HAPPY HALLOWEEN - and I've been Boo'd!!!

Just a short post to say HAPPY HALLOWEEN, and to remind you to be prepared, because on Halloween...

...you could see things that are scary!!!!



... and you could see things you never, never, ever expected to see!!!



... and you might even see some downright creepy things!!!!


(Of course those are actually my lovely daughters wearing the creepiest masks ever back in October 2002, our primitive decor days!)

And last, but not least, I've been Boo'd by a few wonderful bloggers!!! Thank you to LisaJanelle of Warm Heart, Cozy Home; Jeanne at Backyard Neighbor; and Rechelle at WalnutHaven Cottage ... And now I'm "Booing" all of you!!!!!

Happy Halloween!

Donna

(P.S. My thanks to SuzeeeZ's Home Sweet Home & Tranquil Garden, which is where I came across the Dancing with the Stars 'photo' for this blog post)

I remember....

... a dog named O'Malley...

Has it really been a year since we lost our handsome boy?


After we lost Malley, I used my computer to put together a little "Memories of O'Malley" book, and actually ended up giving copies to the girls and my dad & sister for Christmas last year.
(click on any photos to enlarge)

It's filled with photos and memories of a very special dog... (I'll share a few of the pages of the book here as I tell you how we came to adopt our Mr. O'Malley)


Back in March of 2000, we finally felt ready to adopt another dog after having lost our beloved little Sooshi (photo in sidebar) a couple of months earlier. I originally said, "Never again," because the pain of losing Sooshi had been so great.


But as so often happens in these cases, the heart-wrenching grief eventually makes way for the sweet and happy memories... And although there will never be another Sooshi, our hearts healed enough to entertain the thoughts of adopting another dog...


Back in 2000 we had 3 cats and our girls were younger, so we needed to find a dog who loved kids and who loved (or at least accepted) kitties!


We did an on-line search and found two dogs who sounded like they'd be ideal. One was a 7 year old lab/shepherd mix (Mr. O'Malley), and one was an 8 year old terrier mix (Ms. Gizmo)...


Decisions, decisions.... Do we get the big dog or the little one? Family meeting time... No consensus... Then the girls said, "Let's get both!"... And so it was...


We first visited Mr. O'Malley's shelter that Friday afternoon in March of 2000. The staff told us Malley was a great dog and that he'd been there for six months (poor baby - October through March - the absolute coldest months here in New England)... I asked why they thought he hadn't been adopted yet and they said it was because of his age. They have a huge turnaround and lots of younger dogs, so at age 7, Malley just kept getting passed by...


We stopped in front of his cage and he came bounding up to the chain link gate, soooo excited that someone was visiting his pen... He couldn't stop kissing the girls' hands through the gate. It was clearly love at first sight for two girls and one dog... Any possible doubts I'd had about how he would be with the girls (or any other kids who came to the house) were immediately dispelled....


We had found our boy, and he had found his forever home...


I'm not certain of the circumstances that led to Mr. O'Malley ending up in a shelter, but I am so grateful that we found him. He was a one-in-a-million dog who filled our little cottage with joy with his ever present dog-smile and sweet disposition...


But a year ago, when Malley was 14 years old, we had to make the toughest decision a pet owner ever has to make... The dog who once lived to eat had now lost his appetite for food, and was having a hard time even keeping food down... A battery of tests told us that nothing could be done, so we made his final appointment for the following day... Someday we will meet again, of that I'm certain... Until then, we miss you every day, our sweet boy... and we love you always...

"I think God will have prepared everything for our perfect happiness. If it takes my dog being there (in Heaven), I believe he'll be there." ~Rev. Billy Graham

Let me just end by saying that there are so many benefits to adopting a shelter or pound dog (or cat)... I swear, they know and appreciate the homes they are given, and will reward you day in and day out for the remainder of their lives for rescuing them... I have a link on my sidebar to a few adoption sites in case any of you are currently looking for the next furry "love of your life"!!

...Recommended Reading...

I know many of you have seen the following book on my sidebar. My daughter, Amanda, bought this book a couple of months after Malley was put to sleep. She passed it along to me to read, and I have to tell you, between Anna Quindlen's insightful, beautiful writing and my daughter's handwritten notes and underlining of certain passages that she especially related to, it was quite an emotional read...

