I am a warrior...

Good news on every front! Dad is doing great after his surgery from over a month ago. Mom's lab work on the mass removed from her breast was negative! Yay!! Maris recovered from the vertigo eight days after she got it. Woohoo!! Now she is trying to recover her strength. For the duration of the vertigo, she stayed in her "safe" place--the recliner--and didn't move unless we picked her up to take her out. Now she is actually trying to go up and down the steps on the deck and is jogging around the yard trying to keep up with the others!! She does have the head tilt the vet said she might get. Funny how that happens. My other half is just happy she is now willing to be back on her usual bed so he can have the recliner back! In other news, the cars are not in the shop, I am not having any more panic attacks and I got a thank-you note from my boss for doing the extra work! Also, since I went to my internist three months ago, I had blood work done to check on my progress. All of the high "bad" numbers were down below half of what they were, and the low numbers--primarily Vitamin D--was well above the "good" range!! I have even lost eight pounds. I wouldn't say that I can tell a huge difference, but I did manage to zip up and wear a pair of jeans that I haven't worn in almost a year when I went in for the appointment last week. Of course, slow and steady is the best way to lose, so eight lbs in three months isn't too bad. Last time I lost weight, it was soooo slow to start with and then it seemed like I was thinner overnight. Hopefully that will be the case now. Since hubby was diagnosed with diabetes this summer, we have really changed our eating habits, which is a good thing for us both.

Whew. Now that all of the craziness of the past six weeks is over, I'm working through emotional fatigue and the resulting physical fatigue. With the panic attacks and anxiety and the "tied-up-in-knots" feeling, my insides are exhausted. I'm basically feeling "flat" now--too tired to have any emotions. But I'll take that over the roller coaster ride any day! I'm pushing through to the other side.

Two weekends ago, I worked for my friend on the Saturday of her anniversary sale. It's always a zoo but can also be a lot of fun. And although I didn't start off the day so well, it ended up being good. Part of that was seeing people I haven't seen for a long time, one of whom was Linda. She lost her husband a little over a year ago, and I met her at last year's sale. She and I hit it off, and I was so happy to see that she looked good and has been working through her own issues. She told me that she has started journaling to help with the process, and she had recently decided that she was a warrior and was battling to become her best self. Sounds familiar, I said. I immediately pointed to the "braids" in my hair. I got my hair cut shorter about three weeks ago. It was the first time I've had anything done to my hair in a long time. I think the gal cut about six inches off. Anyway, I've been twisting some of it and letting it dry so that the braid-looking bunches wouldn't come apart. I guess I could actually braid it, but this is so much quicker! I've read that Scottish warriors often braided two plaits, one on each side, before going into battle, so that was what I was calling these--my warrior braids. I purposely did these on Saturday, and I also wore my "armor" jewelry--some spoons that one of the sellers on Etsy made for me. One is hammered and the other has small holes in the length of it. They both pretty much cover my fingers. I also have a finger-long twisted-fork ring and bracelet. I wore all of these together (too much??) when I went in on Saturday in an attempt to keep a visual as I worked. My job was to write up the sales, so it was easy to see them and remember that I could do it. I could make it. I would make it cause I am a warrior. It was so comforting to know that Linda and I were there for one another that day, that we could give each other a thumbs-up and feel good instead of anxious or sad. Another friend, Sandra, stayed several hours after the store closed to help me balance out the day. She also gave me a ride home and told me several times how much she had missed seeing me since last year. It felt good to know that so many people hadn't given up on me. Looking back on it, I'm glad that I didn't throw in the towel and stay home that day. I fought the battle and won the day.

Here's to winning the war...

(Image is a grant winning limited edition digital photo-montage print by artist Suzanne Gonsalez. It is entitled "Mayan Princess" and combines scanned fabric with vintage photographs. She sells her work on Etsy at her shop ravenwolf. More of her work can also be seen at ravenwolfgallery.com)

Pump up the jam...

No, don't fall over. Although sitting is probably not going to allow for that anyway! A post that isn't two weeks later than the last. Will miracles never cease?

