The Ruby Rose and the Big Little Angels 3 Blog

I am sure it is a very cute picture. Now open the freaking door because we are soaking wet out here.  

Where is your favorite place to be scratched? Pocket:  My ears, by where they meet my head. River Song:  My belly, all day long.  I don't even roll over.  People just reach down and scratch

Finally, I had a week when I did not have to greet any friends at the Bridge.  We angels have been working hard trying to keep several of our friends and their parents healthy.  We don’t mind. Any week we don’t greet a friend is a victory, and it has been a long time between wins. So it is time for me to recognize four outstanding pups, all of whom are heroes in their own right. The first is Lucifer, or, as his family lovingly calls him, Lucy.  Lucifer’s daddy was in his Hutchinson Kansas home with his feet up on his recliner sleeping when Lucy jumped on his lap interrupting a well-deserved nap.  Waking a parent is usually the wrong thing for a pup to do but Lucy had her reason. Larry’s house had caught on fire, and his smoke alarms failed.  Lucy saved his life by waking him up, and Larry was able to save Lucy’s two siblings just before the house became engulfed. While Moore lost his house and many of his possessions he said all he cared about was that he, Lucy, and the other

I do feel bad for our parents.  There are so many decisions they have to make regarding our health.  Just when they think they have made the right decision the information changes. After years of eating the same food, two months ago, my parents decided to switch my sisters to grain free food.  River Song had several feet, and ear infections and Pocket often has a bad tummy. Since they made the switch River hasn’t had any allergies and Pocket’s belly has been better. Success! Then the stories started.  Grain free food, long promoted as the gold standard of the pet food industry was the common thread in some dogs who were suffering from DCM or dilated cardiomyopathy which makes the heart weaken and become enlarged causing some dogs to suddenly go into heart failure. There are dogs who are prone to DCM like Doberman pinschers, Irish wolfhounds, boxers and Great Danes.  But recently veterinarians have seen DCM in golden retrievers, doodle mixes, Labrador retrievers and Shih

I am happy to report after a perilous spring the butterfly bush is blooming and attracting lots of butterfly angels who fill our lives with beauty and love. It took a lot of tender loving care from my mom, a good trim, and some of my special puppy growth urine for the bush to thrive. When I was peeing the bush back to its former glory, I sparked a friendship with my green friend.  Last week, after he had begun to bud again, I heard a voice in my head, much sweeter than the usual voices that reside there.  “Hello River,” it said. I looked around.  “Hello?” I barked. “Don’t bark out loud,” the voice said.  “No one can hear me and dogs who bark to themselves have to attend special classes.  I just wanted to thank you for your efforts to return me to proper health.” I looked up at the bush.  “Is that you?” I barked. “Yes,” it said impatiently.  “Now, stop barking out loud, just think what you want to say to me.” “You mean you can read my mind?” I thought. “Yes, you dirty

As I stand in front of my puppy training graduates today I want to remind you that while we are obedient we are not subservient, while we may come when they call we still do so by own our free will.  We don't chew the shoes, or pull on the leash, or bark at every noise because that is what we choose.  We may be good dogs but we still reserve the right to chase a squirrel or poop in your slippers.

What causes you the most anxiety? Pocket:  High pitched noises or loud noises like thunder. River Song:  Being left alone

Someday, when I have been at the Bridge for hundreds of years, I will be sitting with a group of young pups around me, and a dog will run past us at lightning speed.  The young pups will ask “What was that?” And I will tell them the Legend of Wishbone. I would compare Wishbone to the legendary Harry Potter.  Harry was the boy who, against all odds, lived, and Wishbone is the dog who, despite being close to being sent to the Bridge several times, survived for more than nine years. Wishbone, a coonhound, was born in North Carolina, and unwanted from birth.  He was marked for the Bridge by his first owner when Paula Malatesta, a legendary dog rescuer, saved him from death row and brought him home where he could become part of a large pack, some permanent, some transitory. Wishbone saw himself as more of the transitory sort, and, the first chance he got, he ran away. Paula looked for days, posted pictures of him, and was about to lose hope when one Sunday, upon leaving church, she

