All Dogs go to Heaven
There are not enough goodbyes.
There are no words.
The dedication for When You Least Expect It.
Tag Archives: mutt
FOTO PHRIDAY: Fall Puppy
This picture was taken three years ago, but it seemed like the perfect picture to usher in fall.
My beautiful puppy, the color of fallen autumn leaves.
FUN FACT: Her name at the Lenawee Humane Society was Sunny when we adopted her. It lasted all of 60 seconds. She is a “Dave,” through and through.
Have a great weekend everyone. I will be enjoying it at the Otsego Creative Arts Festival. Please come out and see me and enjoy some great family fun. For more info, click here: https://imnotstalkingyou.com/events/
Follow the romantic entanglements of The Riley Sisters in my books:
Be Careful What You Wish For – AVAILABLE NOW!
When You Least Expect It – THE CONTINUING ROMANCE!
The Wind Could Blow a Bug – WHERE IT ALL BEGAN!
Foto Phriday
I haven’t done one of these in a long time. I didn’t have much to download here this week, but then luckily my dog did something cute.
My furry daughter Dave leads a challenging life. She wants to lay between the three outside doors on the first floor, so that she can protect us from every direction. But, well, there is the issue of my son and most of the Island Of Sodor in her way.
What is a girl to do?
She simply lays down in the middle of it, complete with her lip resting on a homemade buffer. She gets a nap and achieves maximum cuteness at the same time.
Note the buffer at the end of the line, and the furry lip that rests atop it.
Want details on my buffer-building adventures? Check out these links.
What I Learned This Week – 8/9/15
Extra points if you can spot the Barfey in the picture. (Don’t worry, that is a spare. The originals hang out on a very high shelf out of reach of the child.)
Follow the romantic entanglements of The Riley Sisters in my books:
Be Careful What You Wish For – AVAILABLE NOW!
When You Least Expect It – THE CONTINUING ROMANCE!
The Wind Could Blow a Bug – WHERE IT ALL BEGAN!
Dave Finds Her Howl
Dedicated to my favorite puppy, Dave D. Canine, who we brought home exactly 9 years ago today.
Dave during her first few days with us (Don’t worry, we totally fattened her up.)
Dave was a sad little puppy
Sitting in a cage at the shelter all alone.
More than anything,
She wanted a forever home.
A place that smelled like
Human food & fresh laundry.
A place with something soft to lie on
And people who loved her.
“If I were to find a home like that,
I may just explode with happiness,” Dave thought.
Then a man & woman came by.
The woman was very interested in Dave.
Dave wanted to play with them,
But she wanted to look out the window too.
Dave was put back in her cage
Just like always.
But then a strange thing happened.
The man & woman came back.
And they loaded Dave into their car!
Dave loved to ride in cars.
“But where are we going?” Dave wondered.
They took her to a big backyard
Where she sniffed around,
Her orange fluffy tail in the air
And her orange head to the ground.
Then they led her into a building.
The shelter had burned her nose,
Smelling of ammonia & bleach.
But this place smelled. . .homey.
Dave sniffed all over the house
It didn’t seem like any other dogs were here.
She even found some stairs
And climbed up, without any fear.
But there was a problem.
“How will I get back down again?”
No one had ever taught Dave
How to get down the stairs.
She stood there pondering for several long minutes.
Maybe, if I go slow
Putting one paw in front of the other. . .
And next thing you know,
She was downstairs again!
Over the next few weeks,
Dave learned that she loved the stairs!
She could chase a ball up them
And race back down again.
She learned that the man was called Jason
And the woman was called Jennifer.
They would brush Dave & take her for walks.
One night they even all laid
on the thick carpet floor together to nap.
Dave hadn’t been this happy
Since she had been in her puppy pack.
Why, maybe this was some kind of new pack
She could be a part of.
Dave was so happy, she couldn’t contain it.
She felt all her love & all her happiness building inside.
It rose from her tummy & went to her head.
