My Heart is Singing a Song of Joy

My home is such a mess and I found out yesterday I am getting company for the weekend. A very dear, long time friend is coming to visit.  I am so blessed that he comes to see, not my home, yet I so want him to see this place clean and tidy for once, not the horrid mess it has become.  His home is always clean and fairly much organized.

I am still very weak from being so sick the last while, and still have the Sinusitis & Bronchitis, though am starting to improve.  I saw my doctor yesterday and he can hear noise in my left lung so sent me to have chest x-rays done today.  I have another 5 days on the antibiotics and sure hope all is well by then as I don't want to have a second round of these drugs.

I am so tired after 2 busy days on top of the illness, all I want to do is go to sleep, yet I know I can't yet.  I have dishes soaking in the sink and a load of laundry washing which I will have to hang up as my dryer is not working. I have so much work to do before Mark gets here tomorrow and I know that there is no way I can do everything I want to have done.

Meanwhile, my cat, Mewsic, is trying to get me to let her curl up on my chest, to just hold her and love her while she naps.... and one of my birds, my male cockatiel, Tiki, has been making a lot of noise.  All my birds are usually quiet or make low volume sounds, but occasionally the 'tiel does make loud noise.  Oh well, he's not as bad as a couple male 'tiels I used to have.  They sounded like they were using those mackie loudspeakers that some of my musician friends use. When a musician turns up the loudspeaker to better share his/her music with an audience it sounds great, you can dance and enjoy the music to the fullest. However, when a bird squawks that loud in a small, enclosed area it is not nearly as nice. I know if I took Tiki and his buddy Friday the Parrotlet out of the cage to play on me they would be happy and quiet right down, though at this moment I just don't have to time or energy to play with any of my wonderful animals.

Guess I will get to bed early tonight and get a good sleep, then up early tomorrow morning, crank the stereo up and listen to some good, energizing music while I work at cleaning this house.... until I get the call from Mark that he's on his way over.  He lives in the Kootenay area of BC, I live in the Okanagan Valley, so it's a few hours drive to get here.  Tonight he is at his daughter's home in town, just minutes from my home. I'm excited to see him tomorrow, as I always am. My Heart is Singing a Song of Joy

My day today:

Planned to do: 30 minutes on treadmill.... laundry... clean chinchilla & rabbit cages.

Actually did: 3 loads of laundry - washed/dried/folded/put away... cleaned all 3 chinchilla cages and 1 rabbit cage, gave the chins their dust baths, topped up water bottles... talked on phone to George for 4 hours while I did the laundry, talked on phone for 1 hour to Ray, talked on Messenger with Dan for undetermined time twice, thought about Mark and wondered if he'll be coming over this way any time soon and if he has bought another truck yet. (I have one I will sell him, lol)

All that is on top of 'every day stuff' like feeding birds & cat (rabbit & chinchillas get food dishes filled every few days as needed). My dog, Indaway, is inside now and just finished eating his dinner or raw turkey. Oh ya, including feeding myself, haha.

Doing dishes was something I should have done and would have done, though didn't get to. They'll still be there tomorrow. I am disappointed that I didn't get on the treadmill today, just couldn't fit it in. Guess I could have done that while on the phone, if only I had thought to do so.

So... my 'To Do' list for tomorrow will start with 30 minutes on the treadmill and do the dishes. Fold more laundry tops the list too. Then work on cleaning the kitchen.

Random Thoughts

From time to time I like to post a list of random thoughts, random facts about me, so here I go:
- I am 5 foot 2 1/2 inches tall.
- I sometimes have a problem with the keyboard on this laptop. It changes to give me other character than what I want and usually get on the keys. I can't really explain it, but it is frustrating and I have to reboot the computer to get my proper characters back. I just did that.
- I had to go outside and find my dog, I was so worried when I found him not in his pen.
- I love animals... though I guess if you read my blog you already know this.
- I do not smoke... so therefor, I do not smoke camacho triple maduro cigars.
- I parked my truck and transferred the insurance to my trike for the summer. Last year I had them both insured and only used the truck 3 days out of 4 months. This year, it is an unusually rainy year, so if I had the truck insured I would have used it more in the last 2 weeks than I did all summer last year.

