Gone Girl

She was a very good girl. And now she's gone. It's a cruel twist that the length of pets lives does not match our own.

Odie Pearl was just over 13 years, 3 months old when she "crossed the Rainbow Bridge", as they say. It does sound much nicer than died. She was suffering from heart failure, diagnosed in January. Medication had held off symptoms fairly well for four months - but this past week she'd lost her appetite, She started wheezing and coughing - indicating end stages of the disease.

I spent a long week tormenting myself over a difficult decision. I must admit I didn't get much sleep, getting up with her, massaging her chest as she coughed and wheezed. Somehow Paul slept through much of it. I could have taken her back into Dr. Merk for a tweak of her meds - but then ultimately we would have been at this same place again, only Odie may have slid even further down in health after not eating.

That last night I wept silently in my bed as Odie (in between coughing and wheezing) and Paul slept. Then I got up and sat in my chair, researching topics euthanasia and canine heart disease. I cried some more. I determined I did not want Odie to suffer from this disease just so I could enjoy her company longer.

When Paul got up at 5 a.m., I talked it over with him. I was still waffling. It was morning - things would be okay, right? But I thought back on my nighttime angst. I knew more of those nights could be in store with this illness. I let Odie out to go potty and her coughing returned. I knew it was the right decision. A painful decision.

Odie sat quietly on my lap on the way to the Specialty Clinic at 6 a.m. It was quiet there. They were very helpful. It was where Odie was first diagnosed. They will notify our regular vet about her passing, so they quit sending notices. In addition, Odie's ashes will be shipped to our regular clinic.

The procedure itself was very peaceful. Odie had an IV port inserted and she was a little nervous when she came back from that. The veterinarian came in next. He turned out to be a guy we knew from Amy's volleyball days - when she played with a traveling team from Corning. He put a shot of something in the port to make her sleep. It worked in about a minute. The next shot into the port stopped her heart in less than a minute. I cried. Paul hugged me.

Ever since Odie was diagnosed with this serious illness I have tried to drink her in. Her soft, soft ears and warm brown eyes. The way she would bop her nose into my calf and lick it when I came home. Odie's huge appreciation of people food. She loved raw carrots and I loved the way she crunched them. If I didn't feed her quickly enough she would whine insistently. I won't always miss that. I'll miss the way she burrowed under the covers at night - nestling against my calves early. Later we'd wake up and she'd be between us like a third person.

Odie loved treats!

Odie was a "people" dog. She especially loved ladies - like all of my Creston gang, Diana, Bobbie, and Deb. We moved from Creston over five years ago, but she still remembered them and would make a big deal about those gals.

Of course, she loved her sibs - Amy (Sissy) and Jud (Juddy). She called them the names in parentheses. When I'd say, "Juddy's coming", she'd sit staring at the door until he showed up. She loved taking naps with Sissy on the couch. It's hard to believe Jud was a sophomore in High School when we got Odie. Now Jud & Kara, Amy & Corey each have two dogs. It brings me great joy to know that my love of dogs is being carried on by my kids.

Though Odie was my dog, she had a special relationship with her daddy, Paul. Paul has never been a "pet" guy. He's a farm kid. They had pets - but easy come, easy go. Paul is very understanding of my commitment to our pets, and has gotten "sucked in" to loving them too. Every night Odie would sit by Paul's chair and gaze at him. He's pat his lap for her to jump up and get a nice petting massage. She loved it! He took good care of her.

While Odie loved people, she was not wild about her dog relatives. It's my fault - I didn't socialize her with dogs when she was young. She did learn to tolerate Gidget, the boxer owned by Leslee who provided care when we went out of town. We were lucky that we had Lila and Bill when we lived in Creston and Leslee and family here in WDM.

Our house is going to seem pretty empty. No greeter when we get home. I won't need to save tidbits of food from my supper - to share with the tiny hungry hound. No more lingering in the yard while Odie sniffs every blade of grass. Nobody to talk to when I toast English Muffins on Fridays, asking, "Are you ready for the Muffin Man?". She always answered with her bright eyes, barely chewing, gulping the food. There was little she didn't like. 

Odie's ashes will be stored in a special place with Moki. Two good dogs. They are loved. RIP Odie Pearl. A good girl.





