Not Gone | Wordless Wednesday

Missing my Hairy Boy Jeffie

It took me about a month to run the vacuum.  I couldn't bear to vanquish all the stray Jeffie hair.

There's still a spot that hasn't seen the vac.  Just a little slice between the bed and the window wall in my office.  It's where Jeffie liked to nap stretched out.  There he could easily keep an eye on me, yet be handy to the window and his security duties.  

I'd often glance over and see him watching me.  If something upset me while I was working, he'd immediately come over, put a paw on my knee and rest his head against my arm. After comforting me or making me laugh, he'd head back to his spot.

It's full of Jeffie hair.  On the carpet. Stuck to the wall. Clinging to the bed's dust ruffle.

Today marks 6 months since Jeffie died in my arms.from Leptospirosis.

  

When I awake each morning there is no longer a soft furry head sharing my pillow.  

As I head to the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee there is no doggy head pressed on the outside of my right knee.

As I dish up the dogs' breakfast, there is no longer a pup who can't contain a little woof of excitement.

In fact, there is a whole lot of silence in my house. No one barks at the UPS and FedEx guys. No longer does anyone care that the trash service is stealing our trash.  Coyotes in the pasture? The current crew just watches.

Not only is there a hole in my heart, but there is a very large hole in my life where Jeffie used to be.  By my side and with me like an extra limb.

I know.  I know.  I cannot collect enough of the fur Jeffie left behind ...  but sometimes wild hope, though bittersweet, can be a joyful thing.


[Click the arrow in the upper left to listen]

Jeffie is Fighting for his Life

Jeffie is fighting for his life.  To those of you who heard something was wrong and came here to find out more, I apologize.  The last thing on my mind this week has been writing a blog post. 

It was exactly a week ago that I awoke to soft moaning. I discovered Jeffie huddled deep in the closet and unable to move.  Too weak to walk, gums white, we carried him to the car and rushed to the vet.

First labs showed mega infection, probably kidney involvement. Jeffie had no temperature, but was severely dehydrated.  Xrays gave us no clues.  Jeffie was placed on IV hydration and IV antibiotics.

If I go into a blow by blow report of the past week, this post will be endless.  Here's where we are:  Lab work shows infection still present.  Looks like after attacking the kidneys, it moved on to the liver.  Jeffie is in liver failure.

• Jeffie is still on IV hydration and IV antibiotics and is receiving medications for his liver.
• Jeffie has not eaten since last Thursday evening (Oct 15) and is being force fed.
• As of yesterday the severe jaundice is not yet gone, but going away.
• Lab work shows no improvement for the liver values.
• Xrays tell us nothing.
• Ultrasound of gall bladder is negative.
• We do not know what is causing this.

We are waiting on lab work sent to MU (Vet School) to see if it points to a diagnosis. My vet is thinking Lepto.

I'm leaving out a lot.  A whole lot.  The good news is that yesterday Jeffie was responsive. I actually got some tail wags and kisses.  First in a week.  And I got to take him outside for awhile.  

The bad news is that 80% or more of his liver is affected.  And we still don't know what we're dealing with.

 

Golden Retriever and Border Collie Dog Breed Jewelry is on Sale!

We're celebrating Jeffie's 8th birthday!  Since he's a Golden Retriever / Border Collie mix, I decided to put all my Golden Retriever and Border Collie jewelry and gifts at For Love of a Dog on sale. 

You'll find one of a kind handmade Golden Retriever dog lover bracelets like the one shown at top with lampwork beads and peridot jade gemstone beads.  There's quite a bit of variety in the bracelets available.  Plus, you'll find Golden Retriever dog lover necklaces like the one shown below with lampwork dog bone beads and a sweet natural carnelian gemstone heart.

Be sure to check out this adorable one of a kind Golden Retriever necklace with a coordinating WOOF dog bone.  The handmade porcelain Golden Retriever dog can be easily removed to wear solo as a pin.

Here's a Border Collie pin in tri color, though right now I have them in red and white, plus traditional black and white, too.

Border Collie dog charm bracelets include OOAKs like this one with a red Border Collie and freshwater pearls.

The Border Collie dog necklace shown below is a favorite of mine.  One of a kind, the handmade porcelain Border Collie head can be removed to wear solo as a pin and is teamed with cool 3D porcelain dog bones.

Fetch Golden Retriever dog breed jewelry and Border Collie dog breed jewelry to save some money and snatch up some one of a kind jewelry that you'll never see elsewhere - only at For Love of a Dog. 

