Junior

Son of Lady and Max, born 03-03-07 & died 06-28-07

CLICK HERE to read "Heaven"

Lady and the early notes, click here (and a great website with information)    Click here for the Photos !

Junior died last night. It was so fast coming on and then over. I don't think that it would have done any good for Randy to have taken him to the vet yesterday morning. He was still running and playing then. It has now been suggested that it was probably renal failure from eating a bird that had probably eaten something that was not harmful to the bird but was fatal to the pup who ate the bird. We are heartbroken.

I got him to go with me on a short walk but he didn't want to. He just wanted to either be in his house lying down or out by the water pan, drinking water. He was slobbering badly and could not take any food. He hadn't eaten in 2 days and anything I put down him was by force. It was as if he just couldn't get it down. I went out to try some gravy about 11 and he was already gone. I woke Randy and we sat and cried together.

The first thing I did this morning was to remember that I woke up but Junior did not. I looked out the kitchen window just wishing to see him watching for us to come out the door. Those floppy ears standing up or turned to hear any tiny noise. Mom, Lady, has big floppy ears but does not make them stand up. Dad, Max, has big ears that stand up straight all the time. They never flop. Junior had his dad's snout and his mom's lips. Oh so much to miss. And his howl. Since he was only a few days old, he could hold his head up and round his lips and oooooo make a howl with the big dogs. Randy remembers when Junior was so little he scooted/rolled out of his house and into the food bowl. He needed help to get out. When I can stop crying, I will go back to Rainbows Bridge and read more of what they can say and offer to the broken heart.

This silly puppy is growing up so fast. I looked out the kitchen window this afternoon to see him digging deep into a pit of his own making. Nose down in the tree roots with just his rear sticking out. He keeps his collection of toys, a ball, his white elephant, his Fozzy Bear and assorted blankets and his rug. He has his mother's ears but he can make them go which ever way he wants. Dad's ears are always straight up and Mom's ears are always floppy. His favorite afternoon sleeping position is to lie on his right side with his left ear up like a giant radar just listening for his POP to get home from work. When frightened, both ears go straight up and stay there. So cute.

Several days ago I was alerted to his need of my attention by his continued barking. He does howl but that is along with the other dogs and this was only his barking and it kept on without letting up. So I go out but I don't see anything. He looks at something the same way that Max does so I look to see what he is looking at. Sure enough, there is a Lowe's plastic bag floating down the pathway. It was the small size and a puff of wind would pick it up and carry it along. It had a life of its own and Junior didn't like that one little bit. So I brought it to him so he could check it out. But he did a few more fierce barks before he went on to other interests. Show that baggie who the boss really is. Oh yes.

This is a time when one doesn't know what dog food is tainted and needing to be recalled. The big companies are being tested but don't want the recalls so they try to keep their identify a secret. So far, Pedigree pouch food is the favorite of Junior and Max both. Being the most expensive, we must hope it is also safe for their eating. Some Alpo is acceptable but not all.

I had picked out some treats I thought Junior would like. Little rawhide like pieces that have knots on the end for chewing. Junior had a few but would only untie the ends and leave the weird looking piece behind. I had knotted old socks and gave them to him for playing and tugging and chewing. He untied the tight knot and left the socks behind. We know of three times that he has unfastened Lady's line when he got to her collar. Bad doggie. She is not easy to get back once she gets off her line. And she kills chickens. Bad doggie. I will add new photos of Junior this week. I had bragged on how much better he was doing at minding and not scratching and biting. Then today he gets his claws down my arm and made a big nasty gash. More work indeed.

Okay, no one told me that little boy puppies didn't get all their equipment until they were about 2 months old. That's why no one names the pup until it gets a bit older. Kathy Vilseck is still laughing. 

