Tails From Rainbow Bridge: Catching Up with Angel Apollo

I began writing my Pup of the Week blog in 2010.  There are a lot of reasons a pup can be Pup of the Week but the most common one is that the Pup went to the Bridge.  Back in 2010 we had only been blogging for three years and all our dog friends were young with no thought of the Bridge calling.  But there were some elders, and out of our elders no one was more elder than Apollo.

Apollo was our cowboy from Oklahoma:  Proud, tough, strong and brave Apollo was our leader.  He was the type of dog that you would think no human could hate but there were evil people who did hate him.  His neighbors put poison out and Apollo gobbled it up, as he did everything.

Apollo, our strong cowboy, was in dire straits, but they don’t  make them any bigger or stronger than Apollo and he fought off the poison, and then his Mom fought the neighbors off their property.

When his time did come he passed over in his Mom’s arms, in his home, while she sang Don’t Worry Be Happy to him.

Apollo was the first Bridge dog I knew who was able to influence events on the mortal side of the Bridge.  His mother and grandmother are two heroes in the dog rescue world.  They have saved countless dogs and given them forever homes.  .And each of those dogs has been guided by Angel Apollo.

Five years after crossing the Bridge his Mom still writes about him like he is with her.  Because Angel Apollo is still a huge presence in her life.  He sits in a beautiful mansion on a hill.  In front of the mansion, is his famous weeping willow tree that had to be taken from his yard last year.  He has a beautiful office with natural wood walls and floors  There he projects thousands of pictures of dogs who needs homes on to a screen.  He flips through them looking for the most needy ones so he can send them to his Mom.

He knows his Mom, Aunt Kimberli, will do everything in her power to make sure the dogs will have the perfect foster homes then the perfect homes.  I don’t know any dog here who is more responsible for finding homes for other dogs.  And he helps me and my staff find homes on the immortal side for those dogs who never found love on the mortal side.

No matter what side of the River of Life he is on Angel Apollo is about loving humans and taking care of his fellow dogs   Plus Apollo has the large responsibility of taking care of his Mom’s ever expanding brood from Napa to little Munchee.

When I was on the mortal side Apollo was a dog to look up to and try to emulate.  And that is still true on this side of the River..

And I believe it will continue for eternity.

New Rules, Hot Paws by Pocket Dog

As one of the founders of this site and blog with my sister Foley I have long believed in the Freedom to Bark.  But there is another right I fully support.  The Freedom to poo and pee.

I understand humans don’t want us pooping on their lawn, and River and I, along with our parents, try to respect their non pooping wishes, often expressed by a small sign showing a dog in the squat position with a line through it.  Try to respect it being the optimum expression because sometimes when you have to go……

But now there is a new controversy in our village  Two owners are upset because us dogs are peeing on the lawns.  They say the peeing on the edge of their lawn is killing all their grass.  Us dogs here must have some pretty powerful pee.

My parents talked to the property manager.  He is a dog lover too.  He thinks the man who doesn’t want urine in his yard is being ridiculous.  But he is probably going to give in to him since he is making such a big deal about it.

That is one of the differences between humans and dogs.  The dogs that bark the longest and loudest are told to be quiet, the humans that do it get their own way.

We are going to try and follow the rules.  We don’t live far from the big common area in the front.  Our parents are going to try to keep us off the lawns but they aren’t going to let us burn our paws either.  And no big field walking for us either.  We know too well what ticks can do.  We will walk around the perimeter of it but not across it.

I do enjoy walking the parameter in the field.  I don’t just walk, I do a little hop over the grass.  We know most of the humans who live along the route and they are our friends.  They won’t complain if we leave a little pee behind.  A couple of them have pups of their own.  One is a little poodle.  Her parents love us even if I am a little “obnoxious.”

So we can roll with the punches.   We aren’t going over to the mean man’s house and peeing.  Because another new rule is that the humans can’t wash their cars on the property.  And I just happen to have an Angel sister who controls a large amount of pooping birds.  

