I spent a day in limbo

I'm not as thankful as I should be for my health.  So when I get a little 24-hour bug that knocks me for a loop, it awakens me to the fact that I seldom get really sick.

I spent yesterday in bed, the result of either some intestinal flu or food poisoning (we ate at a fund-raiser at school Sunday).  I'm so glad to be feeling better this morning, albeit a little weak, and sore.

One of the notes that came with Sadie's instructions was that she needed some leash work.  Well, after a couple of walks around the pasture, she responds well to the leash.  But I absolutely could not get her to potty while on a leash; nope, she had to be turned loose before she could find the right spot.

Yesterday I knew there was no way I could chase her down if she ran off; so with coveralls and stocking hat on (it wasn't that cold, but I had chills and a fever), I persisted in walking her around until finally, she peed.  After just one success, she has had no more problem "going" while on the end of a leash.  We walk to the spot, she does her business, and we come in.  This little lady is a fast learner. 

She hasn't really been here long enough to know where the boundaries are, so she does tend to run away, and doesn't always come when I call; she's still learning her new name, after all.  Buddy is a major problem when he's here, because he tags her and runs off, expecting her to follow him to the woods like Mandy did .  So, a leash is in order.

Sadie seems to have kennel cough, so we may have to take her to the vet today for some antibiotics.  Other than that, she is settling in and doing well.   

 

One of my J-land friends is grieving

Please go over to Tendernoggle's journal and give her your words of encouragement and condolences.  Click HERE.

It is, indeed, time to move on

Yes, I still cry every morning and every night.  But the public grieving here in my journal is done; those receiving my daily poem may still see it, since writing poems is my therapy.  But in this particular realm, it is time to look to this day, and beyond.  Besides, Cliff refuses to read my journal as long as it makes him teary-eyed; time for a change of subject.

For years, we've not allowed any house dogs  to go into the two carpeted rooms... the living room and our bedroom.  That way, if they have an accident or an upset tummy, there's no stain to worry about.  Also, back when we established the "no-dogs-on-the-carpet" rule, Cliff would sometimes stretch out in the floor to watch TV.  He said he didn't want to worry about whether he was wallowing in dog hair.

Dogs learn to follow this rule very quickly.  As a tiny puppy, Mandy knew within twenty-four hours of living here.  We just say a sharp "No!" and pick the dog up and put it back in the kitchen.  Sadie already understands, after about three reprimands.

But last night when I got up to go to the bathroom, Sadie was on the throw rug beside my bed, sleeping.  When my feet hit the floor, her tail started wagging enthusiastically.

"What's it going to hurt," I asked myself, "to have her sleeping near me?"

I couldn't think of one reason she shouldn't be there.

As you can see in the first picture, she is as close to me as she can get right now.  I can reach down and pet her easily.

I think she knows her job around here.

I'll Be Seeing You

                             

      I'LL BE SEEING YOU
    Sammy Fain / Irving Kahal

I'll be seeing you in all the old familiar places
That this heart of mine embraces all day through
In that small café, the park across the way
The children's carousel, the chestnut trees, the wishing well

I'll be seeing you in every lovely summer's day
In everything that's light and gay
I'll always think of you that way.
I'll find you in the mornin' sun
And when the night is new
I'll be looking at the moon
But I'll be seeing you

------ instrumental break ------

I'll find you in the mornin' sun
And when the night is new
I'll be looking at the moon
But I'll be seeing you

 

 

Sadie meets the cat

Our latest-acquired barn cat, although only half grown, has real guts.  Even Cliff, who is not an admirer of cats in general, likes this one (at a distance, of course).  It was fun to see Sadie getting acquainted with him.

I'd like to feature the place from which we adopted Sadie, Wayside Waifs. 

I was so impressed with the genuine love shown by the staff to their charges.

The lady who took Sadie out of her cage and then watched us petting her, and how she responded to our attention, actually got teary-eyed.  It was very touching.

The lady who interviewed us was the same sort:  she almost got emotional talking about the animals that pass through their doors.  She said she has twelve cats at home, and told us how hard it is to see the reality at Wayside Waifs:  some 7,000 cats pass through each year, and only a small percentage of them get adopted.  Cats, she told us, don't do as well in confinement there, while waiting for someone to adopt them.

She said they don't have a "kill date" like some shelters and pounds; if the animal seems to be adoptable at all, they give it as long as it takes. 

"Of course," she said, "we don't have many people who come in asking for a fourteen-year-old dog with liver cancer; in cases like that, the kindest thing to do is euthanize the animal."

Anyway, I'm giving them a plug:  if some of my readers love animals and want to donate to a good cause, I couldn't possibly recommend a better one.  Again, here's their website:  WAYSIDE WAIFS.

Thank you, my caring readers

I'm amazed and touched at all the comments that have been left in sympathy at Mandy's passing, and the e-mails I've received.  Thank you all for caring.

I had a good cry again this morning, thinking of the cabin without Mandy, the pasture without Mandy, and so forth.  But I had Sadie right beside me, and somehow it was very comforting to have her there.

It's obvious Sadie has been a town dog:  When I went out at 6 AM to feed the horses, she went with me.  Every time Marvin's rooster crowed, she barked, obviously worried about such a strange noise coming out of the darkness.  That's a time when I need some comic relief, because I always turned Mandy out of her pen for the day when I fed the horses.

I took her on a brief walk in the pasture (very hard to do this knowing Mandy wouldn't be there with me any more), and Sadie moved around at an unbelievable speed, taking in all the new sights and sounds, sniffing every cowpile.

On the way back to the house, I tossed a bale of hay out for the cows, and that poor little thing was terrified when she saw those huge animals coming toward us.  She barked and barked, looking at me as if to say, "Aren't we going to run away before those things kill us?"

It appears that she's going to be mostly a house dog, although I'll make use of Mandy's old pen at times.  And once I am assured she won't run away, she'll have more freedom outside than she does now.

Oh, another thanks to my J-land friends who have bought my poem-book; you've been added to my daily poem-list.

What a wonderful community this is.

Sadie's first night here

This is Sadie.  That old bed belonged to a rat terrier I used to have, and Cliff thought Sadie would like it.  She does, but obviously it's too small for her.  More pictures to come later.

Sadie met Monica and Natalie tonight, and I believe it was love at first sight for all concerned.  We did the right thing getting Sadie.