January 11, 2015 Pup of the week: Prayers Needed

          I have only one New Year’s resolution for 2015.  Unfortunately it is one I have no control over:  I want to do less swearing in of friends who crossed over the River of Life this year than I did last year.  But I have been inundated with prayers for pups and parents in the first ten days of this year and the only way to make my resolution a reality is to get even more prayers.  I would gladly spend all day flying prayers up to the Big Guy if I didn’t have to swear in any pups or parents this year.  So what we need is prayers.  Lots and lots of prayers.  Especially for the following pups and parents.

          I don’t know how many of my DS friends remember Jake the Shih Tzu.  He has not been very active on the site lately but his Mom is a good friend of ours on The Facebook.  She recently took sick and the doctors began to run all sorts of tests on her and the results were very troubling.  She has a tumor on her spine and is starting chemotherapy.  She has a very long and difficult road in front of her and is going to need every single prayer and good thought so please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.  Just as a parent should never outlive a child a dog should never outlive a parent.  If you would like to send her a card you can send Bentley or Pokey a PM for the address. 

          Speaking of Pokey he is going to be 14 this year and he is slowing down like all older dogs do and needs some prayers to keep the old legs and heart pumping.  And his Mom has had more healthy problems than the population of a small Polynesian island.  Back problems, arm problems, leg problems.  If it supports weight and bends it is causing her pain.  Please says prayers for many more healthy days for Pokey and for his Mom’s pain to ease so she can live the normal life that has eluded her for so long.

          We have been asking for prayers for Nigel for some time now as he still is suffering from a bad heart so please keep them going.  This past week his Dad David spent several days in the hospital with terrible back pain and a high fever that baffled his doctors.  Nigel’s poor Mom was nurse maid to her husband then running home to be nurse maid to Nigel.  As of this writing Nigel’s Dad is back home.  The doctors have determined he has a viral infection of unknown origin and both he and Nigel need some prayers to get, and stay healthy.

          Another pup with heart problems is Paco our friend from Italy.  Each time he goes to the vet we receive news that his heart is growing weaker.  But Paco is a fighter who desperately wants to stay with his Mom, especially at this time when her own Mom is very ill and needs our prayers.  So please included sweet Paco and his Grandmom in your prayers.

          Our friend Max’s grandmom needs some prayers for good health too.  Some of you may remember her as Ladybug’s Mom.  We aren’t sure of her specific medical issues but we know they are serious and any help she can get will be greatly appreciated.

          Our friends Chelsea and Ashton’s Mom took a fall on the stairs this week.  She is from Texas and as you know everything is bigger in Texas so it must have been a bad fall.  Please send prayers her way.   

          Our good friend, the Triple T’s Mom, Aunt Linda, is trying to take positive steps to improve her health by stopping smoking.  This is one of the most difficult tests a human can undergo.  She’s determined to make it but she is going to need lots of positive prayers and pup energy.

          Also needing prayers is Daisy Mae’s Mom who is currently quite sick and is on oxygen.  We don’t know the specifics of her disease but know that she too needs all the prayers and positing pup energy she can get to get over this illness.

          And we still have plenty of pups in need of prayer whose parents are healthy, but very worried about their beloved babies including Smoochy, who is still suffering from MRSA and now has an ear infection, MacDougal and Ju Ju who are still undergoing tests and Sandy who is recovering from a stroke.  I am looking for lots of prayers for all of them.

          Please keep the prayers coming in.  I would rather be flying prayers up the mountain for 1,000 dogs and humans than swear in a new member of the Bridge.

Pokey, Max and Jake are our November 18, 2012 Pups of the Week

It is Thanksgiving week and one of the things that I am very thankful for is that I have met one of the sweetest dogs, and sweetest owners ever, Pokey and his Mom Laura.  I don’t know a single pup who doesn’t know the name Pokey Lunn.  He is a sweet friend, a gentleman, and a kind soul.