So if you see an angry old man driving a car covered in poop give him a wave.  He is our cranky neighbor.

Wordless Wednesday Birthday Edition

A cat named Scamper is our July 26, 2015 Pup of the Week

Sometimes, as I watch humans from my fine abode at Rainbow Bridge, I see some extraordinary things.

We all know that pets and elderly people, especially those who live alone, become very close  At a Petco by my parents house there was a cat, named Scamper, in a soft travel bag in the carriage.  His parent, a 75 year old woman, told another customer that she had lost her daughter earlier in the year and her cat meant everything to her.  Later she opened the travel bag so two children could pet her cat.  And then she forgot to zip it.

She was at the register when the doors opened and spooked Scamper who jumped out of the bag and the carriage then ran out of the store.  His elderly mother cried out and ran after her baby, followed by the cashier, several associates, the manager, people from the grooming salon, and even customers.  

Scamper ran down a bush covered knoll on the west side of the store.  His Mom tripped over the curbing and fell face first and then flipped down the hill.  The manager went to the woman.  Scamper then ran towards the south across a busy road and into bushes followed by a group of customers, male and female, young and old, dark and light skinned.  People may not be able to agree on much but these people all agreed this kitty needed saving.

But Scamper wanted no part of being saved.   When he saw the people coming for him he came out of the  bushes and crossed the busy street again.  Someone shouted for the cars to stop and they slowed down enough for the cat to cross the street.  He ran towards a group of young women who tried to grab him but he ran past them and towards a parked car.

One man ran to the east side of the car and put his hand under it.  Two more men got on the north and west side with their arms stretched out as the Scamper sat hissing.  The manon the north side was able to grab Scamper by the scruff and pulled him out as the cat’s Mom cried in joy.  The manager checked Scamper over and then got him back in the carrier as the woman tried to thank the dozen people who had searched for her cat.

The woman was brought over to her car.  The manager got some supplies to clean the woman’s bloody leg.  Another man stayed with her.  The only thing he knows about medicine comes from watching Deadliest Catch.  He asked her to move her fingers and she couldn’t.  He noticed her wrist was beginning the swell.  The manager came back out and together the man and the manager tried to get her to go to the hospital.  But she had no family, no friends, just her cat, and all she wanted to do was go home.  So they got her in her car and made sure she got out of the parking lot.

This made me realize there is hope for you humans yet.  The way all those humans came together to help put that scared kitty back with his frightened Mom was a beautiful thing.  I know there a lots of things that make humans fight, but it does my angel heart good to see all that can be put aside to reunite a scared cat and a scare Mom.

A tip of my tail to everyone involved.

Tails From Rainbow Bridge: #BlackDogsMatter

From my perch here at Rainbow Bridge I watch humans, particularly Americans, destroying themselves quicker than any outside terrorist organization could.  There seems to be arguments that black lives matter or that white lives matter or if that all lives matter.  I can tell you as someone on the immortal side of the Bridge that all life is precious from humans to the most microscopic beings.

I wish I could say it was the same for all dogs but it isn’t.  There is one type of dog who has it tougher than all of us and I would like to change that now:  # BlackDogsMatter

Black dogs suffer from what is known as Black Dog Syndrome.  Black dogs are by far the most surrendered dogs in shelters and they are the least adopted.  A Black Dog left in the shelter is going to be there for a long time.  It may never leave.

A black dog can be the sweetest, best natured problem free dog at a shelter but people still will be hesitant to adopt him.  People love dogs with markings and black dogs don’t have any markings.  Studies show that, for some reason, the black coat discourages parents from adopting.  It is true with cats too.

Scientists did a study where they showed the same dog with black fur and light fur and more people said they would adopt the dog with light fur.  Many people said that the thought of a black dog scared them.  

