Check out my bulldog content on AC

Please follow this link for some interesting bulldog information I had published on Associated Content.
http://webmail.associatedcontent.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=mgs,5zp7,faq,ftfu,6e0e,2coq,g9js&ac_url=www.associatedcontent.com%2Farticle%2F2173833%2Fraising_a_healthy_bulldog_not_your.html

Working Through the Grief

So it has been one whole week since we put Sandy down. Like any good woman, you can't hold a good one down for long, and Sandy was one good woman dog. I have managed to channel my grief and give Sandy a "voice" through my writing. I have composed a poem about having a dog cross over to the rainbow bridge. It can easily be personalized with your past pet's name throughout. If anyone is interested in one personally or to give as a comfort gift, let me know. Comment here, through my email, or facebook. I would give you a preview but I'm thinking of having it copyrighted and it wouldn't be right.

A Very Sad Day

As I mentioned in one of my other posts, I have been writing for Associated Content. I'm proud to say I have been getting paid to do so, but today this subject matter belongs on this blog.
We are ending the long summer vacation that is a job perk of working in a school system and that always gets me feeling melancholy and sad. It is especially hard this year because I don't want to leave Bubbles, my new bulldog puppy. Add to this the horrible weather we are experiencing due to Hurricane Danny and some other tropical storm. All of this is nothing compared to what I had to do today.
Today, after too many years to count, we, as a famly made the decision to have our beloved cocker spaniel, Sandy put down. My head knows that this was the right decision but my heart, well that's another matter. I am in true pain. I know all things must die. Jesus, I was raised in the business. I know all great things end but she was a saint among dogs. My oldest son always had an unsubstantiated fear of dogs. A fear of dogs that is until the day he met Sandy. She won him over in one late afternoon when we took her home. We adopted her and I never knew exactly how old she was. My second son was home recovering from a terrible bout of pneumonia at the time. My daughter was practicing for a softball game. We left Sandy with both boys to go to the game and that is when she worked her magic. My second son began to feel better and my first son fell in love.
She was as gentle as could be, in her day. Sandy had soulful eyes that eased your pain and added to your joy. She could cuddle when it was needed and defend when she thought necessary. Our memories will always be filled with Sandy.
I love my bulldogs but I owe the fact that I have them to Sandy. I know she is playing like she once did over that rainbow bridge. I'm sure she is there with my first bulldog, Duchess. You will never convince me that dogs don't go to heaven. They are true ambassadors of God.
Both my girls are fetching balls with angels and I know we will all play together again. If they are not there, then I'm don't want to be either.

Oh so much writing

Anyone who truly knows me, knows that I have always loved to write. I could write on any number of subjects and enjoy writing for writings sake. I recently stumbled upon a way I can make a very small amount of money for my love of writing. It affords me the opportunity to not only write and get paid a little for my effort, but to actually be published and recognized for my work. I don't know how much longer I can add to my blog but you can still keep up with my thought (for anyone who cares) at Associated Content. Please look me up by my byline. Wow! That was cool to state, my byline. Hope it doesn't become by byebyeline!

I am now a published writer!

Follow this link to see my work:
Check out my recently published content on AC:

