Of Our Four-Legged Family and Death

On April 6, Spice’s time had come and we called Dr. Frey of Peaceful Passing. He was 17 years old and had suffered from kidney disease for the last couple of years. He’d lost over half his body weight earlier in that period and twice he decided to stop eating. That’s when I realized he was a “social eater” and I started keeping dry food on my desk so he would snack while I surfed the Internet.

Following his death I began to ruminate on my grieving process – or the lack of one in my estimation of what grieving should look like – be it over family, friends, or pets. Death and faith have been a part of life for me from a very young age. I’ve been told that at my mother’s funeral (I was just 13 months old) I was running around like any toddler. Someone told my dad to make me stop, but he refused on the basis that he didn’t want me to see death as a bad thing. And in my experience although I miss the departed I am comforted that they are in a better place and no longer suffering.

Instead it’s the little things I remember that bring sweet memories and mini-moving pictures in my mind …

How affectionate Spice was this last year and the stretching out of his little paw as he lay in your lap asking for more chin rubs.

The funny noise Sugar’s ears made as she shook her head – balalalululump!

My Sugar

Sugar looking at you with such intensity as if she were using telepathy to tell you something – and then chuffing in disgust when you didn’t get it.
 
 
Daddy teaching me how to cook, fish, and shoot. Calling me Pumpkin or Little Indian depending on how I was acting.

Daddy (my birth father)

And Dad’s (Dutch’s) smile that could light up a room. Such a gentle nature for a man who had endured so much, surviving the Bataan Death March and the Japanese prison camps.

Dad (Dutch) & I

Daddy taking me to get my ears pierced – twice – before I was 10 years old and buying me red nail polish for Christmas. And Dad sending me to a Mary Kay party when I was 17 with a blank check – “’cause you need to know how to do these things if you’re going to be a successful lawyer” (yea, back then I thought I wanted to be a lawyer).

Knowing that there was no hope of getting what you wanted if Dad said “no.”

Dad (my adoptive father)

Hanging with Daddy in the tire shops and shoe repair shops.

Daddy

And Snips’ barking – 0 to 200 decibels without warning. Watching Charlie jump out of his skin. Getting Snips going with three little words: “Is Daddy Home?”

Snips

For most of his life Spice became a recluse whenever strangers came to our house, but in his last year he came out from under the bed to be with our friends, old and new; to sit on the porch with our pet sitter and enjoy a last spring day.

Let your Cat Loaf rise on a warm window sill for 20 min.

Sometimes a Little Change is Good

So this last week at the shelter has been a little different for me. With no more worries about bringing home cat diseases I took the opportunity to cuddle some cats. I also got to bottle feed my first kitten. She was "the crazy one" as she constantly scrabbled at the bottle with her front paws all the while meowing up a storm about how hungry she was. At one point it was a true human experience as I tried to push the nipple in her mouth, she clamped her lips shut and meowed through her closed mouth as if to say "you can't make me eat it."

On Thursday when I went in to photograph dogs there were even more itty-bitty kitties in the office area. The shelter must have received a couple (or several) litters of kittens who still need to be bottle fed; it seemed like half of the staff was fostering two to four of these little babies. One kennel had four little ones in it that were howling to beat the band … they were HUNGRY! Their foster mom was busy running around the shelter so I offered to feed them. Then she said I also needed to "express them" … uh, what? She showed me how to take a towel and act as a momma cat massaging their private areas to get them to pee. I learn something new every day!

I expressed and fed all four of them before I headed out to the dog kennels. The next day I started thinking about the rabies clinic their foster mom had to run on Saturday and perhaps she could use a "kitten sitter." I got the okay from Charlie and soon arrangements were made for me to pick them up early Saturday morning at the shelter and bring them back that afternoon.

Of course, about the time I got them home and decided I wanted to sneak in a nap they were ready to be fed again. I decided I had to give them little names so I could keep track of who had been fed and who hadn't; so I named them after their looks … Brindle, Boots, White Belly, and Calico Fade. Tippi was quite distressed by all the meowing. I let her really sniff a couple of them and the little brindle colored one actually started purring when she did that … I think they have some big brother and sister dogs in their foster home. Tippi was actually whining loud enough that it made a great big chorus to wake up Charlie.

I posted on Facebook that anyone in the neighborhood should stop by and help me socialize these little darlings. My neighbors Sarah and Jamie stopped by first. We had great fun. Check out Charlie's little video. Our friends, Paul and Valerie, also stopped by with their daughter, Elizabeth. She was very good with the kittens and it was so cute to watch her go from person to person to interact with all the different kittens. At this point the kittens decided that they were hungry again so we had a little feeding party and then they snuggled down in our laps and went to sleep.