This is a story about a dog named Radar who needed a lot of help from caring humans to get to his forever home. Radar belonged to our friend Angel’s mom  Lori’s neighbors.   Momma Lori saw Radar nearly every day.   He was malnourished and mistreated.  He was left outside in the worst heat and in terrible rains.   Over time Momma Lori could not take seeing this dog so abused, and she convinced the family to surrender Radar. Unfortunately, Momma Lori was already living in a house overstuffed with dogs.   She was going to have to find a good home for the little man.   She took him to the vet where she found out he suffered from ringworm and Lyme disease.   It was an unwanted expense for Momma Lori, who had recently suffered lots of damage from the floods, but she had sworn to be Radar’s angel on Earth. It is fitting that this was the week when Radar needed to find his way to a new home because it also marks the tenth anniversary of Doggyspace the social network that brought ma

We are very lucky.  We live in the middle of a large neighborhood with a 10 MPH speed limit and lots of different places to walk.  Mommy likes to take different routes to change the scenery. We are all for that. A new direction means more pee-mail to read and stories to pee. When my parents bought their first house together, it was in development across the street from the village where we now live.  After work, they would take our angel sister Blake for a walk around our present village and talk about how nice and quiet it would be to live here when they got old.  Some residents complained about my parents walking Blake in their village because they didn’t live here. My parents ignored the “Private Property” sign and boldly walked Blake on the quiet streets.  Now that my parents are old, and live here, they grumble about people who don’t live here waking their dogs on their lawn too. People change. There is another factor to determine which direction we walk.  River and I kno

I am not going to school today.  All of my friends are going to make fun of me because of my socks.

What is the best way too cool off? River Song:  I put my entire face in a cold bowl of water then lie on the bare floor with my leg spread out until I cool down. Pocket:  I find a human to sit with.  This is also what I do when I am cold, scared, happy and sad.  It is my go-to move.

I heard a beeping on my phone in the middle of the night and knew what that foretold.  Yet another angel had earned their wings. I put on my judge’s robe, and my big slippers, because the grass was wet with dew, then hurried to the meeting point at the top of Rainbow Bridge. I looked at my phone for an update.  It said my friend Lucy would be joining us.  I sighed. Such a brave girl. She had been fighting a winning battle against cancer for three years.  But the thing about cancer is it only has to win twice when it first arrives, and the final battle. It was in the middle of the night at Lucy’s mom April’s house.  I wondered if Lucy had slipped away during the wee hours. She has always been such a polite girl.  It would be so like her not to make a fuss, or force her mom to make the hardest decision, and just let her mortal coil be found in the morning when Lucy could return as an angel and give her mom the comfort she needed. When I reached the greeting area, there was a m

It was my good friend Odie’s Bridge Anniversary last week.  Bridge Anniversaries are sad occasions, marking the last time our parents got to look in our eyes, to touch us, to tell us that they love us.  We Angels work very hard to make sure the pup who has the anniversary does not get sad. We arranged for Odie to go on a boat ride down the river and every time the boat came around a  bend a scene of Odie and his parents from his mortal life was playing on a screen. I do believe we kept him happy despite the sad day. The Angels do have it easier than our parents.  We can slip into their dreams and snuggle with them, to feel their body heat, to even touch their warm skin.  We can smell them and taste them. It is bliss to be back with them, but also frustrating because our parents believe they are dreaming and when they awaken they may remember a nonsensical snippet of the dream, but most of it is gone. Our parents don’t remember how some nights we sit with them while they tell us a

I was lying in bed, late at night, when I felt something moving by my left ear.  I brushed it with my paw. A tick fell off me on to the sheet. Surprised, I stood.  “What were you doing on me?” I asked. “Bah, I was hungry,” the tick said.  “I’ve been outside in your yard for days with nothing in my belly when you came by on your leash.  I hopped on you and waited, all night, for you to fall asleep so I could bite you and drink your blood.  But every time I tried to bite you I was repelled by your skin. You must be wearing the poison.” “My mom puts some sticky stuff on my back to keep you ticks off of me.”   When I said “ticks” my voice could not hide my disgust. “Don’t get uppity with me!” the offended tick said.  “It isn’t my fault I was born a blood-sucking nuisance.  It’s who I am. Who are you to judge? You get kibble given to you on a clean plate every day.  No one feeds me blood; I have to lay in the grass and wait.” “You gave me Lyme disease!” I barked.  “I had to go on

Oh my god!  You were caught in a trap and hauled on to a boat?  Then what happened?