Everyone know his Mom Miss Laura who has devoted her life to saving dogs even though she had to have several operations after one of the dogs she rescued, tormented by memories of past owners, turned on her and ripped her arm open.  Such a tragedy only redoubled Miss Laura’s efforts to adopt another dog, and give time to transport dogs to new homes.  She recently gave a home to another rescue, Toby, and helped heal him through a bad case of heartworm (he is not totally in the clear, so if he have extra prayers, please send some his way.)

In the past two weeks we learned very distressing news.  Pokey began coughing and his Mom hurried him to the vet.  He was diagnosed with congestive heart failure.  This sent a tremor throughout the dog world.  Pokey is the loyal glue that holds us together.  Everyone who has met him in person or online loves him.  The prayer brigade began in earnest.

Pokey had an appointment with a specialist last week so his Mom would have a better idea what was going on inside of him but what was going on inside of the dogtor was even more important because he had his appendix burst and couldn’t see Pokey pushing the appointment to next week.  Pokey, as he always does, took this in stride, but his Mom is very nervous worrying about her baby.  It is going to be a hard Thanksgiving for her this year so she when we give thanks this week let’s also give prayers for one of the best dogs and one of the best pup Moms in the world.

We are also in need of prayers for our friend Max, brother to Tupper and Boris Karloff.  Through the human networks we learned that Max was both throwing up and had diarrhea.  We did not like the sound of this at all.  We prayed it was just allergies.  What the dogtor found was not good news.  Max had a large mass that was growing in his throat and closing off his trachea.  The news just devastated his family.  The dogtor told his Mom it didn’t look good.  But like Pokey Max took everything in stride.  They are both cool dudes.

Max went in for a procedure on Friday morning.  He has the mass removed.   He ended up with a big mean incision.  He has bounced back like a champ but his family has to spend Thanksgiving praying for good results, and like Pokey they will have a very uncertain Turkey Day, so let’s mention Max in our prayers too.

Finally, and sadly, prayers are needed for Star’s brother Jake, who will be spending his last Thanksgiving with his family.  Star misses her little brother, and he hasn’t been feeling well, so after this Thanksgiving they will be sending him to be with Star.  It is going to be very hard on their parents losing two beloved pets so close together so prayers for Godspeed to Jake on his trip to the Bridge and to heal his Mom’s already broken heart.

And the rest of us should be thankful for our health and our wonderful families.

Toby is our September 23, 2012 Pup of the Week

Some weeks picking a pup to honor is difficult because it’s a friend that we lost or is sick, or we have to give it some thought, and thinking gets in the way of napping.  But this week was easier than getting four runs off the Red Sox bullpen in the late innings.  It was a dog that just last week we hadn’t met yet and didn’t have a name.  But now all we have to say is Toby.

Toby won the Mom and Pack lottery when he went from being a homeless little pup in a shelter in North Carolina to a member of the Lunn Family with Pokey and Maggie.

Their Mom is one of the great Mom warriors.  She rescues pups, she drives long distances to transport saved pups, she gives countless hours to our cause and she has rescued four pups that we know of starting with Pokey.  Her second attempt at rescuing turned tragic when the dog turned on her and removed a large chunk of her arm.   It left her unable to work, in severe pain, and in need of several operations that covered several months.  No one would blame Pokey’s Mom is if she never rescued another pup.  But first she rescued Maggie, and now Toby.

Waiting for a rescue to arrive at your house is as stressful as waiting for a pup to arrive from what are called my forbidden frozen zones.  Both ways to get a pup are in the Lord’s hands.  There are plenty of people who are involved in getting a rescue to your home while the only humans who like to watch puppies coming out of the frozen zone are sickos!  

Pokey’s Mom had to go through so many tests to make sure she was qualified to raise Toby.  Now I am all for this.  I mean we dogs are the master mammals and there should be tests to make sure people can take care of us.  We aren’t human babies for heaven sakes, which any two idiots can make.  (I saw how in a movie Daddy was watching when Mommy was away.  Sickos.)

