Pups of the Week: Molly, Mouse and Jasper Need Prayers

Prayers, prayers, prayers:  Everywhere I look there are prayers.  They are floating on the river, falling from the skies, slipping down the mountains, growing on trees:  So many prayers for so many dogs.  I have assembled a battalion of Angels to deal with these prayers.  One brigade collated the prayers by dogs; another brigade flew them up to the Big Guy, a third brigade waited patiently outside his quarters for an answer, while a fourth gathered more incoming prayers.

Prayer for Molly our daring, beautiful Dachshund friend who enjoys nothing more than dashing through the woods near her house while constantly on the hunt.  Molly’s had severe food allergies when she was a pup, and her mom learned to watch over her little darling like a hawk.  She became concerned when Molly stopped noticing her mom’s hovering, or several other objects she rarely missed.

Molly went for an eye examination, and the news was not optimal.  Molly was diagnosed with SARDS (Sudden Acquired Retinal Degeneration) which is the loss of function and death of cells in the retina that capture light.  It leads to permanent vision loss with no treatment or cure.

Molly still has 25% of her eyesight, and her parents are desperately trying to retain that.  A very small amount of patients shows vision improvement after taking a drug cocktail.  Odds are not high that the cocktail will work but her parents are willing to try anything to save her vision, while preparing for the worst by retraining her using voice commands such as “left,” “right,” “stop,” and “go” to help her navigate the world and using vanilla extract so Molly can sniff safe spots in the home and lemon extract for not safe places.   Molly has an indomitable spirit, and nothing will keep her from romping on her walks and delighting her parents, but I still ask for more prayers for her vision.

We have been getting prayers for our friend Mouse the Doberman.  She has had problems with her anal sac, a particularly nasty area to be troublesome.  This week she was diagnosed with two different infections and the anal sac, e-Coli and staph.  Mouse’s mom was happy to get the diagnosis because this problem had been recurring.  She was put on an antibiotic.  In two weeks the vet will determine if Mouse had responded to the medication.  If not then further steps will have to be taken.  So we as ask for more prayers for Mouse.

Our final friend in need is Jasper.  This sweet boy has been having seizures for months.  The doctors have not been able to pinpoint a reason for his suffering.  But his parents have watched him grow older and weaker over a short amount of time.  On Friday Jasper laid on the bed trembling, like he had a dream, but with his eyes open.  His parents sent a recording of him to the vet and are hoping for an answer.  We want Jasper back to being the ball of energy he once was, without a hint of suffering, so we ask for more prayers.

In a perfect world, I can report back in a few weeks that all three of our friends were fine.

It would be nice to have a perfect world for once.

Tails from Rainbow Bridge: Molly

I am often asked what life is like on the immortal side of the River.  Truthfully it is not much different than life on the mortal side.  The weather is nicer, neither too hot or too cold.  The sun rises and the sun sets.

I love a good sunrise although I would rather be tucked into my warm bed at that hour.  Why do sunrises need to be so early?  There are mornings I force myself awake, make a strong cup of coffee, and go to special spot to watch the sunrise.  That special spot is Molly’s sun room.

I hope you all remember beautiful Molly.  She was taken from us at a very young age.  She only had a few years with her Mom but they were wonderful loving years.  She succeeded the irreplaceable Daisy in her Mom’s heart, and she picked beautiful Sophie to heal her Mom’s broken spirit when she departed.  In the all too short time she had with her family she had one important chore:  She oversaw the building of her Mom’s sunroom.

Molly and her Mom loved to sit in the sun together.  Molly had her own chair.  She would sit in it and look out the windows to see all God’s creatures playing on her grass.  It took her Dad a long time to get it built, interrupted a spell of heart trouble, But she only had a short time to enjoy it.

It was IMHD, the terrible disease that has affected so many friends,  that took her.  It came quickly and despite tens of thousands of prayers she crossed the River of Life.  She was broken hearted, missing her Mom with every ounce of her tiny being, so her friends built her a sun room of her own.

Every morning Molly wakes up before dawn and climbs into her chair.  Her house is built on a cloud that always face East.  There are eleven teen foot windows facing that direction and a beautiful chair behind the glass.  Next to that are several smaller chairs for her friends.   That was my destination.

I am not a big early morning flyer.  The air is cold and brisk:  Like jumping into a cold, dark water.  But I could see Molly sitting in her chair.  When saw saw me she got up, got me a blanket to warm me up, a hot cup of coffee and invited me into her chair to snuggle and watch the event.

Then the sun came up, first lighting the darkness with orange, purple, yellow and red.  Then the sun rose over the river and the light and the warmth hit us like a thousand little fireflies.  We snuggled next to each other and I realized that a sunroom is a very beautiful thing indeed.

