Mr. Volga

Wow, haven't been here in many months....who knew being the executor of my father's will was going to take so long to finish up and all the paperwork it entails. That is finally over thank goodness.
I've been meaning to talk about Volga for a long time. When our director got ill we worked very hard in 2017 to get the Huskies that were there good homes. At the beginning of the year only two were left...Volga and Cherokee. My friend Barb had lost her sweet girl Janie and she took Cherokee. I always promised Volga I would take him if no one adopted him and he is with me now. Here's a bit about him.

Volga came to Husky Haven via animal control many years ago and when we took him he was already an older dog. As soon as he was out of animal control, which is horrible, he was taken to a kennel we used to use....just as bad. Someone saw him on the website and wanted to meet him so one of our volunteers met them there. The first thing the potential adopter did was pull his tail as hard as she could. In reaction he bit the volunteer. I was at Husky Haven that day and our director came in and explained what had happened and that she was probably going to put Volga down. She also said that the people looking at Volga would be coming by....I called and stopped that!! I swore at that time , no matter how long it was, Volga would come with me. The lady who pulled his tail should have been the one to suffer!!!!! Volga came to the rescue after that and truly he did have problems with some people , especially men. He got a lot of offers for adoption but usually meeting the male of the family he would go crazy. And so it went for years until February of this year.
I had left Cherokee and Volga together.....even though they weren't friendly at least there was another dog in the area for company. When Barb called me up and said she was taking Cherokee, it was Volga's time to leave too....

Me teasing him as we were leaving.....

He really wanted to move on.....

His happy car ride home!!!

So mister has been with me for ten months. He's usually not around too many men....but loves my son,  which is a good thing!!!

So much more I want to say about Volga but will do that in a future post.
Have a wonderful day......

Dad....

Just as I was getting back to my blog and social media....that all came crashing down. Unfortunately my father died on August 11th. Not completely unexpected but certainly faster than I would have imagined possible. Less than four months ago he was diagnosed with a nasty skin cancer and then gone. Last year he started having health problems and I think that's why it got him so fast....his age didn't help either. At 92 he survived WWII so he could go to school and received his PhD in Chemistry. He had a long work career with one of the big oil companies and really did right by my mom, me and my sis and bro. I took care of both my parents for the last 20 years, last 7 almost daily with dad, this year everyday. It will be kind of strange...used to having that be part of my day. Dad and I didn't always see eye to eye.....but I will miss even our disagreements.
It's been a daunting task to put together a funeral, burial, and take care of all the paperwork and calls that come at the end of a life. I had the funeral mass he wanted and his burial was at the VA with a flag folding ceremony he would have really liked. I have included a bunch of pictures from different times in his life........

18 WWII

Mom and Dad's wedding 1950

The three of us late 1950's

Christmas 2014 with my brother and son

My brother, sister and son at the Veterans Cemetary

Flag folding

Flag folding

Miss you a lot dad....

So.....

I woke up this morning because the dogs were stirring, checked my phone for the time and had one of those Google....Rediscover the day July 23rd 2016...photo notices on my phone. I knew today was two years since Lizzy and I made our last trip to the vet....forgot I took a couple of pics. Hate to remind myself of that day....it was horrible. Lizzy was a wonderful dog and she really kept everyone in line around here, something I have not been able to accomplish. I really miss that girl, also because she was the first dog I ever had.....

This was the last pic I ever took of her.....
Miss you girl.....

2014....

So on this Friday four years ago I had a plan to get up , get my dogs fed and walked and then head over to my friend Cyndi's house to drive with her to set up for the big Reliant/NRG dog show that weekend. Unfortunately that plan never happened.....I was awakened around four a.m. by a terrible sound. I turned on my lights and found my beautiful girl, Lizzy, standing in the corner of my room throwing up. She just couldn't stop. I got my other three outside and picked up Lizzy and took her outside to see if I could get her to drink some water. She wouldn't....and I knew she had to be dehydrated, so I crated my other guys with a treat and put Lizzy in the car and at 4:30 in the morning we were speeding towards the emergency vet. To tell you the truth....I didn't think she would make it through the day.