But the waiting is for approval is so stressful.  Then they start the transport. I have the highest regards for the humans who do transports.  Pokey’s Mom is one herself.  But since I have received my high rise sherap car seat I have seen the way non pup carrying drivers drive and holy Vick.  No wonder we worry so much we out humans leave us.  Everyone is either speeding past us or in the way.  It’s amazing anyone ever gets anywhere.  

But the wonderful people got Toby home safely.  His name wasn’t Toby when was in transport.  We had a contest to name Toby.  But in the end Pokey’s Mom named him Toby from a suggestion of a off line friend.  (I know, who isn’t online? but we will let is pass because she’s a wonderful Mom.)  When he arrived home she christened him Toby (no truth in the rumor she broke a champagne bottle over his head when she christened him.

Now we must recognize the two wonderful pups who welcomed him, Maggie and Pokey.  Pokey has been with his Mom the longest and he is such a gentleman.  When I went to visit him he was very accommodating and quite sweet.  He has welcomed many pups in his homes, some to visit and some to live and he has always accepted them into his pack.   
This was the first dog that Maggie had to welcome into the pack and she followed the wonderful example set by Pokey and helped make Toby one of the family.  She even accepted Toby taking over her old duty of following their Mom wherever she went.  Now he is a true member of the Lunn Pack enjoying the porch, his fenced in backyard, and his wonderful family
   
Pokey’s Mom has had more than her share of health issues that still seem to linger and she could use some prayers to help her heal.  She is truly a wonderful woman, and she had helped us meet Toby who has become one of our closest friends.  On Sundays I like to honor friends and I am so excited to be recognizing a friend who has his future days ahead of him.
   
Without Pokey’s wonderful Mom who knows what would have happened to Toby.  But now he is loved by hundreds of online friends, and he, his pack, and his Mom, are the luckiest mammals in the world.

Maggie is our August 8. 2010 pup of the week with an assist from Ms. Laura and Pokey

Lots of times our Pup of the Week has as much to do with their Mom and family as it does with the pup, and this week is a perfect example.

Yes our new friend Maggie deserves a lot of recognition. This poor kid has been through many tribulations in her short life. All she wanted was a good home. But the Rainbow Bridge angels looked down at this lollipop and decided they weren't satisfied with a good home, they wanted the best home. They set the wheels of fate in motion, and controlled circumstances long enough for the wonderful Ms. Laura and Maggie to meet

We all know Ms. Laura's sad song. On New Year's Day she opened her heart and home to another sweet rescue, Cooper. But Cooper had things going on that no dog could understand. One night the silicon switch inside his head was turned to overload and he attacked his poor Mommy, sending him to the bridge and causing her to undergo months of painful recovery.

No one would blame sweet Ms. Laura if she never rescued another dog. The people who surrendered Cooper were not truthful about his problems. Their lack of truth, while keeping Cooper from being put down for being aggressive, came close to costing both Ms. Laura and Pokey their lives. Some would consider it wise for her to only deal with new born puppies and leave it to the unscarred to do the rescuing.

Bur not Ms. Laura. Despite months of pain she adhered to her belief in rescuing dogs. She went back to the island of unwanted pups and with a little help from the Bridge Angels she found Maggie, and brought her home.

And a tip of the tail to our good friend Pokey. Having a strange dog come in your house, befriend it, play with it, go on long walks with it, then watch it attack your Mom is more stress then most pups could handle. But the Pokster opened up his heart and welcomed Maggie in like a long lost sister.

Additionally, Maggie's addition to The Brigade has started an era of good feeling for all our members. It inspired a wonderful Ms. Connie drawing our girls, and today we had a rocking good induction party for Maggie.

Maggie is our August 8, 2010 pup of the week because she has a wonderful Mom who took in another lost dog after her first experience with a lost dog ended in unspeakable tragedy; because her brother, the wonderful Pokey, welcomed her with open paws and the two have become brother and sister and best buds; and, because Pocket and I have a good sense for these things, and Maggie is one rock star of a dog.

So congratulations to Pokey, Ms Laura and Maggie, or August 8 family of the week,and Maggie, or Pup of the week.