The end of an era

I woke up crying this morning. Yesterday we said goodbye to our dear friend Betsy's Border Terrier MacDuff. He was a superstar, Golly's best dog friend, a wonderful companion, an agility champion four times over, sometimes a grump, and we loved him dearly. Life has, once again, changed forever for all of us. Both of these cherished dogs are gone, within two and a half months of each other. They were born the same day and both brought great joy into our lives. We were blessed to have shared our lives with them.

Stop Wallowing!

I know I'm entitled to cry. I'm allowed to take my time through the grieving process. And I still miss Golly like crazy. How can I not, when for 13 years I had to walk carefully to make sure I didn't step on that little black form by my feet? But I'm tired of being depressed. I'm tired of having a headache. And I've got to stop crying - my contact lenses will build up an impenetrable protein barrier if I don't. And all of our friends have been so incredibly supportive - thank you! So I'm going to stop wallowing in my depression and grief! I'm going to try to turn my energies to more productive projects. I have been enjoying all the dogs (and their people) who've come to play at our ring! - Fran

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Last night I found out how Golly's death has effected Dax. It was the first time we'd been back to Obedience class and Dax seemed happy to go. She was decidedly not happy about seeing other dogs before class and snarked at several, lunged at two and actually connected with one. I'm going to have to keep a very close eye on this girl - she needs to know that I'm in charge and I'm not going to tolerate that behavior. On the positive side - enforcing a "Down! Stay!" at each little incident vastly improved her performance on those exercises in class.

We miss you, Golly

It wasn't a tummy upset. It was very sudden and complete kidney failure. We lost our beloved Golly yesterday. Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and prayers. We'll always remember and love her.

Hoping for an upset stomach

Distressing day today - Golly wouldn't eat her dinner last night and was messy from both ends. It's been a running joke in our house forever - if Golly doesn't eat, go directly to the vet. Do not Pass Go. Do not collect two hundred dollars.

So Fran took her last night and after injections and medication, she's worse this morning and Fran took her back to the vet. I'm waiting to hear.

We're all very hopeful she just had waaaaaayy too many treats at our dog club picnic on Sunday. Golly, even though she doesn't see too well any more and doesn't hear too well any more, can still unerringly find the soft touch holding the hot dog or hamburger.

The mooching has never bothered her before - she's been doing the same thing at the picnic her entire life. The vet said that perhaps Golly can't do the things at almost-14 that she's done up to now. Keep your fingers crossed it's just a tummy upset.

3 to a Chair

This is one reason we have little dogs - more can fit on a chair! Golly (Brussels Griffon) is lying down and Dax (French Bulldog) is trying to fit behind Roc (Brussels Griffon). It's not working.

New sleeping arrangements

So my full-size "grown-up" bed was delivered yesterday. (I'd had a twin-size bed since I was a kid, and I was using the same headboard and frame. The headboard had been recovered a couple of times, but still...) Despite the fact that my whole room needs to be re-organized since there's no room to walk anywhere, I think it'll be great for Golly, Ceilidh and me. Eventually. Ceilidh had been sleeping in Hope's bedroom but in a bed on the floor, so it's an adjustment for all of us. Last night Ceilidh stayed on the bed, all night! But Golly is going to need to get used to all this newness. At one point I woke up and couldn't find her! I turned the light on, and she was between the pillow and the headboard. I think she liked it there. Like I said, it'll take some getting used to...

Golly a slug?

OK, yes she is! And she's enjoying it! The problem, though, is that she's getting rounder. So it's back to the beans! Yes, Golly's on a diet. We replace a few pieces of her kibble with a few pieces of green beans. We keep a bag of frozen cut green beans in the freezer, take some out and defrost them in the microwave for a few seconds. We're reducing the calorie count but maintaining the volume of food that Golly eats. Not every dog likes green beans but fortunately Golly does! In no time she'll be back to her girlish figure!

Dogs on Sunday

Ceilidh

Roc

Golly

Dax and Golly

Naughty Dax

The Girls Like it Hot!

This is our fifth day of 90 degree heat here in the Chicago area. We had below-normal temperatures all spring, but but did summer start with a bang! (Literally - thunderstorms the day before summer began knocked out our power for a few hours at home.) Dax, Ceilidh and Golly all love to lie in the sun and bask! Silly girls - this is the last thing any of them should be doing. French Bulldogs are prone to heat stroke, and Ceilidh and Golly both have heart conditions that make basking kind of dangerous. So I've been carrying Dax and Ceilidh into the house - that's how I've been getting my bicep work in. Golly can be persuaded into the house most of the time with a yummy treat!

Still a Princess

It hit me a couple of days ago. Sure, I knew at her last birthday that Golly's thirteen years old. But a couple of days ago it hit me that she's really getting up there. Golly's hearing is getting worse. Or maybe she's just ignoring me more. And her sight has never been great. She's getting grayer in places I wouldn't expect it, like her paws. And she sleeps very deeply.

But Golly eats with gusto. She demands treats for any and all behaviors she offers. She still plays as much as she ever has (which isn't much). She doesn't seem to have trouble getting around - Golly can still jump onto whatever chair she has chosen for her vantage point of the moment. And she expects everyone to treat her like the princess she still is.

