Today It's About Toby

Today was all about Toby.  He was past due for his six-month senior wellness exam, so off we went to the vet and to spend the morning together.  The assistant that took us back is new to the practice and I'd not met her before.  Looking at Toby and his portly figure, she felt the need to lecture me on his diet and nails that were a little longer than they should be.  I told her that Toby was 'full figured' when he came to us, and I thought that he looked so much better.  I even pointed out that he was almost 4 pounds lighter than he was when he was last seen.  I also remarked on how much stamina he has, and that he even manages to run a little now. I don't think she really heard what I said because the scolding continued.  Toby and I politely sat there, pretending to listen, but daydreaming of what we would do afterwards. 
Because of scheduling conflicts, this was the first time that my usual vet was meeting Toby.  She has taken such wonderful care of all of our dogs, and also Toby's companion, Bubba, so she was anxious to meet him.  We talked very briefly about his weight and moved on, discussing how he was adjusting to life without Bubba.  She knew I had been worried about him when Bubba first passed away.  I think how Bubba felt was mirrored in how Toby felt and acted too.  But he has started to blossom in the last month doing things I've not seen him do before. He really seems happy and relaxed.  We left the office feeling the same way.  

A Forever Home for the Chub Brothers



~Bubba~

 The call came earlier today from the rescue.  The Chub Brothers, Bubba and Toby (pictured below) will be staying at Golden Pines!! 

Carl and I will 'officially' adopt Toby and the rescue will continue to 'officially' own Bubba, paying (only) for his vet care.  There are a few caveats with this arrangement; however I'm optimistic that it's one that has only Bubba's best interest in mind and no ones personal agenda.  I'm relieved and very thankful.  I'm also thankful for all of you who sent positive thoughts while I waited and worried. 

~Toby~

Waiting and a Lost Piece of History

I was told yesterday that the board of directors for the rescue would be meeting this morning and on the agenda will be 'The Chub Brothers.'  While I really think (and hope) that good sense and logic about their situation will ultimately win out and the boys will stay here, I still am nervous about it.  This in part is why I wasn't sure if it was that or the cookies I had for breakfast this morning that made me really antsy and I just couldn't sit still.  To rid myself of that extra energy, I packed up Rudi and Charlie and ran a couple of errands.  One of my stops was Southern States for bird food where I was taken in by another kind of bird--Lots of baby chicks!!  They are really cute, and I thought were inexpensive at about $5 each; I had $25 in cash but resisted!    

On my way home I drove past this barn. It was built in the 19th century and is the last intact barn that the town had.  It is also the spot for a new shopping center and the barn and silo as per the agreement with the town were supposed to be dismantled and incorporated within the center.  However, the construction company's version of 'dismanteling' the barn with the use of two backhoes looked more like a demolition!  Of course the town is really upset and issued a 'stop work order' and is fining the construction company $1000 per day until it's resolved.  The construction company in turn fired those responsible for the 'mistake' and vowed to 'make it right'  in a written apology to the town and its residents that appeared in the local papers.  But I think it's really sad that such a beautiful piece of the towns history and the gateway into it have apparently been destroyed. 

I'll be sure to post when I hear something from the rescue about 'The Chub Brothers.'

I hope you're enjoying your weekend!

        

Groundhog Day on April Fools?

To begin, I really enjoyed reading your comments from my last post about inconsiderate cell phone users and which is your favorite day of the week!  Thursday didn't turn out to be to bad for me.  Late yesterday afternoon I got a call from the office manager where I work asking if I'd like to take Friday off because of a 'wide open schedule.'  Not wanting to be at the office looking for something to do, I said I would.  Wednesday had also been a bit slow and with no patient after lunch another co-worker and I decided to make 'banana boat s'mores' in our little toaster oven for everyone--Now you know what goes on in a dental office when there are no patients--They had been featured in a magazine we received and we thought 'why not?'  I've never had them before and have to admit, they weren't too bad--But then isn't anything that has melted chocolate on it?  

  

The day at home has been a pretty quiet one.  As I write this, 'stray cat' is eating the food we put out this morning.  Of course it runs when it sees us, or crouches down in the grass and watches as we put the food down; but it is coming every day to eat.  I did notice the crows got there before the cat did, so I hope there was something left. I also have caught my very first glimpse of our one of our resident ground-hogs!  A sure sign that despite the cold that spring is here--At least I 'think' it was the ground-hog.  It is April Fools day after all! 

I'll end this post with a picture of Hamlet.  You can see on his left shoulder a tumor that is a little smaller than a tennis ball.  It's not the same one that he had removed, but it has been there since he came to us.  It has gotten a little bigger, but it doesn't seem to bother him, so with that, it doesn't bother me...At least not too much... 

Will They Stay and the Stray

Another non-eventful but busy work week coming to an end. I thought Spring was going to remain, but Old Man Winter remains tough and determined and is threatening us with snow flurries for the weekend.



~Toby~

 I've been waiting to hear back from the rescue about our foster boys, The Chub Brothers, Bubba and Toby. No, we've not officially adopted them and so they are still 'owned' by the rescue. I've known since they got here last June that they probably weren't going anywhere, but I just never did anything to make sure they would be staying.  Then when I wasn't asked for several months about them, along with all that was going on with Hamlet and Tanner, it just was easier to put it all on the back-burner.  But I came back onto the rescues radar a couple of weeks ago when I was asked about them, and if or when they would be put up for adoption, since that's the goal.  However we're facing a dilemma with Bubba. For one day about every 2 months or so, he'll have 2-3 grand-mal seizures. I've spoken to my vet about them, and I don't feel like it's time yet to put him on medication for them; but I know there may well be a time when the seizures will become more frequent and he will need to be. Along with Toby he is also unable to do flights of stairs. 


~Bubba~

The 'adoptability' of both dogs in my mind is in question. The Chub brothers are a bonded pair and so one cannot be adopted without the other.  Can anyone be found (beside me) willing to take on a pair of 11 year olds that can't do stairs and one that has medical issues?  Add to that the expense of nearly $100 monthly for Bubba's medication for arthritis.  Having placed dogs for about 10 years now, I have my doubts about someone being found that will fill the needs for both these boys.  Thinking ahead, I know that we can't incur the expense of both dogs.  But I have offered to adopt Toby and take on his expenses if the rescue will allow Bubba to remain in our home as a 'long term foster dog.'  Meaning that he would remain in our home for the rest of his life and all his medical expenses would be paid for by the rescue.  I felt it was a fair offer.  However I know how the rescue sometimes operates and I know that 'politics' always goes along with this type of thing (which is why I prefer to stay on the sidelines) so I guess I shouldn't be surprised that I've heard from no one. 

In other news, the 'stray cat' that I last saw in January sometime has returned.  I was so happy to see it!!  It came close to the house so this is the first time I've gotten a really good look at it.  I think that it's a pretty cat and a relatively young cat too.  And while this picture doesn't really show it, it's a little on the thin side as well.  The poor thing was eating the bird seed and stalking birds--So guess what I did?  Yes, even though I knew it would run off, I sent Carl out right away with a plate of food for it.    

Paws crossed for 'it' to find the food

and that the Chub Brothers can stay with us...