  

Parenthood - we muddled through it

Our children didn't eat the healthiest meals. Amy tells people about our dirty little foodie secret - we ate Hamburger Helper. Heck - I admit it. The meals were easy and fast. Stroganoff, goulash, and cheeseburger - they tasted good, so the kids liked them. They also ate lots of spaghetti and pork chops/chicken and rice, grilled cheese, and soup. Your basic meat and potatoes. We'd serve vegetables with these meals, but it was tough getting Jud to eat them. I think we had the best luck with canned corn. Amy was more adventuresome.

 

It must have been "make a funny face" photo

We allowed them to order Happy Meals at McDonald's - before they were healthy. They loved the prizes and the fries. I bought sugary cereals - like Cap'n Crunch, Fruit Loops and another fave of mine - Lucky Charms. They're magically delicious, ya know. I grew up on the stuff and still like it today. We got Cheerios and Pop Tarts too. On weekends Paul sometimes made pancakes and eggs.

I was the baker - A & J helped me crack eggs for chocolate chip cookies. Sometimes they'd crack them right on the counter, missing the bowl. I'd try not to be impatient with the extra mess. It took extra work - I'd have to grit my teeth not to snap, as I'm not the most patient person in the world. I've written before about how rolling out Christmas cookies put me over the edge. Amy recalls how I threw the dough at the wall one year. Happy Holidays!

Loved those Easter outfits

Amy and Jud were lucky in the play department. I liked doing that! We went to lots of parks - we'd all get stir crazy at home. McKinley Park in Creston had a fun (and unsafe) kids area with a little swinging bridge and gliding animals that could knock unsuspecting kids down or unconscious. School playgrounds, Green Valley State Park and Rainbow Park - we liked them all. I loved pushing the kids on the swing. We also took Amy and Jud to cool playgrounds in other towns. Our dog Moki thought he was one of the kids. He'd go down slides with them.

Speaking of Moki - we made sure the kids grew up with pets. I know it's not for everyone, but I'm an animal person. It wasn't always easy for Amy and Jud to have Moki as a doggy brother. When he was 6 he starting drinking lots of water - and was eventually diagnosed as diabetic. I cried - thinking it was "curtains" for him. But no - we worked with our vet Dr. Brus to get him normalized on insulin. Everyone in the family eventually learned to give him the shots he needed twice a day. And we all had to make sure he didn't get any food besides his doggy food. Moki lived to age 13, followed by Odie - a plain but good hearted girl. Samantha the Pantha kitty was Amy's birthday gift when she was in 3rd grade. She lasted until last year bless her lil kitty heart.

I suppose I yelled at Amy and Jud too much. We attended parenting classes when Amy was 2 and learned to give "time outs" instead of spanking. Even so, at times I lost my temper and reverted to my childhood training of a whack on the backside. I hope my children weren't permanently traumatized. Amy was very stubborn and could last on our timeout bench for a long time before she would apologize for a transgression. Jud had to be relegated to his room - his 3 year old self would go into such tantrums, it was scary. Or he'd stop breathing and Paul would shake him and we'd yell "breathe" when he'd turn blue. I'm glad he grew out of that stage!

Looking back, it's amazing our kids grew up as well-adjusted as they did. Probably despite of everything we did rather than because of...
I like to read our niece Katie's blog about raising her children. The blog along with hearing my co-worker Becky's stories about her kids' antics bring back so many memories of the stages of child rearing.

This morning the CBS Morning Show featured a Mom who adopted a baby from Africa. The little girl turned out to have a severe heart defect. They tried to treat the problem once she arrived in the U.S., but she lived only 33 days and passed away recently. But the family loved her so well during her short time here - in photos she looked so happy to have a mom. I sobbed thinking of our baby Patrick - who died due to a heart defect after only 6 days of life in 1991. Stories like that bring it all back. I scared Odie with my antics! She had to get up from our chair - poor puppy. I would have liked a longer chance to mother Patrick.

Happy Mother's Day to my mom, Pat Bullock. I miss your strength, humor and intelligence. Thanks to my children who sent a nice gift, and for making me a proud mother every day. And to Pablo - who left me a nice and funny card today - and I'm not even his mother!