She threw back her neck & opened her mouth,
And “HOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWLLLLLL” is just what came out.
Jason & Jennifer looked stunned,
“Was that a howl of anger,
Or a howl of happiness?” they asked each other.
But they soon learned it was happiness,
When Dave smiled & howled again.
Dave found her howl that day,
And her forever home too.
THE END
(from the author of Hogwart Discovers Christmas)
Ferocious attack animal! (Must rub belly to pass)
Sleeps With Stuffed Animals
I sleep with a stuffed animal.
Every night.
There. I said it. And I am not ashamed. Although you probably think less of me now.
Old Barfey in the foreground
Growing up, I always slept with stuffed animals. As I grew up, I consistently slept with Old Barfey every night. (For more on Barfey, click here.) Old Barfey was the right size to wrap my arms around and his ground nutshells provided the perfect amount of weight to prevent him from bouncing out of bed in the night. I loved his aged nappy fur. Touching it gave me a sense of security.
As I got older, I feared I would lose Barfey’s nose one night in a freak boating accident. (I kill me.) So, I admit, I took other stuffed animals into my bed. (Is that considered sleeping around? Does that make me a plush slut?) It was hard to find one that was the right size and softness. A stuffy whose quality was good enough that fur wouldn’t fall out instantly. I found that generic animals usually won out over licensed characters. And cuteness in the daytime did not always equal comfort in the night.
I moved out and got my own apartment. Did I still need a stuffed animal to sleep with? Hells ya! It was lonely and creepy in my apartment all alone at night.
Then my boyfriend (now-husband) moved in. It wasn’t so lonely then. But he didn’t find the both of us sleeping in my twin bed comfortable, so for several years we would take turns, one sleeping on the couch and one sleeping in the twin bed. No boyfriend to cuddle = I still needed a stuffed animal.
We bought a Queen size bed. (My boyfriend said we should have gotten a King. There is no way that would have fit in my apartment. We could barely walk around the Queen size.) Guess what? It turns out my boyfriend was not a cuddler. And I usually went to bed before him anyway. So, I still had a stuffed animal.
I tried on and off for a period of time to go to sleep without a stuffed animal. I could. But it took a lot longer to fall asleep and I didn’t sleep as well. I tend to have panic attacks as I am trying to fall asleep. A lack of stuffed animal seemed to make them markedly worse.
Dave sleeping with a borrowed friend
We moved into our house in 2004 and got a dog. Finally, I thought, I can snuggle with my canine. Dave is furry and orange and beautiful. But my husband instituted a “no dog on the bed” rule. Which stayed in place about 15 months, until my husband got a dog of his own. Two dogs, guess which one sleeps on the bed most nights–my husband’s dog, Parker. He is all legs and he snores. Although I must say, he comes in handy come wintertime. Parker is a short-hair Pointer, so he shares his heat better than Dave, who is a fluffy Lab-Chow mix. She keeps her heat to herself.
Parker Pointer
But even with a snoring Pointer next to me, I find that I still sleep better with a stuffed animal in my arms. My current favorites are larger than I would have chosen as a kid. There are two Build-A-Bears, a Stitch, A Ty Panda Bear (Beckett, created exclusively for Borders), and Max, from the Grinch Who Stole Christmas. My asbestos friend bought me Max while I was in the hospital having my son. I had told her I needed a stuffy to sleep with while I was there. He didn’t help that much. I really didn’t get much sleep while in the hospital anyway.
Current Selection: Adult-Sized
So, there. I have admitted that I am a grown woman who sleeps with stuffed animals. What is there to be ashamed of? So I find comfort in a pile of fur and plastic pellets? A bundle of plush and polyester fiberfill? Isn’t that better than resorting to sleeping pills or alcohol? Isn’t it better than being the crazy cat lady and having a house that smells like ammonia?
Everyone, find a stuffed animal that meets your particular needs and snuggle up with it tonight and see if you don’t sleep better. Plus, you could have fun going to Build-A-Bear! But make sure you take a small child with you, for cover:)
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