My Little Black Horse

Here's my pup, Ziggy sticking his head through the new gate his uncle Harvey built, complete with  a peep hole. We caught him slithering through it like a flattened out rat last week and had to cover it with chicken wire but he'll soon be too big to escape through it. That's okay, little Houdini has found a different way out of the yard every day. I think he has little trampolines in his paws because I have never seen such a little dog  jump the way he does. I can't wait for Ham to get his eyes fixed so they can be kangaroos together. Before Ham went blind he could jump over six feet with ease.

He's a devil in disguise but such a cute devil! Let's see what he's destroyed in his few short months here with us. He tore up a sofa cushion on a couch that luckily I got for free and when we came home it looked like our house had been raided by the DEA searching for drugs. Foam every where, Ham and Charlie sitting off to the side of the room with  faces that immediately said "WE didn't do it." Ziggy sat in the pile of foam pieces grinning happily swinging his head back and forth like Stevie Wonder seeming to say "Just LOOK at it... I did it all by myself!"

Same  thing when I came home and he had eaten an entire bag of Christmas ornaments. Ham and Charlie were both sitting solemnly off to the side as Ziggy  pranced around all the broken ornaments swinging his head like Ray Charles showing off his handiwork.

There have been three remote controls, two tubes of tooth paste and one tassel off the only nice pair of shoes Tim has. (had)

I'd say he's eaten at least half a dozen potatoes out of my potato bin, two loaves of bread...including the plastic bag they came in, but left the twist ties, and two plants in my living room leaving all  the dirt on the carpet. He's fond of gutter spouts in the back yard and even enjoyed one of Zach's razors carelessly left on the bathroom counter. I'm surprised he lived through that one.

He's tall and lanky and anything left on the kitchen counter is fair game to him.

We started leaving him closed in the spare bedroom upstairs when everyone was gone and that worked pretty well...for a few days. Christmas Eve we went to Tim's parent's and sequestered him once again. We got home three hours later. I went to let him out of jail and couldn't get the bedroom door open. When I did there was a four foot square of carpet and padding chewed up right by  the door Houdini tried to escape from. I looked down and was staring at the sub flooring. He looked up smiling and shot down the stairs to see his buddies, happy as a clam. The mess wasn't that big but the padding was missing so I assumed he had his fiber intake covered for the next year.

Christmas Day he  got a reprieve. Everyone came to our house and the little stinker's just so cute that he was loved to death.

Us women were all sitting around in the kitchen talking with my sons and nephews when Massey started counting how many vehicles they had all gone through.(and not in a good way) Between my two boys and my sister's two boys we counted seventeen cars, one being my own Passat and another being my sister's Honda. (Wrecked twice)

Kinda makes tooth paste, remote controls, cushions and even carpet seem extremely expendable. When I get mad at  my kids and finally blow up, they pout for a couple days. When I spank Ziggy with an empty paper towel roll, he scurries under the living room coffee table but ten minutes later is rubbing up against me like a cat still bobbing that head like a bobble headed doll with  that smiley face looking all happy. It just makes me feel good. It may sound crazy  and I know it is but what ever he does wrong he gives back to me with complete love and affection.

On Christmas my nephew (the family dog whisperer) taught Ziggy to shake. We've been trying since we got him in June and  finally  just accepted he was  "Rain Man/Dog" and destined for great  things in  the Canine Special Olympics. Casey  taught him to shake in less than five minutes.

It's like raising a kid all over again,  has been disastrous at most points but really gratifying at others.  Ham and Charlie like their new buddy and he certainly likes them. He was very sweet to Ham when he went through that horrible week after the first two heart worm kill shots. It's amazing how instinctive dogs are. Ziggy didn't jump on him but would lay beside him and cuddle up.

Speaking of Ham, he finished his heart worm quick kill yesterday.  Zach went with me. Ham may be sick but still strong as an ox.  Once again we waited in the waiting room.  (the parking lot)

I can't say enough good things about this vet who saved my dog's life. I was waiting in the parking lot for our turn while Zach kept Ham in the car. I was talking with a man who was a paramedic in our county, waiting to get his dog's free Rabies shot  and he remarked how great it was to have low cost care for the animals we love the most. He pointed to mobile clinic, humming away on it's generator and remarked, "The guy's smart, he loves animals but look at his overhead."

Dr. Marseli came out of his "Office" and saw me sitting on the curb. He cocked his head and asked me with his 'thumbs up' if Ham was still okay? I gave him a thumbs up back and had Zach bring Ham out of the car. He said the last shot wasn't as devastating and stuck a short needle into Ham's hip. He said my boy looked good and gave us preventative to start Ham on in two weeks. He told us to bring him back in twelve weeks and have him retested for heart worms. After that we have the go ahead for eye surgery.  Ham started to feel bad about  halfway home. (a ten minute drive)

The paramedic I was talking to in the "Waiting Room" had gone through the same thing with his coon dog and said it was much like chemotherapy for dogs. "It's poison and  hurts like hell but  beats losing your buddy."

Christmas is over, it was great. Ziggy is a mess but coming around. Ham is halfway there. My oldest son leaves  for Australia in a few weeks to live the adventure of a lifetime. My youngest son is on the straight and narrow. My daughter is full guns ahead for a college degree  and destined for amazing things.

The  giraffe she gave me for Christmas amazes me every time I look at  it. The detail is incredible.

After everything is said and done...I couldn't have a more perfect life. Looking forward to  the New Year and new opportunities.

My life is a jumble of love, kids, dogs and troubles.  In the correct order, I am one lucky woman.

Til next  time...COTTON