Smoochy is our Pup of the Week

It was a beautiful, cloudless Saturday morning.  Ladybug and I were admiring our wall when suddenly there was a rumbling sound.  Stone and mortar exploded.  We were knocked to the ground.  Then something heavy and sweet landed on us.  We looked up to see Smoochy standing on our tummies.  He gave us both a big lick.

“Smoochy, what are you doing?” I asked as the three of us stood.  “We built this wall to keep you out.”

Smoochy put a paw on my shoulder.  “And I appreciated it, Foley.  So did my Mom.  But  I was in so much pain today, more than ever before:   I couldn’t walk, I couldn’t stand, I couldn’t be a dog.   And everything hurt.  My Mom knew I was hurting too much.  She had to end my pain and the only way to do it was to send me here.  While we appreciate the wall, at some time we will all need to be here for our own good.” 

I understood.  While we wanted to keep our friends safe with their moms, we had forgotten that sometimes the best act a parent can do for us is to send us here.

Smoochy’s wall busting arrival had caused a clamor and dogs came up from the river, down from the mountains and out of the forest to see what had occurred.  When they saw Smoochy, they came running and flying towards the Bridge’s newest angel.  Smartie leaped high in the air and gave him a kiss; Willie gave him a wet hug; Reba and Logan danced around him barking; Daisy and Mollie stood up and kissed him; and Brody, oh Brody, he bowled Smoochy right over, and they took down another section of wall.

Then we heard a dog clear his throat.  Smoochy looked up to see his brother Hershey.  Smoochy ran to Hershey and we all respectfully watched as they hugged and softly talked about their Mom.

Brody began barking at a small dark figure that skittered across the ground towards Smoochy and Hershey.  “What is that?” Brody asked.

The dark figure jumped on Smoochy’s back.  He turned and looked at it with a big smile on his face.  “It’s my monkey!” he shouted.  We groaned.  “It’s the monkey Leo sent to me.  Mom let me bring it to the Bridge.  But look at it!  My monkeys alive!”

“A monkey?” Reba said.  “There goes the property values.”

Hersey interrupted her.  “Don’t worry.  We all know Smoochy lost his monkeys when he got Mercer.  Well, all those monkeys are here and just as alive as this one right here.”  He pointed to the monkey curled on his brother’s back.  “But don’t worry,” Hershey said holding up his paws to stop the angel uproar, “I built a big tree house in the forest for me, Smoochy, and the monkeys to live.”

Smoochy wiped the tears from his eyes and kissed his brother.

I looked over the River, and I saw the clouds coming. 

They were clouds full of tears:  Tears shed on the mortal side of the Bridge. Tears shed for Smoochy.  They came rolling in like an autumn Nor’easter.  Then the clouds opened above us, and we were drenched with a deluge of tears.

Finally, the torrent abated.  We all put our noses to the ground.  We were looking for our parents’ tears.  These are precious to us.  Tears are the only mortal human contact we are allowed.  We gathered our parents’ tears in our paws.  We held them to our noses and inhaled their precious scent. My mom had been in an Italian restaurant when she read Smoochy’s beautiful blog explaining his passing.  She began to cry.  As I sniffed her tears, I picked up the scent of garlic.  Perfect.  I turned to see Smoochy and Hershey.  Their moms’ tears overflowed from their paws.  I brought my mom’s tears to Smoochy and told him that he should take them because they were shed for him.  Smoochy told me that while his passing may have inspired the tears when a parent cries for a Bridge bound dogs part of their tears are for their dogs already at the Bridge.  He convinced me to keep them and add them to the large well of my mom’s tears in the center of my garden. They make my flowers breathtakingly beautiful.

            After the tears had passed it was time for the swearing in ceremony, the attachment of wings, and some quick flying lessons.

            Then Smoochy, Hershey, and the monkeys moved into their tree house for eternity.

            Before I leave, you let me explain eternity.  Mortal humans mistakenly believe eternity means forever.  Eternity is the time between when you arrive at the Bridge and when your last loved one arrives at the Bridge.  It is called eternity because that time seems like forever.

            But, when your last loved one arrives, eternity ends and forever begins.  And what is forever?

            Forever is where you live happily ever after.

