Saturday, July 9, 2011

Bad news, good news part deux

Belle 1992-2011
Since the last post we lost Belle. We've lost Daisy, Bailey and Belle just in the last few months. It's been tough on my mom's heart. Belle was the first dog my mom adopted when she moved to TN. She found Belle at PetSmart. The local humane society was sponsoring her. Belle's foster mom needed to have her moved so my mom paid $30 and took her in. She was part of our family for 16 of her 18 years. I liked her. She was a sweet, shy girl, so gentle. My mom loved her so much she almost waited too long to let her go--she admits it...but Belle told her it was time to go to the Bridge and that she would wait for us.

Last week my mom's job went away, too. Librarians are seen as a luxury and she knew it would happen...but it was 1 1/2 years short of retirement...so close and yet...but she always plans for things. She has a consultant job on the internet that supports us just no benefits for her. Ha, it means she needs to stay healthy until retirement, like lose weight...just sayin', Mom.



Meanwhile, good news I am still here! This is me and Baby in the sun--wow, Baby looks like a little pig there and she doesn't in real life. I know that the future is uncertain so we really enjoy each day together now. They have not cured my bladder infection yet. We're waiting for a week without anti-biotics to get a better culture. Because my mom is not making as much money we cannot do chemo anymore. That stuff is expensive! There are other options--a good diet and prednisone. MCT type cancers are somehow related to overproduction of histamines so benedryl is a large part of the treatment and that's cheap. Lots of dog moms choose this path so it is not better or worse than chemo just different.

Don't worry...working at home lets my mom do her creative stuff which she really enjoys. She has her old book published by Random House up on Amazon as an ebook now. It is selling a little bit (it's for a small readership of historicals called Regencies).



MAID OF HONOR-ebook
Because she is a computer librarian she formats all styles herself and designs covers, plus designs websites (one way she makes money). She plans to have something like 4 more books up for sale before the end of the year. Her plan always was to write when she retired, we're just starting early. The plan is to supplement her retirement with a LOT of money from writing lol. Hey, just wait till she gets her YA paranormals up...and all her books have dogs in them so we serve as characters, too.


More good news--we took in a mama beagle named Rumor. She had her pups in the bottom of our bathroom linen closet. Here is a video of them at about 5 weeks. They made a LOT of noise:

They are all up for adoption. I think two are promised already but 4 are left. They are gorgeous little beagles. I know I probably looked like them when I was little bol.

Look for them on http://www.sosbeagles.org/. My mom often fosters for them. How did she end up not keeping all of them? She doesn't know.

And someone asked about the weim puppies. The mama, Luna, has been adopted. She was a goofy, funny girl. Selena, the girl, has been adopted. Her brother, Simon, had problems from the start--we thought maybe he had 'failure to thrive' but it turned out he had some weird problem with no bacteria in his stomach. He has been moved to another foster mom who has more time and experience to take care of him. He is thriving now and will be adopted out soon. So it ended happily for everyone.

I hope that everyone is enjoying the summer. It's finally gotten a little cooler here and the storms are not so scary. Yes, we had a tornado come by in May. It shredded our woods but did not hurt the house. Left our area without electricity for ages. We learned to live with little battery operated fans. Next year we're getting a generator so we can run a BIG fan. Or maybe we'll all go stay in a hotel with air.

I miss everyone very much but with my mom being home we will be able to keep up better!

River

15 sniff-Arooos:

Cinnamon and Mint said...

We are so sorry to hear about Belle. Our thoughts are with you. But, I believe she had a wonderful life with you and your family.

Are you in your mom's books? That's cool. I would love to read her books!

Those puppies are so cute. I hope all of them will find a loving home soon.

Also, take care of yourself River.

Alasandra, The Cats and Dogs said...

Hi River, it is good to hear from you. we are very sorry to hear about Belle. We are sending you some healing purrs and have our paws crossed your bladder infection clears up soon.

In our Mommy's world librarians are a necessity. She loves the library. Glad your Mom had a back up plan, we are just sorry the job didn't last the 1.5 years until retirement.

How Sam Sees It said...

Hi, River! We are sorry to hear you are having a rough year. We are sending hugs to your Mom - we know her new ventures will work out all right!

Sam

Mogley G. Retriever said...

We are sorry about your many losses, both K-9s and Job. We are happy to have you back on the blog world.

Mogley G. Retriever

Daisy Dog said...

River, So sorry to hear about Belle. Your beagle brothers and sisters are so lucky to have such a great mom, and they live long loved lives. That is a drag about your moms job, good thing she was close to retirement. Its nice to have an update from you!

♥♥ The OP Pack ♥♥ said...

Oh River, we are so sorry about all your sadness this year. Hugs to all of you from us. We hope that your treatments will help you get better.

We have missed you a lot too and hope you will be here more often now.

Woos ~ Phantom, Thunder, and Ciara

Kari in Alaska said...

we are so sorry to hear about the bad news. Sending love your way

Kari
http://dogisgodinreverse.com

Pei In The Life said...

Sending some Pei kisses to everyone.

Bolo

Amber-Mae said...

I am so so sorry. I just don't know what else to say. Please take care.

Piappies World said...

Hi River,

We are sorry for the sad news. We got all our paws crossed as well as Piappies Mom prays that all will be better for you and your Mom. You are always in our thoughts. Stay healthy always, alright?

Love,
Piappies Fudgie, Princess, Frappie, Mocha, Sugar, Wai-Pai, Wai-Max & Forgie

Sapphire said...

we are so sorry. Thinking of you, all of you. Good luck with the books! yay :)

Raising Addie said...

River we are so sorry the Belle is gone. She could not have asked for a better life with you and your family.

We are very happy that you are doing well. We know your mom will be ok. She is strong and very smart :)

We will be praying for you and your family.

BIG hugs and kisses!
Addie, Lucie and Hailey

Kess And Her Mama said...

Sorry for your loss. It looks like it's been tough on all of you but it's good to see that you're all bouncing back. Hope that things will work out well. Sometimes, opportunities crop up when doors are closed. Who knows?

Achieve1dream said...

So sorry about Belle and the job. That really sucks. I can relate on the job thing because my husband was fired due to an injury so I'm without healthcare too. :(

The puppies are so cute! I'm glad you're fostering them so they didn't have to be born in a shelter.

I'm glad there is a cheaper option for River. I'll keep sending prayers that he recovers.

Kristal Lee said...

So sorry to hear about Belle, on 7/27 it will be four years since our basset mix, Socrates, passed. We still miss him every day.

We hope you are feeling better, River, and that your infection has cleared. Stay safe from the storms and we look forward to hearing about your next adventures.