A Tribute to Blue

Our sweet, tired Blue wore completely out today.  When I took him out the back gate for his absolute favorite pastime in the whole world  - a walk – he just laid down and couldn’t get up.  Rick carried him to the car for a ride to the vet.

Blue was in “shock” and “dehydrated” so the vet kept him at the clinic so he could do some tests.  We were all hoping for a miracle.  After a couple of hours of tests, x-rays and fluids, Dr. Ramsey called to say there was nothing more to do.  The x-ray showed that his heart had shrunk and was unable to produce the blood volume he needed – possibly due to a tumor on his adrenal glands.

Rick and I went back to the clinic and loved on him as he breathed his final breath.

He was such a regal, beautiful dog.

It’s hard to believe he started out so tiny.  Here I am holding him at 3-weeks of age.

Our poodle, Pogo, sired two litters and we were awarded two pups in 2001 – Blue and his sister, Molly, who ultimately went to live with Candace.  Those two were best buddies and ran and played like crazy whenever they were together.

Sometimes to keep them quiet they were put in their pen.

Our dogs have always loved to travel and when in the car they are strapped in with their seat belt harnesses.

Blue was a member of a large “tribe” for awhile with Pogo, Molly and Doodle Bug.  As you can tell, walks could be quite exciting!

Halloween in Hollytree was always quite thrilling, with hundreds of trick-or-treaters.  So Pogo and Blue got dressed up each year and we all sat out on the porch with our treats.

Blue always had a special place in Logan’s heart and whenever Logan would visit, Blue was either in his lap or on his shoulders.

 Blue has also had his moment of fame when he was asked to be in a music video.  Stayton Bonner sings a song about his dog, Willie.  Unfortunately, Willie had died so Blue was asked to stand-in.  He did a great job and we should have gotten him his Screen Actors Guild card so he could have starred in more productions. ☺

A trip to the Circle Star Pet Resort was always a treat for Blue and Riley.

Bye, bye my beautiful boy.

RIP my sweet Blue and enjoy your new, energized body!

LET’S PLAY BALL!

Other Links:

Blue could HOWL with the best of them.  He hated for us to leave and he would howl to let us know.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyhXOm3ULJg

He loved our feral cats and he and Socks would cause quite a ruckus.  Socks will certainly miss you, Blue.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMoMZKxKS5k

Blue has slowly weaned Riley away from playing as he got sicker.  But, they did love to play while Blue felt good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXUOe7r0u4Y

The “Me and My Poodle” video by Stayton Bonner (Unfortunately, he took down Blue's video, but here is the song.)

Me and My Poodle song w/o video

  
http://www.yallwire.com/player/staytonbonnermeandmypoodle.html?detect_bitrate=_300


Blue
April 5, 2001 – July 19, 2013

Why Dogs?

Some of you may be wondering why I have put memorials to my three dogs in the "beautiful-older-woman" blog. Most of us "older" women have families and pets that are just as important to us as our beauty routines. If we don't have the love and joy of friends, or family, or pets our lives just don't seem nearly as fulfilling. So, good nutrition, exercise and skin care are still important, but they are just part of the rich fabric of our lives.

Good-Bye My Beautiful Pogo

Bunkers Pogo Coker (Pogo) died today at the age of 9 1/2, after a courageous 15-month battle with bladder cancer. He was born February 17, 2000. His parents were "Betsy" his white mother and "Legacy" his black father, both champion show dogs. Pogo was the father of two litters before he was "fixed." He enjoyed himself :) and our family got two gifts... Blue and Molly, pictured here when they were only 3 weeks old.
Pogo was an extraordinary dog. He was beautiful. He was smart. And, he had a delightful personality. There is no one who visited our home that hasn't had to pet him. He insisted because he wanted everyone to be his friend. Pogo was a standard poodle and he had a silver-black-gray coloring called "blue" in the poodle world, which is rather rare. He got his name because from the time he was a little pup until he became sick he was very bouncy and energetic... just like he was jumping on a pogo stick... and he loved to play.
All of my dogs have had to be "models" for my many photo classes and definitely learned to pose. Below Pogo is posing with Blue and then with Doodle Bug.
He was patient. He was kind.
He followed me everywhere. Our granddaughter recently lamented that my dogs wouldn't follow her and said, "When I grow up I want to have my own dog who will follow me." :)

We miss you Pogo. I'm glad we got to take one last trip to Austin last week since you've always loved to travel. Blue misses you, too. You added so much joy to our lives these past nine years. Enjoy your new life without pain.