The first time I attempted to read it, I was at the hairdressers... Very bad decision... With tears streaming down my face, I decided that I might be better off reading it at home... After all, I didn't want my poor hairdresser to think a poor cut or color was the cause of the floodworks... A customer who is sitting in a chair crying is probably not the best type of advertising!

Anna Quindlen has absolutely captured the essence of what every dog owner must eventually face...

... but it is far from being a sad book.... And while the book will, at times, bring tears to even the most stoic of readers, it is really a celebration of Beau's life... I even found myself laughing aloud while reading of some of Beau's antics... And while Ms. Quindlen writes specifically about her Beau, he most certainly represents "every man's dog" as you will find yourself relating to the very words she uses and feelings she describes when talking about the special bond between a dog and its human... The title in itself - Good Dog. Stay. - speaks volumes. Absolutely a must read book...

...Recommended Viewing...

And last, but most definitely not least...

Just as Anna Quindlen's book is a must read, if you have never seen it before, you must watch Jimmy Stewart reading a poem that he wrote about his dog (also named Beau). Jimmy Stewart has always been one of my favorite actors, and to listen and watch him reading this poem... well, there just aren't words... Johnny Carson couldn't even contain his emotions by the end of the poem, so you might want to run and get a tissue before watching...

(Click photo above to view video)

"He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion." (Unknown)

Many thanks to all of you who actually took the time to read through this rambling tribute to a dog named O'Malley...
Comment Update: Thank you to everyone who has left such kind comments and who have shared the stories of your own furry family members... I have so enjoyed reading them... And Joanne, I will do a post on how to make a computerized "memory" book like this one. It's a very easy process!
Donna

The search is finally over...

If you remember, the past several months found me searching for a specific item, one that led me to many antique and junktique stores around New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Well, the reason I couldn't tell you what I was looking for was because it was a little present for my daughter's college graduation (and she has been known to take a peek at my blog from time to time, therefore I had to be very discreet!).

But now that graduation is over, I can show you what I was searching high and low for! A pair of Staffordshire dogs; actually, reproduction Staffordshire dogs... The originals are a tad out of my price range! Now I agree, that may sound like a strange college graduation present, but it's all because of this house...


For the four years my daughter went to school in Boston/ Cambridge, every time I picked her up from college, or brought her back, we drove past this beautiful little "grandma" house. (That's what I always call houses like this because they look like houses where the best kind of grandmas live, wearing aprons and putting pies on windowsills to cool... )

Oh yes, to get back to the story... There was always a pair of white Staffordshire dogs in the front window of that house and my daughter would say that someday, when she had her own place, she was definitely going to have a pair of Staffordshire dogs just like that (mental note to self.... Staffordshire dogs = fun association with college commute = great graduation present to always remind her of her college years). Alas, the house was sold last year and the dogs no longer sit in the window. However to us it was, and always will be, the "Staffordshire dog" house.


So my search led me from one place to another, hot on the trail of the elusive white dogs...


When graduation was just weeks away, it became clear that there was no guarantee I would find them locally, so I turned to the one place that never (well, almost never) lets me down.... eBay!


In no time at all I found exactly what I was looking for, and within a week's time these two precious pups arrived on my doorstep....


I've grown quite accustomed to them being here! And I think they kind of like it, too! Lucky for all of us, our daughter will be living at home for a while (at least for the summer)!!! When she eventually does move out, the hunt may be on for another pair... for me!


Photo shown with permission of copyright owner
Karsten Petersen

I also purchased this beautiful photographic print for my daughter from Karsten Petersen of Denmark. He has several photographs of Staffordshire dogs on his website and I loved this one with the bright blue window and the pitcher of flowers. Staffordshire dogs are very popular in Denmark and Karsten explains on his website that if the dogs are facing into the house, the sailor is at home... If they are facing out, then the sailor is away at sea...

So there you have it... A very successful "Staffordshire dog" search thanks to eBay and Karsten!!
Update and Correction! Karsten was kind enough to send an e-mail after reading this blog entry and give me a bit more information on the background of Staffordshire dogs... Apparently it was not just sea Captains (as I had stated above, and have now corrected), but all sailors who purchased Staffordshire dogs. He told me that the type of dogs that I bought were the ones typically purchased by crew members (legs and body joined together in a simple mold), whereas the Captain and officers would normally purchase the more refined (and more expensive) Staffordshire dogs with free and separated forelegs. Thank you so much for taking the time to send along this additional information, Karsten!

Donna