Orkie the Yorkie

We had a most unexpected visitor on the 12th birthday.  Daddy was taking us out for our late day stroll and dump.  We completed our duties when suddenly, from our right, a Yorkie of unknown origin came scampering up to us.

“Hi Foley!” the excited pup said.  “I wanted to say happy birthday.  I am a huge fan and when I heard you were outside I had to come see you....oooops!”  The oooops came from when Daddy rudely picked this pleasant pup up before she was done telling me how wonderful I was

Daddy then spun around and quickly started walking us back home while carrying the Yorkie of unknown origin.   Now I understand:  I am famous, and not as fast as I used to be.  I do demand security and for any interloper to be kept from disrupting my perfect appearance.  But this young dog seemed perfectly nice.  Before I could make my intention known, to better get to know him, we were being handed off to Mommy, the young pup was being put on another leash, and, after a brief conversation with Mommy, Daddy went out the door to try and find this little man’s owner.

Pocket and I both knew that the dog lived at the top of the street at #55 but Mommy wasn’t listening to us (well first we had to get our treat.)  While we were chewing there was a knock on the door.  A human older boy with a worried expression was there.  He asked if anyone had seen a Yorkie.  Mommy said that Daddy was walking the dog through the neighborhood looking for his owner.  She told the boy to go home and Daddy would be by soon.  Pocket and I both looked at the boy and tssked him because there is nothing worse than letting pup out the door.

For the rest of the story I will turn it over to my excited male fan:  Orkie.

“Hello, I am so excited to be writing on the Tanner Brigade.  Long time fan first time blogger.  I am Orkie the Yorkie and I am a little over a year old.  I knew it was Foley Monster’s  birthday and I was hoping to see her.  I like to look out my front window.  I bark whenever she walks by with Pocket.  Well I saw her on her birthday and barked but she didn’t notice me so I ran to the porch door.  Just then my dumb human grandson came strolling in.  I ran right by him and through several backyards and then turned when I saw Foley.  I was so excited but before I could get her pawgraph I got picked up.  Then I got brought into Foley house!

I got to see the leopard skin vagina condo!  I met her parents.  It was a stalker Yorkie’s dream come true.  I was hoping they would let me live with them and it could be the Foley, Pocket and Orkie blog but having read so much about their parents I knew they would be adamant about finding mine.  

Foley’s parents checked my collar but all I had was a rabies tag.  Their Daddy called the animal hospital listed on the tag but they were closed.  He hooked me up on Foley’s flexi leash, which was so cool, it smelled like Foley.  Then her Daddy took me outside.

He was hoping that my Mom would either be walking or driving around looking for me.  If that didn’t work out he was hoping that I would know where I lived and walk up my driveway when we got there.  But all these houses looked alike and I had no idea where I lived.  And my Mom had sent stupid grand boy out to find me, and, while we walked towards where I lived, he didn’t see us.

It was a hot day but I don’t get walked much so I didn’t mind.  Foley’s Daddy was sweating and I was panting, we were both getting dehydrated together, how cool.  We walked right past my house but I was so excited I didn’t even notice.  (Later Foley’s Daddy said he should have known it was my house because I always back when they walk by and this day there was  no barking.)

We walked down a street and I got to sniff and pee everywhere.  I started pretending that I was Foley Monster walking with my Dad.  I felt so famous.  Foley’s Daddy was getting frustrated that no one was looking for me.

We started going up another street.   We came to a house where there were puppy toys outside and I pulled towards them.    I sniffed them and then decided I wanted to explore the porch.  Foley’s Daddy, thinking he had found my house, knocked on the door but there was no answer.

I walked over to the water and had a drink.  I know it wasn’t mine but hey I was thirsty.  Foley’s Daddy went to a man mowing the lawn and asked if he knew whose dog I was but he didn’t know, he only mowed the lawn.  Then Foley’s Daddy asked an old man.

The man said he thought I was Mrs. Murphy’s dog.  “The one that lives up that way,” he said gesturing up the street.  “Not the first Mrs. Murphy, she don’t take to dogs, and not the second one either, she got a dog, but not that dog, I think it’s the third Mrs. Murphy, or did she die?”  By this time Foley’s Daddy realized that this man was going to start leading him through the beach at Normandy and continued to look for my Mom.  
Then Foley’s Mommy called Foley’s Daddy and told him which house I lived at.  He walked me over, and as we got closer he kept asking me “anything familiar around here?”

“Nope.”

