Category: Puppy love

13Sep

Single file and yeast rolls

It happened in an instant and it came from out of nowhere. Just the other day I was walking down a hallway (location not important) and there it was. That smell, that aroma, that unmistaken combination of yeast, disinfectant, and a faint hint of…what…ink from a mimeograph machine? And there I was again, transformed back into the halls of my elementary school.

I could see myself walking in a “single file” line with my classmates going to the cafeteria at lunch time. You could smell the fresh baked yeast rolls all the way down the hall. On the way we would pass the boys and girls restrooms (on the right), and just before entering the cafeteria, there on the left, was the office (where the intimidating principal lived). Thus, the trio of aromas hitting the senses; yeast from the rolls, disinfectant from the rest rooms, and ink from the office. Good, reminiscing smells.

I look back on my  school days at Powell Elementary School and smile. I was quiet and shy (hard to believe, right?). I tended to be a follower – I don’t think there was a “leader” bone in my body. I can recall even being nervous when I was, on the occasion, proclaimed “line leader”. After all, that’s a lot of responsibility and everybody is looking to you to keep that line straight and true.

Powell Elementary, the institution where I learned reading, writing, and begrudgingly, arithmetic – and a whole lot more. It was the place where I first witnessed someone with a learning disability and wanting desperately to help him. The thrill of watching a reel-to-reel movie even though it was educational (please, no pop quiz afterwards). The dreaded “achievement tests”. The smell of pencil shavings and the feel of chalk between my fingers. The excitement of getting to go outside on pretty days for a lesson or two (thank you Miss Hendrix). The morning Pledge of Allegiance where we all proudly put our hands over our hearts and recited those words.

In those years I found out that Santa Claus wasn’t real, and not every teacher is nice. The yearly group picture where I would inevitably be seated on the far end (shortest on the end after all). Those halls witnessed my first kiss (a quick kiss in the cafeteria after school) and subsequently, my first breakup. I enjoy thinking back of art class in the spooky basement, the musty smell of the gym floor (yes, we laid directly on the floor),and the sound of the bell ringing telling us that the school day was over. I established a lifelong friend, Ellie Baker Howe.

Those memories are forever etched in my mind. I wouldn’t trade them for anything. Those formative years where life lessons made more of an impression than the “Three R’s”. May those halls forever echo the chant, “Go Panthers”!

25Aug

A Love Story: Part 3 of 3

mytony

“YOU WANT ME TO WHAT?” 

“Fetch? Catch a frisbee? Really, why?”

Looking back on my early years with Tony, I chuckle. I really didn’t know much about dogs, my references had mostly been from television, movies, and  commercials. Aren’t dogs usually running, fetching sticks… or balls? Well, not this guy. He was happy just to sit by my side (or in my lap) and happily watch his brother do all that nonsense with Michael. What he lacked in physical motivation, he well made up for in his sweet disposition. This boy had won my heart from the very beginning. You want to be lazy sweet boy? That’s quite alright, Mama has a lap with your name on it.

Sugar and spice and everything nice, that’s what he’s made of.

SOMETHING’S GOTTA GIVE

We stayed in that cracker box of a condo for three more years after our boys moved back home.  We had to wait until we could financially make a move. We looked for a year before the right opportunity came up. The year was 2005. It was a house that was well into construction and the future homeowners had just lost their financial backing. Their loss was our gain. It was everything we had dreamed of.  We got in on the final stages of picking out the carpet, the countertops, and the paint colors. The home sat on a dead end in a small subdivision. It was perfect, 2,400 square feet of happiness! Finally, some room to spread out. Michael finally got his garage where he could work on projects… or just go and smoke a cigar. Shane and Brandon had the entire upstairs to themselves!