I Need Exercise

Due to health issues, I am supposed to be doing more exercise and I do know I need it, though still don't seem to be doing much. I have so much to do and just don't have the time to do it all. Maybe I'm just putting up blocks (yoga blocks? haha) to exercise. I have a new dog that needs to be walked though there is nowhere safe to walk where I live so I have to drive to somewhere to walk and at this time I only have a motorcycle to drive. Good for me but not for the dog. Oh well, we will find a way to work it all out. For now, I am teaching him in the yard to 'heel' so that when we do get to go for walks he will know how to do it properly. He comes well, so I think he will be able to go off lead at the dog parks when we get there.

Mewsic

I'm sitting here in my arm chair watching TV, watching Mantracker. I don't think these gals are going to win, they were lucky to get away from him just now by ducking into the bush where the horses can't go, but there is no way they can out maneuver these 2 guys on their horses.

My Mewsic is curled up in the chair with me, having one of her cat naps. I think at the rate she's going I might have to start feeding her the best diet pills you can get for a cat. Can you get them with a fish scent and smell? No? Well darn, maybe I'll just have to cut back on her food and get her more exercise. She is not overly fat yet, but she is getting a little more 'cuddly', if you know what I mean. All she does is sleep and eat with a little play here and there as she chooses.

Oh... the Subaru ad is on!! So funny! The Sumo Wrestlers posing 'sexy' on cars just like so often skinny women do in next to no clothing. This is a great add. "Sexy comes standard!" Haha.

Some Basic Facts

Here are a few 'Basic Facts' about me so you can get to know me a bit better... or not.

- I type with all of my fingers. Each finger knows it's own keys and does not know the other fingers keys. This made it very difficult for me to type when I had one arm/wrist in a cast.

- I don't care for people who are dishonest, I much prefer people who are honest. I choose to 'hang out' only with honest, intelligent people.

- If I ask you something and you don't know the answer, I will respect you if you tell me you don't know but will find out for me. I will not respect you if you try to 'BS' your way through, acting like you know when you don't.

- I am not one to buy phentermine. I am not a total 'health freak, but am trying hard to get more into that. Not that I judge those that do buy these, we all make our own choices and this is a good thing.

- I have several birds... 1 Indian Ringneck Parrot/Parakeet, 2 Pacific Parrotlets, 4 Cockatiels. If I don't cover their cage in the evening, Billy Bob and Tiki, both males that share a cage, can be very noisy. They need their sleep.

- I have a cat who doesn't bother the birds or the rabbit or the 4 chinchillas. Mewsic is a great cat and really loves to sleep and snuggle with me.

Friends

I've so often heard the saying "diamonds are a girl's best friend", and of course, this would even apply more if they were certified diamonds. However, dog is man's best friend. Hmmmm. As much as I like sparkly diamonds I would take a dog any day. I so miss my Reba. She was such a special dog and yes, this girl's best friend. I must tell you about my 'other best friend'.

D is a really wonderful guy who has been wanting to work on my trike and in the last couple days did exactly that. He welded not only the 2 places where the 'professional welder' had done recently and had broken again, but he also took the back wheels off to get to other areas where Ron had not gotten to and welded there too. He really went the extra mile to add more metal and more welds to insure that this braking problem will not soon return. Also, he did a much neater, nicer looking welding job. I wish he'd been able to do all the welding on my trike right from day one, though I had not yet met him back then.

Another thing he wanted to do was the brake peddle system. Tug hadn't been able to figure it out to give me good back brakes, but D changed where one rod was and walla, I had back brakes. This was not good enough for D, he still wanted to do better. Today he did a lot of work redesigning the system and moving the peddle to a different position. Welding, cutting, bending, bolting over & over until he had it as good as he could get it with the equipment he had to work with. D has a full machine shop where he lives but doesn't have much for tools here, so he rented the welder, bought a grinder & used some of the few tools I own. All in all, he's done a great job and I have really good braking power now. I can lock up my back wheels and skid the tires if I want/need to and also still have a good front brake.