Luckily it was pretty quiet there and they took her right in. Took them hours to get her back hydrated and get anti-nausea meds in her so she was feeling a bit better. I knew it was nothing she ate or anything she picked up in the yard.....if it had been I would have been so happy!! It was a long day...they transported her to get an ultrasound...found a five inch tumor in her doudenum. When we finally got to surgery a few weeks later that turned out to be the least of our worries. I've covered a lot about her cancer here. But this was the day it started....I never did get to the show...was so happy to get my girl back that night.
I really miss my pretty redhead..... 

And....I'm Back.....

I know I have been missing for the better part of this year. I am doing what tons of you guys are doing......becoming the full time caretaker for your very aging parent. Just when you think you have one thing handled...now we have to go to three new specialists!! Who knew there was a doc for every body part and more!! To tell you the truth, so many days and weeks it just sucks the life out of you. I decided yesterday that I need to go back to what I like to do....my blog, working on some books...so here I am.
I don't have much time to write tonight....typical...but I need to introduce you to my new, old dog Volga. There are many stories to tell about that boy!!!

I will be telling his history very soon....
Missed being here....
Have a wonderful evening!!!

My Girl........

On the eve of my birthday , the day I also designated for Miss Lizzy's birthday I just want to say how much I miss my girl.......

It's been ten years since I adopted my beautiful, crazy girl Lizzy. You would think for a first dog I would have picked a breed that would have been easier to deal with, but I chose to volunteer at Husky Haven ten years ago and I knew my dog would come from there. When Lizzy jumped on me that cold, muddy February day I knew that I would always be there for her.
My girl had a bit of a backstory....she was born in February 2006...backyard breeder and adopted by a family that really shouldn't have had her. She was the ultimate escape artist....her family always left her tied up outside but she always found a way out. After quite a few trips to animal control the family decided she was too much of a hassle and that's how she ended up at Husky Haven and with me. I have to admit I had to redo my whole backyard to keep her from leaving....5 foot fences were not enough....so everything got bigger. But I loved that girl anyway.
I always thought she would be here for a long time. I couldn't believe when she was diagnosed with cancer in 2014. My girl lost weight and was on all types of meds but her funny, crazy self stayed by my side for another two years.....until she just couldn't.....

So on the eve of your twelfth birthday just want to say I love you girl....and I will always miss my first dog.......

Two Months.....

This is the first time since the very first of December that I've had time to sit down at my computer for any reason. It's not like me to just walk away from this blog, social media...and just about everything else, including Christmas...my favorite time of year, but there it is. I have literally spent every waking moment since December taking care of my dad.....
Start of December dad collapsed and was taken to the hospital and put in ICU with internal bleeding. A few days in he invoked his DNR....but a few day later revoked it and had some minor procedures to patch him up...only alternative was major surgery and he refused that. We brought him back to his apartment in hospice care , not really knowing what would happen. For the next few weeks I was there 15 hours a day, really exhausting, until he had an epiphany and decided he wanted to go to rehab. We got him there right before Christmas and he started working on walking..... something he hadn't done in weeks. After two weeks he had to leave, Medicare only pays for so much, and because he really couldn't walk well we had to move him from his place to assisted living...another major move in less than two years. That's where he is now and I'm starting to get him more physical therapy and we shall see what transpires.
It's a very daunting task when I am responsible for just about everything in his life. It not only wore me down but my dogs hated me for the last few months.

TJ was the most upset. Starting in September we were taking 3 to 5 mile walks 5 days a week....that came to an abrupt halt in December and really just started again a week or so ago. Some days I was literally just home long enough to let the dogs out and then feed them. He has a much better attitude now and I feel better too!!

Tanky and Faith were a bit better about rolling with the punches....although they missed their daily one mile.
We are finally getting back on track...really don't know what the future holds for my dad....but we shall see. I am finally getting back to having time to do some things for me....so I will be back to writing and computer. For those of you out there that have had this type of experience, I admire you, it's hard!!!!!!
See you very soon.........