Once again, a back yard fence had to immediately be erected,  doggie doors were installed, and a ramp had to be built for the boys to go down into the yard from the garage.  We were amazed at how quickly Mickey and Tony adapted to their new surroundings. One of their new favorite things was that they were allowed to be with us in the front yard (and garage area) under our supervision without leashes. They quickly learned their boundaries and rarely went beyond them. Oh how they loved to go explore with their super keen  olfactory senses!

Tony became more active, more inquisitive than I had seen in years. He and Mickey would chase one another in the yard. It was comical watching one chase the other, and then just as quickly, the tables would turn and the chaser would become the chasee. We hadn’t been in our new home for just a few months when I noticed that Tony looked thinner. I attributed it to his increased activity and was grateful that this had been a good move for him. I knew that dachshunds were predisposed to hip dysplasia and disc disease due to their torso, so I was glad to see Tony lose some weight to help ward off any potential problems in that area.

Sit. Stay. Relax. Enjoy these days.

ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS (WE DIDN’T WANT TO ASK)

Not long after I noticed that Tony had lost weight, I observed he was drinking more water. What did that mean? I had no idea. Then one night, in the middle of the night, he began throwing up. Then he would go drink water. Then he would throw up again. I was up with him the entire night, worried, confused. Was it something he ate? Do dogs get viruses? Whatever it was, this baby was sick, really sick. The next morning I had him at the veterinarian’s office. It was just Tony and I, Michael had gone on to work.  It wasn’t long before I was given the diagnosis. Tony was diabetic. His sugar level was dangerously high. Words were being thrown at me; insulin, injections, diet, blindness, no cure; my head was swimming. I was in disbelief, in denial that my boy could be so sick. We were at the vet’s office most of the day. Their goal was to stabilize him with insulin injections, monitor his levels,  and educate me on how to care for a diabetic canine. I learned how to give Tony his injections.  I left that day with syringes, a vial of insulin, special diet food, and a heavy heart. Could I do this? It was going to be almost solely my responsibility to care for Tony. Michael had just changed jobs that required him to be gone at least 10 hours a day. The answer to my question, yes, of course, because we do what it takes to care for our loved ones. I quickly learned the best time to inject Tony was while he ate his breakfast.  It broke my heart that he most likely began to equate something he loved (to eat) with something that caused him distress. And yet, not once did he ever growl at me, he took it in stride.

We spent the next few months trying to get his blood sugar levels where they should be. That required weekly trips to the vet’s office. It became evident that in order to get his levels where they needed to be, Tony would now require two injections a day. Personally, of course, I struggled with that. It was hard enough to subject my boy to one injection a day, but now two, was going to make it even tougher on both of us. I also struggled with the guilt that had I not been as indulgent with the food that he consumed, my sweet boy would not have been faced with his illness. I even got a few “I told you so’s”, which added to my guilt.

Weeks turned into months, Tony was stable, we continued in maintenance mode. His diabetes was under control with his strict diet and insulin.  His weight had steadily decreased (in a healthy way). I remained optimistic that his condition wasn’t necessarily a death sentence. I was diligent with his treatment. I took him and Mickey on more walks, trying to keep his weight off. I began noticing however that his steps seemed to lack confidence, he starting lagging behind. What was wrong? It’s not as if Mickey hadn’t slowed down too in his senior years, but yet, Tony didn’t keep up with us.

We don’t see what we don’t want to see.

I’M GOING TO LOVE YOU (EVEN IF MY HEART WOULD BREAK)

I will never forget the moment that I made myself look into Tony’s eyes. He had become more reliant on being picked up and placed on the places he wanted to sit (or lie down);  on the sofa, on a chair, on the bed (even though he had a ramp). I picked him up and placed him on the chair that he was whining to be placed on. And then I looked directly into his eyes, his cloudy eyes. Michael was standing behind me at the time. I turned around with tears streaming down my face. I said, “He’s blind, isn’t he?” He said, “Yes love.” Michael had known it for a while but didn’t have the heart to tell me.

