Random Acts of "Kindness"

Posts tagged ‘dogs’

ROBIN UPDATED

I first wrote about Robin when she joined our life. The thought rambles said we had her for three months. We have had her now for a few years. She has grown, in size and weight. I can no longer easily pick her up. When she sits on my lap, I feel her weight. She went to obedience training and we are the ones trained. She is extremely smart and listens when she wants too.

We thought she was a border collie. We now believe that she is a rat terrier with a mix of blue healer for good measure. She originally came from Oklahoma were that breed is popular. Robin is very good at chasing squirrels and digging out moles. She would love to run with the deer in the country if we would only let her.

At first I thought she had a food allergy and had her on a restricted diet. Because I had a hard time getting her to eat, I started putting cheese on her food. Now spoiled, she won’t eat her dinner without cheese. She has definite preferences in the food we eat — ice cream, chicken., pizza, to name a few. She is very vocal when we don’t share. My husband has always shared his food with whatever dog is in the house at the time, Robin is no exception.

She must have had a hard childhood. She DOES NOT like to be left alone. She doesn’t like loud noises either. And HATES FIREWORKS AND THUNDER. When she was young and smaller, she slept with us.
Now she prefers to sleep by herself — in her own bed or if it is noisy, under our bed.

When she was younger, we took her to the dog park. She LOVED to run and play with the other dogs. Then she was taken down twice, by other dogs and her life changed. Now she has a few dog friends — but not many. She prefers smaller dogs. She is very vocal when she sees other dogs. Protecting us or herself?

We spent most of the last summer in the country. Robin loves to go for a ride in the car and most nights pestered until she went for a short one. She doesn’t go for rides as often in the city.

Robin still runs like the wind. She hasn’t lost any of her speed which is a good and a bad thing. I would have a hard time catching her when she is running. Recently she added a good ten years to my age. I recently learned that two of my cousins passed over. The next day I was thinking of how death comes in threes. Robin was on a rope across the street in the park. It was extremely windy and Robin didn’t want to be there. She did her best to escape the rope, and was successful. Collar still on her neck, she ran across the street in the path of an approaching small black car. I heard the thump and was afraid we had lost our dog. Thankfully she was just grazed by the front bumper and knocked into the ditch. She quickly recovered and ran across the street to the porch for safety.

Examining her body, I only saw two small areas — one on her muzzle and one on her foreleg where she had tangled with the car.

THANK YOU LORD, THANK YOU ANGELS!

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CHANCE MEETING

Looking back — my life has changed so much that it is hard to remember the time before my father passed over. I wrote that I have crossed a bridge, and I didn’t want to go back. Things that used to amaze me now seem normal. I hope that I never accept the happenings as common place. I hope that I always remember to say “thank you”!

I am often at the right place, at the right time to either help someone or be helped in return. Often I am delayed in order to accomplish the meeting. Recently, Robin’s leash was in my hand — we were going for a walk. EXCEPT — I saw a queen of heaven sprout in the yard. One sprout led to two which led to —–. Robin’s walk must have been delayed at least five minutes — maybe more.

Since we spend much of our summer in the country, I don’t see my neighbors in the city. I was in time to meet a neighbor, getting ready to fly to help her sister, who has cancer. Recently, in the country, I passed a couple looking for a parking place to attend an event. I shared information, parking available on the street down the road — parking places in the lots were filled.

At the event, the woman from the car asked me if I was a friend of Connie? Thankfully she recognized me. She had information of our friend’s husband who had had a stroke. I had been phoning, without success.
Leaving the Camper on Thursday, I passed the same couple who has just arrived at the camper, stopping to check on their friend’s lot. She had current information for me, although recovering, our friend was having a rough time.

The chance meeting doesn’t always involve a person, sometimes it is a song or a story, a book or a program. Most of the time it is information that I either need or something that needs to be shared. Last year, my chance meeting was with two dogs. In the country, I saw a German shepherd and another dog out for a stroll without a person for company. An hour later, I met a man looking for the two dogs. I provided the little bit of information that I could. Later that day, my husband and I were heading into town. On the back road I spied the two dogs heading into town. We offered them a ride and took them back to the campground to reunite with their owner.