Pup of the Week: Building a Wall for Paco, Josie, Smoochy, Macdougal, and Junior

My good friend Ladybug and I have been working on a secret project.  Each morning we begin construction on a great, big beautiful wall.  And each evening after we go to sleep The Big Guy knocks it down with a giant wrecking ball.
But we are still building the wall.  Why you ask.  We are building the wall to keep out the unwanted:  All dogs on the mortal side: Especially our dear friends.
We build the wall for Paco.  He has serious breathing issues.  His Mom is afraid to go to work.  Every time she leaves Paco she wonders if he will need medicine after he has an attack and she will not be there to administer the drugs.  And she is afraid of the day the medicine won’t work.   We want Paco to have a lot more days with his Mom on the mortal side. So we build the wall for Paco.
We build the wall for Josie.
She had two terrible attacks from an undiagnosed infection.  She spent many nights at the doctors.  Finally, after an array of tests, a tumor was detected.  It had perforated her colon causing the attacks.  In a way, the perforated colon was a blessing.  If that had not happened, the tumor would have remained undetected.  Josie had the tumor removed.  They are awaiting the results of the biopsy.  She may still have to undergo chemo.  So we build the wall for Josie.
We build the wall for Smoochy.

He escaped a sure trip to the Bridge in March.  But his bone cancer had turned him into a tri-paw.  His happy gallop is now a slow limp.  But Smoochy is determined to stay with his Mom as long as he can.  To help him we build the wall for Smoochy.

We build the wall for MacDougal.

He has been suffering from vomiting, back issues, mobility issues and to top it off a tumor on his bottom.   He has endured every test known in the medical world.  He has been shaved, poked, prodded, and ­probed.  Among his diagnosis have been cancer, gall bladder blockage, and other diagnoses which the doctor dismissed as quickly as they diagnosed them.  Now the doctors have settled on acid reflux.  The doctors could not decide if the tumor on his butt was cancerous and wanted to be more tests but after a month of Mac undergoing a myriad of tests his Mom decided no more tests and is concentrating on giving Mac the best days possible until it is his time.  To ensure it is not his time we build the wall for MacDougal.
We build the wall for Junior Johnson.

  The doctors diagnosed Junior with lymphoma.  His Mom is hoping it is a bad diagnosis.  Junior has undergone an operation to remove the tumor, and his Mom is waiting to hear from the vet about the next step.  She is very worried about her special boy.  So we build the wall for Junior.

We build the wall for every sick dog, every senior dog, every dog living heartbeat to heartbeat.  We know the Big Guy will keep knocking down our wall, but we will never stop building it to try to ke­­­ep dogs and parents together for many more days.

Break is over.  Time to rebuild the wall.

Pup of the Week: Waiting For Smoochy (Spoiler: He Didn't Arrive)

Yesterday morning I woke up early.  I pressed my favorite robe.  I checked my hair in the mirror.  I wanted to look perfect.

Somedays I don’t know who will be joining us at the Bridge, some days I do, and some days I have an inkling and on Saturday I had an inkling that my very close bestie Smoochy would be joining me by the end of the day.

Once I looked good enough to meet one of the most beloved buds ever I went to my post.  Other Angels had the same inkling.  Hershey, Brody, Benjamin, Smartie, Logan and Reba were waiting.  We silently nodded to one another.

We had known this day was coming for a long time.  Smoochy had several close encounters with the immortal side.  Brody remembered how Smoochy had choked on a ball but his arrival was thwarted by his Mom who removed the ball and revived him. Logan admired how Smoochy contracted Mercer, not once, but twice, and he fought off both infections.  We didn’t mention The Bridge’s final assault on Smoochy’s mortal life:. Inoperable bone cancer.  

And we waited.

Smartie said her wings were sore from flying so many prayers for Scooby and his Mom up to the Big Guy.  Prayers with a resigned edge.  We weren’t asking for a cure. Just time.  But we were happy to do it and would do it more if somehow Smoochy could have some more days.

And we waited.

We talked about the fun we had just a week before.  Scooby had two wishes that came true on Sunday.  One was to reach his tenth birthday, and the second was to get married to his beloved Raja in Scotland.  There is no denying a dog who fought off Mercer twice and survived choking on a tennis ball.  We shared our memories of that wonderful wedding (which I had the privilege of officiating)  how lovely Raja looked and how proud Smoochy was.

