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.

Trixie is our February 17, 2013 Pup of the Week

We all have secrets we keep from our Mom and Dad. We don’t mean to keep these secrets but there is no way for us to tell them. These secrets have to do with our lives before we came to live with them.

Parents don’t have the same problem. They are always telling us about what happened in their lives, usually when we are alone with them and they are feeling blue. But that’s what we are there for. We look up at them with our sad brown eyes and listen with our big ears. Somehow that makes them feel better.

But we can’t do the same. Dogs do have the wonderful ability to live in the moment. We are in our forever home so it’s we convince ourselves we have always been in our forever home. But there is a little bit of memory inside of us that we can’t suppress. When something bad happens that little memory of our old life explodes and for a few days it makes us The Dog Who Lives in The Past.

This happened twice to our friend Trixie in the last two weeks.  Trixie was found wandering in a Wal-Mart parking lot and brought home by her new Mom, our Aunt Linda.  She is a wonderful Mom and Trixie could not have found a better Mom, or better siblings in Tashi and Tiara.

But on this day her Mom tripped going up the stairs and landed on the dogs including Trixie. None of us know what traumas Trixie faced in her former life but when her Mom landed on her Trixie got hurt, and then scared.  She ran under the bed and would not come out for her Mom at all.  She did, after lots of coaxing, come out for her Dad.  But she was scared of her Mom.  Aunt Linda was very upset, trying to get her baby to come to her, but poor Trixie was so scared she snapped at her Mom when she came near.  They were both broken hearted

Trixie spent her time with her Dad and ignored Aunt Linea until finally Aunt Linda called Hannah Banana’s Mom Kim.  Thanks to Aunt Kim’s good advice Aunt Linda began playing on the floor and giving treats to Tiara and Tashi while their Daddy ignored Trixie. Seeing her sibling playing with their Mom, Trixie began to trust her Mom again. One good walk alter and everything was back to normal.

But less than s week later Trixie got very scared again.  It was time for her to be spayed.  She was nervous when her Mommy dropped her off at the doctor’s office.  Then she woke up not knowing where she was, with her Mom nowhere to be found, and in pain. The Dog She Used to Be took over again.

When Trixie got home she looked for a place to hide, finding it under the couch.  She would not eat or drink, she just lay under the couch and cried.  She even refused to take her medication.  The next day her Daddy lifted the couch, her Mom threw a towel over her, and they took her back to the vet.

Trixie had been so scared and afraid to move she was covered in doggy droppings and needed a bath. She also got a shot of Tramadol and some Cittrine for her upset stomach.  She was then taken home and put in her crate so she could not hide again. The doctor suggested some Prozac for her but her Mom felt like she needed it more.

The next step was to place the crate in a playpen with pee pads spread out under it. Safe inside the pen Trixie came out for water and food. The next day she allowed her Mom to wrap her in a towel and hold her.  Every day since she has made a little progress.

It is going to take while for Trixie to lose The Dog She Used to Be and occasionally that pup will pop back up, but now her Mom knows how to handle her, and how to send the The Dog She Used to Be away so Trixie can enjoy being the Dog She Was Meant to Be.