Ask Aunt Foley: Strolling Along with Molly

Dear Aunt Foley:  I recently hurt my knee playing soccer and have trouble walking.  My Mom bought a stroller so I can still enjoy the outdoors but I am not sure how I feel about using it.  What are your thoughts?  Molly the Highland Girl

Dear Molly:   First, let me assure you that I am going to get some angels together to heal your injury so you can go back on your beloved walks.  I know you love soccer but even David Beckham had to retire.  And if you still have a passion for the game you can get involved in coaching other dogs so we can win the World Cup in four years.

As for the stroller I always thought myself on the cutting edge of dog/human relations.  I asked for a stroller when I was young and proudly rode in one most of my life.

Mommy and Daddy like to go on day trips with us dogs. but if we walked next to them, with us pups being so tiny,  people would often trip over us and our parents were worried we would be injured.  They bought one of those contraptions that we sit in close to their bodies but I was a hot little number who gave off a lot of heat so, after just a few minutes, we were both sweating and panting like characters in Castle fan fiction.

I saw the stroller your Mom got for you and it looks very nice.  The first stroller my Mom got for my sister Copper and me wasn’t so nice.  It fell apart midway between the Mystic harbor drawbridge and Mystic Pizza.  Luckily there are boutique dog shops on every street corner in quaint New England towns.  Mommy and Daddy grossly overpaid for what started out as an ordinary stroller and soon became the Foley mobile.

Your stroller will soon become known throughout your town as the Mollie mobile. Adults may coo over a baby in a stroller but they turn into complete maniacs when seeing a dog in a stroller. Your stroller is very much like the Pope mobile and humans react with the same excitement when they see you as they are when they see the Pope.

So count yourself among the lucky ones Molly.  You are small enough to fit in a stroller, regal enough to look like a Queen being wheeled past her loving subjects, and you have a Mom who cares enough about you to buy one for you so you can enjoy the woods.

Your are now Molly Princess of the Highlands.  Enjoy your luxury carriage.

Lou ee, Molly, Jackie and no big drama are our July 13, 2014 Pups of the Week

It has been a slow week here at the Bridge, a blessedly slow week.   No friends making the journey to the immortal side of life.  No friends in need of prayers.

I have been blogging for five years.  Shortly after I began I used my Sunday blog to recognize dogs, usually those who had either passed over to the Bridge, or were in need of prayers.  The first dog I wrote about who had crossed the River of LIfe was Apollo.  Last week I wrote about his brother Ace, who passed over on Tuesday.   At the time of the Apollo blog Ace was just beginning his peak years.

So it is a rare week when there is no sorrow or peril.  Thank the Gods and the Dogs for that.  But being a well acknowledged dog with a blog it left me with a problem.  I had no one to write about and a rabid audience of dozens of dogs and even a larger audience of dogs up to date on their shots waiting on my blog.

Let’s celebrate some good news and some minor problems that could have been major.  Like Lame Lou ee.  He went on a walk this week and came home with a bloody paw.  The wound was cleaned but Lou still walked with a limp.  After a couple of days of waiting for it to heal his Mom took him to the vet where it was discovered that he had exposed the quick of his paw.  “No big drama,” Lou said.  Thank heavens for that.

Then there is my friend Molly the Highland Girl.  Her Mom saw little blood spots on the floor and checked Molly all over including her unmentionables.  She couldn’t find anything but did not want to take any chances so she took Molly to the vet, who looked her all over, spending more time on the unmentionables.  Then she found an infected whisker.  While that was easily treated two days later she was back at the vet’s with diarrhea and vomiting.  The air quality in Molly’s neck of the woods is very hot and was making her sick, so Mollie needs to stay inside in the nice air conditioning until fall.  Once again, no big drama, and thank heavens.

Finally there is Jakie who has had problem poos since he arrived at his forever home.  Jakie’s Mom took him to the vet this week too, and while they still aren’t sure what is causing his poo problems there is nothing physically wrong with him.  Again, no drama.

So here is to a week with only a slight amount of drama and healthy pups getting good reports from doctors.

May we have a lot of weeks like this in the months to come.

Molly is out May 18, 2014 Pup of the Week

People ask me what I miss the most about life on the mortal side of the Bridge and of course I answer my Mom, then my Dad, and Pocket, and all my friends,  but honestly, the first thing that pops into my head is chicken.

