Goodbyes Are Hard

I don't even know where to start with Kirby. He has been a part of my life since I was only 5 years old. He was my best friend growing up, I didn't really have many friends growing up but I spent every second I could with him. I read stories to him, dressed him up, made birthday party invitations for him, I even took him in the bathroom with me when I was scared. He was the best dog a child could ever ask for. 

     

He was 16 years old when he passed away last night of severe kidney failure. He had had it for a year and in the X-Rays it was half his body and his stomach was hard. He was in a lot of pain. That was the reason we had to put him to sleep, he had such a great life with us, he's traveled so many places and lived the best life he could possibly live. 

In the tent in the family room

It was 8 o'clock Friday night when I heard the doorbell ring, I was in the basement, I went upstairs and saw a girl bawling her eyes out looking in the window, I opened it and she kept saying I'm SO sorry! I'm SO sorry! And pointed at the end of our driveway, I saw Kirby laying in the middle of the street not moving and just froze. This girl was 16 years old and wanted to die, and I kept telling her it's ok, he's 16 years old. The mom went down and said he was still breathing. So she brought him up to me and gave him to me and we hurried to the car, I had to call my mom and dad, they were on a walk at the time. Kirby was in shock, his eyes were moving back and forth, he had a broken leg and a   fractured leg, both front, and cuts on his head and leg. I got in the car with pajamas and no shoes and we picked my mom up on the way, we drove to the emergency dog hospital in Orem and had to keep him awake the whole time. I just stared at him seeing how much pain he was in, not only from the broken bones but I knew there was more inside going on. I knew it was going to be time for him to go the whole way there, but you always still have that little bit of hope inside. We got to the hospital and they took him in, took his blood work and X-rays, the good news was nothing was wrong with his spinal cord, the bad news was his liver was in fatal condition. Even if he hadn't been hit by that car he may have lived for another month in just pain. It was hard but we all knew what we needed to do, I couldn't stand seeing him in all that pain, it hurt me so much inside, my chest hurt and I wanted him happy. This is my second time putting a dog down for old age, it hurts but you have to think how much better they will feel up in heaven running as much as they want and not hurting anymore. If this didn't happen, who knows how much pain he would have been in the next month to a year. He was the happiest old man I knew.

I have billions of pictures that I would love to show you, but not enough time to load them, so I have to minimize it. So every post I do i'll have a good memory of him with a picture.  

I dressed Kirby up in EVERYTHING. 

For my dads birthday May 10, 2013

Also, he was deaf and 90% blind. I'm so happy he's in a better place, it's still really hard when I think about it, but he had a life well worth lived. He was a great dog, and will be missed by his whole family.

May 2013 Vernal, UT

Also, I had a dream last night and right before I woke up I looked down from my bed and saw Kirby shufflin around on the floor (his clumsy self) and I said "Hey Kirby" and he looked at me, and I saw "Did you hear me? You can hear?" and he tilted his head and then I woke up. Love ya boy.

Forever Homes

       Our foster puppies went to their forever home yesterday, well, three of them did. They all went to such great families that will spoil and love them to pieces! We get to keep Boomer for a couple more weeks though!! It's sooooo soooo so much more quiet in the house with just Rush and Boomer. I sure miss Samus, Zelda, and Knuckles though. 

I took some pictures of them before they left Tuesday, June 26.

 

Our cute snugglebug lap dog Samus

Our ferocious little Knuckles

Our humorous little Zelda

Our good natured Boomer

My fatty mcfat fat teddy bear Rush

NOW, I got pictures of them with their new family.

Samus and her new momma Cassidi she was so excited to take Sammy home, she is keeping the name Sammy because that's just the name that belongs to that dog. Samus will be the most spoiled dog ever. She's going to be treated like the princess she is, and Cassidi said so. I couldn't think of a more perfect household for this little girl. She is so sweet and is going to be one BIG lap dog. Her new best dog friend with be Daisy the Shitzu.

Zelda, now River with her new family Mallory and...I don't remember his name. She was sooo ready to go by the way Mallory was holding her. This family is perfect for her, they are very outdoorsy people and Mallory's husband is in the cycling community and they all have dogs. Zelda is social and will be very socialized. We got an update on her at her new home in Vernal last night, she seems like she just settled right in. She was sprawled out on the couch taking a nice nap. So happy for River!

This is Knuckles family, this is one of the cutest families and PERFECT for Knuckles. This little girl made him a welcome blanket and they brought it with them! He's going to have so much fun with his new sibling which is a boxer! I'm sure he'll be very spoiled too! Just don't give in to those innocent eyes, he's the biggest troublemaker I know.

As for Rush, he was chillin in the sun while they came and took his siblings away, him and Boomer are loving all the attention and freedom of being able to explore the house. It's like they never even had siblings. 

Just Chillin

Rush just relaxing in the pool

Ummmm, RUSH LIKES WATER. That was my first qualification in a dog. 

There is also a lot less fights and barking now that the two girlies are gone. Interesting. 