When dogs who have never known human love pass over to the immortal side many of them are black dogs.  My crack staff works very hard to find dog loving humans on this side of the River who will take in the black dogs and give them the love they never knew when they were on the mortal side. I am happy to say we have found homes for every single one.  

But I would rather see black dogs arriving here who have known love on Earth so if you are searching for a new dog please remember.  #Blackdogsmatter

Wordless Wednesday

I got a case of Limes by River Song

Sometimes life hands you limes.  

I got some limes handed to me when I went to the vet.  Things were going great.  I got to go in the car with Mom and Dad while Pocket stayed home.  I got to meet another dog.  I was having a wonderful time

Then I got put on the cold table.  I got poked, prodded, had blood drawn, got a chip put in, got all sorts of shots.  It was terrible.  Finally I was ready to go home when the vet tech told my Mom that a tick gave me limes.

I could hear Mommy’s heart drop.  Her face turned white  The vet tech saw this and started to give my Mom statistics that made my little head spin. 99% of dogs who don’t show symptoms of limes at the time of diagnosis respond to the antibiotics.  All Mommy heard was that I had a case of the limes and there was a chance I wouldn’t get better.

When Mommy got home she read everything she could about Limes.  Most of it was good news but Mommy suffers from WPS (Worried Parents Syndrome) and she concentrated on the bad news like how in rare instances limes can cause kidney damage.  When you suffer from WPS rare turns to likely.

Thanks to some close friends in the dog blogging world Mommy has calmed down.  I have been vaccinated and the vet says that I am going to be fine.  I will have a test in another six months to see if the disease is still active in my system.

Mommy want you to know some important things about Lyme disease.  In certain parts of the country, especially the northeast, 70 percent of dogs will get bit by a tick and contract Limes.  Out of that 70 percent 95 percent will be able to fight off the illness through self produced antibodies.  Some dogs, like my friend Butkus, will develop symptoms that range from lameness in a leg (it will switch from one leg to the other) and in some cases dogs will be unable to walk.  Dogs like me are battling the disease inside of us and it is possible that I would have been able to defeat it myself but the drugs greatly increase the odds.  In severe or chronic cases the antibodies created by the body to fight the disease will become trapped in the kidneys causing damage but this happens in less than one percent of the cases.  If your dog does contracts Limes there is an excellent chance of full recovery but there is also a vaccine to protect us from the disease and tick prevention medicine is also still needed.

Wow, that left me confused.  All I can tell you if you see a little bloodsucker selling fruit stay away or you will get Limes.  

But right now I am getting a pill inside a piece of chicken.  To me chicken twice a day is better worth the Limes.

My apology to Daisy's Dad

It seems that I made a mis....a mist....a mist....I was not completely correct about one fact.  Daisy's parent is her Dad not her Mom.  I tend to always assume parents our Moms and I shouldn't do that so I do apologize.

Except, you know you humans seems to be changing your sexes a lot lately  I am not saying this is true of Daisy's Dad I'm just saying it's getting hard to keep track who is who and if they are still what they were.  I asked the Big Guy about this and  he said "Hey I just give them the bodies if they want to get them detailed it's up to them."

So again, sorry to Daisy's Dad.  Shoddy reporting.  My fault.

But you can see how this mistake can be easily made can't you?  Can you even ask when you learn someone is having a baby if it is a boy or a girl or do we have to wait 15 years for the kids to tell us.  Things have gotten very confusing since I crossed over the Bridge is all I am saying.

And sorry to Daisy's Dad.

It was just back in my day no one went through all these big things.   I knew a guy from Miami FLA.  Hitch hiked his way across the USA.  Shaved his legs along the way.  Plucked his eyebrows then he was a she.  And she was glad.  Glad i say.  Those were the days a kibble was a kibble and you could get a lime ricky for a nickel and it was damn refreshing.

Anyway, again, sorry to Daisy's Dad.

