My other babies...

I don't know about other people, but I absolutely cannot imagine my life without at least one dog in it. I love cats, too. But after losing my Smokey cat a couple years ago, I was too heartbroken to even consider another cat. These last couple of years have been the first in all of my life that I didn't have a gray cat named Smokey. But the thought of life without a dog is unthinkable to me. I love my fur babies beyond all reason. They bring so much happiness and laughter to my life. Without them, I feel like life would be so dull. My pups are alot of responsibility, and they take up alot of my day. Outside, inside, food, water, water, water, water, food, brush, play, pet, love and affection. My Max dog is getting so old. I know he has some pain, and I am doing what I can to manage it. He still has that adorable dog smile 90% of the time, though. So I do not think he is ready to leave me yet. I can't imagine my life without him. He has been the most loyal and loving friend I have had over the last 12 years...maybe ever. I love him and take care of him as tenderly as possible. I do what I can to make his life as comfortable as I can. I can't even bear to think of it... Then there is my Jake dog. Jacob Marley. Just to let you know, all of my dogs have middle names. The sole purpose of that is so they know when I mean business. You can laugh, but it is true. If they are outside or playing inside and I call to them, they can have selective hearing. If I tack their middle name to it, they know I am serious. Anyway, back to Jakey. Jake is a mutt dog that was the offspring of a litter from a dog I had that was supposed to have been fixed. Yeah, not so much. Anyway, Jakey is secrectly a genius. I truly believe that. I believe he keeps his superior intelligence a secret so that not much is expected of him. That brings me to Bella. Bella Jane. Bella is a beagle rescue. She was lost on the road and stuck between 2 concrete barriers. People were flying through the construction area, just barely missing her. She was terrified. We almost kept driving, because we didn't need another dog. But knowing we would have to drive throught the same area the next day, we couldn't bear the thought of seeing her dead in the road. We turned around a mile up the road, pulled over and got out to try to call to her. I am here to tell you that the idiots driving through the construction (it was dark) didn't slow down for me anymore than they did Bella. I was nearly run over by some fool in a hurry to get where he was going. Anyway, I was able to coax Bella over to me. We put her in the car and fed her from our dinner we were eating while driving. When we got home and examined her, she had what is called a cherry eye. It is where the muscle in the eye ruptures due to stress, strain, infection, etc. Took her to the vet, who identified her as a full blooded beagle, about a year old. He also said she had had a litter that hadn't been weaned long. The vet said that if he had to guess, he would say that her cherry eye was the result of giving birth to a litter of puppies. He said that it happens sometimes with smaller dogs, and that maybe her owners were using her for breeding purposes. In other words, she gave birth to a litter to be sold, they kept her until the pups were weaned, and then they tossed her so they didn't have to pay for the surgery to fix her eye. Grand total for the surgery: $40. People can be such assholes. Anyway, Bella is quite the diva of the house. She is prissy, but can be a little bad ass when necessary. She loves us all, but positively adores Joy. Last of all is my Lab puppy, Daisy JoAnn. Daisy for a dog we had growing up. JoAnn for my beloved mother. People might think it's strange that I named my dog after my Mom. Not anyone who knew her. I never knew a bigger animal lover than my Mom. And if it wasn't for my Mom, I wouldn't have this dog. Joy's Mom got Daisy to keep her company after her Dad passed. Four days later, she remembered that she isn't an animal person :-) Also, this dog had so much energy. She was about six months old or so, so she was already a good size. But she had no training. She was worried she would jump on her and knock her down. Quite frankly, I was worried about it, too. When she decided she couldn't keep her, she offered her to us. My immediate reaction was HELL NO. The last thing we needed was a 4th dog. The preacher is the one who offered this dog to Joy's Mom. When he called the people who had her, they were literally on the road the pound was on to drop her off. I thought about it and prayed about it. And then I thought, what would Mom do? There was my answer right there. My Mom once adopted a dog at the vet's. There was a box of puppies that said free to good home. Will be put to sleep at the end of the day. My Mom never approached the box, never looked in the box, nothing. As she was leaving the vet, she told the receptionist to pick out the ugliest one in the box and bring it out to her car. That is how we got Lucky. Lucky taught me to walk and fought off two German Shepards who tried to attack me in the back yard when I was 2. As I said, that was my answer. My Mom would never have allowed that puppy to go back to the pound and potentially be put to sleep. And neither would I. To be honest, Daisy is not the easiest dog. Think about Marley from Marley & Me. That is pretty much what life with Daisy is. But she brings me so much joy. This dog seems to sense that I am the one that saved her life. She loves absolutely everyone. But there is nothing for her like me. Right now, she is glued to my side, and that seems to be her favorite place to be. She is the wildest, most energetic dog I have ever seen. She tries so hard to behave, but it is almost like she can't contain the joy she has with the opportunity to live. I don't know what other dogs will find their way into my life to adopt me. But I do know that my life wouldn't be complete without them. Pontiff Maximus, Jacob Marley, Bella Jane, and Daisy JoAnn....I love you, you bunch of dogs!!! xoxoxo