Early on Jamie commented that he'd have lots of kittens, puppies, and kids as long as they were this kind of tiny and cute. Then he watched me "express them" and he retracted his statement. LOL!

And then kittens and I had a very nice nap. I woke them up and took them out on the front porch for some good light to get some photographs before I returned them to their foster mom. They were hungry again and so I fed them one more time. All in all it was a great morning.

I did have some good puppy time this week too. After feeding the four kittens on Thursday, I didn't have as much time as I might like to photograph pups. I started with Thelma as the photo on the website only showed her snout; in fact, her biography described her as her litter mate since he was more prominent in the picture. She was very sweet and looked like she'd be the kind of dog that would be great running around with kids in a back yard.

Thelma (ID: 51118)

Next I decided to photograph Charlie. He was a smaller puppy in a kennel by himself even though his intake photo showed that he came in with a whole passel of pups. Once I got in the kennel I found out why he was on his own. He was skinny and a little weak. Poor little guy. As I sat down with him I saw that he had a little nose drip as well, not a good sign after my recent experience with Sienna. I decided I couldn't take the chance and go to other kennels after this and potentially spread something and then I remember some advice Tracy got when she was trained in Fido Fitness at the shelter.

Charlie (ID: 51687)

"Think about it this way: If it is their last day on earth, at least you made it a good one."

So that's what I did. I sat there with Charlie; cuddled him; fed him all the treats in my pockets and basically tried to make him feel all kinds of love and affection. I am ecstatic to say that he is being adopted … woo hoo!

Some of them you won't be able to save as they get taken up in the process … and some of them you will feel like you had a hand in making the rest of their life better.

Fluffy or Not I Love Them All

It's always good when I can get back into the shelter after life's chaos has kept me away. I was finally able to get there last Thursday for one of my regular sessions, and then Saturday I met up with "Jenny" and we did dress-up photo shoots.

Sienna

Of course, it's always a good day for me when I get to love on a Chow Chow. This is Sienna, who is a petite sweetie that just wants to cuddle. And even though she jumps on you to get your attention she doesn't pounce on you like a lot of dogs. She sort of hovers in mid-air and then gently falls into your arms.

[I am very sad, disappointed, - no, angry to have to say that Sienna was euthanized on Tuesday, April 19 for a (suspect) upper respiratory infection. It took over a year, but volunteering at the shelter finally brought me to tears. I need to figure out how to make sure that this doesn't happen to such a sweet Chow again.]

 

Suzanna (ID: 50698)

Suzanna was one of those dogs who surprised me – not because of her personality but because of her stature. I figured she was some sort of a Bulldog mix puppy; instead she's full grown at three years old and only 34 pounds. They say she's a Beagle/Bull Terrier mix. She's a little skittish of quick movement and a raised hand but warmed up quickly with a wagging tail.

Alice

We had a blast on Saturday putting pups in costume and trying to get their photo before they took it off. We started with Alice. Her name is really Jasmine but I changed it to Alice 'cause she looks like she's wearing Alice Cooper style eye make-up. After meeting her I think her name needs to be changed – she is not an Alice, not even of the Cooper type; maybe Daisy to go along with her hippie headband. A friend at work said we should change her name to Cleopatra to go with her eye make-up. Even some of the other photos I took showed a different side of her. She was sweet and well behaved during our photo shoot. She's a little hard to adopt out because her previous owners say that she is not good with dogs, cats, or small children. She doesn't seem to pay much attention to other dogs walking by her kennel … maybe it's time for a re-test.

Raza

Raza is a wonderful boy. Doesn't he just look adorable in his business attire? I also love this photo that seems to be saying, "And why haven't you come by and adopted me yet?"

Jack Sparrow (ID: 50944)

And we had to do this costume shoot – I mean after all he has an eye patch and is named Jack Sparrow.

Pepper

Princess Pepper is one of those sweet elder dogs – I love the look on her face as we put her little hat on – so sweet. She was adopted shortly after our photo shoot – Yea!

And then there is Riley and her Hello Kitty ensemble. Patrick had bought the Hello Kitty sweatshirt but it was too small for his dog so he donated it to the shelter for photo ops just like this. I had been looking all morning for a pup that it would fit. As "Jenny" and I came to do Riley's lady bug photos she saw the Hello Kitty blanket in her kennel and we knew there would have to be a costume substitution. Those ears kept popping up and out of the little hood. Too cute!

