Buckle Up!

So yesterday I was driving to work. I was listening to my new favorite song and singing along. All of a sudden I felt a THUD, as if I had run over something. I was sure I hadn't seen anything in the road, so I couldn't understand why it sounded as if I had run over something.

I slowed down and looked in my rear view mirror, and much to my horror, I saw a cat darting across the street. It didn't look injured, but I must have hit it. There was nothing else in the road behind me, except the cat.

It made me gasp and clasp my hand over my mouth in unbelief. Where did the kitty come from?!? I love cats. I've owned five. I cannot believe I hit one, but I never saw it. He must've been a fast runner to get under my van and back out without major harm. As I said, it ran off and didn't appear injured. I'm hoping it simply got off with a scrape.

It's an obstacle course out there on the roads these days. Between the few dreaded intersections near my home and cats running out from nowhere, it's a wonder I can venture out there.

Buckle up, people. It's dicey out there.

A Lesson in Trust

We had a bit of a scare in the last 14 hours.  Late yesterday afternoon our cat Teddy started acting strange, meowing strange, and then some sort of contraction thing started in his belly.  Never saw anything like it before.

His belly would contract, and he'd let out a groan.  He walked kind of low to the floor and looked thoroughly uncomfortable.

This is the part about having pets that's so hard.  If they're in pain, they can't tell you where it hurts, how bad, or what's going on.  It makes me feel helpless to watch them suffer.

Fear gripped my heart because I didn't know what was wrong or what to do.  I truly had to pray and give my cat to the Lord's care.  I knew that I was totally helpless, but God is fully in control and He cares about my cat.  I stirred a lot during the night, and then I'd pray and give my cat to the Lord again. 

We all made it through the night without any incident, and this morning I was encouraged to see Teddy looking normal again.  No more contractions, moaning or walking funny.  We'll watch him and see how he is throughout the day.

I know those who don't care for cats or pets in general may not be able to relate to my struggle, but I know that God uses anything in our lives to teach us and cause us to depend on Him.  Even a cat.

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Kitty's Okay?

I apologize up front for what I'm about to share if you don't like blogs about pets.  I just want to share this one thing about our cat Bailey.  He's a 12-year-old tabby, and he was diagnosed with hypothyroidism in February.  He was tossing his kitty kibble a lot and losing weight. 

He was put on medicine that has to be given twice a day for the rest of his life, but we didn't believe it was doing the job for him.  He's been tossing his kitty kibble at least 3 times a day within an hour of each episode, and typically even once in the middle of the night every night.

We began to believe that his days were probably numbered, and we were going to call the vet back to see if his time was up.

Rich did a check on the internet, though, and read that the medicine we give him is very bitter and really should be administered with some food or milk.  He started crushing it into milk, and Bailey drinks it up easily. 

Guess what!  No kitty kibble tossing for 2 days straight!!!  You have no idea what a true feat that is in our house.  The little guy seems to even have perked up, too.  I can't imagine what all the wretching day after day would do to a cat's stomach muscles.  No wonder he seems to be in a better mood.

I just had to share that little bit of praise coming from our home.

  

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Dixie & the Doggy Bed

Rich brought home a doggy bed for our Sheltie, Dixie, the other day, and she's not really accustomed to having a bed like this.  The smaller ones we've given her previously she considered to be a big chew toy that she dragged around the living room and tried to eat.  We thought if she had a bigger doggy bed, she might not be so prone to dragging it around.

Whenever she lays on it we praise her saying, Good dog!  Lay on your pillow.  Good girl!  She finally started catching on, that this is something for her to sleep on.  Even as I'm writing this, she's konked out on the floor next to the bed.  {eye roll}

But guess who is trying to lay claim for the doggy bed now... Teddy, the cat!  Doesn't Dixie look so forlorn?  Rich captured this shot last night while I was out for the evening.

Nov. 7, Thankful for My Dog

Yes, I really am thankful for my dog. She delights me so. I have always been a dog person and even had a dog when I was a kid. My childhood dog wasn't quite the dream dog, though, because she didn't learn tricks, made messes in the house, and pretty much ran out the front door any moment she had the chance. Not fun!