I really don't have anything to say today except that I have gone so long without saying much of anything to anyone, and now I can't seem to keep my mouth shut. I talked on the phone Sunday evening with a friend for--hold on--not one but two HOURS. What?? My other half asked me afterwards if she said anything. Ha-ha. I sent extremely babbling convos to several Etsy artist-friends. Then last night, we watched crazy You-Tube videos from 7:00 until midnight, and it was so much fun to dance and laugh. I never look at You-Tube unless someone has something that they recommend. (Steff, I'll never be able to thank you enough for the "le singe..." video. I laugh so hard every single time I watch it. Just the ticket for a dull day.*) Anyway, hubby is a PE teacher and coach plus a major sports fanatic, so Sports Illustrated is his main page online. They have several "daily" videos, most of which I never am interested in. However, this one was of two guys who literally--truly--climbed buildings like Spiderman and jumped from one building roof to the next, running at high speed and never slowing down. It was a stomach clenching video to watch, like watching a roller coaster ride from the front seat. I don't know how we went from there, but we got into wedding reception videos with crazy dancing. We ended up at "The Evolution of Dance" videos and various take-offs of it. I started dancing at the tender age of one or two and have been at it ever since. It's such a creative expression and feels like flying or something. No, Mom wouldn't let me take dancing lessons because "they will never be useful." Like those seven years of piano lessons have done anything for me. Her reasoning came from a background of poverty and traditional beliefs about what women should/could do. She believed that dancing was frivolous and a waste of time. I don't think she and my dad ever even danced. Ah, what a loss. She also squashed my future as a potter the minute I brought my first astounding creation home. Lessons? Absolutely not. When did playing with mud serve any purpose? She never caught on to my artistic abilities, not even when I danced her wall-size mirror off the wall and broke it. Hhhmmm, that's how I probably brought on a lifetime of bad luck! I danced constantly around the house. I was always in motion. I think I am dancing in all of the home movies Dad took. I was a cheerleader throughout junior and senior high school, back in the olden days when it was more "dancey" than aerobatic. I can't sit still when I hear most music. I love so many different styles of music and dance, but give me a good beat and I'm there. I've lived long enough to have heard lots of music genres and have loved them all. Give me country, hip-hop or the Stones--I can dance to anything. I love the productions "Stomp" and "Riverdance" and any ballet. I love the opera "Madame Butterfly." Love to watch ballroom dancing or listen to jazz. I was a huge MTV fan when they just played videos. Bonus--music plus dancing! I don't even recognize MTV anymore. I think I might win the award for owning the most movie soundtracks. Yes, "Dirty Dancing" is a favorite along with any Fred Astaire movie. The Soggy Bottom Boys of "O Brother Where Art Thou," "Drumline," "Billy Elliott," "Fiddler on the Roof" or "The Sound of Music;" the Beatles, Lady Antebellum, Pat Benatar, Usher, ELO--I'm all over the board. I've recently been introduced to the music of Eluveitie (again, thanks to Steff), and they have become a big favorite. As for dance, I finally took some ballet lessons after I graduated from college, and planned to continue onto creative dancing (didn't), and the last ten or more years have been, sadly, dance-less for the most part. We did take shag lessons for one of hubby's PE classes. Uh, ya know, dancing to beach music, not the other thing. (Beach music is the one genre I do not care for at all. Must be bad memories of fraternities.) Hubby teaches a lot of line dancing, too. As for me, I danced when dancing wasn't exactly choreographed. It just flowed. Whatever felt like moving moved. Now, it has been so influenced by Michael Jackson and the hip-hop guys. Don't get me wrong, I can do most of the "Thriller" and "Beat It" moves in my sleep, and I've added the "Soulja Boy" routine to my repertoire even though I'm not a big fan of the song. I love the dance moves, though. Music and dancing--moving and grooving. After last night, I'm thinking I need to add it back as part of my daily exercise routine. And I guess I did have something to say after all.

Good thing we don't have any mirrors in the TV room. I just hope I don't step on any tails...

(Image is entitled "Dancing with Dogs" and can be found at the shop cathydarling on Etsy. I already know that Berra loves to dance with me. Maris stays away but watches. I don't know what Guidry will do, but I'm betting Jeeter won't hesitate to join in.)

