Mr TJ

I haven't written in awhile and didn't think it would be about this. Sadly my beautiful boy TJ went to the Rainbow Bridge today. He was literally my bomb proof guy...when I adopted him I already had Lizzy and my foster Zena. In the first three years I was with the rescue I fostered about 30 dogs and TJ got along with all of them... he was so sweet. I remember the weekend 12 years when there were three dogs up for adoption two couples wanted to see three dogs, I

told Pat I would adopt the dog left out. I really wanted a red and white but she got adopted first then another white dog and then TJ was there my baby.....one of the best dogs ever....
That baby had to be put down today....my hardest decision...he had been sick for a while... but the last two days I sat out in the cold with him when he couldn't relax. Today he wouldn't eat or walk so I had to make that horrible decision. I love you my boy....

Have fun with Lizzy on the Rainbow Bridge.....

Mr. Cherokee......

It is with incredible sadness that I write today of the passing of one wonderful dog, Cherokee. For those of you that spent time at Husky Haven....he was literally a fixture there for years. He was the sweetest , most loving dog.....always happy for a belly rub and always loving his summertime baths. We took that boy to every show. Basically because he was so easy going and loved interaction with people.

All these pictures are from different events...and I have a ton more...but even though he was a favorite with everyone he never got picked. The only thing I could ever think is that he just didn't look Husky enough, he really was only part Husky and a lot of something else.

At the start of 2018 there were just two dogs left at Husky Haven, Cherokee and Volga. Volga was a handful and I had always promised to take him and my friend, Barb, decided to come and get Cherokee and give him a chance at a real home after so many years in rescue. It took him a bit to get adjusted to his new situation....living in a house instead of a constant kennel environment. But he soon loved Barb and his new brother, Artica. He got to go on long walks everyday, run at the dog park and get spoiled like he should have been for so many years. I enjoyed going to Barb's to hang out with the boys and give Cherokee his much loved belly rubs!!

Monday night everything changed. Barb called and said he wouldn't come in....I wish I could have been there but was working. They got him to the emergency vet and found a melon sized tumor in his belly. It had already done irreparable damage to many of his organs and there was, sadly, not hope of coming back from that. So Cherokee went to meet his friends at the Rainbow Bridge. I will miss him so much....really thought he was going to be around for years.....

With his brother Artica

His happy first day home smile

Love you little man.......

I miss you......

Today, sadly, is the third anniversary of Miss Lizzy's passage to the Rainbow Bridge. Maybe because she was my first dog, so late in my life, but I miss that girl everyday.

She controlled the household and all the other dogs...no one did anything without Lizzy's say. We had eight years together.....the last two with her terminal pancreatic cancer and July 23rd 2016 was one of the saddest days of my life. You never want to let go but sometimes it's the very best for them.....she was sick and I couldn't see her suffer anymore.
The day I adopted her was the best. I took her for the weekend, got her groomed, and our director and I took her to a show. She was great but I realized then that she would come home with me that day for good. Best choice I ever made. I had about 30 or 40 fosters through my house over the next few years and she was great with them. Yes, she had her Husky traits too....girl loved to escape. But we fixed all the fences and finally she just gave up!!
So many more things to say.....

But right now I miss that face......
Hope you are still romping at the Rainbow Bridge.....

Meet Jaxen!!!

Well...really you have already met him....his former name was Slash.....

After he was given the green light on his leg I contacted many of the people that expressed interest in taking him. The next day a family from Houston came by to say hello and the next week brought their dog , Kona , to see how they would get along. He , of course, was bouncing everywhere but Kona let him know that she was the alpha in the pack and they ended up not only having a good time but he was adopted on the spot.

With the new family!!

With big sis!!!

I gave him a few weeks to settle in before I introduced , or reintroduced , him to the world. So happy he has a new family, new sister, new name and a wonderful new life. Steve and Kim are at home and he gets to spend a ton of time with them. They are working on training the wild child but he seems to be doing well!!

Daily walks with Kona

He had a really tough start and I'm happy that he has a chance at the good life.

