The Ruby Rose and the Big Little Angels 3 Blog

Sometimes we angels can only watch as those we left behind make foolish decisions that complicate their lives. Furthering our misery is knowing how different the outcome would be if we were still mortal.  This week Pocket contacted me and asked that I be the angel for the cats that were living under the house.  She told me that she had warned them that the animal control officer was arriving so they didn't get trapped.  Now the kitties were in the breeze, and she was worried.  I know Pocket has a big heart, but I wish they had not whittled away at so much of her brain to make room.  If I were still on the mortal side, I would have gone under the house and flushed those kitties weeks ago. We are ratters for heaven's sakes.  It's in our blood. But, for all Pocket's barking, she does not want to bite, but to get hugs from everything she sees. I told her if you hug a kitty, you get claws in the back.  As for River Song, she is more interested in developing schemes t

Like a biblical plague of locusts for the past two years, we have been beset by cats.  Their main point of entry is by the HVAC unit. There was a hole between the skirt and the unit perfectly sized for a cat.  A tiny kitty could also squeeze between the gaps in the skirt that surrounds the crawl space under the house.   From the first kitty sighting, River has been adamant that we needed to build a wall on our southern border to quell the cat invasion.  I, along with my parents, took a more measured approach. I told River just because we build a wall doesn't mean the kitties won't find a way in.   In March the kitties, in an effort to keep warm, ripped off the heat duct that had connected the outside furnace to the floor grates. After a cold late winter weekend without heat, and a big old bill, my parents sided with River and built a brick wall along the gap where the unit meets the house.  They were all mutually satisfied that they had solved the problem.   Eight weeks

You only have one baby in there?  My mom gave birth to six.  It doesn't seem to be very time efficient to give birth on only one 

What are some of the wild animals you have seen? We have seen possums, squirrels, chipmunks, groundhogs, eagles, owls, vultures, deer, coyotes, turkeys, and rabbits.

Earlier this week I was taxed with speaking to sharks and trying to dissuade them from getting close to Cape Cod beaches.  I went as a ghost. I knew if I took corporal form, I was at a high risk of being eaten up. I don't know any land creature that is brave enough to approach a shark.  That was before I knew of Darby a 1-year old pit-bull who confronted a shark and lived to wag the tail.  This is Darby's story.  Darby's dad, James White, was fishing from the shore at Bodega Bay in Sonoma County, California.  Darby stayed in the car overlooking the bay and wondered why he didn't just stay home and relax. Sometimes when we ask questions, we get answers we did not expect.   James hooked something big.  He fought to bring it to shore.  It took him ten minutes to land what turned out to be a sevengill shark.  It wasn't just his fishing skills that helped him land the beast.  The shark was swimming to shore as fast as he was being reeled in.  Perhaps it was lo

I have never been a big fan of sharks. I try to avoid anything that can chew me up like a Liver Snap.  Even the sharks I meet at the Bridge are cold, aloof and impatient, like a starving man waiting for his order to be filled at Subway.  The only sharks I truly like are the little ones who swim around in a fish tank. My friends Max and Baron have one. He's awesome. He is another soul determined to show smaller is better.   I have received several prayer requests from business' owners on Cape Cod who are seeing their summer season washed away because of the number of times the beaches need to be closed after another shark sighting.  No matter how good your sales are, no one wants to shop Shark City.  I love fulfilling prayer requests, but this one was tricky.  I decided the best way to approach the sharks was to be a ghost. The ravenous predators were likely to eat the body I borrowed, and I did not want to visit their dreams because they are dark and twisty places.  I d

"That's enough, River!" I heard mommy say from off in the distance. Mommy never tells me this; she can't get enough of the things I do, except when I am slurping water out of the bowl.  I am a dog of tiny mouth, nose, and tongue.  To fully quench my thirst I need to stick my face, up to my ears, in the water and lap like a hummingbird trying to get the last bit of frozen nectar from a feeder in winter.  Mommy doesn't like me spending too long drinking water because I am not a good judge of how much I can hold.  Sometimes, when I finish, water gushes from my throat, causing me to leave a puddle on the floor.  Pocket has a small snout too.  Still, she can get a drink by gently lapping water.  Conversely, she has no empathy for my troubles.   "Did you double dunk that bowl?" Pocket asked while waiting behind me for a drink.  "What?"  "You took a dunk, you came up for air, and then you dunk again!' "So?" "Th

Nothing going on here kids!  Your mommy had something caught in her teeth and I got it out.  Now go back to your rooms and next time knock before coming in

Where is your favorite spot to be scratched? Pocket: I like to have my ears scratched. River Son:  My lower belly is my favorite spot.  

