The Ruby Rose and the Big Little Angels 3 Blog

(Picture used with permission of the Romping and Rolling in the Rockies blog) There are so many friends I am praying for.  There is Paco our Italian friend who is 15 and showing more signs of his age every day, there is Charlie, a friend I just met, who crossed over the River of Life this morning leaving a heartbroken family behind.   They are both worthy of Pup of the Week honors but on this day Pup of the Week is brought to you by the letter R. R is the name of a male chocolate lab who lives ‘8200 feet up on the Front Range of Colorado with his sister, Shyla, another chocolate lab, and his parents.  Their Mom is a photographer and dog blogger struggling everyday with crippling arthritis.  Their blog is filled with stories of their adventures and some of the most magnificent photos you will ever see.  You can find it here:  http://romp-roll-rockies.blogspot.com/ Much like our good friend Enzo R, Shyla and their family are surrounded by snow most of the year but there life

My parents seldom meet famous people.  That is because they rarely leave the house and it is even rarer for famous people to pass through their living room.  But two weeks ago they met a famous couple in a local pet store.  They weren’t famous for acting, singing, or ball playing, but for rescuing.  They were the Burke family from East Bridgewater MA and they were buying food and other supplies for a dog they were rescuing. The dog they were rescuing is named Moose.  He is a pit bull mix who had been in a shelter in the Virgin Islands for 1,628 days.  Dogs were surrendered to the shelter and found new homes but day after day Moose remained unrescued.  The workers in the shelter tried to keep him socialized by walking him and showing him love but he needed his own home. They began a Facebook page for him (Help Moose Find a Family: 1,628 days in the shelter is too long)  and Moose went viral.  Soon the page had 1,800 likes.  People from across the nation followed his story.  There

Do you have a favorite spot?  Mine is the big bed.  Especially when it is cold.  There is nothing like snuggling with a human when it is cold.  Humans!  They are all purpose mammals.  Providing food, cleaning pooh, taking us on walks, giving us attention, they do so much for us.  And now I find they are wonderful sources of warmth on cold nights.  Indians are known for using the entire buffalo.  We dogs need to perfect using the entire human.  And that includes their body heat. Not that this is a one way street.  Our parents like to sleep in a cold room under a nice comforter.  But some nights it get too cold.  They wake up and they don’t feel either my little body, or River’s little body, against them so they reach down and snatch us to use our body heat.  On especially cold night we get yanked several times.  Nothing disrupts a good night’s sleep like a yanking. But I am not complaining.  It is a compliment to have two people fight over you in bed.  Even if the bed is the sigh

Crap. I left my towel on the toilet again. Mom hates when there are wet paw prints of the bathroom floorl

Let me jump right off by saying this is not another sad story.  Many of my stories are sad because they are about separation.  That is bound to happen when you spend so much time telling the tales of newly anointed angels.  But sometimes I get to tell the story about connections. This is such a story.  But first we start with an Angel.  Simon became an Angel in the waning days of 2014.  He was his Mom, Miss Emmy’s, best friend, confidant, and true love.  When Simon got called to the Bridge it left Miss Emmy heartbroken.  She did not know if she could open her heart to another pup. Angel Simon knew he had two duties:  He had to get his Mom’s heart to accept another dog and he had to find the perfect dog.  But it was hard getting his Mom to that place.  He would often come to my house and lament that he didn’t think his Mom would ever let another dog in, and that he had yet to find the perfect dog for her. Angel Simon began to lose hope as the anniversary of his Bridge date appr