Jax, Daisy, Chelsea and Frankie are our July 19, 2015 Pups of the Week

It has been a quiet week here at Rainbow Bridge which is a good week.  It has given me a chance to check up on the families of some of my closest friends.  

Cooper has been looking for a new pup for his Mom since he came here.  After several meetings he chose Jax.  Jax is a loving, sweet, friendly dog who was in need of a good home.  He met all Cooper’s criteria.  Except Cooper never checked on destructiveness.  “Ooops,” Cooper said as he watched Jax destroy his Mom’s favorite pen,  electrical cords, clothes, and furniture.  Jax only needs some coaching to be a good dog and Cooper is willing to send Jax to his dream academy to hearn.  Jax  has the most important thing.  His Mom’s heart.  

Being in our Mom’s heart is a wonderful place to be.  And we fill those hearts with joy but sometimes we fill them with sadness and worry too.  We never want to do it..  But it happens.

Our beautiful sweet friend Daisy has filled her Mom’s heart with worry and sadness when Daisy tore her ACL.  It is a nightmare for Daisy because no dog ever wants to do anything to give her Mom a seconds worry and for her Mom who is trying to decide if her baby should have surgery or not.   Please say a prayer for both of them, to help her Mom  make the right decision and for Daisy to heal.

Chelsea is another dog who showed trouble walking this week. She is like my Mom, like all of our Moms, anything wrong becomes a large concern.  Chelsea’s Mom recorded her walking, posted it, and got advice from friends.  She spent half the night sleeping on the floor with Chelsea until Chelsea was well enough to get up on the bed.  Saturday morning she took Chelsea to the vet who diagnosed her with a pinched nerve.  When Chelsea got home she wouldn’t eat but her clever Mom built a makeshift stand for her food, she ate, and she quickly improved on the medication.

Finally we must recognize our long time friends and top angel aides Max and Tupper.  They had been looking into getting their Mom another pup even if she didn’t know that she wanted one  They slipped into their Aunt’s dreams and told her about a Min Pin at a local rescue.  Their Aunt told their Mom who thought she would take a look.  There she met the dog Max and Tupper had found for her:  One look at Frankie was all it took.  She brought him home, helped him through his first thunderstorm and made sure he knew he was in a very special home.  The home of Max and Tupper.

So this week let’s say prayers for those who need it and welcome our new friends and pray for comfort for all our worried Moms and Dads.

Tails From Rainbow Bridge: Angel Flying Lessons

Scene:  Foley has led a group of new angels to her Mom’s house to assume bodies of butterflies and work on their flying.  They have all assumed bodies and are ready to take flight.

“Alright everyone first we need to do a flight check.  Look around, check your wings, make sure they are in a locked and upright position.  Okay check the wind, you don’t want to get caught in a breeze.  OK squadron get ready for lift off.

“All right try to stay in a tight formation.  Nigel, get your left wing up you’re straying out of position.  Good man.  Reyah you are doing good.  Keep your eyes locked on the target.  We want to land on the butterfly bush.  You will love the smells.  Logan don’t go into the bird bath.  Pull up!  Pull up!  Oh man Labs!    They always go for the water.

“OK Logan climb up on the sides and push off like you would getting out of your own pool.  Good boy.  Now where is Blazer?  Blazer?  Oh there you are.  Hey, stop pollinating that flower!  You have skipped way ahead in the reading.  I know it feels good but you need to pollinate in your time.

“You see that pretty ladybug over there.  That is Angel Ladybug the best flight trainer in the business.  She is going to teach you how to fly high.  OK take over Ladybug.  Okay everyone, get higher, higher!  Simon look out for the glass!  Pull up!  Pull up!  Uh-oh Angel down.  You okay their buddy?  Ok:  Fly over to the Hydrangea and rest.  Don’t blame yourself.  It’s Mommy fault. She is obsessive about cleaning the windows.

