Frank'n'Farter, Mr. Wilson's Guardian Angel ♡

Do you ever wonder what happens?  How they feel?

We all have that day where they tell us they have had enough.  Their eyes say it all, and our hearts break.  I’ve heard many times “they will let you know”.  Well you know what.. when it gets to that point.. then you have let it go too far.   Our furkids do not want to show signs of weakness, signs of pain.. so they really don’t let you know when it’s time.  You know in your heart when it’s time.. and your heart has to convince your head that it’s time.

I can’t tell you how many times when Franklin was leaving us I thought.. no.. just one more day.. look at him.. he’s standing there wagging his tail and smiling!  But.. then my head would remind my heart of what he went through trying to hop and losing breath and coughing, coughing, coughing.  So.. even the day we let him run free, and he was standing out side the vets, wagging his tail at everyone, we knew it was his time.. even though he didn’t look it at that time.  I am sure he was welcomed at the Bridge by some pretty amazing Tripawds who were hanging out there having a good time….  and he is waiting for me. I’m sure our cat Diesel was there, acting like the Godfather as he usually did.

My Maggie, well, she went quicker than Franklin.  and I know she opened her eyes and felt that golden warm sun shining on her face and fur… she inhaled deep and savoured the sweet smelling grass that was fresh on her paws… and as she looked to the right, she saw the clearest, crisp, most thirst quenching, fresh water that she has ever laid eyes on..   And as she stood up, she was strong.. she inhaled deeply again and she had no pain, her legs and lungs were strong and her tongue lolled out the side of her mouth as she looked around at all those furkids coming to greet her with happy smiles on their faces.  I know Franklin and Diesel were there first.. after all… they were the 3 Amigos!

They showed her around…. told her why she was there.. and that one day, she would again be with those she loved.  See.. the thing at the Bridge is that there is no sense of time there… it doesn’t feel like years to our furkids there… it only feels like a few days to them…. that way they never feel alone or lonely for very long.    There is so much to do there that they enjoy, that they don’t even realize that they have been gone for that long.  And when the time comes that they meet us with muddy paw prints, slobbery kisses and knocking us over on our butts, we are the only ones who know how long it has been for us till we hold that head in our hands again, and kiss that nose or that brow.. right between their eyes!  I personally know that I don’t plan on meeting my furkids at the Bridge for a very long time… which is a good thing.  But when I do.. the love will be just as strong then, as it is now.

Do you know what it’s like at the Bridge?  It’s clean, it’s fresh and it is has the most luxurious, sweet, fresh, greenest green grass to play in, roll in and sprawl out on your belly in!!  The water quenches their thirst with just one lick, tasting of the sweetest liquid,  almost as sweet and fresh as honey but without the calories!!  They are never alone!  They share stories of their pawrents and laugh at the silly things that we used to do.  And… not only do they become young, strong, and vibrant again.. their senses are incredibly vivid and they can smell a milkbone miles away!  That’s because there is a never ending supply of their favourite things there!  Milkbones, pig ears, ice creams, pizzas and even deer poop and chocolate!    It’s a never ending supply, the box never goes down!!  Of course, in the beginning, it takes them a few days to realize that they don’t have to try and eat it ALL and they go to bed every night with a full belly, engorged on pizza and steak…  snoring in a beautiful symphony while they dream of the day that they jump in our arms again and slobber all over our faces.

When they wake up in the morning and lift their head and sniff the most purest, cleanest air, they realize that the box isn’t empty and they pace themselves a little better.  After all.. I know how I would be if I had an unlimited, never ending, supply of cheesecake!!!!

This is my belief, and it helps me cope.

We lose our furbabies in many different ways… sometimes through an accident, sometimes a simple operation at the vet hospital has devestating results.  Sometimes, we are blessed enough to have them slip away peacefully in the night, in their favourite bed, in their home where they are comfortable and with their pack.  They leave our sides.. but they never leave our hearts…..

I know it hurts, and the tears will flow for a while…. but, the smiles will come eventually and the memories will make you laugh, and your heart will swell when you feel your fur baby wagging their tail in your heart.

It will be 5 years for my Frank n farter on May 15th.. and 3 years for my Maggie Girl on September 13.  And time has flown by so quickly.  Wilson and Annie keep us smiling and love us unconditionally.  Yet.. still… tears do flow ocassionally and that is ok.. cause they are still there in my heart.. wagging their tails…  and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

 

Bark atcha later!

 

She’s not a tripawd…  but she is loved tremendously!

