Stuffies and Teddy Bears

 Stuffies and Teddy Bears. Over the years keeper had many toys. Most of them came from Gramma K. Even this past Christmas there was a teddy bear in the Christmas package for her, although she no longer had interest in them this past year. Yesterday S.J. Dug a hole for keeper and Auntie Jill and I went down after picking up her body from the vet. (She had been in the freezer those few days) Dr. Pat had found a box and then covered all with a plastic bag. It was all done in a very civilized manner. I had brought Zeddy along to go with her. That's not a typo. Gramma found the first Zeddy and I am thinking they are teddy bears put out by Zellers possibly as an advertisement deal. They had “Zeddy” written across their right paw. They came with a little hat and a scarf, but of course I removed those things as knew they would not last. The first Zeddy was a huge hit with Keeper and she spent many hours exercising her teeth on him. She carried him all over, and we were lucky throughout the years to find replacements as they wore out. Keeper knew him by name and we had a lot of fun playing “Wherezit?”. “Where's Zeddy?” would send her off on a search that would not stop until Zeddy was found and proudly brought to me. And so it only seemed right to send her off with her beloved Zeddy.

I am sleeping better these days. I am no longer on duty to “listen for the bell” and let keeper out at 3:00 a.m. Nor to listen to hear if she is pacing again. I believe the pacing of and old dog is the pain from arthritis, much in the same way I know I have to get up and move when I am in bed hurting. She found it very difficult to lie down and get up and sitting was out of the question. As I watched a friends old dog do the same thing and limp with every step yesterday, I was glad I had done my Keeper this last big favour. No more pain for her! Dead is done and I believe that.

Our feeding schedule is very off these days without the old Matriarch to keep me on the ball. Teko finally took over the job this a.m. And I fed them all. Only one cat in the porch and when I came back in found Otis in my Cheerios lapping up the milk. I persuaded him to go out in the porch and eat with his brother and ate the damn Cheerios anyway! What's a few cat germs? (I won't think about the parts they may hve just cleaned.) I am remembering Teko's eye drops pretty well and he is very good abvout it especially when he gets a cookie after! And now with everyone fed and me too I have to get going to call Bingo for the inmates at the hospital. Keep your eye out for Zeddies, they make great dog toys. And don't forget to hug your dog today!

Empty Collars

  As I have mentioned before, once I realized Keeper had lost a good deal of her hearing, I put a bell on her collar. I actually lost her up at the airstrip. She was right behind me and I thought she would go to the van, but she stopped to smell something, and I kept walking. When she was done sniffing she once again put her nose to the ground and started back the way we had already gone! Of course I called and clapped my hands,but to no avail, she was a dog with a purpose and definitely on track(in her mind).In the end there was nothing I could do but jump in the van and get past her and then get her attention. As I drove I worried she would go into the bush and then I would have an awful time finding her. From that day on she wore her collar and bell, along with proper ID tags with my phone number. The bell was larger than a Christmas bell, it was the kind you put on a fishing pole to alert you that you have a fish on line. The bell proved to be a great communicator for me. It told me where she was, except of course if she was lying still. In the night it told me if she was pacing or if she had fallen down and could not get up. Letting her out at night, it told me again, where she was and that she was coming. I would strongly recommend, for people with deaf dogs to do this and also to have your phone number on the back of your dog tag. An elderly dog with poor eyesight and hearing is definitely at risk when lost. We owe it to them to step up our security and to know where they are at all times.

Keeper only had two collars in her life. The first one I bought with a matching leash(in pink would you believe?) I picked it up on my way to Castlegar where she was being shipped from Williams Lake. This collar served her well until I asked a friend in California to send us a prettier one. Thanks Diana,she wore that until Thursday when she was put down. I never realised how much I listened for the bell on that collar, until..it rang no more. I am getting better but, it was the first thing I thought about when I woke in the mornings. In her later years, when she could no longer skip out of the way, Keeper taught me to walk slower in the house and it helped me the other night when I went to the bathroom and didn't turn on the light. Rocky(cocker-spaniel guest) had chosen to sleep right in the way and though I stumbled and went to my knees I didn't hurt myself at all. When my brother was here he said I shuffled instead of walking. I hope it isn't quite that bad and prefer to call it walking carefully?

