mabel. Her mom told Hazel during a dream visit that she wasn't ready for another dog.

It takes a village to raise a dog and sometimes it takes a pack to find a pug. Greta, who had gone to the Bridge at only two years of age, had the misfortune of being perpetually young leaving her at a disadvantage. An angel decides the body they want to wear each day.  Our wardrobes are comprised of the bodies we have worn for every year of our lives. I have a dozen perfect styles from which to choose. On some days I can be a puppy on other days the wizened dog I was when I crossed the Bridge. Greta has only two to choose from. Being forever a puppy meant she is never taken seriously.
"We need to find a puppy with white paws!" Greta insisted.

"Why does it have to have white paws?" Hazel asked.

"Because I had white paws and mommy loves them.
"
Hazel thought Greta was suffering from delusions of grandeur.  She would not listen to her white paw theory. Hazel was experienced, and she knew white paws was a breed abnormality. She wanted to give her mom the perfect pup.

But Greta could not forget how much her mother loved her white paws. She found a newborn litter near the ranch and snuck down to paint one of the pup's paws white.  Greta had broken all sorts of laws, but it was done out of love, and the Guild of Dogs forgave her.

She knew her mom's subconscious was rejecting any thoughts of another dog.  She went to her mom's friend's dreams and planted the idea that the woman should email her mom the picture and information about the white-pawed pug. The next morning the friend did so.

Their mom, that same morning, had told their dad it was too early to get another dog.  Then she opened her email and saw the pug with the white paws.

Greta had perfectly set in motion the acquisition of the new pug. When her mom called, she was told the white-pawed was the only one left. Every question was answered accordingly.  Two days later Hilda with the white paws moved into the pug ranch.

That night as their mom was bringing Mabel to training Greta and Hazel thought about their love for her with all their might and a rainbow appeared in the sky above their mom.  

When Pepper and Juju got a new dog for their moms after Juju went to the Bridge, it was far less dramatic.  A year earlier, Pepper had passed over and quickly found Penny to help rebuild her moms' hearts.

Their moms knew they didn't have to search for another dog after Juju passed, their angels would find them the perfect new member of their family.  

This week they located him. Bobo joined their pack and immediately filled their home with joy.  With three sisters telling him what to do Bobo should assimilate perfectly with his new family as long as he understands that girls rule.

It is refreshing to be able to end one of these tails on an uplighting note. We could all use all more songs like these

Foley and the Missing Angel

I made the first night inspection of my gardens after the solar lights were installed.  I like the little lights that line either side of the driveway and around the gardens. I find it charming. In the center of the flowers should be my angel, the tallest and brightest light of them all casting a warm glow over the entire yard.

I was shocked to see that my angel was not part of the garden opening night display.  I am sure it was packed away in the late Autumn. Where could it be?

My mommy must have been unaware that my angel was missing. If she had realized it, she would have conducted a search of every outhouse, chicken house, and dog house in a 30-square mile area.  I went into her subconscious to tell her the angel was not in the garden.

There is a solid door between the conscious and the subconscious.  Some nights it is easily opened. Others it is, as it was this night, stuck.  I could only yell from the other side "My angel is not in the garden. I think she is in the shed."

My Mommy woke and said she had the strangest dream.  “There was a range in the garden that should be in the shed.”  I mean, these people, I can't even.

It took me several trips into both their dreams until one of them realized my angel was missing. The next day they emptied the shed looking for it to no avail.  It was gone.
There could only be one explanation. Someone had stolen her.  But who? Who had the motive? Who had the opportunity? The suspects were endless.

Mommy? Of course not.  How dare you? The woman is a saint.    

Daddy?  I don't think he would steal it, but I could see him breaking it and then burying it in the backyard, so no one knew.

Pocket?  It's always the quiet ones.  I don't think she has the brains to pull something like this off.  Plus she knows what a nightmare I can be if I slipped into her dreams in a bad mood.

River Song?  It's always the bitchy ones.  She has been jealous of me and my status as the number one heart dog.  But in her fruitless quest to be number one, she still wouldn't do something to upset Mommy.

The squirrels?  Now we're getting somewhere.  I had a lifelong battle with those little bastards.  I could definitely see them stealing my angel to get back at me. I borrowed a bird body and flew up into a tree.   There was no angel there, so don't know what they would have done with her.

The kitties?  Now we're getting somewhere.  They have been my rivals ever since they sat on my deck at the condo and mocked me.  And then River Song evicted them from our southern border. They probably stole my angel for revenge and stuck it in some disgusting Feral garden somewhere.  Don't worry, angel, I won't rest until I find you.
My parents contacted the Amazons to craft another beautiful angel to represent me in my garden.  Those Amazons do fantastic work. Then even offer 24-hour delivery.

So now I have an angel shining brightly in my garden again.  And at its base is attached a chain that runs to the Earth's core. If you hear of any Massachusetts earthquakes, know that one of those cats try to steal my angel again.


If you look to the Eastern skies and see something burning brightly, that's my angel saying hello.

River and the Bird Nest Catastrophe

We don't have a basement.  We have a crawl space. When my parents lived in their condo during the year 5 B.R.S (Before River Song) their basement flooded.  This upset Mommy terribly. She was happy to move into a house with no cellar — no worries about flooding, no downstairs laundry, no shelter from tornadoes. Well, two or of the three ain't bad.

Cellars are a great place to store unwanted items.  You can keep half a century's worth of junk down there with room to spare.  When you have a crawl space, clean outs need to be done more frequently.

My parents stuff things in the crawl space until it begins to lift the house making the floors crooked.  Then they call Fred Sanford to take half a decade of accumulated items away. Thus started the emptying of the shed and crawl space clean out.  