*The video of Eddie Izzard "Learning French" can be found at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1sQkEfAdfY
Sorry, I still haven't learned how to put up a "link." I'm not even sure if that is what to call that which I haven't learned.
Steff's awesome blog, kaKofonie Of si(gh)lens, can be found at:
http://musingsofbuffyleigh.blogspot.com/

Dog days of summer...

Okay, I'll admit, I'm getting really bad at keeping up this journal. I've always been really bad at keeping a journal, but I have done much better online. That's probably because it's actually easier to write a few sentences, look at a few blogs, write a few more sentences, shop for awhile on Etsy, go back to writing...Well, you get the picture. However, I also think that it reflects the changes in my health--physical, emotional, and mental. I have really come a long way, baby! At one time, I was linked to the outside world only by means of my computer. Well, not counting my other half. It was the only way I felt comfortable connecting with anyone, and I have made some awesome connections because of it. I really had to make myself work to start getting back out. When I first stuck my toes out the front door back a few months ago to go back to work, I didn't think I could do it for more than a week. But one week turned into two, then three, and I seemed to be doing alright. It's been almost three weeks since I've gone back to work due to a difficult day filled with the very things that made me leave in the first place. I am hoping that I can get that one last day over and done with soon. I actually had a busy week last week, full of planned events, and this week has been a little crazy because it's the last week of vacation for my hubby. He goes back to teaching next week, and we will finally be back on a schedule, which I desperately need!! We will start back on our daily walks with our dogs. He has been doing most of the dog-walking without me lately and has had two people stop him for his "business card." They think he is a dog-walker! I guess seeing someone walk four dogs isn't the usual!

Speaking of the dogs, Berra (the oldest) is showing some signs of slowing down during our walks. He has begun to leave some slack in the leash by the time we get back into our neighborhood. We've got him on a double-lead with Guidry, so he can't get too far behind. Jeeter and Maris have separate leashes. Jeeter has been with us now four or five months--is that possible? He was five-months-old when we got him, and he is looking to be mostly Golden Retriever. We think he may have some pit bull in him based not only on several physical factors but also because he isn't the typical Golden personality. That's not to say that he is bad, but he definitely is not the all-loving, want-to-lie-at-your-feet-and-stare-into-your-eyes kind of dog that the others are. He fits in well, and the other dogs get along with him and he does one funny thing after another. Mostly, he talks about everything! More to the point, he comments about everything. And his comments are in a high-pitched puppy-speak! He chases airplanes across the yard and bugs on the patio and is a connoisseur of pine cones. He is a hoot! I seriously think he is ADD. Nothing, not even eating, can keep his attention for longer than five seconds. He finishes eating about half of his food, then is off to find out what the others are doing. What they are doing is watching him eat because they gobbled their food down already and want a chance to eat his! Breakfast and dinner are not boring here! Once Jeeter gets distracted, there is no going back. We tried several tricks to make him eat more but figure when he is hungry, he won't walk away! Back to the thought that he might be part pit bull. That's kind of a shame because it may be the reason why he was dropped off at a kill-shelter. Someone may have been looking for less Golden and more Pit, and he looked just like a Golden puppy. It's terrible to think about the way those dogs in particular are used as fighting dogs. Anyway, Jeeter may look and act slightly less Golden, but he is 100% Golden at heart! We love him as much as the others and wouldn't trade him for anything.

Well, if I step on anymore prickly bits of pine cone that didn't get swept up, I might start thinking about it.

(Image is a print that can be purchased from gibspix at Etsy and is entitled "Golden Retriever." The dog looks just like Guidry instead of Jeeter, but I'd recognize that pine cone anywhere.)

She thinks I'm cccuuuuuuttttteeeeeeeeeee...