Then we told some secrets. The boys told us about the wild bachelor party that they gave Scooby and the girls talked about the wonderful night they had with Raja.

And we waited.

Then we talked about Scooby, how he was our best friend.  How he made us laugh, cry, embroiled us in great mysteries and fun adventures.  And of the unbelievably strong love between Smoochy and his Mom.  How brave Smoochy was, not wanting his Mom to see how much pain he was in. How much his Mom loved him and could not stand seeing him in pain.  Which is why we were here.  Because his Mom had to cut out her own heart, had to take on unbearable pain, had to send Smoochy to the Bridge so he didn’t suffer anymore.

And we waited.

We noticed it getting dark.  Brody motioned towards my robe.  I took out my phone and the appointment app said:  “Nothing scheduled today.”

I showed it to our friends.  And then we laughed.  He had done it again.  Somehow Smoochy avoided another Bridge Day.  We hugged one another and then we danced in a circle of joy.  We said goodbye and went home.

I put my robes away, put down my book, and smiled.  I don’t know what happened, or how many days Smoochy had left, but Smoochy did not arrive on this day, and that made it a good day.

(To find out what happened to Smoochy while his friends waited follow the link http://smoochysobservations.blogspot.com/ )

Pups of the Week: Paco, Smoochy, Hannah Banana, Bella, Hattie Mae, Rabbit and Whitley

I am asking for prayers for some friends.  I am among an army of angels waiting to fly these prayers up to the Big Guy so pitch in with prayers for the following friends.

 

You should know Paco by now:  My dear Italian friend.  Last week I wrote about Kiera whose name, thanks to Angel Apollo, disappeared from my list of new Bridge members.  Paco’s name has not appeared on my list because Paco fights every day to keep his name off that list.

He has been suffering from serious respiratory attacks.  Poor Paco has gone through several of these in the last month.  With each attack his Mom becomes more concerned that she is witnessing his final breaths.  She treats him with Lasix which has stopped the attacks.  She just wants more time with her little man, and that is not too much to ask.  A little more time.  Please say a prayer that gets lots more days in the Italian sunshine.

This week we received a terrible shock.  Our friend Smoochy has bone cancer in his leg.  He is a big boy and the doctor does not think it is advisable to remove the leg.  So now his beloved Mom Kay must “keep him comfortable.”  She loves Smoochy so much.  (Everyone who has ever Smoochy feels the same way.  He is the Sweetest boy.)  

I hate the term “Keep him comfortable.”  A parent always keeps us comfortable.  And no parent needs to be told to love their beloved pet every day, or to count every day as precious.  The doctor needs to say “go home and pray for many more comfortable days” and I ask you to do the same.  Pray for many more comfortable days for Smoochy.  His family and friends would have a hole ripped in their hearts if anything happened to him.  He  is one precious pup

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Last night I found out that our dear friend Hannah Banana has to have a mass removed.  I don’t know where it is located, how big it is, or how serious it is.  I just know I hate to hear “has to have a mass removed” as much as “keep him comfortable.”  Hannah helps her Mom run the http://www.iloveyourdog.net/ page where you can buy, or gift, reasonably priced pet toys and home made treats and where Hannah and her Momma Kim give part of their profits to unrescued dogs.  She is the most special best friend in the world, warm and giving, and we need prayers that she comes through the operation safely and all tests come back negative.

Our wonderful friend Bella, who does such good work visiting the elderly every week and has so many humans who count on her companionship, is going through stomach problems again.  Last year she had to have emergency surgery because, after weeks of tests, the vet discovered that Bella had a bit of stuff bunny stuck in her intestines.  So far all her tests have come back clear but Bella is showing the same symptoms she showed this time last year and Mama Susan is very concerned about her baby and she would greatly appreciate your prayers, as would I.

 

Speaking of tummy troubles our great friend, advisor, fashion designer, seamstress and inspiration Hattie Mae has had tummy problems this week.  Her Mommy is hoping that it is just a food problem but whenever Hattie isn’t feeling well we put on extra angels because we know we are going to be overwhelmed with prayer requests and we encourage them.  We want Hattie to be 100 percent OK.  