The blindness, of course, was irreversible. Tony didn’t adapt well to his loss of sight. He no longer enjoyed our walks. He lost what little adventurous spirit he ever had. Although I know that dogs don’t necessarily rely on sight as the main part of their senses, I think it’s different once their sight is lost as adult dogs.  Although faced with the knowledge that my boy was diabetic and blind, I still had him with me. We could go on for some time, right?

Our next dirty word was glaucoma. Once again, I was thrust into another disease that I knew nothing about. Glaucoma is a condition that increases pressure behind the eye causing pain, much like humans have migraines.  We tried medication, without success, to hopefully lessen the pressure. The veterinarian gave me two options to relieve Tony’s pain: removal of his eyes, or euthanasia. I was devastated. I left the office with Tony in my arms, yet again, trying to choke back sobs, with a decision to be made.

For the first time I felt hopeless. I felt like Tony’s  fate was in my hands. Michael told me it was ultimately up to me to decide what to do since I was his caregiver. Is it right to pray for guidance in this situation when there are so many more pressing problems in the world? Regardless, I did. I prayed that I would make the right decision and do what was right by Tony. I prayed, “Guide me Lord, what should I do?” The images of the last 18 months flashed backed through my mind. The endless injections that Tony had endured (and would continue to endure for the rest of his life).  The countless blood draws. The loss of dignity when his eyesight failed. But that still wasn’t enough to make my decision. I still prayed for a definitive sign. And then, that night when we had all settled into bed, Tony nudged up next to me. Not with his nose, but with his head, his eyes pressed against my shoulder. He was hurting, he was trying to alleviate the pressure in his eyes. I knew then that he was trying to tell me that he was ready to go. He was in pain, he was tired, his spirit had been compromised. I cried. I cried because I felt like I had failed Tony. I cried at the thought of what the next few days would bring.  I cried at the very thought of not having him in my life.

The next morning I made the call to the veterinarian’s office.  Although I knew it was the right thing to do, the selfless thing to do, somehow I still felt like the executioner. They put me in touch with  the veterinarian that had overseen Tony’s care since day one of his diagnosis,   and we made the appointment. She told me as hard it was for her, she wanted to be the one to help Tony not hurt anymore, to relieve him of his pain. Three days. I had three more days with him. One would think that those three extra days would have been a blessing, but they weren’t.  Just being with him, knowing that his days, his hours were numbered, was heartbreaking.

The morning of his final day had come. It was Thursday, November   1st, 2006. This brave boy had fought this fight for 18 months. I gave him pizza for breakfast. No injection, in truth, I had not given him an injection in 24 hours. We sat on the sofa for a good hour waiting on my good friend and neighbor Mandy to pick us up. Michael couldn’t miss work, so she agreed to be my ride, my support. In that short hour my eyes were almost swollen shut from crying so hard.

This was my first experience with euthanasia. I was surprised when the veterinarian asked me if I wanted to be present during the procedure. It never occurred to me to not be there for Tony’s last moments. I held and cradled him while the sedation helped to relax his body. I whispered in his ear how much I loved him. Tears rolled down my face and onto his body.  As the drugs took effect, Tony was given the final injection. All I knew to do was the same thing I did on his first night in our home… just as if I was back on that paper lined bathroom floor. I held his head against my chest so he could feel the beating heart of the one that he had picked so many years earlier – me.  As he drew his final breath I knew that there would always be a small part of my heart missing forever.

After that, for a good six months, I cried every day on my way home from work. It was my time to grieve. I did my best to hide my pain, mostly because I wasn’t sure that anyone would really understand how much of a loss I felt.

MY FINAL GOODBYE

I chose to have Tony cremated so I could always have a part of him with me.  Within a year, Mickey developed debilitating arthritis. When his pain and discomfort could not be eliminated, Michael made the decision to not allow Mickey to suffer.  At Mickey’s burial as I was saying my final goodbye, as the dirt was being placed on his shroud, I asked Michael to wait. I suddenly knew what was right, what would complete this final chapter. I ran inside and gathered the container of Tony’s ashes. While standing over Mickey’s grave, I reunited him with his brother. It was the right thing to do.

