Foster Mum to an Abused Dog

I am a Volunteer for a page on Face Book and on Saturday we did a posting for a dog wandering in a suburb near a busy road.  Another Volunteer (K) lives in the area and went out to look and found him,   She saw he was heading to a house so she followed.  The fence had a large hole in it, so with the help of a next door neighbour of that house, filled the hole with rocks and bricks and left the doggie there.  Nobody was home, so later in the afternoon she popped back to speak to the owners and let them know the dog had got out and heading to the main road, and also about the hole in the fence.  

The fellow who opened the door was an indigenous Australian and K said he spoke words that would make a sailor blush.  He said the dog had been left in the laundry by previous tenants and they didn't want the #%^** dog but they let him stay around and he ate the scraps their bigger dog didn't eat.  And it was then that he hit the dog across the nose with a towel.  The Volunteer was pretty upset and she said, if you are keeping and letting it stay here then you need to ensure he stays in the yard.  Again he said he didn't want the #%^** dog and he kicked it. 

It was at this stage the Volunteer again asked did he want the dog?  On his reply of #$%&* NO!!! she picked him up and headed to her car.  The poor little thing was shaking and terrified.  Later that evening she posted on our Admin wall and asked could anyone look after a dog overnight and after a bit of discussion to size, etc I agreed and she called up to my house and spent a bit of time whilst the little dog got familiar with my 2 Terrors and then left.

He seemed a little concerned after K (the Volunteer) left and later K said she had given him quite a bit of love and cuddles for the short time she had him,

Where the heck am I, he seemed to be conveying to me.  I got a little anxious as I had never fostered a dog before and worried in case he just didn't settle down.

"I wonder what will happen to me now.  I wonder if I am going to live here?"

 On the Sunday morning, he got back on the chair that he had claimed last night to settle in for a morning indoors.

And Darcy decided it looked so jolly good he would forsake his bed with Jackie and join him on the chair next to him. 

As it was decent Autumn weather I bathed him and you would have no idea how black the water was when I had finished.  He wasn't too chuffed with getting bathed but didn't growl or snap at me.

I then christened him "Champagne Charlie" because of his colour.  By the end of the day, he was very settled in and playing so much with Darcy and chasing each other around the back yard.  I have had to have Jackie and Darcy sleeping outside as with going into Hospital I can hardly ask my son and Aida to clean up after Darcy leaving "calling cards" and I think Charlie was used to sleeping outside.  However he sure loves being inside and has made himself very much at home.

Matthew and Aida have agreed they will look after him as well as my 2 babies whilst I am in Hospital and they will be stopping here in my home, so it will be good as then the dogs will have that human company as well.  I know Darcy and Jackie will fret with me being away for a few days and having Matt and Aida here will comfort them a little.

When I get out of hospital I shall have to make arrangements for Charlie to be adopted into a furever home.  In the meantime he can adjust to other people and dogs here and gain more confidence that he is a very beautiful little dog and not some ugly mutt that a person felt it OK to kick and hit.  We love ya, Charlie!

The BIG OP!

I would like to say I have been pretty busy, however that would be lying.  In truth I seem to have wasted my days the past couple of weeks.  I get motivated and am active for one day and achieve so much and then I tend to go on strike for the rest of the week.

However today I have been busy and achieved what I have been wanting to do the past 2 weeks.  Next week I go into hospital to have "The Big One" and  I am very much looking forward to this operation as I will also be getting a bit of repair work done that has occurred with aging.  Apparently prolapses aren't that uncommon as we get a bit older, however it is just another reminder of getting old!

It is interesting to think I am so alone that I shall have to get a taxi to the hospital.  My son works as a Brickie and he has very early starts so he is not able to take me.  However if it is afternoon surgery, I can actually catch the bus as it stops right outside the hospital entrance.  My son and his wife are going to stop here to look after Jackie {The Princess Dog) and Darcy (The Dapper Dog) which is super as I know they will fret with me being away for a few days.  I have had to have the doggies sleeping outside the past week as it was getting too much to clean up after Darcy every morning when he would leave a calling card and also peeing in the front hallway.  Pretty sad really as now it is winter,  I am sure they would much prefer to be indoors overnight.  Maybe after my operation and I am fully recovered, we can see about them moving back inside overnight then.  

