Kizzie is now just a memory....

This is such a painful subject that it has taken me over a year to talk about a very special member of the family. This is about a wonderful friend who suffered from a needless injury. Here is her story....

What is it about pet owners that make them special? Are they lonely?.....are they selfish?....or are they compassionate? I think the latter. Every pet owner will admit a bond develops between them and their pet. They become part of the family and share all of the household joys.

We had two Golden Retrievers, Kizzie and Rayne. On one of my previous posts, I talked about Rayne and why he is special. Kizzie has since left us but her memories are still fresh in our mind. Kizzie was an energetic female Golden with a heart of gold and an agenda to take over the household.

At 10 years old a terrible injury happened that put her in extreme pain. We hoped for the best but were prepared for the worst. As it turns out, she tore her ACL and needed surgery. She had a full recovery and returned to normal activities. The Vet told us that most dogs; "If they tear their ACL in one leg, it's not IF they will injure the other but WHEN". This concerned us because of Kizzie's activity level...she was such an energetic dog for her age.

Dial forward two years to 2015....the inevitable has happened.

It was an unseasonably warm sunny day in our favorite campsite just inside of Sawmill Canyon about an hour or so north of Howe, Idaho. It was our favorite place because of a stream that flowed through the campsite and the location gave us privacy from other campers. The dogs loved to play in the stream and chase chipmunks. On our second day there, a couple dogs from a campsite about a quarter mile away appeared out of nowhere. Luckily we had our dogs under control. There was a lot of barking and pulling on the lead but we were able to keep things under control until the owners eventually showed up and apologized. The rest of the day was uneventful and we settled in for the evening.

The very next day on the morning of June 25th, I let the dogs out to do their business. I was walking with them to make sure there were no hazards in the camp. They were doing the usual, sniffing everything and making sure there were no varmints in the area. Suddenly, the other dogs from the nearby campsite, again, appeared out of nowhere. Kizzie took off full speed after them, barking....warning them to leave the campsite. When I called her and she began running back, I noticed she was hobbling on three legs. What I feared would be confirmed the next day at the Emergency Clinic in Idaho Falls. She had torn her other ACL. Surgery was scheduled as soon as possible and on June 30th she had another TPLO procedure to repair the damage to her leg. The surgery was successful....but, her recovery seemed different this time. She was having serious problems and she would die 3 days later on July 3rd. During her recovery she ended up having seizures and would slip into a coma. To this day, we don't know exactly what happened but a blood clot was the probable cause as stated by the Vet. The only important thing was that she was gone and we were alone. My feisty little girl that we had raised from a small pup had quietly slipped away. I think of her each and every day that passes. I feel happy to have spent 13 years with her, miss her every day, and look forward to seeing her on the other side of the rainbow bridge.

Cisco has left us and now Rayne is home.

As you can probably figure out by now, Cisco has left us. It's now 2011 and we're coming up on the anniversary of when we had to say goodbye to a great companion and friend. It has taken me two years to finally get up the nerve to put my feelings on paper...so to speak. In my last post about Cisco, we were just beginning chemotherapy. He did great through-out the summer but by December the cancer had returned and we had to make a very difficult decision. We were all devastated and weren't quite sure what to do next. Not too long after Cisco left us..Kizzie...our female Golden, began to show signs of depression. We needed to do something and soon. We considered another puppy and a dog from the animal shelter but eventually we chose to see if there was a Golden Retriever close to her age at the Companion Golden Retriever Rescue (CGRR) located in West Jordan near Salt Lake City, Utah.

We first checked out their website, looked at all of the Goldens and found the perfect friend for her but by the time we could travel to Utah, he had been adopted. The lady who ran CGRR felt bad about what happened. She mentioned a nice, gentle male named Rayne. She thought he would be perfect for both us and Kizzie. According to CGRR and veterinarians, he was about 6 years old. We went to see him on New Years Eve, 2009. Getting a rescue Golden of similar size and age seemed like the right thing to do.