We don't have many happy Bridge crossings here. Sometimes a human-angel is awaiting a new arrival, and their reunion is poignant, but there is also a beloved person left behind  We are lucky if the repair done to a heart by the reunion equals the damage done by the parting. This week we had a rare happy reunion, although I had to go to the cat village to experience it.  The saddest day for a pet is when their human leaves for the Bridge. It is worse if it is a single-parent home.  The pet not only losses their reason for living but their house too. If the pet is lucky, they will be placed with a family member.  If not they go into the system, loveless and homeless. When our good dog mom friend Mama Teri's mother passed away, she left behind her beloved cat, Bella.  Mama Teri's mom had made arrangements for Bella to live with Mama Teri's sister and niece after she passed.  Bella was lucky to go to a home filled with love and compassion instead of being on a shelf a

I got an urgent request from my old friend and fellow blogger Enzo today.  When I abandoned my “Ask Aunt Foley” blog, Enzo picked up the gauntlet and has been answering our fellow dog inquiries diligently ever since.   But what if he who answers has a question? Enzo is suffering a crisis of confidence.  For years he has been the one and true Enzo.  But this week a movie called "The Art of Racing in the Rain" was released featuring a golden retriever named Enzo.   Our Enzo is afraid he is going to become a second rate Enzo. To see if his worries were justified, I screened the movie. Kevin Costner voices Enzo. He does a fairly good dog, but if I had a voice like his, I would sit by the bowl all day and say: "If I sit next to it, it will be full."  What a wasted opportunity. The biggest issue with Movie Enzo's character is that he yearns to be human.  Why the hell would he want to do that? Dogs are the superior species. Our pre-prepared food is plopped in

This summer has been excellent for walking. We have not had many bad stretches of weather.  There has been some storms, and days that it was too hot to walk, but they have passed quickly.  I don't think we have gone three days this summer without taking our constitutional — not a bad record for this vicinity. This year we began taking our hikes in the front of our village near the old yellow barn. From there, we walk to the big field on the left.  We do this because my parents mistakenly think that River, and especially I, act like crazed dogs desperately in need of attention when we see humans, so they keep us away from populated areas. We only pass four houses on our new route. It has totally changed our waking habits. Because the barn sees little activity, it has become a place for the creatures of the night to gather together.  When the sun comes up, they go back in their holes, but they leave behind the most amazing smells.   If there is no room at the barn, the critte

I think mom dropped me off at the wrong park again.

We stole this from a friend on Facebook:  How many poop bags do your parents go through on an average day? Pocket:   I usually poop three times a day and River poops twice so our answer is five.  Someday it can be less, which is okay, if it is more it's trouble.

Once again, we at Rainbow Bridge have been subject to the curse of three.   This week Scooter became my third friend from the Judd-Lawson gang to ascend to the Bridge, joining his siblings Jack and Jill.  Scooter's mama Tina has always had large packs. The bigger the pack, the more love in the house.  But, it also means there is more heartache.   Scooter entered this world with several strikes against him. He was a puppy mill dog and arrived at the Judd-Lawson home with all the social issues and anxieties that accompany them. It took a lot of patience to get Scooter assimilated to life as a family dog. It is likely, in less experienced families, that Scooter would have been surrendered.  But, Mama Tina had been challenged by dogs before, and she had never given up the fight.  Scooter found his niche in the crowded pack.  He was goofy, weird, and quirky, which made him stand out.  His mom could not have loved him more if he had come from champion bloodlines.    Scooter

