Luey, Kada-Joy and Kasidy

Finally able to get a picture of the three of them together since Luey joined the family.  All three of these guys are happy to sit still and be photographed so maybe we'll have some good pictures.  Luey has fit right into the family since his arrival in December.  The girls were very accepting of a new brother.  I think because they missed Kirby, they were happy to have Luey.  I know Russ and I sure were.  You can never replace a pet you've lost but the human heart seems to grow a little more to allow you to love again. 

Dogs Are Great Teachers...

This was written by a vet who was called in to put a family pet (Belker) to sleep since he had terminal cancer.  The family had the vet come to their home and wanted their six year old son, Shane to be present.

The next day, the vet said as Belker's family surrounded him,  Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that he wondered if he understood what was going on. Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away.
The little boy seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty or confusion. They sat together for a while after Belker's Death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives.
Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, ''I know why.''  Startled, they all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned the seasoned vet . He said he had never heard a more comforting explanation and changed the way he tries to live.

The little boy said,''People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life -- like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?'' The Six-year-old continued,
''Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long.''

From our dogs, we learn great lessons.  These we learned from Kirby, as well.

Live simply.
Love generously.
Care deeply.
Speak kindly.
Remember, if a dog was the teacher you would learn things like:
When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.
Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.
Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure Ecstasy.
Take naps.
Stretch before rising.
Run, romp, and play daily.
Thrive on attention and let people touch you.
Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.
On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass.
On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.
When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.
Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.
Be loyal.
Never pretend to be something you're not.
If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.
When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by, and nuzzle them gently.

There comes a time in life, when you walk away from all the drama and people who create it. You surround yourself with people who make you laugh, forget the bad, and focus on the good. So, love the people who treat you right. Think good thoughts for the ones who don't. Life is too short to be anything but happy. Falling down is part of LIFE...Getting back up is LIVING...

Source:  Ultima National Resources, LLC

This did my heart good.  Kirby taught us that these things are important.  He was a great teacher.

We Are Just Going to Be a Two Dog Family...

Thank you to everyone who has sent us posts about dogs that were available for adoption. We have been signed up with adoption agencies in Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Louisiana and Arkansas. We have seen a LOT of cute dogs and every one that we have tried to adopt has already been spoken for. We are no longer looking for a third dog.
During this time since we lost Kirby, we have learned more about Kasidy and Kada-Joy. With Kirby being the dominant dog in our family, these girls have relied on Kirby to tell us when it was time to eat, to open the door to get back in from outside and so many other things. They are now learning how to communicate their needs on their own. It is so much fun to watch. We have always known they were "easy" but it's just amazing how adaptable they really are. It is very obvious to us that God has something else in mind for us right now besides a third dog. Maybe He knows we aren't ready. Maybe it's just so we can "be ready" for something else he has planned. At any rate, when and if the time comes, we will know.

It still hurts to not have Kirby. He was such an integral part of our lives but we also see how blessed we are to have these two precious little girls waiting for us every afternoon.
Thanks again for all of you who have thought of us and sent us information about dogs waiting for homes. We have loved seeing so many cute dogs! As we prepare to go back to school in a few days we are glad these two are going to be taking care of things until we get home!

Kirby Was My National Board for Certified Teachers Dog...

I had never really given much thought to having a dog.  As a child, I had not had one.  Neither had Russ.  Through the years, with our allergies it just didn't seem like a good thing and quite frankly I was a little scared of dogs.  I had been bitten once while selling band calendars while in high school by a little Chihuahua and it hurt like the dickens.  So if a little dog that size could inflict that much pain, you can imagine how scared I was of any dogs larger than your hand.

While we were living and teaching in the Ft. Walton Beach/Destin area we were "empty nesters".  We had lots of pre-school kids between us during the day where we each taught but we had left our college kids in Oxford and did the reverse thing of them staying and us leaving.  Russ and I went to the park one day and saw a little dog that really got me thinking about having a dog.  We asked the owner what breed he was and he told us a schnoode which was  a cross between a miniature poodle and a schnauzer.  I went home and began to research the breed and found they were good for people with allergies.  We seriously began to think about having a dog.  I had been working on my National Board for Certified Teachers for the previous year and which would be turned it in to NBCT in March.   I wouldn't know if I had achieved NBCT status until the following November or December.  The more I saw schnoodes, the more I wanted one and finally asked Russ if I could have one if I passed my NBCT.  Of course, he said "sure".  The more I thought about it, the more I decided that if  I didn't pass, I would probably need the comfort of a fuzzy puppy as much or more.  So, we decided to get a puppy regardless of whether I passed or not.

