I am a big fuzz head...and fuzz butt...and fuzz body!

Hello to all our furry and not-so-furry pals! It's me, Patches! I have been informed, recently, that I am a fuzz head, fuzz butt, fuzz body and everything else fuzzy that you can think of! Yep, I'm sportin' my winter coat. I'm also BLOWING said coat! So is Penny, so our whole house looks like one gigantic hairball!


As I told you last time, I will be going to see Cindy (our groomer) on April 7th unless she has a cancellation sooner. Oh God, PLEASE not sooner! Our mom has decided that she just doesn't have the energy to groom us herself right now. That's okay, Mom...Cindy gives me peanut butter when she cuts my toenails! Yum!


This is what is keeping our mom so busy these days. Yep, it's the wood floor again. Fortunately, since Mom was the one who installed the floor, in the first place, she definitely knows how to fix it! This picture is from when she cut out the old caulking that forms the "grout" lines and put new caulking in. She has had a major battle through the years to find exactly the right color of caulking! Since caulking is made in batches, you can't assume that the next tube you buy will be the same as the last one. It makes our mom growl!


This is what the floor looks like when she's all done trimming the caulking. She got really mad at me, last night when some nice peoples came to visit us. I got soooooo excited because the lady was petting me and I peed about 2 gallons right on a spot in the floor that Mom hasn't fixed yet. You should have seen how fast she ran to get an old towel! If the pee got into the wood, it would warp it and then Mom would probably never forgive me! The towel hit the floor so fast that there was no way any of the pee got into the wood. Yay for ME!

Last week, our mom and Aunt Wendy went to lunch with a very nice lady from the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine (Hi, Molly!). Mom was only gone a few hours and Penny and I were totally fine. Okay, we didn't like it that she was gone, but we know she needs to get out of the house once in a while. What is it with humans? I guess they get just as excited as we do when they go bye-byes! Anyhoo, we are not so excited about where Mom is going on April 2nd! She and Aunt Wendy are going to an open house at UGA and they will be gone most of the day. Hey, that's not funny! Who will let us out to potty and who will feed us? We're on a pretty tight schedule, ya know! Mom told us not to worry about it. Okay...I guess!

Well, everybuddy, I'm off to go find some wet caulking so I can leave my pawprints! Wish me luck!

Aire-hugs,
Patches (and Penny too)

Our weather isn't so sucky anymore!

Hi, everybuddy! It's me, Patches. FINALLY! Our weather has turned warm and we have no more snow. The snow lasted just long enough to turn our backyard into a major mud hole. Good for US, bad for MOM! She's been on mud patrol for a couple of weeks now. We could have had the door open, yesterday, so Penny and I could come and go at will, but our stoopid neighbor was burning stuffs in his back yard all day! The smoke was filling up our house and making it too stinky to have the door open. Well, today's another day and he had to go to work (haha on HIM), so we're thinking...maybe Mom will open the door so we can come and go as we please!


We're sorry we haven't been around to very many of your bloggys lately. Our personal secretary (aka Mom) has been really busy fixing our kitchen floor. She's about half way done. When she's all finished, she's going to have a teeny tiny memorial service for our dad. She finally brought his cremains home, on Friday and as soon as his urn arrives, he will watch over us from the china cabinet right next to Poppy. We are still very, very sad, but we are just taking it one day at a time.

Well, everybuddy, I'm going to go sit by the back door, now, and try to get our mom to leave it open! Oh, and thanks to everyone who wished Penny a happy birthday! She had a great day with lots of extra treats! Yeah, I got some too, but Penny's were bigger. SO not fair!

Aire-hugs,
Patches (and Penny too)

Happy Barkday to ME! (By Penny)

Hi every buddy! It's me, Penny! Yeah, I know, you don't hear from me very often! Today is my 11th birthday! It's hard to believe that I was born in the North Georgia mountains 11 whole years ago today! I was bred to be a hunting dog, but my breeder found out that I am gun shy, so he decided to sell me as a pet. Since what my pawrents wanted was a "pet", they drove all the way to Blairsville, Georgia and brought me home with them. Now, I snicker every time I hear the weather reports saying that it's much colder in Blairsville than it is here! I also snicker at my litter mates when I sleep in my comfy, ginormous bed because they are probably all still living in the cold kennel. So...take THAT Mr. Breeder man!

Our mom wants me to show you some of the beautimous flowers that we got from our DWB friends after our dad passed away.

I hope I don't get these mixed up since stoopid blogger (or Vista) won't let me see the pictures as I do the post. It also won't let me create links. Stoopid!