Meet Annie….   our newest addition to the Springer household!  She was born on Sept 13 and we got her on November 8th at 8 weeks old.

Wilson wasn’t too sure at first and we did have an incident.  But… we growled at him and reminded him who was pack leader!  He’s been pretty darn good.. and makes a wonderful big brother.  He has more spunk now since we have brought Annie into the house.  He was depressed when Maggie left us… as we all were.. (and I still am… I know how long it takes to get used to her not being there.. probably around the year 2510… that sound about right?)

Our house is filled with little growls during tug of war.. the ocassional inside accident.. and that dreaded Annie Demon hour where she runs around spastic, like she is possessed.. and usually around 10pm at night.. lol

Here she is on the ride home.. she was so small…

She is a bit of a diva.. and a photo poser.. fi you can catch her sitting still long enough!!

Big brother… kinda likes the company….

She has some pretty big paws to look up to!!!

 

 

 

Bark atcha later!

Yesterday I said goodbye to my baby girl. Maggie, Maggie May, Magpie, Maggers, Maggie May Penny Liquorice, Girlie Girl, whatever she was called, the truth was she was one special dog.  She wasn’t a tripawd.. but she was Tripawd Franklin’s best friend.  She accepted everyone who came in this house, cats, dogs, and people. She didn’t have a mean bone in her body. She was so trustworthy and loving. She was a hockey ball-a-holic.

She battled osteoarthritis for over almost two years and we thought we would lose her last year. But we got one more precious year of snuggles, tail wags and stinky breath kisses. We believe she had a stroke on Tuesday and when we came home, she was not good. She could no longer walk, her eyes were dull and her tail wasn’t wagging much.  She told me it was time.  So made the call… and spent the night snuggling and kissing her brow, nose and ears… 

My Fred was at work after we came back from letting Maggie go yesterday morning. He was in the yard and he said out loud… “Run fast girl, run run!!” And this suddenly floated by him….. I believe in signs….. and Yup… She’s ok.  My baby girl is ok….   running fast, fast FAST!!!  Just like she used to..  jumping high.. and breathing in that sweet smelling air…  curling up with Franklin and Diesel…. and waiting… till I can cradle her head and kiss her between the eyes again…

 

  

I will miss you terribly girlie girl and I will always love you. Wilson is going to be lost without you. Right now you are running fast, jumping, catching balls and smiling with Franklin and Diesel. The three amigos are together again!

I have chosen tears… and they will flow for quite some time girlie… now.. go get that ball!!!

 

I posted this in the forum… but wanted to post here so I can always find it without searching too hard…

I’m in that “third to fourth day” .  It’s been almost 26 months since I kissed his brow for the last time…. and when I think about it, I tear up within an instant.  I still sit on the deck and I can see him at the end watching the backyard, on squirrel patrol.  When I give Maggie and Wilson a denta styx, I can see him sitting up and giving me his one remaining paw…  and that’s because….  I have a living love………….

 

A Living Love

 

If you ever love an animal, there are three days in your life you will always remember ~

The first is a day, blessed with happiness, when you bring home your young new friend.

You may have spent weeks deciding on a breed.

You may have asked numerous opinions of many vets, or done long research in finding a breeder.

Or, perhaps in a fleeting moment, you may have just chosen that silly looking mutt in a shelter simply because something in it’s eyes reached your heart.

But when you bring that chosen pet home, and watch it explore, and claim its special place in your hall or front room,  and when you feel it brush against you for the first time, it instils a feeling of pure love you will carry with you through the many years to come.

 

The second day will occur eight or nine or ten years later.

It will be a day like any other.

Routine and unexceptional.

But ~ for a surprising instant, you will look at your long time friend and see age where you once saw youth.

You see slow deliberate steps where you once saw energy.

And you will see sleep when you once saw activity.

So you will begin to adjust your friend’s diet ~ and you may add a pill or two to his food.

And you may feel a growing fear deep within yourself, which bodes of a coming emptiness.

And you will feel this uneasy feeling, on and off, until ~

 

the third day finally arrives.

And on this day ~ if your friend and God have not decided for you, then,  you will be faced with making a decision of your own  on behalf of your lifelong friend, and with the guidance of your own deepest Spirit.

But whichever way your friend eventually leaves you  you will feel as alone as a single star in the dark night.

If you are wise, you will let the tears flow as freely and as often as they must.

And if you are typical, you will find that not many in your circle of family or friends will be able to understand your grief, or comfort you.

But if you are true to the love of the pet you cherished through the  many joy filled years, you may find that a soul, a bit smaller in size than your own,  seems to walk with you, at times, during the lonely days to come.