“OK.  Let’s fly over to the St Anthony statue.  Everybody here.  Good. OK we are going to fly over to the window Simon just flew into and check on my Mom, this way you will all learn how to check on your Moms.  OK get your wings up, flutter and lift off.  Fly towards the window.  Watch for your reflection so you don’t fly in.  OK, now pull up, glide into the window, put your landing gear down and stick the landing.

“Now take a look around.  There’s my Mom.  Oh she’s cleaning again.  And there is River  Nigel don’t wave.  Nigel down!  He’s OK.  Fly over to the statue we will catch up with you.  There is Pocket too.  Yes she is barking at us.  She barks at everything she sees.

“OK time to go back.  You ready Blazer?  Simon, don’t circle around.  Look out for the glass.  Oh man Simon.  You OK.?  That’s good go join Nigel.  And….Hey Logan stop swimming in the bird bath and Blazer are you pollinating again?

“Oh man angel training is hard.”

“

Wordless Wednesday

Molly a Pup I Never Met is Our July 12, 2015 Pup of the Week

I meet a lot of dogs here who I don’t know (but as soon as they become angels they become friends because all angels are friends.)  Once we learn their names and their parents’ names my crack staff, led by Blazer and Simon, begin looking for their parents so we can reunite them.   

If we know the pups we can arrange for their Moms to be there to meet them.  Usually it is dogs we don’t know who are waiting for their humans.  But this week something happened we did not expect.  A Mom we did not know came to wait for a dog we didn’t know.

She had crossed over to human section of the immortal side.  Instead of staying with the humans she came over to our place.  Seeing a human without a dog here is very strange.  She didn’t say much.  She just sat with us and gave us nice scratches and sweet pats.

When we asked her why she was there she would only say she was waiting for someone.  She never sought shelter, and never strayed too far from the top of Enzo’s escalator where pups get sworn in when they arrive.  She just waited.

Soon more of us joined her, just sitting there, looking off the cliffs down towards the River of Life, waiting, never questioning.  One night she turned to me and stroked theo top of my head.  “My name is Sharron,” she said.  “Sharron Webb.  I know you don’t know me but I know you.  I know all of you.  I am friends with Judy Turley Kelley. She is Millie Mae’s Mom.  Judy told me all about you and your angel friends.  I have a dog of my own.  Her name is Molly.  We both have cancer and we made a pact, the first who crossed the River of Life would come sit here and wait for the other so that is what I am doing, waiting for my sweet Molly.”

So we waited, and grew in numbers each day, until one day Sharron stood up and walked towards Enzo’s escalator.  We all followed.  A little dachshund was running up the stairs and Sharron cried out “Molly” and started running down the stairs which was totally against the rules, and I am a Judge who was supposed to keep order, but I let it go.  A third of the way down they met and she picked up Molly and together they rode to the top of Enzo’s Escalator as all the dogs howled.  

Then Sharron picked up Molly and she ran with her as I barked after her.  Molly needed to be sworn in, she needed to get her wings from Ladybug, she needed to learn how to fly, but I stopped chasing them and let them go as Sharron put Molly down and they ran into the hills together laughing and barking all they way.  I told Blazer and Simon they needed to find Molly so we could swear her in but there was no rush.  I was sure we would see them soon.

I know for you on the immortal side of life Sharron and Molly’s passing was quite upsetting, but for us here on the immortal side it was quite a sight to se.

It certainly was.

Tails from Rainbow Bridge: Summer's Here and the Time is Right for Angel Visits

It is summer in the Northern Hemisphere and it gives us angels a chance to fly down and visit our loved ones.  It is too early in the year for us to assume the bodies of our favorites, butterflies, so we have to find less beautiful bodies to occupy.  Lately I have been using moths.  They are similar to butterflies although nowhere near as pretty and if I don’t concentrate hard to maintain the moth’s body I end up crashing into a lightbulb.