The Reddings have slowed down a lot and prefer to sleep a lot these days. Still, Otis the Bold gts at it at times. He does delight in making noise when things are too quiet. I went for a quick nap on the couch this morning and he shoved a dictionary off a bench and made enough noise to wake me and then added several meows to the mix. What a guy. He has taken over being the main “sleeper” with me and although Opus no longer likes to sleep too close to Otis, he still has some sleep time with me. I don't blame Opus as he can be slepingn nicely next to Otis and Otis will wake up and attack him.The “rassle matches” include many audible body slams and I think Opus gets the worst of it and soon cries “Uncle” or whatever word cats use. Once he gets serious about though, Otis will leave him alone.

Still not letting the dogs in the kitchen on the new floor as it needs a few adjustments yet. So I have spent days stepping over the ironing board but we should get back at it soon. At the moment Jim has gotten my cold and today we are burying Keeper so do not need to be doing floors. Rocky has taken to wandering so needs to be on a leash when he goes out the front. Teko as stated, hates to be away from me so sticks around well and scoots back up the steps when he is finished. So far I have remembered Teko's eyedrops twice a day except for yesterday morning. I am glad to have the two dogs for company and the two cats as well.

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Goodbye to Keeper

  Oh Man does this hurt!! I feel like I had something amputated at the vets when I had Keeper put down. She was 18 and some months, would have been 19 in July. I am sure she took a big chunk of my heart with her as her little spirit floated away. Can't say how many tears I have cried and they don't seem to help except to tire me out. I am most grateful to Dr. Pat and to Dorothy for making this passing as quiet and easy as possible. The relaxer shot before hand helped a lot and Keeper laid down and went to sleep on the floor and then Pat picked her up and put her on the table as Dorothy and I held her and he injected to final dose of stuff to take my wonderful old dog on her last trip. It was as “easy” as humanly possible but it still was wretchingly hurtful. The blessing is...it doesn't take long. I took much longer to cry myself out and I obviously am not done yet by a long shot as here I go once again. It just effing hurts!! BIG time! I am already looking for her as I have for many years. But dead is done and she will not experience any more pain, won't be staggering into the walls etc. or falling off the steps. She is simply at the Rainbow Bridge waiting for me with Chubby Chicken, and Aussie and Skidder and all the rest. Oh My, how to go one without her??

Teko on the other hand made it through his teeth cleaning and didn't need any removed. Although Dr. Pat is worried about his left eye we only have drops to put in it twice a day for a couple of weeks. He isn't out of the woods yet and may need the eye removed if the drops don't do a small miracle. But with his cataracts he can't see anyway so...not that big a deal. The little toughie walked out to the car on his own steam and has claimed his basket and already chased one of the Reddings away. Talk about a survivor! And in the coming days I imagine I will be glad to have him at least to try and fill a little of the void my Keeper has left in my life. And Rocky is still here and in a week Jiggs is coming back and of course we cannot forget the Reddings! So I am grateful that I did not return to a totally devoid of animals house! Now that would be bloody sad!

On the good side of things, I just finished up my doggin' for the month and can sleep in tomorrow. Although I seldom do the thought is nice. It has a ring of freedom to it. I have taken a chicken poop way out of dealing with the hurt and am on my third rye and gingerale. Now I am going for a nice long nap and will make supper whenever I decide to wake up. Thanks go out to friends that are aware and have offered kind thoughts but really nothing helps. Nice thoughts though and I was glad to take one last walk with Jill and Teddy. For the rest of us life goes on and I salute my brave and loyal Keeper on this fateful day. ###

Ren-o's in the Kitchen!

