My blog for today

Gidget barks a lot. Two weeks ago a neighbor's house was broken into so we've decided to let Gidget bark most of the time. People need to know that Gidget Linn-Gust means business. But the barking doesn't seem to wear her out as much as it does us. Go figure.

Rebonding with Gidget

When we let Gidget start sleeping outside her crate at night, she instantly gravitated to spending the night in bed with me. Unfortunately, this made Hattie mad (the dog who had been sleeping with me for some time) and she stopped sleeping with me. But after all my travel that culminated in multiple back-to-back trips in September, Gidget no longer wanted to sleep with me. Instead, I would find her wandering the house, like Chaco, at night, or her leftover fur would give away which piece of furniture she had been sleeping on. Yesterday the dog guardian (mom, whatever your choice is to call a person who takes in a dog like a human) of a dog named Joey, the Richmond, Virginia, SPCA mascot, knew it was time to euthanize Joey after almost 13 years of life. He had had cancer before but his body was failing him. I don't personally know Joey or his mom. He (she) friended me to his account on Facebook probably because we know some mutual people in Virginia. But seeing that Joey was going to transition this morning, took me right back to Daisy and the anniversary of her death just two weeks away. I couldn't help but let the tears fall. I wanted to hug my dogs and let them know I loved them. Nestle was okay at first but she ran away. Hattie and Chaco already were long gone. But Gidget stayed there with me and let me hug her to my heart's content. I don't know what goes on in Gidget's head, but in the past week or so she has been the most loving of a dog that she's been since we got her almost a year ago. It might be coincidence with her age development. Or it might be that she knows intuitively about Daisy's anniversary. Whatever it is, last night she slept with me.

Gidget turns a year old

Gidget turned a year old yesterday. It's hard to believe that the twenty-some pound puppy we brought home at the end of December is now full-grown dog sitting between Joe and I on the couch tonight. I haven't weighed her recently and she still looks very young- thin and svelte– but she's definitely somewhere over 60 pounds. Her tail is barely off the ground but most of the time it's thumping a wall anyway. It's interesting to watch her behavior develop as she does. Seems like we make one step forward and two back. But it's also hard to believe that a year ago this time we were sadly watching Daisy fight her cancer. Her diagnosis came at the end of August and I remember Labor Day weekend because Joe was in Houston and Daisy had just had her biopsy and it was freaking me out that it wouldn't stop bleeding. We had no idea that that was minor compared to what was ahead. I can look behind me and the painting of Daisy is looking over all of us from the stairwell. I know that in some way she's with us and that she made sure Gidget came to us, but I admit I miss her. Each one of the dogs brings something unique to our household and to our relationships with them. And sometimes we don't realize it until it's too late. With Gidget, as much as she drives me up a wall running around and barking at things that aren't there, I remember to savor my time with her as I didn't understand to do with Daisy until it was too late. I better go do a little bonding with my dog. Daisy is looking over me and making sure that I do!

Summer Photos

Gidget the Un-German Shepherd

Gidget has made some huge strides in the last week– she's now getting in the pool by herself, swimming laps, and catching a ball in the pool. We took some video Friday which includes Hattie getting pushed in the pool (heehee! I admit, I was the culprit...).

Life with Gidget at 10 1/2 months

I was on the phone recently with someone I work in the same field with and Gidget let out a bark. He remarked about my having a conversation with my dog and I said that was my 10-month-old puppy. He said, "That's no puppy!" to which I then told him she also was at the other end of the house barking at the garbage truck. That about sums up life with Gidget. She might only be 10 months old but she definitely has taken the world by storm. I'm not sure how it will go on Thursday morning when I attempt to take Gidget with Nestle to the vet for Nestle's follow-up appointment for her ear infection. Gidget needs her nails trimmed and hasn't been weighed in some months. I'm sure I'll be shocked when the scale reads more than 60 pounds. She continues to get taller and longer although her tail hasn't dragged on the ground recently. As I write this, Chaco is outside the shut back door eating his food (so the others can't get to it) while Gidget and Nestle stare at him. The door (which is mostly glass) is filled with Gidget's muddy paw prints from when she tried to get into the house and I made her stay out because not only had she gone in the pool, she then traipsed through the dirt. She likes to drink from the pool but only after she gets on the top step and then plays with the water. Honestly, I think I like her best when she snoozing because she at least looks innocent and isn't capable at that moment of ruining the floor I've just vacuumed. I can hear her playing with her ball behind me in the dining room. She is more the Labrador (ie, Nestle) than German Shepherd, wanting to play fetch for a good portion of the day. but when I see photos on Facebook of the many dogs who are euthanized because of well, stupid people, and overcrowded shelters who can't take care of them, I can let go of the muddy paws. I'd let them all in my house with their muddy paws if it meant they could have a chance at life.

