The Ruby Rose and the Big Little Angels 3 Blog

During the new normal, my parents, on most days, have stopped midday for cheese and crackers, and to play trivia games on the tablet.  Some days, we take a walk first, but most of the time, it has been cold and rainy, so they get right to eating and playing.       They do not share their cheese and crackers with us, but they do put a plate full of our kibble on the table, and they give us some after every few questions.  Pocket stands on her back leg. and paws Daddy’s leg begging for kibble, but she tires easily, and she goes to sit in the little chair with the red blanket.  That leaves all the food for me.      Pocket is much more patient than I am.  Pocket gets a kibble, chews it, swallows, and gives it a bit of time to settle before she asks for another.  For me, there is a two-second turnaround, from getting the kibble to wanting more.  I just swallow without even tasting .         I have a big advantage over Pocket.  I can jump up on the dining room chairs.  I am sti

Mom, the zoom is down again right in the middle of my dog park meeting

Do you have a nickname that is from another living thing? Pocket is called Monkey River is called Buggy

You’re a five-year-old dog, and you lived with your dad in Malaysia.  Lately, there hasn’t been much food. Your Dad’s not working. There is no money coming in.  He despairs that he won’t be able to care for you any longer, but you stress that it is okay, as long as it stays you and him, nothing beats a pair. You like to go for car rides.  Recently, they have been few and far between.  There has been no money for food, nevermind gas, and nowhere to go.  One day your dad, with tears in his eyes, opened the car door for you. You happily got in.  Your dad drove for a few miles. Then he pulled over. He hugged you. His tears landed on your fur.  He took a piece of paper and jammed it under your collar. He opened your door and pushed you out. You expected him to get out of the car too, but he hit the gas and left you behind.  You waited for several minutes, thinking your dad would come back, but he didn’t.  You were confused. Where did he go? Did something bad happen to him? Yo

We had an exceptional dog come to Doggyspace at the Bridge this week.  Her name is Hetty.  She is a beloved therapy dog who belonged to Jessica Calvo, a Spanish teacher at Verona School District in New Jersey.  Hetty is a yellow lab who managed to hold off the Bridge dementors and stay with her mom long past Hetty’s time.  She lived fourteen years until the evil angels gave her a neurological disorder which she could not defeat.  The disease led to seizures, and as they often do, that brought him to the Bridge.     Hetty had a lot of reasons to resist the angels and stay with her mom.  Not only was she a vital therapy dog to Jessica, but she also provided the same service for the Veronica school district.  She was beloved by all, but especially by her mom. Most labs are full of energy, prone to being overly exuberant and excitable, which can make them become a service dog problematic. Still, Jessica said that Hetty was an old soul who was naturally gentle and sweet.  Hetty se

We waited all winter for spring to arrive:  The day the warm air chases the cold away, causing it to retreat until it mounts an October resurgence. Once the warm air enters, everything opens up, like a million tulip buds.  We thought spring had arrived in mid-March when temperatures rose to the mid-sixties, but the cold air snuck back in with a vengeance, as did the nasty virus, and everything that should have opened closed down.     All winter long Pocket and I have been planning our gardens.  We had prepared for prolonged cold rain, late-season snow, and flooding, but not for a pandemic that would stop Mommy from being able to elbow other people out of the way to buy the best flowers at the greenhouse.      The good news is that we won’t need to buy flowers until the end of May. The ones that fill up our early spring gardens are annuals planted long ago.  We can always count on them.  They are tough little buggers.  Not even a skiff of snow last weekend can slow them down. 

Martha, call the exterminator, we have kitties again.

A question about your parents?  Did any of them play an organized sport or have a special talent when they were young. Pocket: Neither of my parents is especially talented.  Daddy played a little bit of basketball way back in the day.