Yesterday was a good one! Jim got about one third of the floor done and it was a lot of work moving stuff out of the kitchen to do that. Definitely a learning experience but it is going to look really good! We are both pleased with it and the day. The animals were NOT impressed as they were all put in the porch. Poor old keeper could not handle the change and barked the entire day! Rocky and Teko just went to sleep and the cats? Well the porch is their playroom anyway. When I finally let them in they were pretty good and I put the ironing board across the doorway. There was a great deal of moving and shoving done, the fridge, the big cupboard and all the stuff under the counter. Four very long and heavy lag bolts to undo in order to move cupboard. We managed very nicely and it is amazing how tings go so much better with two people. Jim is a clever fellow and very careful—totally opposite to gung-ho Joyce and the combination works well . Also I do know how to take orders and can probably thank my brother and Ed for that. I am a great go-fer too. Now my sawing abilities are a different matter entirely and I am not pleased with the cuts I am making. Also it is very hard on my already screwed shoulders. This morning when I got up I thought I was okay and then I moved! My back obviously is protesting the workout and spasming.(is that a word?) To add to things as I walked through the kitchen I accidentally drove a long screw from one of the pedestal legs we had removed from the counter into my heel. I let it bleed for awhile as its a puncture. Luckily I think my tetanus is still updated from the last dog bite I had from a llaso-asshole dog. But other than when I hit my thumb with a hammer that's the only injury so far. Bit progress should be made today and Jim is very aware of being careful, as Deb said-measure twice cut once! And it really is going to look nice. All dogs have been out this a.m. And are conked out sleeping very hard. Even the Reddings are quiet and didn't get into anything last night. Little does everyone know they are all going into the porch again today!

In the ten years I have been here there has been very few “improvements” made. I simply did not have the money to do anything and although I haven't exactly broken into Fort Knox the improvement in cash flow is most welcome. And so Upward and Onward with the flooring project today!!!

Organising Animals and a New Floor

 I have no idea what has happened to my Wordosauer game but it is not working well this morning. It has become a part of every morning, but not today I guess. Maybe later. In the meantime Miracle house has one less animal. Maddie went home yesterday and was most happy to see her Mom. Lucky me I not only received a tip but a nice Mexican bowl as well, that I just love to bits. Not long ago I broke the last bowl that was a gift and have missed it. I really enjoy the Mexican colors etc. and still have a few things from my own two trips to the Baha.

Anyway, now there are only the three geriatrics ,the cats and me. Pretty quiet this morning as the cats took their time getting up. Yesterday Jim and I brought the new flooring in the house so it can expand for a time before we start laying floor tomorrow. Big project for sure and I am looking forward to it. If nothing else it will be an experience. Of course working with all these animals around is sometimes difficult but with Maddie gone I tried to get some of them into the porch. I managed to get the cats in there and Teko but as soon as I attempted to bring the next stash of flooring into the house, Teko decided he wanted back in in the worst way! With my hands muti-tasking, I attempted to nudge him out of the way with my foot. No Bloody way! He took offense and attacked my shoe with a vengeance. He really made me laugh because although he attacked with gusto, he still lost and no harm done except maybe to his king-sized ego! He really is getting short-tempered in his old age and once again I am glad he is with me and not at Megs' where there are often little children. I have grown fond of the little pain in the butt, but he tests my own temper at times. My plan for tomorrow is to have all animals in the porch. The Reddings will be easiest as that is their playroom anyway but I imagine the dogs may not be too happy about it, as Teko has already shown me. Teko's dining room basket has been moved to make room for the stacks of flooring, and then I covered the flooring with a blanket. Not one to accept change redily he is presently sleeping on the blanket where his basket is supposed to be. We all are creatures of habit I suppose. I think the house will be in chaos for all of tomorrow for sure, but we will just have to manage.

Although Rocky spends much time licking his paws clean, he has a lot of Cocker Spaniel hair on them and tracks in more dirt than the others. I will have to try and wipe his feet before he comes into the kitchen in an attempt to keep the new kitchen floor looking good for a time at least. And so it is, life with animals does not mean clean floors. But I am looking forward to it, an think it will be a big improvement. Rocky doesn't go home for several weeks yet but he is pretty easy to have around. The other day he decided to check out the neighbors yard and I had a hard time finding him, but he eventually made his way back to our front yard.