Talking Dogs is the official blog of For Love of a Dog Jewelry.

Wordless Wednesday: A Good Mentor

Rosie is watching to see how Jeffie handles this waiting game for treats.

Thank You Sampson and Delilah

Though I announced the finale of Jeffie's birthday party celebration, the party actually continued for a few days.  

The real highlight was the day Jeffie (aka The Mailman) went up to the road to the mailbox and found a package addressed to himself.  

He'd received a birthday surprise from Sampson and Delilah!  There was an adorable Pointer dog themed birthday card with this message:

 

   

Inside were amazing goodies!  

Jeffie spent a lot of time giving them a good sniff over!

 

 Rudy honed in immediately on the Omaha Steaks dog treats!

 Jeffie really liked the gecko dog toy.  

I think he was trying to sniff out if that was Delilah or Sampson's smell.

 Rosie's eyes were wide as saucers 

when she got her first taste of those steak treats!

In fact, all three dogs loved them.  

Once we opened that package, nobody cared about anything else.  

Jeffie, always a good brother, let Rosie check out the gecko.

She loved the double squeakers!

 

 Thank you so much, Sampson, Delilah, and Jodie at Heart Like a Dog for the barking good surprise!
 

Wordless Wednesday: Love Times Three

 

Rudy

 Jeffie

 Rosie

Wordless Wednesday: All Partied Out

The Talking Dogs are all partied out and catching up on some zzzzs...

If you missed the party, fetch Jeffie's Birthday Party page.

Jeffie's Birthday Party: The Grand Finale

Hang on, Jeffie.  Your birthday party is not over quite yet!

What a party!

We've had treats, played some party games, told some Jeffie stories and more. 

I don't know about you, but we've had a whole lot of fun!  

For a review and to see the absolutely wonderful party dog photos, fetch Jeffie's Birthday Party page.

And if you thought the fun was over... there's still some fun to be had!

Jeffie received a very special birthday gift from none other than Oz The Terrier!

Yup!  That's right!  Jeffie inspired a limerick 

from the great and powerful poet, Oz!

Happy Birthday to Jeffie the Retriever mix!

He turned seven this month, not six.

Though he hates change of any kind,

being one year older he doesn't mind

as he knows an old dog can still learn new tricks.

--Oz the Terrier

Now, what you've all been waiting for.  Drumroll, please.

And the winners are...

Theresa S was chosen by Rafflecopter as the winner of the Dog Mom Bracelet Giveaway from For Love of a Dog.  Congratulations, Theresa!  Please send your wrist measurement and shipping address to sue (at) forloveofadog (dot) com.  If I don't hear from Theresa, within 48 hours, an alternate winner will be chosen.

Ann at Pawsitively Pets is the winner of the random.org drawing in the All About Jeffie Quiz participants and will be receiving these dog lover earrings from For Love of a Dog.  Congratulations, Ann!  Please send your shipping address to me at the email address above.

It's a good thing for Ann that the winner did not have to score the highest in correct answers to the quiz!  However, Chris at Saved By Dogs beat everyone else by a mile!  She missed only one question, so Jeffie insists that she'll be receiving a pair of earrings, too.

I wish Jeffie could afford to give a prize to every single participant in the Jeffie's Birthday Party Pet Photo Contest.  (He says he's saving all his pennies to buy more KONG Premium Jerky and Good Dog Take Outs dog treats.)

All the party photos are fabulous, but Jodi at Heart Like a Dog was the lucky winner of the Amazon.com $25 gift card in the random.org drawing. Congratulations, Jodi!  Each party photo was assigned a number according to when I received it.  Here's Jodi's lucky photo number 25 of Sampson:

UPDATE:  WE HAVE A NEW WINNER IN THE PHOTO CONTEST!  Jodi messaged me first thing this morning to say:  "... while I'm truly grateful and thankful, I really feel since I won the monkey earrings, that the gift card should go to someone else.  I would just like to pay it forward, you know. :-) "  What a kind and gracious winner!

So, as I told Jodi, luckily I saved the Random.org results and the next number on the list belongs to Christine K.

CONGRATULATIONS TO CHRISTINE K and here's her winning photo of Granite:

Who was it that said:  All good things must come to an end?  They were right about this party.  Thanks to everyone who participated in any way.  It just wouldn't have been a party without you!

All About Jeffie Quiz Contest - Win Earrings!

What fun is a birthday party without party games?  

Gotta have a game, right?

