February 22, 2015 Pup of the Week: Answered Prayers for Koda, Summer Grace and Bella

           There have been too many Sundays that I have chronicled the aftermath of unanswered prayers.  On this Sunday I would like to celebrate the joy left in the wake of prayers answered in the affirmative.

            We begin with one of our oldest and most cherished friends who was with us when we cleared the land and built the dog houses to create this beloved spot for so many of our lonely friends.  Koda stands tall in his role as one of the leaders of our pack.

            A torn ACL tried to cut our dear friend down to our tiny size.  This combined with a careless vet who prescribed the wrong medication made a dire situation worse and put Koda on the gurney towards the operating room after many weeks of dieting to take some weight off the weary tendon.

            Luckily, in a plot twist reserved for movies, Koda’s original doctor returned to town, replacing the careless fool with the prescription pad, to do his surgery.  We gathered together to ask the All Mighty to guide the surgeon’s hand and to help Koda awaken after his surgery.  Thankfully he graciously granted our prayers.  And the next day, when Koda wouldn’t eat, he granted our prayers again by giving our friend his appetite back.  We are still praying that Koda fully recovers.  The Lord has granted out prayers through the hardest time, we are sure he will continue to do so.

            Having one answered prayer a week has been a challenge lately never mind multiple answered prayers but the All Mighty has been in a generous mood.  And answering multiple requests for the same dog is pushing the limits.  But it is what Summer Grace needed.

            Summer has gone through cancer treatment in the past and it was a struggle to keep her with us.  Summer’s Mom has been very diligent in checking her for any growths.  We can only imagine how her heart must have dropped when she found growths on her best friend as she gently stroked Summer.  Having been down this torturous path before her Mom knew what to do.  Summer was taken into surgery, and again we prayed that the doctor’s hand be guided and Summer recover.  And again our prayers were answered.  The growth was removed, and it was benign.  Our friend is on the road to recovery.

            Finally there is Bella, a very special dog in her own right.  While my pack spends days lying on blankets and searching for a warm lap Bella gives her time going to the senior citizen home and bringing smiles to the faces for those who were afraid they had lost their smiles.

            Bella became ill suddenly:  Vomiting, loose stools and no appetite.  Her liver enzymes were high and her doctor told her Mom that Bella must have eaten something toxic.  She was given medicine and was told it would pass.  But it didn’t, poor Bella grew progressively worse and her mother grew more worried.

            We prayed for an answer to what ailed our generous friend, for her to eat, and to keep down, and in, what she consumed.  Finally her doctor, after several Mom requests, acquiesced and did an x-ray which showed part of a toy in Bella’s small intestine.  The surgery, and the prayers, were performed, and said, via emergency, and again the prayers were answered yes.   Bella is home, eating correctly and holding her food down, well on her way to recovery, and returning to the senior center to help find more smiles.

            So we give thanks for three answered prayers this week, and ask that we be granted many more to come in the weeks and months ahead.

Koda is Foley Monster's August 25, 2013 Pup of the Week

Last week I wrote about my wonderful friend Annie who had no choice but to become a triped when she was diagnosed with cancer in her leg.  Sadly Annie’s Mom found out yesterday the cancer had spread before the surgery and she is in need of major prayers.   And so does another dog who became a triped through stupid human error.

My friend Koda, while having one of the best families in all of the dog world, has not received a lot of breaks in the health department.  He is an oversized Lab with multiple health problems including bone problems in hips and his kness.  And then he hit a spot of much ill fortune.

Koda is on medication, as are some of the other members of his pack.  Koda’s vet made a mistake and put his name on pills meant for another member of his pack.  Koda’s Mom gave him the pills and he became loopy, then fell down, and when he did he shredded his ACL.

Both his Momma and I are very upset with the vetl.  His Mom called the vet and told her that she would never take her pet kids to  her office again.  I sent a huge flock a full geese to poop on the vet’s car and gave the vet fleas.  Not her office, just her.  Knock my friend down and hurt him and I am going to make you itch for a week.

Koda’s new vet gave him some pain meds to help him get through the day and to relieve the face swelling that was a side effect of the medication he should not have taken.  Before any of the physical problems that Koda developed because of his degenerative bone disease could be cured his thyroid problems would need to be treated pharmaceutically.

Once his thyroid problems are addressed then Koda is facing two more operations.  One is a hip replacement surgery as his degenerative bone disease has badly damaged his hip, and after that they can address his ACL caused by the know poo covered disgraced vet.

This fall, around the time of Baron Fest, Koda’s Mom and Dad are going to hold Farm Fest.  Unfortunately Koda, the leader of his pack, won’t be able to frolic with the other dogs.  But he was still be there to give his wise counsel, his leadership, and his friendship.

So please keep Koda, and Annie. in your prayers.  He has been one of our best friends for a long time and want him with his family for even longer.  He has a hard road ahead some of it as an oversized dog with three legs, but his heart is so big we know it will get him there.

Love you our besite, long may your adventures continue.

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. 

Koda is our March 7, 2010 pup of the week

Congratulations to Koda for being a two time winner of Pup of the Week.


It's been quiet a tough week for our friend. It began with his Mommy and Daddy finding a lump on his neck. Now we all know finding lumps are a very bad thing. I don't want anything to do with them. When Mommy and Daddy are feeling nostalgic and watching Leave it to Beaver I hide under a blanket when Lumpy Rutherford walks in the kitchen.


His parents took him to the vet, and you know vets, they want to cut everything out of you (some of them stole our ovaries.) They took it out of him before it turned (into what?) but he was very sleepy. But hopefully he is not going to have any lingering effects from the surgery (like complete absence of ovaries.)


They brought him home with eight inches of stitches on his back. No word if he had to wear the cone of shame. He was in such tough shape that even Josie the Grouch was happy to see him, doing a dance like Oscar does when someone puts trash in his can.


To add insult to injury the cut happy doctor says he needs to lose nearly 20 pounds. That's four of me! I think Koda looks just perfect to me? Don't you?


When Koda first was awarded our highest honor it was because his Mom had saved a dog at the police station who had an express pass for the bridge. Bella has lived with the family for five months, but Koda has been very aggressive with her. Some dogs just don't mix with others no matter how hard their Mom and Dad try. I know it's heartbreaking for them but they are finding her a new home.

So, for being such a brave boy in facing surgery, for his parents making such a valiant effort at integrating Bella into the family; for recognizing their mixture of pups put all of them in danger, for, instead of just turning Bella over to a rescue, working on getting her adopted, and finding her a good home soon; Koda is our pup of the week and her Mom and Dad our shining star parents of the week..

Congrats to all.