Angel Apollo’s newest rescue, a puppy named Rabbit, might have Parvo.  He has been with Apollo’s pack less than a week.  Once Apollo’s Momma Kim fosters a dog that pup becomes part of her family so Apollo needs prayers for a new family member.  I know you will come through.

Finally we must mention our friend Whitley from the Whitley Westie blog (http://whitleywestie.blogspot.com/)  Like many of our friends she has had problems with her legs lately, first her back, and now her front.  Her Mom had her outside to do her business.  She was wearing her sling.  While she was there a man drove by and saw her then viciously informed Whitley’s Mom that she should do Whitley a favor and put her out of her misery.   You can imagine how much that hurt Whitley and her Mom.   It makes us howling mad.  Whitley’s Mom shot back what she called some HBO words and good for her.  We need you all to send some hugs Whitley’s and some prayers that her legs get healthy enough that she runs down that man and gives him a good bite on the butt.

Smoochy is our September 20, 2015 Pup of the Week

Let me tell you something about monkees.  They are darn dangerous.  My very bestie friend Smoochy:  He loves monkees.  He has a house full of them.  They are usually under control, or more accurately under tooth, as his monkees are often in his mouth.

Last year Smoochy lost all his monkees.  He caught the almost uncatchable (for a dog) MRSA illness.  This is one of the worst illnesses a dog can have.  It can be fatal.  His Mom, for a long while, could only touch him while wearing gloves.  And he had to throw out his monkees.  After a terribly long time the MRSA was gone and Smoochy got himself some new monkees.  But there was an issue we did not foresee.

Smoochy did not have time to train his monkees on proper stuffie etiquette.  On Sunday Smoochy’s Mom Kay was watching football on TV.  She got up during a commercial and one of the untrained monkees reached up and grabbed her ankle  Mama Kay fell to the ground.

She felt terrible pain from her hip down to her leg.  She tried to stand but it was excruciating.  She looked around the room but did not see her phone nearby.  To contact the authorities she had to scooch across the floor to the phone.

Scooching was not something she did with great regularity and, when you are a dog named Smoochy, and someone is going scoochy, it is natural to think that the scoocher wants to play.  So while his Mom was painfully scooching across the floor Scooby was dancing around her excited about this fun new game.

Mama Kay called the ambulance people and then she had to scooch past Smooch to get to the door and unlock it.   When the people came to take her away Smoochy realized that something had gone terribly wrong and his hurt Mom was going somewhere without him.

While Smoochy fretted at home his Mom went to the hospital where they took x-rays.  Her hip was indeed fractured but she did not need an operation.  She would to be in the hospital for a few days and then she was moved to a re-hab facility where she will try to get back on her feet in a couple of weeks.

A friend of Smoochy’s Mom brought him to Doggy Day Care where he is being treated like a Prince but no matter how many times we will him he will be reunited with his Mom he is still very worried about ever seeing her again.  And his troublesome monkees.  

So please say a prayer for Mama Kay to get healthy soon so she and Smoochy can be together, and that sometime soon they will get be able to live a normal life, with no MRSA, no broken bones and no troublesome monkees.

Smoochy is Our October 26, 2014 Pup of the Week

I have always believed when it comes to dog illnesses the more vowels in the disease’s name the worst it is.  But this week I learned of the scariest dog illness ever:  One with no vowels. 

Our very close friend Smoochy was diagnosed with MRSA, an infection that is resistant to antibiotics.  MRSA is common in humans but not in dogs.  I did not know that the disease could be transmitted from human to dog, but in Smoochy’s case it was.  And humans are worried about us giving them Ebola.

We dont’ know how Smoochy go it.  We know that he has always liked to chew his paws.  We tell him it’s a bad idea but when he’s bored his paw is right at the end of his foot and off he goes.  Last week he chewed it so badly he had to go to the vet.  Smoochy was given an antibiotic and was sent merrily on his way while the vet ran some simple blood tests.

The next morning Smoochy was stunned when he was taken to the kennel.  When his Mom came to pick him up he knew she was scared and he wondered who was sick.  Then his mother turned into the vet’s parking lot.  Could he be the one who is sick?   When his vet treated him while she wore gloves which she had never done before.  Then his Mom was given more drugs for him, big horsie drugs,  and he was brought home.