Oh how I loved chicken.  The smell, the taste, the texture.  Sure, we can get chicken up here, but since nothing really dies in the immortal life, it’s not real chicken.  It’s like pizza on the West Coast.  They call it pizza, but it’s not pizza.  We have chickens happily running around here, and man I would love to chop one of their heads off, rip out their guts, build a fire and roast those little suckers up, but it’s against all sorts of rules, and my understanding is it still wouldn’t taste like chicken.

I don’t think I could stand to live in a world where there were real chickens and we weren’t able to eat them.  And yet my friend Molly has an allergic reaction to chicken.  And to make it worse she got to taste chicken, she knows how good it is, and then it then she got chicken snatched out of her grasp.

But ultimately Molly’s story is one of survival and that’s what counts the most.  For a long time Mollie had terrible tummy issues, with stuff coming out both ends.  Vet trips after vet trip were made and there were no answers.  Her Mom became more sad and frustrated.  And then came the horrible diagnosis that cured everything.

Now Molly must go through life without the best tasting part of life:  chicken.  While I am happy that she is getting healthy I feel so sorry for her, having to live a chickenless life.  And living chickenless isn’t as easy as just going to buy food and treats with another protein listed on the front because chicken is very plentiful and most dog foods like to add a bit ot if to their recipes even if it doesn’t say chicken in big letters on the package.

This week Molly went seven days without taking the medicine for her tummy with no adverse results so this is a big week for her and her parents.  I would rather have a long life with my Mommy than chicken.  I did deliberate about this for a long time but it’s what I decided.

So here is to Molly and to all healthy recovering dogs.  The more healthy, recovering dogs we have the less work I have to do and less work makes me happy.

It gives me more time to eat crappy tasting fake chicken.

The Snow Dogs Are Our December 15, 2013 Pups of the week

Here at Rainbow Bridge it doesn’t snow   We do have mountains  where we can climb then play in the snow, go sledding, and partake in snowball fights, while Huskies and their ilk have wonderful fun romping and rolling.  But we don’t have any of those cold, windy, icy, snowy days that we hate.

This week, on the mortal side of the Bridge, all across the country, many friends got slammed with snow, ice, wind, and downed power lines.    When they went to do their business they got snow covered paws, icy and damp fur, and the dreaded toweling off.

Thankfully no one was lost in the big cold fluffy.  All our parents survived. As I sit up here on the green banks looking in the River of Life I must admit I don’t miss sticking my who who in the freezing snow to melt a little with my pee, and I was able to muffle a snicker when Pocket went to settle into a squat and ended up spread eagle on the ice.

When I was a youngster Mommy, Daddy, Blake and I would go walking in the early evening at the state mental institution, through the snow, and I would scoot my bottom on the cold.  This got both my parents very upset, and they took me to the vet, who found nothing wrong.  But there was something wrong:  I thought it was a bad idea to be walking at the state mental institution at night and my scooting got them to reconsider their fallacy.

Let’s see how some of our friends soldiered through the storm.

Snow can’t keep our friend Leo from looking regal and proud.

Meika has already formed her opinion and is done with the snow for the year.

Scooby and Odie pose for a picture despite cold paws.

Molly is done with the cold and wants in now!

Toby, Maggie and Pokey make the best of a cold situation.

It looks like this is going to be the start of a long winter with plenty of snowy pictures.  So here is to the snow dogs:  May they always have a safe and warm place to hide from the cold.

Our New England Friends Are Our November 3, 2013 Pups of the Week

Hello my friends, it is I, Pocket Dog, taking over the Pup of the Week duties from my sister, Angel Foley to name the New England area Pups, who had their own fest this weekend, especially our hosts, Pokey, Maggie, and Toby, as our Pups of the Week, and give a special shout out to Jasper’s, Chappy’s, Blue’s and Whiskey’s parents Judi and Jorge, who organized the get together, and Pokey’s Mom Laura who opened her house to us.

Attending the festivities besides myself and River, and our hosts, were Wishbone, Molly (of Molly, Sully and Angel Daisy), Bentley, and Barnum and Bailey.  (I hope I did not forget anyone, that’s all my nose remembers.)

I was the life of the party.  I went up to all the other dogs, enjoyed sniffing them, played with them, barked at them, and eagerly climbed into the arms of all the parents.

(EDITOR’S NOTE FROM ANGEL FOLEY MONSTER:  OH YOU DID NOT.  YOU SAT WITH UNCLE JORGE OUTSIDE FOR A BIT, BUT AFTER THAT YOU WANTED TO BE WITH MOMMY AND DADDY, AND IF ANOTHER ADULT HELD YOU, YOU HAD TO BE ABLE TO SEE MOMMY AND DADDY OR YOU BECAME A TREMBLING MESS.  YOU BARKED AT ALL THE OTHER DOGS AND YOU DIDN’T WANT TO BE ON THE FLOOR.  AT LEAST RIVER DID SOME SNUGGLING WITH ADULTS.)