Us angels can take over almost any body but some are more difficult than others.  Birds are almost impossible.  They refuse to give up control of their bodies and when even when we get control they take over again and scare the crap out of us by dive bombing toward the ground.

We do have rules about what bodies we will inhabit.  The first one is nothing that bites because we hate anything that causes pain and the second one is no buzzing because after a while that buzzing will drive you crazy.  I think that is why houseflies always seem to linger on your arm just long enough to be smushed, because they want the buzzing to end.

We don’t do dirty bugs like cockroaches, and have no use for ants.  We very much prefer flying creatures to crawling ones but if you see something with a touch of grace to it, like a grasshopper or praying mantis look again because it could be an angel.  

My friend Nigel was  courageous enough to assume the body of a spider.  This is especially brave because spiders are mean creatures and don’t like anyone taking over their bodies.  But Nigel saw one that had a smile on it’s back in his Mom’s yard and knew she would love to see a smiling face so he negotiated with the spider to momentarily borrow his spider form so he could smile at his Mom.  The spider did and his Mom took a picture of Nigel the Smiling Spider.

I am going to be avoiding the spiders myself and sticking to moths and butterflies.  But if you see a butterfly, moth, grasshopper or other majestic insect be extra nice to them because they are very likely an angel coming to visit you.

And please no stepping or slapping.  Being squished sucks.

Daddy vs the Wasp's Nest by Pocket Dog

Last week we were in our stroller supervising Mommy cleaning the outside windows when, with our super secret hearing, we heard a terrible buzzing.  We ignore lots of insects because they could be angels.  But buzzing insects are never angels.  That constant buzzing drives them crazy.

We looked by the kitchen window that Mommy was about to spray and saw the exhaust vent for the stove fan..  Tucked inside was a big wasp’s nest.  We barked and barked because we know wasps get vicious when they are sprayed.  Mommy saw it, thanked us, and we went inside.

When Daddy got home from work and Mommy told him about the wasp’s nest his face turned white  He went outside and looked at the nest and came back in even whiter.  I am very in tune with human emotions as his emotion as that he wanted no part of that wasp’s nests

But he knew he was the man of the house, at least since Foley went to the Bridge (she was a tough little lollipop) and he was the one who had to deal with the nest.  

My parents made plans to get wasp spray.  Before they did Daddy would obsessively check the nest, sometimes dragging River and I behind him at the end of our walks.  We dug our feet in but we only weigh a combined 13 pounds and even when we went into beast mode we couldn’t stop him dragging us towards the ugly, buzzing thing.

Finally he got the spray and after he took me outside just before bedtime he worked up the nerve to go outside and deal with the wasps.  He put on a hooded jacket and gloves, despite the muggy weather, grabbed the spray bottle and went outside.  River and I waited nervously inside because we are nervous by nature and because Daddy usually screws these things up.

Sure enough, within 30 seconds we heard Daddy say “oh crap!” and then heard him run back to the house.  He desperately yelled at Mommy that the can was only half full.  Mommy gently pointed out to him that he did not take the new can of wasp spray, he took an old can.  Daddy said OK but he didn’t seem happy about having to go out again.  He was out for over a minute then came back and asked Mommy if she had a flashlight that had a straight beam of light and emphasized this by making a straight motion with his hand as if there could be any other interpretation.

Apparently Mommy was in charge of flashlights with straight beams of light.  We did not have a working one.  This was solved with a couple of batteries but Daddy could not wait for batteries and he used his cellphone.  He held the cell phone up with one hand and knocked down the empty nest with the other to stop them from coming back.  I began to think of the days Foley told me that Daddy made things way too dramatic.

The next day Daddy showed us all the dead bees that had gathered on top of the new air conditioner unit.  I kind of felt bad for them.  They never had a chance.

Well actually they did.  If they only knew the nervous numbskull they were up against.