Then I saw the dumb boy who had let me out of the house.  He picked me up and I gave Foley’s Daddy a big until next time kiss.   Then I was brought in and my Mommy was so happy to see me.  She gave me all sorts of kisses and told me that it wasn’t my fault, it was dumb boy’s fault.  I told her all about meeting the famous Foley Monster and Pocket but she was more interested in me saying I would never do that to her again.

I promised I wouldn’t.  But Pocket’s birthday is next month.  Maybe I can sneak out for a bit.  Now that they know where I live.

What could be the harm?

Sierra is our July 8, 2012 Pup of the Week

Every day for the last week I have gone to our Cathedral and said the same prayer.  “I ask that my sweet friend Sierra be given one more day.”  Then I say I will be back the next day to ask the same question. So far, each day, thanks to the Big Giant Dog Gods, the prayers have been answered.  And their answers have been nothing short of miracles  Because Sierra is a very sick girl.  She has something wrong with her liver and they have eliminated everything but the worse thing:  The big C.  And there isn’t much we can do but wait and pray.

Her Mom has been a miracle too.  She has kept Sierra with us through dozens of doctors’ visits and lots of money spent.  But you can’t measure a day with Sierra by money because there is never too much to spend for her sweet company  (Hope that doesn’t make her sound like a ho.)  .  And you can’t measure it by effort like trying the hundreds of different foods her desperate Mom tried to get her to eat until she found the answer (Pizza!)

We  measure our time with Sierra through love, and we treasure each day with this wonderfully sweet girl even as her clock ticks down.   

It seems like we have known Sierra even before this Internet thing was created.   Like she was snuggling with us since we were babies.

Today is the fourth anniversary of her sister Chey going to the bridge, and the fourth anniversary that Sierra took over the role of family pack leader, a job she did so well it made Chey very proud.

Three years ago Sierra explained who she was like this:

“I Am a Diva!!
I Want mom to quit work!
I Have a camper all my own!
I Wish mom would win the lotto so she can quit work and stay home with me
I Hate SQUIRRELS!
I Fear firecrackers and loud voices!!
I Hear the snap on my leash clinking when mom picks it up and I am right there!
I Search for varmints in my yard!
I Wonder if mom misses me as much as I miss her when she’s at work?
I Regret not learning to play with toys...
I Love my MOM and my Angel sis Chey!
I Ache in the mornings, aspirin please!
I Always meet my mom at the door when she comes home…oh how I missed her!
I Usually sleep on mom’s bed!
I Am Not a water dog!
I Dance when it’s time to go for a W-A-L-K or a R-I-D-E!
I Sing, never….I’m not very vocal.
I Never let mom get too far out of my sight.
I Rarely make a big deal out of thunderstorms.
I Cry when I can see my mom but can’t get to her!
I Am Not as old as my age!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Me too Bear!)
I Lose my Kong sometimes, it really worries me!
I’m Confused when mom says she’s just going to the store, but is gone for hours!
I Need my mom to quit work! (do I see a pattern here?) BOL!
I Should keep in touch with my TB friends more!
I Dream of catching that nasty varmint!! “

That July Sierra got a true treat.   Her first camping trip with just her and Mom.  And then, in the first week of August, the Blob arrived.

Small, black, and full of energy the Blob, named Nase by her Mom, started driving Sierra nuts.   Many a night I stayed up with Sierra discussing our mutual problems:  Hers was the Blob and mine was Pocket.  Sierra made the mistake of trying to keep up with the Blob while I just let Pocket run like a mad dog while ignoring her.  Sierra  hurt her leg trying to keep up.  I think that’s when she learned to leave it alone.

Soon the Blob grew into her doghood and was not as crazy and Sierra grew as close to Nase as she was to Chey.  And there were plenty of fun times including great family camping trips.  Nase could still be Blob though.  In November 2010 the Blob played with Sierra too hard and hurt her back legs.  The Blog was severely punished and Sierra got some much deserved loving from Mom so it was all good.

There Mom, another Dog Hero Mom, soon let a foster dog come stay with them, a little boy named Tiger.  He arrived right around Sierra’s birthday which did not please her  But she soon realized what a gift Tiger was.

At the end of April Sierra got to take part in one of the greatest Internet related parties of all time.  She went to Baron Fest hosted by Bear’s Mom.  There were so many dogs there:  Cheyenne, Sandy, Hannah, Summer and Kady, and so many others joined for an actual get together.  It was like a rock festival for dogs.  And everyone agreed they loved sweet Sierra.