These flowers are from Inky, Molly and their wonderful peeps! They are very unusual because when they came, they were all just buds! After Mom cut the stems and put them in a special water solution, they opened up a little each day until they were just gorgeous!


These are from Molly, Taffy and Monty! Aren't they pretty?




These were the first flowers we got. They are from Aunt Wendy, Unkle Bill, Ezzy Rider and Jagger!

We would like to thank all of you again for the prayers and healing zen you have been sending to us. We still miss our dad and Poppy a whole lot, but we are getting better!

Well, every buddy, I'm off to have my third or fourth nap of the day! Then, I might get up and open a can of whoopass on that young whippersnapper named Patches! DoG knows she deserves it!

Aire-hugs,
Penny (and Patches too)

We WILL be okay!

Hi, everybuddy! It's me, Patches! We just want to let you all know that we are going to be okay. Okay, maybe not right away, but with all of your support and prayers, we are headed in the right direction!


Here, for your viewing pleasure, is a rare photo of Penny! Mom sneaked up on her when she was sleeping. She must have really be out because the flashy box didn't even wake her up! Maybe she was resting up for her big barkday celebration on Sunday. She will be 11 years old!


This is the last picture our mom took of Poppy. It was taken about 6 or 7 hours before she went to the bridge. We still miss her a LOT, but we are comforted by the fact that we know she's with our dad now. We are also very glad that she didn't suffer and that she showed no symptoms until about an hour before she left.

In other news from around here, our mom went to the Social Security office and found out that because she's OLD, she does qualify for some of our dad's benefits. Woohoo! That means that we get to keep our house! It sure is nice to get some GOOD news, for a change!

Our mom is trying to eat full meals again. Sometimes she succeeds and sometimes she doesn't, but that's okay. She is also sleeping all the way through the nights, unless, of course, we feel the need to pounce on her head or bark at nothing.

Thank you to all of you who have prayed for our strength. It's working, so please don't stop!

Aire-hugs,
Penny and Patches

The 3 P's are now the 2 P's. Poppy has gone to the bridge!

At 2:30 this morning, Patches barked to let me know that Poppy was sick. I got up, checked on Poppy and she was standing in the hallway. I asked all 3 if they wanted to go outside. All 3 went out, but Poppy wouldn't go down the steps. When Penny and Patches came back in, Poppy came too, but was very unsteady on her paws. I tried to get her to get back in her bed, but she wanted to come into the computer room instead.

About a half hour later, I heard a noise, so I got up to check on Poppy. She was stumbling around and trying to get to the back door. I picked her up and took her down the steps, but she wouldn't do anything. At that time, I made the decision to take her to the emergency vet. I carried Poppy back up the steps and laid her down by the door to the garage while I got dressed. I, then closed the gate between the living room and kitchen so Patches and Penny wouldn't escape while I took Poppy to the Tahoe.

While I drove her to the ER, she tried to lift her head several times and I kept petting her head and telling her it would be okay. I forgot to grab my cell phone, on the way out the door, so when we got there, I beat on the door and honked my horn. Finally, I saw an after-hours call button and just laid on it until I saw a person.

When the technician came out, he took one look at Poppy and said, "I think she's dying". He immediately took her inside, but by the time we got in there, she was gone. The vet came in and checked her and said she was definitely gone and his best guess was cancer. He told me that some canine cancers never show any symptoms until it's too late.

My question, right now, is: Just how much does God think I can take? They say God only gives you as much as you can handle, but right now, I'm thinking he's pushing it a little too far!

Rest in peace and find Dad at the bridge, my sweet Poppy!

Aire-hugs,
Lana (Mom to the now 2 P's)

Day # 7

It has been 7 days, now, since I lost my husband and the girls lost their dad. This entire week has just been surreal. On Monday, Wendy and I went to the funeral home and then out to lunch. I ate about 1/2 of my lunch and that was the most I had eaten since the previous Wednesday. I have no idea why, but the trip to the funeral home wasn't nearly as stressful as I though it was going to be and once it was over, I was a little calmer.

For the first time in a very long time, I have slept a full eight hours for three nights in a row. For two days, I have actually eaten 2 full meals each day along with a snack in between. I know how important it is to eat and sleep! Yes, I've had to force-feed myself, but that's okay. It's also okay that I have lost some weight this week.

Once all the medical equipment was gone, I think it was easier on the 3 P's. Okay, maybe it was just easier on ME, but either way, it was a relief to have it all out of here.

Yesterday, I spent about 2 1/2 hours with a bereavement counselor, here, in my home. He asked me a lot of questions and then just let me talk for as long as I wanted to. He will be coming at least once a week for as long as I need him.