On Monday I got finished with a hard day of judging and swearing in new arrivals.  I decided nothing would be better than a kibble split sundae with bacon sauce.  I flew over to Otie Campbell’s drug store and hopped up on a stool next to the counter.  Otie took my order but I could see he was upset.    When he gave me my delicious sundae I asked him if anything was wrong with his Mom, Dad, or baby brother Briscoe.  He shook his head.  “It’s my parent’s neighbor’s dog.  Mommy was out last night with Briscoe and she saw this poor dog outside in nine degree weather.   My Mom felt so bad for him.” “She tried calling the police but she got a recording.  She called the next day and was told as long as the dog had sufficient outdoor sleeping quarters and seemed to be taken care of there was nothing they could do.”  Otie took a sip of a vanilla shake. “Sufficient outdoor sleeping quarters,” he said shaking his head.  “Is there any sufficient outdoor sleeping quarters when it is nine de

Like all dogs I hate when I am left alone.  And like most parents mine feel guilty when they leave me alone.  I suppose a good dog would act like they didn’t mind when their parents went out.  But no one has accused me of being a good dog.   Everyone agrees that I am a smart dog.  When my parents are watching TV they think I am just staring off into eternity but I am watching everything that happens to learn more about the human condition.  During the commercials I often see very sad dogs in cages while a tear jerking Sarah Mclachlan song plays breaking even the strongest of hearts. While I do feel terrible for these dogs I also see these commercials as an opportunity to learn.  I put these lessons to good use on Saturday.  When my parents were going out and I was being crated I used my newly learned tactic:  The Full Mclachlin. I first want you to know that this works better when you are locked in a crate.  There are aspects of this technique you can use if you are uncrated but

I stick my tongue out at your because I have no middle finger to flip

“There are places I remember / All my life though some have changed /Some forever not for better / Some have gone and some remain / All these places have their moments / With lovers and friends I still can recall / Some are dead and some are living / In my life I've loved them all.” That was written by John Lennon.  Talented chap.  Great storyteller too.  Now that his friend George is here they are making great music together.  Angel Simon is playing drums for them.  John and George agree he is a better drummer than some dog named Ringo. I have been very lucky.  I have been able to stay in touch with so many friends both mortal and immortal.  But sometimes our friends disappear from our lives and we never hear from them again.  They are just gone.  This is what happened with our friend Shadow.  He was part of our little online group one day and then, without a word, he was gone. But no dog can hide from the world’s greatest dog detective Hobo Hudson.  He put his cats and h

The first rule of being a dog is to honor your owner, protect them from all evil, comfort them, love them and be their companion for all the days of a dog’s life.  But in very rare instances our owners become so evil that a dog has to turn on their owners for the good of all mankind. This brings me to Virgil.  He belonged to the family of teenaged Ethan Couch who was arrested for drunk driving, and killing four people.  The judge in Texas gave Ethan probation because his lawyer argued when Virgil’s affluent parents raised him they neglected to teach him right from wrong because their wealthy lifestyle runs counter to our traditional values like not getting drunk and killing people.  The media termed it the “Affluenza” defense in a groundbreaking use of language.  It was the first time since 1974 that the media did not label a scandal by sticking the word gate at the end of it and moving on. When Ethan came home Virgil stuck by him as all dogs do.  Sure, Ethan was a selfish, ungr

I know our morning routine and when it changes I begin to shake because a change means something bad is about to happen.  Monday morning started out fine.  Got up, went outside, did our business and bothered my parents while they made the bed.  Then Mommy didn’t shower.  Daddy didn’t get on the floor to play ball with me.  No one started breakfast.  Something was happening. River was picked up and put in her crate.  Oh no!  Whatever was happening was happening to me!  I was picked up.  My leash was hooked to my collar.  Mommy carried me out and we got in the car.  The front seat of the car!  There is only one place I go alone in the front seat of the car.  I was going to the vet! Daddy drove and I sat on Mommy’s lap barking.  I was trying to convince Daddy to pullover.  To turn around!  To let me steer so I could go back home.  But he ignored me.  I ended up just whining. We got to the vet’s.  Thankfully there were no dogs in the waiting room.  Daddy reached into his jacket po