But like so many of us pups being a Senior pup has caught up to our friend and that’s why she needs our prayers.  But we didn’t want to wait until the prayers stop working before we honored Sierra.  She is a wonderful dog.  She is a great friend, a wonderful sister, a companion for life, a true heart dog.  She has been the center of several groups and she is loved and respected by all.

I hope that my prayers that you have one more day are answered over and over again.  We all love you Sierra more than you know  And we love your Mom too, who is a match for any Mom.  We wish you a thousand more days together.

So no tears today.  Today we celebrate a living dog who can read this and know how much she means to us..  And her Mom can read it then lie with Sierra and bury her head in her soft fur and breathe in all Sierra’s love

And if they squint, they can look around, and see all of us, Moms and dogs smiling.

Sailing on the Sloop Pocket Dog on the Fourth of July

By Pocket Dog, Koda, and Mrs. Sophie Bub

I, Pocket Dog, am much quieter than my sister, Foley Monster, the celebrity blogger, leading pup attorney, lolipop who can take down multi millionaire athletes with a single tweet, so I was surprised when I received a request from my friend Koda asking me if I would captain a ship of pups down to Florida to rescue our friends from a bad storm.

When I inquired of Koda why I was picked she said it was because I had the uniform.  I wanted to tell her it was a baseball uniform but I didn’t want to mess up my chance to be a Captain.  Koda, Josie and Wills were kind enough to build the sturdy vessel and they set sail through the Great Lakes towards the ocean so I could commandeer the vessel.

I told Foley of the plan and asked her if she wanted to accompany me as my first mate.  She told me she didn’t trust me as a Captain.  Well, you know how big sisters are.  She did help me gather my belongings in a kit bag and upload me to Provincetown where Koda picked me up.

Wills lead me up to the wheelhouse.  This was going to be so cool.  He taught me how to use all the instruments.  I pulled out of the harbor and took out a lighthouse that had been there 350 years.    After that Wills promised to stay with me in the wheelhouse until I got the hang of things.

Down in the galley we had Brody, who has a reputation for eating everything, and, while we were waiting for dinner, we found out that he swallowed everything in the galley, and I had to make a stop in Newport and go dumpster diving to restock.  I told Brody if he did it again he would have to get out of the galley and swab the deck and he swore he wouldn’t eat all our food again, even though I am sure he snuck more than his share, but you had to expect that.  Plus he’s a great cook.

Wills was a hail and hearty first mate.  And his sister Josie was a hard worked despite her reputation for being a grouch.  (I did have to keep them apart as they seemed to have some sibling rivalry and snapped at one another.)  Then came a message over the short wave that we had to pick up Lily, Hattie Mae and her family, Jackie Lynn, Fella and Smartie.

I wanted to make it down to Florida before the storm hit but when Hattie Mae calls the fleet comes in.  We lost an hour as we loaded all her trunks and set up her stateroom.  Fella, Smartie and even Jackie Lynn joined us as deck hands as we set sail south.  We were going through the food pretty quickly (thanks Brody) but Hobo said he would help us restock.

I can’t tell you of the joy we all felt on board when we found the poop deck.  When you’re a dog balancing yourself to poop off the side of a ship is very hard.  So the poop deck became very popular, and very dirty.  Wills and, get this, Jackie Lynn, agreed to clean it up, even if Hattie refused to let Jackie Lynn in her stateroom afterwards.

A day later we reached Florida and Hobo met us at the dock with Shadow and Max.  It was a beautiful day.  Hobo said that we were late, the storm had blown through, but since we came down anyway, we might as well set sail for Bermuda and go on vacation.  We all agreed it was a capital idea and Wills, Smartie and Fella began to load the food into the galley where Brody anxiously awaited.

As we set sail Northeast Hobo was appointed ship safety officer.   He decided that there was too much weight on board and threw off several worthless trunks.  While sunning herself on deck Hattie Mae heard her trunks splash in the water and came running.  She began yelling and crying at Hobo for tossing her trunks.

Wills stepped up to the rail.  He may have been a greenhorn but he  was confident he could handle the hook.  He tossed it towards the line running from the floating trunk.  He pulled it towards the boat, put it in the wench, and  brought it over the side.

We hurried and gathered around the catch.  He opened it and it was filled with the most stunning crab putting us ahead in the crab count.  Hattie strutted down stairs and looked at the crabs spilling out on the deck.  “Great,” she scoffed, “I go on a boat ride, lose all my clothes, and all I get os a case of crabs.”