To this day, eight years later, I still miss my boy. He was everything that was good and pure about this world. He loved me, and I loved him. I have to admit though, I didn’t spill all of his ashes in the grave that day. I saved a few for myself; just because.

Cat

03Aug

A Love Story: Part 2

HE PICKED ME

Our first week together was a combination of total chaos and bonding. Michael and I would walk in the door after a long day of work and find the kitchen a puppy disaster.  They thought the newspaper down for them was to shred, and the bowl of water was there to tip over and play in. I won’t even get started on the bodily function messes. The weekend couldn’t get there quick enough for us. But oh how we loved our time in the evening with them.

It was time to name them, but how do you go about doing that? I didn’t have a strong opinion of names, so I gave my sweet husband the honor of naming them.  To this day, I don’t recall how he came up with the name Mickey, maybe because it was a form of his own name, maybe it was after the famous mouse.  But that’s what he decided on the smaller of the two. And for the bigger boy? The name Tony stuck. He thought it a tribute to my good friend Toni, although through the years she would argue that it was because their “behinds” were both a little on the broad side. Either way, they now had names. Mickey and Tony, our boys.

Given that there were two humans and two dogs, Michael and I wondered which one we would gravitate to. Which one would we each favor? We never got a chance to come to a conclusion, because in time, Mickey chose Michael, and Tony, well, he picked me. This boy followed me everywhere I went (even to the bathroom).  Sometimes I felt like a mother goose with my gosling following behind.

The next few months proved to be the most challenging of all. Housebreaking one dog can be difficult for any new pet owner, but two? Only after a fence and a doggie door was installed did we begin to make progress in that department. Regardless, if there wasn’t an eye witness,  only DNA testing could determine just whose missed potty that was on the carpet. Slowly, very slowly, they caught on. Finally, we were able to really enjoy these pups without the strenuous , exhausting task of potty training.

     After adversity, comes rewards.

THE WONDER YEARS

What fun it was for us to learn about these boys. Their own likes, dislikes, who loved to chew (Mickey), who was the chill guy (Tony), who loved bath time (Tony), and who would hide under the bed to try to avoid bath time (Mickey). Both loved to cuddle, both loved attention, and boy did they love bedtime. From the first night on they slept with us, wrapped in their own blanket at the foot of our bed, sleeping soundly until daylight.

As they begin to mature, we introduced leashes so they could take walks with us. It wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be,  but eventually they not only caught on, but would bark in excitement when we got the leashes out. Neighbors got to know  them as ” The boys”, and they soon became neighborhood regulars.

These little guys had become a part of our family that I never knew could be filled. Yes, they were dogs, but they were so much more than that. They filled a void for Michael and I, they brought life into our quiet home. If you are not a lover of animals, you may not understand what I’m saying. If you are a lover of animals, then I’ve said too much. I spoiled them like children. Almost every morning I would prepare scrambled eggs for them. Yes, we gave them table scraps, and clearly Tony was the one that loved to eat. It was evident that not only did Tony and Mickey not share the same desire for food, but it became clearly evident that they did not share the same metabolism either.  Mickey remained slim and weenie dog proportionate, while Tony became more barrel shaped.

1

Tony & Mickey

While writing this story, and rolling ideas around in my head, this is the part I get stuck, trying to convey why I called this section, “The Wonder Years.” I even shared my writer’s block with Shane and he said, “I get it, they were dogs, how much is there to tell?” So I won’t bore you trying to recount stories of Mickey and Tony. Just let it be said that these odd looking, little black and tan beings helped to fill my life with the joy only a creature with unconditional love can.

Great things come in small packages.

In the Snow1

Michael and “The Boys”

FILLED TO CAPACITY

We turned our heads and almost four years had gone by.