Daisy's Birthday

I admit that I have been procrastinating and not blogging here. I hope in the next two weeks I can get caught up. June 18 would have been Daisy's 6th birthday. It's still hard to believe she's not here with us in the same way now. On the fireplace mantle, I have her photo, her collar, and her ashes on one end. I was standing at them yesterday and feeling a little sad. Nestle came in the room first, followed by Gidget, and then came Hattie. They all wanted me to pet them which became very difficult since I only have two arms. Hattie kept trying to get under my arm. Having had Gidget now for seven months (who is what I call a rambunctious terror) has made me see how Daisy's life was a struggle from the beginning. She never had the energy that Gidget has. Outside of Gidget's stomach issues that she seems to have grown out of, Gidget doesn't have the illnesses Daisy had. Still, I miss her. She was part of our family (and still is). I know her time was limited with us and she had to move on but she was what I call "one of the original four." And I do know that if she weren't here, we wouldn't have Gidget who appears to bound for a long, happy life (fingers crossed). Death teaches us lessons that we don't always understand from where we are currently standing but I believe that one day, here or beyond, everything will make sense.

Bunk Bed

Easter, Linn-Gust style

The plan had been to post these on Easter but thanks to a laptop that decided not to cooperate, it's Thursday and I'm catching up. My sister Karen bought the rabbit ears for Hattie who absolutely hates them. This year she was napping with Joe on Easter afternoon and the other three dogs followed me outside so I decided since Gidget isn't much bigger than Hattie, well, why not let Gidget wear them? Then I was having a problem getting Gidget to pose so I thought I would put them on Nestle. And then I put them back on Gidget. I finally had Chaco wear them as well. You can see the fun we had in the photos.

Gidget snoozes under Daisy's watchful eye

Spring arrives as the Linn-Gust house

Despite the snow that is currently falling outside the window the pool is being opened tomorrow. Gidget has had 2 1/2 months to play on the winter pool cover and tomorrow we find out how much she likes water. She likes to walk toward the middle of the pool and create puddles to drink out of (and sit in). Our past experience has been that the dogs are afraid of the pool when they first are introduced to it but we'll find out for sure tomorrow. For the most part, the others have been easy– not getting in when we're in the house, etc. But Gidget might need a little more disciplining especially as I had food poisoning Thursday/Friday and she didn't get her walk. Instead she spent the day (as I lay on the couch) wreaking havoc with toilet paper and anything she could find in my shower. She managed to drag several items across the master bedroom. Right now she's outside chasing herself around the backyard in the mud.

Gidget gets spayed...a few new photos

I have been up to my eyeballs finishing my new book, Rocky Roads: The Journeys of Families through Suicide Grief. Now that it's out to the readers, I feel like I an get my head above water again. Gidget gave me many breaks since we are housebreaking her. This morning she was spayed and the tech shared with me her vitals from the monitor. He said they were some of the best he'd ever seen. That's my girl!

A Growing Girl

Gidget continues to develop. Her ear isn't flopping anymore and they seem to be growing themselves as well as her tail. She's almost as tall as Hattie, too. It's like she's not a baby anymore but how quickly the 2 1/2 weeks have gone. She is slowly learning manners and I think I've finally broken her of grabbing my pants and pulling (the worst was when I had workout pants on for a walk and she managed to pull my pants down!).