Enter Rayne, an energetic male Golden with a heart of gold. His story is not only sad but joyful. According to CGRR, Rayne showed up on someone's door step in central Utah during a terrible rain storm, badly emaciated and dripping wet, hence the name “Rayne”. Even today, he is terrified of thunder and lightning. He tries to bury his head in your lap or under a pillow, trying to hide from the loud noises and flashes of light that must have haunted him during his time on his own. Rayne eventually found his way to a temporary home at CGRR. Even with all he must have gone through during his life, he is a lovable companion today with no aggression around food, towards other dogs, adults or even children.

When we first met Rayne, the first thing he did was run up and lay his head in my lap and stare at me with his dark brown eyes, asking me to believe in him and choose him. In fact we had taken Kizzie with us to help choose our new companion. They hit it off immediately and continue to be best friends today. We took him home that day.

Watching Rayne from day to day, we believe he must have been mistreated by his previous owner because he was 6 years old and knew nothing about swimming, windows, stairs, mirrors, TV or even how to play. For the longest time, he rarely wagged his tail. He seemed so sad and confused. Today he's a very happy dog. He wags his tail and smiles constantly because he knows he's in his forever home.

He is extremely smart and learns quickly. It took us all of about 2 weeks to house train him and make him an inside dog. We now give him full run of the house with Kizzie while we work and nothing is disrupted or chewed when we get home. We've had Rayne for almost two years now and he's a normal Golden Retriever who loves to play, run, jump and swim.

Rayne has been a very busy dog this past year with his swimming and long walks in the park. He recently graduated from Obedience Training and is now entered in Agility Training where he is learning to run, jump and follow a complex course with a variety of obstacles.

To top it off, we entered Rayne in a contest and he was selected as the Snake River Animal Shelter Mascot of the Year for 2011 - 2012. As their Ambassador, he will attend special functions with the animal shelter and represent all the animals that need a forever home. His first appearance this summer was at the Eastern Idaho State Fair. He's a shining example of why you should adopt a shelter or rescue pet, and give them another chance to become part of a family.

Green Bay Trip - 2009

Although I haven't taken this trip yet...obviously, I thought I would take a minute and ponder this year's adventure. To begin with, I need to introduce you to the cast of characters that'll make up this adventure. You already know your humble correspondent. Born in Monroe, Wisconsin, raised in Janesville and now living in Idaho. The rest of the cast are very good friends (Bob, Dale, and Rick) from grade school and junior high. Although I've seen each of them from time to time over the past 37 years, we haven't been together as a group in a very, very, long time. This trip is far over due and will be a blast! Get ready Green Bay....we're coming for ya!

I have season tickets to the Green Bay Packers. They were handed down by my father. Given this asset, I thought it would be a good opportunity for all of us to get together, reminisce and drink a few hundred beers. I've been making these treks since 1997 and over the years I've had many different friends come with and enjoy the special ambiance of Lambeau Field.

This year, we have a lot planned. We plan to arrive at the Hilton Gardens Inn on Friday afternoon. It's one block from the stadium.....that's crawling distance back from the game. Friday night is a typical beer bash where we eat and drink as much as we can. We go to the three main bars near Lambeau and our hotel.....Stadium View, The Bar, and Andruzzi's. All three have their own unique style. After a long night of drinking, we'll stumble back to the hotel room and prepare for the next day.

Saturday we plan to play golf and drink beer. Not sure yet where we're playing....Rick has tee times but I can't remember the name of the course.....I think it's "The Woods". After golf, we'll return to the hotel and go to a few more bars before we end up back at...the Stadium View, The Bar, and Andruzzi's. After a long day and night we'll stumble back to the hotel room.

On Sunday, we start drinking about 8am so by game time, we are ready to rumble! We typically go to the Stadium View bar before the game to listen to music and enjoy the pre-game festivities. At the game we scarf down brats and beer until we can hardly walk. If the Packers win, Green Bay will be rocking into the wee hours. We'll return to the Stadium View for some more music and beer and then retire to Brett Favre's Steak House for Jambalaya and a big screen TV to watch the second game. After a long day and night we'll stumble back to the hotel room.

Monday is a travel day. Some times the flights are later in the day and it gives us time to walk back over to Lambeau Field for lunch at Curley's Pub and maybe a tour of the stadium.

Regardless of what happens, win or lose....it'll be a weekend to remember!