Yes, D is a very good friend. A girl couldn't ask for better. It's too bad that some of life's 'stuff' makes it that we can not be more than good friends... or maybe it's a good thing. In my experience, friends last longer than lovers. Maybe I should be grateful we can 'only be friends'. I have for some time now been happy as a single woman and did not want to change that. Knowing D has to some degree made me think that maybe a relationship wouldn't be such a bad thing after all. We have so much in common, love doing the same things, and laugh together a lot. If only I could find a man like D who is free to be with me.

Doggone Dog Gone

Last Wednesday, I got a 'new dog'. I drove my trike all the way to Edgewood, a 2 hour drive or more from here to look at this dog and brought her home. She, Koko, is a very cute dog. Her father, from what I was told, is pure Rottweiler, while her mother is 1/2 Great Pyreneese, 1/4 German Shepard & 1/4 Black Lab. A gentle type dog and very pretty. However, Koko had problems. Before I got her I was told she was an outdoor dog and after I brought her home I found out that before being an outdoor dog she was allowed in the house and up onto the furniture. I had known I would have to house train this 5 1/2 month old dog, but hadn't known I'd also have to teach her to stay off the furniture and off the kitchen counter. She had a bad habit of jumping up and taking whatever she could from the counter, and broke one of my good bowls while doing so. This is not even why I finally decided to return her to her previous owners. You see, every time I took her for a drive in my trike she got sick, either heavily drooling/slobbering, or outright throwing up. At first it wasn't too bad, though as time progressed instead of getting better she was getting much worse. I didn't have the option of leaving her home while I went out as each time I was out of her site, and some times in her site but more than 3 feet away from her, Koko had panic attacks, barking/whining/yelping until I returned to her side. 2 out of 3 times that I put her into Reba's old dog pen she managed to find a way out and disappear. The first time she came home after about 12 hours... the second time it took her 2 days to return. Obviously, though a very nice dog, she and I are not a match. I know she is much more suited to the life she had and now has again, living waaaaaay out in the country with a family that has 3 other dogs and never takes her for a drive. I thought perhaps it was due to the trike, so a friend drove us in his car and I sure am glad I put a tarp in the back seat for Koko to sit on as she puked 2 times on her way home as well as was soaking wet from drooling.

Will I get another dog?? Only time will tell. I love dogs and at this time I feel it's not the right time for me to get a new one. If I am meant to have another one it will happen and in the meantime my cat, rabbit, 4 chinchillas & 9 birds will have to be enough.

Reba - Very Sad News

It has taken me some days to be able to write this post. It is with deep sadness that I do so now.

On Sunday, July 18, I had to have Reba, my beloved dog and companion, put down. She had cancer and when a tumor on her shoulder burst open she was uncomfortable and I knew the time had come. It has been very difficult, and yet I know it is the best for Reba Jane Rottenweiler. She was such a great dog and I was blessed to share about 11 1/2 years of my life with her. Reba was born December 14, 1998 and came to live with me at approximately 7 weeks of age. We had a challenge at the start as I just couldn't seem to bond with this dog and felt I should get rid of her.... she just wasn't the right dog for me. Thankfully, I spoke to my next door neighbor about this and she pointed out to me that the problem was ... Reba was not D-O-G.

D-O-G (pronounced dee OH gee) was a Belgium Tervern. I didn't know her exact birth date, so chose a day that would be very close... February 2 - Ground Dog Day. She too came into my life at about 7 weeks of age and shared my life for about 11 1/2 years. She only went onto the highway one time and that was enough. She died instantly when she was hit August 27, 1998.

I had loved D-O-G very deeply and we went everywhere together from the first moment we met. She was the best dog in the world!! Nearly 5 1/2 months later, when I got Reba, I thought I had healed and as it turned out, I hadn't. I still miss D-O-G today, nearly 12 years later. Once my neighbor pointed out that Reba was not D-O-G, I realized that somehow I had been holding that against her and I needed to love her for who she was. That was very easy from that moment on. I did love Reba for who she was and I know I will always love & miss her like I do D-O-G. I have been very blessed to have 2 such wonderful dogs share my life.

I don't think I can live without a dog for long after those 2 girls. I was a confirmed CAT person, thank you very much, with no desire to have a dog... until I met D-O-G and she forever changed my life. Now I know the total, unconditional love and adoration of a good dog and know I will one day have to have another one to not only love me the way these 2 did, but also to honor the love and memories I have for D-O-G and Reba.

