The Ruby Rose and the Big Little Angels 3 Blog

It was a little over five years ago that our human friend Gina Busch followed her heart dog Pepsi to Rainbow Bridge.  I try to visit them once a week.  She is a very special and very sweet dog Mom who now has hundreds of unrescued dogs that she takes care of here at the Bridge.  Humans are rare in our section and when one arrives we all want to share their love and Gina has lots of love to give.   Gina left two dogs behind on the mortal side:  Freddy and Sota.  Ten years earlier Freddy and Sota would have gone into a shelter and there is no way of knowing what would have happened to them.  But we now live in the age of social media where all those who love and respect dogs are connected.  Freddy and Sota never saw the inside of a shelter.  Thanks to some great social networking parents Freddy and Sota soon found homes.   Carol Johnson Issacson said that she would love to provide a new home for Sota and Tommy Tunes’ Dad Steve said he would be very happy to provide a home for Fred

We had quite the dinner here at Rainbow Bridge.  We collectively gave thanks because our parents are healthy and safe and so many of our good friends have wonderful homes.  Then we feasted like we had not eaten in weeks (pretty much what a dog does everyday.)  This year, as part of their initiation to the Bridge, we asked all pups who arrived since last Thanksgiving to make their best dishes. We began our meal, as we must begin all meals, with a blessing from Pastor Fonzie Tuxedo.  He spoke wonderful words that left us all truly touched and thankful for our eternal lives.   Then Nitro, our newest angel, led us in a toast and announced that the feeding was about to commence.   To wet our appetites Clint presented us with a lovely squirrel on a stick with a sweet sauce.   To help clear our palates Scooby baked hundreds of cinnamon Scooby snacks and finished it off with some Great Dane kisses on the head for all of us. It was now time for something exocitc.  Maya, our sweet G

Bed:  I am thankful for the big bed.  There is nowhere better to snuggle than the bed.  I would stay in bed all day if I could and when I am taken out I always whine. Second Bed:  Second bed is when we are taken out of bed to do our business, then, if our parents don’t have anywhere to go, we get back into bed.  Once there we get plenty of rubs, scratches, and Pocket and I romp and play.  There is nothing like a second bed day. Walks:  The smells from the ground and in the air, seeing, and showing off for our neighbors, getting stranger’s rubs and tickles, our parents going out and taking us with them, the chance to relieve ourselves, there is nothing better than a walk. Mom’s Lap:  My favorite place in the world.  It is even better than the big bed.  Mommy has the perfect lap.  No too hard.  No too soft.  Goldilocks would climb in her lap and never leave.  Her lap is perfectly sculpted for a dog.  It is a lap above all others. Blanket Help:  This is when you are on top of t

I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth unless it has to do with food, poop or pee then I plead the fifth

There are too many dogs I have lost contact with since the old DS site closed.  The next I hear from them they are meeting me at the Bridge.  This is what happened with my friend Nitro.   But once a friend always a friend,.We hugged after he was sworn in, out of friendship and mutual respect, and then I began to give him lessons on flying,. Like all pups Nitro hurried through his lessons because he needed to check on his Mom.  Being separated from our parents and family is very traumatic for us dogs.  We have lots of friend to rally around us but we still want to see that our parents are all right.  They never are, they are always broken, but it still makes us feel good to see them. I took Nitro to Tommy Tunes’ and Tommy gave him some popcorn and showed him some of his funny videos to try to get Nitro to smile.  Nitro giggled a couple of times.  We left Nitro alone to watch his family on the widescreen while Tommy and I went into the kitchen and cleaned the popcorn maker with

There is a saying here at the Bridge:  “Your newest angel leads you to your next dog.”  An angel’s sworn duty upon arriving here is to determine when our grieving parents are ready for their next dog and then to find the perfect dog for them. This is true if the next dog is adopted and it is true if the next dog is born.  The process of picking the dog is very different.  When it is an adoption angels drop into the dreams of available dogs, interviews them and find the perfect one.  When it is a puppy that means a road trip. Misha, my friend from the Golden Girls, a beautiful yellow lab, asked me to go with her to find the perfect pup for her Mom.   A good angel never says no to a friend but I knew what this would mean:  A Visit to the Pool of Puppies. Asking another dog to go to the Pool of Puppies with you is the equivalent of asking someone to help you move.  It’s going to take all day, you’re going to get messy, and at the end of the day the most you can hope for is a pizza

Two weeks ago I tried to be brave when one man came to do small jobs on the outside of the house.  But what would I do when a whole team of men arrived? Wednesday night Daddy took me aside and told me that there were men coming to the house, it would be loud, noisy and scary, and I had to be brave for Mommy On Thursday morning I was snuggled in bed.  Then the noise began.  It sounded like an oliphant eating the house.  I climbed on top of Daddy’s head and began barking.  He grabbed me and took me outside to do my business.   There were so many men there and they were ripping our little house apart.  I let out a couple of small barks of protest but I just wanted to get back in bed.  I snuggled with Mommy while Daddy took River on then he got back in bed.  He laid on his back, held me with the crook of his arm, and we stayed that way for most of the morning.  The shades were drawn, the lights were off, and we couldn’t see what was happening which kept me calmer. When we got up

Spent all morning putting on my face and I can't even get a cup of coffee that says Merry Christmas

