Tribute To My Ginger

Ode to an old friend, I miss you, my best friend of 15 and a half years.. what do you say? I haven't written in this blog for almost three months because Ginger got really sick shortly after the last entry and at exactly 1035am on Wednesday, August 4th, 2010, she took her last breath and passed away. Ginger had been diagnosed with Leukemia (Chronic type)almost two years ago. I took her to the canine oncologist in Annapolis and bought the prescribed chemo meds. I couldn't go through with it after seeing the suffering that my own mom went through when she fought off breast cancer. Chemo is no joke, people. The vets were telling me that dogs handle it better, etc. Yeah right, do dogs speak? Regardless, I just couldn't do it and put it in God's hands. I knew there would come a time when I would need to make a decision, I was hoping that I wouldn't have to and that Ginger would do that on her own. Well, she was such a little slugger, she surprised me by living much longer than the vets had expected. She suffered through seizures that were brought on by the leukemia robbing her brain of oxygen. In the beginning, the seizures were few and far between but she ended up having them almost every time she exerted herself. She was my shadow for the past 15.5 years. My third ankle, my best friend. I could write a book about her and I have in my own journal, this is Annie's venue so I will remain true to that. I had to mention Ginger's passing on though. If it weren't for Ginger, there would be no Annie or Reed, my sister's Jack Russell Terrier.

When she passed away, she took some of me with her. I do not handle death well and that is the only thing that I do not like about dogs, they die and leave us. I keep thinking this will be the first Christmas in 16 years that she and I aren't together. How is it fair that life goes on and she's not here? The vet came to the house, I couldn't have her last memory in a cold vets office with all the noise and chaos. She'd reached a point where she hated to go to the vets after all the blood tests with her Leukemia. Dr. Golden was very kind when he arrived but before he got here, I regretted your last night's sleep, very rough but it showed me I had made the right decision. You ended up in the corner of the room with your nose buried in the carpet, your breathing was labored. We went outside, you did great and took a quick whiz. We stayed out there for quite a while. I don't think you knew what was going on but you knew you were with me and that is all that has ever really mattered to you. I made you scrambled eggs, you wouldn't eat. I did give you some cheese, I was glad to see you eat a little of it. Then.. the Dr's car was in the driveway. He stayed a long time, asked if I was ready and I said yes. I gave you one last hug. He explained what was going to happen, I looked at you and you looked scared Ginny, kinda confused. It broke my heart. He ended up trying to stick you with that needle three times. You scurried up into my arms for protection, I held you while he finally got it in. I feel terrible about that but I knew it had to be done, I'm sorry little peanut. You fell asleep almost instantly. You were so sound asleep, you snored and snored loud, I told the Doc that you hadn't slept that soundly in a long long time. Finally, he gave you the second shot and your breathing stopped instantly. My heart shattered right then and there. I looked up and noted the time 1035am, August 4th. I will never forget that. After he left, I brought your little buds out one at a time, Tiger gave you a couple of sniffs and laid down, Caesar sniffed you too, your little son and ran off up the steps. Annie, the one that I know you did not like, truly grieved.. I guess it's because maybe she has seen death before and Tiger and Caesar haven't, Annie went into the front bedroom and did not come out for two days. She has not, as of yet, used your bed to sleep in. Tiger and Caesar do sometimes, not often. We all miss you, Ginny but Annie hurt. I was honestly surprised by that. She loved you, too.

I first met you when you were six weeks old, you were already potty trained. My little over achiever :) You were born in a little Rancher house to an older retired couple that loved Jack Russell's. Your mom was 9 and your dad was 11. The man had built them the biggest dog house that I have ever seen; a converted shed with many floors to play in. The lady gave me a pick, you or your sister.. there were only two of you, you were the tiny one, I picked you. You didn't need a leash, you never left my side, even outside you always stayed with me. I always felt that you and I were meant to be. Thank you for sharing your life with me, little Ginny, my Binnio, my Gin Gin, your life was a special one. Heaven is now a brighter place because you are there.