This week my friend Peaches’ Mom, Miss Lily, had to make the hardest decision:  When to let Peaches go to the Bridge.  My friend and Miss Lily only had five years together.  Peaches had a tumor on her heart and lung cancer, a diagnosis so unfair Miss Lily had trouble accepting it but when she saw her beloved friend struggling to breath she knew their duet would come to a close much too early. When a human reaches the end of their life, as long as they can breathe on their own, their is no decision for loved ones to make.  The dying live in unbelievable pain, they struggle for every breath, their dignity is swept away, until they draw their last torturous breath.  Dogs are much luckier.  We avoid all that suffering.  But our last breath is still torture for humans. Peaches mother was so tormented by one decision:  When is it time?  Peaches wasn’t eating her food, but was eating treats.  Her breath was heavy and labored.  She had little energy.  Just enough to go out and potty.  Her

It was early in the morning and I was lying in my bed snuggled under the covers when there was a soft knocking on my door.  I lay very still trying not to make a sound.  But the knocking continued.  I got out of bed, picked up a log in my mouth and tossed it on the fire, and opened the door. Clint was sitting by the door waiting patiently.  I felt guilty about taking my time.  I invited him in and asked him if he wanted a slice of never ending bacon.  He said yes and I broke him off some and mouthed it to him then we both put it between our paws and chewed silently.   Finally I asked him what brought him to my door. “I know we come here, and there are so many friends, and so much to do, and even endless bacon, but I am still having a hard time adjusting to being without my parents.” I  got off my bed and went over to sit with Clint.  I was looking for the right words to say but sometimes a warm body next to you goes much further than words.  But words would still be needed. “W

Our parents are always going out to movies, concerts or shows and leaving us behind so when I heard about avant garde artist Laurie Anderson performing a concert in Time Square on Monday evening just for dogs it was my chance to turn the tables.  I dug out Foley’s codes for dogs to upload and download themselves to different locations via the Internet, found a unmanned laptop at a Chipotle near the concert, took a reluctant Pocket by the paw and we zipped our way through the Internet. We landed at the Chipotle and the place smelled like the other side of Donald Trump’s wall.  I took care of my big sister with the sensitive stomach making sure she did not eat anything on the floor.  We then went outside in the very cold winter air.  We saw lots of dogs all huddled together in a big pack and joined them.  It was warm in the middle of the pack as we awaited the concert to start. Miss Anderson came out on stage to the howls of her appreciative audience and opened up with a wonderful v

I have been writing tributes for newly winged angels since 2009.  With my parents helps I have been editing them and some time next year will present them all in book form.  The first story will tell the tale of  Apollo who passed to the Bridge in December of that year.  In the seven years since he last trod on the mortal side of the realm no pup has made his presence felt on the mortal side more than Apollo.   His mother, Miss Kimberli, has devoted her life to saving dogs.  She rescues them from shelters or other hopeless situations.  Through patience and love she prepares these abused, scared dogs for new homes and then finds the perfect one for each of them.  Through the entire process she is guided by the brilliant, noble Angel Apollo. Apollo has been tasked with bringing family member home too.  He oversaw his sister Shakira passing over, and even a willow tree.  But this morning he had his most difficult journey.  Today he had to help his Dad cross the River of Life to th

It is a New Year here at Rainbow Bridge and we just got done celebrating.  On the mortal side of the Bridge people celebrate making it through the year, happy to be gathered with their loved one.  But for us on the immortal side of the river we celebrate who is not with us because that means they are still with you. All the dogs who are in their mid teens, or who are sick, or recovering, and all the humans who got diagnosed with the dreaded C word last year and are battling to stay on the mortal side, or have had injuries or other illnesses, we give thanks that we have not seen you last year and pray we don’t see you this year. One of our favorite traditions here is to gather around the giant Willow Tree that was in Apollo’s yard and at the stroke of midnight we sing our version of Auld Lang Syne:  “Should mortal acquaintances become sick/ And need medical treatment/ Should mortal acquaintances become sick / Stay the hell away from here / Please stay the hell away from here my d