Being an angel can be an exercise in frustration.  Most of the time all we can do is watch over our loved ones, carry prayers up the mountain to the Big Guy for them, and fret.  But occasionally we are able to directly help. Which brings me to Minnie and her angels Max and Tupper.  Minnie has had a terrible month.  She developed a very itchy rash that would not respond to any treatment.   Antibiotic pills, salves, nothing her regular vet gave her worked.  Her Mom decided, after more than two weeks of Minnie suffering, to try a holistic approach.   Minnie’s Mom changed her diet to home made which she hoped would help cure Minnie of her terrible rash (and Minnie’s brother Boris was the happy co-recipient of the home cooked meals.)  Making the food took their Mom a long time and cost more than then kibble but she is a Mom who would do anything for her sweet babies   But, like all other attempts, the new diet did not work either.  The disease spread into her ears and all down he

Sundays at the Bridge is a day of rest.  It goes back to the beginning when the Big Guy created everything and then on the seventh day he rested so he is a bit of a stickler about the rest thing.  He doesn’t mind if we play a bit of football but he has discouraged us from playing “Kill the Vick with the ball.”  I tell him we are just practicing: For now. I enjoy sleeping as late as possible on Sundays so I was not happy to hear, and then see, Logan and Brody burst  into my room.  “What are you two doing here?”  Brody was pulling my warm covers off of me while Logan nosed me off the bed. “Vee mave mo mo malk,” Brody said.  I reached up with my paw and pulled my blankets from his mouth.  “We have to go for a walk,” Brody said clearly. “Why do we have to go for a walk?” I asked. “Today is the walk for the Arizona Animal Welfare League!” Brody said excitedly.  “I have walked it the last five years with my Mom.    This year Logan and his Mom were driving down to Arizona to walk

HUMPHH!  I guess I am some kind of model now.  I never imagined being a model.  I am long legged, slim waisted, and have a perfect face.  It is no mystery why someone wanted me to model but I showed no interest. Then my agent called.  He told me that I was asked to model clothes for the greatest fashion house in all Dog Land:  The House of Hattie.   Who could say no to them?  There were whispers in the industry that The House was more interested in my sister Pocket modeling because they needed a minus sized dog but I knew that could not be true.  Look at me!  I am beautiful!  My face is my livelihood. We had our first fitting on Sunday.  I immediately balked.  I was due for a grooming appointment on Wednesday.  My hair was a mess.  My beard was tangled and had a piece of kibble I was saving from last week embedded in it.  But my Mom insisted on the show because The House of Hattie needed to know if the dresses fit Pocket.  Again with the Pocket!  Doesn’t Mommy know I am the mode

I told you that you were going to have to wait until after the baby was born to cut the umbilical cord.

I last wrote about Clint in January 2014.  He was peeing more often and it was taking him longer to complete his business.   His parents were worried that it was diabetes or kidney disease.  Luckily it was only a urinary tract infection.  Soon Clint was fine and drama free, except for a midsummer mishap with his leg in a storm drain. Twenty months later that urinary tract infection proved to be a harbinger of something worse.   And that is what brought my friend to me, over the River of Life, to the immortal side, where he was met by many friends who love him very much, and he was young again. Before making his journey Clint was diagnosed with kidney disease.  His parents did everything they could.  They changed his diet and they kept getting his blood checked just as the vet had ordered.  But sometimes there is nothing that vets or parents can do. Clint was a perfect gentleman.  He was very sweet and loving to everyone he met.  And he was extremely devoted to his parents, as

A few weeks ago I wrote a blog about a dog named Astra who was returned to her rescue when she showed aggression on an elevator which was a problem since she lived on the 80th floor.  Poor Astra cried when she saw her family leaving her. We are happy to report that Astra has found a family and it looks like she has found her forever home without elevators. That story made me feel all warm inside and I don’t get to feel that way too often.  With all the pain in the world I wanted to find another happy story.  But to make a happy story we have to begin with a sad story. The sad story looks like this: This is Kala and Kiera.  They were a day away from being sent to the Bridge at their kill shelter in Georgia.  A worker at the shelter, in a desperate attempt to save the pups, took a picture of the dogs.  As he lined up his shot Kala hugged Kiera .   Kala and Kiera proved my theory.  Whenever in doubt hug.  The picture made its way to the Angels Amongst Us site where they plead

I am the family scout.  I may not be the fastest, or the strongest, or the best fighter but my ears are bigger than the rest of my head so my family counts on me to use my hearing to warn of impending danger. We were in bed Monday morning when I heard the sound of a truck backing into the driveway.  I immediately woke my Daddy.  Trucks are bad news  Haven’t you been watching The Walking Dead? Daddy took me out of bed to suss out what was going on.  There was a man on our property unloading things from the truck.  He and Daddy said good morning while I did my business.  I completed it quickly.  I needed to give this guy a random sniff test.  But first I had to wait for Daddy to slowly pick up my poo.  So annoying and humiliating. Then Daddy took me back in the house!  We were going to trust this man with the big truck?  He put me back in bed.  Freaking liberal pacifist.  He and Mommy then talked about the situation and decided it would be better to spend time in the bedroo

Hey it's cold in here.  Anybody got a towel.

I was lying in the sun Thursday just soaking up the rays enjoying the day.  I love lying in the sun.  Then the sun went away.  At first I thought I had napped straight until night time but when I opened my eyes I saw it was a dark cloud:  A dark cloud of tears floating from the mortal side. This happens when someone big passes over the River.  All the tears shed at the passing lift up into a cloud and floats towards us.  Soon it begins to rain cold tears as the cloud can no longer hold it’s content. Then came the rumble of thunder caused by the wails of  humans giving voice to their grief.  I put my head down and weathered the storm then got my robe and book.  I went to the top of the stairs, dreading seeing which of my well loved friends had passed causing all this anguish. The cries subsided, the rain lessened then stopped.  The sun shone brightly in my face and the angels began to howl in a beautiful melody.  I tried to look down the stairs to see who was approaching, but