Good Dog Sunday

This picture is Nixie at sunset on the Oregon coast. She was around 6 months old at the time. She was and still is the bravest dog we have had, she even chased a sealion into the water this trip! She is feeling better today, less itchy and maybe growing some hair back. My spirits are soaring at the idea that she might keep improving. Avery and Nixie both got baths in the Teatree shampoo today. I love the smell of it, thankfully! Traz is getting along ok, but very tired this weekend. The weather is cooler, which they all enjoy.
As Helen Keller said, "I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. I will not refuse to do the something I can do." I read that today and liked it. Today I am thankful for the day with my family furry and otherwise.

Reflection part 2

The picture is Lance with Nixie when she was about 8 or 9 weeks old. Our old yard, with Shadows dogwood tree in the back ground. It was hard for me to leave that tree. It was incredibly hard for me to move here to this house, for so many reasons. This is the road I learned to ride whisper on, back then it was gravel with a couple small farms on it. I realized after moving here that facing my past was not a bad thing. I didn't know that the good memories could and would take over and push out the bad. All I feel when I drive home to this house is JOY. I remember all the great times with friends riding horses out here, riding our bikes after school to get here and playing in the pool the folks up on the highway had. If only I had known everything would turn out alright for me, back when I was making those memories, life sure would have been easier. I don't think telling someone this would help them, it wouldn't have me, I don't think I would of believed these words, but...facing what you fear will set you free. I know that as a fact now, I'm living proof. Not everyone has a great person in there life like I do that nudges me to step outside of my comfort zone, Lance has a way of knowing what will bring me happiness. Years ago, I had been ill and gotten very heavy. He took me on a tropical vacation, of all things, just what I didn't want to do...! I had the time of my life, we had the time of our lives.
Today I am thankful for a great husband that never stops amazing me. Sunny skies and tomorrow to spend with all of my fuzzy loves.

Reflection

I spent every waking moment on this horse, from the time I was 12 until I was nearly 18. Her name was Whisper. She and I traveled the land, swam in the rivers and flew over creeks like we had wings. We also cleaned up and went to horse shows and did 4-H. She was my best friend. I'm pretty sure my life would have been a lot different without her in it. Like many kids, I went through some things that damaged my spirit, whisper helped me forget. To this day, brushing a horse brings a calm over me that nothing else can. I love caring for animals, large or small and cant imagine life without them in it. I quit smoking 5 years ago today..yippie for me! I will now live long enough to love many many more dogs, ha ha ha. Today, I am thankful for wanting to live, that's not something I take for granted, as I haven't always felt this way. I am thankful for the love of a great family, my sister, brother and Dad who are all very supportive and I know will always be here for me. I am thankful for great dogs and plenty of time with them. Life is good.

Lazy-Long-Dog-Days

The picture is Nixie around 6 months old, with Traz, of course. You couldn't separate the two. They loved playing and laying together. Her ears were so huge! I remember the lady that works at the park calling her little donkey, Nixie liked it! We still see her from time to time, but not near like back when Shadow was alive. I think she works at more than just Avery park now. Nixie went to the vet again today, Lance took her today. Her skin has gotten so much worse lately. The vet said on a scale of 1 to 10 , Nixie is a 12. That made me feel like crying. I know a few months ago we decided to let her live her life more, let her play outdoors more and eat what she wanted. We knew this might be trouble, but at least she would have some fun. She is acting so much better and playing with the other dogs again. We got some new medicines and more antibiotics and will continue what we've been doing with the weekly bathing. Our next option is a clinic in Portland that could test her for 90 different things that she might be allergic to. Its complicated and she would have to be put under and stay over night there. I swore to myself and my future dogs that I wouldn't put another through what I put my Shadow through, with all of the testing and surgery, just to die a couple of months later anyway. I am going to search my soul, dig deeper than ever before and decide what is right for Nixie. She has fought a good fight and if she lets me know she is done, I can and will let her go, I love her that much.
Today I am thankful for having this whole day to just "be" with my family. Enjoy the little things for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things!

Peaceful

The past week days Nixie has been staying with Avery and I in the office. I am really enjoying her. She and Avery get along well at the park too. Traz is enjoying riding with Lance in the truck again and has been fairly quiet. His noisy whining is what got him kicked out of the truck a couple of years ago. He is sleeping a lot, but his legs really do seem better. The weather continues to be perfect. I don't look forward to the rain coming back, but like the dogs, I don't really mind it that much either. Our new house has great access from the back yard to the garage to the house, so the dogs can be cleaned before coming in. That's one of the reasons we bought this house. Come to think of it, our old house was purchased for its huge back yard that I knew Shadow would love, holy cow it is all about the dogs, ha ha ha. Today I am grateful to have had lunch with my Dad and brother last weekend. Grateful for perfect dog weather, a home to love and care for my family in and as always grateful to have another day as perfect as today to enjoy it all.

Days like today, I have to remind myself "WHY"

It was a long dog day. All three are itchy, well four if you include me. We are spraying the yard tomorrow in hopes it's the flying bugs out there causing us to all itch. We have treated all the dogs for fleas like always and have not seen a sign of or a live flea, so I know its not that. Avery has not been itchy like this for many months. It worries me because it was about this age that Nixie really broke out and we had her tested for allergies, which she ended up being allergic to most out door plants, grass and trees. The puppy picture is Avery, you can see he had very few hairs on his head, his back was even worse. I had this time stamp on my camera because I was working with a rescue place on a neglected heard of horses down the road from our old house. She had asked me to take pictures of the poor conditions that day and to be sure and have the time/date set on the camera. It was a sad outcome to our good intentions as the owner moved the horses before we could get assistance to remove them from this , less than 1 acre city lot, there were 12 horses and several ponies. I don't know , but suspect being in the middle of that with the horses opened my heart and Avery jumped in. Its the only way I can explain the insanity of having two grown dogs and a puppy! Ha Ha. I love them dearly, all three equally. Today I am thankful for a home large enough to hold my family, the mini-van with its neat sliding doors so the dogs no longer have to jump into a pickup and of course as always, very thankful to be here to live, love and laugh for another day.