It's amazing how many people loved my Reba from the moment they met her. She really was an incredible girl and showed many people that Rottweilers aren't all 'killer dogs', but can also be filled with love and be filled with joy at the chance to share that love even with strangers.

What's Up With Reba...

I don't think Reba has Mesothelioma, though I do believe she has some other kind of cancer. She is doing rather well just now, though she has a large lump on her left shoulder, somewhat around the size of a baseball. I gently squeezed the lump (tumor??) to see if it caused her any pain and it didn't. So far as I can tell she is not in pain at this point. For a couple days her appetite was poor and she didn't eat anything unless I hand fed it to her and then she ate very little. The last couple days she has been much more interested in food again, more like her 'old self'. This is a big relief to me although I know that it is likely just a phase. I have been told that as a dog nears the end of its life it will seem bad then will 'rally' and seem to be much better, then suddenly that's the end. This may or may not be what's happening here. She appears to be much better now than she was a couple days ago. I know that when she goes it will be hard, and that I will live through it. I have more or less come to grips with what is happening. It is a natural thing and I believe it is good for Reba. Spirit never dies, only the body does. Now, when "the time comes" the challenge will be to hold on to this belief. The grief will be mine, not Reba's.

Reba Jane Rottenweiler has been a true blessing in my life. She is such a good dog. I know that God gifted her to me and our spirits are forever entwined.

My Day - July 5

I'm wishing I was even half as rich as a Texas Truck accident lawyer must be. I could really use the cash just now. Today it cost me $67 to get my Motorcycle License. Yes, I passed it!!!! It was $50 to take the Road Test and $17 for a new driver's license. About a year and a half ago it cost me $75 to renew my Class 5 license (drive cars, vans and pickups), now to add the Class 6 (motorcycle) to it was $17. Gas for the trike was over $12 today, the tanks was very nearly dry and I was lucky to make it in to the gas station.

I have been thinking a lot about taking Reba for that "last ride", a trip to the vet to release her spirit from her body. The cost is a problem this month as I had to pay my property taxes as well as the above and of course all the usual bills and such. Not that I would let this be a reason not to do it... just adds more challenge to life. I don't want her to suffer at all, and yet I don't want to put her down if she's not yet ready to go. This morning she seemed weak and a bit wobbly. I stayed home from my volunteer job to be with her. I let her out for a bit before I had to leave for my Motorcycle Test and though I had planned to take a nice long celebratory ride if I passed, I didn't do that. I had tea with Wendy then cut that short to come home to Reba. She seems stronger this evening, doesn't seem to be in pain, and is eating well. I don't know if she has a few days or a few weeks, or if I'll take her in tomorrow... I do know though that I will keep a close eye on my wonderful dog, I will enjoy the last times I get to pet her, to feel her silky soft ears, I will give her lots of love, and if she seems to be in any pain, or getting too weak, I will make that terribly hard drive.

All About Reba

Last night I let Reba in and she walked right past her dish of raw buffalo burger, past my bedroom, into the laundry room and laid down, butt to the door. This was extremely odd, not at all normal for my girl. I decided to let her be for awhile, and if she didn't come out on her own I'd check on her before going to sleep. I was laying on my bed reading Tuning Up For Riders in preparation for my final test for my motorcycle license when, at 12:30am, I heard a heck of a racket in the hallway near the furnace. My first thought was that Mewsic had caught a mouse trying to sneak into the house through the furnace... then I heard Reba breathing very hard. She was laying on the floor between the furnace & the clothes drying rack that is standing in the hall, her head was back and sort of caught on the rack. I gently moved her head free of the rack and down to the floor... she seemed 'out of it'. She had obviously had a stroke or seizure of some kind. I held her head, petting her and talking to her calmly & quietly until her breathing finally slowed down to normal, then helped her to get up and walk the few feet into my bedroom. She laid down beside my bed, almost like she didn't have what it would take to get to her bed at the foot of mine. Again she was breathing heavily, though not as much as earlier. I petted & talked to her, her breathing calmed down. After awhile I returned to my book, a bit later Reba got up and took the last few steps to her bed where she more fell down than laid down.