Little black wiener's birthday

It's hard to believe our little puppy dog, Odie has been on this earth eight years today. It's also our niece Jordan's birthday - so that helps me remember that January 26th is an important day!

Amy used this pic to paint me a water color of Moki - it's framed in our bedroom. Love it!

We waited until the "Best Dog Ever" Moki had been gone six months or so before we began to talk about getting another dog. Amy and Jud grew up with Moki as their bro - Jud was just 1 when we got the cute lil Westie pup. When Moki was 6, he was diagnosed with diabetes, so from that time on we gave him shots twice a day to control the disease - and we had to watch his diet closely. He lived to be 13 and was the poster doggy for our local vet clinic for diabetes all those years. The kids even learned how to give the insulin shots. Moki left a big hole in our lives when he died. His urn still rests in a very important spot in our home.

So any new dog we decided to get had big paws to fill! By this time Amy was in college and Jud was already a high school frosh - so I knew as usual, most of the dog duties would fall to me. A big dog was out. Paul and Jud said they didn't want another Westie. I looked at Boston Terriers, Pugs, Fox Terriers. All nixed by the boys. Finally Dad's girlfriend Kay, who had a kennel and trained dogs back in the day, suggested a miniature dachshund the same breed Betsy had gotten the year before after years of cat ownership. (the cats finally croaked). Hmmm all agreed, that breed would work!

Now, where to get the little guy, or in this case female. I decided I would like another girl in the house. I didn't luck out like I did when I looked for Westies (an ad popped up in the local paper). I found a breeder in Centerville online, and made arrangements to pick one up the day Jud had a soccer game in Albia, just north of there.

Pondville Pups - most likely a puppy mill, looking back. But what a strange trip! We found the place outside town, and went into the house. The pup was the last of a litter - she was in a crib in the farmhouse that had many pictures of Jesus prominently displayed. The religious channel played loudly on television in the background as we signed the papers. The Mammas name was Abbie something, and the daddy was a dog from down the lane. When I think back about the strange breeder lady, I think about Tammy Fay without all the makeup. Before we left, she clutched Odie to her breast and said (with southern accent, because it IS southern Iowa), "Well, Little Abbie, have a good life and I'll see you again one day!" Paul and I just looked at each other quizzically. Then drove off quickly.

We went to Jud's soccer game where Odie got all the attention. She was so cute - at 12 weeks doxie's noses are not yet long. She was so confused about where she was. Jud rode home from the game with us and Odie slept. That night she cried (we tried the kennel thing). She ended up sleeping with him.

This breed is very stubborn. She was a little tough to house train, but once trained she has had very few accidents. And she's yard trained - she will not run away from our house. Odie is much less naughty than Moki was. He was the Houdini about getting out of Kennels and getting food. Odie is just resigned to her place in life - "I'm here and the food is there". She doesn't open any cupboards or climb on chairs to get to things. In Moki's defense - he did put himself in timeout once he got caught - he'd go into his kennel for a couple hours.

I was the "alpha" dog trainer for both our dogs, but when I began commuting in 2008, Paul got to be in charge half the week - so Odie had part of the week when she had to look to him as her boss. It was confusing! On Sundays when she saw me packing, she would get depressed. Paul said she would be that way on Mondays, the first day I was gone too. Then should would adjust.

We were lucky that we had great in-home dog sitters in Creston - Lila and Bill Kleckner. I met Lila when she worked at the courthouse in the Auditor's office and I worked at the landfill and stopped in there often. Lila took over dog duties for Joanie, who used to come to the house and sit Moki when we traveled. Then Joanie got married, and didn't have time. When we got Odie, she didn't have special diabetes needs, so Lila just took her home. We liked that better than a kennel!

Odie is very aptly named - her eyes, like the Garfield cartoon dog, are very expressive. And she can spring with all 4 feet about 2 feet. Odie is wonderful to come home to - she is always so happy to see me. Her new routine is that she wants a Dingo as a reward for being good each day (Pavlov's dog had nothing on Odie). She will sit by the cupboard if I forget, and stare at it lovingly and intently. She is not supposed to beg while we're eating at the table, but once we're done eating, she does get scraps off our plates. Oh how she loves that!

