Tails From Rainbow Bridge: Clint and the Difficult Discussion

It was early in the morning and I was lying in my bed snuggled under the covers when there was a soft knocking on my door.  I lay very still trying not to make a sound.  But the knocking continued.  I got out of bed, picked up a log in my mouth and tossed it on the fire, and opened the door.

Clint was sitting by the door waiting patiently.  I felt guilty about taking my time.  I invited him in and asked him if he wanted a slice of never ending bacon.  He said yes and I broke him off some and mouthed it to him then we both put it between our paws and chewed silently.   Finally I asked him what brought him to my door.

“I know we come here, and there are so many friends, and so much to do, and even endless bacon, but I am still having a hard time adjusting to being without my parents.”

I  got off my bed and went over to sit with Clint.  I was looking for the right words to say but sometimes a warm body next to you goes much further than words.  But words would still be needed.

“We all do Clint,” I said.  “We hide it well.  And we don’t like our parents to know about it.  We like to have them think of us doing the things we couldn’t do on the mortal side and that makes them feel better.”

“I couldn’t pee,” Clint said.  “I don’t think the thought of me peeing freely will fill them with comfort.”

I have him a hug.  “But you weren’t running like you are now, and playing like you are now.  You may not have known it.  I watch you run and play.  If they could see you doing that then they would be very happy.”

“So when will I stop missing them?”

“About the same time they will stop missing you.”

“So never?”

“It will lessen in time, we will help you and your parents have friends there who will help them.  What you both have is time.  Lots of time.  So, to honor one another you have to do your very best to enjoy that time, by running, playing, and doing what makes you happy.”

“Like endless bacon?” Clint asked.

I nodded and ripped off another piece of it.  Thank the Big Guy we have endless bacon.  We have a lot of time to try and enjoy.

Ask Aunt Foley

Dear Aunt Foley: The other day I was on a walk with my Dad.  I was doing my usual walk stuff, looking around, sniffing, turning my head at any sound.  Like all dogs we trust our humans to watch where we are going.  Unfortunately Daddy wasn’t really paying attention to where we were walking and he took me over a stormdrain.  My leg went right through one of the rectangular drains and then I fell sideways.  My Daddy had to lift me out.  Whose fault was this?  Clint

Dear Clint:  For generations us dogs roamed the world without a leash carefully watching every step and we never fell in a grate and got stuck.  Then we got our calling to become man’s angels and we moved in with them.  Man, being genetically mistrusting, put a rope on us so we didn’t run away from them.

Once that happened we made a pact with them. We would let them put the leash on us and walk us but they had to watch where we were going.  We would spend our time smelling the flowers, looking at the sky, checking out any vermin that needed chasing and any old friends who may be outside.

Well your father went and broke that agreement when  he let you fall in the drain.  It was his duty to make sure you did not get stuck.  I think there is only one thing that can be done here.  You Dad needs to put on a leash and look around while you hold the leash in your mouth.  Then we can see what you guide him to to leave him with a hurt leg.

Although, from what I hear from my sources on the human book, your Mommy has much worse planned for your Dad.  An important rule of paw is to remember that Mommies are very good at concentrating on us and Daddies aren’t good at concentrating on anything that doesn’t have a ball involved for more than ten seconds so when you are being walked by your Mom enjoy the walk and when you are being walked by your Dad look out below.

Clint is our January 12, 2014 Pup of he week

I must say, while I was living on the mortal side of the Bridge, I was a pretty lucky pup.  I rarely had vet visits that weren’t my yearly checkup.  I went once for scotting my butt in the snow.  There was nothing wrong with me.  I just wanted to stop walking and knew scooting my butt would scare Mommy and Daddy, and they would carry me to the car so I didn’t hurt myself further.  Mission accomplished.  And once I popped out my front knee and screamed my little head off, but, by the time we got to the vet, my knee as back in place, and I was happy.  The only other time I made an unscheduled trip to the vet was for my parents to be informed my song was ending.

This week Clint got an unexpected trip to the vet and luckily the vet gave every indication that his song will continue.  But this is the story about why he had to go the the vet.

Clint began peeing more frequently and you know how our parents are about our bodily functions, any slight deviation from the norm is cause for great concern, while they could pee red for a week and shrug it off as something they picked up somewhere.  But I suppose its a good thing.  We can’t tell them when something tis wrong so they have to assume everything is always wrong.

Everything was normal while Clint was peeing, no dribbling, no straining, no burning, least as his Mom could tell.  But it was taking him longer to pee.  And he was going a lot.  

So his Mom took a urine sample (no backstory on how she got that but I think it’s easier with boys) and they drew blood from Clint (we know how they got that:  Ouch!) His Mom was very worried that Clint was in kidney failure, which would mean his song could be ending, or had diabetes, which could lead to blindness, insulin shots, and lots of money, so she asked her friends to put hands and paws together to pray for a good results and to give her strength because she didn’t think she would be dealing with age issues would come so soon.

And then, after endless waiting, came the news, no diabetes!  No kidney failure!  Nothing but a nasty urinary tract infection which is no fun but was a wonderful bit of news for all of us who prayed for a good result.  (Though for Clint there the constant peeing is a bit of a bother but the antibiotics should clear that up in no time.)

So here is to Clint, good health and answered prayers.