Although it was still difficult for Michael and I to accept not being full- time parents, through the years we adjusted. No, actually, the truth is, I never fully accepted not being a full- time parent. It pained me, it ate at me, it was wrong and I knew in my heart it was not in the best interest of my son to live with his father. However, there was nothing I could do but wait, and hope, and pray, yes pray. It had taken me a long time to make peace with God about Shane moving away, but it became my belief that sometimes the devil has his day, and that day happened when the judge ruled for my son to live with his father. Good had to prevail someday, truth would emerge, and wrongs would be righted.

That day came in the summer of 2002. Shane announced to Michael and I that he wanted to move back home! And he did just that, only a few weeks later. And just a short time after that, Brandon, Michael’s son, told us he wanted to live with us full time as well. Within a year we went from no children in the house to two teenage boys living full time in our home. Our small condominium was busting at the seams, our front door turned into a revolving door of an endless stream of our son’s friends coming and going. Our vehicles turned into taxis, our grocery bill skyrocketed, music blared throughout our home at all hours, and yet, our lives had become complete again.

Life was good. Life was full. It was as it should be.

….. to be continued..

Cat

26Jul

A love story: Part 1

image

Naivety can sometimes get us to a point where knowledge and experience can not carry us. This is where the story of my beloved dachshund Tony begins.

MICHAEL AND CATHY SITTING IN A TREE

     Michael and I were newlyweds in May of 1998. He was as freshly divorced as he was freshly faced. My handsome new husband was young, energetic, adventurous, and oh yes, 33 years old. His son was eight and his daughter was almost seven. That would make me, “the older woman”. In 1998, I was 9 years his senior with two almost adult daughters (both out of the nest), and an 11 year old son. I had two divorces under my belt and had been on my own for the last four years.

     Michael and I were co-workers at the local utility company where we had known one another for many years. As time went by, our paths crossed intermittently and in to the last year before our first date, the attraction was something that could no longer be denied. Shortly thereafter, I guess you could say, the rest is history .

     We dove into marriage and lost ourselves in the blissful state of new love. After four years of being a single parent, I relished having another adult in the house. We cooked together, me chopping onions, him chopping green peppers, we cleaned together (yes, a man can clean toilets). We laughed, and yes, we cried. Sometimes we cried because we felt so blessed to have found one another, and sometimes it was the heartbreak of one of his children crying on the other end of the telephone for him. In those many times of comforting my husband over missing his children, never in a million years did I realize that soon he would be holding me while I mourned over my son moving in with his father.

     It hit me like a ton of bricks, knocking the breath out of me , no, knocking the life out of me. My son Shane, only 11 years old, had decided that he would prefer to live with his father. Only after a court hearing, was it official. Shane moved out in November 1998 and my world collapsed. Michael was at a loss of how to help me. My children had been my world, and suddenly, my motherhood was taken away. I prayed, “Dear God, was it too much to have my child AND a good husband? Was that too much to ask for?” Never in my life until now had I been angry with my Maker.

     For the next several months, going home to an empty nest was just too much to take. We would stop for dinner after work, we joined a gym, we got to know our neighbors, and yet, in the end, we would come home and the house would be empty. No signs of life except for whatever we had left in the  morning, maybe an empty glass, a towel on the floor, but that’s about all. So, Michael and I grew together, out of love, and out of sorrow for our absent children.

    Out of sorrow, comes rebirth. After denial, comes acceptance.

GOTTA GETCHA SOME

     It was slow, it was an evolution, but eventually, Michael and I began to function as a couple that had a full time marriage and part time children. We arranged it where our children stayed with us on the same weekends and we began to look forward to not only the on weekends, but the off weekends as well. Still, during the week, it was really difficult coming home to an empty house. We had always been caretakers of children, and that’s a hard habit to break.