We researched the best place to get a schnoodle and found Smerglia's in Robertsdale, Alabama not too far from us.  We contacted them, found there would be a litter in January ready to take home in March (during our spring break).  We still were not 100% sure but Sherri invited us to come and just visit one of the litter in March knowing full well that once we laid eyes on them, we would be hooked (and she was right).

She had a litter born to a white schnauzer mama named SugarBaby  and a black poodle daddy named Merlin.  There had been a couple more puppies in the litter than usual so there were two puppies not spoken for.  Both were little white balls of fur;  one was a girl and one a boy.  We didn't have a preference because both would be neutered per Smerglia's agreement not to breed their dogs.  When we got there we met the brother and sister who looked identical.  Solid white balls of fur.  They played and the boy kind of hid in the corner.  Sherri put the girl back into the kennel after a few minutes and the boy barked to try and get her back down on the floor.  We asked Sherri about the differences in temperament of the males and females and she said the girls were usually bossier and would bark at everyone that came to the door, etc.  Males were usually more laid back.  So, we chose the male and named him Kirby.

Now, you will find this extremely humorous especially for those of you who know how my dogs lick on me and how we sleep with them but when we got Kirby we were totally clueless.  We stopped at a store and bought a blanket to put in my lap in case he peed in my lap while I held him.  I was a nervous wreck.  We stopped and bought him a collar and leash.  The collar was about the size of a bracelet because he only weighed 5 pounds.  We stopped to get a sandwich so he could stay with us outside and so while we ate he sat beside us on his little leash.  We had bought a kennel for him and a little stuffed bear that Russ took out the stuffing and put in a small clock so he could hear the ticking similar to his mother's heartbeat.  He went right to sleep and I had my meltdown.  I looked at that tiny little dog and realized I knew absolutely nothing about taking care of a dog.  I panicked and I begged Russ to take him back the next morning.  I wasn't good at keeping house plants alive and the thought of an animal just freaked me out.  Somehow Russ convinced me that he knew enough about how to take care of a dog that Kirby would be fine and I reluctantly went to sleep.  Now, this is how much we knew at the time.  We left Kirby in the laundry room in his kennel and went to sleep in our bedroom at the opposite end of the house.  He did fine and actually liked the kennel for a while.  Until the first Florida thunderstorm.  We heard sounds we had never heard before and realized he was scared.  So, we moved the kennel into our bedroom temporarily because we certainly didn't want him to get used to sleeping in the bedroom with us!  I'm laughing right along with you all.  I'm not sure how long it took us to realize that if we were going to get any sleep he was going to have to sleep in the bed with us.  But we were the people that said "who on earth would let a dog sleep in their bed?"   We were learning.  Kirby was teaching us.  Even more importantly at one point we realized that we wanted Kirby to sleep with us probably more than he wanted to.  It just all evolved and one morning we woke up and realized that we had become dog people.  Serious dog people.  Dog kisses were valued and we began to notice that when the dog went to sleep, no one moved.  Furthermore, the bed space was being reallocated to the comfort of the white fuzzy dog.

When Kirby was a puppy, he loved playing so much that he would go without eating.  We finally learned that in order to get him to eat, one of us had to pretend to be a dog too.  Thank goodness there are no videos of me down on my all fours pretending to eat to show Kirby he needed to do it, too.  Or, us in the puppy play position.  I know Kirby was having a good time training us!

Then one day, two years later we realized that we wanted a second dog for a companion for Kirby.  We were indeed hooked and exhausted from being his puppy companions.  If someone had told us that getting two puppies at once would have been easier we would have never believed it but we know that now.  At this point in our lives, we were still so new at pet parenting that we were afraid to venture into adopting a dog because we could barely handle the ones who came to us as puppies with no previous abuse or neglect.  So, the plans began to add a little, brown female schnoodle to our family.

My NBCT dog, Kirby was a faithful companion who as most of you know passed away this July.  I  completed my recertification for my 10 year NBCT and will learn if I achieved recertification in November.  Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that my NBCT dog Kirby wouldn't be with me when I received the news.  Of course, in my heart he will always be with me.

If Love Could Have Saved You...

Really no other words necessary.  This says it all, doesn't it?  There are people who just get dogs and seldom have any contact with them and then there are people who fall in love with a pet.  Most of the people reading this post fall into the last category and know what I mean when I say our hearts are broken.  Our hearts with time will get better but they will never be the same and for that, we are thankful.

