The Ruby Rose and the Big Little Angels 3 Blog

One more pose!  How about this for a pose!  I have spent all afternoon posing for damn pictures while you say we are not quite right.  Poor Leroy passed out an hour ago.  So this is it.  The last picture.  Instagram this!  I'm going to get a treat.

It is somber when a new angel crosses Rainbow Bridge accompanied by clouds of tears from all the souls who loved the pup.  We can feel their pain in our hearts crashing into us like soundwaves. But there is something even sadder.  That is when there are no tears because the new Angel never knew love on the mortal side.  These are the dogs we rally around; these are the dogs who arrive at the Bridge knowing it is their first forever home, and there are lots of humans here ready to let know the love only people can give. When Noel arrived, there was a small cloud of tears.  The raindrops came from our friend Jacques, Jolie and Francois’ mom who worked at the shelter Noel called home, and from the other shelter workers.  He arrived there after being diagnosed with bladder cancer at his foster home.  Noel was brought back to the shelter.  Francois’ mom and the other workers thought Noel’s time had come earlier in the month, but Noel rallied back.   But this week Noel had no more ralli

Birthday parties are very hard at Rainbow Bridge because, unless you have moved on to the land of Happily Ever After where all loved ones are reunited, there is always someone missing from the party, and for we dogs that someone is our parents. And first birthdays at the Bridge are even harder because, for your entire existence, birthdays have meant celebrating with your parents, and now it means something else entirely. That is why we try to make first birthdays at the Bridge so exciting for our friends.  I know there are more immortal dogs than mortal dogs, and you must think that means we have a lot of birthday parties.  We do.  But don’t judge us.  We have an eternity to kill. This week was Odie’s first birthday at the Bridge.  He celebrated 14 with his family and his mom always put her heart into each of her babies’ parties.  To keep Odie from thinking about her we needed something special. I put my minions to work.  We set up a table with a seat for Odie at t

Peace, quiet, and normalcy that is all I ask, but those simple desires elude me in a world that is increasingly chaotic. We had gone weeks without a proper walk.  Then, on a stunningly beautiful Wednesday, we got a nice walk.  I was looking forward to many more. Then the skies grew dark, the air chilled, by morning a hard, cold, rain fell, which turned to snow.  Midway through the storm, Daddy trekked out to shovel it, but he was overmatched by the weight of the snow and length of the driveway.  Luckily, our neighbor across the street owns a plow.  Daddy offered to pay the neighbor to plow the driveway, but the man insisted on doing it for free.  A rare good break, and a tremendous act of friendship. On Sunday, when Daddy was working, it snowed some more.  It took him twice as long to get home.  This was very worrisome.  He shoveled the wet snow three more times.  This was worrisome as well. Every inch of green was buried under more than a foot of snow.  The driveways and

Psssssttt....If I pretend to whisper in your ear mommy will take our picture, then she will put it on the Internet, and we will become famous and get more tail than Beethoven

Prayers, prayers, prayers:  Everywhere I look there are prayers.  They are floating on the river, falling from the skies, slipping down the mountains, growing on trees:  So many prayers for so many dogs.  I have assembled a battalion of Angels to deal with these prayers.  One brigade collated the prayers by dogs; another brigade flew them up to the Big Guy, a third brigade waited patiently outside his quarters for an answer, while a fourth gathered more incoming prayers. Prayer for Molly our daring, beautiful Dachshund friend who enjoys nothing more than dashing through the woods near her house while constantly on the hunt.  Molly’s had severe food allergies when she was a pup, and her mom learned to watch over her little darling like a hawk.  She became concerned when Molly stopped noticing her mom’s hovering, or several other objects she rarely missed. Molly went for an eye examination, and the news was not optimal.  Molly was diagnosed with SARDS (Sudden Acquired Retinal

I am a very empathetic dog.  I am not afraid to suffer if my parents are suffering as well.  But I only have so much empathy. Since the Northeast has turned into a freezer, I have moved up to the mountains so I can understand what they are experiencing and be a better angel.  For two days I plowed through the snow when I went outside, warmed my wet and cold paws by the fire, and shivered in my little bed.  By the third day, I knew what I needed:  A vacation. My friends Luca and Fred share my philosophy.  They experience the weather that their mom is encountering.  Their mom lives in Argentina where it is currently summer.  I called them and asked if they would like a visit.  Being gracious hosts, they both said they would be happy to see me. I packed my bag and slid down the mountain all the way to the beaches by the water.  On the way down the mountain, it became warmer, and I removed my boots, jacket, and scarf.  By the time I reached Fred’s villa, I was butt naked. Fr