Our new puppy Munson has come and gone. Well, not literally. He arrived last Wednesday evening. His rescuer said that he threw up in her car on the way home from getting him from the shelter. So while she didn't feed him after Wednesday morning in an effort to keep that from happening to us, he still may have felt nauseous. The blanket we put in the front seat for him was soaked, and so was he. He seemed especially afraid of my hubby at first, but he is coming around quickly. When I first met him, I understood why the lady called him "Wiggles." His entire body wags or wiggles when he is happy! He is so adorable, but the poor darling is skin and bones. We have got to put some weight on him ASAP. And I can't believe that I forgot what puppies do. They explore, they chew, they are hyper, their attention span is about two seconds, they put everything in their mouths, etc. He only has two switches: on and then some, and off. I'm used to the older ones, who are calm and tend to sleep most of the day. He has to be constantly watched because of his puppy actions and because he isn't completely housebroken. The good news is that he really doesn't have any behavioral issues that I can see. He has already behaved quite well when I correct him. The others are acting fine, just as I thought they would. Berra chases him around the yard, but he is so much faster that he can sit and wait for Berra to catch up. Then just before Berra reaches him, he's off again! Guidry is definitely finding him to be a typical annoying little brother! Maris, with her quiet personality, seems to confuse him, and he hasn't interacted very much with her. Which, of course, is fine by Maris! He seemed to be one of family after only a few days, and he makes us laugh quite a lot! He has, however, chewed up the following (and may I add, during my hubby's watch): a remote control, a plastic package of dental floss, my hubby's new $1400 glasses (this was when his name changed to Craig's List), a telephone bill, a shoe and every day's newspaper. I have given him all the toys out of their toy box, but did I say his attention span was two seconds? I meant one.

Well, we had decided on a name for him, but my other half didn't think the name we picked out suited him once he was here and wanted to change it. Munson was a great name, and I had decided to call him Muney. Well, I am happy to reintroduce the new little guy as....Jeter! It's not a name that is in the same era of the others, of course, and I can't quite get used to it yet. I've probably called him by name only a few times, since usually it's Sweetie, Cutie, or Precious. And those are almost always preceded by a firm "no"! He looks like he is always smiling, so it's hard to keep a straight face to discipline him. And he does seem to always be happy. Even when Guidry gives him her most ferocious toothy stay-away-from-me-or-it-will-be-the-last-thing-you-do look.

I'm guessing that if he chews up one more costly item, it won't be only his name that will change. I better hurry up and order his tags!

(Image is entitled "Resting in the Shade" by ANJacobsen at Etsy. This looks just like Jeter while he is waiting for Berra to catch up with him, including the way his eyes appear like he's judging how much time he has before he takes off again!)

Toss me a towel...

The recent appraisal and my marathon cleaning project have propelled me deeper into depression. My biggest triggers that caused the decline are stress and lack of sleep. Fatigue can be a trigger, but it is often a result of not sleeping enough. The last weekend prior to Monday's appraisal was the most hectic of the three weeks I spent cleaning. I got very little sleep Saturday night and practically none on Sunday night. The appraisal itself became a stressor as the deadline got closer, and my other half constantly voicing his worries only added to my stress. I thought if I heard him say one more time that we weren't going to make it (to the deadline), I was going to shoot him. Thankfully, I don't keep a gun in the house. His lucky week, I guess. Anyway, between pushing my limits in these areas (fatigue, lack of sleep, stress) and getting a new puppy, I went downhill quickly. The puppy isn't stressing me at all, but my allergies have gone haywire since getting him! Whatever he was bathed in on the day we picked him up is doing a number on my sinus and skin allergies as well as keeping the door slightly opened so that I can teach him that the yard is where he goes when he has to go. Add to that the dust stirred up while cleaning. By late Wednesday, I had a minor case of hives along with a mind that wasn't functioning well. I was in tears by Friday with a major case of hives and no mind to speak of. I had to take extra Benedryl to combat the hives, which really puts me in a fog. I tried to do several puzzles to keep my brain focused, but I wasn't even seeing all of the numbers. Saturday and Sunday were both the same.

Today it has been one week since the appraisal and most of the things that occurred to send me into this decline. I have tried to keep up with the events in terms of my depression cycle as well as how long it takes me to recover. Having been able to avoid my stressors for awhile, I can track the cycle better than I have ever been able to. I know that I have hit the bottom of this cycle and am on my way back up. Last week after the appraisal I was supposed to get my nails done, return some shoes at the mall, go to a chiropractic appointment and get the quarterly information from my employer by Friday. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to leave the house to accomplish any of those things. And they all were very necessary. I am apparently going to keep experiencing this fear of leaving the house when I am in a low cycle. Good to know these things and even better to be able to track them. I should be back to the point at which my meds are controlling my depression by the end of the week. Hopefully, sooner.

