Merry Christmas everyone!

River Dogshaming

My mom sent this into the Dogshaming site. I don't think I'm so bad. I love my mom and want her with me always. I don't want her hiding behind the shower curtain.

Mom: who wouldn't love a boy like that?

Baby's Babies

My mom wrote this many years ago. It is a true story. It is the story of Baby (the mama) and her 3 little boys. We still have Baby with us.

We lost Bitey and Beau this year at age 12. Taz was adopted out so we don't know how he is. Baby really did have her babies on Labor Day 1999.

 BABY’S BABIES

Baby had her babies on Labor Day night

Three pretty little boys with eyes shut tight

They were all so tiny, brown, black and white.

She looked at them and loved them at very first sight.

Two weeks they looked the same, with their wrinkled brown snouts,

Then a month went by and they grew and filled out.

One she named Beau, the biggest, brightest boy,

Who could leap off the back deck and chew up any toy.

One she named Taz, who kept them all awake

His whole body wiggled in the bed like a snake.

Mighty Bitey liked to bite, that's how he got his name

He would play and bite, and sit and bite, and jump and bite again.

Their mama taught them how to use the swinging doggy door

But warned them not to go alone or they would get what for!

But when they were two months old they ran out on their own.

They wrestled hard, and yipped and bit, but forgot to tell their Mom!

They forgot the time, and then got lost trying to get home.

The sun went down and it grew dark and they were very scared

They huddled together, lifted noses and howled for one who cared.

The other noises of the night, the eyes that stared at them were bright,

The boys lay down and whimpered, and cried, shivering in fright.

But Baby had been searching with her baby sniffing nose.

She tracked them to the nearby trees and they greeted with AHH-ROOOS!!

She scolded them for leaving her and led them from the wood.

They hung their heads and promised that they would be very good.

Until the next time…

Beau, Taz and Bitey 
I will see you all again one day, my sweet boys.

My mom's Alaskan Adventure

It's taken my mom a couple weeks to get the pictures in a row, videos cut down, music added, phew. We did nothing but watch this thing hundreds of times to get the timing right. Not that I mind lying on chair arm while she groans and complains about the software. Anyway...

Here is the video:
Alaska Adventure

NOTE: all pictures and videos were taken with a crummy 2 year old Droid phone (but they don't look too bad except the crappy videos). Except the animal closeups==those were with a 1985 Nikon something ancient film camera. At no time was my mom was in danger from the whales or the baby grizzlies. She never got off the boat...if she could help it.

Humphrey's gift

Two weeks ago my mom was freaking out. Humphrey was going downhill with kidney failure but was not bad enough to help him to the Bridge, although we knew it would be soon. Last year her mom had decided to go to Alaska on a cruise this July to see whales as part of her bucket list. She wanted my mom to come along.

It was getting to be within days of that trip. My mom was due to leave on Friday the 13th.

Humphrey was eating well the Sunday before, ate some on Monday, then stopped eating on Tues. He would not eat Wednesday either and hardly moved from his big pillow (my mom squirted water in his mouth with a syringe, as much as she could). We took him to the vet one final time on Wednesday.

That sweet old squeaky boy made it easier for us to let him go before the trip. We did not want him to die while she was gone because she always plans to be with us at the end. But we did not want to send him along too soon just to be 'convenient'.

However, someone on the cancer dog list said "better a day too soon than a minute too late." So well said.

We thank you, Humphrey, very humbly, for your kind gift.

RIP HUMPHREY

This was Humphrey's photo at the vet's office. He was dumped there and they needed a home for him--because of his age and tumors they expected him to live a year maybe.

My mom took him in. Got some donation money so they could operate and remove the tumors. He was with us 20 months so he got a good dose of beagle fun and love.

He was a good hound, never growled, never fought, followed my mom everywhere. He had his special places in the house, one particular laundry basket was his alone. His nickname was "Squeaky Boy" because he had a really high pitched squeak of a bark.

In the beginning, he loved to roach. Here is the video with Humphrey and Beau roaching to the Chicken Dance music. Humphrey is the second roacher.