If you have read many of by thought rambles, you know that many unexplained occurrences happen in my life. I often don’t remember them but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

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SHIRTS

Finally, after months, weeks, days of cloudy, chilly weather — a sunny weekend was forecast. My husband and I plus dog –” Robin”, planned to go to the camper. Our son planned to come out on Saturday. My cell phone rang Friday night. My son was very upset. I had taken his NEW shirts, seven in all to be dry cleaned. We have an old house — over a hundred years and the water is leaving a residue on our clothes when they are washed. Our son DID NOT want to wear spotted shirts on his new role.

On Tuesday, I had taken seven shirts to be dry cleaned. He stopped to pick them up on Thursday but they weren’t ready. We left for the Camper Friday morning. Friday evening the dry cleaner still didn’t have his shirts. To say that our son was angry would be an understatement. Not only did he not have his shirts — they were brand new. He would have to BUY MORE! Plans for the camper were CANCELLED!

Saturday morning the cleaner found his shirts. They had been there all the time, just were miss filed. But it was already late in the day. He was still going to stay home.

Saturday afternoon, Robin heard a noise behind a folding table in our room addition. She barked and scratched and raised such a fuss I asked my husband to pull the table away from the wall so she could investigate. NOTHING WAS THERE! He took her outside so she could inspect that too. They didn’t find anything. All day Saturday, Robin was camped out under the table. Waiting, watching, listening — BARKING, SCRATCHING. Making a ruckus.

Saturday night — Robin didn’t find anything, but she was DETERMINED — she was protecting us! She stayed on guard to capture it. She didn’t stay on guard quietly. My husband locked her in the camper part of the trailer. Instead of resting, going to sleep, it made it worse. ALL NIGHT — the barking, scratching continued. FIVE in the morning, I gave up, stayed up. Got dressed. Robin and I went for a walk. My husband laid down for a nap. I kept Robin outside until almost 10. We went for a long walk, we went for a drive. I had coffee with friends — we went to visit other friends. Every few hours I returned and left a note as to where we were going next. My husband got a few hours of sleep. Sunday afternoon I laid down for a nap. I was VERY GLAD our son had stayed home.

Sunday evening, at dusk — I saw a round, low to the ground being waddle across our lot. It was very round — tan and white. My husband thought it was a possum with babies in her pouch. I hoped it was leaving in search of a new, quiet home. Sunday night we got a quiet nights sleep. Robin was still alert, on guard but she also was tired. Ready for SLEEP, helped by an allergy pill.

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IT IS THE ICE

I like snow — I like the frosting on the trees, and the houses. The air seems fresher, maybe because it has been washed by the snow. When I was younger, I enjoyed many activities outside — ice skating, cross country skiing. Even younger it included sledding, making snowman and forts. Snowball fights.

Sadly, now — for the most part, I just enjoy looking at it, staying inside where it is warm or if I’m really adventurous — wandering the neighborhood — camera in hand — taking photos. As I write this I’m thinking of a photo I took of a garage roof, where the snow reminded me of a nun’s veil.

After a day, the snow begins to darken, reflecting the life of the city. As much as I like the snow — I DISLIKE THE ICE. This year, so far, we have had less than an inch of snow on two separate occasions. Both times, the snow had just fallen, when the warmth of the city turned it into ice. I would love to stay inside and wait for the ice to melt. But our dog Robin, DOES NOT agree. It would be lovely if we could open the door to the back yard and leave her out to do her business. She does not think that is what a backyard is for. She has to be out in the neighborhood, looking for squirrels or the treasures they leave behind.

As I have gotten older, I pay more attention to the soles of my shoes and boots. They have to have a good tread that will navigate the snow and ice. I also pay more attention to where I am walking. I’ll chose the north side of a street because it gets more sun. I’ll change where I walk because I know the paths will have been shoveled. I’ll walk in the snow covered grass if it is safer. Or if I don’t have Robin with me, I might walk on the side of the street, close to the cars.

I don’t remember having these concerns when I was younger. Then I just dressed appropriately, kept warm and went out to play in the snow. Last night I stopped in a store and noticed a much younger woman with her hand in bandages. I asked if she tangled with the ice. Sadly she did and broke her wrist. Snow is predicted. This time they are actually talking inches. We have just experienced a very warm week. The ground will be warm. Hopefully I will stay upright, on two feet.

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IN THE GENES

I know that genetics is important for health issues. Many diseases can be traced through the family line. It is harder for people who have been adopted and don’t know their parents or other relatives. It is not only hair color, bone structure and height that are shared. Diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure are just a few diseases that are passed down.