Walking

Walking is such a good, easy way to exercise, but if we don't make it a habit we sometimes start skipping days and then we start skipping more days until we are only walking when the weather is perfect or the time is right. As you know, we must make our exercise a habit so that we don't have to think about the weather or the time of year or whether we really have time.

I will tell you about how I have made my daily walks a habit just to give you an idea, but, of course, each of you will have to make a habit that fits with your life.

I have dogs to walk. That is a very good motivator as they need exercise as much as I do. As their 'mother,' I must keep my 'children' healthy. As soon as I get up, I put my walking clothes on. Some days, I may have to set the alarm for 5:00 A.M., if I have someplace to go that day. I have just learned that if I don't do it first thing, I will tend to skip it. So, walking first thing in the morning has become a habit seven days a week. Of course, if it is raining hard I can't risk getting those poodle haircuts ruined, so we don't go. :)

However, that doesn't really happen too often. The only other variable is the length of our walk. Some days we only have time to do a 20-minute walk, whereas other days we can do thiry or forty minutes.

Whenever my granddaughter stays with me, she knows that we have to walk the dogs. When she was very small, I would push her in the stroller and hold 3 leashes. It got to be a little complicated, but we would do it. As she got older, I would hold her hand and one dog leash with my left hand and hold on to the other two dogs with my right hand. This also was complicated, but we would do it. Now that she's five, she can walk beside us and will keep up, especially, if I promise her a stop at the neighborhood park or a special cartoon while we eat breakfast.

Because I now have only two dogs to walk, it has gotten much less complicated and I have pulled out my i-pod. I have found if I download a motivational talk or a workshop, I will walk longer because I am so interested in listening to the talks.

I hope you can find ways to make your daily exercise an enjoyable habit. Leave me a comment as to how you have done that in your life.

Rest in Peace My Sweet Doodle Bug

Doodle Bug was a very special dog who was born on Halloween, 1994 and died on January 27, 2009 at the age of 14 years and 3 months.

"Run, run as fast as you can;
You can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man."

This is how Doodle Bug came into our lives in October of 2001. He had gotten out of his yard and he took off running as fast as he could. He had run for 3 or 4 blocks right into our garage. The only problem was it was getting dark and he didn't know where he was. Since he had no collar on we didn't know where he came from so couldn't contact his owners.

We took his picture and posted signs around our neighborhood.When no word came from his owners I took him to the vet to get checked out. He had cataracts (but he could still see) and bad periodontal disease, and, in fact he lost 2 teeth right away. His owners did eventually see a sign and came to claim him. When I exclaimed how much I already loved him, they consented to letting me keep him.

Doodle Bug joined a large family... there were his new brothers, Pogo and Blue and his new cousin, Molly. Walks were quite exciting!



Doodle Bug's favorite pasttime was looking out the window and barking at school buses, golf carts, and motorcycles. He was going to keep us safe!

He loved his evenings with the family. He also loved family trips even though it got a bit crowded in the back seat between Pogo and Blue. He did have his own special seat between the big dogs so he could look out the front window. We went to Austin many times and to the beach a couple of times. He was such a good traveler.

Melinda was always using him for a model for the numerous photo courses she took and I think he really loved posing.

This was a fun assignment as he got to ride with his head out the window!