Meanwhile, I'll rest and recover and let the craziness of the last four weeks drip off/out. I think whoever said "don't sweat the small stuff" must have never had much stuff and could afford to forget the small ones. I'll sweat it all away, thank you.

(Image used is entitled "Tranquility," an oil painting by shiloratnerart at Etsy.)

Take the trash out and let the dog in...

Our appraisal has come and gone, thank goodness! Although I never did get the house completely in order, the lady said it looked great, took a few pictures, made some measurements and left. Strangely enough, the fifteen minutes she was here was a bit of a letdown given that I had prepared for it for a whole month. For something that took over my life for that length of time, she should have stayed and celebrated with me!! Oh well, several good things did come out of the cleaning spree. First, I actually put a major dent in the task that has hung over my head for years. Secondly, I am feeling much better about staying home now that I'm accomplishing something meaningful. I have vowed to stay on top of it each week so that it will never become so overwhelming again. And lastly, we can actually have people in to visit for a weekend or just come over for dinner. Or open the front door when the pizza is delivered instead of going out through the garage.

In the meantime, my other half has been in contact with a person who rescued a Golden Retriever from a shelter on the day it was to be put down. She had gone in to adopt another breed but couldn't leave this little guy to his fate. She took him home with the intention of immediately giving him away. My other half apparently saw her offer to adopt him at the same time she posted it. They began emailing about a week ago, and she has promised us first chance at adopting him. Somehow, this all managed to go right over my head since my head was buried in the stuff I was cleaning. I can't decide whether it is a good idea or not, but if the dog ever makes it to our home, he'll be here to stay! The five-month-old puppy is a white-blond, smallish male. He was dropped off at the shelter overnight with no information. According to his rescuer, he has obviously been abused and is frightened of almost everything. My heart is telling me to go for it, of course! Staying at home gives me the best opportunity to work with him to overcome his fears. But four dogs? Well, I guess if people can have four kids, we can have four dogs. Hubby drove over an hour to see the puppy last night, but didn't bring him home. I think that was just a waste of gas, if anyone asks me. We had several calls and messages asking if we got him, so it seems he has told everybody about getting this dog. However, when he went to pick him up, he said he wasn't quite sure about it. I think he just doesn't want to overwhelm the other three dogs we already have! He's worried about how they will react. I don't think it's going to be a problem, since each time we bring one in, the rest just smell him/her and then go back to what they were doing. They are so accepting of another pack member. So, hubs is going back tonight to get the dog. Waste of gas. And of course, we've already named him. What does that say? My hubby worked for a short time for the NY Yankees and has always been a huge fan, so that is how we got started on the current names. We've had Yogi and Berra (brothers), Maris, Guidry and now....drumroll....Munson! He was the catcher when Guidry pitched for the Yankees, so it seemed like the name to choose. I'm sure I'll be posting about Munson soon.

As I said, I'm really feeling good about things right now. I had felt guilty for so long about staying home. But my employer has decided to let me do the bookkeeping at home, and I got a call last week from someone who wants me to work in her boutique a few days per week. And I'll probably soon have another baby to love and train.

Bookkeeping, boutiques and babies. Sounds pretty good to me!

(Image used is entitled "Coming Home" and is by everydayeros at Etsy.)

Rocking and Rolling...

It's official--summer is here! We had our first thunderstorm a few nights ago, and that is the signal that the heat is upon us and that summer has arrived. From now on, we will be getting them very regularly. At least two or three a week. Boy, do I miss the snow. I hate hot weather and humidity combined. Walk outdoors and sweat. No mercy. Remember the movie "Body Heat" with Kathleen Turner and William Hurt or "A Time to Kill" with Matthew McConaughey and Samuel L. Jackson? Remember the characters always looked like they had just taken a shower with their clothes on? Right. Oppressive heat is depressing.