According to things I've read on the internet, the lifespan of a Rottweiler in 8-12 years, though I've had people tell me they had a Rotti that lived to 14 years or 13 years, so they do live beyond the 12. I always thought Reba would be one that lived longer. She was always so full of life, so puppy-like that even at as much as 10 years old people still guessed her to be 2 or 3. Then last winter (Jan 2009) she almost died on me due to pneumonia though once she recovered from that she was back to her usual puppy-ish self. Now this winter she got cancer. We went through a couple real bad months, but once the toe was off along with the tumor, she rallied really well and seemed to again return to her bouncy self. It must have taken a lot out of her though.

I have heard that hgh supplement helps us to be younger longer, to replace a much needed hormone that we have during our youth. I don't know if it works or if there is a similar hormone in dogs, but if there is one in dogs I wish I could have given it to Reba. I am very sad to say that she is not long for this world. Reba will be 12 years old on December 14 though I know she won't make it that long. Before this summer is over, my awesomely wonderful girl will depart... her body to my pet cemetery and her spirit to The Rainbow Bridge.

Stroke???

This morning, just before 7:30am I was getting ready to go to the Food Bank to do my volunteer work when Reba had something strange happen to her. She went to stand up and fell over on her side. A few minutes later, she walked the length of the bed and got a bit shaky then back legs went out from under her one way while front went the other way and down she went. She was breathing a bit hard though not severely. I sat there petting and talking to her for quite awhile then she finally managed to get up and walk though seemed a bit confused or maybe afraid it would happen again. I phoned the Food Bank and left a message that I couldn't come in today as my dog had some kind of seizure and I couldn't leave her alone. I think it may have been a small stroke, or 2 small strokes. It scared the heck out of me whatever is was.

I was just talking to Wendy on the phone and she said it sounds like a seizure, her other friend, Dianna, had a dog that had a mini stroke, then later another one, then a major stroke and had to be put down. Wendy said what I told her about Reba's incidence this morning sounds like what Dianna described about her dog.

Since then she has been appearing okay. She has eaten and has drank lots of fresh water, I think has drank more than usual in fact. She's gone outside to 'do her business' and has chased Mewsic. Hey, if she can chase the cat she must be feeling fairly good. I'm full of hope while I try to prepare myself for future episodes.

Reba News

Reba has been doing so well lately, it's awesome. Her foot is not totally healed yet, but better all the time. As her foot got worse and worse I had to start lifting that 90 pound rottweiler out of the back of my truck each time we went anywhere, and there were times when I took her out and she wouldn't or couldn't get back in to come home so I had to lift her up into the truck. This is much more challenging than lifting her down, and I found the easiest way to lift her up was to first lift her front legs and place the feet onto the tailgate of the truck, then left her back end up. Being a 4 wheel drive, the truck is fairly high. Anyway, even after the surgery where they removed her toe i had to continue to lift her out as I didn't want the foot to be injured when she hit the ground. As time passed I was thinking it was likely about time for her to jump out by herself again, though she kept waiting for me to lift her down and I have no way to know if the foot still hurts or not, so I continued to 'let her down gently'. A few days ago when we came home I was just about to lift her down, after our now 'usual' snuggle with her standing on the tailgate where she's high enough to put her head over my shoulder and cuddle up close... and the neighbor dog barked. Reba was off the tailgate like a shot and over to the fence between the two yards to visit. HA!!! No more lifting that heavy dog for this gal... at least not in the foreseeable future. It is just so wonderful to have her back to her happy, bouncy, puppy-like self again, just like before the pain she went through.

I am so grateful!!!

Reba... etc.

Yesterday I was out at Tuggy's working on my trike. I painted the rearend and some other parts, so it's starting to look better. Tuggy has the mufflers on now, so all there is to do to make it ride-able is to get the back brakes working properly. There is some unplanned problem with them, so Tuggy will be pulling them apart in the next couple days to see what the problem is and fix it. The box for the back also needs to be finished, though I can ride around in the yard, learning to ride it, without the box.