I'll admit that I had to beg my husband to finally agree to bringing a dog into our home, but the waiting was worth it. I wanted a dog that would fetch a ball and follow me places and snuggle on my lap while watching TV. Dixie has got the fetching down, and she DEFINITELY follows me everywhere (to the point I sometimes have had to ask her to go away). The snuggling is not quite there because she's a busy little Sheltie with things to do and cats to keep in line. But she gives great doggy kisses, and has a sweet Sheltie expression that melts my heart. I adore her!

It's Somebody's Birthday!

Four years ago today, our Sheltie was born, and we picked her up and took her home two months later.  She is the dog I always wanted.

Happy birthday, Dixie!

                           

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And Now My Dog Will Do A Trick

I don't know if any of you dog lovers watched that reality series "Greatest American Dog", but we did and loved it. I hope they bring it back again in a few months. We enjoyed watching the dogs and their owners compete in various tasks and challenges. Those dogs were amazing.

On the finale, one of the judges did a "leave it" command with a Boxer by placing the treat right on his paw, and it intrigued me. Ever since then, we've been practicing "leave it" with Dixie. It's crazy the way she does it. We set the treat in front of her, tell her leave it, and she gets up and walks away, all the while looking at the treat out of the corner of her eye. It seems to be such a great temptation that she feels like she has to walk away from it.

So I tried to capture that on video for you, but with my hand full of treats and the camera on, she was quite distracted and didn't perform exactly as she usually does. Here's what I was able to get out of her, and you'll notice she quickly reverts to her old standby trick of roll over. She may not be the smartest dog, but she is so stinkin cute!

 

Dixie - "Leave It" from Liz on Vimeo.

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On The Prowl

I think at this very moment we have an unwelcomed guest in our home, and I hope we can keep him contained in the loft area.  I guess there's nothing keeping him there because mice are pretty small and can fit into tight places.  He could easily slip under that door.

About half an hour ago, Bailey was sitting at the loft door just looking at it, as if he wanted to go upstairs.  We weren't real sure why, seeing as neither Rich nor I has been up there recently.

Rich headed to bed early, not feeling so well, and I've been here getting ready to blog.  All of a sudden Bailey, Teddy and I hear commotion coming from the other side of the door to the loft, and we start to stare at it intently.  The cats immediately went to the door to see what was afoot.  Of course, I continued to stare intently at the bottom of the door, hoping profusely that nothing squirmy, squealy and furry would make an entrance, as well as to make sure I didn't need to be "afoot"...that is about A FOOT OFF THE FLOOR UP ON A CHAIR WHERE A MOUSE CANNOT GET ME.

I did manage to get some play-by-play video footage of the investigation.  (Sorry about the dark lighting.  It is not a well lit area.)  I'm sure you will find it as spine-chilling and hair-raising as I did.  Take a look....

Uh...okay...gotta go.  I'm hearing more noises.  Yikes!

Wordless Wednesday

I can't get enough pictures of my Dixie dog.  Isn't she a beauty?

2/25/08 - Time For Bed?

2/25/08 - Time For Bed?
Originally uploaded by discoveringliz

Rich went to bed early because he hasn't been feeling well with migraines for days. About 8:30 I noticed Dixie wasn't in the living room with me, and I got a little curious to know where she had gotten to. I sort of had a hunch she might have gone to her crate, so I went and took a look.

There she was! She had put herself to bed without a word spoken from me. She must have had a hard day. She rarely goes to her crate to sleep. She'd much rather lay out in the middle of the cold, hard kitchen floor. Crazy dog...

Aloha Friday

It's been a crazy week here with my bloggy giveaway. My blog was smokin', and I have been busy reading lots and lots of comments! Anyways, I decided I will just take it easy today and play along with An Island Life and Aloha Friday. I ask the question...

