Goodbye Old Friend

It's been a sad day in the Daisy Patch today. My sweet faithful friend Spot left this earth this afternoon around 3:30 P.M. We have had Spot as a member of our family for over 13 year and it's sad to no longer have her waiting by the door to greet us.

Spot has been in failing health for several weeks now and the quality of her life has been deteriorating. She was blind, deaf and very unstable on her feet. The doctor found several cancerous tumors growing on her belly today and so with heavy heart we decided to put her to sleep. She had had a very good day and we were with her during her last moments.

She didn't suffer, just went to sleep in our arms. Mr. Wonderful buried her under the weeping willow tree that I can see from my desk window. I'm pretty much a weeping willow right now myself.

In other sad news I did hear from the doctor that I tore my ACL and miniscus and will need orthoscopic surgery and months of rehab. I wasn't surprised but now know what I will be doing this summer.

Poor Mr. Wonderful has tried his best to cheer me up. We will be leaving to go to New York to see our other kids tomorrow. Say a prayer for our safety. I definitely can agree with Mary Englebright....."Everybody needs their own Spot". Goodbye old friend, thanks for always keeping my secrets and showing me unconditional love.

Saturday Photo Hunt...Pets/animals

Cats Lucy and JJ bird watching.

This is Faithful Dog Spot.....12 years old now.

Monday Memory..Our Dog Spot

This is our Dog Spot... This is her favorite perch. She loves to sit on the back of the couch looking out the window. She is our unofficial doorbell. She barks at the passing trucks and schoolchildren. 

 We didn't find Spot....she found us. Spot came to live with us 10 years ago after a storm left the city flooded. Spot showed up on our porch with another displaced dog, both tired, wet, and hungry. Mr. Wonderful,( a very practical man), gave me strict orders that I was not to feed the animals and that they would find their way home when the water went down.

 Our kids fell in love with both and played "fetch" with the dogs and of course fed them. Several days later both dogs disappeared off the porch and were gone all day. We assumed they must have found their way home and we went on with our life. 

 The next morning we found Spot back on the porch. She was soaked and looked like a drowned rat. Baby Girl Suzy) couldn't stand it any longer so she brought her inside, bathed her, fed her, and named her. 

 Mr. Wonderful Poppa) was less than thrilled. His first words were, "We're not having an inside dog! You've got to find her owner!" We did try. We called all the vets, put up found dog posters and even an ad in the paper. No one lay claim to her and before long she was just part of the family. 

 We had had Spot about two years when one of my daughter's friends was at the house and suddenly said: "I know that Dog!" "No you don't", I quickly added. "I'm sure I do." she persisted. "She's my neighbor's dog, I'm sure of it".

Daisy Dilemma: Do you give back a dog after investing two years of your life and love into it? Turns out that the neighbor had another dog by now and was delighted that the dog had found a good home. (Good thing as I would have hated to move to Canada just to protect a family member. Would you have given up the dog if the owners had come to get her?)  Just asking for a friend.

My Dog Spot

This fuzzy, furry friend is my dog Spot!

Mary Englebright says, "Everyone needs their own Spot.....and I quite agree.

Spot is 13 years old.....a teenager in some cultures, an old lady in dog years.

This is Spot's favorite place...the back of the couch where she keeps an eye on the neighborhood and especially the driveway.

Spot found us over ten years ago.

One morning after a bad thunderstorm we woke to find two dogs taking refuge on our porch. The streets were flooded the dogs were wet and hungry. " Don't feed those dogs.",.said my all-knowing husband. He could have been talking to the wind.....anything on my porch (two legs or four will get fed). The water finally subsided the dogs disappeared and we thought to ourselves, "Good, they've found their way home."

The next morning one wet and shivering Spot sits on our porch looking like a drowned rat. "Don't bring that dog inside," said Mr. voice of reason. "He's freezing Mom," says Suzy (in July? I don't think so) But sooner than you can say "We have a new dog, isn't she cute?" The dog is bathed, brushed, blown dry, and given a name.

We did try to find the owner.....really we did! After about a year though she was very firmly entrenched into the family when one day one of Becky's friends looks at our dog and say, "I know that dog, she belongs to my neighbor."

"No she doesn't", we protest".....I'm sure it was another dog that looked similar."

We had decided at this point they would have to describe every freckle, spot, or blemish the dog had to get her back. Crisis passes.....if it was their dog they are content to know she has a good home now. (Whew, I would have hated having to move just to protect my dog!)

Spot is now aptly named as she "leaves Spots" on the carpet or bathroom floor.

She loves us with all her little dog heart. She is always at my feet unless the kids are home and are up late. We have had her longer than any other pet. She is the guardian of secrets, the "big dog" amidst the cats, and our instant doorbell.

She loves licking out yogurt containers and getting into the trash.

She loves to be anywhere you are (except the vet). Charlie calls her an old lady. My mom sneaks bacon to her and the cats give her a wide berth when she comes in the door.

She is the closes thing I know to unconditional love on four feet.

Yep, Everyone needs their "own Spot".