Emphasis is being placed on nationality — not only in humans but also in dogs. People are very interested in the countries that make up their nationality. This interest has expanded to animals. Sunday a program was on television that shared the breeds that where discovered in a few dogs from DNA testing. Especially when a dog is a rescue — the animal’s breed can influence their behavior. Science is progressing.

Physical traits are easier to track. Harder to pinpoint are talents — singing, painting and dance to name a few. On my fathers side, I have discovered a couple of painters. There was a strong interest in religion — my great grandfather was a minister. He was also very interested in herbs. That explains some of my interests. I don’t know as much about my mother’s side except there is at least one successful writer. I have heard that I share some of her traits — what they are I have no idea.

Just because a trait is in your genes doesn’t mean that it will surface especially when it comes to a talent, if it is a disease — life style changes can make a difference. Heart disease is on both my mother’s and my father’s side. Since I am sodium restricted — I watch the sodium content of the food I eat as best as I can. Therefore I eat a lot of fresh vegetables. I no longer eat a lot of processed foods. It would be lovely if I said I keep my weight down — but I try not to lie, I have a LONG way to go.

When I was forty, I discovered I could paint. I totally enjoyed putting paint on canvas for many years until life intervened. Recently I have been pestered to take up a paint brush again. I used to paint in oil but now my husband has emphysema. I’m planning to try acrylics — the different textures has me confused at the moment. Some of the paint is more liquid, similar to water color. Some is more solid, similar to oil. Both are supposed to dry quickly. Oil takes days to dry.

I had an idea to paint the flowers in our garden at the camper. I ran out of time and we came back home. I took a photo before we left. It might turn into a painting. Time will tell.

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TIMING

It never ceases to amaze me — too many times to count — I am at the right place at the right time to either help someone or be helped in return. Maybe I will accidentally meet someone on the street who I haven’t seen in a long time. Or I will hear something that helps to solve a problem or question that is bothering me.

We are at the camper. This week I took our dog, Robin, for a morning walk. Standing in the middle of the path, I came face to face with a yearling deer. (My best estimate of its age.) It was very interested not only in myself, but in Robin too. Now I don’t know if Robin saw the deer, she didn’t bark or pull on her leash. The deer just stood in the middle of the path and twitched its ears. Of course, I kept up a running conversation on my end. We got close enough that if I would have had a long shadow, it would have touched before the deer jumped off the path. Then Robin wanted to chase.

I will admit that I’m not sure what is occurring. Today is the anniversary of my Mother’s birth. Am I receiving “HELP?”
I haven’t put in special spacing or changed the font to italics but that is what is appearing on my screen.

Do I make God laugh? That seems to be my mission in life. I tell God my plans, LAUGHTER — things change.

Just because — I’m going to ramble on. I’m most interested in the formatting of the thought ramble! It will be most interesting when I publish it, to see what it turns out to be.

This morning, I took Robin for a walk. This time she didn’t refuse to walk, didn’t stop and lay down, but continued down the trail. This morning I totally enjoyed picking black caps (black raspberries)along the trail, freshly washed from the morning rain.
I stopped to fill my scooter with gas at the service center and said hello to an old acquaintance. As I passed him, I noticed that his face seemed thinner. I turned the scooter around and went back for a chat. I was correct in my thinking. He was 30 pounds thinner, having had surgery for a valve that was in trouble. It was allowing his lungs to fill up with fluid. He also had four blockages fixed. I can see his daughter’s “help” with this surgery. She passed more than fifteen years ago from Leukemia. I’ve known the family for years. It didn’t surprise me when he remarked that his mother in law was out, at 88 years young, pushing a broom on the deck this morning.

I think this thought ramble is long enough. It will be interesting to see how it saves and what formatting it publishes in.

One last thought, last year I heard that a restaurant had the best pizza. It was at the end of the year and since my husband does not like pizza, I didn’t stop. This year I had an occasion to stop. I ordered a personal pan pizza to share with my grandson. A) he is ALWAYS hungry. B) He would remind me of sodium, and help me stay relatively safe.
IT WAS DELICIOUS!

The strange formatting is still on the copy of this thought ramble before I uploaded it but it changed to normal on wordpress. I guess it was just for my confusion!

