The Ruby Rose and the Big Little Angels 3 Blog

Our house is filled with bald floors.  They do have their value. They are nice to lie on when I am overheated.  When I run and come to a stop, I slide which is fun. But I prefer rugs. We have a nice rug in our office but we rarely use the room and the door is always shut.  When I follow a human into the office and lie on my back and rub it on the rug. Boy does that feel good.   Once the door is closed the rug party ends and we are stuck with just the mat by the front door, and, if someone goes in the bedroom, the small rug by the entryway  But that rug is not to play on, that rug is to provide relief. Let me explain to you about being a dog.  You all think that when we poop we don’t have to wipe because we have anal glands, and that is true, but what you don’t know it unless you have a very clean poop ejaculation, those glands itch #AF. You, humans, know that itch.  You leave remnants back there and you get itchy you sneak in the bathroom, wipe yourself, pour some water in the

One morning this week I came upon my good friend Easy the Weimaraner.   He was on the dock doing one of his DIY projects. He loves these endeavors.  It is a tribute to his parents who gloriously undertook many such projects and spectacularly failed at most of them. “What you are planning to do once you have it built?” I asked Easy. “I don’t know, maybe just float around.” We heard barking and saw our buddy Bisket running down the hill.  “Is that a boat?” he asked. We informed him it was. “Have you heard about the dog who went the wrong way off the Bridge and is now living in the jungle?”  We said we hadn’t. Bisket told us he knew someone who did and ran off. I looked at Easy and shrugged. He came back with  Moses. He has been at the Bridge longer than any other friend.  “Yes,” Moses said. “I have heard of the dog Bisket mentioned. We have never had a boat that could take us that far down river, but this boat,” he put a paw on Easy’s shoulder, “just might get us there.”  It w

And then there's Maude!

Do you scoot on the rugs? Yes, we both do, and will have more to say about it later

We dogs always have something important to say.  Often it is because we thought we heard something outside or thought we saw something outside, or we are outside, and our parents tell us to be quiet, which goes against our motto “Freedom to Bark.” A dog named Raider has turned the world upside down.   Thanks to him not only do our parents have to listen to us, but they are required to do so or be publicly shamed.  Hah! Sweet victory. Here is how Raider started the movement that is turning “quiet down” to “how can I be of assistance?” Raider is an English/Bull Mastiff who was taken from a shelter and trained as a service dog to help people with anxiety.  He was paired with the woman who would become his partner and best friend, Tessa Connaughton, an autistic adult who suffers from anxiety.  Raider recognizes when Tessa is getting overwhelmed and provides deep pressure therapy by laying on top of her. After Raider became established as Tessa’s anxiety partner, Tessa began t

This weekend my Daddy worked a Dock Diving event at a PetSmart located at Patriots Place in Foxboro MA.  He was stuck inside for his shifts. The only time he got to see the dock diving was when he took mommy back to it Saturday afternoon.  I flew down to watch too. Those dock diving dogs are awesome, they are very intense and can fly high in the air. When a store has a big event at Patriots Place, and the team is in town, they send a player to sign autographs. On Sunday they sent center David Andrews, from Georgia, to represent the team.  Daddy didn’t pay him much attention. Daddy was working, and he has never been one to ask for autographs or selfies. A woman who works with Daddy wanted a picture with Mr. Andrews but was too shy to ask.  Daddy asked him, and his wife, if it was alright if his co-worker could have a photo taken with the center.  They were happy to comply. Daddy took the picture, and when he checked it, he noticed that Mr. Andrews was wearing a shirt that said “Wa

I love sitting with my parents.  I am addicted to body heat. I usually like to snuggle in between the arm of the chair and my parent, but sometimes I will choose laps.  Human laps were perfectly designed for a dog to curl up on. Occasionally though I choose independence. I get down and walk over to my kitty condo.  It is very tiny. I am the only one who can fit inside.  River is not allowed to go in it. She is too big. She could stretch it out. But lately, River has been invading my condo.  Well, not all of her, but her big butt. I climb in my condo, spin around twice, do some kneading with my paws, and sit down facing outwards.  River jumps down and walks over to my condo. First, she sticks her head inside and looks around trying to determine if there is room for her. Then she walks away, and I think she is going back to sit with mom. But then River starts to backup without even the courtesy of beeping.   I look at her butt hole which grows larger with each backward stride. T