Rest in PEACE my little one, I love you. Ginger, aka. .jelly bean, peanut, boo.. and many other little names she acquired over the years .. March 12, 1995 - August 4, 2010. :( ..until we see each other again.

Annie Being Thoughtful, penny for your thoughts!

How did I miss this picture? I took this of Annie back during the first blizzard. It was the first day that the sun came out after the storm. I don't think I have ever seen a more thoughtful picture of a dog as this one. Annie is obviously deep in tought, I would love to know what she was thinking. That was months ago. I pray she realizes that she is in her forever home now.

This past week we had overnight company for a few days. Annie always amazes me at how much she loves people. She ran up the steps when my mom and dad went up for bed. She jumped on the bed with them and refused to get down. Cracked me up. Maybe she knows that is the gene pool that I come from, who know's. She enjoyed having them here and I think misses them. She very much lives in the moment.

Nothing gives me more joy than to see her unbridled happiness. She literally kicks up her heels and runs around the house in little leaps. Other times, she seems sad. My parents witnessed her having a nightmare. They commented on how sad that was, I agree. I wish I could erase those memories out of her little brain. She's a wonderful dog and the post pup for Rescue Dogs. Can you tell how much I love her? Good dog, Annie :).

CONGRATULATIONS, ANNIE!! SIX MONTHS!!

Little Annie, it has been six months! Wow, I hope you feel like you are a member of the family. I am starting to think that loyalty is a Jack Russell character trait, Ginger is the only other dog I have had that has been as loyal as you, little Annie.

You have come so far. When you came, you had serious behavior issues. I have seen dogs dream before but never wake up from nightmares snapping at everything in sight. You attacked other dogs and tried to kill the "dogs" on the television. Those issues broke my heart and made me feel bad for you but now I realize, what ever bad things happened to you won't ever happen again. I won't let it. I think you realize that too. At least I hope you do.

You are great when it comes to grooming, you can tell that someone has taken a lot of time with you. I think that was one plus from all the time you spent at the rescue kennel. You are still working on losing weight but you acted like you were starving when you came here, I couldn't have that so I know I made sure you were never hungry (and you gained FIVE pounds!). My fault. So, now you and your doggy sisters get true people food; Chicken, veggies, rice, ground beef -- you're doing ok. You've lost 3 of the 5 pounds you've gained.

One thing I can tell you little dog, you got me hook, line and sinker. But you always did. I remember that first week, I was sure I had made the biggest mistake of my life. Someone suggested, send her back.. I could never do that. I wish everyone felt as strongly as I do about this, dogs are not disposable they are a part of the family, a permanent part.

That is the hidden message of this post, folks. Keep your dogs close, they are a part of your family. Today, I watched Marley and Me, surrounded by my own dogs. Marley was definitely a member of the Groghan family. What a tribute to the patience man has with his dogs and the love a dog will reward you with in return.

In honor of Annie's six month anniversary, I want to quote something I heard John Groghan say in Marley and Me today, "a dog does not care about what kind of car you drive, what neighborhood you live in or how popular you are, you simply give a dog your heart and the dog gives you his in return." That is not a direct quote I am sure but what a great statement of the bond between humans and dogs. Thanks for reading! Annie is doing great. :)

Two posts in one night after none in 2 months? What gives?

Annie trying to get Ampop to pay attention to her.

I guess I had to get the creative juices flowing but I did forget to write something I wanted to document about Annie. Annie loves people. When people come to visit, she is very polite but literally hounds the visitors for attention. When multiple people come over, she's besides herself. She jumps up repeatedly to get their attention. I think it's priceless, although I think it bothers some of my family. Annie has such a strong and good natured spirit. Other than these little nuances with my friends and family, Annie is my third ankle. I have begun looking down before I move because 9 times out of 10, Annie is somewhere near my feet so I need to be careful. Truly, she's a great little dog.

