Wordless Wednesday - Grass is Greener

Memorial Redux

I don’t think it’s any secret that my heart was completely shattered when I lost my heart dog Girly Girl.  I’m always moaning in this blog about how much I miss her and how I still think of her all the time almost 5 years after she passed.  A once in a lifetime dog is just that.  And some people are lucky to realize they had a heart dog years down the line after they’ve compared that relationship to all the subsequent ones.  But some of us are unlucky/lucky enough to know it the second you meet that hound.  When you know what you had, and what you’ve lost one can’t help being a little bitter at times.

We have reminders of Girly Girl all over the house.  A portrait of her that Grammy commissioned the Christmas after she left us, a quilt square with a photo of her made by a greyhound friend and sent out of the blue like a little package of sunshine.  We have photos of GG all over.  And a cast of her paw print.  I have a mug made with her paw print that always sits on the window ledge in my kitchen.  There will be no drinking from that cup.  And we have the memorial that the folks who cremated her gave us when we went to pick up her ashes.

So you’d think we wouldn’t need anything else.  But one day, while reading Hazel’s blog (Class A Greyhounds-RVing with the Big Dogs) we came across an entry called Memorial.  Hazel had recently lost her hound Fleur and she had discovered and ordered a beautiful ornament with an angel greyhound with Fleur’s name underneath it. 

I knew that I had to have one for Girly Girl but Hazel hadn’t posted where she found it at the time I read the entry.  Being a pretty good Google detective, I was able to track down where the ornament had come from.  A lovely lady named Therese makes them.  She has a Café Press store called Heisman’sGreyhound Art. 

Therese has been creating these little works of art for some time.  She shared that she had lost her heart dog back in 2007 and has lost 7 out of 9 greyhounds that have shared her life since 2000.  It’s very safe to say she gets people like me. 

I sent Therese the names I wanted on my ornaments (one for Girly Girl and one for Fox whom we had just lost).  She soon sent me links to the Café Press pages where I could view and order the ornaments.  For such a lovely keepsake, they are ridiculously inexpensive at $6.99.   I placed my order and shortly they arrived in my mailbox.

I couldn’t have been happier with them.  I can’t decide whether I will hang Girly Girls somewhere in the house so I can see it every day or if I will put it on my dog themed Christmas tree.  If you have lost a hound (or more than one) this is a lovely way to memorialize them.  Therese is a kind lady who would be glad to make you one of your own. 

(I received no remuneration for this blog post.  I ordered my ornaments after seeing one on Hazel’s website.  I get nothing if any of you decide to order from Therese.  I just found these ornaments beautiful and wanted to share in case any of you feel the same way I did when I saw it.  I did get Therese’s permission to write this post.)

Brusha, Brusha Brusha, Each and Every Day

Blue was scheduled for a dental recently.  I typically don't get too worked up about them, but Blue is 11 years old and I had hoped he wouldn't have to go under anesthesia again.  I know in my head that anesthesia is much safer than it used to be and that he was going to be in great hands with our vet, Dr. Amy.  But somehow your heart and your gut never gets the message from your head.  

6:45 Get up, brush teeth, brush hair, let the kids out to potty.

7:15 Take Blue and head to Topsham Veterinary Wellness Center.

7:35 Post to Facebook from Dr. Amy’s parking lot that we’re there and Blue’s adventure has begun.

7:37 Discover one of our Facebook friends (Nova Beaudry) is also going in for a dental today.  Begin a discussion on how nervous we both are.

Dr. Amy checks on Blue and his fellow patient in the recovery area.

7:45 Leave Blue with Dr. Amy to have his teeth cleaned.  We went through all the scary questions.  What do we do if he has complications?  Do you want us to save him? Etc.  When your hound is 11 years old, those questions take on a whole new meaning.

8:15  Start haunting Facebook for updates on the Topsham Veterinary Wellness Center page.  I know that they generally don’t have a lot of time during the day to post.  But I do it anyway.  It makes me feel a little better.

9:30 Bettina seems to be moping around without her big brother here.  Or maybe that’s just me projecting.

9:45 Decide to help pass the time by stress eating.  There goes a half a bag of Blue Diamond almonds (toasted coconut flavor-super yummy).

9:53 Talk with Nova’s Mum on Facebook regarding how much we miss our kids.

10:00 I look at the clock for the millionth time.  Blue was the first one to go into “surgery” today.  There’s a good possibility that he’s now knocked out and having his teeth cleaned.

10:30  Check TVWC Facebook page again. 

This picture actually makes him look better than he did.

10:39  Can stand it no longer.  We post to the TVWC page.

10:56  Wondering if Blue’s procedure is done at this point.  Taking no news as good news approach.  Check the TVWC Facebook page again, just in case they posted something.

11:24  Check the TVWC Facebook page again. 

11:30  Refresh the TVWC Facebook page just in case I was missing something.  I wasn’t.  Dr. Amy told me I could call to check on Blue after noon.  That seems like forever away.

12:04 Check the TVWC Facebook page again.  Surprise, no new posts.  Decide it’s now “after” noon so I am going to call and check in.

12:10  Spoke with Dr. Amy.  They are done with his dental and he is just now waking up.  Katie is cuddling with him as he does so and they have him all covered with heating pads to make sure he is warm.  Dr. Amy said that Blue’s mouth was “a mess” which doesn’t surprise me given how bad his breath smelled.  He lost 9 teeth in total which were extracted.  I think, once he heals up and flushes the anesthesia out of his system, he’s going to feel much better.  I am relieved that he is done and that everything went well.  Now I just have to wait until 4:15 when I can pick him up!

12:14 Post a thank you on Facebook to Dr. Amy and her staff for taking good care of Blue and making sure he had a friendly presence at his side when he came out of anesthesia. 

12:19 Sent a tweet out with the good news.  Took a deep breath.

12:40 Missed Blue during lunch.  Especially when I dressed up Bettina and sent her out for her

This is the 3rd time I've ever seen Blue sit in all the time he's been
with me.  And it's the only time he was slow/stoned enough that I could
catch it on camera.

break.  I broke a Stella & Chewy’s treat in half and only used one of the halves.

12:45 Facebook chatted with Auntie Drena to update her on Blue’s status.

2:19 Checked the clock to see if it’s time to go get Big Poppy yet.  It’s forever until 4:15.

3:27 Getting to 3:45 is killing me.  Hate being 2/3 of a whole.

3:45 Head to Dr. Amy’s office to pick up Blue!

3:48 Get stuck behind a farm tractor with no clear way to pass.

3:53 Finally hit a straight way so I can pass said tractor.  What is a tractor doing out in the depths of winter anyhow?

4:15 Arrive at Dr. Amy’s office.  I can hear Blue crying as soon as I hit the door.  When I get to the window I can see him, stoned out of his mind, in one of their recovery crates.  

4:20p I get the full rundown on the procedure.  Blue has lost 9 teeth and he’s going to be pretty sore because one of the teeth put up quite a fight.  I get antibiotics and pain meds for Blue.  I have a small stroke when it comes time to pay the bill.

4:25p They bring Blue out to me.  He’s walking like a drunk, he’s whining, he’s got a pressure bandage on his right front leg where his IV was placed, he’s got drool and blood all around his mouth and he looks like hell but one thing he’s pretty clear about is that he wants to get out of that building.

5:06p  Make it home with our patient and breathe another sigh of relief.  We’re all together again and everyone is fine.