You watch for the squirrels and I will cover your ass

With summer here we want to know how you feel about fireworks and thunder? Pocket:  I hate them.  I go to Daddy and climb up on his head because that is where I think I am safest.  He used to put me down but now he has learned not to turn his head too quickly. River Song:  If it doesn't cause Mommy to leave the house or change the amount of food I get I don't care.

I have to admit, when  Presley passed two weeks ago I was distraught.  I knew how much his mom loved him, and I could feel her pain.  I reported that Presley when he arrived at the Bridge, said: “let’s finish this.”  I thought he meant the final steps to the immortal life, but it was something else entirely. Presley, from his first day as an angel knew he had to find another dog for his mom and brother Jovi.  Presley took a crash course on how to visit dogs in their dreams and by the second day he was interviewing pups for the critical position of sleeping on his couch and filling his house with love. Presley found the perfect dog, but he had to accomplish a task that angels who have spent dozens of years at the Bridge find difficult.  He had to go into Jovi’s dreams, take him, and bring him into Bowie’s dreams. It was a dream threeway, and it went flawlessly. Jovi and Bowie hit it off right away.  Presley played with them as he passed the torch from himself to Bowie.  Then Pre

I was sittin’ outside my cottage in the hot sun watching as it moved across the sky.  It burned my fur but felt good. I smelled a familiar scent and looked up to see Outlaw Apollo, the oldest Angel in this part of the Bridge sitting on top of his horse.  He asked me if I wanted to get some easy kibble and I told him I sure did. We got on our horses and rode to the Board of Big Guys’ railroad office.  I had a tougher time controlling my ride since I had to sit on its head. When we arrived at the office, we were ambushed by Chelsea the Small, who I had confided in during our Yorkie meeting the day before.  I never thought my friend would betray me, but she had and absconded with the kibble. We needed a posse to go after Chelsea the Kid and get back the kibble for the Big Guy Board,  then steal it from them for ourselves. We recruited Bisket, a great scout, and Aran, the fastest paw in the west.  We slipped south of the border where we met Cassie, an expert on the hills where we k

Last week Mommy went to  the dentist, so we got left home with our Dad, which usually makes us very nervous, because he is our play parent, not our feeding parent, and the possibility that we would waste away while he endlessly threw a ball for us after Mommy didn’t come home was concerning. Daddy opened the front door and let us sit on the porch so we could look out the door for Mom.  We bark at everyone we see because that person could be mommy in disguise. We were sure Mommy was home when an older woman, with white hair, carrying her mail, walked up to our steps. She must have been gone a long time because she had aged 20 years. The woman never made it to the door.  Our barks warned Daddy that aged Mommy was home.  Daddy needed to unlock and open the porch door but had to put us inside first, so we didn’t attack aged Mommy.  Of course, as soon as I was touched, I attacked Pocket, because that is how I roll. Aged Mommy rolled her eyes and shook her head as Daddy wrestled us in

I requested a temperature of 72 degrees for my bath.  This is clearly 68 degrees.  I am returning to my bed.  Please call me if you achieve the optimal temperature.

This might take some thought: What is your motto? Pocket:  If you give me a lap I will give you a lick. River Song:  Wherever my mom is I am not far behind

IMHA . They are the four scariest letters in the dog alphabet.  It is a horrible disease that has claimed thousands of good dogs.  My great friends Mollie and Copper joined me at the Bridge because of this hideous illness.  Mollie’s fight was brief; Copper’s spanned a few years. The results were sadly the same. Our friend Lil’ Girl has battled the illness for six years.  A remarkable achievement. Her surviving that long was due, in part, to the great IMHA Facebook Group, which brings needed guidance, and answered questions, to parents with babies diagnosed with this often fatal ailment. The illness is as hard on parents as it is dogs.  It can strike with severe force at any time. Each day parents have to check their dog’s gums to make sure they are pink and any misstep, cough, sneeze, or lazy day is cause for concern.  It is a never-ending and expensive journey, but parents are glad to take it as long as their babies are alright. Several days ago Lil Girl’s mom left her to