Right now, Ms. Personality plus is whining because she wants my attention instead of me giving it to the computer. Cracks me up.

Wow-two months have gone by!

Amazing that this much time has gone by since my last blog entry for Annie. Well, lots has been going on. The video show's Annie, Tiger and Ginger checking out the new fence. Enjoy, Annie has a surprise for you that I call, "Good Girl, Annie." You'll know it when you see it. Anyway, my entire purpose for creating this blog for Annie was to document the story of Annie's journey to a better life. She does have a better life, but I still see little glimmers here and there of her days suffering abuse. As I mentioned, the new fence came in the spring. The other day, I was kicking the kids next door ball back over the fence and I kept kicking too low. I probably kicked it four times before I finally tossed it over the fence. Annie, originally was by my side. I didn't think a thing about it but then realized she was cowering by the patio door up on the deck. That little dog broke my heart doing that. I realized that she was terrified of this big man kicking a ball. I didn't even want to think about what memories I stirred up. I just hope no one has ever kicked her. Why would a human do that to a poor defenseless animal? Scares me what we humans are capable of. Long story short, I paid a lot of attention to her and gave her some snacks, about half an hour later, she was back to her old saucey self.

So why haven't I written in so long? Truly, it's because Annie has been fine and has come into her own. She know's she is loved, I would even say.. "cherished". She certainly has brought a lot of life into this house. Her doggy sisters, Tiger and Ginger have finally found a peaceful power balance with their new sibling. It's hard to believe she has been her almost half a year. Amazing that much time has gone by.
She has certainly become comfortable in that time.

So what is on the agenda for little Annie? The next blog entry will be Annie getting friendly with the groomers, she needs her little nails filed down and I want her coat to be groomed for summer. I think before the rescue kennel sent her up to me from Florida, Annie had a very nice grooming done. Her little body, I have to admit, has gotten a little plump due to her good new diet and me spoiling her with snacks. Really, it is diet time, more on that in a bit. Anyway, her coat was short with the exception of her little twist of fur on her back. She now, after 5 months, has little furry feet and fur coming out all over the place. She's a little fuzzy ball. Ginger, my 15+ leukemia fighting, JRT has a smooth coat. I'm cracking up at Annie. She's getting more fluffy by the day!



I like this picture because it shows how well Annie has settled in here. She is very comfortable. I do feel bad in one regard. Tiger and Ginger and Caesar the cat all have a bond that has formed over the years. They are each others best friends. I am Annie's best friend. I recently read that Jack Russell's often bond with one person for life, I think that has happened to me with two Jack Russell's, my Annie and my sick little Ginger. If it weren't for Ginger, there would never have been an Annie. Jack Russells make wonderful pets if you enjoy high energy, very entertaining dogs that can be very possessive. I don't have a problem with any of that, I actually prefer their little antics. And.. like everything else, they slow with age and time. I enjoy Annie's spirit now, it reminds me of Ginger years ago. Tiger the beagle, at 11, still has that same spunk and spirit that I fostered all those years ago and have protected ever since. I thought it was funny that our Dog Whisperer from Bark Busters told me that Tiger was my pack leader. I appointed her to that position as she was so well qualified. My little Alpha dog. Annie, is an alpha too but they are becoming better friends with time.

Ok, so Will..what are you doing about Annie's weight? Well, she's lost almost a pound. When I adopted Annie, I promised that I was always going to give her human grade dog good. So, I have a decided to feed her human food until she is back to a manageable weight, then I'll have to see what I'll feed her. Right now, she gets plenty of protein from chicken and low fat cottage cheese, she gets vegetables that are steamed in the bag and sometimes she gets some instant rice mixed in with that. She has always had a soft stool, guess what, she's improved in that arena with her new diet. It agrees with her. It agrees with her so much, all of the dogs are being fed this new dinner menu. I try to vary between chicken and beef (ground or steak)and vegetables. They all enjoy it. And..believe it or not, I spend less on this menu for them than I did on the human grade dog food from the pet shop. Besides, this way I know exactly what they are eating. And, Annie is losing weight. I do worry about them getting all of the nutrients they need so I ordered a "dog food cook book" today that has all types of recipes for "good" home made dog food. Should be interesting.