If you found out that you were allergic to your pet, would you find a new home for your pet, or would you deal with it and cope with allergy shots and medication?

I ask this question in light of yesterday's post, finding out that my husband is NOT allergic to our cats or dog. I'm just curious what everyone else would do if faced with this difficult circumstance. I guess for us it would depend on how serious the allergy was. Most likely we would've gone the medication route.

So what would you do? Any thoughts?

We Get to Keep Him

Rich has been suffering with a serious sinus infection for over a month. He finally went to see the doctor last week and had x-rays taken as well as blood work. His mucus membrane is swollen and his sinus cavity is packed! He went back today for a follow-up to see what exactly is going on in that sinus cavity of his, and the doctor said he has the worst sinus infection he has seen in a long time. Poor guy. His face hurts from the swelling and congestion.

Since his sinuses are so bad, the doctor decided to have him tested for allergies today because they happen to have an allergist right there at his office. Now we already know he has allergies because he's miserable every summer when he works out in the yard. We just didn't know the specifics.

He found out that he is allergic to everything outdoors... grass, crab grass, weeds, pollen, leaves. He also found out that he is not allergic to...

Teddy

Bailey

or Dixie

And the four of us are happy about that because it would've been really hard to say goodbye to...

HIM!

Luv you, honey! ;)

Merry Christmas, Puppy!

I've got a story to share today. It's sure to break your heart, especially if you love animals. Rich works at a superstore/supermarket, and as he was leaving work this afternoon he witnessed a peculiar thing. He said that because of all the snow we've gotten, there's a big pile that's been plowed over to the side of the store. He watched a car drive up next to the snowpile, a person get out, place a puppy in the snowpile, and drive off. He yelled after the guy, "Hey! What are you doing?!?" Another man and his two children were walking toward the store and also saw what was happening. He called after them, asking what they were doing. He yelled that they didn't want the puppy anymore, and the petstore wouldn't take it back. He cursed at the man then drove off.

Rich went and talked to the concerned father. He told him we already have a dog and couldn't take it in, but he'd be glad to take the puppy to the Humane Society. His kids were like, "Oh Daddy, can't we keep it?" He told Rich there was no need to take it to the shelter. They would take it home with them. He asked where he could find a good vet, and Rich recommended one up the street.

Can I get a collective "Aaaaaaw"? Can you believe this man chose to take that puppy home right then and there? At Christmas? How precious is that?

This poor little puppy was going to be abandoned in a snowbank today, but a very kind man saved him. How could I not share this sweet story?

Merry Christmas, puppy!

Wordless Wednesday

Bailey is our oldest boy. He's 11.

Dixie Put to the Test

Today Dixie and I had a new experience. (By the way, Dixie is my Sheltie...the doggie love of my life!) We went to see my friends, who live a half hour away, to go on their daily walk. We didn't get to walk for long, though, because of all the mosquitoes. Very buggy...yuck! So since my dog wasn't allowed in the house we had two options... 1. Leave Dixie in the garage by herself while we went indoors to talk or 2. Stay in the garage with Dixie and talk there. I wasn't loving option 2. As clean as the garage was, it just wasn't conducive to a "let's catch up" chat. So I decided to attempt option 1.

You have to understand that Dixie is a very clingy girl. She refuses to be left on a tie-out in the backyard unless you remain outside with her. She's a big baby, I know. We take the blame for this because we have always taken her outside on a leash and didn't know this would become an issue. So, if she is left alone outside, her response has always been to bark and bark and bark until someone comes to get her. So I figured option 1 was just not gonna work out.

As I shut the door behind me and went into the house, she seemed preoccupied with new surroundings and was investigating the garage. It is a well-kept and clean garage, so I wasn't concerned about anything she might get into. I would periodically hear her whining quietly at the back door, but she never barked and eventually layed down at the door. There were times I even forgot she was out there.

So Dixie and I passed a very good test today. She endured being treated like a common dog, and I endured the experience of her being treated as a common dog. Now that we're home, I'm back to acknowledging her as the precious, baby girl that she is.