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HIDE AND SEEK

By now, if you read many of my thought rambles you know that our family loves dogs. I have had quite a few in my lifetime. In fact, Robin numbers #14. We have had many dogs, of many different breeds, so it is easy to say Robin is definitely unique. That description is an understatement. Now her breed is probably also unique. I like to say that her mother was a lady of the night and her father was a traveling salesman — an explanation if any was needed. We have determined that she has some rat terrier, and possibly border collie. A number of people think she has blue heeler also. The rat terrier explains the digging for moles and chasing squirrels. The border collie explains her need to know where her family members are. Her genes do not explain her need that we accompany her to the back yard or take her for walks on three to four times a day basis. Maybe that is explained by her being a rescue. She also won’t eat by herself, needs to be kept company while eating and DON’T give her plain dog food. It must at least have shredded cheese.

I have written that she seems to be a specialty dog. Taking care of our needs — exercise, sleep, companionship. She seems to know when my husband’s sugar is low. She takes it upon herself to interrupt our son when she feels he is working too hard. Needs some exercise — her walk, or needs to play. Our son plays an extremely important part in her life. Since she only likes fresh water out of the downstairs toilet, he is very obliging when he is up on the third floor and she is thirsty.

Robin was LOST when he was gone for a week. She spent many hours perched on a warm radiator cover watching for him out the window. She sat on the landing guarding the stairs. She went out into the yard during the night accompanied by one of us just in case he was coming home. In fact, the night he came home she must have known since she was more nervous than usual. Happy is to small of a word to describe her joy. Crying, trying to melt into his body, running like a crazy dog through the house and of course, making the extreme effort to share his food.

Robin sleeps in the back bedroom, where she has taken many of her toys. Our floors are as littered with toys as when our children or grandchildren where small. When I get up, she likes to join my husband in bed. Sometimes I have a hard time getting her up to go for a walk in the morning. If I’m not successful, she will decide that my exercise time needs to stop. As soon as she gets home, she runs upstairs to keep my husband company again.

Hide and Seek — Robin DID NOT want to get up when I called her. Since I was a pest, she finally gave in. More rest WAS NOT an option. Lovely morning for a walk. Reaching home, she ran upstairs to go back to bed. Something was WRONG! My husband was not in bed, nor was he in the bathroom, nor was he in his office, nor was he in the back bedroom. We heard her running back and forth — WHIMPERING, CRYING! My husband was hiding in the downstairs bathroom. I finally called her downstairs when she didn’t hear his call to her. She finally FOUND HIM! There is no way to describe the joy of that dog.

Wishing you peace and love — a belated Happy Valentines Day.

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VIEW FROM THE PORCH

When we bought our property at the campground, we knew we were on the edge of the property. We didn’t realize how lucky we were. In the early days of the campground, cows were in the pasture across the road. I often walked across to visit. Various dogs of ours also crossed the road to visit the cows. I don’t think the cows were impressed. Time has passed and the cows are gone. Market conditions might have been the cause. Now the fields are planted with crop — grass, corn, beans, hay depending on the season and year. Our resident deer love to cross the road to graze on the various offerings. This year a mother and two fawn are going out for dinner.

Sometime along the way, a small park was installed across from us. Even though it is very small, it is a gathering place for many of the children. Last year when the tornado struck and demolished many trees, the second day we were allowed to return, I heard children’s voices coming from behind the trees. I wrote a speak up sheet asking that the park be replaced. I learned that the park hadn’t been in their plans but the speak up sheet worked. The park is even smaller — only a baby swing and a bigger swing, with a slide set. Last weekend 10 children were there at one time followed by other various groups. A red haired teenager took advantage of the swing and the quiet to have some quiet time of her own.

Our property faces south from which a breeze comes on most days. Thanks to the tornado, many of the trees are gone — the breeze isn’t blocked. When the temperature was in the 90’s, the breeze was a very welcome addition. Another advantage for us is that we are not close to the pools or the lakes. Even on busy weekends, our place is not crowded. Not having other campers across the road is also a blessing. Since it is so open, we can watch the lightening and the storms further south. Farmers cutting their crop. Once or twice a summer we are treated to crop dusting planes.

Recently we had the opportunity to purchase a self propelled used lawn mower. We have a service cut our lawn but not our son’s. The weed whacker my husband used was becoming too much work — equipment was needed. In the course of our conversation at the store, we learned that an antique tractor run was scheduled for the next day. Imagine our surprise when we saw the tractors on the back road, right across from our porch. I didn’t realize what I was seeing at first, so I didn’t count until 10 tractors had passed but I did get my camera for a couple of close shots.