I have a lot of people to thank for helping our boy Jaxen...Steve, Kim and Kona for taking him into their loving home.....my friend Sonja , thanks for the foster during Christmas....Denise for letting him be around some other dogs for a week and a half before adoption...Cy-Fair Animal Hospital for putting him back together again...all of you for your good thoughts and prayers and donations. Don't know what would have happened without you!!

Jaxen says thanks.....he really loves his happy ending.....

Have a wonderful afternoon....will update soon with new pics.....

Slash.....

First, I hope you all had a very merry Christmas and a great New Year!!! My Christmas was good...always is when I get to spend it with my son.
So...Slash. Still with me. It's twelve weeks today and never did I envision that he would still be at my house. I haven't talked about Slash on this blog or basically anywhere except our Husky Haven Facebook. Now is the time to tell our story.

This was poor Slash the day after he was picked up. Picked up on the side of the road...the guy actually thought he was dead. Took him to our rescue vet....couldn't help so took him to my vet. Decided to pin together his left shoulder and remove his left eye....which was kind of gone. The man who brought him in was so concerned....he wanted to foster to adopt....I wanted to believe him and so did our volunteer. Since I'm writing this you know he was out of the picture within days.
Slash stayed a few days in the hospital.....

this is a pic of him going home with me. The problem with all this is he had to be confined and little exercise and no playing with other dogs. So Slash has been in my kitchen all this time , except nightly in his crate. As he started getting better it was really hard to keep him confined. He would walk all day but that has kept the shoulder from completely healing. We are hoping next week to take the final x-rays and remove the pin. If this gets done he is ready for a forever home. He will finally be able to run and play as much as he wants. That brings me to my dilemma....I can't keep Slash. I already have four dogs and Slash is a year old and I am mid-60's....you do the math. He needs a home that will take him for long walks and be able to hang out with him. For the record he is a really sweet dog. I wanted to put this out here so that you would know he will be available soon. Please consider this sweet puppy!!

I know this is a brief overview....but for now that gives you some details. I have some people to thank...all of you who donated to my go fund me. I have put the link up here if you want to help....all donations are great!! Slash Go Fund Me . I put out a special plea around Christmas for fosters or help really and so many of you couldn't foster but donated to my PayPal for boarding....thanks is still really helping when I need a few days for him to be in kennel. Also a big thank you to Sonja....she picked up Slash the Saturday before Christmas and brought him back the Saturday before New Year...my son and I got to cook in the kitchen with no Slash.
Have a great evening and please consider this wonderful boy......

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.........

My Girls.....

I mentioned August was a tough month...lots of bad and sad things. This story is one of the really sad ones, really haven't been able to write it without crying for the last few months.
A bit of backstory is necessary, 6 years ago I was retired out of my job and I'm not really one to sit around. Was trying to figure out what to do...I loved animals, especially dogs, so why not a pet sitter. I did my homework on all of it, contracts, pricing, etc. My great friend Becky let me take care of her babies...I loved it and starting promoting myself. Six years ago I got a call from a lady through care.com, wanted me to take care of her three babies. It was my first real job and I jumped at the chance. I met the three great girls, Brandi, Lola and Lucy and I was there for them for the next six years!!!

Three sweet girls....Brandi, Lola and Lucy in the back!!!

For the first three or four years we had so many good times.....we walked miles a day and played outside when we weren't walking. I will tell you the girls were not young when I started....Lola 9 1/2, Brandi 9 and Lucy around 7. When you are with dogs for so many years it's hard to see them slowing down. I guess the last two years were when it got so noticeable. Brandi's arthritis got so bad she was having a hard time doing our walks and Lola was having a myriad of health problems....but we just kept moving along...until this year. Brandi had developed problems in her mouth, cancer, they were to discover then a few months later Lola too. By August both the girls were very sick and the decision was to put them down to save them from anymore suffering. It was also decided they would go the same day since they were as close as if they had been sisters. They would have a hard time without the other.

Brandi and Lola in younger years....long before I met them.

Luckily I got to spend the day before with them....probably about three hours talking about all the fun we had and giving them some extra loving.....

I managed till the end of my visit not to cry....and that was tough. The next morning they were gone. I will truly miss them , I do every one that I take care of.......

I hope you are at the Rainbow Bridge with Lizzy and all the other babies that have gone before....

To the best and sometimes the saddest job......