Berra, one of our Golden Retrievers, is thunder-phobic. Well, he's actually loud noise-phobic. Fireworks will freak him out, too. We have tried a lot of natural things to keep him from being so anxious. At one time, we thought about giving him anti-anxiety meds, but the storms come up so fast, there isn't time for the meds to take effect. Poor thing. He tries to get inside of my skin. And at a mere 120 pounds, he's a bit too big to manage easily. He's taller than me when he puts his paws on my shoulders. He doesn't do that often, but when there is a storm, he is all over me. Normally, he's a perfect gentleman. He and Yogi were brothers. We saw all the puppies being birthed and picked out the two of them several days later. Well, my hubby got to pick out Yogi. Berra picked me. He was being held by someone as I walked past to go look at the pups. He howled or something when I passed him by, so I think he was trying to get my attention. When I backed up and started talking to him, he talked right back. He still does. He makes all kinds of sounds, and I swear that he understands English. He always obeys me, no matter what I say! He even understands body language. All I have to do is raise my eyebrow and he's doing whatever it is that he wasn't doing the first time I said it. Sadly, we lost Yogi last year to bone cancer. Goldens are prone to all kinds of cancers, and I think we've had about half of them show up in our dogs. So far, Guidry is not showing any signs of illness, so we are keeping our fingers crossed that she stays healthy. With our pets, we've dealt with heart failure, an intestinal blockage that required several feet of intestines being removed, a brain tumor (preceded by an eye being pushed out and having to be removed), spleen cancer, and the gum, eye and skin cancers that Maris has had, along with Berra's epilepsy. I think God just keeps sending these special babies to us to care for and love. I'll never forget the day we went to pick up Toby, who had the intestinal surgery. He had been at the vet in recovery for a week. We visited him every day. When we went in to pick him up, the receptionist/admin person said to me, "Oh, I am so very sorry." I almost fell down, thinking that he had died. It was touch and go for a few days. However, she was talking about the bill! She told me it was the biggest bill they had ever had. A week at the vet, meds, and surgery that required four doctors. After she handed me the invoice, that's when I fell down. There are a lot of people who wouldn't want to spend big bucks on their pets, but we wouldn't do it any other way. They are our children, our family. Can't just chuck 'em when they get sick. But many people do that as well as lots of other things that are even worse. Thank goodness for animal rescue clubs. We have loved all the puppies we got, but our last two are rescues and all the more special.

Well, I don't usually listen to the radio, but when the thunder started, I cranked up the volume on a top twenty station and let it drown out most of the noise. I heard Black Eyed Peas, Lady Gaga, Timbaland, OneRepublic and a lot of rappers. I say all that because now all I can hear are those songs. So with that, let me say:

Hey Soul Sister, Imma Be going for Carry Out, so don't Telephone me. In My Head, All The Right Moves will get me to Sexy Chick fastfood. I just hope I can Breakeven and it won't be a Replay of last week's financial fisaco. Well, Tik Tok, Whatchu Say, Meet Me Half Way and we'll Breakaway. Blah Blah Blah...

(The first image is a detail of a work entitled "See It Coming" by ZoeDockery at Etsy. The second image is of the entire hand painted quilted silk wall hanging. Beauty.)

Remains of the day...

Well, one of the hardest things I've had to do in awhile is past me. We did decide to have one of our rescue dog's eyes removed. I've posted Maris' story earlier. After talking to both our regular vet and the vet eye specialist and taking all factors into consideration, we opted to have it done. Maris went in last week for same-day surgery and needed only one or two days of recovery before she was back to being (mostly) herself. We had this same procedure done years ago with Taylor (who left us not too long after his surgery), and his recovery took two very long and difficult weeks. We didn't know it at the time, but he had a brain tumor that had started pushing his eye out. The surgery was performed by our regular vet, not the eye specialist. Not that our vet didn't do a great job, but sometimes a specialist sees something that a non-specialist wouldn't. That's why they are specialists, no? We were worried that Maris' recovery would be painful and difficult. There tends to be leakage both from the eye as well as the nose as a result of this surgery. Maris had one day of leakage that was bloody. After that, it was the "draining" type of leakage, and it lasted about two days. She has managed beautifully, probably because she had already lost sight in that eye. And the specialist assured us that all of the cancer had been removed. By the end of last week, she was already chasing her brother and sister around the yard and was starting wrestling matches with them. She has a mean left jab. However, I've been curbing those matches because until the stitches come out, I don't think there should be any roughhousing!