Hobo gave me the coordinates to make it to the Bahamas and when we got there Hattie Mae and Lily hurried off the boat to buy new summer clothes with the credit card from Hobo’s peanut farm.  They came back with more trunks of clothes then had been thrown overboard, a dozen pooper scoopers to help with the deck, and a mysterious Chihuahua who called them both “mi lady” while pouring them Foleytinis.  That night I was invited down to Hattie’s suite where we drank and danced the night away.  Wills took over in the wheelhouse but by the end of the night I wanted to take over again.

When I woke up I had fallen asleep on the wheel and the ship was going round and round.  Also Josie had put all the pooper scoopers in the wheelhouse because Hattie did not want near them.  Then I saw the prettiest kites flying in the air.  I went down on deck and saw that Hobo had made the most beautiful umbrellas from the deck umbrellas and Max and Shadow were flying them over the ocean.

They sparkled on the water.  It was so pretty.  There was some yelling from the galley where Hobo had gone to look for a spoon for his cereal and found the remaining one in Brody’s mouth.  Just the night before we had to bail Brody out of jail for swimming to shore and eating a cabana chair.  There is nothing that boy won’t  eat.  But I told Hobo not to worry about it, we could afford new spoons as long as his credit card held out.

It was such a pretty spot that I decided to drop anchor.  But we didn’t stay there long because Wills and Jackie Lynn chewed through the rope.  I didn’t know if I could keep everyone in line, especially when Brody ate a lifeboat, but Leo and Kolchak were airlifted in, Leo to be my bosums mate, which I quite appreciated, and to watch Jackie Lynn and Wills splash in the pool we made, and Kolchak to make tasty treats in the galley.  

I brought out the silent fireworks I had snuggled on board and made plans to set them off when it got dark on the fourth.  Hobo brought out some fishing poles he had brought and we dropped some line.  I knew we had to get home soon, and back to our jobs of caring for our parents and being their angels on Earth, but a little vacation sometimes is just what the dogtor opened.

Happy Fourth of July.

We come on the sloop Pocket Dog
My best friend dogs and me
Around Nassau town we did roam
Drinking all night
Got into a fight
Well I feel so broke up
Don’t want to go home

So hoist up the Hobo’s sail
See how the mainsail sets
Call for the Captain ashore
Don’t make me go home, don’t let me go home
Don’t wanna go home, yeah yeah
Well I feel so relaxed
Don’t wanna go home

The Cap’n she got drunk
And broke in Hattie's trunk
The constable had to come and take Brody away
Sheriff Benjamin
Why don't you leave him alone, yeah yeah
Well I feel so relaxed
Don’t wanna go home

So hoist up the Hobo’s sail
See how the mainsail sets
Call for the Captain ashore
Don’t make me go home, don’t let me go home
Don’t wanna go home, yeah yeah
Don’t wanna go home
(Hoist up the Hobo's sail)
Hoist up the Hobo
I feel so relaxed don’t wanna go home
Don’t wanna go home

Cook Brody dog he caught the fits
And ate up  all my grits
And then he took and he ate up all of my corn
Don’t wanna go home
I don’t ever want to go home
This is the best trip I've ever been on

So hoist up the Hobo's sail
See how the mainsail sets
Call for the Captain ashore
Don’t make me go home, don’t let me go home
Don’t wanna go home, yeah yeah
Don’t wanna go home

Moe is our July 1, 2012 Pup of the Week

I don’t know if I’d want to be a human.  I think human’s lives are quite hard.  There is work, losing work, money, losing money, children, children moving away, parents, parents passing on.  It’s a weekly drama.

During this time us dogs sleep, snuggle, play, pee, poop, and bother humans for walks and attention.  But we also know when humans are down and we can put a smile on their face so easily, with a smile, a sad look, a soft paw on the arm, just the gentle peace of us sleeping next to them.  We are obliged to do it.  This is our mission in life.   I know they pick up our poo, put up with our housebreaking problems, feed us, pay huge medical expenses for us, endure our senseless barking, our getting you up before they want, and the random half eaten couch, but it’s a pretty even trade.

Except for the slight problem that 100% of our lives take up about 15% of theirs.  Humans seem to outlive everything but humans.  It’s not like a turtle or a sponge ever owned a human and said “wow, that one only lived to 64, that’s the fourth one I have owned and I’m only 182.”

To paraphrase the comic Louis K: a human finds a dog, it loves the human more than the human ever felt it could possibly be loved, the dog lives to be 15, is loyal and true, then dies in it’s sleep leaving the human alone and heartbroken, and that’s the best case scenario.  But I doubt that Kristina Lawson, Scooter and Lilly feel they are experiencing the best case scenario.  

