Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Last Walk with Lulu

Tulip, the seventeen-year-old face of Hundenruhe, walked her last walk in the field tonight. Dan, the dogs, and I accompanied her on a last patrol of the fenceline. Dr. Jeff told us last night that her heart just isn't pumping blood to her body anymore, and she's already started turning blue in her membranes. She hasn't eaten in three days, now and her energy gave out at the end of her walk tonight. We know that its time to let her go.
Tulip has been special from the moment she arrived at Hundenruhe with Jeanne and Dave three years ago, broken and sad. We watched her heal physically and mentally and become a wagging, play-bowing, beggar of kisses and loving. She and Dan fell in love with each other, and this will be an especially hard loss. My sister took this picture shortly after her transformation, and Dan coined it "The Faces of Hundenruhe". Truly, Tulip exemplifies the reason for our taking in the seniors. Her journey from breeder dog to dumped stray to real rescue to Hundenruhe Haven and true peace is one that will inspire me forever. It will be one of the hardest good-byes we will ever have to face. We will always love you Lulu.

Festival of Needles

Dr. Jeff came to the house last night for the annual "Festival of Needles". The dogs needed their annual lepto shots and heartworm blood tests, as well as a couple of random rabies vaccinations thrown in for good measure. As usual, the very efficient Dr. Jeff (with help from Marvelous Marnie, the vet tech) finished a host of blood tests and vaccinations in record time - about a half an hour! We are so thankful for Dr. Jeff and his outstanding care of our babies.

Monday, April 5, 2010

All Good Things...

...must come to an end. Today is the last day of a long and lovely Spring Break from school. We haven't had an entire week off for Spring Break since one of the first years I taught (almost 20 years ago!), so this was blissful. In addition to the welcome time off, the weather has been beyond fantastic - warm and balmy - great for spending time with the dogs outdoors. Each day on our walks in the fields we have watched the fields green up, buds burst into tender green leaves, and pups rolling in the warm grass. Absolutely heavenly! The yard is cleaned up, the trees trimmed (and some branches cut for McKinley Academy's graduation decorations), the outdoor furniture has been returned to its rightful place, and...best of all...the outdoor dog beds have again taken up residence on our little "doggie deck" on the back patio. It's only 10:30am, and "Spa Day" has already begun for the dogs. Wet towels are snapping in the wind on the line, my clothes are soaked, and there is a quarter inch of water on the kitchen counter. You guessed it - they have all been bathed, and are now sipping cold drinks and lounging on their outdoor beds in the sun. Okay, so maybe not sipping cold drinks, but I'd sure like to be pampered like they were today!!
This is Shae (formerly Chardonnay). She's a 14 year old beagle from the Eastshore Humane Society in Chilton. Her dad couldn't keep her anymore and turned her over to the shelter for rehoming. I hope that he'd be happy to know that she is doing wonderfully, fitting in with the rest of the gang here at the Haven. Every day she goes on our walkabouts - what a healthy, happy pup! Her only flaw is that she loves to "talk" and we'll be working on that! She loves soft beds, watching over the fenceline, and harassing the girls and the tinies. She is very, very welcome here, and Tulip, Ruby, and Shae have taught us that we will probably always have a beagle to watch over Hundenruhe.