There are better things, I suppose, than saving dogs from boredom, but I suspect Lexi would argue to the contrary.

Lexi’s anxiety has turned out to be nothing but pure boredom, a common ailment in the Labrador Retriever. She may have confidence issues too, but I’m unable to diagnose those because she is constantly with another dog. Both Jazzmin and Jet are very confident, low stress and happy go lucky dogs. I think their condition is highly contagious and Lexi has definitely caught the bug.

Since arriving almost three weeks ago, Lexi has gone from a very quiet, very reserved dog to an annoying, obnoxious, barking pain in the rear. She’s just like every Lab I have ever loved. She is definitely a tomboy. She loves to run in the mud and get filthy. Rolling in the grass is a favorite past time. Chewing on Jet’s head is her primary occupation and, when she’s not doing that, there are walks and games and toys and all kinds of wondrous things but mostly, there is Jet.… [Read More]

Tug

It seems that a little over a month is about right for me to get another dog after losing a best friend. I am still in the weepy, sobbing stage of grief after losing Mugen. I’m still missing him every night when I go to bed and I miss him worse in the mornings because he’s not in my face giving me kisses. I started looking for a third dog for real about two weeks ago. I wasn’t 100% sure that I was ready, but then I met a puppy at a shelter, and while I missed the chance to adopt him, I knew that I was ready to make room for a rescue. I would love to be able to raise another puppy again someday, but that’s not where I’m at right now. I’m too heartbroken. I’ve raised two puppies and I lost both of them far, far too soon.… [Read More]

Welcome Home, Lexi!

Just an FYI for all you dog lover’s out there! As of April 6, 2012 the FDA has issued a recall on Diamond Naturals Lamb and Rice dog food, the ENTIRE flavor has been recalled due to salmonella contamination.

Diamond also makes, Costco’s Kirkland brand, Canidae, Solid Gold, Chicken Soup, Taste of the Wild, Natural Balance, and 4Health. These foods are NOT included in the recall, but if you feed these kibbles, you might want to consider a safer manufacturer that has fewer problems with production of their pet food as Diamond regularly issues ***voluntary*** recalls on its products.

If you must feed these brands, PLEASE KEEP UP TO DATE ON DIAMOND’S VOLUNTARY RECALLS!!!

Also, there are brands of Chicken Jerky that are still on the shelves at Wal-Mart and pet stores across the country that are contaminated with something that is causing dogs to go into kidney failure. It’s such a common problem that I have heard rumors of some dog owner’s vets posting signs at their front desks asking pet owners not to feed these products.… [Read More]

FYI: Pet Food Recall and Dangerous Jerky

Things have slowly fallen into a new routine. It’s easier with two dogs, at least, it should be, but when one of your two dogs is Jet, well, just so you understand my meaning I will tell you that I have been working on this sentence for ten minutes. Jet is bored and wants to play and is continually bringing me toys. Jazzmin got annoyed with him and hid under my desk so now I can’t move my chair without rolling it over one of her delicate little toes and I can see the curly q on Jet’s tail sticking out from behind my reading chair and he’s barking at something behind it, probably a toy.

So I’m thinking that you get the idea.

Life with Jet is actually more complicated without Mugen here to correct his behavior, but I am getting results. He doesn’t bark when we’re at the dinner table anymore, he does bring me toys when he wants to play and he used to just sit and bark at me until I got up and grabbed a toy and I have learned that he is the sort of dog that needs mental engagement in a way that Mugen did not.… [Read More]

Desperate Measures

Every day since Mugen died has been tough. Some mornings, I don’t even know how I get out of bed because I certainly don’t want to. Some days, the only thing I wake up for, is to take care of Jazzmin and Jet, who need me. Other days it’s not as bad. I have my moments where I don’t struggle. I don’t know how people ever feel whole again after something like this and the hardest part for me is that it was an accident. I can’t really blame myself or anyone else and it’s so much easier to be angry and to grieve when you have someone to blame. With Lucy and Reilly, I hit a place of acceptance not long afterwards. I hit a place where I was ready to move on because when I lost them, it was their time to go. It was not Mugen’s time. He was most certainly not called home to God.… [Read More]