Riley (ID: 49505)

I will be back on Thursday to take more photos. I won't give up on these guys. I won't.

Fixing My Mistakes

Yes, I make them. Actually, I make lots of them and over the years I’ve learned to see them coming and have a safety net in place. But sometimes I don’t catch them and then there’s nothing to do but fix them. So it was last Thursday night.


Earlier in the week Tracy and I had been looking at the Adoption Gallery at the different dogs she had been walking. As we were looking at Pal I realized that the indoor & outdoor photos were of two different dogs. Tracy said the outdoor ones were correct – all black with just a white blaze on his chest. So Wednesday when I went to the center to work on some bios, I deleted the non-Pal photos.

Thursday as I was going through the rooms saying hello and looking for who needed a photo I came around the corner in Dog Room E and saw this handsome black and white Pittie with white boots and a bit of white on the tip of his tail. Hey, he’s the pup from the indoor-Pal photos – who are you? P – A – L. Dang, I had deleted all the wrong photos!

Pal (ID: 45192)

Well, that moved Pal to the top of my list for the night. He really is a very nice dog and Tracy says he walks very nicely on the leash as well. I even got a kiss – right on the lips! I saw a Lucy and Snoopy scene flash through my head – blech, dog germs!

Sunshine (ID: 43576)

Sunshine and Casey were two sweet little pups that didn’t want to sit still to have their photos taken. Both are wonderful, fuzzy, and full of love – and who could resist a platinum or strawberry blonde?

Casey (ID: 49566)

Hershey was a timid little thing, but I did convince him, with a few treats, to let me pet him and even give him a little doggy massage to calm him down.

Hershey (ID: 50046)

Well, the new week is here and I see that some pups are back and there is a whole new lot that needs photos.

Think Before You Give

Do you read The Onion? It is a wonderfully satirical human observation "news" e-zine. Charlie forwarded me one of their articles the other day that really rings true when you're someone like me who sees these beautiful little babes each week.

"Last of the 2008 Christmas Puppies Euthanized, Marking Start of Spring"

Read it and hear the truth that is only seen at the darkest hour.

Meet Zoey. She's a beautiful little Border Collie who was returned to the shelter this week because she was jumping on people and running around all crazy-like. Her former owners suggested that she needs a home with a fenced in back yard … Ya Think!?!

She's a Border Collie; she's made of pure energy. She needs more than a back yard. She needs someone who's going to take her on lots of walks, take her to Agility class, and find a Herding class. She needs lots of work to do for you to please you.

Suzie (ID: 49576)

Here's my bully of the week, Suzie. She got me with those adorable polka dot ears! She is a very sweet girl who doesn't seem to be one of those "crazy" bullies. She was a very good girl during her whole photo shoot. She was quite the little cuddler.

Sadie (ID: 2678)

Sadie here has a mouth on her. She couldn't stop barking to get my attention. She was very sweet and by her number she's from the "way back" days of the shelter. She is a lucky girl as she is going home. I didn't see the note 'til after our photo shoot – "hold for owner."

Shaude (ID: 49693)

Shaude's (pronounced "shadow" – she told me) story isn't as happy. Her owners had to take a second job and couldn't care for her. How horrible is it to have to hand your 12-year-old dog over to the shelter? We can be angry that such an awful thing has been done, but with a little faith in humankind we can thank God that we have never been in a situation where our only, ONLY, option we could see was to turn our companion of a lifetime over to the county animal shelter.

If you know of someone who's looking for a nice, mellow, older dog to spend some quality couch time with, please pass Shaude's information along.

Stella (ID: 49484)

Isn't Stella a beauty? For being in the kennel next to Sadie she had a wonderful calm energy about her. I think she would make a good snuggler.

Fifi (ID: 44854)

Fifi was in need of a photo shoot. I mean, why else wasn't this small cute puppy being adopted? I found out that she is a HOOT! Pure spastic energy – most of my shots were just a blur of nose and ears. She couldn't sit still for more than a second. She so wanted my love and especially my attention. I spent a little time with her after I got a few good shots. I wanted to see if I could get her to calm down some. She needs Fido Fitness to get rid of some of that excess energy, but she's too young. I used the "I'm not going to pay attention to you if you're acting like a spaz and jumping on me" technique. I had to stand up and turn my back on her quite a few times, but she's a smart little girl and it only took a minute or two for her to learn that to get my touch she needed to remain on all four paws.

Well, that's it for this session. Remember, pets are not good impulse buys or presents. Get a shelter gift certificate instead. It can be used to adopt a pet or to sponsor a pet that needs additional vet care, such as heartworm treatment.

