Tuesday Mornings with Merci

Thought the title was fitting. Merci is being a totally lazy girl this morning. I literally had to pull her out of bed onto my lap and coax her into going downstairs! I think she has this internal calendar going and knows that Tuesdays and Thursdays are my early day to leave for work.. She is now busily chewing on a rawhide - I take them away from her when I'm gone at work as I've heard too many horror stories about dogs swallowing them and vets finding them -

The beautiful long stem roses Chris and Merci gave me for Valentine's have seen their better days, but I'm going to eek them along for at least one more day until all of them are so droopy I can't tell what they are!

It's a short one today as my ride is on it's way and Merci just walked to the door for one last go at it before I leave...

Another Tuesday ....

Click on the Feed the Animals Link

ME AND MY BFF- GINI

(we've known each other for 48 years) WOW!!!
My best friend. Gini, who is as much if not more of an animal lover than I am, sent this link to me back in December. I click on it everyday at work. For each person who clicks on it (and they'll send you a daily reminder if you want), each click adds an amount to help pay for animals in shelters that need food.

Gini is another rescuer!! She is amazing and has such a big heart. She lives in Texas and has rescued a Katrina dog. Boudin had heart worms when Gini started fostering him. She paid for all his medical bills and he is all healthy now. Many months after Katrina was over and the clean up was all done, she received an email or a call (I don't remember which) that Boudin's owner was looking for him... Gini was so sad because she and Boudin had formed such a great bond with her other dog, Blue. She emailed photos etc. to Boudin's owner and said how much she loved this great dog. He decided that the best thing for Boudin was to stay permanently with his foster Mom and the rest is history. Boudin is as happy as ever and so is Gini... She also has many cats that she loves and cares for.

So, make Feeding the Animals a daily reminder for you and help feed those in need. There are so many!!

Thanks to Gini for sharing this link!!

Valentine's means expressing your Love

Be Mine.........Love Merci

I was talking today with some co-workers about exercising and diet and how good it is to start doing it at an early age because when you get to be my age, it just gets harder and harder to take it off blah blah blah.... we all know the story... We take care of our cars, kids, and ourselves...

Well I starting thinking that it is the same for our pets... Puppy mill dogs haven't had the luxury of being well cared for with any type of maintenance plan really... Cheryl and Dr. Frost got them going on the right track, and even though this economy has affected us all - don't forget that your dog can't pick up the phone and make an appointment!!

When we rescued Merci, I took all her records from Cheryl and I know both Cheryl and Dr. Frost did so much for her. I did make an appointment with my vet, who I think the world of, just for a "get to know you visit." (check out their website)

http://www.pvph.net/

Dr. Jim Nelson of Prairie Village Animal Hospital was so glad to meet Merci. He had been through a lot with us when Buster and Zoey were sick and he and his staff are like family to us. He gave Merci the once over, observed her and said she was in pretty darn good health considering everything she'd been through in the last 6 years. What he did suggest was that we do a series of base line blood tests including thyroid testing just so that we know what we're looking at.

Her bloodwork came back fine, but at least we have some inital findings that if anything does happen to her, we have something to compare against. THIS IS IMPORTANT!!! We started this with Zoey too at age 4 and we were glad because at age 6, her enzymes were very elevated and it pointed to kidney disease. ]

It's important to START YEARLY BLOOD WORK AT AN EARLY AGE TO ESTABLISH BASELINE VALUES. Baseline values are then compared and can then determine if your dog is experiencing kidney failure problems or possibly some other disease.

I did feel a "bulge" on one of Merci's sides before her exam. I asked Dr. Nelson about it and he said that he felt it too... BUT, his advice was feel the same place on the opposite side and see if you feel anything there... If you do, then all is well.... if you don't, then your animal should be see by a vet. Thankfully Merci's bulge had an exact match on the opposite side. She's just a little pudgy!

EXERCISE!!! Now that spring is coming around, do yourself and your dog a big favor and get out and enjoy the fresh air and both of you can reap the benefits of a nice walk. It's also a great time to encourage good leash habits and in some instances, get them accustomed to their surroundings and odd sounds of cars, trains, buses... etc...

I've found that Merci led a very sheltered life and everything is new to her. It can be very intimidating to a rescue dog, but with some gentle leadership and coaxing, she has become a great walker and loves seeing what is new around her!!