Roaching Humphrey and Beau

Sweet boy, we had you only for a little while at the end of your life but it was wonderful having you here. We will really miss our Squeaky Boy. Run free and happy without pain until we meet again.

RIP MONDO 2009-2012

Here is our beautiful boy. Look at those eyes. He was only 3 years old. We don't know what happened. The vet has no idea what happened--we have run through everything we can think of. Maybe spending a lot of money on a million tests might give us an answer but it would be too late to save him.

He was having a good day. Went outside, curled up in a ball and slept on my mom's lap. Then suddenly around 2pm he was shaking, wobbling, then convulsing. Within an hour my mom had him at the vet's. He had a fever of 108!! The vet brought it down to 104 with icy towels and introvenous solution--but she said it was too late. That such a high fever was fatal. He had been given 2 shots of valium and finally propofol--which she said was the last resort for dogs that didn't respond to valium. He finally relaxed. His eyes said he knew my mom was with him so she was able to hold him and talk to him as they gave him the final shot.

Mondo came to us with Mickey 3 years ago. We were supposed to adopt them out but my mom never did. Mondo was an alpha dog and so beautiful. He loved to be in my mom's lap and, fortunately, she had given him a lot of attention lately...not knowing he would be gone so soon.

Look at that happy boy. That is the way we will remember him. He had a very good beagle life. Run free, you incredible boy. You are with Bitey and Beau now.

RIP Jazz

 

 Oh, Jazz. You just turned 9 in May and now you are gone. It's so unfair. We will miss you so much. We loved to read about your life in Japan with Dixie and the new baby. Another fast moving disease that no one could diagnose. You can meet our friend Bolo and our beagles Bitey and Beau. Run with the wind, ears flapping, sweet girl.

RIP Bolo

He left us way too soon.

My mom loved his smoochy nose.

He was a unique, gentle loving being and we are really going to miss him a lot.

Here is his blog:
Bolo

His stuffie will carry on for him.

Bye bye Bolo. Say hello to our Bitey and Beau for us.

Spring has sprung

Spring storm a'comin'

Sun!!
  
 

Spring storm a'comin'

Sun!!

Time for a nap!!

March comes in like a Lion

More tornadoes--all around us but not THRU us this time. Alabama took the hits and the SIX DOZEN tornadoes went north to Chattanooga, TN, Indiana, Illinois and then North Carolina. Like we had a protective bubble. It was still very windy. Tornado Time is usually April but we're guessing the insanely warm winter has bumped up the TT frame.

My mom entered my picture into the Cutest Dog contest on Animal planet. Please vote for us! Go to the Animal Planet Decision 2012 page, do a search for 'River' then click on the Five paws on the right.

Here I am:

Meanwhile, my mom is okay. She has finally stopped crying for Bitey so the rest of us can relax now. My vet says she can't find any cancer in me so, for now, I'm good. Mom says I'm eating too good and we may have to cut back a little. I'm willing to trade some kibble for more broccoli. My mom and I love broccoli. Esp. with lots of cheese and butter...

Angel Bitey 1999-2012

River's mom: I had to let Bitey go today. We had a wonderful time in the sun with me holding him close. This one hurt a lot.

This is my favorite picture of Bitey. It's grainy and dark but such a great reflection of his personality. He was a mellow alpha dog. No overt bully behavior just one side glance from him and every doggie would know who was boss.

He came into the world with his brother Beau on Labor Day 1999. From the beginning he was an alpha puppy. He would bite a lot. I thought, I could name him Mighty Bitey--then I thought, no, can't name a dog that. But it stuck. He was mostly Bitey but he also  Biteboy and Bitebite.

Here he is at 6 months running like crazy. I love those flying beagle ears.

He would jump up on any horizontal surface--a flying leaper. His brother Beau used to walk the railing and give me heart cramps. No other beagle before or since has done these things like these two brothers.

 

Keeping the computer seat warm for me.

Always up on something, with his mouth open with a happy smile just like his brother.

My most vivid memory of Bitey:

One day leaving for work I hesitated at the door and Bitey flew out and down the driveway.