My Dad figured with the junk man coming it would be an excellent time to trim the tree branches. He cut away the limbs from the pines that slapped my parents in the face when they walked by it or were growing into the shed. Cut them down bag them up,  and leave them for the junk man. What could be easier?

The cutting down part was a snap. It was the bagging that proved problematic. While picking up the many pine branches, he found a perfectly round bird's nest. He felt terrible about robbing some bird of her home. He found a branch that he could safely place the nest on and feel good about himself.

Feeling like he had just done his part in saving the environment, he went back to work picking up the branches. Then he made a horrible discovery.  There were baby birds that had either just been born our their shells had cracked on the lawn. They were wrapped up in some sort of protective webbing. They weren't strong enough to break through it yet. Daddy didn't know what stage of The evolutionary process the birds were experiencing, but he was sure they weren't supposed to experience it on the grass.

Most people whose lives don't revolve around animals would have moved the birds to the mulch, covered them up and declared. "it Is God's will.'  But we have raised them up better than that. Daddy knew he had to try and save the babies

He did with all men who have screwed up badly and were flummoxed how to fix it did. He called over mommy.   She suggested that the birdies be placed back in the next. Of course, Daddy being a man of tiny brain had forgotten what branch he had put the nest on.  The little birds were squawking on the ground. He found the nest and brought it to them. Mommy used to trowel to pick up the birds, and they were placed back in the nest.  The nest was put back in the tree. My parents could only hope that the mother lived up to the reputations of bird brains and did not notice that the best had been relocated several branches to the left, out could tell the birdies had encountered humans.

When we have gone outside to do our business, we have checked under the tree, and there has been no sign of discarded little birds. Ignorance can truly be bliss.  As long as there is no sign of the birds, we can assume they are fine even if the dark thoughts in the back of the mind say differently.

Fly high little birds whenever you are.

Wordless Wednesday

Beat This Caption

Don't marry him, Mommy.  I checked his browser history.  He likes kitty porn!

Monday Question

On a scale of one to ten how crazy are you when your parents come home

Pocket:  A seven, I get excited but mostly to get out of my crate.

River Song: Ten.  When my parents come home it is the single greatest thing that has ever happened to me.  I jump up and down, I run back and forth, I bark my head off, and then I pant for a half hour.  

Sebastian and Noah are the June 2, 2019 Pup of the Week

Recently I saw an article on my IPaw.  It was entitled 'Why you should not get a dog." Such poppycock! I did not read this drivel.  What are the reasons not to get a dog? I say there are none. Except for the big one. Someday, sooner than expected, we will break your heart.

The loss of one dog in a lifetime can affect a person for the rest of their days if they lose two, the pain doubles. Two in a year? It will be remembered as the worst time of their lives.  Two in a month? Unimaginable. Two in a week?

Two in a week has its own little corner of hell.  It’s worse than breaking half the bones in your body. Two in a week is getting into a six-car pile up in your driveway that causes your house to burn into flames.  

The parents of the Portuguese Water Dogs are in that hell now. In the space of a week, they lost Sebastian and Noah.  Their brother Fudge ascended to the Bridge a few months earlier.

We want to rail to the Gods on their behalf; to curse the fates; try to find justice for a family so terribly hurt.  All we can do is try to bring them a tiny bit of comfort to guide them through a part of the darkness.

Sebastian arrived at the Bridge first.  He was a rescue dog. He was sent to his parents after they lost Tsar.  Either recognizing a second chance, grateful to be finally with kind people or having been told by Tsar how to behave for his parents, he assimilated into the pack flawlessly.  He never gave his family a second of trouble. He became a gentle protector to the two little hound puppies who joined their pack. He was the perfect example of why you should take a chance on a stray.

Recently Sebastian began experiencing pain, but he was a good boy and didn’t complain.  His parents hoped that getting a cyst removed and his teeth done would ease his discomfort, but it didn't work. He stopped eating his food and became lethargic. 

 They found a growth on his jawline. Tests showed he was suffering from advanced kidney disease. His parents could not let this little gift from the heavens hurt any longer.  They sent him to the Bridge, where he could escape the pain and feel young again.

When Sebastian arrived on the immortal side, he would not cross the Bridge. "I am waiting for my brother.  He will be along soon. Then we can cross together.” I asked how long that would be.  "Too soon," he said. He was right. A few days later, Noah joined us.

The first human Noah saw as a newborn was his mom.  One of her dogs had a litter. Noah was a part of it.  From the first moment, Noah lay eyes on his mom; he never wanted her out of his sight.

Noah was the slowest to develop in his litter, but that didn't stop him from climbing stairs or jumping on walls with his siblings.  His parents didn't mind helping him down.

Nine years ago, Noah was diagnosed with cryptosporidium. It looked like Noah would have a short life span. He rallied and managed to stay on the mortal side. But, the disease took a toll. Noah would have colitis and dry eye syndrome caused by a reaction to antibiotics for the rest of his days.

As Noah aged, he began experiencing problems with his back that grew progressively worse. By last week poor Noah could no longer stand and had no appetite.  His parents had to make the hardest decision, again.

Sebastian stood when Noah crossed the Bridge.  They arrived together like a winning team on the Amazing Race.  As I inducted them, Fudge appeared behind me.

After they were sworn in, they joined Fudge in a long brotherly hug.  Sebastian asked if Fudge was going to tease them. "Not as much as I did in the mortal side, but we are here for an eternity so I can't promise you anything."

Then the three brothers ran towards the fields nipping at one another and laughing all the way, reunited at the end of their mortal days and reborn.  

The three of them have a Herculean team before them. They, along with their mortal siblings, have to rebuild their parents' crushed hearts.  But, I have no doubt don't that once Sebastian, Floyd, and Noah harness the power three nothing can stop them.