And then the most awful thing happened.  Everything Smoochy owned, everything he accumulated through a long life, was being thrown out by his Mom, while she wore long rubber gloves.  Toys, balls, sheets, his bed, even his beloved Monkey were gone, into a black bag and then into the barrel that would be left on the side off the road and taken away by the men in a truck.

Once all his possessions were gone Smoochy’s Mom sat next to him and gently stroked his fur with her rubber glove.  She told him that he had contracted a terrible, life threatening disease called MRCR and if they were not careful he could give it to her.  She didn’t know how he got it, maybe something to do with his chewed up paw, but he had it, and it was serious, for both of them.

Over the next couple of days the full effect of the bacterial infection took hold and poor Smoochy was miserable.  He had to take the huge pills every morning (but did enjoy that they were wrapped in ham.)  His foot was terribly swollen, he had no appetite, and he didn’t have the strength to stand causing him to pee his blanket.  His friends gathered in prayer hoping our friend was strong enough to fight off this infection.

He has slowly improved.  He ate some kibble.  He managed to hold his pee until he got outside.  His paw still looks like it belonged to an olyphant and he won’t stop chewing on it, perhaps to try to gnaw some of  it away, but his  eyes are clearer and he can stand long enough to get loving attention from his Mom’s gloved hand.

As of today Smoochy is waiting for a trip back to the vet mid-week to see if the pills worked.  He needs a great deal of prayer before then to rid his perfect canine form of this hideous human disease that no one can understand how he got.

And they kill us because we may carry Ebola.

So say a prayer for Smoochy tonight.  He’s the kind of dog who make all dogkind better, and we would be a poorer world without him.

Smoochy is our July 29, 2012 Pup of the Week

For those of us who are lucky enough to know Smoochy there isn’t a better friend to have in the world.  He is there to pick us up when we are down, to make us smile when we are sad, to make us feel loved when we’re lonely.  Earlier this summer he almost had his ticket to the Bridge punched when he choked on a small ball.  His Mom and the Bridge Angels saved him that day.

But shortly after that he got more bad news.  He had a lump on his skin that proved to be cancerous.  Oh poor Smoochy!  He was like a pup in one of the Final Destination films.  But not once did Smoochy ask about himself or whisper a bark of self pity.  During the vigils and services for Moose, Molly and Sierra he came to our chapel to pray everyday and never asked for himself.

But Smoochy certainly had problems that needed the Lord’s attention.  He needed surgery, the sooner the better.  Unfortunately the doctor did not want to do the surgery with Smoochy in a weak state.  To build up his strength Smoochy needed to eat.  But he was so sad for his friends, and so worried, that Smoochy was too sick to eat.
And each time he checked on friends he never asked for prayers to give him an appetite.

But when word leaked out of the Great Lakes region that Smoochy was not eating he sure got prayers.  We all prayed as hard as we could and sent hunger thoughts to him.

This week the doctor decided Smoochy was strong enough for the surgery.  He got brought in and we all gathered in the cathedral to pray for him.  His Mom let us know that he came through the surgery fine and the margins were good.

Except there was one problem.  Smoochy was not waking up.  I think it was because he spent so much time worrying about his friends and mourning them that he wasn’t sleeping as well as not eating.  So when the doctor gave him his sleeping juice he decided it was time for a long nap.

But to us all we knew was that our friend Smoochy was not waking up and this made us very scared.  Friends went up to the hospital and tried to tug on his ears and nudge him but nothing happened.  His Mom came to see him but not even she could wake him up.  He needed to stay at the hospital that night and it broke his Mom’s heart and worried us even more.

The entire next day we were all consumed with worry.  Finally word came that Smoochy had finally woke up.

The doctor thinks he’s was able to remove all the cancer.  And he doesn’t think that he will have any ill effects from his long nap.  So this was a much needed story for this summer.  A dog that had been diagnosed with the dreaded c, had an operation, had complications, and is now home safe.

So we salute our great friend Smoochy for the second time this year for avoiding the bridge.  Twice is a lot for one dog my friend I think you need a long period of good health.  So stay happy and healthy Smoochy, we love you.

And long may you run.