Black/White Sunday- the Snow

So far this winter...17 inches...

In the snow...

After the snow...

Have a Happy Sunday!

Monday Memories-Sleepy Puppies at 9 months old

Monday Memories-our little trip down Memory Lane

 

Ahem...Can I get your attention please?

(Blaze-2 months after she came back home)

The 24 Paws of Love

are so doggone sleepy

that we are going to take a little blogging nap today.

So we can spend some extra time with Daddy

i

And Mommy.  

(Visiting Chance about 2 months before he came home)

Any one care to join us?

Why Is It...

Dogs have ten times the energy as we do,

And get to sleep all day?

While I drag butt all day,

in desperate need of a nap!

Something about that just ain't right!!

Monday Memories-Brut Makes the First Move

If you've ever owned a Husky puppy, you know the sounds they can make can scare the bejeezes out of you.  They sound like they are being strangled.  Well, every night I put Brut in his child's playpen (my husband's idea, don't ask) and then he would carry on with these gut wrenching screams and screeches that I would swear to the heavens he was hurt.  I knew he was trying to get my attention but his voice was so wrangle that I would end up getting up and checking on him, which of course only lead me to a wagging tail and a smiling face.

It became so intense that I was stayed up all night growling at him every time he started to make a sound.  A book I'd read that insisted that acting like a mother dog who was disciplining her kids was the trick to correcting your dog on their bad behaviors.  Yeah, right.  Not this pup!  What I didn't know through this whole mothering process, was that Brut was taken from his mother before she would have begun to discipline him.  So not only was it not working, my throat was wearing out from growling all night, I was getting delirious from lack of sleep, and highly frustrated with no progress.

So after being up half of the night growling, I finally gave up and went to bed.  Brut shrieked and screamed as I tried to ignore the horror that sounded like he was dying.  Then suddenly, dead silence.  QUIET!  I was so exhausted, I passed out in seconds flat.  When I awoke, I heart melted, there was Brut, laying next to my side of the bed, curled up on a pile of my clothes.  I just laid there in amazement at this little puffball sleeping so peacefully next to me.  I never heard Brut get out of the play pen, I thought he had finally given up and fallen asleep in it.  There was something so precious about the way this little puppy sought me out and wanting to be so close.  He never tried to wake me and make any fuss, he just needed to be nearby.    

After that night he would wait for me to lay down and then he would crawl out and cuddle in my clothes and fall asleep.  Why I kept putting him in that playpen was beyond me, but it was like a game to see how long it would take him to get out of it before we would both be snoozing into a quiet slumber.

I can never really describe that morning when I awoke to find him next to me, just that it touched me deep down in my soul.   Brut was such a difficult puppy and there were so many things I didn't know about him yet that would determine so much of his behavior, but this one little step held many keys to the bond we have and has helped him to become the dog he is today.  It is more than a memory, it is the foundation for our relationship that I hold so dear to my heart. Brut made the first move to bond.  A bond that will last forever and stand the test of time.  Who says a dog is just a dog?

                   

Monday Memories-Snuggle Time

Come snuggle with us Mommy!

There's nothing like snuggling with a puppy.  That warm, fuzzy feeling of cuddling with a new friend.  Now imagine four-three week old puppies that were sleeping with Mommy and their siblings come crawling over to you when you lay in the whelping bed.  It was the best feeling in the world.  A beautiful moment in that I will always remember of being loved.

Monday Memories-Fiona's Gift

 Fiona at four months

Fiona has a gift.  I would have never known it if my husband hadn't coaxed me into letting the Zappa and Fiona sleep with me while he was away.  I always believed dogs shouldn't be allowed on the bed, especially at night, but seeing that I was going to be alone, I let him talk me into it.

Zappa and Fiona were about four months old when I let them start sleeping with me.  After being smashed between them to the point I couldn't move, I began to think twice about our sleeping arrangements. After several nights of this, I decided to keep them in their crates for one night.  I was in need of a good nights rest and I thought this was how I was the only way I was going to get it.

I am prone to nightmares and racing thoughts and this night was no different.  I struggled trying to calm my mind, but found myself in a sheer state of panic.  I jumped out of bed and let Fiona and  Zappa out of their crates and hurried back to bed.  Fiona jumped up on the bed and just stared at me with a look of, "I am your protector, please let me do my nighttime job.  That is why I am here."  I thanked her over and over in relief as she slammed up against my legs and soothed my soul into a restful sleep.  It was then that I understood the power of this little puppy that would continue until this day.

Now her crate is always left open and she sleeps with me every night.  Here's Fiona's gift:  It is the timing of when she gets on the bed.  It is always when my nightmares and scary thoughts are starting to let loose.  She is on the bed in minutes without a word between us.  Every time.  Every time she is right there as those demons start taking hold and she comes to my rescue driving them out.  It is her gift and her job and she takes it very seriously.  It is a gift of rare beauty and one I shall never take for granted.

       Fiona now

Silver, Why Are You Crying?

Can you see me cuddling with my best friend Alex?

Silver was an intense dreamer from the time we brought her home.  As a young pup in deep sleep her eyes would flutter, her ears would twitch and her paws would flicker as if running.  Sometimes she gave low growls or high pitched yipes and her tail would start thumping. 

At bedtime, after Daddy would sing her 'Rock-a-bye-Baby,' Silver would crawl into her 'den' under our bed and we'd all fall asleep. 

Then suddenly I would be jolted upright by the sounds of intense sobbing from under the bed.  In a panic I would reach under the bed as far as I could to soothe Silver in her distress.  Her dreams seemed to be a of grave pain as her body would heave with sadness and shake uncontrollably.  Almost every night the cycle would continue until sometime after she had her litter of puppies.  Then they began to diminish.

I have often wondered what she dreamt about that seemed to bring her such sorrow.  Sometimes I would think it was because her best friend Alex was going to die some day.  For I've seen her have 'happy dreams' after he died when I believe she is reunited with him.

I have never had a dog that dreamt so intensely and none of the other dogs do it to the extent that Silver does.  Sometimes it scares me as to what she could be dreaming about that seems to upset her so much.  I wonder if she is having nightmares or if she is 'seeing' something that we can't.  I wonder what it means that they don't happen as often as they used to.  What changed in her little world that brings more comfort than before?  I still believe her dreams were centered around Alex, but like a Tootsie pop, the world may never know.



And for our friends in Japan,  Paws Crossed with Prayers  

Sleeping Arrangements with Chance and Blaze

Chance and Blaze in their favorite sleeping spots.

When Blaze came back home and couldn't be put together with Back Dogs, we took turns sleeping with her at night so she wouldn't be alone.  When Chance came back we still couldn't fathom the two of them alone as their abuse was still too fresh for the both of them.  So we continued to take turns sleeping with them. 

We made the dining room into a den/bedroom area, with the famous eaten couch, a mattress (great for the back!) and their window seat.  Now almost two years later, we still continue the routine.  We just don't have the heart to leave let them sleep all by themselves. Or is it more like we don't want to miss sleeping with them??  :) 

Any extreme measures you've taken for the welfare of your pets?