And at moments when you least expect anything out of the ordinary to happen,  you may feel something brush against your leg ~ very very lightly.

And looking down at the place where your dear, perhaps dearest, friend used to lay,  you will remember those three significant days.

The memory will most likely to be painful, and leave an ache in your heart

As time passes the ache will come and go as if it has a life of its own.

You will both reject it and embrace it, and it may confuse you.

If you reject it, it will depress you.

If you embrace it, it will deepen you.

Either way, it will still be an ache.

 

But there will be, I assure you, a fourth day when;

along with the memory of your pet and piercing through the heaviness in your heart,  there will come a realization that belongs only to you.

It will be as unique and strong as our relationship with each animal we have loved, and lost.

This realization takes the form of a ‘Living Love’  like the heavenly scent of a rose that remains after the petals have wilted,

This Love will remain and grow and be there for us to remember.

It is a love we have earned.

It is the legacy our pets leave us when they go.

And it is a gift we may keep with us as long as we live.

It is a Love which is ours alone.

And until we ourselves leave,  perhaps to join our Beloved Pets  it is a Love we will always possess.

 

~ Martin Scot Kosins ~

you have been gone from my side… but NOT from my heart.

I can think of you and smile……

I can tell stories of you and laugh……

and I can open my heart, feel my love for you…… and cry because I miss you so fucking much………….

I have learned much from you sweet boy.. and Maggie, Wilson and any furkids in my future will benefit from it.

You done good Mr. Magoo….  and you still are…..

Keep up the good work up there at the Bridge … show those new recruits around and most definitely, introduce them to the never ending supply box of pig ears!!!

No matter how much time passes… you are always loved….

 

 

 

Can’t you?

I think you can…   seriously… I have loved and love ALLLLL my dogs to death… to the best of my ability when I had them.  Mind you… when I was young and “un-educated” with doggies and their needs, that didn’t mean I loved them any less…

My first guy Brownie… he was a liver and white English Spring Spaniel.. lived to be over 12 years old.  I got him when I was 13 years old.. back in 1976. He didn’t eat the best at that time.. he ate dog food mind you.. but he loved “people food” as well.  I mean really, which dog doesn’t love people food!! He used to share my pizza with me… he used to get the ocassional scrape of the dinner plate with his food.. he loved spaghetti!    But back then, we did the best we could.. I mean.. it was over 30 years ago!!

My second Springer, Brandy, came to us through the SPCA and was pregnant at the time.  I didn’t know it.  She had 7 beautiful purebred springer spaniel pups.  We tried to track her down as to who her breeder was and to see if she was CKC registered by doing the noseprint as she didn’t have a tattoo.  But, we came up with nothing… except a sweet dog.    She was a beautiful dog.. very family oriented.. but could not be let off leash though.. her recall sucked.. no matter how hard we tried.. lol  Oh she would come back… in her own good time after she sniffed everything possible that she could sniff.. lol   She was a great dog to have while the kids were growing up.  She was one of the laziest springers I have had.. she was quite content with curling up with you on the couch than hiking through the woods.  She was a sweetheart.. and I did love her dearly.  This was one of her pups that she had.. Toby.

Maggie.. well.. Maggie is still with us.. and we are enjoying every single moment, snuggle, and “Maggie Moments”  You do have to watch your fingers now when you give her a treat.. lol  She can’t catch them anymore and her eyes just are not what they used to be.  She has a hard time judging what is a milkbone and a finger.. lol    I personally think that she will be here in the summertime!!!  I hope so… there are alot of “soaking up the sun deck moments” to be had!!

My Franklin… well… nuff said.

But.. Wilson…. my goodness…  he is a character!!  He is so full of energy, I wish I could bottle it!  Must play ball.. must play ball NOWWWWW!!!!!  He has two ball playing sessions.. in the morning and after supper since we work full time through the day.   And you can tell if he has not had his sessions.. he gets very active in the house.. running back and forth with a squeaky..  it is quite funny.  Even funnier when you are trying to talk and he runs by you squeaking….

He loves Maggie…  I have noticed there are times where he is looking out for her…  and if she is in the floor, he will get down of the couch and go lie beside her.  When they are outside, he is the perfect gentleman.. he lets her come through the door first… and the same for when we all go for a walk, she goes out first.   He is going to miss her terribly when she is gone.