One cold morning last week our dad got out of bed, picked up Pocket, and prepared to turn up the heat and get us ready to go outside to do our business.  Daddy had to pick up Pocket because if she is left to her own devices, she might jump down and soil the floor. A soiled floor is what they found.  Between the couch and the recliner was a dried brown puddle.  Daddy and Pocket bent down to examine it.  Given its composition, they could not determine it if was poop or puke.  Daddy cleaned it up. He went back to the bedroom and asked Mommy if either of us had put either Pocket or I back in bed the night before.  She said she hadn’t.  Pocket could not have been the stain maker.  She can’t get back in bed without help.  And I wouldn’t get out of bed if it was on fire. I blamed a vermin.  Occasionally, Pocket and I will jump off our Mom’s lap and begin barking and chase some unseen creature that we are convinced is defiling our floors. The unseen vermin was my creation.  I knew s

I am sorry, I can't answer the door for you.  My Mommy isn't home and she says I can't answer the door because I don't have opposable thumbs.  

Ruger The handsome German Shepherd regally ascended on the escalator towards the spot at the edge of the cliff where I would give him the oath.  When he reached me he gave me a kiss on the head.  I began reading the oath.  Then I heard the sound of eight paws pounding the ground, quickly headed towards me.  I spoke faster, then even faster.  I had to get done before the big bodies attached to those paws arrived. I got done and slipped away as the three German Shepherds collided with a roar that shook the mountains.  They wrapped their legs around one another and danced in a circle.  The clouds of sad tears caused by our newest member’s passing mixed with the Shepherds’ tears of joy.  Then the three boys turned, finally reunited, and ignoring everyone else, charged into the hills to run. Ruger had joined his brothers Daddy and Taser at Rainbow Bridge.  The Shepherd brothers were together again.  As they disappeared up the hills, we could still hear their paws, and their

It is possible that I may have, completely inadvertently, and innocently, interfered at the Super Bowl. It started with a summons from the Big Guy.  Usually, when I am asked to fly up to the summit of the highest mountain, I am going to be admonished.  But instead of punishment, I was given an order. The Big Guy considers Lady Gaga a treasure.  He was very concerned about her halftime show.  First, he thought the drones would malfunction and ruin the show.  He asked me to get some of my Angel friends together to light up the nighttime sky behind Gaga. I had Scooby design dozens of glow in the dark wings for my angel friends so we could be seen behind her while she sang from the roof.  Then I got a second summons.  “I am worried, Lady Gaga is going to leap from the roof, and I can’t have her hurt,” an adoring Big Guy said. “Leap from the roof?” I asked.  “Back in my day, the USC marching band would perform at halftime.  They would play popular songs and spell o

Did you see the video I posted a week ago that featured my barking?  I know what your were thinking.  What an impressive bark from a little dog.  But I must bark impressively.  I don’t want an intruder to come to my door and only see five pounds of terror.  I want them to avoid my door because they think there is a ferocious eighty pounds dog waiting to rip them apart.  That is why I have worked so hard to turn my little arf to a full-throated woof. You would think my parents would be grateful:  But no.  I do bark at the slightest sight or sound, but you never know when those sights or sounds will become a danger.  I guess my parents find this “annoying” like a tornado siren that goes off after a slight gust of wind My parents have tried several remedies to curb my barking.  They bought something that gave off a high pitched sound when I barked.  This turned my poop to water.  They decided the barking was less than a problem.  They bought treats.  They were yummy.  Despite t

I told you our exit was a couple of miles back

I have never had a great relationship with kitties.  I tried to get along with them:  Honest I did.  But when we lived in the condo there were two kitties who sat on my deck.  I would bark at them so much my head would hurt, but they refused to recognize my authority and remained on my deck until on of my parents grabbed the door handle scaring the cat away.  Then there was the cat who I approached as pleasant as could be only to have that kittie bip me on the nose.   And there was one cat who accused me of being an anti-cattie.  That caused me a kibble bag full of trouble Little did people know that a cat would be one of my very best friends.  His name is Barney.  When we were on DS, we would talk about what was in our back yard, and how we could both see all the way to each other’s houses.  We would make up stories about what we saw.  We shared many laughs. Then I went to the Bridge, and then DS closed, and, while our moms still talked Barney and I didn’t have our long, playfu