With a prize, of course!

During our month long celebration of Jeffie's 7th birthday, we've told you about Jeffie.

And we've shown you some photos of our beautiful boy.

Now its time to see what you remember!  

Take a moment to complete the All About Jeffie Quiz and you'll be entered to win a pair of For Love of a Dog hand crafted dog lover earrings.

 

Its easy and fun!

Take the All About Jeffie Quiz here.

[ http://4loveofadog.polldaddy.com/s/jeffie-trivia ]

One winner will be selected at random via Random.org.  

Winner must have a US or Canada shipping address.  

(Sorry, blame the USPS for hiking fees for International packages.)

Winner will be announced here on our Talking Dogs blog on Tuesday, April 30.

Here's what the winner will receive:

Perfect for any dog lady!  Chubby turquoise gemstone hearts freely dangle from three dimensional light tan glass dog bones.  

Silver accents, including leverback earring findings.   If the winner prefers clip on or french hooks, I'll make the change before shipping.

Rosie wants to know:
What are you waiting for?  Take the quiz and enter!

Wordless Wednesday: Jeffie the Puppy Prisoner

Jeffie, the prisoner

 Being confined to the mudroom didn't seem to keep Jeffie awake.

 

Mostly, though, our little prisoner just wanted O.U.T.

Not only was Jeffie a Cush Dog, he was also a third wheel.  You know that saying about two's company, three's a crowd?  That's how Tucker and Lucy felt about Jeffie.  They were not exactly thrilled.  

When we couldn't be attentive, we put Jeffie in the mudroom, safe and secure behind a baby gate.

He didn't think much of that and we refer to these photos as:  The Prisoner.

We're still celebrating Jeffie's 7th birthday party!

  

Join us for the giveaways and stay for the fun! 

This week our giveaway is a 
Dog Mom dog lover bracelet from For Love of a Dog.  

My Best Friend The Dog Song: Dog Song Saturday

It's Saturday, so time for a dog song at Talking Dogs.  

In honor of Jeffie's birthday celebration, I'm doing an encore of one of our favorite original dog songs.  

My Best Friend - The Dog Song was composed by Heidi Winzinger.  It is performed here by Heidi and accompanies a music video Heidi also created.

Dedicated to Jeffie, who is my best friend.

Grab a dog.  (I'm gonna cuddle with Jeffie.)  Sit.  Stay.  Relax and enjoy My Best Friend - The Dog Song.  If you love it like we do, head on over to iTunes and add it to your playlist.

Fetch more dog song music videos at Talking Dogs to kick off your weekend in a good doggie way.

Jeffie's First Construction Project: Dog Daddy Guest Post

Today we have another guest post by the Dog Daddy. He has a little Jeffie puppy story to tell.  This is part of Jeffie's Birthday Party!

Shortly after moving into our new house ( well, more appropriately, our new construction site), we decided to build a deck on the back of the house. Our house was not finished and we were working on a number of projects: floors, woodwork, fireplaces, and so one. But it was spring and I wanted to be outside. 

Jeffie was a spring puppy and he loved to follow me anywhere I went. I started by digging 20 holes to set the posts in to build the deck on. After laying out the position of the holes, which Jeffie watched with great intent,  began to dig. 

Most of the digging was done with a post hole digger. As soon as I started digging Jeffie was fascinated and wanted to get in on the action. 

As soon as I had a hole started, he had to inspect it. I had to basically use one foot to keep him out of the hole while I took another jab with the digger. Every time I brought up more dirt, Jeffie was thrilled and needed to inspect it also. 

I was digging the holes 2 feet deep. Once I finished digging a hole and moved on to dig another Jeffie was right there to help. Then he would wander away and fall into the hole I just finished. So I had to stop and rescue him as he was too small to climb out on his own. This little dance between me and Jeffie and the holes went on all day.

The next step was to set the posts in concrete. Jeffie had to stay inside so he did not get into the cement. After that Jeffie was with me for the rest of the project and was not so much in the way.

That is, until I started laying the deck boards. That's when he discovered that going under the boards he could escape the sun and the noise. Every time I would take a break I would have to find him and coax him out. This went on until the final step of putting on the surround (so no critters could get under the deck.)  Even as I was ready to put on the final board, I had to wait until I could get him out. 

As the years have gone by Jeffie still loves to go along to help with any project. These days he mostly just sits or lays a few feet away and watches. Sometimes I think he wonders why we don’t do something again as exciting as building a deck.