Cisco's Surgery

Just when I finally got over our dog Kizzie's illness and breathed a sigh of relief, our other Golden named Cisco became very ill. Initial thoughts were "kennel cough"... little did we know we'd be heading down a very costly, complicated, and scary road involving major surgery in the chest cavity and cancer! We were led down a path of false hopes....tests were inconclusive and there was always that off chance the problem could be taken care of with routine procedures. Unfortunately, we ended up dealing with surgery, 4 weeks of recovery, and now 18 weeks of chemotherapy. He is doing very well, considering, but the prognosis is questionable at best. We won't know for sure until later this year.

Many people wouldn't have gone through what we did....the decision we made is debatable. Would I do it again? Probably....but I'm not sure. Regardless, the decision would be based on "What's best for the pet?"... not "What will make ME feel good?". Too many animals are either destroyed or suffer because of selfish decisions made by their owner. Many of my friends and acquaintances have raised their eyebrows at the money, time and heartache we've gone through over the past month. Don't get me wrong.....I believe there IS a price you can put on your pet. I just hope I never have to find out what it is!

Rules for eating M&Ms

I just wanted to document the rules for eating M&Ms. Follow these simple rules for maximum pleasure:

1. Grab a handful of M&Ms and inspect them carefully.
2. First thing you do is sort them by color then eat the brown M&Ms. Brown doesn't qualify as a color.
3. Next, you choose the color with the fewest number of M&Ms. Eat those next. In case of a tie, choose the color alphabetically.
4. Repeat step 3 until you're left with just one color.
5. Finally, eat the remaining M&Ms.

I plotted my results over the past year with Microsoft Excel. Green came up 34% of the time...Blue was 27%...Orange was 22%...Yellow was 12%...and Red was last at 5%.

Cheers!

Corvettes

To the casual observer, Corvette owners are crazy! Who in their right mind would buy a sports car you only drive a few months out of the year! I'll tell you who....Corvette Lovers!!!!

So, let me tell you my story before you judge us. In the spring of 2002 my wife and I decided to trade our 1987 Corvette for a brand-new, shiny, red, 2002 Coupe. Now, to buy a new Corvette without getting screwed you have to follow two very simple steps. The first step is to do a little research...this way the local sales person won't screw you over......Well, forget the first step......when buying a Corvette, you get screwed no matter what you do. There are no discounts....no one deals with you and even if they do, they trick you. The original price is so inflated that you only think you're getting a good deal.....when in fact you got screwed but feel good about it. The second step is to find a sales person you like and won't mind getting screwed by. Once you have your new car....it's time to take care of it.

To take care of your new car, you wash it, Zaino it (Google it) and drive it only on special occasions and in certain conditions. No rain, snow, blowing dust or even windy days. You don't drive it to work because it will sit out all day in the hot sun. You don't want to drive it in heavy traffic, everyone is out to get you! You can't park it anywhere. It appears that people who have not, can't stand people who have. Regardless of where you park, when you come out there's an old pickup parked right next to you.

When fall arrives, you begin the transition of your toy to winter storage. Drive it during the winter, you say? Are you nuts? The roads are messy, not to mention they don't travel well in snow and ice. So you change the oil, regardless of the number of miles you've driven....in my case about 500 miles. You put fuel stabilizer in the gas tank, put a trickle charger on the battery, unlatch all of the doors so you don't compress the rubber seals all winter, and pump up the tires to about 40 lbs so you don't develop flat spots or cracks in the tires. Finally, you take off the expensive insurance since you won't be driving it.

Next spring, you take it out of storage, call your insurance agent and start the whole process all over again. So....are we crazy for spending all that money on this plastic toy that's used 6 months out of the year or is it worth it?

Oooooohhh yeaaaaahhhhh!

Thanksgiving - 2007

Well, another Thanksgiving has come and gone. Turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, pumpkin pie, stuffing and jellied cranberries!.....and as usual, everyone ate too much.

The disappointing aspect of Thanksgiving this year, and previous years, was the rush into the Christmas season. Too many stores and advertisers began playing Christmas music and displaying decorations long before Thanksgiving day ever arrived. Disgraceful! It seems like what matters today is the all mighty dollar. I'm sure this happens all over the country and not just in my corner of the world. I refuse to buy into the luster and glitter of the holidays. I may not be able to change the world but I can look my neighbor in the eyes and say I haven't contributed to the madness.