Odie gives me "the look"

Odie loves Jud and Amy (who she thinks is named Sissy). When I tell her "Jud is coming home", she starts looking out the window. She also loves a lot of my girlfriends from Creston - Deb (who isn't a dog person but somehow Odie bonded to her), Bobbie, Diana, Lucy, Joan Weis and some others I'm forgetting. When she sees those people she does a little scream of joy and flops at their feet (no peeing thank goodness) and lays on her back at their feet. Then she'll scramble as they make their way into the room - to get the best spot for their attention. Sometimes she has to bring them her dollies (stuffed toys).

Like any good dog bred for rodent killing, she shakes dollies to break their necks. She's a whiz at chewing them open in record time to get the squeaker out. One time I had book club at my house in Creston and one by one, Odie got her toys out - showing off like a 3 year old. She also burrows under the covers at night, but by morning she's usually laying between us like a kid.

So happy birthday little doggy - you bring us great joy and we love you!

High on Life

menu

Paul and I are pleasantly full of comfort food after eating at the High Life Lounge.
http://thehighlifelounge.com/

The rolls were soft and yummy too

They serve great broasted chicken there - crispy on the outside and piping hot on the inside. The mashed potatoes were real - with chunks and everything. Gravy - right thickness and not too salty. Paul said the fries were good. Beans - green, were just canned.

High Life only serves beers that were available before something like 1974. So no lite beer, ay. So don't go expecting anything fancy. Paul had a regular Coors. The night's food special was chicken fried steak.

One of the menu items is Tatertot casserole for God's sake. The first time I ate that stuff was at Sally Rodger's house - made by her mom Anna Day. Love at first bite for me...so much so that I talked my mom Pat B in to making it. Good stuff!

I love the decorating at the High Life - probably because the room is surrounded by the beer signs of my childhood. They don't rotate though - worn out by now I suppose. I loved the sign at the White Rose - it rotated around and the smoke bellowed up through the woods. Our waiter was quite attentive too.

Our whole invoice was $17.95. We give it five Moki Heads.

Moki

People watching

My buddy Paula mentioned how much she enjoys people watching. I like it too. Interesting creatures! Like the guy I saw drive by the Wallace Building this afternoon when I got off work tonight - he had a big long goatee. What is it saying? Why does someone grow a long beard like that?

Check out this hair - it was the helmut head look. I wonder how I got it so straight, except for the alfalfa spot?

I'm sure people a few people look at the way I look and wonder what I've got going on. Hmm a grown woman with Justin Bieber hair? Well guess what - I had this hair in 7th grade - so I beat Justin! And even though I've had a gazillion styles in between (all short) it's back in baby!

The Des Moines Triathlon is being held in DSM this weekend. The finish line (or starting line) must be right by the State Capitol Building, right by my office. So I snapped a few photos after work.


This morning I visited Dr. Ava Feldman, cheery Dermo to the stars and regular chicks who have Bieber hair. I prepaid $200 on my credit card a month ago for her to zap up 8, count 'em barnacles (not a scientific term) off of my person.

Moki before he got too crusty...

I remember when Moki, our West Highland White Terrier started getting barnacles - those crusty skin growths, once old age crept up on him. He had one smack on top of his head - that became so much a part of his being. But I don't want crusty skin growths to be part of my being. AND as a bonus - she zapped a large freckle (translate age spot) on my cheek. This age thing is not for the timid!

Skirting the edge

Sometimes I think I'm just skirting the edge of sanity. But I just keep plugging away and it fades, and I keep living my life. Does everybody feel like that? I suppose it's because I spend so much time doing things alone when I'm up here. Do single lonely people feel like that all the time?

And couples - do they go slowly crazy together? Sometimes when one interacts with older couples one realizes how wacky they get. I can see it in my own life. You just settle into a weird routine. It involves food, television, laundry, pets - the things of our lives.

For example, I always felt guilty that I didn't brush my first dog, Moki's teeth more. So I got in the habit of brushing Odie's when I am home. So she got in the habit of (remember Pavlov's Dog?) standing by me when I brush mine each night. So I got her a little sesame street toothbrush. I put her up on the counter and give 'em a brush.

I know. That is pretty weird. But Paul is accustomed to it - he acts like it's perfectly normal. So think about the things I could start doing and he would just accept it. And viceversa! I'm sure there are some weird and strange things he does too - though I can't rightly think of any right off the bat...