We're Back!

Funny how those two words can cause two very different emotions. I'm happy to be back from vacation using my camera to help make some dog's life just a little better. But I'm saddened that in the last couple of weeks the Center has had a lot of returns.

Three that are part of my paparazzi posse are Sable, Marko, and Cameron. I didn't get a chance to see Sable as she went in to foster care before I got back from vacation. I vaguely recognized Marko Tuesday night; he has really grown – I guess that shows that the family was feeding him well. And then there is Cameron. He was a volunteer and staff favorite and everyone worked so hard to get him adopted. There isn't any return info in the database but one of the volunteers I talked to said she heard that his owner's wife never gave Cameron a chance because of his breed.



Sable (ID: 37300)



Marko (ID: 34677)



Cameron (ID: 31506)

Yes, the bully breeds require more special handling, but all of the ones I've met at the Center have been very sweet. In fact, there were four last night alone. Blondie and Bobbi are just little bitty things still full of puppy energy but looking for love and giving out kisses.

Blondie (ID: 48938)

Bobbi (ID: 48932)

Phillip is beautiful. The chocolate brown of his coat is just so luscious. He was a good boy but will need to learn some manners about accepting treats and not taking off fingertips.

Phillip (ID: 49197)

It was Chloe's first day at the Center. She wasn't too sure about me coming in to her kennel to start with, but once she realized I just wanted to give her a little love and treats her tail started wagging. Still, it took me a while to get a good "ears up" photo of her. I must say that I am partial to the close-up shots I am able to get now and again.
 

Chloe (ID: 49454)

Chloe's Close-up

It was tough to get a good photo of the two fluffy dogs I photographed last Tuesday night. There wasn't a lot of contrast in the coat and eye colors, and they were moving too fast.

With Trey, it was his first night there. – He was an owner surrender. – He wasn't frightened like Chloe; he was just more interested in watching the door for someone to come get him. He was somewhat strange for a dog as he had no interest in the Pup-Peroni® I had. He shouldn't have to wait too long to find a new home – he's cute, calm, fluffy, small, and a cuddler.

Trey (ADOPTED 3/16/11)

Little Bear is a puppy … ALL puppy. He is small. He is just 3 months old. And he is fuzzy. All these things put him first on my list and the intention to sit and cuddle with him for a little while. We didn't get much cuddling done. He was full of energy and play. He was pretty adorable in the way that he jumped up to give me kisses and tugged at my gown.

Little Bear (ID: 49036)

Don't forget to sit down and have a cuddle with your own little pup (no matter what age) this week.

My Trio of Heroes

You've heard of Batman.
You've heard of Robin.
And how could we forget Bat Girl?

I certainly can't, because tonight I was able to capture Bat Girl on film!

Bat Girl (ID: 48629)

 Okay, okay, my camera is digital, but it just doesn't sound as cool in print.

Rule #1: Never mess with Bat Girl – she don't play dat! 

She is really a very nice dog. She was barking at me when I got that crazy shot of her. She is full of energy but a sweetie all the same. She really wanted to play – a bouncy happy girl. Lots of walks, a yard to run in, and Canine Good Citizen classes would be a perfect home life for her.

Jillian (ID: 48566)

Jillian is one of those sweet bullies that is so very gentle when she takes the treats. I love the photos I got of her. She's still a puppy and has lots of energy. She cuddled with me for a little bit, but she had too much energy to sit still for very long.

Bruer (ID: 47038)

Bruer is back. I knew his name was familiar and I thought we had some good photos of him. Still his kennel card said otherwise so I got in the kennel. He had lots of energy and was camera shy. I got one good shot out of the gate and that was it.

After processing Tuesday night's photos I went looking through my archives and found the first photos I had taken of Bruer in January. He was camera shy that time as well – I think I got three mediocre shots – but his personality was much more skittish and frightened of things back then.

Cookie (ID: 47295)

Cookie was visiting with a potential new family member – how cute is this look! It's in the running for cutest puppy photo EVER.

Chloe (ID: 48524)

Chloe is a sweet lady who has lots of love left to give. She hadn't been at the WCAC long enough to go for a walk and no one had marked her card that she'd been cuddled so I took a little extra time with her. I took my photos and then sat down to love on her some. She has one of those beautifully soft heads. She really liked it when I scratched/massaged under her chin.

Don't forget to visit my Flickr WCAC Paparazzi set to see if there is someone there you just can't live without. They're looking for the family THEY can't live without.

Suze's WCAC Paparazzi Set 
WCAC Adoption Gallery