     On Easter morning of 1999, while sitting out on our back patio, the conversation turned to pets, dogs specifically. Michael had grown up with pets in the home. He felt like dogs filled up a home with warmth, energy, and companionship. When he moved from his children’s home, he left behind a beloved dog named Mollie. He missed her. He never toyed with the idea of bringing her with him, because his children loved her too. So, we decided on that Easter morning that we would get a dog. Watching my husband talk about having a four legged addition to our family made his eyes light up. His excitement was contagious and I found myself wanting my own arms filled with a puppy. We opened the Sunday newspaper and fervently began scavenging the wants ads for puppies. I can’t recall how or why, but we got it in our minds that we wanted a dachshund (or as we Southerners say, a weenie dog). Toby Keith, a country artist, had a song out called, “Getcha Some”. Michael and I came up with our own verse, “Gotta Getcha Some…. weenie dog”. It made us both laugh, and it became an inside joke for years.

     Our newspaper search led us to only one possible lead. Michael called the seller of the litter of dachshunds and agreed to meet her in North Carolina that afternoon. We had decided to get a male. I stayed behind to get ready for the work week ahead. I was excited that in a few short hours, Michael would be walking back through our door with a puppy! I anxiously awaited a phone call that he had gotten there safely and had picked out the new member of our family. When the call finally came, it wasn’t what I had expected. He explained to me that upon his arrival only two puppies were left, both males. He couldn’t  decide which one to get. To my surprise, I blurted out, “Get them both, they need to stay together”.  And that’s exactly what he did. A few hours later, Michael walked through the door with not one, but two black and tan puppies.

     Love comes in all shapes, sizes, and lengths.

IGNORANCE IS BLISS, OR IS IT? 

        Two people could not have been more unprepared to bring puppies into their home than the two of us were. An infant could had as easily been left in a basket on our doorstep. Our excitement about the thought of having a puppy clearly outweighed the reality that not only did we not have a fence to put them in while we were at work, but when did we plan on housebreaking these pups? For the time being, we quickly decided that they would stay in the kitchen during the day, and then in the spare bathroom at night. The following weekend, Michael would construct a pen for them in the back yard before permantley installing a privacy fence. We, however, had to get through the first night. Our first few hours with them were fun. We played on the floor. We got puppy kisses. We took them outside and watched them pounce on the fresh new grass of the season. We did our best to get “potties” out of them before coming in for the night. The Sunday newspaper which ironically is where we found these new loves, was placed on the bathroom floor, a blanket from our bed was carefully placed in the corner for them to sleep. Michael felt sure that the scent of us would help them find comfort and they would settle in for the night. We placed them into their impromptu bed, closed the bathroom door, and naively, if not smugly, retired for the evening.

     It had been a full day for the two of us, and we were admittedly exhausted. Minutes after crawling into bed, the sound of scratching on the bathroom door and the whimpering of two scared little puppies, carried throughout the house. We tried our best to ignore it. Michael reassured me that they would soon go to sleep. He was wrong, so wrong. We tossed, we turned, we tried to tune it out. Just as if they were infants left crying in a crib, I could not ignore it. Against my husband’s advice, I went in and checked on these unnamed creatures. And there they were, those big eyes looking up at me, so helpless. I walked in and closed the door behind me. All I knew to do was to lie down with them on that paper lined bathroom floor and try to comfort them. They quickly nestled into that blanket with me, cradled themselves next to my heart, and went to sleep. That’s all they wanted, human comfort, human touch. Thoroughly exhausted, I found myself slipping into sleep. Yes, on that bathroom floor, yes with these two silly little pups that I had only known for a few short hours.

     The bathroom door opened, it was Michael. He caught the sight that later he would say endeared me to him even more. He scooped up the boys and said, “Love, lets go to bed, all of us”.  He placed the boys on our bed, and wrapped them in that same blanket. We all slept until daybreak when Michael and I were awakened with kisses to the face, reminding us that we would never again be alone in our home.

Let not your hear be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

….. to be continued.

Cat