Sleep Tight Little Susie

I would say "wake up" little Susie, but our little Susie has no trouble with that.  From 6 am till 10pm she is one happy go-getter.  We find her energy level is highest when she is anxious and she does settle when she is not stressed.  Like any child though, after vigorous play she can get over stimulated, and needs to be forced to calm down with a little crate time.  Tomorrow Susie will go in to be spayed and have her vetting done, but today, we managed to capture her spirit and energy in video:

Memorializing

The three day weekend for Memorial Day could not have come too soon.  I met with Lori Elam of Noah's Ark Society on Friday to talk to her about a horse rescue partnership.  We are meeting in person in a couple of weeks to talk about it with our group, and get all the details ironed out.  In the process, Joel and I brought home a foster dog.  Her name is Susie Q and she is a Golden/Border Collie mix who has endless oodles of go go go.

This is little Susie Q:

Unfortunately, Susie is not entirely cat safe, so her stay with us will be a little truncated.  We are keeping her and Sebastian separated for now, but Wednesday Susie will probably go in for her spay, and she will finish up her foster time with a different family.

We didn't take any photos, but we also spent a little while fishing in our pond.  I caught two bass, but both were too small to keep so we threw them back in.  We keep seeing one that is about 18 inches long, but so far, he has evaded the hook.

Today, Joel and I went to the Memorial Day picnic with our church.  Joel pondered the state of the environment:

I made gluten free brownies that were so far beyond delicious that the entire tray disappeared in a matter of seconds---and I think I was the only gluten free person there!  We then took a moment to pose together, but separately beside the lake:

On the adoption front, we have our home study currently submitted for two children.  Tegan is 7 and in Colorado and Hunter is 6 and in Michigan.

Tegan

This is Tegan's biography that was posted online:

Get ready for Miss Tegan! This loveable and bright schoolgirl is hoping to find her way to a family who is committed to helping her thrive and grow. Tegan is full of energy, and enjoys doing karate, playing golf, going to church and dressing up! This highly sensitive and perceptive little girl absolutely loves being the center of attention. Her imagination is vast and she is happy playing with her dolls by herself during quiet time.

Tegan is excited about first grade, where she hopes to make new friends and show off her reading skills. She benefits from counseling, which will need to continue after placement.

The caseworker prefers a two-parent home. Tegan is at her best when she is the youngest or only child in the family; however, all family types will be considered. This youngster needs consistent structure, patience and repetition, combined with love, laughter and acceptance.

Hunter

This is Hunter's biography:

Hunter is a very active young boy. He is a ball of energy that needs to be moving all the time. Hunter describes himself as “a happy kid.” His favorite meal is pizza with chocolate milk. Hunter likes to play sports like soccer and t-ball. When he grows up he says he would like to be a farmer.

The ideal family for Hunter would be a family that is very active and likes to be on the go. The family will need to provide Hunter with a loving and consistent home in which he can have reliable rules and structure. The adoptive family must be willing to seek out any additional support services that would be beneficial to Hunter’s needs. Hunter would do okay with other siblings, however, he would benefit from being either the youngest or only child in the adoptive home. The family must provide Hunter with guidance, encouragement and consistency to help him achieve his goals.

 

Thunder and Lightning and Rain, Oh My!

It's that time of year again, in Tennessee....the stormy season.  I like a good storm (as long as it doesn't cause damage).  Molly, however, does not.  About 2 hours before any storm she feels the pressure change.  She starts by getting hyper.  She will wiggle and waggle and jump up for attention.  Then the pacing and panting start.  The poor girl is just terrified of what might happen.  Ignoring her doesn't help.  Snuggling her doesn't help.  Putting her in an inside room with no windows doesn't help.  We just haven't figured out a way to make things better for her...that is...until.....we decided to try the Thundershirt.

The only realistic question here is, "What took you so long?".  I have been recommending these things to friends and adopters for over a year.  I guess I just wanted to believe I could help my dog more than a carefully crafted jersey knit t-shirt could.  However, I was wrong.  The T-shirt is an absolute miracle.

So what exactly is it?  It is basically a breathable, tight knit soft shirt for your dog that snugs them up and uses pressure point technology to help them feel calm.  The best thing is, they are inexpensive, and THEY WORK.  Here's a promo image from Thundershirt:

The first storm we had with Molly with the shirt, instead of all of her usual antics she slept----she laid down at our feet and slept soundly, sometimes snoring for about 4 hours straight.  We had to wake her up after the bad weather to get her out to go potty before bed.  She is so cute in her shirt, too:

A Sad Goodbye

Tomorrow we will sadly say goodbye to Max, as we let him go back to MTGRR to get the therapeutic rehabilitation he needs.  We found out that Brandi is not available, so we will be a two Golden family again.  We'll miss Max....he is a good boy, he just needs training to boost his confidence, and we don't know how to give that.  The video below will be one of our fondest memories of our time with him:

Dog, Interrupted

Shortly after we lost Charles (too soon after, really), we adopted Maximus.  He is a gorgeous Golden...light almost English Cream fur, a goofy smile, and humungous bear paws.  Max is an ultra-submissive dog.  As his foster dad said if there were 10 positions in a pack, he would be #15.  This wasn't a problem in the beginning of our adoption, but we generally let the dogs go for rides in the car just about everywhere we go 3 seasons of the year (Summer is too hot, so unless we are specifically taking the dogs for a ride they have to stay home, since even 5 minutes in the car without the AC on is dangerous). 

