Mama On The Move

Katie and Emily were sitting at the dining room table discussing "Iron Man 3": Katie:  I always get Robert Downey Jr and Martin Luther King Jr mixed up. Emily:  Umm.....HOW can you mix them up?  They are nothing alike! Katie:  Well, their names are similar. Emily:  Not really... Katie:  Martin Luther King Jr was the one with the peanuts, right? Emily:  That was George Washington Carver! Katie: Oh. Which one was Martin Luther King Jr? Emily: He fought for black rights, he was assassinated... Katie: He was assassinated?? Emily: Yes, Katie! Katie:  Well, sorry.  I'm only studying ancient history about Jesus, like, five billion years ago. Emily:  Jesus was only  two thousand years ago!

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge. When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable. All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind. They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster. You have been spotted, and when you and your spec...

Now that we are back home with the dogs, we have started the slow process of watching Rigger go down by degrees. It's so odd that one day he was mostly fine and walking around and the next day he was unable to walk and so terribly sick.  We knew this time was coming, I just thought it would be different somehow. He doesn't want to eat much.  Foods that he loved before have no interest for him now.  And there were very few foods that he didn't love.  He spit out an onion once.  And once at the vet when he was younger, he refused an organic dog treat.  I think that's about it for his list of "no" foods. Now he will eat only ham and chicken, and even then he refuses those about half the time.  He doesn't want dog food, even the canned kind, which was usually enough to make him knock Ringo over trying to get to it.  We tried to give him Pediasure for the vitamins, he wouldn't even try it.  He doesn't want his doggie treats.  He even re...

All the way back to Illinois, Rigger just lay in the back of the van.  He didn't want to stand up and stick his head out of the window. Occasionally, he would lift his head up and poke it up between the girls to let us know he was okay. Ringo, on the other hand, perched like a mountain goat between the girls.   Nothing like a dog butt in your face to make a trip more entertaining.

We're losing our Rigger. He's been having trouble for a while with his leg.  It's been swelling and the vet has had him on antibiotics and has tried a laser treatment to help with his circulation.  Each thing we tried would help for a bit but then the swelling would come back.  He's been having more and more trouble standing up and sitting down. Then Sunday morning around 2:30, Katie heard Rigger whining.  She got up to see what he wanted and found him collapsed partway up the staircase.  She called for me and Kerry and we ran to try to help him.  There was some blood on the stairs and I was worried that he had injured himself somewhere but we couldn't see a wound.  Rigger was unable to move, he was just lying partially on the stairs gasping and moaning. We were all sitting with him trying to pet him and talk to him to keep him calm.  I really felt that he wouldn't survive very long and expected him to stop breathing any moment.  In a f...