While I was out at Tuggy's, I had Reba in the truck and went out to give her the chance to go potty. While I was doing that, and while she was on the tailgate of my truck, up high where I could work properly, I took off the bandage from her surgery. It was not pretty and I felt a bit sick having to look at it. It is wide open! There was a thin strip of stitches with a bit of skin laying loose in the open wound, and the wound was seeping/oozing blood. Thankfully, when I told Tuggy about it, he dug out some bandages that he had there and came to the truck to hold Reba's head for me while I worked and got it wrapped up again. I don't know if I should take her back to the vet or not as I don't think there is anything they can do that I can't. It has to be wrapped up to keep dirt out of the open wound and I feel like I should put some kind of ointment on it but know that I can't be putting the bandaging on and off all the time so will have to be something that only needs to be put on every 3-5 days when I do a bandage change.

Ahhh, sometimes I wish I could just do a "click here" kind of thing to be led to the right answers for the questions I have at any given time. "Want to talk to God? Just click here!" or something like that. I have several questions I could use a good answer to, lots of issues I'd like guidance in solving. Yup, normal life here.

Reba: So Far So Good

Well, Reba is home. When I went to pick her up, they brought her out to me and she seemed happy to come to me, then lay down with my foot as her pillow. She is still very sleepy. She is also very not her usual self. While still in the vet office I was told she'd gotten snarly with them... then when I just petted her head she growled at me. One of the gals there offered to help me lift her into the truck, so I had to coax her all the way to the truck, then we lifted her up onto the tail gate and that is where she decided to lay down and go back to sleep. I was trying to get her to move into the truck far enough for me to close it so I could drive away and I very nearly got my arm ripped off. Wow, this supper lovey dovey dog sure can turn into a snarling, ferocious, dangerous dog when she wants to. I never saw this side of her in all the years I had her until this problem with her foot, now this is the 3rd time. Each time though, I must admit, even though she snapped at me, snarling and growling, if she had really wanted to she could have gotten me and ripped me to shreds... and she didn't. Too close for comfort though, for sure. Finally, she did go into the truck and I was able to close it up.

I was given a bottle of antibiotics to give to her for the next 2 weeks, as well as some anti-inflammatory/pain med stuff, and one of those cones to put over her head if she starts licking at the bandaged foot. I must try to keep it clean and dry for the next 3-5 days, then can take the bandage off. Providing the stitches don't rip out, I have to take her in in about 2 weeks to have them taken out. Apparently, they had a bit of a hard time closing the area after removing the toe. I have to try to keep this hyper active dog calm for the 2 weeks to lessen the chance of the stitches ripping out. Gee, sounds like fun. (ya right).

Will keep you updated on Reba's recovery. We hope she will soon be able to return to her blogging though with a toe missing it may now be more difficult for her to type.... guess I'll have to take dictation. haha.

Reba News

Just wanted to let you know that Reba is in 'the hospital' today having her surgery. The cancerous toe is finally being removed. The vet would have liked to do chest x-rays and blood tests before doing the surgery, to make sure the cancer hadn't spread anywhere and I said no. I just don't have the extra hundreds of dollars to do this. The surgery is costing $3-400 and these tests would cost at least another $200. Just can't do it. So, she gave me a talk that basically was 'don't blame us if your dog dies' kind of thing, and she said Reba has already out lived her life expectancy, any age dog has risk with being put out for surgery... yadda yadda yadda.

I held her while the vet & assistant gave her a shot to make her sleepy, then stayed with her until she was a limp old dishrag. She couldn't even get up to walk into the operating room, so had to be carried. I gave her a kiss on the forehead and told her I'd see her in a while, that I'll be back to pick her up this afternoon. One way or another I will go back and pick her up this afternoon, I just hope and pray she'll be leaving there on her own 4 feet, healthy and happy again though likely sore for a few days while things heal up.

The vet & assistant were really impressed by Reba and how good she was while getting that shot. They said it would hurt some, so I held her head while the vet held her back end and the assistant gave the shot into the muscle. Reba didn't even flinch. The vet said what an unusually good Rottweiler she is.

I'll let you know how she's doing when I know anything.

GREAT NEWS!!!

Blow your horns, beet your drums, blow your whistles, beet your outdoor rugs, and scream 'n shout!!! Yup, it's GREAT NEWS!!!

