Buddy

We are a two-dog family. I have written about my Ozzy before, but I have never introduced you to Buddy.

September of 2009 our next door neighbors rented their house. Literally to the first people they talked to. No credit check; no background check. They were drug dealers (99.8% positive). They also had two dogs- a pug mix and a Pomeranian.

It did not take long for the new neighbors (and their dogs) to wear out their welcome. They left the dogs out for days without food and water. The dogs barked and barked. And barked.

Halloween night we were all in the front yard with Ozzy, handing out candy to trick or treaters. The little Pomeranian escaped his yard and was playing with Ozzy! We tried ringing the neighbor's door bell, knocking on the door, screaming "We've got your dog!" Nothing. After we had "Whoopie" for an hour, the guy finally came outside and took him home. We were sad to see him leave. After that, we threw food over the fence when no one was looking and wondered how to save him.

The couple could not hide their fighting and bad habits. By Thanksgiving, the girl was being evicted. The boyfriend (who wanted her out of the house and off the lease) called to warn her the police coming. After she removed any "evidence" from the house, she opened the back gate and chased her dogs out of the yard and down the street. The police picked up the Pomeranian. He was at Animal Control. We wanted him.

The day Animal Control was open for viewing I left work, drove over there and went in to see if he was there. He was- they had named him Bud. I went to the desk and waited for the lady to finish her phone call. "Is it possible for me to see the Bud in kennel 4?" The lady replied, "Oh, no. He already has an owner. In fact, that was him on the phone."

"Oh. That wasn't David S. was it?" I asked. Of course, it was. He was on his way over with the checkbook. The name Buddy stuck (that is what we had called him when we didn't know his name- funny the pound called him Bud) and he has been a lively addition to our home. He and Ozzy are best friends.

goodbye...

Mishca.  We have had her for several weeks now.  In that time she has displayed some aggression and I have not trusted her with the children.  She tries to dominate too often and will eat food right out of Zachary's hands (as he is trying to eat it, not feed it to her).  She has bitten Ozzy on the nose.  This morning she peed on my new carpet for the third time in a week (carpet is not even paid for, dang it).  That is not really grounds for getting rid of her- I was just going to make her sleep in the basement because she is doing it at night.  But this morning she kept getting under the table trying to take the kids' food.  I was trying to help Helen finish some homework and asked David if he would take her out.  He tried to get her from under the chair, she growled (not uncommon, which is why I have been afraid to correct any of her behaviors) and then BIT him.  On the hand.  She has nipped at everyone in the house so far, but this is the last straw- it was aggressive and something I cannot allow.  I have two little kids and I cannot have a dog I don't trust around them.  I would trust Ozzy with their very lives; Mischa I don't trust to not eat their faces off if she wanted their food.

I am saddened by this.  I feel that there are no bad dogs, just bad owners.  We have no idea where she came from and this is a risk one takes when rescuing an animal.  Maybe in a home without kids or another dog she'd do better.  She is just not a good match with my family.  I hope she has another chance at a home.....

Funny thing is we were walking her a few days  after we got her and ran into this really weird guy.  He was petting Ozzy and saying what a good dog he was, etc.  Then he commented about Mishca- he said "you haven't had her long".  Then he went on to say not to trust her, she has troubles.  She could turn on a dime and she would try to be the house alpha, etc.  It was really weird, but oh so true........

Beverly Hills Chihuahua

The cute little stray in the move was really a stray...... cool. I love stories like that. Bet that owner feels stupid now. Just like I wish Ozzy's original owners knew what a great dog he turned out to be........ SOOOOOOOOO, if you are looking fora pet, go to the shelters first, please. All dogs deserve love and a home.