Otis is presently doing many bad things to attract my attention to him and Keeper is pacing. Its all a ploy to get me to feed them and it is working! There will be no peace for me until I comply so...what the hell---I will. I now know what being a “dogsbody” is!

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A New Toy!

 We had company yesterday and the Redding Brothers have been happy ever since! Aunty Jill brought them a new toy! Its called a turbo scratcher and has a scratchy round piece in the middle you can put catnip on and then around the outside it a ball in a trough. They played with it until I put it away at bedtime. I only shoved it under a piece of furniture and this morning Otis pulled it out again and is playing on it once more! Opus likes it as well but of course Otis bullies him and takes over. Oh yeah and as soon as I said that, they both decided to play nicely together with the new toy. Anyway they seem to think it is a welcome addition to an otherwise at times boring world! I liken it to a similar toy that little kids used to have that made a racket as you pushed it across the floor. I think I could get tired of listening to the ball roll but then I can always put it out in the porch with them on days I don't have a boarder out there. Maddie has been a very good dog and although she would love to be in the house, and I would have her, she just causes too much upset. The three geriatrics have priority and we take Maddie on walks every day. She doesn't much like being in the yard by herself now Jiggs has gone home but enjoyed playing with him when he was here, and blew off a lot of energy. Maddies favorite time of day is feeding time of course and I think that is true of all the dogs and cats. Anyway we had a nice visit with Aunty Jill and Teddy,who can be a terror at times. Yesterday he was on good behavior and did very well for his entire visit. Teko is sure all company comes to see him personally and of course those two got a tad jealous but for the most part it was a great visit and Aunty came with goodies for all –just like Santa! The cats toy and biscuits for the dogs and even cookies and an Aussie magazine for me!!m We all hope she comes to visit again soon!! Maddie is too boisterous for Teddy so we had a plan for the company’s' arrival and I put Maddie on leash and took her around the corner of the porch, while Aunty and Teddy scooted in the door. Man the games you have to play but there is always a way if you think about it.

Well the Reddings have finished playing with the toy and had a “Rassle”match with much body-slamming. Keeper and Teko are pacing and so are the Reddings and I imagine mis-behavior is about to happen as the clock creeps to feeding time!Rocky is best, he is still sleeping but seems to wake when I step into the kitchen. Maddie is being good as well but will kick up a bit of a fuss when she hers me feeding the others. All too soon the house will empty out again as maddie goes home on thursday or Friday. Rocky is staying the longest and will not go home until some time in March. But having the three geriatrics around is easier by far so no big deal. Most important was we made it through the weekend quite well with two cats and five dogs. Once again all is well in Miracle House! Hurrah!

Peeing and Feeding five dogs & two cats!

Good Lord, even peeing the dogs is a challenge with five! Early on I knew that its best to put all out at once, instead of one at a time. However, this is easier said than done with three geriatrics among the mix. Keeper always needs out first and goes willingly enough but sometimes just stands there and forgets why she is out.(Dogzheimers I am sure) At this point in time I think all have been out but can't remember if Teko was on first pee trip or not. I imagine he will let me know and letting dogs in and out seems to occupy most of my day anyway-he can catch up on the next trip. Keeper never ate her supper last night so no “assidents”(poop) to clean up this morning. Solution: don't feed her! But I want her to eat as she is far too thin for my liking. Rocky is a bit of a piglet so can't put it down at this point in time or he will have it gutzed down in record time. The two young dogs are out

in the back yard, for hopefully a good romp!

I was thinking this morning about writing about Teko and calling it “He walks among Giants”. As a twelve pound longhaired chihuahua he does very well. HE doesn't think he is little and scoots about going in or out the back door regardless of the bigger dogs. And to him they are all bigger dogs! He gets along well with all dogs until they are near his food. That's why he is fed in the bathroom. He has taken it one step further and when I put a heavy plate on top of Keepers leftover food(only she seems clever enough to nose the plate away when she wants it again) he will guard that as well. Of course if it isn't covered he will eat it all. But I don't trust the younger dogs not to knock the plate off as they are far more rambunctious.