A Word on Rat and Mouse Poisons

When I think about Mugen’s life, I realize that I always thought that he was the dog in the background. He was my quiet little patch of puppy wonderfulness and serenity standing in Lucy’s shadow. After Lucy died, I could not have made it through grieving for her without him. He stayed by my side constantly and licked away my tears and then stole my dish towels to make me laugh. I can never express to anyone how special Mugen was. I’m pretty good with words, but Mugen was so much more than just my dog. He was my salvation and while I knew that, I didn’t think that anyone else saw him like I did. Now, when I think back on all the moments with him that I never told anyone about, the private ones, where we are sitting on the living room sofa and he has managed to pack his 70 pound self into my lap with his head on my chest and he sighs just before he starts to snore in my ear, I know how warm and full my heart was and I keenly feel the emptiness that has been left behind.… [Read More]

For the Love of Labradors (and Other Breeds of Dogs Too).

Everything is going to be the thing I did after Mugen died, for a little while.

There’s the cross stitch I made and the coffee I drank.

There’s the song I liked and the game I played.

Then the pictures I took and the life I had.

Mugen is missing from all of them. I planned for him to be here for all of this stuff. I planned to love him until he was an old man and needed help to get up the stairs. I had planned for him to be Jet’s brother until they were old men together.

That is not how things are going to be. Mugen passed away yesterday afternoon. Almost 7 months to the day after we lost Lucy.

I cannot explain how much rage I have inside me right now.

Part of me actually wants to believe that someone poisoned him because it would be easier for me to have someone to hate, but when I go through everything in my mind there’s just no way that happened.… [Read More]

Goodbye, Mr. Puppy Man

I want to write a full blown review on Boneshaker, but I’m not passionate about my thoughts on this book. It was a good read and an enjoyable read. I really loved the setting and the world that Ms. Priest painted in this story, but I neither loved, nor hated this book. The characters were excellent. The writing was excellent, but the plot fell a bit flat for me. It was a little more predictable than I would have liked, but her ability to immerse me in the world and her characters was more than enough to make up for that and keep me turning pages, instead of allowing me to put the book down. I had a lot of fun reading this book.

It could be that I just wasn’t in the mood for this for this sort of fiction and if I go back and re-read this book at another time, I will enjoy it a lot more and I could write a more in depth review at that time.… [Read More]

Mini Book Review: Boneshaker by Cherie Priest

I waited six years for this book to come out. That’s right, six years.

The reviews were just glowing prior to its release and after having read this book, they make me wonder if any of those reviewers have actually read A Game of Thrones, which is far and away a better novel than A Dance with Dragons can ever hope to be. Still, there is hope. I will not blow smoke up someone’s behind over this novel. If you are a fan of the series, you should read it. This is a climactic piece. There are so many storytelling elements that get put into play here that you will find yourself slogging through chapters that you would normally skip, simply because you know there are pieces to the puzzle inside. Overall, this is a good entry into the series, but I am not going to sit here and tell you that it was the best book I’ve ever read, because simply put, it wasn’t.… [Read More]

Book Review: A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin

A friend of mine messaged me on Facebook today and mentioned that she was sad that the new newsfeed settings didn’t allow her to see my posts. She had missed out on seeing all of Jet’s hilarious antics on Facebook because of it. I explained a workaround for that to her and hopefully she will start seeing my posts again soon. She mentioned a funny story about her Dad in her message that made me smile from ear to ear. Her dad passed away earlier this year and it was good to see her relate funny stories about him that I could tell were making her smile too. This is what Christmas is for. It’s about making memories with the people we love so that when the time comes that all we are is a memory, they have some wonderful stories to pass on.

This year has been tough for all of us in its own ways, but I’ve finally come to a place where I have made peace with all of the bad things that happened this year.… [Read More]

My Christmas Wish