PLEASE be sure to vaccinate for Heartworm and Lyme's disease. My sister lost her beautiful black lab to Lyme's disease and it was devestating to her and her family. It is so preventable. Heartworm goes without saying!! I know that everyone involved in rescue is as passionate about these things as I am, but it never hurts to spread the word!

HEART INFECTED WITH HEARTWORMS

IT'S AN UGLY PICTURE, BUT IS PREVENTIBLE!!
Oral health... we've all smelled the awful dog breath. I admit, I'm not good at brushing her teeth. Did I tell you she has the biggest and longest canines I've ever seen? I can be petting her under her chin and catch my hand on her canines hanging down... Chris thinks she is part vampire dog lolol.... I'm starting slow with Merci just because everything puts her into a tailspin...

I've been taking my finger and just running it along her gums when she is tired. Next week, I'm doing the toothpaste teaser... let her sniff it and lick it and see where it goes from there..., I'll keep you posted.. Bad teeth lead can lead to other health issues....and they can't do it themselves!! Remember... dog toothpaste only... human toothpaste can make them very sick.

Happy Valentine's Day to all !!

Thinking Back

Once again, sleep eludes me. All the years of being a mom and listening with one ear open, I've become a terribly light sleeper. We fell asleep watching the news and the TV woke me up at 11:30 p.m. Let this be my lesson to fall asleep without my ear plugs in!! As I left the warm covers, Chris was snoring softly and Merci was in a deep slumber on her chair nestled in her big blue blanket. She lifted her head as I got up, but I gave her a kiss on top of her head and told her she needed to go back to sleep. So I blog with a cup of hot tea hoping it will make me sleepy again.

I got a pop-up on my blog about adding gadgets yesterday morning. So I took a peek at those and think when I have a spare minute, I might try working some of those in to the blog to add a little more interest. I'm not the computer saavy person Gini or my girls are, but I'm working on it..... slowly.

I thought about Zoey a lot yesterday, and realized how far I've moved forward in such a short time. Part of this came from a conversation I had with a man that my mom and I met with yesterday to discuss the possibility of a reverse mortgage for her. He lost both his schnauzers last fall about the same time I lost Zoey. He is still greiving very hard, and while it was nice to hear him talk about his experience with life and loss, it conjured up all kinds of memories that I work hard at supressing because of the pain. We talked about how these dogs are our kids. He told me he didn't think he could ever love another dog and how did I learn to love Merci. I never really thought about how to love her. I told him that you don't love them the same much like anything else in life. I love my children dearly, but I love each one uniquely. It is the same with Zoey and Merci. I loved Zoey so much that when I lost her, part of me died. I never wanted to feel that pain ever again. I still don't. I was angry at my girls for finding her, contacting the breeder, saving money to help buy her, and making me feel guilty for getting divorced and feeling like I owed this to them! I told them that when I lost my first wire hair, Penny, at age 21 that I would never have another wire. But I held that 8 week old bundle of fluff in my hand, and smelled her puppy smell mixed with cedar chips and it was all over. I told them right there, and my mom was my witness - "You'll go off to college in 5 years and I will be the one to take care of her by myself and I will be the one heartbroken when she goes!" And so the story goes... They did leave for college, I did love and care for her, and in the end my heart was broken when I held her as she took her last breath. And somehow through it all, I found my way to Merci.

I'd sit at work those first couple of weeks after we lost Zoey, and look at the rescue website and read about all of Cheryl's dogs. I had them practically memorized. As I read all the bio's on the dogs, I kept going back to Merci. I admit that I felt sorry for her as I read about her Legg Perthies and the operation she had on 9/4/08 to correct it. You could see her shaved, shrunken leg with its scar and it pulled at my heart. BUT, it was that look in her eyes with her head slightly cocked that did it. It was the face of an angel and I swear it looked right at me and this little voice said - she is the one! Well maybe there wasn't a voice, and I tried to be fair and open minded. I forwarded the link home, to the girls at school, and to my mom as well. I just said in the subject line: CHECK THIS OUT!!

I came home from work 10 days later and heard that music "I'm in Love with a Girl" playing on the computer downstairs. I walked downstairs, and found Chris at the computer looking at the website, wiping tears as he did so. I didn't say anything to him right then. Just walked back up and starting fixing dinner. He came into the kitchen and looked at me and said, I think I'm in love with Merci.

