Surrounded by the depression of death

   I got a little rest this afternoon - a short nap sitting up on the sofa with Gizmo lying down on the sofa next to me - taking up more of the seating space than me.

   I had an assortment of small things to eat - PBJ for one! And then GI problems again.

   Please ...... there is nothing strange going on in my mind - won't be doing anything stupid .... but b******g! And i had made an arrangement with my next door neighbor a few months ago. We both get a morning paper - and if either of us see that the paper has not been picked up from the driveway by late afternoon - then we call each other to make sure either of us is OK!

   It works pretty well for two people each living alone.

   I am so sorry for my friend Carol ... because she did imply that her son Donald had taken his own life. This has got to be ripping her apart. She has very strong Catholic beliefs and ... I'm sure she is terrorized at her sons ultimate destination - according to her beliefs. It was Carols only child - and she has no brothers or sisters.

   I had a close friend who lost one of her sons 15-years ago to drugs. She still blames herself for not doing what she could have then. She did the tough love thing, turned Ron away from her door (to get straight) - and he was found dead in the streets within a few days. It still haunts her. 

   I hope Carol finds some sort of peace in all of this.

   I talked to my youngest daughter last night. She really can't relate to the loss of people in her life - she's only 28. She listened - but could not really relate.

   Thanks again to all who wrote here. Over the week-end, I watched the Utube video that Susan had made a year ago - with her huge Samoyed "Igloo". I hadn't watched that video in months. It brought tears to my eyes again.

   That was a lady i knew from the local Samoyed Rescue Group. In the video (with the very emotional background song "Best of Friends"), it was apparent Susan was preparing for her old friends aging days coming to an end soon. Igloo was 10-years old and a huge dog. In reality, Susan was the one who departed first ... and everything indicated that she drank herself to death that week.

  What a terrible waste.

   An e-mail came early last week about "Igloo". He's still up for adoption. He is a special needs dog (special food and meds) and at the end of his life - so he's hard to place. And he's too much for me to consider handling - along with Gizmo. 

   Just letting it out. thanks.

   He does have this habit to take something of mine when I'm on the phone. Then he parades around with it - knowing I can't be on the phone and chase him at the same time.

   He did this two weeks ago with my nearly new $500. pair of eyeglasses. I can't tell you what I said!

   He did that today with two items he's already torn in the past - a DVD with it's case ... and a protective case for a small set of really fine hobby screwdrivers from Germany. He didn't get ahold of the screwdrivers though!

   He is messy looking - needs a better brushing than he's had ... then to the groomer next week for a bath and trim cut he really needs. He's the canine equivalent of a 1960's hippy right now!!!!

   I thought his food was expensive at $34.00 for a 15# bag. Karen - Jasmine is eating like a queen on that new food! But we do what we need to do to keep our 4-legged friends happy.

   Giz has a girlfriend, a 45-pound yellow lab mix - but he hasn't seen her for about a month! Otherwise .... he's my buddy - and doing pretty good! His owner need to brush him out completely so he can go see his Samoyed buddies this Sunday at the local fund-raiser. I know with a good solid brushing by me, much of his old coat will come out - so the groomer can then do shaping next week - after the bath.

   Giz is small for an adult male - at 42# but his rear legs have that sled-pulling heritage. He is a STRONG puller! Igloo is very oversized at 90# (50 to 60 is normal) and i can imagine he could pull a Ford F-150 if he had to! Too much to handle for me - along with Gizmo.

   Fun doing the dog talk!

   At 1:53am, I heard Gizmo's little low-pitched howl. I thought, as usual, he wanted water - so i got up, rinsed out his bowl, gave him water - and went back to the sofa to sleep - muttering to him "water"!

   In a few minutes, I heard him lightly howling again. I ignored it! Soon, the howls became louder - and then became barks. He didn't water. He wanted more room on the sofa - so he could spread out when laying down next to me.

   Instead of arguing, I just got up - and moved over to the recliner chair. He doesn't like that chair - beause there is no room for him up there when I'm sitting in that chair. Within a minute or two, the howling started.

   This time, I got up - tried to catch him to put him in his crate. He doesn't like his crate if I'm home. He played his "catch me if you can" game - at just past 2am!!!!

   Finally ...... i went over to the sofa and sat down .... which is what he wanted! BUT, when he jumped up on the sofa, I said "off" and pushed him off. That really puzzled him.

   He didn't know what to do! After 10-minutes of pacing back and forth, he just sat on the floor - looking at me! I motioned to him to come up here. He did. And as soon as he did, i slid down into the laying down position - and he had to make room for me.

   By 2:30am this morning - we were both finally ready to sleep again.

   I couldn't do this every night!