Today while I was at my TOPS Instillation Banquet, I was interrupted by a phone call that I was very happy to take. Heather, from The Vernon & District Animal Care Society, called about financing Reba's surgery and she said they can do it!! I am sO happy... "stoked" even. They will pay for amputating the toe with the cancer tumor on it. This is no guarantee that Reba will live, but it is a very good chance she will. My friend Wendy knows a guy who had a rottweiler that got cancer on his toe just like Reba's and he died shortly after the surgery. I am very hopeful that this will not happen to my girl and she will still live a few more years after this. She has aged a lot through all of this, but once the pain is gone I think she'll return to her previous bouncy young-for-her-age self.

I called the vet office to book the surgery and it will be Tuesday April 20. This seems like way too long to wait, 12 days, that's nearly 2 weeks!!! And yet it's been over a month, more like over 2 months since she started having the problems so she's nearly at the end of it. I don't know what the recovery time is like after a toe amputation, but I'm sure it will seem a short time in comparison to what we've been through so far.

Celebrate, my friends, celebrate!!

There is HOPE

Yesterday I phoned the Animal Care Society. They help low income people when they need to take their pets to a vet and don't have the money to do so. They paid for the vet visit when I had to take my cat Shadow in two years ago. Unfortunately, Shadow passed away, but at least he was made more comfortable during his last hours. When I had to take Reba in a few weeks back, they paid for that visit too. When I phoned yesterday it was to see if they could help me with the cost of putting Reba down. I talked to the very nice man at the other end of the phone line and he wants me to take Reba back to the vet so she, Dr. Bev DcDougal, can have another look at Reba and decide if she needs to be put down or not. Dr. Bev wasn't in yesterday, and being Good Friday, everything was closed today, so she will be phoning me in the morning. I'm not sure, but it really sounds like, if Bev thinks Reba is 'worth saving' and is 'save-able', then they will pay the bill for the surgery. WOW, that would be sOOOO awesome!!

While talking to the man, who's name I don't know, I told him that I am getting together things to donate to their May Garage Sale fund raiser. I also told him that I am looking for a new Volunteer job and would love to give my time to the Animal Care Society. He said this is his wife's area to deal with and she's currently away, though he will pass on the message to her when she returns this weekend.

I didn't tell him, but I need to make a will one of these days. I don't have much in the line of cash though I do own my own home with only a few thousand dollars owing on it. I have no children to leave my estate to, only my animals are my family. I have decided to make the ACS one of my beneficiaries. They are doing good work to help animals to have better lives.

I hope that people will be generous and make donations to the Animal Care Society. They work totally on donations, there is no other funding.

Thank you to all of you that have left Reba & I messages, supporting me/us in this very emotional, difficult time. I totally appreciate this.

Sad News

Yesterday I told you of the Good News... now today I will tell you of the very sad news.

My poor Reba is not getting better. In fact, her foot is more swollen now than it was before and she nearly bit me on Tuesday when I was petting her. I wasn't even near the sore foot and she got very snarly with me. This shows that the pain level has risen again. I have put her back on asprins for the pain and am making arrangements to have her put to sleep. This has to work around Good Friday and Easter Sunday & Monday with the vet offices closed. It also has to work around Dan's schedule as I need his help with the funeral planning. Well, not the planning exactly, but the digging of the large hole in my front yard. I've already done the planning years ago when my cat Smoothedge (3 years, had her since new born) was hit on the highway and I buried her in the front yard. When my wonderful D-O-G (11 1/2 years, had her since 7 weeks old) was hit on the highway she joined Smoothedge. The same thing happened to my 'new' dog Bronx 2 months to the day after D-O-G. Two years ago, Smoothedge's son Shadow joined them when he passed away from kidney failure, just 6 weeks short of his 17th birthday. Cherry Chinchilla & Tomas Budgie Bird also claim a spot in the ever growing Pet Cemetery in my front yard. Now it is Reba's turn.

This may sound like a lot of animals have passed on here... it feels like that to me too. However, this is over a 19 1/2 year period, so is not really all that extreme. Each one takes a piece of me with them when they go. Each one has been dearly loved and has given me a very valuable part of themselves.