Sarah, my youngest, called me and we talked about all the dogs. I told her I was quite smitten with Merci. She told me NO!! You need a younger dog, one that is in good health. You just went through too much lately with how sick Zoey was and you don't need anymore vet bills right now. She had a point!

Laura gave me her two cents worth as well. This is what I wanted. She thought they were all adorable, but agreed with her sister that if we did get another, it should be a young, healthy one. Not a crippled almost 6 year old. She felt sorry for Merci ,and also brought up the point of how you could adopt Merci and not Nolan. They were mates and the best of friends. It showed them together on the website and how could you possibly split them up! She had a point!

Mother called me and said she loved looking and reading about all the dogs on Cheryl's site but she felt that Merci was perfect. A little bit older, and she needed us as much as we needed her. She told me she keeps Merci's picture up on her computer all day. Her comment was, well when you drive to Iowa, I want to come along!

I didn't know I'd decided I even wanted to do this yet!! I still wanted to only love my Zoey girl. I wanted to hang onto that. Looking back, I was scared that if I ever got a different dog, it would somehow diminish what I felt for Zoey.

After many weeks of long discussions and tears, the application was filled out and submitted. Kathy came to visit and a week later we had an appointment set up to go to Iowa. So much for waiting until after the first of the year to make any decisions.. Nolan was adopted and Merci was all alone now.

Ike and Merci were the first to greet me as I walked in the door. It was nirvana!! All those precious babies I read about playing and running around. I sat in her house taking it all in. Ike was crazy and cute as a button. Danny Boy definitely the alpha male and crazy!! Ziva who had just been rescued took a shining to Chris. Chelsea was a bit shy and took her time to get close. Cassie was still recovering from getting spayed but she was so sweet and loving. Her last puppy was still there and was already spoken for. He'd be going to his forever home the next day. Little Lizzie was so pathetic. She was up to 12 pounds. Skin and bones and just had been back to Cheryl's for a couple of days and wasn't ready for adoption yet. It was an experience I'll never forget.

I tried to give each dog a fair chance for those next 2 hours. I brought bags of treats and new toys for all of them and they were excited!! Through it all, Ike was the most playful but Merci would come by to be scratched. I asked Cheryl if it hurt her to pick her up and she said nooo... Here you go and she picked up Merci and handed her to me. I sat with her, and pet her, and we got to know each other. She was very shy but in a sweet, polite way.

We had plans that night and a 3 1/2 hour drive back. So a decision was to be made. I wanted to take 2 home but Chris said only 1 for now.. I looked at Laura and said which one? ... Merci - Mother? .... Merci Chris was my wild card!! I didn't see him spend much time with Merci and he was quite smitten with Ike... He said, I really like Ike, but there is something special about Merci.... So Merci it was. Cheryl held her one last time and handed her over. She had been Merci's mom for 3 months and had given her a new lease on life. She had her leg operated on and nursed her back to health. Merci looked sad and unsure as we took her from the only person who had ever shown her any kind of love. I was as unsure as she was, and nervous as any new mom could be. And so the journey began and the blog was started shortly thereafter...

I'm sleepy once again, enough babbling for one night! I did good, only got teary a few times thinking back over all this - but it's good for the soul...

Morning Update with Merci

Finally the promise of a little warmer weather starting today! I think Merci already senses it as she took her sweet time outside this morning and is getting a little bolder by the day expanding her territory... this time in the neighbors yard under their big pine tree which is on a hill. Now mind you, I'm in my nice flats for work without the luxury of a fur coat like missy! Two deer were out on the hill keeping their eye on us but they didn't seem to bother Merci who was on to some other scent! They made their move and Merci looked up and pulled on the lead and by the grace of god and some balancing on my part I slid down the hill with the grace of a figure skater doing a little turn at the end! I should have taken a bow and if there were judges they'd either be laughing hysterically or giving me a 10.0!!!

Catasrophe diverted, Merci tugged me back to the house where she ran to the treat jar.

I'm loving my new laptop that Chris bought me last weekend. As I sit with my coffee and he reads the paper, Merci hangs out in her bed with a chewy. The sky looks to be clear today and the snow is slowly melting. I can hardly wait for April and look in my terraced gardens out back for any perennial tip that has made its way to the surface..