But Wilson… he is the dog that pays attention to ME!  Focuses on me!! And only listens to me.  I think he is MY dog.  I can be standing in the doorway with him in front of me, looking at me, and I at him, and my sweetie could be calling him and he won’t even turn around….   If I am latched into eye contact with him,  it takes alot of calling and clapping to get him to turn around.  Is this a good thing?  Part of me says yes.. and the other part of me thinks he just might be a little “too much” bonded.  But, I am his Alpha….. his leader.

Yet… we had a bit of an issue with him starting to become “possessive” of me with other dogs..   When we are walking on the trails.. if another dog comes up, he does a rough growl, bullying, chasing off type of behaviour.  When we are playing ball with his orange ball and chuck it.. if another dog comes up he chases them off.. MY BALLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! he growls..  It is getting better..  we are working on it… and it is getting better now that I have told him, showed him that behaviour is unacceptable!

Now.. I don’t know what would happen if we brought another male dog into our home like we tried to do with Charlie..   only time and training will tell with that one…

Meanwhile.. life goes on with te pack here in Canada eh?  I can’t believe he will be two years old on April 23rd…. TWO!!!  He is not spoiled…. nope.. neither is Maggie.. (lmaooooooooo)

bark atcha later

 

 

Laughter Alert…. Laughter Alert…

Ok… I’m going to share how my son got the name Moon Boy from Sally…   way back in September, 2013… I was taking some pictures of Wilson and Maggie on the bed..   now.. get THAT imagine out of your head!!!

But they were sitting nicely at the bottom of the bed and I had my camera… so… click, click, click..

Im constantly taking pictures because as we all know.. with digital, you can erase those bad ones and keep the good ones!  So yea.. sometimes I end up with hundreds of photos to go through.

Then my son Andrew comes in…. aka Moon Boy and says.. let me see your pictures…

Yea.. look to the left… here he is coming out of the tv room….

I’m not thinking anything of it.. I’m just taking pictures right?

And last but not least.. he has to look to see if I am still taking pictures…

so… now you know…. my son.. Moon Boy… such a proud mama!!!  WE were both on the floor with tears in our eyes laughing so hard…

I tell ya.. this one is going on the slide show at his wedding…!!!!

 

bark atcha later…….

I can’t believe 2015 is here.. crikey.. I was still getting used to handwriting 2014 when I had to!!  I hope everyone had a safe, hoppy new years.

I can’t believe that on May 15, 2015 will be two years that I said goodbye to Franklin…. TWO YEARS!!!!!!!!!  Wow…  it still hurts at times…  but there are more times where we laugh and smile about his antics…  it does happen.. life does go on…  go figure!

I do miss him at Christmas time.  We always did the pictures by the tree.. and I have shared those in a post from last Christmas… and I have kept that tradition with Wilson and Maggie…

Although.. he was not one for wearing a hat like these two….

  

I can now sit and watch videos of him…and smile… and laugh.. and then sometimes my cheeks get wet from the memories…  I do miss him so…  he really did leave a big pawprint on my heart…  he was one-of-a-kind in my book.

The other night while lying in bed, Wilson  came up to our pillow area, turned around and flopped down with his butt facing us..   I kinda chuckled.. and when my sweetie asked what I was laughing about I said…

“Remember when Andrew (Moon Boy) told us about Franklin snuggled into him in bed.. and they were both sleeping.  He didn’t know that Franklin’s butt was at his head.  Well… after Franklin had passed a little gas, Andrew immediately woke up gagging…  he said he could taste it.. lmaoooooooooo”

We both burst out laughing…. and then I burst into tears….  I couldn’t stop…  gawd I cried… I think I cried more than when I lost him..  From laughter to tears in 0.025 seconds…   world record!!  It was needed…  it was a release… it felt good.   There are such great memories…

I’ll never forget the time that we had our portable dishwasher beside the kitchen door.  Franklin was standing beside it and his tail was just a wagging…. well… it ended up hitting the side of the dishwasher and all you heard as “bang, bang, bang”.  Well.. he immediately spun around and barked… because he thought someone was at the door…. lmaooooooo

And at 11pm at night.. if you were not in bed.. he was…. even if he was snuggled up on the couch.. he would get down and saunter off…. He loved his bed by the wood stove.  We would be shutting off lights and wonder where he was and there he would be.. all curled up with his nose tucked under his paw sleeping…   I could smell him on his bed for months and months after he was gone…   There were days that I would just go in and bend down and inhale deeply…  I can’t smell him anymore…  and that saddens me at times…

We are our own worst enemy at times.. I think I set myself up for sadness some days… reading and responding to posts where members have had to say goodbye.  I can’t get through one single goodbye post without crying.