Oh and now we approach the bewitching hour of BREAKFAST!!!! I am smart not to make a move as the remaining five charges will be immediately at ATTENTION! And very much in ATTENDANCE! I did manage to get Keepers bowl down and she is cleaning up her last nights supper.

There is quite a cycle to feeding all these animals and yes, it is rather like a zoo! First the cats are fed their dry food on the cedar chest in the dining room. Then it is imperative that Jiggs be fed. He takes only a few nano-seconds to eat and by that time Maddie has hear the tinkling of kibble so she is next and takes about the same amount of time to finish. Then its on to mixing up Rocky's food. One thyroid pill and a cup of dry “Medical”dry food and two tablespoons of wet dogfood.(again medi-Cal)Finally, I can feed my own two dogs. Keeper gets smushed up wet “Old Roy” with half a cup of dry kibble and then chicken on top. Teko gets about five of the larger kibble and chicken. I put a bit of water with Rockys' food and Jiggs' and Teko'sT as well. It's inconvenient to do so for Maddie and she doesn't like it that way anyhow. What a bloody rigamarole but not nearly as bad as when I worked at the dog farm and fed 250 dogs! Now that took quite awhile and one always had to be listening for fights starting. So I guess I could say things have improved a lot.

I never thought I would be feeding my dogs chicken and it bothers me when I think of starving children. But I fell into this because Teko has always been fed chicken and rice. I absolutely hate making rice so have started him on dry dogfood(which he really thinks is beneath him, but the truth is –if he is hungry he will so bloody eat it!) Luckily I have been able to find chicken at a reasonable price in our local grocery store and it costs me about five bucks a week to feed them that. And now I am all of six minutes PAST feeding time so had best finish this up and go and do my job! Happy animalling!

Feeding Time

 It is 25 minutes to feeding time and I have become the focus of all animals in Miracle House. I cannot breathe without them taking notice and moving anywhere is dangerous when accompanied by three dogs and two cats. They are wearing me down and I will probably stop everything I am doing to accommodate them. Just as long as they don't start expecting to be fed at 4:00 a.m. or something.

I have been asked about photos and have many of the animals but someone has to come by and teach me how to put them on f.b. That may or may not happen.

I got mixed up on the date Jiggs was to arrive and he is not coming until this afternoon around 1:00 or so. That is a good thing because if a dog arrives when I am working, the owner will have to run me down in town some place. I love Fridays as it means the beginning of three days off. Always a welcome thing with me, for some reason I just want to be at home with my “charges”.

All dogs have been out to pee and whatever. Maddie clomping through the house knocking things down but carefully stepping around the sleeping geriatrics. Now she too is whining in the porch thinking it MUST be breakfast time-she's up isn't she?? Even old Rocky has gotten into the idea of an early breakfast. He is much more animated these days and is doing a bit of “talking” and wagging his stubby tail at me. Quite an easy dog to have around but seemed to feel the cold this morning when he went out and was happy to come in again. Old bones and bodies I guess? Otis at the moment is perched very close to me giving me the big cat “STARE”. Opus is much more mellow and is sleeping on the back of my chair keeping me warm. To my left, on the floor, is Keeper patiently waiting and she probably won't eat anyway. To my right Teko is tucked in his basket and behind me Rocky has placed himself not to miss anything and possibly sleep through breakfast. Maddie seems just too big and busy to be in the house so as stated she is in the porch. Once fed, they will all go back to sleep again-such a hard life being a dog. Uh-oh Otis is losing patience and thinking about walking on the keyboard so OKAY already! They win!! Animals 5, Joyce 0! I guess you could say they run my life. And they do!

One dog lost?

