Good-Bye to Sophie - We'll See You Then....

~A favorite photo of Sophie from last year~

Wednesday began early. It was a big day where Cooper was to be alone for most of it, crated, because no one could be home with him. Our dog-walker was going to come at about noon, so I'd get an update at work on how he was doing. I'd given him his anxiety medication, and I was just praying it would work.  

It was about 5:30 and Carl had just left for work, when Sophie came into the office, and peed on the floor. Very unusual for her and I scolded her just a little and I got her moving towards the backdoor and outside. We made it as far as the kitchen when she collapsed onto the floor, losing control of her bowels. A flurry of my trying to revive her, when she suddenly let out this big sound, as she began breathing again as her color returned. We sat there for several minutes and it was a huge relief when she finally put her head up and looked at me, and even wagging her tail when I talked to her. 

~Sophie on the day we met in September 2019~

I knew of course that Sophie would need to be seen by a vet. But I felt a car ride at that moment may not be a good idea, because I thought she needed to recover a bit more before I tried taking her anywhere. Thankfully she seemed stable because she was able to walk, she was wagging her tail, and even wanted breakfast -- I gave her a little that I'd ground up in the food processor -- She quickly ate it all and just looked at me, like "where's the rest?" Labs..... 

I was lucky that Sophie's vet clinic had an opening with another vet that I already knew at 10 AM. Once there, I waited outside, trying to have some hope and optimism. A call several minutes later that Sophie's cancer had returned and was now metastasized in her lungs - I'll add here that in the last couple of weeks, Sophie's breathing was changing, and I'd really thought that it was the warmer weather causing her symptoms of laryngeal paralysis to worsen -  There were no other options, the kind thing to do would be to let Sophie go. 

The heartbreaking and unexpected diagnosis was confirmed by Sophie's vet, Dr. S, who is semi-retired and so I did not expect him to be there. But I am grateful that he was because at that moment, and even now, there are no words to express my gratitude for his kindness, compassion, empathy and warmth. 

You may recall that he has been Sophie's vet her entire life. He was truly the connection to Sophie's life before she came to us. Dr. S told me this was because Sophie's mother and her littermates belonged to the previous practice owner, named Dr. Howard, and everyone there at the time, including Dr. S of course, had a hand in helping with the puppies, because Sophie's mom, wasn't exactly the best Mom.... But Sophie's owner, Judy, had been a longtime client and friend to Dr. Howard, and she and Dr. S were/are also personal friends. I had no idea and this was the part of Sophie's story that I'd wondered about. But Dr. S and I both agreed that his being there that day for Sophie was truly a life coming full circle. And finding out later that it was Judy's 92nd birthday yesterday, also said it was. 

~We celebrated Sophie's 14th birthday in January~

Dr. S and I sat there on the floor with Sophie and chatted as if we were old friends. Him telling me stories of Sophie and Judy, and me telling him what her life had been with us. Time stood still in those moments as we both said good-bye to the beautiful Sophie as I continued to silently give thanks for her long life and this good and kind man, that cared for Sophie for her entire life of more than 14 years.

As I left the clinic and walked back to my van, in the spring breeze, the winged seeds (helicopters) produced by maple trees blew past me in the air and I watched them so free in the breeze and I thought of how "free" Sophie now was. And as I drove away, a Barry Manilow song played on the radio. It was one I've never, ever heard before, and now I can't get it out of my head. 

It's called "When the Good Time Come Again." Its words, provided comfort at a moment of sadness.

"I'll see you then

When the good times come again

When you and I have made it back

From the people and the places we have been...

The door that we go out of

Is door that we come in ......

Sometimes we have to hold

To all the good that's been

So I'll see you then

When the good times come again..."

God-speed to our "only girl," Sophie, known to us as Sophia, Sopapilla... I'll miss the wag of your tail, your running into the kitchen for your meal, because as a girl, you were always fed first ~ your sleeping next to the bed, your playing with Todd and even Max, your watchful eye over all that was happening in our house, your canine independence, your friendship, I'll just miss you.  But I hope I'll see you then, when the good times come again. 

Finally, as is our tradition, Sophie's color of the rainbow. I've given her yellow. The color yellow is around everywhere right now, and yellow is the color of friendship.

In the 601 days that Sophie was with us, she was truly a friend to all the dogs, who all loved her, and of course we did too.

~Charlie and Sophie last summer~

Brood X - The Cycle of Nature

They’ve been buried — alive — for 17 years. And now, Brood X, one of the world’s largest swarms of giant fly-like bugs called cicadas, is ready to rise. As our ground starts to warm, they've stopped gnawing on tree roots and have started their journey to the surface by the hundreds of billions. 

~Todd, at the moment is totally oblivious as to what's underground~

After tunneling their way out of the ground near tree trunks, they’ll crawl up trees, or things they mistake for trees, and shed a thin shell from which they emerge as technicolor animals with big orange eyes and wings.

~A Brood X Cicada from 2004~

Experts have been telling us for months that here in Virginia “We are at the epicenter of an event that happens nowhere else on the planet except here in the Eastern United States.” Those same experts are also telling us that it's going to be pretty remarkable, come the latter half of May. The densities of the cicadas in some places is going to be nothing short of phenomenal, about 1.5 million per acre. 

~We have a lot of space for cicadas!~

In our corner of Virginia, we are already starting to see them emerge, as 100's of holes are starting to appear around some of our trees. 

~Cicada holes are starting to appear around our trees~

We were here in Virginia in 2004, the last time "Brood X" made their appearance, but we were living in a relatively new subdivision and only heard them. However, where we live now the ground and the area has been pretty much undisturbed, the trees are mature, so it's anyone's guess as to how many we'll see. I may feel differently once Brood X actually appears, but at the moment, I cannot wait to see them -- After 17 years, it really is the cycle of nature at its best!

