We had a fun weekend in the Cities visiting with family, swimming in the pool, going to the zoo, a trip to GoodWill (Haha) and MAYBE made a trip to Ikea which is someplace I've never been. But this is a post for another time.
We got home earlier than planned because of an eventful, sleepless night at the hotel. We skipped a few things we had planned because the kids lost at least 1 1/2 hours of sleep in the middle of the night. Again, a story for another time. We saw the dogs when we drove in. They were both laying in one of their "sunning" spots in the yard. I remember making a comment on how they didn't bark, didn't jump up to come great us. But then forgot it as it was time to get 3 very tired kids out of the truck and down for nap. We were sitting at the dinning room table and Ben, who was facing the large window looking out at the spot where the dogs had been sunning themselves, asked if Brown Dog had come up to me today. I remember Kasey (our large collie puppy) being around but wasn't completely concerned that he hadn't greeted us. He is getting old and has been getting obviously slower. But Ben said he was trying to get up but couldn't. Brown Dog's back end wasn't working. We got him into the garage where it was dry and warm, got him some water and food, basically made him comfortable for the night. The kids and I took him to the vets right away this morning. Long story short, Brown Dog was put down this morning. I KNEW this was going to be the outcome. I still cried when the vet said it was the best option. This is the hardest part of loving a pet. Brown Dog (aka Timber) Has been with us around 10 years. He is our farm dog, I often refer to him as our "Critter gitter." We rarely have a problem with vermin with him around. Skunks, raccoons, stray cats, etc don't stand a chance. I've watched him tear apart a wood pile to get a skunk hiding inside. I've seen him grab a skunk by the scruff of the neck and shake it till it was no longer moving. He has gotten a badger before. He's been in scraps with coyotes he has even been shot. We even had a neighbor "borrow" him once because he had a raccoon in his shed he wanted to get rid of. For those of you who know him, he is, I mean was, an intimidating looking dog. Boxy face, very muscular frame. But he had a big heart and loved kids. He was a gentle sole in a scarry looking body, which looked even scarier when he barked. Ok so there are exceptions, if you were creepy and obviously no good, OR the person who drives the FEDEX truck, ( but then again there is no saying he doesn't fall into the creepy and obviously no good category), then he wouldn't let you out of your vehicle. And I was completely ok with this. Brown Dog has been my safe keeper for so long. When I'm home alone I've always felt safe because brown dog would bark. I always knew if it was someone he knows or a stranger by his bark. And if he didn't know you and you gave off a wrong vibe, he didn't let you out of your vehicle. There was one time there were "painters" driving around looking for "painting jobs" Brown dog was not happy with them being in the yard. Hair stood on end the whole time. They asked (from inside their truck) if "the dog bites" I just replied, he doesn't bite just anybody but he doesn't seem to like you. I sent them packing. After they left I heard that there were things going missing from rural places in the area, and dogs going missing. I trusted his judgment. The kids know we left him at the vets, but they don't understand that he was put down. I know I'll have to tell them but I'm going to wait till ben gets home tonight. I'm not sure I can do it without crying. This is the first pet in my adult life that I've had to have put down. Ben's black lab disappeared, we are pretty sure he knew he was dying and went off somewhere to go in peace. Brown dog and black dog are now together again.
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To say last weeks weather was, although a bit wet and muddy, wonderful would be an understatement. We loved it so much! I opened a few of the windows to get a bit of fresh air in the house. (One of the perks of having wood heat) We spent SO MUCH time outside. It was great, no bundling up like Eskimos. We dug out the water boots even. We had almost no snow yesterday. Just the large piles from pushing snow and some in the ditches. And then last night happened. BAM 5 inches of snow. There are bare spots in our yard because the wind swept them clean and about 1 foot of snow in front of the garage doors. I think we are going to wait this out and not bother plowing again. It's March, the weather is going to change ;-) So, today we dug out the snow pants, hats, mittens and snow boots again. We made the most of the fresh snow. For winter weather it was a great day! This weather, where the air temperature is freezing but the sun's warmth thaws the snow on the roofs creating every child's winter dream, ICICLES! Yup, I'm the mom who breaks the icicles down for my children to ingest. I completely ignore any scare tactics people tell you on WHY they shouldn't eat these glorious frozen crystals. Seriously we all know we ate them as kids. We didn't die. |
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