Josie is our April 19, 2015 Pup of the Week

Pocket and I used to fight.  We would get up on our back legs, snarl at one another and snap with our mighty jaws.  Fortunately neither of us had the jaw strength to hurt one another.  But not all dogs are as weak jawed as we are.

With Pocket and I, as it is with River and Pocket, fights occurred when we thought our food, or our position on Mommy’s lap, was threatened.

It is often hard to understand what triggers a dog fight.  Our parents don’t know, and most times we don’t know either.  We catch the scent of tension in the air.  A quick look is exchanged and it is go time.  

Sometimes dogs fight for a bit and then lose interest.  Sometimes humans break up the fight.  And sometimes they can’t.

This week two of our best friends, and two close pack members, Josie and Emme, got into a fight.  Their Mom and Dad aren’t sure what happened.  One moment the two of them were fine with one another, the next they were really at each other’s throats.

Emme is the younger of the two and the more aggressive.  Josie the older.  There are seven pack members that Josie has to manage.  But Emme, well, Emme doesn’t like being managed.

In the animal world, and the human world too, the young replace the old, one day you are the leader, the next an upstart takes you down.  That is the natural order of things.  In the wild Emme would now be pack leader.  But we have become domesticated, and we have Moms, and we are their babies.

Thankfully Moms know there is nothing right nor fair about the natural order of things.  And in their homes if anyone is going to determine the natural order it is Moms.  Along with their Dad, their Mom ran into the yard and somehow got the younger, stronger Emme off of Josie.  But the damage had been done.  Josie had severe injuries to her face and her legs.  While the wounds were not life threatening they would have to be tended to, and surgery would be needed.

The surgeon told Josie’s Mom that they would have to wait until morning to operate and her parents had to return home with a missing heartbeat.  And Emme greeted them with a wagging tail and bright eyes leaving their parents to wonder how they could continue to love something that almost destroyed something they loved, but they could not help but love Emme.

Thankfully, the next day, Josie had her surgery and returned home where she is healing.   And us dogs don’t hold grudges so everything is fine at Josie’s family farm.  Us angels have flown down and talked to all parties involved who have sworn there will be no more fighting.  

But some day there might be a look, might be a misunderstanding, and the jaws of vengeance unleashed

Please pray for peace at the Farm between Josie and her siblings.

Her Mom deserves it, as do all the pups

The Tornado Dogs are our June 2, 2013 Pups of the Week

Meika

Friday night I sat in front of the computer scared to death.  I wasn’t watching a frightening video or watching stories about how the humans are messing up the world, I was reading post after post from my beloved friends who were living in the path of killer tornadoes.  

Thankfully all have checked in and were spared from the storm’s wrath, but it made me realize just how fragile our hold on life, and our friendships, are.  One horrible storm can cause so much havoc and devastation it is unimaginable.  The names of towns become synonomous with destruction, Moore, Joplin, Oklahoma City, Rainsville, like the towns that became famous for Civil War battles:  Fredricksburgh, Antetiem, Shiloh, Gettysburgh.

Practically every day we bark with our good friends Reese and Mieka from Missouri.  Reese is very proud that he can howl just as loud as the tornado sirens.  But his talent scares us.  We never want him to use his howler because that means danger is coming.  On Friday night they were excitedly waiting on word of twin family members being born in Michigan.  But they couldn’t contact their family, and they couldn’t contact us, so there was a big circle of worry going on.  We were happy to hear from them yesterday, but their human twin cousin is in a hospital and in need of prayers.

Then there are our very good friend Koda, Josie, Wills and Emme.  They all had to pack up and leave their farm Friday night as tornadoes were headed right for it.  Thankfully the twisters spared their homestead and by the next morning they were back at the farm, but for one night there were lots of prayers said in their name.

Chey’s and Kaizer’s Mom had to ride out the storm in their basement.  They lost contact when the tornadoes grazed their neighborhood and all us friends held our breath. They came through the storms in one piece but the hotel where many friends stayed during last year’s Baronfest was hit.  Chey’s and Kaizer’s Mom made a wise choice pushing this year’s Baronfest until after tornado season.

On Wednesday Chelsea and Junior Johnson’s family got a warning about a major tornado and had to hunker down in their bedroom.  Two nights later they had to go through the same hell and then again on the 30th.  Their Mom’s Facebook page became tornado central, as did many other peep’s pages.

Shakira, Napa, and tiny Travis had to go into the storm cave to wait out the tornadoes that swirled around them.  It was Travis first storm but he came out fine  thanks to his Mom being so calm and Angel Apollo watching out from overhead.

There were lots of other pups in the path of these terrible storms like Summer Grace whose stories we have not told.  But we want them all to know we prayed very hard for them and are so happy they came through the darkness OK and pray it is a long time until they face another week like this.

For now we give you and your parents a big tip of the tail for being calmer and braver dogs then either us or our parents could ever be.

May you have nothing but sunny days for the rest of the summer.