Wordlesss Wednesday

Tanner Bub is our July 5, 2015 Pup of the Week

Yesterday we had a very important birthday here at Rainbow Bridge.  Tanner Bub, the dog that brought so many of us together, and for whom we named the Tanner Brigade, celebrated what I believe was his 19th birthday and his sixth at Rainbow Bridge.  

Every year Tanner’s party grows because more of his friends join us on the immortal side of the River. Sitting next to him at the head of the table was his wife, the beautiful Sophie Bub.  Before we began eating we raised a glass to all the friends who just joined us and all the friends we left behind.

For those of you unfamiliar with Tanner’s tail he was one of my best friends on Doggyspace in 2007.  We were all happy there and then the management began to make some changes including dissolving groups among them Tanner’s Yellow Lab group.  Tanner complained about his group being deleted and he got labeled an agitator.

Shortly after that Tanner got diagnosed with terminal cancer.  His Mom was distraught over the thought of losing her heart dog and she made the mistake of breaking a DS rule by using a human name (this human had caused several of us pups to complain about him) on a post I had made.  The owners of DS banned Tanner from the site.

I sent an e-mail to the owner of DS asking him to let Tanner back on the site.  I must have posted his response 20 times in the past six years and there is no reason to do it again.  But just for fun let’s do it anyway:

““As you know the rules are laid out clear, and we can not allow this bickering to continue, nor slander. It may be unforchunit for her personaly, however she knew she should not have done that before she even posted it, and we can not make exceptions in this case due to the size of the event. Dont expect it to be the last eather, the entire admin/support team are hunting down anyone that was part of the event on bothsides as its a clear break of the community rules. Its sad to see so many adults act like children.”

I have not changed the post to make the communication more ignorant.  There was no need to do that.  I have never been on to suffer a fool graciously, and I told the author how little I appreciated his opinion and his expression of said opinion which got me, like Tanner, banned from the site and lead me to make so many friend in Blogville, and also to find my own site, which I named the Tanner Brigade after the dog whose determination and friendship brought us together.

This year Tanner was quieter than usual, his jovial spirit muted.  Not everyone could tell, but those closest to him could.  Tanner was worried about his Mom:  Aunt Trudee.

Earlier this summer Aunt Trudee got diagnosed with the dreaded C word.  The dreaded C word brought both Tanner and  me to the Bridge,  As much as we miss our parents we don’t want them coming here which was why Tanner was nervous.

His Mom had an operation and the doctor said he “got all of it” and there were “good margins” and all that doctor stuff but she is still going to need the chemotherapy to reduce the chances of the C returning to 5% and chemotherapy is very hard on a person.

So today, a day after Tanner’s birthday, and on my birthday, we are only asking for prayer for Tanner’s Mom, my Aunt Trudee, that she is able to get through the treatments with as little pain as possible and that the dreaded C never comes back.

That’s not too much to ask on a couple of pups’ birthdays is it?

Tails from Rainbow Bridge: My Gotcha Day

Sunday will mark my 15th birthday, or, as it has been commonly called since my passing to the immortal side of the river of life three years ago:  Foley Monster Day.  This is a day to celebrate the love between humans and their dogs.  There is no mourning or sadness allowed on Foley Monster Day.  Only love, good memories, and laughter.

I was born in July 5, 2000.  I had humble beginnings.  I was born as part of a litter of four on a farm in central Massachusetts.  There were lots of dogs on the farm, some really big, and it was there that I learned size means nothing.  I had no problem, even in my first weeks, bossing the big dogs around.

My first Mom was, no word of a lie, a deaf mute.  For eight blessed weeks all I heard was the pleasant sound of dogs barking.  Then one day her daughter came, and then a man and a woman and they started talking!  As God as my witness I thought humans couldn’t speak.

My brothers and sisters were around me, and we were all equally startled, but I had the intelligence to run to the strange woman, jump in her arms, and when she lifted me up, to nuzzle against her neck.  I then made a little whimpering sound and that was that.  The woman told me she was my new Mom.  Albeit a noisy one.