We live at the end of a dead end so I wasn't afraid he would get run over. We live in the country so I was afraid he would get SHOT.

I took off after him in my heels (low heels). The woods around my house are dense and I knew that probably my voice wouldn't carry very far. Nevertheless, I called and called and slogged through the underbrush and mud. After about a half an hour I heard Bitey howling. So I called. He howled. He was afraid. That initial rush of flying freedom was fun at first but now he was scared. He realized he was not in any familiar place. We kept calling until we found each other. I picked him up and carried him home, holding him close. I never wanted to hear that howl of fear again...and it never happened again.

His last day, sleeping in an awkward way in the sun.

OMG, HOW CAN IT ALREADY BE TIME TO SAY GOODBYE TO YOU??!!

Run and leap with the wind, Biteboy. Say hello to our beautiful Beau.

Our hearts are breaking again--a little update

Update--our vet talked to my oncologist and he said that Kinavet can be used for t-cell lymphoma. We already have 2 bottles of Kinavet so Bitey was started on it yesterday. We don't know how well it will work or if it's too late but we will try.There is no cure...but we can hope to slow it down.

My mom apologizes for so much sad news this early in the year but it seems to be happening all at once.


We lost Beau this past Tuesday. On Wednesday. my mom took his brother, Bitey, to be checked because he had a lump under his front leg. It came back positive for lymphoma, too.  Two brothers, same cancer at exactly the same time??

Bitey and Beau. 

Beau and Bitey were born on Labor day 1999. They plopped right out of Baby into my mom's hands. So they both are very, very special to her.

There is a treatment for lymphoma but it only buys a little time. Six months of chemo and you might get 2 more months after that. The problem with lymphoma is that it never really goes away. The next time the cancer comes back it's more resistant. It's very, very expensive, too.


The simplest treatment is prednisone which is what we are doing. We're feeding Bitey the same diet as me now--special stuff with lots of supplements. We had no warning at all with Beau but maybe it will buy us some extra days with Bitey. At least we know ahead of time which is priceless.

It is sunny today so we are outside. 60 degrees. And Bitey feels good, not a lot of energy for roaching but still able to!

RIP Beautiful Beau 1999-2012--updated

We wanted to update this post a little to include the beautiful graphic Alasandra made out of Beau's picture:

And to include a link to a video starring Beau. He is the first and the last doggie roaching in the grass to the Chicken Dance song. It always makes my mom smile: 

Beau & Humphrey Roaching in the sun to the Chicken Dance

This is our Beautiful Beau.  He had to be put to sleep today. 

This year is already starting out bad for us.

 We don't understand what happened.

 He was going to have his teeth cleaned, some removed.

 

But, instead, we found out he had prostate 

cancer--even though he had been snipped long ago. 

It hit his kidneys in just days.

 

This is me & Beau snorting around the yard.

  

Beau must have found something good.

He was born in our house on Labor Day 1999. My mom had taken in a pregnant girl who had 5 boys. From that litter my mom kept two--Beau and Mighty Bitey plus the mama she named Baby.

Beau was only 12. We don't understand why this had to happen and it happened so fast. We are sort of stunned right now.

Beau was a quiet boy, always sweet and happy. We are really going to miss you, Beau-Beau.

Run free, sweet doggie boy.

2011--Goodbye!!

2011 was not a good year for us. We lost so many of our old hounds. But we did have a foster failure--new Daisy.

In December, we got a new Daisy.

In October we lost Georgia 1994-2011

 

  

In July we lost Belle 1992-2011

Also in July my mom lost her main job--the one with insurance. Jobs are extremely scarce for librarians, even ones with computer experience.

In May we lost Bailey 1993-2011

In March we lost Miss Daisy 1990-2011

In February I was diagnosed with a Mast cell tumor--this kind of cancer can appear one time or many times. Our oncologist was not hopeful for a year for me. But it is January 2012 and I am still here!

We are praying that this will be a great year for everyone. I would like to have another Christmas with my Mom, please. Miracles are possible!