When Worlds Collide…

On the day after tomorrow, a very sweet lady named Ashley will be coming to our house on behalf of the Golden Retriever Rescue to take Molly.  Another very kind woman by the name of Patti, who works with the Brittany Rescue group, called last week to say that she already has two different families who are interested in Toffee, so he will be leaving some time soon after.  After they are gone, a big part of my heart will be gone, too.  I feel that this is going to be one of those life-changing moments for me, and I am sure that I will never be exactly the same.

I have struggled with this for about a year now, hoping that it could be avoided, but the time has come for me to face reality.  My mother has had asthma for all of her life, although it was cats that had the worst effect on her.  After her last round of pneumonia (her third in less than a year-and-a-half), she has been put on oxygen.

Paisley also has a host of breathing issues (having pneumonia at least three times in the last year-and-a-half, too).  After Paisley suffered anaphylactic shock (peanut butter), some allergy testing was done.  Two of the things to which she is most allergic are peanuts and dogs.  For the longest time, I thought that if I cleaned the house really, really well before she came over, it would be enough.  And it worked…for awhile.  But lately, the time that she can spend at our house before having symptoms has become less and less.  The last time she was here, it took less than an hour before her eyes were red and puffy and her breathing became wheezy.  In an unrelated episode, her parents recently ended up rushing her to the ER because her breathing had totally shut down.  If they had not already had a pharmacy/ER in their own kitchen to start treatment before they left, it would have been pretty bad.

I know that this is the right thing to do…I can’t ask my family to suffer so much just because I have this insane attachment to animals…but it is still one the hardest things I’ve ever had to do (and I’ve had to do some hard things).  I console myself with the fact that rescue groups are the absolute best place to which a dog can go in a case like this.  I am amazed at the work these groups do, and I will be donating funds to them for the rest of my life so that other dogs may go on to benefit from their services.  The Basset Rescue Group helped Mandy and Jeromy find homes for Bacon and Turco a year ago, and we know that they went to wonderful homes, perfectly suited for each one.

This week was spent taking the kids to the vet to make sure their shots were current and to have the blood work and what-not done – it’s important to me that I am not surrendering dogs with some hidden health issues.  Both dogs came back with excellent bills of health (except that Molly needs to lose some weight, that big mama!), and I have heart-worm preventive to send with them. Today, we went shopping and got new beds, dishes, food, and chewies to send with them.  New life, new stuff.

Toffee will turn 7 in just a few days; he was one of Cookie’s puppies, so I am not lying when I tell him, “I loved you before you were even born.”  When Cookie was delivering them, that high-strung dog would just plop them out, then run around the house like a maniac until the next one delivered.  It was up to Robert and me to clean them off, get their circulation going, and tie the cords off.   She also didn’t have the milk, nor the patience, to nurse ten puppies, so we rotated them with bottle feeding and “mama” feeding until they were weaned.   Toffee was a beautiful puppy:

And he is still my beautiful boy:

He is loyal and true.  He used to sleep in Mom’s room before she got sick; his dog bed was on the floor at the end of her bed.  Whenever I would open the door in the morning to let him out, he would not leave the room until he went to her bed to see if she was okay.  “I’m okay, Top-Top,” Mom would say, and only then  would  he come trotting out.  Every night when I go out to tuck Opal Chicken in for the night, he walks the path with me.  He truly is a guardian.

And what can I say about Molly?  I loved her the minute I saw her over the fence in the neighbor’s yard. She is the most care-free, easy-going creature I have ever known.   Not exactly the brightest bulb in the string, mind you, but she delights in the simple things of life.  She is sheer joy and I have loved our three years together:

Cookie will be staying because she is getting old now, and is not the most spry of girls.  She spends a lot of time in our bedroom, just sleeping.  She is also so obnoxious when she is awake that anyone else would beat her to death within the first week.   And I’m pretty sure Robert would divorce me if he had to part with her.   I’m hoping that reducing the dog hair and dander by 2/3 will be enough to make a difference.  The rabbit will be living in our bedroom when the weather dictates and at night, while spending her days outside when it is nice, and I’m hoping that will allow her to stay.  We’ll see how that goes.  It’s just been a terrible year so far all the way around.

It is my prayer that my kids will find wonderful, loving "forever" homes.  I wish that home was mine - but alas, it is not to be.  I will never forget them, and I will love them forever.

Ever So “Grate-Ful”!

Early in the week, I was getting the feeling that this Thanksgiving holiday was going to be a little different than those in previous years. The right side of my face is still dead from Bell ’s palsy, and I still have headaches and dizziness that keep me from being what I used to be. It’s amazing how illness can sap your spirit if you let it. Everything I normally do has become so hard, and it has really been grating on my nerves. Then, the day before Thanksgiving, while taking a shower I noticed two tiles in the back of the shower completely bowed out away from the wall. I had been concerned about the grout, etc., in this original shower in our 1970’s house, but we had thought that we could hold off on remodeling it until next spring sometime (well AFTER Christmas and the financial damage that is done during this season). Not so…bulging tile could only mean that water was getting behind the tile (for quite awhile, I’m afraid), causing who-only-knows what kind of damage. I had thought that this Thanksgiving was going to be different, and I was right!