Sometimes I have been away for a while.  Give my heart a break.  I get pretty busy with my soaping business from September to December, so I don’t have much time to spend on the computer.  I try to go back and read up on what I have missed… sometimes I catch it.. sometimes I don’t…

I do love seeing all the success stories…  and the ampuversaries are wonderful!!!!  I used to feel so cheated when I read them after losing Franklin.  I wanted to post a 6 month, 9 month, one year ampuversary!!  But I couldn’t!!!!  and I felt cheated… and feeling that way made me focus more on the months I didn’t have him than the months that I did.

Then I guess I grew up…  and I realized that I had him for a few more months than I might have, if I did not do the amputation.  And I started to become more thankful for that..  yet, my heart breaks so when I read of a sweet furbaby who did not fare well after surgery, or other complications came along and took them to the bridge before healing was done.  And I understand how those pawrents feel cheated too.

There are so many members here in the Tripawd land… that it’s hard to keep up with everyone!  But that is going to be a little resolution for me this year…  to try and keep in touch more often, and be more of a support to those who need it from reading some words on a screen that will give them comfort, or hope, because they know that the person who typed them.. understands.

I hope you had an awesome Christmas up there at the bridge big guy.. I heard a rumor that the pig ears were pretty big in the stockings this year!!!

I will always love you…and miss you…

 

Got the test results today…..   

Trichoblastoma!!!   it’s my new best friend!!

Canine trichoblastoma are a skin disease characterized by benign neoplasia of follicular germ cells.  A breed predisposition has been reported in the Kerry Blue Terrier, Bichon Frise, American Cocker Spaniel and Welsh Springer Spaniel^[1].  (Obviously English Springer Spaniels too!!!)  

These tumors were originally classified as basal cell tumors but have since been reclassified.  Benign variant forms such as clear cell trichoblastoma have also been reported in the dog^[3].

Trichoblastoma usually appear as an elevated pigmented or cystic mass varying in size from 1 – 5 cm overlying areas of alopecia and hyperpigmentation. the affected area may be ulcerated and they need to be distinguished from mast cell tumors, hemangiopericytomas, trichoepithelioma, tricholemmoma^[4] andmelanomas^[5].

Surgical excision is usually curative.

so…. for now..  it’s benign, it’s not cancer… and the vet feels confident with what he removed, it will not come back.  I wish every furkid could have a guarantee like that.  *sigh*

The lab that did the analysis actually sent a note with the results to say “How we wish every pet owner would be as caring and quick as Wilson’s owners.  Their actions show that they truly care about the well being of their beloved pet”.  Wow..   well… when you have already dealt with that effing “C” word previously, it sure is an eye opener for the future.

Anyhow…. because we did not get the first tumor analyzed, we don’t know if that one was the same thing.  So… a waiting game starts…

we play, we snuggle, we celebrate Christmas’ and Birthdays, we eat, we sleep, we throw balls and sticks, we eat pig ears and we keep checking for lumpy bumpys….

All is well right now in Wilson’s world..    except for the fast that he got really sick from the Metacam… poor guy.. His body does not like that.. vomiting day yesterday.. and no pain killer today.  He seems fine without it actually.

He’s had a few small meals of rice with lean ground beef..   and it’s staying down…

So.. now.. if we can just do all those late night naked dances around the firepit for everyone else here in the community…  we could be onto something!!

A Merry Christmas it will be.. Maggie is still with us waggin her tail.. and Wilson is cancer free….. (crossing fingers)

Christine… with Franklin in her heart♥

and don’t bother ever coming back!!!!

Wilson had his operation yesterday…. poor guy.  Went into the vets in the morning to be dropped off.. during a small snow storm.  They were predicted more snow for the afternoon  and the vet office said that if the wether was bad, to pick him up the following morning, without charge.  That is what I like about my vet… they care.

But.. I said to them.. will you feed him surf and turf for supper?, to which they replied.. yes.. with red wine….

Needless to say.. the storm didn’t happen, and I picked him up at 5:30 and brought him home.  It was a beautiful drive down to the vets… just look at those colours!!!

It was a fairly large incision, but I was not surprised since they were going to take a pretty big area to hopefully get it all…   He was pretty dopey.. and I think it is from the Metacam that he is on…. and the after effects of the anaestetic.

 

He is on one dose of Metacam a day for 5 days only… as well as antibiotics for 2 weeks.  Minimal exercise for a week … yea.. right.. have you met Wilson??

I paid to have the lump sent off for analaysis and should get results back in 7-10 days….

Lets hope he is back to his usual goofy self soon……

bark atcha later