Kathy Janes's Blog (39)

It seems like forever since I was on my DK page.  I used to spend hour here and felt like I knew everyone!  But life changes.

We lost Mater to hemangiosarcoma in May 2018.  I can still be caught with tears whenever I think of him or someone mentions him.  More than our heart dog, he gave so much to others.  Thousands of hours of therapy visits with R.E.A.D. in school and with my husband at the VA every Tuesday for over 8 years. If you didn't know him, he is the big, shaggy red doodle…

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This is George's baby picture when our son first got him.  Cute little guy, huh?

His training seems to be going well, and Dustin flew down to Florida to spend a couple of days with him.  He'll be home in about a month.  I'm sad that Dustin and his family missed the adorable puppy stages, but they will have a better experience with George being through most of…

I've been so distraught, but am finally getting over it.  After two nights with baby George my son and daughter-in-law decided they couldn't deal with a puppy!  Two Nights!  Poor little guy was only 8 weeks and they were the first two nights away from him mom and siblings.  Oh my, and he peed and pooped on the floor too!  I think they forgot what puppies were like - or at least my son did.  His wife hasn't ever had a dog and isn't really a dog lover (though I don't understand that anyone…

No pictures tonight, but George came over for his first visit.  Ozzie really wanted to play with him, but Oz is huge and George is only 9 weeks (but huge for 9 weeks!).  Harriet wanted nothing to do with him - clearly she wants to remain the baby of the family!  Mater was his usual chill self, welcoming George and then just hanging out. George kept trying to see if maybe Mater was his mom, but the biology was totally wrong! It was funny, but he kept nuzzling up under Mater whenever he…

Today is the day our son and his family pick up their new puppy!  Tom and I are so excited for them and we can't wait to meet the little one!  We haven't been interferring grandparents, but I bet we are interferring grandpup parents!  There are eight or nine puppies and they actually get first pick this morning, although the foster mom has one picked out that she thinks will be the best for their young family.  Their daughter is a pecocious 28 month old who isn't at all intimidated by our…

The new photos I posted have fun significance!  One is Mater, taken for the photo on his VA Badge that everyone at the hospital insisted he have (security didn't require it).  Mostly because several of the nursing teams wanted to include him on their web page as part of the team!  He loves it there and they love him?

The puppy is the one my son is getting this weekend!  He'd been cruising the Internet for months, lookin mostly for a rescue or shelter dog.  In part because he didn't…

You guys are so awesome, funny and wonderfully supportive!  I guess we need to try the poop in the hole and at least give it a shot.  I do think she will ultimately outgrow it, but it does support the terrier theory that both Karen and my vet shared.  Here coloring is lightening up to a pale grey just like a Schnauzer as well.  One day we'll do a DNA and see what she is, just for fun.  I just hope DH comes around.  I ordered one of those tree house bark stoppers and will try that too.  I…

Looks like Harriet may yet cost me my DH (not really, but he sure doesn't have much affection for her).  She is the cutest little bugger and so much crazy fun.  But she won't stop digging in the yard - and the multi-thousand dollar landscaping.  Not just little holes, but…

I can't wait to post a picture with all four dogs, Mater, Ozzie, Pippin and Harriet!  Mater and Pip are really my first loves, and Ozzie is such a big lug sweetheart!  Harriet is turning out to be a little terror.  Hmmm, I wonder if Terrier and Terror came from the same root word.  The vet thinks she has terrier in her, so I'm just thinking...

I wonder what it is about our little black cat!  He was friends with our Tibetian Terrier when we first found him outside of Bradley University in 1995.  He loved to curl up and snooze inside her curled up body.  She was white and it looked a little like the black and white symbol for Tao, balance.  

When we got Mater he fell in love with Bradley (we named the cat for the school) too.  They would rough house under the dining room table until the chairs fell over, wrestling…

This is probably the final Cash blog I’ll do. He’ll be leaving for his forever home in a couple of weeks. We have loved being part of this guy’s life for the past few months, and he is now part of our forever memories. He’s managed to snuggle his way into our hearts.

I think the first dog you foster is probably the hardest because you aren’t prepared for the mixed emotions as they leave your care and move on. You watch them bloom from the fearful, confused rescue animal to a…

Cash is beginning to bloom! And what surprises he has been for us!! He is still bonded to me more than anyone else in the family. Mater is taking Tom’s attitude of “I loved one foster and it was sad when he left so I’m going to try to not let myself get attached like that again!” But with a guy as gentle and sweet as Cash, I think they can’t help it.…

Cash came to us after a long weekend of…

ONE week ago today Gus left for his new home. I tried to blog about it then, but words just weren’t there; only an emptiness inside me and a quietness in our home. We were amazed at how much of a presence Gus was in our family. But mixed with our loss was a joy to have met Gus’s new family and to be able to feel so good about where he is going.

He has a ten-year old boy to play with and learn with. Every boy should have a dog, and Gus was the…

You can’t keep a good Labradoodle down. We are learning that as we try to keep Gus calm and without any stress on his heart or lungs as the heartworm treatment does its job. Gus is still a puppy at heart and playing in the sprinklers on a hot day fills him with such a joyous exuberance for life that it’s hard to stop him.

We took him to the park today for a short walk. It was his first time to ride in my Passat rather than Tom’s roomier Jeep.…

What a week it was! Monday the 16th was bonding day for Tom, Mater and Gus. When I went to work, they went to the park and then played in the yard. Gus sticks close to Tom and Mater admits to being a little jealous. The Humane Society said that Gus wasn't interested in balls, but Tom have found differently! Mater loves to leap high in the air to catch a ball, but Gus loves it even more!…

It was early Sunday the 15th that we got a call for Liz at DRC about a rescue in Terre Haute, about an hour and a half away. I checked with Tom, called her back, and we left within the hour.

We picked up "Butch" at the Terre Haute Humane Society on Sunday. He wiggled and squirreled all over the Jeep on the way home, obviously not accustomed to riding in cars. But at least he didn't get car sick.