This is not a story about me, but to tell it accurately, I have to begin by letting you know that I am in a bit of hot water with the Angel Authorities because I have written so much about mortal dogs borrowing heartbeats and scheming to keep themselves with their parents longer than they were scheduled to be that the practice is becoming more prevalent.  If anyone thinks I am going to stop, they are mistaken. I would give up my outstanding looks if I could give a parent one more day with their pup.     No one knew the importance of one more day than my friend Boris Karloff.  In 2017 his brother Tupper became extremely ill and was having seizures. He had fought the dark angels, whose job it was to claim dogs for the Bridge, as much as he could.    While Tupper was struggling, his brother Max began limping. It didn’t seem to be serious, but when she didn’t respond to treatments, the vet took more tests and determined Max had bone cancer.   Tupper and Max passed over within days of

I am in charge of monitoring mortal human moods across the world, and when they get too low, I find a happy rescue story to lift their spirits.  Today, more than ever, one of these stories is needed .       This is a tale about Abby.  She had a home, a mom, and a dad.  But the dad, an army veteran, with several tattoos, and who projected an off-putting appearance, was deeply troubled.  One day, he approached strangers, acting extremely agitated, with his uncared for hound on a leash, begging for someone to take the dog.     He saw a man park his car by the town hall and approached the driver, who he stood head and shoulders above. The man began yelling, and the driver could not understand what the man was saying.  The driver looked down at the cowering dog. He got down on one knee and called for the dog. She didn’t move. The man grabbed the hound by its fur and yanked her up to his shoulders.  He then began to spin around. The dog trembled. Just before they both crashed to

   In order of Olympics Day, we got back to 2010 when Foley competed in the Bobsled.  Bob Papa: I’m Bob Papa, hello, and welcome to Vancouver Canada, where it’s 76 degrees, sunny, and the Italian Ice concessions are now selling Slushies. Lewis Johnson: And I’m Lewis Johnson, here to bring you the finals of the Bobsled competition and to remind everyone who is coming out to see the event live, bring sunscreen and one of those mini fans because it’s hot out here. Bob Papa: This year, we have a first for the Winter Olympics. Lewis Johnson: Synchronized swimming on the speed skating track. Bob Papa: No, from the nation called, I believe, The Tanner Brigade, two dogs, Foley Monster and Pocket Dog, have been given a bye and will be competing in the finals of the Bobsled. Lewis Johnson: It says here this Tanner Brigade is an online community. I was unaware they were allowed in the games. Bob Papa: They weren’t until it was discovered that Liechtenstein is actually a Facebook group

I have come up with the most fabulous idea.  Because I am under quarantine, I can’t market it to the mortal world, which is unfortunate because I told the Shark Tank about it via email, and all of them wanted to invest.  The dolphin and swordfish tanks were interested too, but if you're going to make money, you have to have a shark. If someone markets my idea, they promise to help. It will help humans and Yorkies also. My idea is the Yorkie facemask .       And not just a facemask with a picture of a Yorkie on it, which would be awesome, but not the true perfection that is my intention.  I have invented a way to use a living Yorkie as a mask. It will protect you even more than wearing a frog on your head.      There are several different ways to wear a Yorkie that protects you from the virus.  If a Yorkie has a big fluffy tail, she can sit on your shoulder and cover your mouth with a simple wag.  Once this method of using a Yorkie mask becomes popular, then maybe humans wi

  Heard you built a robot dog.  Well, guess what I built!  How's it feel now! Not too good does it.   

What have you missed the most since the virus began? Pocket  We miss going up to strangers on the streets and getting lots of attention.  Now we just bark at them. 

We get lots of requests from dogs who are lost.  We angels work together to get them home then we watch their joyful reunion with their parents.  This week we got a prayer request from a lost girl named Lucy, but this case had a twist.   Lucy said she was on a walk exploring woods in Alabama and had gots separated from her nanny. It didn’t sound like Lucy had gone far, and we thought it would be an easy retrieval:  Then she told us the bad part. She had a little girl human with her.  We dogs are rarely called to find missing humans.  There is a whole human-angel department for that. But, we recognized this was an urgent case, and we could not wait for a referral.  If someone was going to save this little girl and her dog, it had to be us.   Evelyn Sides, who goes by the name Vadie, was walking with Lucy and her caretaker through the woods in Loachapoka, Alabama.  Lucy must have some mighty strong legs because somehow, she outpaced her adult and became lost.   Lucy barked,