This year they have sent three of their pups to Rainbow Bridge.  First Jack, then Jilly Girl, and finally Moe, at 14 years of age.

There are downsides to being a pup.  There are those pup who never find their humans and die sad lonely deaths, and I don’t think there is any worse life than that, to be created to love and never being able to find that love.

Our relationship with Moe and his pack goes way back to the early days of Doggyspace.   They were five dogs collectively known as the Lawson Gang.  That was five years ago.  And that is part of the reason for the sea of sadness that has overcome us recently.

Many pups who signed up for Doggyspace were approximately seven years old.  Now that first generation of cyber pups is going to the Bridge which is why this month has been so hard.  But there are the young pups who are our future and hopefully they will carry on the traditions us older pups have established if we have taught them well.

Moe’s Mom still has Lily and Scooter to carry on but I am sure it’s hard for them to find the words to post right now.  Hopefully they will soon.

Moe and his gang joined the Tanner Brigade rebels in August 2007, their reasons being the same as so many, Scooter was in love with Hattie Mae and wanted to be with her.
His first few blogs here dealt with family:  Scooter catching his first vermin, him sleeping in the dryer, Lily upset when her Daddy forgot her birthday.

Moe was having some problems back then.  He had the itchies and was on steroids which made some nosy neighbors mention he was putting on weight.  Seriously, who puts on more weight than a human?  Moe also would impart jewels of wisdom on us like this:  “Dogs love their friends and bite their enemies, quite unlike people, who are incapable of pure love and always, have to mix love & hate.”

In February 2010 Moe posted a blog letting us know how loved he was:  “Am I really the cutest dog in the world or is this something every furkid's mom says to them? Mom grabs my wrinkles every morning and says "You are the cutest dog in the world." Is this just another mom conspiracy or am I really the cutest, if so I want to cash in on some of my cuteness. Paws up! Love, Moe “

Moe’s Mom is one of our warrior Moms fighting for us.   A year ago she was driving down the road and found a box with an abandoned puppy.  Being a warrior Mom she found a home for the pup that day despite recovering from surgery.  Five months later she would find another dog walking on the side of the road, cold and hungry and she took him home and found him a new home.  A few months later, despite having a pack of five, she took in a Shih Tzu as a foster pet.

Moe, despite his advancing years, had some tricks up his paws.  He would go to bed with his Mom.  But he would hear his human brother come in with his friends.  He would climb out of bed and find those humans, then stay up all night with them eating snacks.

Moe was also part of a great love affair.  Big Moe with the beautiful wrinkly face loved little Lily with the white fur.  Whenever the pack got in trouble Moe was barred from speaking with Lily.  He was one heartsick pup.

But the true love of his life was his Mom.  They did everything together including getting hurt in an ice storm when Mom fell right on top of Moe.  They were both sore and spent some time on a heating pad.  His Mom thinks she fell on him but the truth is Moe threw his body underneath her to keep her from harm.

On his 14th birthday, October 24, Moe wrote this in answer to his Mom’s wish that he would be with her forever:  “I am trying real hard but some days are pretty hard but I take my giddy up and go pill and I am on the move once again.  Yeah I know all our moms want us around furever.  I been with my Mom through lots of tough times and she has helped me through some rough times.  I feel really lucky to have been around this long and I have the best Mommy in the whole world.  I will enjoy my ice cream today and whatever specialities come my way today.  I am most of all blessed to have come to know you all!  Love, Moe (aka - Moesie)”

Shortly after that the packs computer went kaput and, when they came back, they had nothing but bad news.  First Jack posted that he was sick.  He had sugar in his pee.  And his health didn’t improve and he finally succumbed to Cushing’s Disease.  A short time later, during surgery, their sister Jilly Girl succumbed to the same disease.  

Meanwhile Moe was having trouble getting around.  His Mom had bought a sling so she could support him when he walked.  And this time they managed to stay upright.  But on June 25, while his Mom was doing her warrior Mom business Moe started to lose control of his bodily functions.

Later that day Moe’s Mom posted this sad blog:  “I love all my dogs but Moe was really something very special to me. I lost my very best friend today.”

While no one can understand the pain she is going through, and we would not to feel it,  and did not have her relationship with Moe, we too felt we lost our best friend.

Good night sweet Moe, we will see you on the other side of the river, lay in the cool grass, look into the water, and watch our memories flow out to the sea.