When Jasper and Sophie Rae crossed the River of Life within a few days of one another, they left their parents devastated.  Their two lost pups knew only new dogs would help repair the large hole in their parents’ hearts, but they also were aware that it would take time for their parents to open their hearts to a four-pawed baby, and that dog would have to be perfect . I don’t know if I have ever seen angels question more dogs than Jasper and Sophie Rae did.  Jasper conducted most of the interviews while Sophie Rae slipped into her parents’ dreams and nudged them towards letting a pup into their lives again. Early this year I came upon the angel siblings discussing the issue.  Sophie said her parents could not be persuaded to let love back in their hearts.  The wound from their loss was still too severe. “How about we ease them into having a new dog by convincing them to foster?” Jasper asked. Sophie-Rae anxiously agreed.  “We will find the best rescue dogs available, and t

Saturday night Mommy’s brother and his wife were over.  River Song and I like when we have visitors because that means more attention for us.  Sometimes it is nice to get some other folks scratching and petting. By now I know all my parents’ moves, and I am ready for some strange. I was lying on Mommy’s right side, and River was on her left.  I stood up to go visit Uncle Tom when Mommy looked down and saw my tags were no longer attached to my harness.  She asked my Dad where the tags were and he didn’t know either. I didn’t care. I was getting a fresh hand on me.  My tags were the least of my concerns. My parents continued to discuss the missing identifications.  They accused me of losing them, which made me angry because the tags are clipped to my harness and rest on my back.  If they did slip off me, my paws are not equipped to stop them from falling to the ground. I was an innocent tag loser. They began to argue right in front of their guests, who didn’t give a besotted cuss

Please, mommy, I promise to never eat bacon off the counter again, just end this madness

What do you do when you are left alone at home? Pocket:  I am in my crate with a blanket and a small bed.  I usually stand up waiting for my parents to come home but lie down when I am tired.  There is a lot of barking involved. River Song:  I am nor in a crate because I always managed to get out of it.  I spend my time either on a chair looking out the living room window or standing looking out the kitchen window.  Sometimes I lie on the kitchen table.  I am always on guard.  

There has been a constant march of friends to the Bridge this year.  I have tried to chronicle each of their journeys, but it has been overwhelming.  I genuinely hope I haven’t missed anyone. Some of these journeys have been expected, others have been a surprise but understood.  I don’t know if it is because of the number of friends who have passed, and families who have grieved, but when Presley passed this week it seemed so devastating. Presley’s passing came like a lightning strike on a sunny day.  It was unexpected, and inconceivable, something that was supposed to happen in the distant future.  When Presley awoke to greet his last day as a mortal dog, no one expected the darkness evening would bring.  Presley was the same dog he had been for 11 years, without a hint of illness. But inside this precious boy was a tumor that exploded on Thursday.  He went from happily playing to being in severe distress in a heartbeat.  I know it happens that way sometimes, but when Pre

I have been getting a number of complaints lately about bad smells and sounds coming from the woods behind Doggyspace.  I did not want to investigate. It has been my experience that bad smells and sounds never lead to anything good. But when Hattie Mae barged into my office saying the smell was getting into the clothes she hung on her line I knew I would have to take action. I did not want the other angels to know what I was doing.  I was just walking along, sniffing the ground, like all terriers do, when I caught a heavy, unknown scent.  I followed the smell to Reba Messina’s house and then into her backyard. I followed a path down a meadow and stopped when I found the smell’s source. Standing in front of me was a huge dinosaur.  I had visited them recently and figured this big fellow had come to see me and got lost.  But then the beast opened his mouth, and suddenly fire shot out. I had made the worst mistake you could make concerning big lizards.  I had mistaken a dinosaur fo