I don’t know how he ended up in Doggyspace Town Square.  He was slumped in the gazebo, with a bottle of carrot water at his feet.  There were colored eggs scattered on the floor. He was talking in his sleep.  “Washed up, I’m washed up, I am.”   I jumped on to the bench next to him and licked his hand.  “Mr. Bunny?” I said softly. “Are you okay, Mr. Bunny?” He woke up with a jerk of his head.  He saw me, and despite being five times my size, he began to tremble.  “Don’t hurt my little dog,” he said. “ I’m not going to hurt you,” I said, putting a paw on his arm.  “I hadn’t harmed a rabbit since I got to the Bridge unless you count a few random, non-Lutheran words uttered at them when they raided my garden.  “Mr. Bunny,” I said softly, shaking his arm to rouse him from his self-pity. “Tell me what I can do.” He smiled.  “First, you can call me by my given name, Easter.  I am upset because I have spent the past year making special eggs for everyone, and now because of the virus,

I am getting more suspicious about this virus. Things are working out too well for us dogs.  The latest development is that the Shenzhen province in China has banned the hideous selling of dogs for food.  It is something that we have fought for years. Now, thanks to the virus, that dream has become a reality.     Most of our parents are home for the vast majority of the time. The shelters are emptying because humans are in desperate need for companionship. People, desperate to get out of the house, are taking us for more walks.  Humans have noticed and are commenting about our good fortune in the time of misfortune. Now I am worried about a backlash.      At first, I thought that it was merely a coincidence, but there is just too much good happening for us.  But then I began to think: Maybe we dogs were being set up. Rumor is that the virus was begun by someone who ate a bat.  Was this the bat’s revenge against us? And why were the bats mad? I put on my Inspector Pocket hat an

I told you I would come back for you.

Do you have bad breath? Do you get anything to combat it if you do? Have you ever had dental work done?   Pocket:  Neither one of us have had bad breath since we were puppies.   We used to get our teeth brushed but it freaked us out so now we have something added to the water.  I have had two cleanings and several extractions.  River still has a virgin mouth.  She has never had a dental.

First came Fudge, then Sebastian and Noah, followed by Tess.  This week Lola joined them. A year ago, all these members of the Portuguese Water Dog pack were living in the mortal world with their parents; now, they are here at the Bridge.  In this time of terrible suffering, the Water Dog Blog pack has been hit with tragedy after tragedy, yet they are still standing.     Every dog leaves their parents with a gift.  I left my parents with good humor and creativity.  The Portuguese Dog clan had grown up together.   They were a beautiful sight to behold.   But, they knew that they would all be leaving for the Bridge at the same time, so they gave their parents much-needed strength to get through another heartbreaking loss.     Lola’s parents represent the resilience all humans have developed over the centuries.  Their race has been knocked down and picked themselves up repeatedly from horrible wars, plagues, epidemics and pandemics, and the worst that they could imagine doing

It is time for a story with a happy ending.  This one is about a Siberian Husky named Jubilee.  Her first owner wasn’t a true dog person. If the owner were, he wouldn’t have surrendered Jubilee because, in his opinion, Jubilee looked “weird.”  This was the second time Jubilee had been abandoned. Her breeder did so the first time because she thought Jubilee’s strange looks would make her impossible to sell.  For two years, Jubilee waited in a shelter.  Some people laughed at her. Others were scared of her.  No one wanted to adopt her. A rescue group, Husky House, shared a picture of her on their Facebook page.  The photo was accompanied by a heartbreaking caption: “I wish I were beautiful, so someone would want me to be their dog.” I don’t know if it was Jubilee's unique look, how the post was written, or maybe there was a little help from the angels, but suddenly everyone saw the post.  It was shared more than 47,000 times and drew 23,000 comments.   Even though Jubilee

My parents have been trying to adjust to the new normal.  They are home a lot. Two dogs can be in the same room all day with no conflict, but for humans, it is different.  This is the curse of talking. People think it is an advantage, but it is not. Dogs have one opinion: It is woof.  People have a million different opinions, and many of them conflict with their housemates. When you are inside for days on end, these conflicts keep building up until one day someone says something, and the other starts wondering how they are going to survive locked up with someone as dumb as their partner.  They say something and bang: It’s on. Things get loud, and everything in my body turns to water. It is always the Yorkie that suffers. It is like being in prison, but you don’t have to cook or clean in prison. That’s a big advantage for the prisoners. People should stick to woof. Being home all day with nothing to do does make our parents understand us better.  We bark when we see or think we se