~Me, showing Todd a cicada tunnel~

Today It's About Todd

Post Script to my last post. Thank-you all for your kind words of encouragement and support that have meant so much and have lifted my spirits. I have responded on that post to most of your comments, or on your blogs. You all are the best!

Now, I promised good news. A few of you noted the roll of Todd in our household. You are right about him. And I'd be remiss if I didn't say what you already know, that each dog, and cat truly provides something to the fabric that makes up our lives and our household. 

But today, it's about Todd. On April 9th, we celebrated a milestone with him. Todd is now 10 years old. Can you believe it? I know I can't.  

~Todd, one day old~

And as is customary I have taken Todd's annual birthday photo. Longtime readers of this blog know that I take the same photo of Todd each year, with the same hat, same place at the table, and it was a bit of a challenge this year, but I purchase the same cookie too.  At some point, I'll put them all into a collage. 

At 10 years old, there is an air of calm dignity and wisdom about Todd that is more noticeable than it has been at any other time. He stands still for attention more than he used to, and as the only dog sleeping on our bed, he never gets up in the morning before I do and never goes to bed before me either. He is a loyal, devoted friend and companion and pack member too. 

Now, don't get me wrong, Todd still very much has that feisty independent spirit and that spark that makes him a Scottish Terrier, and just a terrier. As an example, he sadly "made dead" two bunnies that somehow got into our yard this past week. 😥

But Todd is great fun, and he makes me laugh. But he's clearly not into some of my nonsense. For instance when I was trying to get a silly photo of him with these ridiculous butterfly ears that I found,

Max was okay with wearing them....

for a few minutes anyway.

 Todd wanted absolutely nothing to do with them, and he let me know that. 

However, as you saw in my last post, he was more than willing to pose in a respectful Easter-bow-tie.  

Because as I've said many times, he is a Scottish Terrier after all, and his character and personality really reflects that. 

I cannot think of life without him as my co-pilot. 💓

The Not So Good News

~A deer crossing between our property and the neighbors~

This my friends, has been a really hard couple of weeks. I have not wanted to say that out loud because I am very well aware of others who are struggling and are having a much more difficult time with much more serious issues than I have. It makes me feel selfish to say anything. But the struggle over the last couple of weeks is real and has been difficult for me. It has left me feeling pretty defeated given that I'll admit to already struggling with being burned out.

I was however, feeling pretty good about where we were with our dogs. Having no foster dogs was a relief and a welcomed break. When Cooper was added, I was glad that we could welcome him, especially given that what prompted the move from his first foster home seemed to me that it would be easy to resolve, and by all reports, he was said to be a really nice dog. 

~We didn't know how Cooper would be with cats, turns out, he's fine!~

His previous foster home said Cooper was sleeping all day, and wide-awake at night and roaming the house. That problem was easily fixed because it was related to the medications that Cooper was taking. I knew by looking at the ones he came with, that one in particular had been labeled incorrectly, and the dose was wrong and another was one that dogs can develop an intolerance to. So, I took him off an anxiety medication, corrected the wrong dose for the one he was taking for pain, and we helped him to adjust to our routine. For the most part, I was happy with how Cooper was settling in even though he was starting to show signs of separation-anxiety when we'd leave him alone. I had allowed him to be free in the house for a couple of days while I went to work, because he seemed like he was okay and settling down after I would leave. 

While we were helping Cooper to adjust, I was also keeping track of how Shelby and Jack were adjusting to their new home. Things were going okay, but I had a nagging feeling all wasn't exactly as they were saying, but I stayed hopeful. But then things fell apart. Wendy and Denis (adoptive family) wanted to return both Jack and Shelby. They felt that Jack was too active, and Shelby wasn't active enough. There were a few other issues that I felt had no merit. Despite that, I tried to remain supportive of them, even as I was picking up Jack and Shelby and bringing them back to our house. 

As if having Shelby and Jack returned to the rescue and to us wasn't disappointing enough, when I came home with them, Cooper's separation-anxiety came to a head while I was gone. In about 2 hours Cooper pulled down curtains, broke one window and damaged 2 others. Added to that, there were several things that were knocked over, or knocked off a shelf and were broken. He had also gotten into the fireplace. Thankfully, no-one was injured.  And I will also add that I don't have a lot of really nice things. At our age, we are trying to be minimalistic and so the things I have, I really love...  And of course I wasn't "mad" at Cooper, just very sad about what's gotten broken and disappointed that it happened. 

The feelings about it all consumed me since I was already on the proverbial edge about everything. At first I was so upset I couldn't talk about it with anyone. I let the rescue know that day but it was almost 2 days before I heard from anyone about it, and then it was only a couple of text messages offering a reimbursement for the broken window. But in all fairness, both coordinators that I work with had no way of knowing just how upset and discouraged I was about it all. I think they only found out when I had a melt-down at the vets office when I'd taken Cooper in for his ears to be rechecked on Monday. I'd asked the vet for her help with his separation-anxiety, only to be given the most trivial advice that even first time dog owners already know, and I pretty much said that to her. However, a call did come from one of the coordinators on Tuesday that was really helpful and went a long way. 

~Cooper at the vet on Monday~

We now have a plan going forward with Cooper that does involve his being crated and medicated. It makes me hopeful that we can work through all of this with him. Although I know it won't be easy for either of us. 

And as for Jack and Shelby, the search for their new forever home begins, again.  

And with that, I'll end this post, and promise, that there is some fun news, that I'll save for the next post that will come in a day or so. Below is Todd wearing his Easter-tie.