On the home front...

We're doing a bit better around here. Golly's adjusting - she even stole Roc's toy and ran around like a little scampy girl this evening! She had a wonderful time watching the game last Sunday. Our friend Betsy brought her dogs - Robbie and Golly's boyfriend MacDuff.
Betsy's boys love to "sing" - and it's very, very loud. Golly joins in and looks absolutely adorable trying to round her mouth for a proper howl. And for the first time ever, we heard a tiny little "woooo-oooooo-ooooo" joining in. We looked around and Roc joined the choir! Cuter than you could possibly imagine.

Pitiful pup

Our Griffies are such one-person dogs. Golly spent all of last evening sitting in the dining room, watching the door, waiting for Fran to appear. We told her Fran's away for 10 days. But Griffs are really, really good at guilt.

Princesses do, on occasion, harrumph!

When Dax and I got home from Agility Class on Thursday evening, the other dogs had to check us out. It was the usual "Where have you been?" "Who was there?" and "What did you bring me?" sniff-a-thon.

Golly usually gives Dax a cursory sniff and then goes looking for the treat she always gets when we came home. This Thursday, though, she took her time and gave Dax a thorough sniffing. Then she looked at me, actually "harrumph"-ed and plopped herself into a sit, clearly outraged by the results of her investigation.

It took me a minute to figure out what was going on. That evening Dax said "hello!" to MacDuff. Apparently, it's not allowed - MacDuff is Golly's boyfriend - they even hold hands! (MacDuff is a Border Terrier, Golly is a Brussels Griffon)

Why don't I ever have a camera?

It's always the same story. I never have a camera handy when the dogs are doing something incredibly cute. Yesterday evening we were watching the news when Ceilidh and Dax started play-bowing, then wrestling, then chasing each other around. Then Golly started bouncing at us - her playful sign. Then she started playing with a big stuffed bear we've had for years for the dogs to play with. But naturally, the camera was in the other room and we knew everyone would abandon play to follow us if we got up to get it! That's how it always is ...

Happy Birthday, Golly!

Today is Golly's 13th Birthday!

Happy Birthday, baby princess!

I miss them somthing awful

We're going on vacation tomorrow. Just a few days to relax before the shopping season truly starts. Not that there'll be much of a shopping season this year, but just in case.
The hardest part is taking the dogs to their "vacation homes." Since we have four, it's a bit much to ask anyone to watch all of them. So we split them two and two - the Griffs (Golly and Roc) and the Bully Girls (Ceilidh and Dax).
We are very, very fortunate to have wonderful dog friends who watch them - but I've got to admit I was a teeny-tiny bit jealous today when I brought the Griffs to their "Auntie Geri's" house. They walk in like they own the place, sniff hello to her gorgeous Doberman boy Ryder, and settle in like they were there yesterday. Golly runs into Geri's office, jumps up on the couch, rearranges the pillows to her liking and plops herself down.
Geri and I visited for a bit, then I got up to go. By this time the Griffs were very, very comfortable. I got the equivalent of a lackadaisical wave and "bye."
Ingrates.

The oh-so-glamorous photo shoot

Ceilidh can't stay still
Dax won't move
Golly's always perfect
Roc is either miserable modelling
Or else he's yapping - Golly still perfect
If Dax does move, she sniffs

Wait! I think we've got one!

Whenever we get new products in the store, one of the first things we like to do is take them home, see how they fit and get some pictures of our dogs modeling them so that our customers will have some notion of what they look like in actual use.

This is much easier said than done. We got in new step-in harnesses, so last Sunday we brought home various sizes, colors, etc. to try on Golly, Ceilidh, Roc and Dax. Should be a piece of cake, right? All of them are obedience trained. Not so much. Golly is perfect, of course. But Roc is yapping. Which he does perpetually when outside. And with so many things moving (leaves, mostly) there's plenty to yap about! Just ask him!

Then there's Dax, who finds every inch of ground absolutely fascinating to sniff. When she's moving. When she's exhausted all the delightful smells, she finds a nice patch of sunshine and she sits in it - without moving.

Not moving is a problem for Ceilidh. Sitting still is almost visible agony for this girl. She'd much rather dance around on her hind legs. Which, we concede, is very cute. But not very useful in trying to get some good product shots.

Behold the Golly Force!

Whenever we get new inventory in our store we torture our own dogs by making them model. We shoot a lot of pictures, hoping to get a couple of good ones that show off the product. When we do these photo sessions we really don't look at our dogs, just the products. We think they're always cute. Sometimes they're more photogenic.

This shot really isn't all that wonderful of the coat - but Golly just looks so darn cute with the head tilt that I had to show off the darling girl. The picture was taken on Sunday, her 12th birthday. The Golly Force in action!

Golly was blessed

The synagogue nearest our house had a short service yesterday to bless the animals, and invited people and their animals for the service. (The Torah reading for the week was Genesis 9:10-11, Noah, his family and all the animals emerging from the Ark after the Flood.) We had planned to take all the dogs, but it was about 85 degrees, so just brought Golly. Amazingly, she's the most heat-resistant of them all and we felt that she could spread the blessing around the best (Golly being the Princess). And, true to form, the Golly Force was strong, drawing all to her presence.