Settling in

It's been another week and I still can't believe that Gidget has just been with us about 1 1/2 weeks. She started going for walks last week with Nestle although Gidget's idea is to try and grab Nestle's leash so she can chew on it. She also is getting a second walk in the afternoon which is helping to wear her out– she's usually asleep by 7 pm! Last night she was up for a short time after plus a few bathroom breaks made mandatory by me but she is going to sleep easily and staying asleep until I get up at 5:30. She has not used the house as her bathroom in almost 72 hours. Yahoo! And she is playing a lot with the others, particularly Hattie. Gidget likes going outside during the day and finding out what Chaco is doing (he's been spending a lot of time in the sun out there) and then sometimes Hattie will follow and Gidget will chase Hattie all over the yard. Everyone on our walks keeps saying how cute she is but she would rather bark at people than let them talk to her. She loves going up the stairs and it's been interesting watching her develop. I don't remember this about Hattie. The best I can figure is that we have so little recollection of Hattie's puppyhood because she was sick. Right now Gidget is sleeping next to a bone.

Happy 9th birthday, Chaco!

It's hard to believe that Chaco came to live with us seven years ago today. I'm still in awe that for seven years I've been running around the park around my house because that means I've also aged seven years and that doesn't seem possible! But Chaco moving in was the start of a new journey for me, that or learning about the human-animal companion bond. It's obviously changed my life in many ways. And, as I write this, Gidget is snoozing on the floor in front of me after an hour of scampering around the house and chewing on a bone. She represents the start of a new journey in our house as well as we continue to transition our bond with Daisy to a much different one now that she has "passed on" to another life and help Gidget grow into an adult German Shepherd and work to keep her holistically healthy so that she may not live the short life that Daisy did. And it all began seven years ago when a quiet chow mix came peeking around the corner at our friend Jim's house.

Gidget moves in

As I write this, Gidget (formerly Ariella) is running around the room. Actually, she was just standing here acting she was trying to figure out what a computer is. She's been in constant motion and I have to admit has been good about learning what are toys to play with and chew and what's not (I think taking off with my boot last night taught her pretty early when Joe chased her around). We drove to Roland, Oklahoma, Tuesday where it snowed all the way from Amarillo to Roland (about 700 miles from Albuquerque). We hadn't taken Chaco on a road trip in several years and he really struggled. I'm not sure if he thought we were going to give him away (or trade him in) but he also has been struggling with watery eyes and I'm sure that didn't help. In some ways it was easier to travel with him this time. He turns nine tomorrow on new year's day (we'll have had him seven years) and I didn't feel so paranoid about leaving him. I can leave him in the car with a whole lot of food and he won't touch it. He's too busy worried about where we are going without him. He kept waking me up in the motel room wanting to go out in the rain and snow. I took him for a run on a country road the next morning and he really wanted to interact with the cows but they didn't want anything to do with him and kept backing away. I was nervous meeting Gidget. She came from the Ahimsa Rescue Foundation (see site here) where she had been the product of backyard breeders. She and her parents were removed from the home and that's how they ended up with Ahimsa. I had never gotten a dog that I'd never met. What surprised me, although I'm not sure why, was how much smaller she was in person. The photos that Teresa Morton, of Ahimsa, had emailed us showed what looked like a bigger dog. I'm adding some photos here including one of Joe holding her at the dental clinic (Teresa's husband is a dentist) where we picked her up. Chaco really struggled on the way home, getting comfortable, and finally some benadryl knocked him out so he could sleep. He was a good sport although he kept sitting on top of Gidget (not on purpose, I think he's just not aware!). When he settled into the very back of the car, she sprawled out in the middle seat and went to sleep. Our only catastrophe was that despite our best efforts to get her to pee, she didn't until we were somewhere in Texas and then she decided to do it in the car! Daisy's bleeding had prepared me well and I had enough plastic and towels down that it didn't seep through. When we stopped for her to pee shortly after, she did and has been good about doing it outside since (waking Joe up twice last night to let her out). The drive home was very uneventful until we hit Cline's Corners in New Mexico and a storm that hadn't been predicted so early (or was on the weather map). The canyon that leads us through the Sandia Mountains into Albuquerque was snowy and icy and Chaco sat in my lap the whole time while Gidget wanted nothing to do with me but to stay sprawled out. The dogs here are adjusting to a new sister. Nestle is afraid that Gidget will steal her food and Hattie wants to play with Gidget but Gidget is still a little wobbly on those big legs and can't keep up with her. I'm sure that will change soon. Happy new year, everyone!