As Carl was getting ready to leave on a 2 week trip, we were asked to take a hospice girl for Lab Rescue, named Wiggles.  At almost 15 years old, Wiggles was being returned to the rescue because her owners are going to the UK to take a clock repair class - That by the way is offered throughout the year. But the bottom line is they didn't want to take her with them, or wait to take the course. You just can't make this up. And yes, I'm afraid I'm totally judging.  ~Introducing Wiggles~ The owners were insistent about returning Wiggles to the rescue, and so she was taken to a t ..read more

It has already been twenty one days since Todd left us. I'm still having those moments where I feel a wave of grief over his loss. I think that the hardest part has been that he was gone so quickly and so unexpectedly. Our 13 years together was over before I knew it. But isn't that what we always say?  ~Todd's first day with us 6-24-2011~ However, my heart and soul are full of gratitude that we were lucky enough to have Todd as part of our lives. Thank you all for sharing his loss with me. Your comments, e-mails, cards, flowers and even homemade peach jam from a local friend ..read more

It has been over a month since I last posted. August was so many things on so many levels of busy to relaxing and recharging. So, of course there is a lot of news that I want to tell you about. But first I want to tell you the sad and heartbreaking news that we lost Todd on Friday. I am devastated and so many other things.  Todd's loss came totally unexpected, and has been consuming and overwhelming for me. Carl is out of town, so it has also been a lonely and sad time. I will tell you more about what happened in another post, but for now I'll tell you that it began with an infected lump ..read more

THE FINAL PATHOLOGY REPORT for Noodle has been returned -- I'll begin with saying that just prior to the surgery to amputate his leg, an oncologist looked at Noodle's x-rays and suggested that the cancer may be in his knee joint, and was not osteosarcoma (bone cancer) like we had thought. This gave us something to hope for.  And those hopes were raised when the preliminary biopsy report made no mention of bone cancer, but  instead, mentioned synovial cell sarcoma -- I'd never heard of it, so I looked it up.  **Synovial cell sarcoma, also known as joint cancer, is a soft tissue ..read more

We are now 2 weeks and 3 days post surgery for Noodle. It's unfortunate that we cannot say his recovery has been uneventful, because it has not been. I'll be honest, it has been exhausting and stressful, at least for his caretakers. I've never cared for a dog that had an amputation, so I wasn't sure what to expect or exactly what to do. But I quickly learned and found out.  Here's what I have learned.        ⚫ That a lot of draining, even from a small area of a surgery site is a reason to take off work and be at the vet's office when they open. A culture was ..read more

Here we are at the end of June. And, as always it has been quite a month that is now behind us.  As always, there is a lot going on behind the scenes. But for this post, I'll focus on what's at the top of our pile for the month of June, that at the moment is Noodle.  He's had several vet appointment over the last few weeks. We've had x-rays and an ultrasound done to assess his leg to help decide a direction.  The more detailed x-rays and an ultrasound did give us some good news, in that the cancer did not appear to have spread into his chest or other areas.  That brought ..read more

Thank you all for cheering and welcoming "Noodle the 'doodle."  I will start this post by saying that we've been fostering since about 1999 - And each new foster always brings on hopes and dreams for them. More times than I can count, those hopes and dreams for them have been exceeded. The latest of course being Iva who truly found the best family to call her very own.  ~Iva, sporting a short summer cut~ On the flip side of that is that sometimes, the reality is, there are dreams that cannot be. Unfortunately it appears to be the case with Noodle. A vet visit on Friday that ..read more

Thank you to those who have stopped by and checked on us. We are okay ... At least I am ... now. In the past month I've missed 2 weeks of work because of a virus that really knocked me off my feet. I'm feeling much better now, and am back to work. Thankfully.  As we all know, even when your world is at a standstill, life does continue around you. Just as I was getting back on my feet and trying to get back to work, we were asked to take a new addition. The timing of being asked wasn't much of a surprise, at least not to me. Because I had that feeling that with Iva having been adopted in ..read more

 April was a month of catching up. Four of the dogs were past due to go to the vet, and so I got their appointments made and updated their needed care.  Ree had to go by herself simply because she's terrible in the car. She's a backseat driver, sitting behind me and barking at everything ... ~Back sear driver, Ree~ Even at the cat and dog on my vet's mobile van. ? (I'll add we go to his office because it saves us the house-call-fee of $100).  Jack also went by himself because he's just not good in small spaces with other dogs.  ~Jack going solo to the v ..read more

Awhile back, I read a study that said that our most clever pups use their eyes to communicate with their owners, particularly when it's regarding food or attention. I will say I thought that already -- And there was no doubt about what Jack's eyes were saying when it was past dinnertime and I was sitting and doing nothing to change that.  Doesn't Jack look like he's glaring at me with a raised eyebrow?  As opposed to this look from Daisy?  Eyes really are a window to a dog's soul. And ours too.  ~Lily ..read more