doggy update

yesterday was our typical meetup with our Milwaukee Boston Terrier Group.  it was a great turnout and it looks like it was a pretty successful fundraiser for WBTR.

Cari and Sue

the dogs were super excited to play with their friends.  maybe a little too excited...

Remi trying to make her sister feel better

the poor girls (Stella and Marley) were playing so hard that they didn't realize they had ripped open all of their pads on their paws. :(  we have one really sad doggy over here.

and other news...

Remi will be having her double knee and tail surgery a week from today!

this is both exciting and terrifying.  the tail surgery is a pretty risky surgery and i am so worried about it.  some dogs that have surgery on their tail end up not being able to control their bowels and have to be put down.  i am so scared that something terrible like this could happen.

Remi is FINALLY starting to come out of her shell.  she is finally finding her own place in our family.  i just don't want anything bad to happen to her.

not only that, but i'm also worried about the recovery from such a major surgery.  i'm worried about how she will even be able to go potty if she can't put weight on her back legs.

i just keep trying to remind myself that she needs the surgery and that it's in God's hands, and He will take care of her.  and i will be praying.

another thing...

we are getting a new foster (dog, that is)!  his name is Owen and he is 7.  he will probably be coming to us this weekend.

i'm so excited to have another foster, and excited for the day he gets to go to his forever home.  i'm sure he will be a fun addition to our family for the short time he will be here. :)

and lastly...

Bitsy got adopted yesterday.  this is another mixed emotion, because i'm happy she found a forever home, but i'm sad it wasn't with us.

we had considered adopting her because we are pretty sure she is Luna's relative.  she look exactly like her and came from a puppy mill.  there are only a few puppy mill's we work with, so it's possible.  either way, there was something about her that instantly grabbed my attention, and made me want her.

anyways, her foster mom said that the nuns that adopted him, one was really excited but the other wasn't.  that's super sad to me because both of us would have LOVED to have had her.  she deserves a family that loves her and wants her and is excited about her.

if it doesn't work out with her adopters, and she goes back into care, we will probably take her.  she is a senior and she has already had a rough life.  she deserves to have a forever home that will love her completely.

Remi (AKA Missy)

About a month ago, Mark and I decided that it might be time to look into getting a new dog.  We wanted a get a dog that reminded us of Luna, not to replace her, but to help fill a void that we were feeling.  Marley and Stella are full of energy, so we needed a dog that was the complete opposite!  Haha.  We had seen that WBTR had been getting some dogs in for fostering so I emailed Sue to let her know that we would be interested if an "old soul" came in.  She emailed back and said that Missy was the most mellow dog, and loved to just snuggle.  We were interested, but she was about 2 hours away, and we weren't in a huge hurry or anything.  About a week later, Sue contacted me to let me know that Missy was staying with her for the time being.  Since Sue lives only about 20 min away we made plans to meet her immediately!  We came in and sat down, and she came right to us and sat on our laps.  She wasn't our typical look of a Boston that we like but we loved her "old soul" personality.  We didn't take her immediately but after a few days, we thought we would foster her and see how it went.

 We decided to change her name to Remi because that was the name we had chosen for our next dog.  She didn't learn the name as quickly as some of our other fosters but she picked it up pretty quickly.  After only a few days of having her, she ended up getting a really bad UTI and had to be taken to the emergency vet.  We spent THREE HOURS(!) there that day, and it gave us a chance to really bond with her.  She recovered really quickly, once she was on antibiotics, but had a hard time with potty training because of it.  Other than that, she has been adjusting really well.

At first when we got her, it was really hard to tell if she liked us because she always has a very serious face and since she has no tail, there's really no way for us to tell if she is happy. But she has come out of her shell quite a bit.  She loves to run around the house and play with her sisters.

I took her up north with me to visit my sister and she had a great time.  She was the perfect "therapy" dog, just sat and snuggled with my sister.  She has been amazing and really helped us to not be so sad anymore.  I was crying almost everyday over Luna and she has made it much easier to cope.  She has a lot of Luna's personality and does little things that remind us of her.  

Next week is surgery week!  Remi has to have both knees and her tail operated on.  It is gonna be a tough recovery but I'm sure she will do great.  I can't wait til the day we get to see her run around like a normal dog.  And after her recovery, we can finally adopt her!  I can't wait for that :)

To my Luna

My dear sweet Luna,

You were my best friend, my baby, my red girl, my copilot, my old lady.  I'm still so sad and confused by everything that happened yesterday.  I don't think I'll ever get over it.

We took you to go swimming because you are a fish and you were meant to swim.  We were swimming for only about an hour, you've done much more than that in the past.  But when I came back from the jet ski ride you knew something wasn't right.  You hid from me which was very unlike you.... and then I don't know what happened.  You had a seizure or a stroke or something terrible happened to you. Something that you didn't deserve.  And within about 15 minutes you were gone.  Left us to be with God.

I know it's selfish but I want you back here with me.  We had you in our family for only about two years and it wasn't enough time.  I always thought to myself that since you were already about 5 or 6 when we got you, that even if you lived to be 13 that it wouldn't be enough time for me.  I couldn't imagine my life without you and now that is my reality.  I just don't know how to go on without you.

Your sisters miss you.  They keep looking for you.  Especially during dinner because you would always lick each others bowls, and now yours isn't there anymore.  I was holding your collar and Stella heard your jingles and went to find you.  Marley was walking around the house looking for you too.

Our family is no longer complete.  We are missing the glue.  And not only us but everyone you met in your short time with us misses you.  Grams even said you are the perfect pet and we all know Grams isn't much of a dog person, but that never seemed to bother you.  Oma and Opa and Auntie Sara all loved you the most and are all grieving your loss.  And all of the rest of your friends miss you... Starla, Jake, Penny, Maddie, Jett, Grandpa Jeff, Grandma Kris and many, many more...

I was so proud to be your "owner" but really your Momma.  You were a Momma to so many puppies and you deserved to be babied too.  I would have babied you forever if God would have let me.  How will we ever move on?  How will we move from our home, the only home you had ever known?

I will miss your big bug eyes.  I will miss your dancing.  I will miss your snoring.  I will miss your big ole' kisses.  I will miss your excitement over a squeaker.  I will miss how when you ran, you hopped like a bunny.  I will miss you scratching at me so I will let you sit on my lap.  I will miss our walks to the mailbox.  I will miss snuggling with you.  I will miss watching you swim.  Most of all, I will miss your unconditional love for me, cause I know I definitely had that for you.

I know Lil Grams is so happy to have you there with her.  I know she will take care of you, and take you for walks and watch you swim.  Maybe you can make friends with little Winston too.

Please know how much we love you and how much you meant to us.  You touched so many lives and we will forever miss you.

I love you my dear sweet Luna.  My Luna Tuna.  My LuLu.