I'll miss the way those two girls slept though, they looked so comfy all the time.

More Puppies?!

     

So let me catch you up on some things that happened the last two days -- 

      The 5 puppies got their 8 week old shots, and took em like champs. Not even a peep came out of their mouth. Also it was the second time for them to ride in the car, BUT this time we a crate to put them in. Some got carsick (Knuckles and Zelda) others just slept. Only two pukes though! 

First Car Ride in a Crate

        Now there were a lot of yapping and crying when we put them in this crate. As most children, they cry until they fall asleep as soon as you reach your destination and have to wake them up again. Knuckles got car sick on the way there. Good thing he was a good boy and kept his head in the bed of this truck.

Knuckles


Like I said, not a peep came out when they were getting their shots. Zelda did have quite the sneezing fit on her way home, kind of like this panda: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GTfq2m-SnY 
And she only threw up once from getting carsick.

Also, Zelda had waaaaaaay too good of time last night -- 

       So as most of you read on my last post we were getting MORE puppies when we ALREADY have FIVE puppies. It's true, we did get a momma and 6 puppies and the momma was the sweetest dog!! When we took them home to our house I took Brandine (Momma) for a walk since she was trapped in a crate/cell for who knows how long! 

BRANDINE (Bran-Deen)

       She was sooo happy on the walk, except for while I was walking her I was thinking "Man, someone is going to drive past me see how skinny she is and call animal control on me." Luckily, everyone was nice enough not to. Thanks Guys.

       On our way back from our walk we had gotten to the driveway and Brandine just stops, plops down, and rolled on her back for five seconds. Then she got back up and walked the rest of the way up the driveway. This was one of the sweetest things I had ever seen. Here she was in a cellar with 6 puppies and the dad on death row and now they get a second chance in life. She deserves it because she is one of the nicest dogs I have met, and she deserves the best family.

The moment you've all been waiting for *drum roll*

PUPPY PICTURES!!

       They are all named after Simpsons characters, we only had them for a short amount of time before they went to a different foster, because let's face it, we don't need 14 dogs in our house at once. It was a great couple hours with them though! Four weeks old and their half the size of our five pups at 4 weeks old! 

Me, Brandine, and Mom

       We just really wanted to get her out of that shelter so she can have a wonderful life. She just needs to bulk up a lot and wean her babies. <3 I did have a favorite though... and that was Lisa. She was the only girl of 6 in that litter. The wrinkles above her eyes were so darn cute. 

Me and Lisa

Oh, one more thing about these puppies; Milhouse had a kink in his tail. Kind of weird.

Milhouse (is a very very very fine house)

ALSO, Scott and I got to go to the ReAl vs. Seattle game last night, which we WON 2-0. 

       

BIG NEWS

       Only 8 in the morning and already had my scare with my foster failure baby. We were all playing outside on the concrete down by the basement since it's by the shade. We're all having a good time when all of a sudden Rush is limping and can't walk. So I ran over and picked him up to take him inside, I put him down inside and and he just plopped over on his side. Also all the puppies were swarming him. Anyways, so then I took him to the other side of the crate fence in the family room and put him down and he was still limping bad. After a while I think he just walked it out but for that moment I was scared! I didn't even see anything happen to him that could have hurt his foot, he wasn't crying or anything! I was moving his paw and pulling it and there was no sad noises coming out of him. So I don't know if he just twisted it a little, or pulled a muscle. I'm so happy he's feeling better though. He's as good as new!

 So my mom got Peachy and the Puppies a new toy from Sams Club and one is a Raccoon (peachy's) and the puppies got a possum. Zelda fell in love with it, but it is one of the ugliest toys I have ever seen. 

I'm going to miss that big smile on Zelda's face!

 Speaking of about to get adopted... TOMORROW we get a momma and 7 pups. Only for a limited time though, but they were so close to not making it and my mother commented and said we'd take them until they could get another foster. So HOPEFULLY we won't have them for very long. We figured we'd get them next week, but they will be here tomorrow at 8 am.   

Momma, Daddy, and pups

The Daddy will be safe, another rescue took him since he has a tumor on him they're taking care of that. 

Some delightfully happy pictures of puppies I took today --

Knuckles our Goofy Goober

We all know Peach will secretly miss those pups.

And of course my cute little Rushster

Running, Swimming, Sleeping, Laughing

      

       Woke up at 6 this morning to go for a 6 mile run with my mom, I ended up going 7 because for some reason i cannot just end on 6.5 miles. We usually run together every other day, It's been harder since we've had the five pups living here. It was a beautiful day, in the 70s, so just right. 

Overlooking Springville

       Running is fun in the right temperature, if it's too hot, I hate every single second of it. I get dehydrated and cranky, the best temperature for me is in the 60s. 

        So I got home from my run drank like a gallon of water (not really) I like to get back before 8:30 so I can get home before Scott has to leave for the bus. So that gets me to wake up earlier to run/bike. Also, if I tell someone I will be running with them I feel obligated to do so. 