The pictures below reminded me of the times when Doodle Bug could still see. There was a knothole in the fence that he would look through to see what was going on in the outside world. Other times he would sit and look at the flower beds. Then when I wasn't looking he would scramble in and find a turtle. He'd scoop it up in his mouth and then run into the house through the doggie door. Because he never went in without me, I was puzzled. Then I discovered that when he found a turtle he would sneak in and I could find him in a corner of the house somewhere watching his little pet.


By Christmas this year, Doodle had slowed down quite a bit. Kendall decorated him as he rested in the corner so he wouldn't feel left out of the festivities. He was such a sweetheart and we will surely miss him.

In Memory of Molly

Our beautiful Molly died on November 2, 2007 at the age of 6 1/2. She was way too young to die, but it seems that she ate something that destroyed her liver. We don't know if it was some dog food that should have been recalled but wasn't or if she found some molded corn or peanuts from left-over squirrel food. Whatever it was it was horrible.

Molly was my "grand" dog. She belonged to my daughter and my granddaughter. She was the daughter of my Pogo and the sister of my Blue. She was loved by all who knew her. Anytime I took her to get groomed or took her to the vet, everyone commented on how "good" she was.

Molly was a great model for my photo classes. She would hold still while I focused the camera. It was like she knew she was beautiful and didn't mind if I made a record of that beauty. :)









Molly LOVED to play. In this series of pictures she was chasing and jumping at the water Kendall was throwing to her.

WE MISS YOU MOLLY!!



Articles about aflatoxin...

Dogs keep dying by Susan Lang

Even though Diamond, Country Value and Professional brand dog foods have been recalled for containing highly toxic aflatoxins, they have caused an estimated 100 dog deaths in recent weeks, say Cornell University veterinarians, who are growing increasingly alarmed. Some kennels and consumers around the nation remain unaware of the tainted food, which may have been shipped to more than two dozen countries, and as a result, they continue to give dogs food containing a lethal toxin.

Over the recent holiday weeks, Center and her staff worked around-the-clock to try to save the 17 poisoned dogs admitted to Cornell's Hospital for Animals. "I've been working with liver disease in dogs for 30 years, and I've never seen such miserably ill dogs," said Center, noting that severely affected dogs suffer from intractable vomiting and internal bleeding. "Despite our understanding of this complex toxin, we have no direct antidote for this poisoning. This has been an immensely sad holiday and one that will leave an indelible mark on the owners that lost their cherished family members."

Of those 17 dogs, Center euthanized 12 when it became clear they could not survive, and the remaining four were released, though the Vet College continues to treat new cases. Dogs that have survived consumed a smaller amount of the food than dogs that died, Center said. "Some dogs were stealing food from the kitchen counter. Others just stopped eating the food and begged for treats. Unfortunately, some owners used gravy and other mixers to entice their dogs to consume what they thought was safe, quality dog food."

Kaytee Squirrel & Critter Mix (Can be lethal for dogs)

Our BEST SELLING Kaytee Squirrel & Critter Blend attracts many backyard visitors with a pleasant apple aroma. Designed to attract squirrels, chipmunks and rabbits. Contains Corn, Black Oil Oil Sunflower, Whole Peanuts, Striped Sunflower, & Artificial Flavors.

Understanding and Preventing Aflatoxin Poisoning

Aspergillus is a mold that infects corn when stressed, but can infect other crops in the region such as grain sorghum, peanuts and cotton. Aflatoxins are odorless, tasteless and have no color: thus, they are difficult to detect. These toxins are extremely poisonous to humans, livestock and poultry. Four major types of aflatoxins are B1, B2, G1 and G2. Though all of these toxins are usually found in grain at a minute level, B1 is typically more abundant and causes an increased protein requirement in livestock and poultry that consume it.

Aflatoxin consumption by livestock and poultry results in a disease called aflatoxicosis. Aflatoxins are metabolized in the liver of all living organisms. High concentrations can lead to acute liver disease or death within 72 hours. Lower concentrations have produced various symptoms, such as feed refusal, decreased feed efficiency, impaired reproduction, hemorrhaging in muscles and suppression of the immune system.