In the latest photos, Jr. is sleeping in my living room chair. It is broken and slants to the side. He didn't mind but I am still fighting the fleas. He likes to play with Sly but Sly doesn't appreciate a creature that bites his tail. Not one bit. So Jr. doesn't come inside much now. He is big enough to play by himself while dad and mom are off on a walk. I watched today as he tried to get inside a loop on the walking line so he could go with them. Soon enough little one. 

Jr. looks like his mom's ears and body. But he has his dad's face, snout and brown colorings. Lady has more of a blonde color. 

For the last two weeks, Mia has been coming inside while Randy (POP) takes Max and Lady for morning and evening walks down the road. We have lots of fun and mostly work on learning to not bite so much or scratch with the claws. 

Goodness, that Mia is getting big. Heavy, too. She is so bright and alert. She has finally come to recognize that people are attached to the feet she sees. She still loves to play tug of war with the pants and has such a cute little growl in play. She is too big to stay sleeping in their house while Lady and Max are out with their POP on a walk. So, Randy brings her inside to spend some time with me and Sly. They'd done fine until this morning when Mia bit Sly's tail. Screech! and Sly takes off for higher ground. He had allowed Mia to lick his face but stay away from what Mia thought were milk faucets. No. No. Now, Sly will lie atop a high perch and just watch that mean little creature. He won't come down until he is sure that the monster has left the house. Randy went to go out and get Mia this morning and she was halfway up through the yard despite Max. He tries his best to keep her away but she is not at all afraid of him now. He did have his bluff over on her for awhile but she won. She loves any game where she wins.

Mia has taken well to canned puppy food. I had been putting a little water on it to make it to where she can lap it up. Now, I put on a little chicken broth and she just loves it. Laps it up quick. She doesn't have the big fat baby belly. She is growing so very fast. Long body, and long legs. She has the color of Max with more of a tan coloring than Lady's golden color. I will try to get more photos so you can see the distinction. 

Wow, Mia is almost a month old and she has grown oh so much. I was out hanging laundry and had taken her out to play. She didn't want to go back inside and sat in the doorway. Bark, bark.... Oooo. She was howling and barking. So, I howled and she howled back. It was a song. She has such beautiful eyes. So dark they appear deep blue. 

Lady doesn't want to play with her like a litter mate would. So, I try to be silly and am looking for some toys for her to chew on and enjoy having around. Lady likes being outside and leaving baby Mia inside. 

I sure like the website I found with puppy and kitten info. There was nothing about when to start feeding a puppy the prepared puppy food. So I sent them an email. The answer came within just a few minutes. They said to start offering a canned puppy food but not to start weaning. It's just a supplement.

It was yesterday, the 16th, that Mia opened her eyes. So cute. She is comforted by my holding her and rubbing her face. But I Lady is close by, Lady wants equal face rubs. Mia is a huge pup, she gets all the milk and when ever she wants though I see Lady lying outside the house and just keeping watch when she knows that Mia is full and needs nothing. When Randy took Lady for a walk day before  yesterday, Mia was awake and wanting to be tended. So I brought her out of the house and let her "walk" around on the sand. She scooted in a little circle and tried to climb back up on the porch. She still does a scoot and crawl that is so cute. She fell asleep in my hands but is a real double handful.

Lady had three pups but two were born dead. The first was easily twice the size of the others and very healthy. She seemed to be hungry all the time and whining to eat and have mother close at hand. Today is the 10th and she is an entire week old now. She gets full with a big old belly and will then sleep for hours. That it until she gets hungry again.

She is a little wiggler and I had to put a board in the front of Lady's house just to keep her inside. On a hot day, Lady sure did like having Mia outside with her but she would just wiggle on off the porch and be out in the yard. What a sight. But Lady would make it clear when she wanted baby back inside with her.

She doesn't have her eyes open yet and she does this little push with her front legs and scoot with her back legs. She is so cute. I baby sit while Randy takes Lady for a walk. The experts say to keep Max completely away from Lady for 3 weeks to prevent hepatitis. We can do that. And we don't want any more babies.