Just phoned the Hospital and it is an afternoon surgery so I can have a very very early breakfast, finishing before 6.30am and be at the Hospital at 11.30 for the afternoon surgery.  All good, as now I can get the bus which isn't that far from my house.  With the wheelie suitcase, will be easy to walk to the bus stop.

I probably wont be doing anymore posts until I am home again.  Please God, look after me and keep me safe. 

Suspected Melanoma

On Tuesday I had to go to see the Doctor.  I have a lump on my skull that has me a little concerned but more so after I visited with Kay on Sunday and she was telling me about her friend Julie who had a lump on her skull and it turns out to be melanoma.  

The doctor examined my head and found 2 lumps on that spot and also another closer to the front of my head and it was darker and his words were "that concerns me a bit".  Good Lord!!! These are not words you wish to hear from your Doctor.  So he gave me a referral letter to see a Specialist.

I was very fortunate there had been a cancellation with another Specialist in the same group of doctors as my referral wouldn't be able to see me until late June and my doctor had said at least within 2 weeks.  So I was able to see Dr W the following day at 8.30am.

Dr W found 7 of these markings on my skull and he reassured me it definitely isn't melanoma and he told me what it was but I guess I was just too relieved to ask him to write it down.  He dictated a letter to my doctor whilst I was there and I shall just ask for a photocopy of that letter when I go back for the follow up visit.

But thank you God.  That was my first thought when I was told it wasn't a melanoma, malignant or benign.  And I had had just the most awful sleep the night before with worrying about meeting with the Specialist.

So I live to write another day.  Thank you God.

Prayer to God

Before I go to bed I felt it necessary to write my thoughts.  My friend Kay is going into hospital tomorrow to have a hip replacement.  Kay is 9 months younger than me but has suffered with arthritis for most of her adult life since her late 20's.  She still works in a retirement home and is as active a person as one who is quite crippled in the ankles, hands and her fingers can be.

I am just so concerned for her.  Not so much the actual operation but her recovery after the op and if she will have the strength for a speedy recovery and really, just everything.

Kay and I went to high school together and we have been "mates" since we were 13 years of age.  Kay probably knows me better than any other person and she has proven to be a great friend and non judgmental and very supportive.  We have shared a lot of our pain together and she has an inner strength that one might pray for but seldom achieve.  She had lost a baby when he was about 7 weeks of age, having never come home from the maternity hospital.  Her beloved husband died of a heart attack sailing his yacht to the UK with 3 of his mates.  Patrick was only 47 years of age.  Her elder son committed suicide aged 31.  Shaun was my Godson and such a special young man to us all.

Kay has stood by me through several failed marriages and family problems.  She has made me laugh and cry.  But mostly Kay makes me laugh and we enjoy so many silly moments and whenever we see each other we hug and kiss and have no hesitation to say "love you" when departing.  

Please God, take care of Kaysie as she is so very much needed and loved by so many. 

Thank you God.

Adelaide's Own St Francis

I do Facebook and there is a site I visit often called Lost Dogs of Adelaide.  I visit this site each day to see if any dogs are lost or found in the area I live and if so, I share those posts on my own wall in the hope someone else knows of the owners of these dogs.  Recently Lost Dogs of Adelaide invited "likers" to apply for a position of being an Admin of the site and after much thought and rethinking, I applied and was accepted.   Actually 6 new Admins were chosen from the applications and we are all settling in learning the rules and also how to repost the messages that come in of the lost and found pets.  Even though it is called Lost Dogs of Adelaide, it is open to all pets and we had quite a rush on lost and found pet birds the other day.  Prior to Easter and during Easter there were many lost pet rabbits which caused a little mirth with other "likers" of the site, but they were all genuine requests for people to help find their lost rabbit or others wishing to find the owners of the pet rabbit they just found.

I have assisted a little on the site since being accepted as a new Admin (in training) and I am very pleased to be able to help in some small way to reunite these lost and found pets with their owners.