Our Kirby was a one of a kind.  He was Alpha and he was high maintenance.  He told us when it was time to go to bed and when to get up.  He barked and flipped his bowl when he wanted food in the bowl AND in Kasidy's bowl.  It wasn't necessarily that he wanted to eat...he just wanted the bowls filled at particular times.  He barked when he wanted to go out and he pushed the door open when he was ready to come in.  He barked when Kasidy wanted to go out and when she wanted to come in.  She just tapped on the door but wouldn't push the door.  He looked out for her.

He had special places throughout the house.  He made a "cave" in the bottom of one of the closets and sometimes slept in there.  He slept on the beds with us and often preferred the cold hardwood.  He had a special chair in our bedroom and one in the den.  And he loved to be under the beds with just his nose sticking out or his back rear feet.  He felt he was invisible, of course.  We would say where on earth is Kirby and he'd hide and then pop out.  He ran like the wind from the den, down the hall to the bedroom chair that he hopped up in and a split second later was down running down the hall to the den to grab his stuffed frog and take off to begin the "schnoodle 500 again".

He was fast as the wind and loved for us to cheer him on with "GO KIRBY GO"---"Wow, LOOK AT THAT BOY GO". There is not a room in the house that doesn't have special reminders of things Kirby liked to do or places he made his own.  When we move furniture, we will probably still find raw hide bones he's hidden even though we haven't used them in a couple of years.  I still cannot believe he is gone.  It hurts with ever fiber of my body.  There are some things in this world that are just irreplaceable and he is one of them.  We have two other dogs that we love dearly and one day will probably have a third but there is no doubt that there will never be another dog like Kirby.  He was a one of a kind treasure that we were blessed to have in our lives.  Good job, Kirby.  You were the best buddy ever!

Bringing Kirby's Cremains Home...

Today was the one week anniversary of Kirby's death and the day we were able to bring his cremains home.  It wasn't nearly as emotional as we had been afraid it might be.  It was comforting to bring him home.  While we were in Oxford, we went to Hollywood Feed and bought the girls new collars.

About two weeks before Kirby passed away, we had bought new matching Lupine collars and tags for the three in the blue sea glass pattern.

After we lost Kirby every time I looked at the girls in their collars, it just reminded me that there had been three and now it was yet another sad reminder of losing Kirby.  We're going to put his in a shadowbox with a picture of him and give the other two away.

Now the girls have new bright pink lupine collars in the Puppy Love Pattern.  It's just a psychological thing that was sort of a step toward acceptance of just having the two girls now.  They look so cute in their hot pink collars.  They weren't in the mood to pose.  LOL

I was not even aware of the number of things that we depended on Kirby for.  It's a wonder the girls aren't starving because he always barked for us to fill the bowls up.  The girls don't.  Although Kasidy is developing ways of telling us when she's hungry.  It's a learning process for us all.  Russ and I really miss him. I know the girls do too.  We do cry but we also smile because we had Kirby in our lives for almost ten years.  We enjoyed the time so we wouldn't have regrets.  He was so much the center of our family and brought so much laughter to our home.  He was a playful, energetic dog who never grew out of puppydom.  Yet, he could switch to being sensitive and comforting the minute he saw me cry.  Dogs are such blessings from God.  I love this Dr. Seuss quote and it is what I'm trying to live by while we come to grips with the loss of  Kirby who was like a member of our family.

Wasn't Meant To Be...

Found this sweet boy on PetFinder.com who was rescued from a kill center during the July 4th holiday (when Kirby passed away). His name is Keemo which even begins with a "K" which is important in our family.  We thought Kosmo would sound enough like Keemo to not be confusing and better than sounding like chemo.  He is in Nashville which was doable. The size we wanted and a poodle mix ---two years old. Prayed that if God wanted us to add a third dog back in the mix, things would work out. They asked when we could pick him up in the application and we said tomorrow or Friday. The agency said he was still available so we were thrilled. We had to send pictures of us and our other dogs, three character references, our vet as a reference, our groomer as a reference--- our plans for what would happen to him if something happened to us. Very detailed which we were impressed with but I have after all adopted a special needs CHILD before so I kind of thought I had this. LOL

Well, as we sat down to prayer meeting tonight, we received an email back saying there was someone before us who was looking at the dog AND that they wanted to place him with a family who both parents didn't work. We were very disappointed but I have to believe that God has something in mind for us that is far greater than what we have in mind and isn't that awesome?
We pick up Kirby's remains in the morning in Oxford exactly a week from when we said good-bye to him. I hope it helps bring closure. I've kind of been dreading it but at the same time I want to bring him home. We would appreciate your prayers for our strength and understanding that this is a part of the cycle of life that God has given us.