Ok, enough for now. Next time, I'll have to write about Annie's habit of whining. I can't decide whether she is spoiled or trying to tell me she has to go out for a bathroom break. More, next time!

Annie gets a rescue dog Van

It's been a month since I last posted to Annie's blog. So much has happened and I noticed that the majority of what I wrote in her last entry, I some how managed to delete. No idea how that happened and even worse, I can't remember what I wrote about other than her needing to lose weight.

Well, a lot has happened in since the last entry in Annie's blog. Her sister Ginger turned 15 on March 12, 2010. I am happy that she is still a part of our pack. She is a wonderful dog and the entire reason why Annie came to live with us. I was hoping that some of Ginger's good doggedness would rub off on the new dog.. who turned out to be my Annie. Ginger's Birthday was great, all the dogs feasted on nice juicy filet's with mashed potato's and gravy, some steamed veggies and capped off with a piece of cake and some vanill ice cream. Good times to celebrate Ginger's 15th. They had a blast, so much for Annie's weight loss.

A couple of weeks later, I found the right mini van for Annie's rescue missions. It's a Honda Odyssey, dark gray with a light gray interior. Somehow, I think she know's that I bought it for her and to rescue other dogs like her. So far, I've made a few rescue runs and saved 37 dogs to date. Good times and the mini van performed nicely. Even the gas mileage was better than I expected. More importantly, in honor of little Annie's story, I'm out rescuing other dogs with stories like her. Too sad, really. I wish we were more humane. Some of these dogs stories are just sad. If you are interested in volunteering or rescuing a dog, read about www.petfinder.com. It has all kinds of good information there.

On to the story of Pugcasso.com and my artist friend David King. I commissioned David to do abstract portaits of all the dogs and cat. Annie's is posted here. I think he did a great job. He has a website at www.pugcasso.com. If you are interested in having one done to immortalize your pet,contact him, it wasn't expensive at all and I will have it to remind me of her forever. The process was easy and he accepts payment in paypal.


So, back to Annie's weight loss. Wow, my little one has lost about half a pound between cutting back on snacks and increasing the length of her walks. Poor dog. I feel bad since it's my fault she's gained the weight. Anyway, taking her in the Swagger Wagon or Chan Van as I call it, is a blast. When we leave for her nightly walk at the lake, she sits on my knee up front and looks out the window, on the way home though, she lays in the back seat .. all the way in the back, stretches out and relax's. If I make a stop at store on the way home, she stays in the back but when I come out, she's sitting in a middle row seat looking out the window for me. She's hysterical on walks, she likes to dart all over. I don't use the Bark Busters collar because I want her to enjoy her time and not focus on training. We save traning for other times. Here's a picture of what she looks like on our walks, yep.. she's a blur..
Until next time...........

Annie, poor girl..needs a diet!

When Annie arrived on Christmas Day, I weighed her. She weighed 14.2 pounds. To be honest, she looked a little thin to me so I set out to put a little weight on her. In addition, she WOLFED down her food and got very defensive when Tiger or Ginger would go near her food. She would also try to take Ginger's food as I think she probably views her as a weak and sickly member of the pack.

For all of those reason's listed above, I fed Annie until she wasn't hungry anymore. Not to mention, Annie has been given all kinds of good snacks from overiszed greasy pig ears to spoonfuls of tapioca and rice pudding (she loves that stuff). In addition, we have had all of the snow that the north pole normally gets this year and so her ability to play and go for walks has been very limited.