I admit it. Three a.m. Is a nutty hour to be up and about. The time makes things seem to be not what they really are and it is best to just to go to the bathroom and return to bed. But no, I had to check on the dogs. I couldn't find Rocky! How could I lose a boarder dog?? I couldn't possibly hove left him outside, could I have?? Common sense kicked in. 1)Rocky is the fastest pee in the west and wastes little time being out in the back yard to do his business. 2) Rocky will bark when he wants back in. So...where the hell was he? He was not in his usual spot not far from my bedroom door on a carpet by the desk, like he has been for many nights. He was not in his doggy bed across the room or by the door. Oh dear this did not seem good at all. I turned on the light in the dining room and there he was! He had decided to stuff himself in Tekos' basket in the dining room. He overflowed to the point where he certainly did not look comfortable but he was giving sleep a hard go and enjoying it as well. My life seems to be governed by the care and welfare of the dogs(and the Reddings of course, but they are easier at times) In any case it was great to find that all were accounted for. I think I live in fear of losing someone and not being able to find them. At this moment I am once again surrounded by dogs. Teko has reclaimed his basket as Rocky has moved over by the kitchen door behind me. Keeper is on the floor to my left and Maddie is in the porch. A phone call last night informed me that Jiggs will be coming on Friday, not tomorrow. He will definitely add to this mix as he loves to “claim” me as his own but thankfully is not aggressive about it all. Hopefully he and Maddie will play in the yard together.

Loading dogs in the morning, is really something else. Both Maddie and Jiggs know to get into the second back seat of the van, leaving Keeper to stretch out on the first back seat. Teko has taken up the passenger seat. Rocky is left to either share keepers seat or lay on the floor-his choice. All dogs are loaded from the drivers side which makes matters easier for me and my poor back. Teko needs total assistance as his legs are far to short to make the leap and on occasion he has had a bad back as well. Keeper needs back up in case she falls and Rocky needs total assistance as well. Both Jiggs and Maddie are young dogs and just do it! Maddie did a funny the other day when she thought she would come into the front again and as I chastised her for it she spent some moments trying to get her front half back into the second back seat. It should have been on film! But she got it done in the end. I am hoping she and Jiggs will share that seat with no problems and I think I have done it before with them. I leave the back boot with the dog barrier for any strays I may pick up and “it all works out in the end!”I mentioned this maneuver to friend Elaine and she said I should just be glad they aren't children and didn't all need to be strapped into safety seats! Well true enough and I have learned to be grateful about that anyway. No doubt about it, its going to be a busy weekend for me for sure! Stay tuned more to come I am sure!

Dogs and Cats Galore

 The Reddings have become a large part of my life and I enjoy them a lot. They are growing and gaining weight rapidly. They have no idea that dogs chase cats, they greet one and all at the door with a nose touch and a good hoover with their noses. They are changing too. Before this it was usually Opus that was the cuddly one. Now I find Otis is every bit as much of a cuddler. In the night I can't tell who is who and am often surprised to find it is Otis that cuddled all night. Otis still will pig out on food and then upchuck it in the porch-not my favorite job cleaning that up! I think I am afraid to take him to the vet and find out something horrible is wrong with him—other than the once in awhile upchuck he is fine and seems most healthy. Still I will have to look into it-soon.

We have a new guest named Rocky! He is older and on meds and THE easiest dog to have around. All he does is sleep and when he has to go he comes and finds me and of course is always there for meal times. He is a black cocker spaniel. He is here for four and a half weeks so I am glad to find he is low maintenance. He cleans up his food so no worries about the other dogs getting it and sits wherever I put him in the dogmobile. So I have three geriatric dogs in the house at present. But that is about to change. Maddie arrives today for eleven days and then Jiggs is coming for a visit for three days or so. Those two will play together, while the geriatrics sleep in the house. Still, it will be a very busy weekend for me! Once again I am glad to have a van to put them all in while we go to work.

It gets harder and harder to take Keeper with me. She takes forever to come to the van to be loaded and then again when we return for her to come into the house. It tries my patience sorely but in the end is probably good for me?? I am sure she does the best she can with what she has left. Even now she seems to have a certain amount of common sense that I always admired in her. And I have to remember she is like a hundred or so in dog years!

The Redding brothers are very quiet this morning. Only Opus is up and about and lying on my lap as I am on the computer. Otis is sleeping on a chair in the kitchen,saving up energy to raise hell during the day most likely. Once again all is well in Miracle House and I am glad to be able to say that.