If you could have a superpower what would it be? Pocket:  I would want to have x-ray vision so I can find the ball I like to chase when is missing. River Song:  I would like to be able to suddenly add weight to my body so when I am snuggled on Mommy she can't get up and I don't have to move and she can't leave me.

I hate to apologize to friends.  When I need to do that it means I may have hurt a pup and nothing bothers me more.  My first rule, like all dogs, is always to be kind. I walked through our Doggyspace neighborhood to a new sparkling house covered in jewels, which was appropriate because living inside, after arriving at the Bridge ten days earlier, was my old friend Jewel. I rang her bell.  The chime sounded pretty.  I heard the pitter patter of paws, and then Jewel opened the door.  “Hello, Foley,” she said, then gave me a long hug. When she let me go, I took hold of her paws.  “My friend, I owe you an apology,” I said. A confused Jewel asked me why. “I try to pay tribute to a dog each week, usually one that arrives at Rainbow Bridge.” “Oh yes,” Jewel said.  “I read them, I know some people find them emotionally manipulative and overly maudlin but I like them.” This is what I love about Jewel.  She has always been a straight shooter.  I continued. “Last week, when Kai

River and I are finally ready to show off our many gardens.  We spend all winter, including during dream dates with Foley, planning the flowers we will buy and where to put them.  Foley uploads the information into Mommy's brain, and we are set to go.  My parents begin working in early April when it was cold.   They clean all of winter's refuse from the yard, rake out the discolored mulch, pull out weeds until the gardens are ready and the perennials began to bud. Some of the flowers came in slowly because of the long, cold spring but eventually, they bloomed.  Underperforming flowers were dug up and moved to the rehab garden where we hope they will thrive. Decorative planters and lights were set up, and sprinklers were turned on. Next came the mulch, bag after bag, spread over five gardens.  Foley came down as a butterfly to review, and she declared the gardens were ready for public viewing. So, for your approval, some garden pics. Here is Nana's Saint Anthony, wa

The call came during an August afternoon, 11 years ago.  Mommy had gone for her yearly mammogram and got called back for more film.  She was not concerned. She was convinced they were just double checking. When she got off the phone with her doctor, she knew differently.  The second mammogram means they saw something. She officially became one of the many women who had breast cancer. My parents’ first decision was a hard one.  Earlier in the year, they had adopted a senior Yorkie named Jordan.  Jordan was blind, deaf, had no teeth, could not walk, and was incontinent.  She would relieve her bowels, or bladder, where she sat, which was often on Mommy.  Jordan took lots of care, with lots of cleaning, and Mommy could not take care of this pup and herself at the same time, so Jordan was surrendered back to the unhappy rescue group.  For the first time, Mommy has to put her health ahead of her dogs. I supported Mommy’s decision.  Jordan was basically a furry log that pooped and peed

When you go in the water put your paw here so the water does not go up your nose

How much does the weather affect your outdoor time? Pocket:  I will answer for both of us.  If it is over 85 and humid, or over 90, we only go out to pee.  We don't get walks.  Also if there is snow on the ground Mommy only allows a walk to the end of the street.  If it is raining hard, or snowing, we don't go out at all and use the porch pee pads.  No matter what I go out for my 11:30 at night poop because if I don't get that my delicate system is thrown off.

Baron is one of the first of our online friends to come to Rainbow Bridge.  He was a giant of a dog. He was so popular people came from all over the country to celebrate a day for him, called Baron Fest. Seven years ago Baron went to the Bridge, but his presence is still felt in the mortal realm. Baron knew his mom was a spectacular dog parent, and that she needed another pup who would make the pup's life, sister Chey's life, and his momma's life better.   Momma Monica, guided by Baron, found the perfect dog, Kaizer, who we liked to call the K-Man. We watched him as a pup and experienced many firsts, his first walk, his first doing business outside, his first training, enjoying them all in the same manner a human takes delight in a baby’s first step, smile, and laugh. Together we saw him grow from a puppy into a fully grown dog, from a wilding to a well-trained boy, and the impossible, to be a worthy heir to Baron. Momma Monica shared every important moment of Ka