"DOG Meets PIG"

With all the kids home from college also came Duke (Sarah and Gabe's dog) and Beethoven (Matt's guinea pig). Beethoven had been staying downstairs with his friend Alpha and the dogs really were not that much the wiser about the little guests until Laura decided to see how the dogs would react to the pigs.. So she brought Beethoven upstairs to see what would happen...


Mr. Dukie McDukerson, being the dasterdly devilish dog that he is thought Beethoven would be a tasty morsel much like everything he finds. But Beethoven didn't like that much and squeeled (yes, like a pig)! Of course, Duke thought this was a game and became quite playful, so we quickly distracted him with a football (as pictured above).
























Merci checking Beethoven out! Merci and Beethoven just hanging out!


Now, Miss Merci, being the loving mother she is, started whining when Beethoven squeeled. So, Laura took Beethoven to Merci's bed and it was an instant bond between Dog and Pig.. Merci treated Beethoven as if it was one of her long lost babies and licked him and nudged him with her nose. She then turned circles in her bed and plopped down and scooted Beethoven right over to her tummy. It was so sweet, and I know she was the best mom to Maggie May (a/k/a Zurie). But it was sad too, even though Beethoven has gone back to school, she still goes to the stairs to the lower level and cries. Chris and I brought Merci downstairs tonight to show her that the pigs had left. As I blog, she just lays down in front of where their cage was kept.


I also spent a couple of hours grooming Merci yesterday.... what a difference a bath and a little clip clip here and there makes... I had to hand clip her face. She totally freaked out from the "buzz" of the clippers. She was fine with them on her body and legs but would not let either Sarah or I get near her face. I figured she has been through enough in this life, so with a little TLC and sweet talk, she laid down in my lap and let me work my wonders with her... what a beauty she is!!

My first trim from Mom - I was pretty
good but told her to keep it kinda long
since it is freezing cold outside!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AND HAPPY NEW YEAR MERCI!!

Merci brought in the new year by celebrating her 6th birthday on 12/31.

It was a rather small affair - only Chris, Joy, Gabe, Sarah, Grammie, Duke and Merci - The adults celebrated with filet mignon while Merci and Duke each got a beef flavored chew. We played games and toasted in the new year together with Merci on my lap! What a difference a year makes for my girl!

I've noticed so many changes in her recently - the best being that she seems much more sociable. She comes up freely for loving pats and reassurance. She has the treat jar down pat and will not move away from it when she's been a big girl.

The morning routine being 15 minutes tickle time on mom and dad's bed is expected each morning. She loves to try and get her collar away from me before I can put it around her neck! The interest in love and play is coming together and it makes me so happy for her. I watched her lay in her bed on New Year's Eve chewing away on her rawhide - very content. She's never had that before and I'm so glad Chris and I were able to open our hearts and home to this sweet girl.

Since she refuses her joint medicine, I've had to resort to crushing it up and putting it in a tablespoon of beef or chicken baby food. It is her special treat and she loves it.

Potty training is still an on-going process with her. Finally she will pee by the side of the house but refuses to "be big" on our property. She will still take to the rug to relieve herself when she gets the urge, and so we just keep plugging away.

Matt brought home the guinea pigs from school and we showed them to Merci. I think she thinks they are her puppies. She wanted to pick one up in her mouth, but we quickly stopped that. Whenever she hears a dog cry on TV, she will cry too or bark!! So silly, but it just shows us how much she misses her babies and Nolan too. She loves other dogs and I'm thinking of enrolling her in a dog socialization class somewhere just so she can make some friends. Duke will go back to school on January 15 with Gabe and Sarah, so she will have some adjusting to make again. We noticed she moped around a bit at Thanksgiving when Duke went back.

Though I miss my sweet little Zoey terribly, Merci has brought a certain "joy" into our lives these past few months and we look forward to a wonderful, fun year with her exploring the cabin and lake life this summer. There is still so much for her to experience in life.

Here is to a happy, healthy 2009 for all our friends - furry and otherwise!! Special thanks again to Kathy and Cheryl for all their fabulous efforts with Wire Hair Rescue. We love you guys and are grateful beyond words for all you do to bring people and animals together!!

Happy New Year!!!