I have an appointment with the Social Security office on Monday...assuming I have the death certificate by then. If not, I will have to reschedule. They have told me that I am eligible to receive a percentage of Stan's SS benefits. That takes a tremendous weight off my mind because although it will still be a struggle financially, it looks like I will be able to stay in my house.

The past couple of days, I haven't cried as much and I have been calmer. I attribute this to all the people who are praying for my strength. It IS working! Thank you VERY MUCH for all of your prayers, crossed paws, Aire-zen and all the other kinds of zen you have been sending! Oh, yeah...PLEASE continue to do so!

Also, I would like to send a very big thank you to Wendy, Inky and Molly and their peeps and to Molly, Taffy and Monty and their peeps for the beautiful flowers! I have taken pictures of them and will post them soon. (Sorry, stupid blogger won't let me create links!)

Thank you to ALL of our DWB family!

Aire-hugs,
Lana (and of course, the 3 P's)

This is for all the peeps and pups that are asking how we are doing.

Hi, every buddy! Since we lost our dad, on Friday, we have been very, very sad. Penny goes and lays her head on his chair and Poppy, Penny and I (Patches)keep sniffing his chair and his hospital bed. We know it makes our mom even sadder, but we can't help it. We are going to turn our bloggy over to our mom now.

Hi, everyone. It's me, Lana. It hasn't yet been 3 days since I lost my husband and I am NOT okay. Yes, he was ill for a long time and I should feel some sense of relief. Well, I had about 4 hours of some relief when the ambulance took him to the hospice unit at the hospital. When they called to tell me he was gone, all the relief ended.

He actually stopped breathing at about 4:50 a.m. here, at home. I shook him, called his name and tried to sit him up. All that was in vain. I grabbed the phone and called hospice. They said a nurse would be right over. I went back to Stan and raised the head of his bed and he started breathing. The nurse arrived at 5:30 and gave him nebulizer treatments until the ambulance arrived at 10:00. She thought she was going to have to convince me to let him become an in-patient, but in light of the events of the previous day and night, I was happy to have him go to the hospital. He had turned into a 2 year old and I couldn't handle him anymore. I couldn't make him stay in the bed and somehow, he had forgotten that he was sick. He was walking all around the kitchen without his walker and I was afraid he was going to fall and hit his head on the wood floor. At 2:30 in the morning, I heard him rattling dishes in the kitchen, so I got up to find a large container of ice cream melting on the counter, pills in the refrigerator and water ALL over the floor. (At least I'm assuming it was water). I finally got him into the bed and put ABH cream on his arm. It's mixture of Ativan, Benadryl and Haldol that has a very quick calming effect. I sat in the kitchen and watched him until 3:30 and then went back to bed, once he had fallen asleep. I never went back to sleep because I was listening to him breathe through the baby monitor. At 4:45 a.m., I decided I might as well get up. The dogs always bark, like crazy, when I get up because they want to go outside and mostly, they want to EAT. When we got to the back door, Stan tried to get out of the bed and I told him to stay there and I would help him as soon as I got the dogs fed. I fed the dogs and turned around to help him and that's when I found out he wasn't breathing.

I do take some comfort in the fact that he wasn't in any pain because that was his biggest fear. He never became bed-ridden, but his mind reverted back to when he was doing a lot of woodworking. (He kept asking me for screwdrivers and such). Before that happened (a little over 24 hours before he died), he was extremely worried about ME. He knew that once he was gone, I won't get his Social Security check anymore and I, obviously, don't have a job, so I will probably lose the house eventually. Some people have given me names of agencies to contact for help, but right now, I am incapable of making those calls.

I guess the hardest part is knowing that my family is a couple thousand miles away and the only real friend I have, here, is Wendy (Ezzy Rider and Jagger's mom). I have talked to her, on the phone, about 1000 times a day and she is going to the funeral home, with me, this morning. Since Friday, I have just wanted to be alone and I have been force-feeding myself enough to keep going. Even though I knew this was coming, it has been a major shock. Just a week ago, he was doing really well for a man with his illness. I expected to have some time with him being bed-ridden and non-responsive leading up to his death and that didn't happen.

Yes, this is the hardest thing I have ever had to go through and it's the first time in my life that I have lived alone. We had been together for 32 years and I went from living with my parents to living with my husband. Now, if it wasn't for my 3 Aire-girls and Wendy, I would probably REALLY lose it! It does help to know that all of you are praying for us and thinking of us. If you pray, I would ask that you pray for me to have the strength to get through this.

Thank you all for your prayers and comments and a special THANK YOU to Lulu (Bogart Handsome Devil's mama).

Aire-hugs,
Lana (and Poppy, Penny & Patches too)