We got in their car for what would be a long ride home.  I looked in my new Mommy’s deep brown eyes and knew I was going home.  I felt nothing but the deepest love.

Then I puked on her.

They stopped at a Petco in Bellingham MA to get supplies.  Mommy handed me to Daddy while she shopped.  I didn’t like being carried by Daddy as much as Mommy.  So I peed on him.

In my first hour as part of my family I puked on Mommy and peed on Daddy.  That is some bonding.

When we got home a black and white Shih Tzu came bounding down the stairs.  I got my tiny back up but the Shih Tzu, Blake, was thrilled to see me.  She welcomed me into her home and anxiously showed me everything in  five minutes.  She gave me sweet kisses and told me how happy she I was her new sister.  I

It was bedtime when we got home.  Mommy didn’t want me wandering around the house when she got ready for bed so she put me in a big laundry basket with sides four times as tall as me.  Well I jumped right out of that basket.  While Mommy was washing her teeth she turned around and there I was.

No laundry basket could hold me!  She carried me upstairs and I spent my first night in my crate in a chair right next to the bed until I woke Mommy up Daddy up at 5:00.  Daddy took me out, and then put me on the deck and took Blake out.  When he turned around there I was.  I had crawled through a small hole in the trellis.  I was looking up at him wagging my tail.  No deck could contain me either.

Mommy and Daddy went to work and Blake and I were stuck in separate crates until Mommy got home.  Later in the day they took us for a walk at the state mental institution across the street.  Mommy planned to carry me when I got tired but my little legs carried me for the whole walk.

And then we returned home.  To my new home.  My forever home.  Where my happy life was to begin.

The Bizarro Dog Blogging World

There have been so many instances of dogs, owned by bad humans, either being in life threatening situations, like being locked in a car on a hot day, or doing something very bad, like attacking our friend Cinnamon or other pup friends, and I wonder where these dogs come from.  There are no such dogs on Tanner Brigade, Facebook or in the Blogville.  

I did several Internet searches with no success until I found Bizarro Doggie World.  It is like the sites we belong to, but, as it is with Superman, in the Bizarro Doggie World everything is the opposite.

Here is one post:

By Dumbledore “Today I had a great time.  I got to go to the mall with Mommy.  It was kind of hot so Mommy left the window open a crack when she went inside.  I had such a good time alone in the hot car.  When Mommy finally came outside I was lying in the back seat, panting hard and had thrown up a little.  Mommy called me a silly baby and gave me a kiss.  When we got home I drank an entire bowl of water and laid down all day  What a day!”

I left this comment:  “Dear Dumbledore:  Your Mom is either an idiot or she trying to kill you.  Next time she leaves you in the car break the window and take your chances on the street.”

Here is the next post:

By Thunderpants:  “I was sitting in my yard unchained today when I saw a woman walking this annoying little dog down the street.  It looked at me and wagged it’s tail.  Boy that is annoying. So I charged out of the yard, picked that annoying little dog up and shook it..  It’s owner started yelling and was hitting me which was rude!  Then my Mom stood in the doorway and gently called me.  I kept biting the dog until the Mom pulled me off and then she started yelling at my Mommy!  The dog just laid there whimpering.  My Mommy yelled back at the other Mom and called me inside.  She told the other Mom that I had never done that before.  Hah!  I had done it this morning.  I think the dog was all right.  Nothing a little trip to the dogtor won’t fix.  Next time he won’t look at me when he walks by.”

Here is what I posted:  “Dear Thunderpants:  You need to turn all that anger back to the person who made you that way.  All dogs are your friends.  We don’t attack one another.  Maybe snapping at your parents might wake them up to what they have done.  Now please leave other dogs alone.”

I left the bizarro world right after that.  I would like to teach them right from wrong but in the bizarro world no one learns anything.

I am stay here with my friends where there is a lot to learn.

Wordless Wednesday