       So as most of you know; our foster puppy Samus usually has a smile on her face when she lays down, plays, or her mouth is dry. It's the cutest thing. She has such a cute personality, and wags her tail whenever you mention her name --

Samus

       Also, I started teaching my 11 year old sister-in-law swimming lessons. We did some last summer at the end, so I thought I would do some more this summer -- she didn't say no. I love coaching swimming so I take any chance I get to be able to write up workouts. We had started out with 10 laps warm-up and once she finishes she looks at me and says "my stomach hurts!" So then we did our kick section and she did good on it, then I wrote up the main set and she looks at the white board and goes: "THERE IS ANOTHER SET?!" You gotta have a main set! So hopefully she doesn't hate me and never come back, but I know she'll be back. She'll crave those ab pains eventually, and the burning thighs. 

First Swim Workout

       After that I was pooped, I took a 3 hour nap. Now I have a napping buddy!

RUSH

Also, I found Zelda with the cutest face while she was sleeping today. I couldn't stop laughing.

ZELDA

And I love when they all get into a corner sleeping together. <3

NAP TIME

AND, AND, I got Rush a kong since they're suppose to help with puppy chewing and whatnot. So I couldn't wait till next week to test it out so I put some treats in it and this is how it went -- 

KONG

Sammy (Samus) was the winner for the first treat to come out, she worked on that thing. Next was Rush, but that was only because he was playing with it and Scott got home and he carried it to go see Scott and dropped it and the treat popped out. 

       

Biking, Barking & some Meowing

This was the start of my day --

DUKE

       I went biking on a road bike for the 3rd time ever. I love it, and I enjoy coming outside and seeing my cat, Duke, running out in the sunlight meowing as soon as I open the garage door. As you can see, she is rolling around on the concrete. I only went 11.72 miles today, but man my legs were killin me! I biked over by Hobble Creek Elementary and geez that road is windy, that was mile seven and my thighs were burning. As soon as I passed the elementary school, I was like brand new and biked 4 more miles perfectly fine. 

       Apparently when I got home my mom had told me the puppies ran all around the house and as she was coming back from the gym Boomer ran out in front of the car and Rush was hiding in the bikes. Needless to say NONE WERE HURT. Samus was in the front yard by the door, but Peachy was watching her so I think she was safe. Boomer and Rush learned their lessons; cars are not friends. 

             

So I got Rushy his first new toy, which is a hedgehog, and he loves it! Also every other dog/puppy that plays with it...

Zelda and Rush playing with the hedgehog

I forgot to explain where Rushes name came from. Rush is the dog in Megaman, some may have no idea what that game is. That's why I looked up some images of him --

We name all of our pets after video games, so all of our puppies/dogs are from video games. 

       He keeps getting bigger everyday!! In a month he'll probably be 3  times his size and I won't be able to hold him like this soon after.

       So I sew hats it's the basement on occasions for my sister Kristy, so today I left the door open and i'm cutting out fabric and I hear this *THUMP* *THUMP* *THUMP* coming down the stairs and there was Rush coming to see me, how can one little 9 pounder walk so loudly down the stairs? Anyways he comes down the stairs and lays down in my lap and just stares at my phone thinking "what is that sound coming out of that thing?" (My phone was playing music) and he just stared at it for 30 seconds turning his head back and forth. Then finally he looked forward and there was a mirror, I'm not sure if he likes mirrors or not, Boomer didn't really. OH, Boomer finally can use the stairs! He is the second one to finally get the courage to use the stairs. The girls aren't even close to learning, they just stay at the top crying and whining. 

       All the puppies got to go to Chelsea our groomer and get their puppy nails clipped for the first time. It was a lot of work getting all their little harnesses on and leashes and getting them in the car. Knuckles put up quite the fight getting his harness on, I've never seen him get that vicious towards someone. So tomorrow we are going to get him a harness and make him wear it. 

First car ride since first picking them up to foster

WOW, is all I can say putting them in the car for the first time since picking them up. They huddled against me so at least one part of their body was touching me. Knuckles was on my lap since he had fallen off the seat. 

Knuckles

 Like I said -- first time getting their nails clipped

Rush getting nails did

Also, Chelsea had a pet ferret that they got to meet for the first time, it kept trying to play with them. Rush and Knuckles were fascinated with it. Yet, scared of it at the same time. They also got to meet a larger older lady, she was a chocolate lab. They weren't sure what to do around a dog THAT big. 

All in all, it was a good experience for all of them. They get their shots this weekend to get ready to go to their forever home!

Update on hats: I FINISHED ALL 22 OF THEM. My hands hurt since I don't have my sewing scissors, they are still lost thanks to my wonderfully cute niece Elizabeth. She was so nice to cut hearts out of my patterns and hide my scissors somewhere. I'm sure they'll turn up in three years like my hairbrush. 

HERE IS A BEAUTIFUL PICTURE OF TODAY