We dogs have kept a secret from you humans:  We have our own Twitter. Like a high pitched whistle, these tweets are only recognized by dogs.  I have been allowed to share with you some popular hashtags.  #WhatsThatSmell?: This one is always trending. As is, #DidYouHearThat? #NeverHump:  Very popular with the spade and neuter crowd. #IsThatThunderOrFireworks?:  An oft posted and self-explanatory summer hashtag. #WhereisMommyWhereisMommyWhereisMommyWhereisMommyWhereisMommy?: This, along with #WhereisDaddy? is tweeted a million times by nervous dogs throughout the day. When their parents come home the tweet #IsItSupperYet? is posted a thousand times. #ThrowTheBallThrowTheBallThrowTheBallForTheLoveOfGodThrowTheBall: This is the number one trending topic at the park. #FakeBrady: Someone who pretends to throw you the ball but doesn't, making you chase after nothing, and look foolish.  #ChanelNumberBleh: A dog that had been shampooed so much they lost their natural scent

This week I had my annual examination, or as more commonly known, my yearly humiliation. Every time I  get in the car without Pocket, I end up at the vet.  But, that does not stop me from thinking, when Pocket is put in her crate, and I go outside with my parents, that we are going somewhere magical where Pocket is not allowed. I sat on mommy’s lap as we steered through town.  I smiled at everyone. Then Daddy turned into the vet’s office parking lot.  I still smiled, having convinced myself that it was a social visit.  Mommy carried me inside.  Any chances that this was a social visit ended when we were told to wait in the foyer.  Welcome visitors are never told to sit and wait, only paying customers.   I squirmed to get down.  Daddy told Mommy I wanted to explore.  Wrong! I remembered the last time I got an exam they asked for a fecal sample.  My morning poop had gone in the trash. Even though I do not like the vet, I am accommodating.   I took a giant crap in the middle of

After all the year's of eating that tasteless cardboard now you tell me grain-free isn't good for me?

How do you sleep?  Do you run in your sleep?  Do you whimper or bark?  Do you twitch when you dream?  Do you snore?  Do you like to snuggle?  Tell us more Pocket:   I like to snuggle when I sleep. I am pretty quiet but I do let out a whimper now and then. River Song:   I can wake up my neighbors by snoring. I also run.  I am a handful.   

Dogs will do anything to save their parents, but Guluva, a crossbreed dog from Philippi, South Africa, was ready to make the ultimate sacrifice for his family.   Guluva lives with his beloved human, Derrick Mfengwawa, and his family.  He was happily playing in his gated yard when Mfengawa’s brother-in-law drove up and unlocked the gate that surrounds the property.    Guluva heard a commotion by the gate.  Taking pride in his role as a protector, he walked towards it and found their guest trying to get back in his car while being surrounded by a group of criminals who were attempting to steel the vehicle.  When the criminals saw a determined Guluva charging at them, they turned heel and ran. One of them fired a shot as he fled.  Guluva was ready to sacrifice his life to save humans. We dogs may not have the best eyesight, but we do have sharp ears and outstanding noses.  Guluva heard the bullet crackling through the air and smelled the bitter, sour scent of a recently discha

I have been so busy; lately I have been unable to answer some of the less pressing prayers that have come my way.  Please bear with me while I do so now.  Please give me guidance on what to do with my dog, Fred. He has never got along with other dogs. He goes behind me to avoid them on walks, and if one comes to close, he snarls at them. Now that he's a senior dog I worry he doesn't have any doggy friends. Should I introduce him to other dogs to see if you'll finally get along with them?  Anxious mom.  Dear Anxious Mom:  How would you feel if you lived your whole life avoiding idiotic people in the quest of solitude and when you reached an age when you needed to depend on others they decided the best thing for you would be to sit you in the park all day and have you put up with stupid people?  Fred just doesn't like other dogs. Let him live the rest of his life in peace. We dog only need human companionship. Spend less time worrying if your dog is lonely and more t

I have rules about kissing. I am the kisser.  Whoever I am kissing is the kissie. They need to sit there and take it. Kissing is like kicking off in football. Both participants can't kick-off at the same time. Then your balls would be at either end of the field, and nothing would get accomplished.  Poppa is my main kissing partner. I will give Momma a smooch here and there, but Poppa has totally given up on life, so I can kiss him as long as I want.   I cling to Momma more than to Poppa.  I wait for her outside the shower. I fret and pace when she's not home.  I sit on her lap for hours on end. But, as a lickee, she has her shortcomings.  First is that she doesn't want to be licked. I'm not going to spend a lot of energy kissing her if she doesn't appreciate it. Second, she has much better hygiene than Poppa. You can barely get any taste off of Momma the way she washes her face and brushes her teeth. But Papa's lackadaisical bathroom manner leads to gr