Ozzy Update

Ozzy is feeling better. He has started to want to play again, and can bark without coughing. I am so glad and I think that if he was going to have a problem, it would have happened by now. He goes for another test in 2 weeks, then another 4 weeks after that. If both those tests are negative, we will resume HeartGard and be considered heart worm free. Thanks to everyone who thought of us and prayed for Ozzy. I felt silly asking for doggy prayers, but St. Francis himself showed us that to care for God's creatures touches God.......

heartworms=heartbreak

Ozzy has heartworms. I wasn't going to test him, but I did so that I could get him back on HeartGard. I'm glad I did. He is not showing any clinical signs yet, but I did have another test run to confirm the result and will have an answer tomorrow. The false positive for this test is rare, so it looks like we have to come up with a treatment plan. $887 was the estimate (high end, so chances of it being more is slim). I am sick about this. It feels like I have let him down. HE is my fur child and I am supposed to protect him. I would have never let Helen and Zachary go without a vaccine, why did I let the HeartGard lapse? TO save a couple of dollars? I am so mad at myself right now and so upset for the kids, especially Helen. She wanted a dog for so long and she loves Ozzy so much. He is such a wonderful and beautiful dog. I love him and so does everyone who comes around him. So, if you have a dog and you really care, get the heartworm treatment. Heartworms are spread by mosquitoes and left untreated, the heart is pretty much destroyed. Heart failure is likely. I am guessing at this point we have to decide if we can afford to treat him or if we have to have him put down.. I know that it would have to be soon- I can't watch him suffer and then have him put down. We just don't have all the money in the world and what if it doesn't work? Treatment can also fail and has its own risks. Arsenic is used to kill the adult worms and can have side effects on the dog. I am so very upset right now.

This is my dog

Ozzy is a 3 year old Siberian Husky. He was rescued by us in August of 2005. He was very under nourished and had separation issues and was afraid of loud noises. He still doesn't like a lot of noise, so we allow him to retreat to outside when the kids overwhelm him. He is such a good boy. He loves kids, chew toys that squeak (although they only last about 5 minutes), peanut butter and chicken livers. He hates cantaloupe, raw carrot and bananas. He also likes to run beside David's bike and pull people on the scooter. He chases balls but doesn't bring them back.

Another day, another sinus infection, a dying cat

Yes, I am working on what is most likely my 5th infection of the year. I am so tired of sinus pain. I think this is the mold allergy. After the leaves fall, it rains. About 17 minutes later, my nose starts to drip. At least it is not 80 degrees out today, too.

My wonderful cat, Luci, is dying. She has a hyperactive thyroid and given that she is almost 17, there is little the vet can do for her. She is beginning to shut down, forgetting the litter box, sleeping in strange places. I wanted a cat very much when I got her. I was living in Summerville, SC at the time. I went to the pet store to get rabbit food and fell in love with this kitten. Ended up getting her free with a bag of cat food. I named her Luci because my then husband thought Luci was an awful name for a child (it is actually quite popular NOW, not in 1990 when Brittany was all the rage). Luci was quite the cat. She loved to sleep in the laundry basket and on my pillow. She chased wads of paper and would even bring them back. She also loved ribbon. The mailbox key was on a silky red ribbon and she really liked to hide the key. Also the box springs to our bed had a tiny hole in it and Luci would get inside and thump around (very freaky when one is sleeping). She was a fun kitten. Then my sailor man shipped out for the Persian Gulf and war. I was in a bind and had to move back to Georgia to finish my last class for my degree (see previous post regarding worst birthday- nothing sucks more than being alone, with your honey off in a war zone, and finding out you really didn't graduate from college AFTER being fired from a video store and failing the eye exam for the now expired driver's license... did I mention the very bad haircut?) SO, my father, who hated cats, said no way to the cat. My sister agreed to take her in. In transit to Georgia, a can of paint fell on the pet taxi and Luci was now a lovely shade of Vanilla Creme. She ran away from my sister's house, turning up under the porch after a few days. I took her back to Charleston with me after I finished school. A few years later, she ran away from home and came back missing her Genuine Faux Diamond collar and a chunk of her tail. She never told me what happened, but she has never set foot outside (except to move to GA, and then MD) again. She never liked kids, so once she realized the that THING we brought home in a basket was in fact ALIVE, she started living under the bed. She recently came out and started to socialize, let the kids pet her and torment the dog. And we have noticed that she is getting feeble and very skinny (although she has always maintained her girlish figure). We know the end is coming, but we don't be the ones to end it for her. I am waiting for the right time to say goodbye. It will be hard, not to just say goodbye to a companion I have known my entire adult life, but to see the last remaining bit of my former life, my former self, disappear.