But one story is very special.  On Sunday a lady found 2 male dogs very close to midnight.  After phoning so many rescue centres she got fobbed off and referred to another and she posted photos of the dogs on the site asking for help.  She took the dogs home and the following day took them to a local vet (where I take Jackie and Darcy) and they assisted her no end.  One of the dogs had been injured and had a broken leg and abrasions on his nose and the Vets assisted but didn't do anything about the broken leg other than pain killers and monitoring the dog.  Anyway, late last night this lady posted on Lost Dogs of Adelaide that finally the owners had been found and this is what she wrote:

"It is with great happiness that I wish to advise you all, that after many hours, many facebook inboxes and soo many phone calls, the 2 dogs (White Female Bull Terrier & Brindle Male Staffy) I found on the side of the road in Gawler in the early hours of Tuesday morning have finally been reunited with their owner!!! ♥

The Staffy is already home, un-injured, safe and sound, and the Bull Terrier, whos name I found out is "Cadbury", is in the vet receiving treatment for her lacerations and broken hind leg.

To the beautiful and caring lady, Nikki I believe, at "vets4pets Golden Grove" thank you for taking the dogs in, ensuring Cadbury was comfortable and given some pain relief, and caring for them both, knowing I didnt have the funds to pay for any treatment ♥
To all the pages who shared my picture and asked for help, I thank you ♥
And to everyone who inboxed, commented, shared my post and offered assistance, I thank you also!! ♥

Despite Cadbury's injuries, this is the best possible outcome we all could have hoped for, and it certainly made my efforts all the more worth while!!

-If the owners, or someone who knows them, do happen to see this post, please contact me, because once Cadbury is all healed I would love to give her one more cuddle, she was such a brave girl, and her little Staffy mate did a good job looking after her too!-

From the bottom of my heart, Thank you ALL again!!

~ xXx ♥ xXx ~ "

I really do think Adelaide has its own St Francis and I hope there are many people who would do the same as this wonderful woman did. 

Matthew's Birthday

Last Tuesday was my younger son's Birthday and I invited Matthew and Aida for dinner to celebrate the event.  Aida and I had decided to go "halves" in a birthday gift for him and we chose an Olympus camera and accessories.  He was thrilled with the gift as their other camera had sort of had it and Aida is a mad photographer, recording just about everything they do and everywhere they go.

For dinner I cooked a Cajun spiced roasted chicken and made fried rice.  Any dish with rice in it suits Aida as that is her favourite food.  I was a bit disappointed that the chicken wasn't more spicy and shall just prepare my own seasoning next time as perhaps the one I got from the USA is past the "use by" date and lost its zing.

For dessert I made Mulled Wine Poached Pears and served them with fresh cream.  They were ever so delicious however I could probably have cooked the pears a little longer as they were very solid when I bought them.  However they worked OK with a knife and fork and the syrup was ever so good.

Matthew on his 42nd Birthday

The box was EMPTY! as I had charged the camera

Mulled Red Wine Pears

The recipe for the pears came from the Coles monthly cookbook by Curtis Stone. 
    
http://www.coles.com.au/

Last of My Birthday Celebrations

Yesterday ended up being pretty busy after all.  Gave my house a jolly good clean as it was well overdue.  Jackie (The Princess Dog) sheds hair no end on the carpet square in the Family/TV room and also the tiles get quite dog haired coated.
My girlfriend Kay and her hubby, Bruce were going to visit later in the day and we were going to head out to dinner to celebrate my 65th.  I headed over to Tea Tree Plaza (I hate going to big shopping malls) to buy a new mop head and also decided to get some ID disks for the Doggies.  Hells Bells!!! they so flippin' expensive but forked out $33 for the 2, which included graving.  My previous little Baby ... Jack (The Wonder Dog) never wore a collar but of course was always registered each year.  Just having 2 dogs I figured if one ever got out of the yard the other is likely to follow.
Kay and Bruce arrived and she gave me Bryce Courtney "Jack of Diamonds" his last book.  They also brought a lovely bottle of red from a friends vineyard, a 2008 Shiraz from McLaren Vale.  We went to the Modbury Hotel and had a fantastic dinner.   It was very busy at the pub and we hadn't made a booking but getting there early enough meant we got a table.
All in all, had a great day.

