Christmas and a New Year!

To start things off on a sad note, this was the family's first Christmas without Dino and it was difficult for them. To cheer them up I acted like a big goof on Christmas morning - especially when they gave me a gift to unwrap!

I had a wonderful time with my new family. I am so glad they adopted me!

The Rainbow Bridge

A poem for animal lovers

I get it now. I understand all of the sadness that has recently clouded my otherwise very happy family. Here is the poem that helped me to understand what has happened:

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge.
There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together.
There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....



Rest in peace, my little friend.

Dino Comes Back Home!

But I'm still confused

About a week ago I wrote about all the confusion with Dino being taken away.

Well, today the Dad came home from work and said (in a sad voice) "Your little boy has come home again, Mom". With that, he gave the Mom this little velvet drawstring bag. Inside of it was a white box. What does THAT mean?!? What did they do to little Dino?!? I know they loved him, the Mom said it many times. In fact, she used to tell the children that she helped "Toast" give birth to Dino.

This is what was written on the outside of the little velvet bag:

"Until we meet again at the Rainbow Bridge"

Rest In Peace Dino

The humans were gone for quite awhile. When they returned without Dino they were obviously upset. The Mom cleaned up the kitchen, took Dino's bed and washed it. Then she packed it away. She even got rid of all of his blankets! Speedy was right ~ he must not be coming back home!

I was really nervous but Speedy stayed clear of the humans (I guess he thought he might be next!). He went into his kennel and only came out to eat and go outside. I wanted to do the same thing but curious girl that I am, I kept bothering the humans. I really wanted to know what happened but they weren't paying a lot of attention to me. I have never seen them so sad.

Nobody spoke a word ~ I wish someone would explain this all to me ...

Sadness Falls Upon My New Home

If you've read with me then you know I've talked a lot about Dino, the Wire Fox Terrier that I share my new home with. He is a feisty little guy and when I first arrived here I didn't like him much but I have learned to respectfully steer clear of him. I do this because I know my humans love him and therefore he must have some redeeming qualities.

The other day he was acting odd (well, odder than normal). He didn't eat breakfast and the Mom kept paying a lot of extra attention to him. He eventually perked up (who wouldn't given all that attention!) and I thought maybe he was just faking it so that the Mom would give him more love than the rest of us.

The Mom was sad all day and even when I climbed onto her lap and licked her face to make her smile, she smiled with a sadness behind it. I tried to make her feel better and even laid right next to her and stared at her but she just gave me that sad smile.

Dino went back to sleep and the Mom brought him in his bed into the computer room and laid him near her as she worked on the computer. She had him covered in blankets and kept checking him and he would pick his head up and look at her but really didn't respond to her. At first, I thought "how ungrateful of him!" but then I realized there was much more going on.

The Mom eventually stopped working on the computer and picked Dino up. He hardly responded to her with a VERY slight wag of his short tail and she was talking so sweet to him. It's obvious she loves him very much. She sat on the sofa and held him all wrapped in his blanket. She was so sad that it made me sad. I could see the tears in her eyes and I guess she was sad because Dino was ignoring her.

At least, that's what I thought. Suddenly things moved quickly! The Mom was talking to the Dad and the kids were nervous and I'm not sure what was happening. The Mom was holding little Dino and she was crying really hard now and so were the kids. The Dad even had a tear in his eye. I got closer but I wasn't sure what had happened.

They all got into the car, the Mom carrying Dino in his blanket, and left us! I was scared but Speedy told me that something like this happened once before in the middle of the night and the humans got in the car with "Toast" (Dino's canine mother) but never came back home with her. I wonder if that's what happens if you ignore humans ~ do they take you away and never bring you home again?!? Maybe that's how I ended up in that shelter ~ I'll have to keep that in mind...

Summer Fun

We have lots of fun here in my new home. I love to swim and play in the sprinkler and I have even gone on the trampoline a few times. I don't really like to bounce on it but from there I can get a good view of the entire yard!

One day I found this mound of dirt in the yard and I stuck my face into it because it looked like it was moving. It was really fun to play in but all that dirt stuck to my face. It kinda itched so I had to come into the house and rub it all over the sofa to get the itching to stop. When the Mom caught me doing that she made me stop and she didn't seem too mad until she realized that the dirt on my face was from an ant hill. So THAT'S why it itched... those little suckers were all over my beard and crawling in my hair... they were sooo annoying! The Mom's reaction was priceless! Well, at least for the moment because once the clean-up began it was not fun. The Mom cleaned the ants on the inside of the house but I was taken outside and one of the children scrubbed my face and rinsed me off with the hose. THAT was not fun... I didn't want to sit for that but I did (for the most part). Then they had to brush my face to make sure all the ants were out of my beard ~ THAT was not fun either. I guess I won't be sticking my face in any more ant hills in the future.

I also love to spend my days trolling the yard for smells. You'd be surprised how many different scents are out there on a daily basis but the best part is at the end of the day when the humans cook outside.

There is this great big black thing out there that they put their food on and close the cover. They leave it in there for awhile and after they are done and go in the house to eat, that's when the fun begins. I wait until that black thing has cooled off and then I get up on the top of it and lick off all the delicious grease.

Actually, once the humans caught me doing this . . . . . . I was never able to do it again but it was really delicious.

This is Dino in the dish washer. Isn't he silly?!?

My friends and I even do dishes!

Life With Speedy

Lively And Exhausting

Speedy, the 5 year old Shiba Inu is a unique personality. First, he wants to play all the time. Second, and most important, he does naughty things in the house and then he has to be corrected by the Mom. For example, if no one is paying attention to him he grabs a pillow from the other room, comes into the room where we are all watching TV and runs passed everyone with the pillow in his mouth! If he didn't want the humans to know he had the pillow then why come into the room where all of us are? Obviously he does this to get the attention of the humans! He opens cabinet doors and takes shoes and runs around the house with them! Although he doesn't really destroy things, he certainly knows how to get the attention of the humans!

The best part about my relation with Speedy is that he lets me use him as a pillow!