I'm so relieved that we made the right decision. I didn't want to lose her yet. She is truly an angel. When hubby went to pick her up, the specialist and the assistants said that Maris was the sweetest dog they had ever had in the office. Our regular vets and their assistants say the same thing. Maris is gentle and hesitant when greeting anyone, but she always greets lovingly.

I think if I were almost deaf, had one of my eyes and half of my lower jaw removed, a fingernail taken off, a cancerous lesion on the back of my neck soon to be removed and been rescued after almost a month of neglect (including no food or water), I doubt I could be sweet. I think I would not greet the world lovingly. I would most likely be required to wear some sort of warning sign.

Or probably several at one time so that no one would fail to get the message...


(Top two images are resin bracelets found at sisicata at Etsy. The last image is found at BoingoJennie, also at Etsy.)

Indicate choice by chewing a hole next to it...

Earlier in March I posted about our rescue dog, Maris, who has a rare form of cancer in one eye. We had just taken her in to our regular vet for a general checkup to get a handle on her overall health. We did so in preparation for the vet eye specialist appointment this week. We took her in yesterday, and the prognosis was exactly as we thought it would be. The cancer was discovered in early July, 2009, and the specialist said that she probably had six months of sight left. His recommendation was to remove the eye when she no longer could see out of it. We found out that she has, in fact, now lost total sight in her left eye. Maris has been doing some things differently, but we hadn't chalked them up to her being blind in that eye. Duh? Don't know why. I knew she was losing sight, but I guess that since I see her every day, the changes come little by little and aren't as noticeable. After the appointment, we talked about a few of the things she has been doing. She gets to the steps that go up to our deck, but instead of using the steps from where she is, she walks around to the other side of the steps, then walks up the steps diagonally. This has been happening for awhile, and at the same time she started doing it, we had been having an issue with Berra's arthritis. Since they both are getting on in years, we thought she was having problems with her legs. We even gave her meds for arthritis! Now we know that as she got to the steps, her left eye was closer to them, so she couldn't judge the steps as well. Once she walked over and turned around, her good right eye was focused on the steps and she would go up at an angle so she could keep her sight on them. Also, she has always had a hard time with learning to wait patiently for food to be put in her bowl when it is time to eat. She would stand right next to us as we scooped the food, then make a mad dash to her bowl, where she would hop, hop, hop in place as we would race to get the food in her bowl before she could put her head in it! Awhile back, after hopping, she started waiting for us to put the food in the bowl. I was congratulating myself on a great training job! Yeah, right. What I hadn't paid attention to is that she turns her head as we put the food in the bowl, again indicating that she has turned her head to the side so she can see the food going into the bowl. Ah, well. She hasn't been in any pain, and our vet specialist has assured us that she shouldn't be for another few weeks. However, the cancer, which started out small, is now completely covering her eye. We are adamant that she not suffer any pain at all, so we went ahead and made the appointment to have the eye removed. Both vets told us, taking everything into consideration, it was what they would do for their pet. I still had a hard time with it. So how did I decide?

Well, I sat all three dogs down one afternoon so we could have a chat. This is no easy task as Guidry has ADD. Seriously. Berra and Maris are ssooooo laid back, but Guidry demands attention and entertainment (she's our other rescue). We are working on her behaviors. Very hard. But back to the discussion. I told them what was going on and what needed to be done. Now some people think dogs can't think. Most people think dogs don't have emotions. But I have seen some astonishing actions from mine both here and gone that indicate that they were thinking and feeling. Poo poo me if you will, but I'm gonna chat with my dogs. I gave them the facts and the choices. Then I asked them to vote for eye removal or going to sleep (how could I phrase that any other way???). Choice #1: Eye removal? Barks, noises, movements, etc. Choice #2: Going to sleep? Nothing. After a few seconds, Guidry turned her back and made a dive for Berra's toy. He made a fairly good attempt to get it, but she is much faster. Meanwhile, Maris is just sitting partially in my lap being sweet and watching them. I took that to mean that they had made their decisions and it was back to playing. Isn't it nice to share the load?

I've heard of animals painting on paper. I wonder if I should put the options on paper to let them vote. Hhhhmmm...

(Image is entitled "The Hanging Chad Necklace" and is by markaplan at Etsy.)