Turning 65 - the Senior's 21st?

Late February I turned 65 and I reckon that is like a Senior's 21st Birthday and so pretty darn great to get there.  The day started out normal enough with Darcy (The Dapper Dog) and Jackie (The Princess Dog) greeting me - Jackie immediately jumps off the bed as soon as she hears the alarm, she is not a "meeter and greeter" type dog, having come from the Griffith, NSW Pound at about 9 mths of age and quite timid and anti-social to people and other dogs. She is a Jack Russel X something.  I have had her 8 months.
Now Darcy is a different kettle of fish.  I got him 2 weeks ago from Moorook Shelter in the Riverlands at 7 mths of age.  He is a Jack Russel X however I think he is more of a Fox Terrier X and he has joie de la vie in every waking moment.  His idea of "good morning Mummy" is to plant kisses which I try to avoid by hiding under the sheets.
It is then a quick dash to the back door as Darcy is still learning to be an indoor dog and he needs to do a morning whiz very soon after waking.  
A lovely phone call from a Sister in Hervey Bay and a good chat catching up on bits of news with each other.  I opened a card received the day before from my Husband and had my morning coffee and checked emails and Facebook.   Lot's of Happy Birthday greetings and a lovely post from younger son Matthew and one also from his gorgeous wife, Aida.  Matt said he would phone me during his smoko and when he did, he advised he and Aida would call up about 6 or so after Aida got home from work, pick up some Chinese food and head here.  I then went to check the letterbox and 3 cards - 2 from my other sisters and 1 from my friend since school days.  Later my Little Aida phoned - I thought that was so lovely as they are so busy with work and still remembered Mum.
I had to visit the Doctor today as I have been having dizzy spells for the past couple of weeks.  It seems so hard to see the doctor now having to make appointment about 7 days in advance.  It turns out I have Vertigo! Fancy that... I always thought Vertigo was a fear of heights and have since read up on it more and see it is quite common.  Doc was pleased with my blood pressure reading as it came out spot on and I can only figure this was because on 2 January I quit smoking and have stuck with it.  Seeing as sometimes my blood pressure reading could be 180/120 I was pretty chuffed finally I had it under control.
I had a couple of small strokes in 2004 and  I had quit a few times but somehow thought "oh, just one won't hurt".  But it does and this time it is forever.
Next appointment for the day was to the Hairdresser and a cut.  To fill in a bit of time I went into Spotlight as I had a Birthday voucher and with a sale on planned to buy some new fitted sheets.  Got an absolute bargain with 2 fitted sheets (why does the fitted sheet get more worn than the top sheet?) and also picked up 3 metres of fabric that was on sale.  Haircut and then home.
A missed call from elder son whilst I was out was on the answer machine and I was pleased to hear from him.  Surprised no end later in the afternoon when my ex daughter in law phoned to say Olivia wished to say Happy Birthday to me.  Olivia is my 6 1/2 yr old Grand Daughter from my elder son, John's first marriage.  She is the delight of my life and I was thrilled to hear from her and very surprised her Mother made the phone call.  My friend Kay also phoned and we had a good chat and we shall go out to dinner Thursday night.
Matt and Aida arrived with the Chinese dinner and also a fantastic chocolate cake from The Cheese Cake shop.  We ended up eating in front of the telly as the kids have been following My Kitchen Rules (a reality TV show) and they had to fight off Darcy who wanted to sit on their laps along with their dinner plates.
All in all I had a great 65th Birthday as I had been dreading it somewhat.  Not dreading turning 65 as I consider every Birthday a great milestone. Just that I reckon 65 is a real milestone (retirement age, health issues) and that for this epic day I would be alone.  But I wasn't alone.  I am surrounded by family and my friends and I have to remind myself of that when I have feelings of "poor me".  
Yes, I am truly blessed and thank you God for giving me a great day.