However, in a strange way, those bulging tiles helped me to get back to seeing things in perspective and brought a new sense of appreciation to my week. I’m grateful for a husband who is willing to spend his precious days off dutifully working on said bathroom without complaining, and I’m glad that he has the know-how to do it (he was working construction and remodeling when I met him). That has really touched me. I’m also grateful that he’s the kind of guy who didn’t have a cow and berate me when I lost control of the cart while he was loading sheet rock at Home Depot, sending the cart scraping along the underside of the tailgate of his truck. This loss of control resulted in some pretty good scratches on the outside of his tailgate. I’m also grateful that Target sells scratch repair kits. I’m grateful that we had the means (albeit borrowed) to be able to buy the materials to make the new bathroom possible. After living without this bathroom for a few days, I’m grateful we even have it in the first place.

So now we have a new remodeling project to document. Here is what it looks like now:




I also am grateful that Alan seems to be enjoying work so much more now. After returning from Yellowstone, he returned to working at Albertson’s. Apparently, they got a new store manager while Alan was gone, and this new guy is very personable and caring towards ALL of the employees. A good manager can make all the difference, and Alan seems to be much happier in general.


I’m grateful that Molly-Anna Marie came into my life. While it is true that she is a loping, big galloot, she is also very easy-going and just a joy to be around. In the quiet times (when she is NOT pouncing and wrestling Toffee), sometimes she and I just hang out together and it is quite comforting. I sure love her.


I'm grateful for all that my Mom has done for me, especially lately. I don't know how I would have made it during this time, especially the period immediately following my first coming down with my illness. I guess you're never too old to be helped by your mother.

And of course, no post is complete without being grateful for Miss Popper. She is the most cuddly, sweet package of drooling goodness in the whole world. Here is a picture her mother snapped while their little family was out doing some “Black Friday” shopping. Miss Popper’s dad will filling the car with gas and Mandy looked in the back seat to see if Miss Popper was okay. She seems more than okay – I think she knew her parents had decided to give her the big activity set/seat (intended as a Christmas present) on that day instead of waiting until Christmas. I guess we both have lots to be grateful for!

The Greener Grass on the Other Side

We often catch Molly sitting at our fence, gazing longingly into our neighbors' yard. It doesn’t matter what time of the day it is, you will often find her, watching and waiting for something.


Is she looking at their back porch, hoping to see some action in their little fish pond?


Is she looking at their perfectly manicured lawn and their bird bath, where an endless number of birds come to cool off?


Is she looking at their beautiful garden spot, complete with cute little windmill?


She might be looking at those things, but here is the true object of her affection:


This is Maggie, our neighbors’ elderly golden retriever. Dee Dee and I are convinced that Molly thinks that this is her mother, and she is waiting to be reunited with her beloved mom. Maggie, who is convinced that she is human, generally has no interest in Molly at all. But today, wonder of wonders, Maggie actually made her way over to the fence, and gave Molly a little sniff:


Molly was absolutely delighted, and I have a feeling that we will now find her sitting at the fence, looking for Maggie, even more often now!

Where’s Molly?

It’s hard to believe that Molly has been with us for only about three weeks now; she has made herself so at home that it feels much longer than that. If you have wondered, I will tell you: yes, she is just as soft as she looks, and yes, she’s even cuter than her pictures. We have certainly had a great time with her. We’ve even had a good time with her name. In addition to the obvious, “Good Golly, Miss Molly”, we have other silly things that we say that prove that we have finally snapped. When she’s being especially sweet and perky, we call her “Molly Anna!” (I’m sure Walt Disney and Haley Mills won’t mind.) Also, when she has been playing outside and it’s time for her to come inside, in a flashback to my playground days, I yell, “Molly Olly oxen free!” I know; we are easily amused at our house.

But most of the time, I am heard to ask, “Where’s Molly?” I get concerned when I can’t find her, because when she disappears, you just never know what she’s up to.

Is she plotting to take Toffee’s stick away while he’s still chewing it?

Is she stalking Dee Dee, hoping that my Mom will drop a piece of meat?

Is she aggravating Chewka Marie?

Has she parked her fanny in Dee Dee’s favorite chair outside, while she watches the squirrels and birds?


Is she attacking the water hose while Alan waters some plants, nearly drowning herself in the process?


Has another sandal lost its strap due to her uncontrollable need to gnaw?


Has she snapped another branch off of one of my beloved blue berry bushes?


Believe it or not, she isn’t always causing mischief. I have gained a healthy admiration for her ability to sleep just about anywhere.

So where’s Molly?

She might be under the snack bar in the kitchen…


She might be napping on Toffee’s bed in Dee Dee’s room…


And after watching Dee Dee cook dinner and hoping for a snatchel, she finally gives up…




In an effort to cut down on some of the mud in the yard, Alan and I “worked like dogs” to put in a mulch ring around one of the trees. And where was my little helper, Molly? Toffee pointed out that she was passed out by the storage shed…




And later, she had to try out our handiwork before we even finished!


After my long day of yard work, I’m tired and ready to go to bed. Where’s Molly?

Molly’s passed out behind the exercise machine/coat rack in Robert’s office!


I guess being so cute and cuddly is exhausting!