A few weeks ago, Max started having innapropriate fight or flight reactions in the car.  We would go through a drive through and he would go nuts...barking, jumping, growling; and he wasn't playing games.  If someone put their hand in the window he would bite it.  I thought we had it under control by giving him a firm "no", followed by praise when he settled, but the problem really hasn't gone away.  In fact, it escalated to the point that today he growled and snapped at Joel when Joel re-entered the car after being out running errands. 

We decided that Max needs therapeutic training that we don't know how to give.  Today, I sadly wrote to MTGRR to let them know that Max needed to be moved, and requested that the move happen by the weekend.  I also inquired about another adoptable Golden, Brandi. 

We've been watching Brandi online since she was posted, and had frequently said that if our house wasn't full we would adopt her in a heartbeat.  Joel and I believe she is Molly's puppy.....she couldn't have a stronger resemblance.  It is crazy close.  We are waiting on some info back from from MTGRR, but if she is good with other dogs and cats, and they approve we will hopefully adopt her right away. 

Letting Max go feels terrible, but it is assuaged by knowing that we can give a home to a more senior golden with special needs that we can meet.  Max will be better in the long run getting the constructive support and training that we are unable to give him, and hopefully his confidence will grow so he can be a well adjusted retriever.

It will be odd having three female retrievers and no big boy, but we absolutely adore Molly, and if Brandi is anything like our Ms. Magoo, then it will be the perfect choice.

This is Brandi:

A Long Time Coming

Today I did something that I should have done 18 months ago.  It was still hard to do, but I feel relieved.  I resigned from my position as Chief Financial Officer of Debut Broadcasting.  It's a crazy time to be in the job market, but it was the right choice.  I'm focused now on getting interviews and into a new position that will bring a lot of stability.  As we move forward and look towards bringing our adoptive child home it became even more essential for me to make this choice.  I am so grateful to Joel for all his love and support---not only over the past year + that things have been far from ideal at work, but also in my decision to finally leave.    I'm excited to find out what the next chapter is.

Surveying Her Domain

We have been a little light on major projects (we needed a break!), but we decided to get some fencing done so we could finally have a properly fenced in backyard and can just open the door to let the dogs out.  We also added a new gate to make it shorter to get from the house to the pasture. 

The retrievers have all given the new yard area their paw of approval.  The high spot in the yard allows them to look out over the pasture.  We say they are surveying their domain, but they just really love looking out over everything and watching the horses. 

Lady, at 14 years old, still looks regal.  We can only imagine what a beauty she was when she was 2 or 3 years old.

New Furry Addition

After our loss of Charles we all mourned---we're still mourning.  We'll miss our big boy forever.  Molly, however, got into a deep depression and wasn't eating well and was melancholy all the time.  We felt that she needed a new playmate, so we decided to adopt another Golden. 

Way back last Summer, I had the opportunity to transport a Golden for MTGRR. His name was Maximus, and he was a real charmer.  For some unexplicable reason, all this time later he had not been adopted.  Other than being younger than the age of Golden we typically adopt, Max is practically perfect in every way. 

He joined our family about 3 weeks ago, and has fit in quite seamlessly.  His full name is Maximus Diocletian Hopkins.  It's a little cerebral for a pup's name, but Diocletian is the real life individual that Maximus from the movie Gladiator is based on.

These photos were the ones that I took on Max's transport day.  I think it was in July, but it may have been August.

 

And these are of Maximus in his forever home with us:

My Deepest Sorrow

New Years 2012 is the saddest day I have known in such a long time.  It is hard to write this post, but also one of the reasons that I needed to start updating our blog again.

The day started out great.  We got up, and I cooked bacon for the retrievers as a special New Years Day treat.   We went out in the yard to play, and then loaded the pups up in the car for a long car ride.

Early in the evening, Joel went out to the arena with me, and I saddled up Demi and went for a ride.  When we got back to the house, Charlie was laying in the laundry room.   We knew immediately that something was wrong---Charles never goes in the laundry room.  He was lethargic, and wouldn't get up. I contacted Dr. Sammons and told her we needed to bring him to her--it was an emergency.  She left Church to meet us at the clinic, but our Charles left us on the drive there.

His heart was healthy, but apparently had a weak spot, and he died of a massive heart attack.  It was not preventable, and there was nothing we could do, but it does not lesson the pain we feel.  Charles will always be my baby.  There won't be a day that I don't miss him.  He was only 9, and I expected so many more years of him by my side.

I know if he had to choose his last day that we gave him his most perfect last day ever--I just wish we could give him 8 dozen more just like it.