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DRIP DRIP

DRIP — before going out to the camper, I retrieved some food from my shelves in the basement. Only to discover we had an uninvited guest who had helped itself to Robin’s dog food. Of course I wasn’t pleased. I moved assorted packaged edibles into hard plastic storage bins and placed some tasty treats in their place.

DRIP — DRIP Robin discovered a tiny skunk who was living under our room addition at the camper. Not quite nose to nose but too close for comfort, Robin got her first bath. Then she discovered a ground hog that stayed just out of her reach. It also is living under our room addition. Roommates or Condo?

DRIP — DRIP — DRIP Uninvited guest in the basement does not like the green treats I put out. It was trying to eat Lipton tea. More stuff packed. Personnel at Ace Hardware said rodents get used to poisons after a month and ignore them. I had not picked up the poison left from our last guest — my mistake. Old fashioned trap with peanut butter provided a tasty last meal.

DRIP — DRIP — DRIP — DRIP I needed brown rice for a soup I was making. I keep both short grain and long grain brown rice in separate glass jars. I must have had my glasses on because I saw clumps of rice in the jar. Further investigation confirmed the fact that both jars of rice were infected by bugs, even though I had placed bay leaves in each jar. It must have been the day or the week — Robin’s Milk Bone biscuits were also infected by black bugs. ALL RICE AND BISCUITS WERE REMOVED, JARS WASHED. I’ll wait until the fall, and cooler weather before I replace the rice and biscuits.

DRIP — DRIP — DRIP — DRIP — DRIP Enough already! A squirrel chewed through the screen in our kitchen. Luckily my husband saw it as it entered and the squirrel left the same way it had entered. My fault again — I had cleaned out the fridge and left the bag of stuff on the kitchen counter near the open window. It must of been very fragrant to attract the squirrel. We have lived in our house over fifty years and never had a squirrel in the kitchen before. I picked up ammonia at the store and plan to put some between the new screen and window to discourage further entrance — at least for a while. I’m glad my husband came into the kitchen when he did, it would have been more fun than we needed if Robin had seen the squirrel. She is ALWAYS chasing them.

We might try ammonia on rags under the room addition at the camper to discourage our occupants. The last thing we need is skunk perfume.

I’m hoping the DRIPS have stopped for awhile. This is more fun than I really want to have. My energy has left with the high temperatures and high humidity. Listening to the news, I learned that the corn crop is partially responsible for the humidity. Because of new farming practices, more corn is being planted, yielding higher yields, and releasing more moisture into the air. Good for the farmer and the people of the world. Not necessarily good for the climate.

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RESCUED

Before 8 AM at the camper, Robin and I headed out for our morning walk. I just turned onto the nature trail when I glanced back to the road and saw two dogs, running without an owner in sight. Both dogs were large — a German shepherd and a yellow Lab or Golden Retriever. I was concerned that they were not on a leash.

Returning an hour later from our walk, I met a man in a car, looking for two missing dogs. He said that the yellow dog often runs away, the shepherd kept him company. I shared the little bit of information that I knew — which wasn’t much, and an hour late.

I sent up a prayer for the missing dogs and the searching owner. Sadly we have been there — looking for dogs that escaped. Many years ago, we went to town to listen to the fireworks, leaving our shepherd in a locked camper. The campground was quiet when we left, sadly it didn’t remain quiet. Our shepherd flew through a tiny screened window in our door. We looked for her for hours, finally finding her outside of the campground, in the farm fields. We were very relieved.

A few years later, I ran after my husband. Our Irish setter and our Shepherd, ran out of the camper after us. I caught up to him at the comfort station, the dogs didn’t see where we went and kept going. Our children were still living at home and went looking on bicycles, with walkie talkies for communication. The dogs were discovered laying by a sun bather at the lake. Both of the dogs liked the water. I don’t remember if they were wet or dry. We were glad they were found.

Late Saturday morning, my husband and I left the campground to go out for breakfast. Three to four miles down the back road, we saw movement ahead of us on the road. As we drove closer, I recognized the missing dogs. My husband opened the back door of our car and invited them to join us. They must have been tired, they did not hesitate to climb in. Both were wet and dirty. The Lab laid down immediately, the shepherd still had energy, sitting up alert, head out the window.

We called security at the gate and asked them to contact the owners. Mission accomplished.

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