It was one of the most enjoyable days I was have had and I am so grateful for Aunt Laura for letting us use her house, and to Aunt Judi for the DS/TB jewelry she got from Blue Lamb Designs.  Those thoughtful gifts made a great day even better.

When morning came it looked like this wonderful day might not come to pass.  Our car had a flat tire and Daddy had to borrow Grampy’s old jalopy to make the hour long trip, and Wishbone slipped out of his gate and was missing for a half hour, but someone, perhaps Angels Foley and Annie, got us all to Aunt Laura’s house safely.

And finally, Wishbone’s human sister Sierra wrote wonderful poems for all us dogs, and she stood in front of everyone and said that while she loved all the dogs, River and I were the most unique dogs she had ever seen.  She is one very wise and perceptive girl.

Here are some pictures of our friends enjoying the day.

Here is the star of the day, Wishbone, who let everyone pat him and was a perfect gentleman, getting a pat on the head.

Here is Toby locked in solitary confinement
Wishbone posing for his fans

Bentley with his Mom hiding behind him
Molly with tail wagging
Barnum inspecting shoes
Bailey snuggled on the deck
Our gracious host Pokey getting some water
Toby, Aunt Laura, and River

Molly Mae is our September 9, 2012 Pup of the Week

This is one of the dog secrets that we don’t like to share with everyone.  When we walk in a human’s front door for the first time we are the most charming beings you can ever meet.  We know, in those first 24 hours, if we don’t screw this up, we are here forever.  We’re like a nervous frat pledge with a pretty girl, if we show nothing but our charming side, and keep buying drinks, we’re in.  Once we are in we can eat couches, pee, do all sorts of terrible things that frat pledges normally do, because when we’re in our parents don’t have the heart to send us out.

But sometimes being in that home isn’t the best thing for us.  Since all Moms are defenseless to our charm offensive, even when they know that finding another home for us is necessary, it still is a heartbreaking decision to decide we have to leave the home where we made everyone fall in love with us.

This was the decision that plagued our Aunt Trudee.  You all know Aunt Trudee.  Some of you know her as Tanner Bub’s Mom.  Others as Cocoa’ Puff’s Mom.  Some others as Angel Ruger’s. Maxx’s, or Molly Mayhem’s Mom.  We are here today to talk about what happened with Molly Mayhem.  

Molly came into Aunt Trudee’s life when she was on death row.  No one was stepping up to provide a home for Molly so Aunt Trudee did, except there was one slight problem, she already owned Max and Cocoa Puff.  There is a law in the land that Aunt Trudee lives in that you cannot be owned by more than two dogs.  But Aunt Trudee is a rebel who believes in agitating authority (I don’t know she got that from) and she decided saving Molly was worth the risk.  

Not that there weren’t problems.  Maggie was a runner and she was good at escaping scaring her Mom several times.   There was some fighting over Mom’s lap, a Dad who wasn’t really happy with three dogs in the house, and the constant fear that someone would report the extra pup and one of them would be sent to the pound.  Maggie also had enough energy to light up the entire house.  She had two modes, plays and snuggle, and Max and Cocoa couldn’t keep up with Maggie playing, and no one had enough laps for all three dogs.  Aunt Trudee started to realize that Maggie needed to be an only dog who had kids to play with.

The she talked to a friend whose family had just lost their pets recently.  They had two boys who longed for a young dog (Molly’s vet thought she was about two years old) who could keep up with and play with two young boys.   Aunt Trudee saw the family who needed a young energetic dog, and Molly, a young energetic dog in need of a family to play with, and she knew, while she had to make the heartbreaking decision, to see if the new family would give Maggie Mayhem a better home.

I will borrow from Aunt Trudee’s blog when she explained what happened when Maggie met the family.  “The family came up to meet Molly just last Friday. Instant love, no other explanation fits.
The faces. The adoration. It was so mutual. Can't begin to tell you. (she even found new snuggle kitties, hehe) Here's a couple of updates from the family from those first 2 days: "The boys adore her. She is so completely wonderful with a kind, loving & pure soul. We are so grateful to have her" and "She is doing great. She snuggled on the cats last night. It's like it was all meant to be".

Sometimes we walk in the door and it is forever home, and sometimes it is our temporary home, and it’s up to the Mom who lives in the house to make that decision, and then to make the right decision.  So we know Aunt Trudee misses Maggie and her heart aches, but she did what was best for Maggie, and she is a true great pup Mom.

I know you will thrive in your new home Maggie.  And you will never be forgotten but all those who love you.