; Last Minute Vacation Deal of a Lifetime

GRITS

Hold on to your hat, but here I am in Myrtle Beach, SC without children or dogs. No one will ever know what it took for me to actually do this. My heart completely broke having to leave my poor, sick, emotionally upset Bruiser, my new tiny Bubbles, and my 3 grown children. The last vacation I took with just my spouse was called our honeymoon, which we took a year after we were married. This whole situation got me thinking about words like tenacity, drive, strength, grit. Down south you can buy t shirts that say GRITS. It is supposed to stand for Girls Raised In The South. I, as you can imagine, have a different interpretation.
For the first time since we have been coming to MB we did the drive in 2 days. Usually, its a straight through drive. Understand that its a 12 hour trip but I would only agree to go along this time if we stopped along the way. Still my husband had certain benchmarks before we could stopped. Of course, I had a long talk with my bladder before we left and successfully managed to talk my colon into shutdown mode. Let me tell you, that takes grit. We hit unbelievable traffic, and after an entire day in the car, finally hit 300 miles. We drove till we were almost out of Richmond, VA and then stopped for the night. We ate in a place called The Lighthouse. Its speciality was butter fried in butter. The waitress brought out hush puppies (great little fried treasures) with butter as dipping sauce. Every sandwich nwas fried in butter, smothered in butter, boiled in butter, had to touch butter. When I ordered a grilled chicken sandwich and told her not to let mayonaisse near it, she looked at me like I had slapped her face. Sorry, I want to not have a clogged artery while I'm away. This took me back to the whole GRITS thing. I think I am a Girl Raised Italian Traveling South. This further reminded me of that old show, Alice that featured a character named Flo. She always told peope to "kiss my grits" when she was angry. That was the look I got from the waitress.
Yet, we made it down here to Myrtle Beach which each year feels like going home. I know every street and beach store that is always "going out of business" but is still here to welcome me each year. Today we'll buy tickets for all the shows and I'll follow my husband to each restaurant and try to make healthy choices. I will survive and enjoy this vacation. You want to know why? Its because I have GRITS.
I am a Girl Rooted In Tenacity Striving!

SHE IS HERE!

I just picked up Bubbles and settled her in to her new life with the family and Bruiser, Sandy too. She is the sweetest bulldog with a wonderful personality. Bruiser loves her already as does everyone else. I always knew bulldogs were like chips--you can't possible have just one.
I'm too happy to even write anything.

Bubbles is Coming!

I hope. I dream. I wish. I pray. If all goes as planned, I should have my new little girl, Bubbles very soon. She is supposed to land in the good ole USA next Tuesday. If that happens, I should have her in my arms by Wednesday. I am so excited, I can't sit still or keep a thought in my mind. I was going to wait until she arrived to post her picture but I can't stand it anymore. Therefore, here she is!

Old dogs and lovebirds: Coo coo cachoo!

Today I would like to relate the story of Tiller, a chocolate lab that lives in the upstairs of a two family house. His Mom is a working gal and she loves him more than anything. I think she is the stereotypical single working lady that fills her time with pets and treats them like her babies. I say babies because, although Tiller is the dog, he has two feather friends who also rock his world. Tiller, in a word, is a one of those wise old dogs that lets you believe that you are the master but he knows the truth. He is just too well-mannered to announce his dominance to the world. Yet, we did not know the birds existed. Tiller's owner didn't tell us they were there. I should be accustomed to these surprises but I guess I'll never learn.
We enter Tiller's little apartment and promptly feed this good guy. He eats his food in a nano second, literally. As my daughter gets his leash and we begin the long journey down these high pitched wooden steps, we hear, "Ooh, ooh." It was quiet enough to let you think possibly you didn't really hear anything but loud enough that you know you heard something but you are not quite sure what you heard. Tiller could not wait, so down the staircase, like descending into hell, we took off. Tiller was a dream to walk, gentle as could be, and sweet as a peach. We return to the apartment to now hear "Ooh, ooh" in a loud coo. Never do we look around the houses or apartments of the people who call us to walk dogs. The only looking we do is for food if it is not in a clearly defined place, or a leash or collar if they are not in plain sight. This cooing though, made us go look. We found 2 of the most adorable doves cooing to each other. True love-bids! Caged together and singing and cooing to one another. Just like marriage, right?

News and a new idea

So this coming Sunday I was supposed to receive my new baby, Bubbles. She would only be about 6 1/2 weeks. In my head I knew this was a little too early but how my heart wanted to cuddle her. Now I hear from my breeder that I will have to wait another week for her. I understand. I know. I have had children myself and know the rules and regulations. I've had puppies and know that waiting is important. I know I am going to go crazy. Soooooooooooo...........in the interest of keeping my head, I am taking inspiration from the book, Julie and Julia by Julie Powell. I am currently reading this book and can't wait to see if the movie world bastardizes it like My Sister's Keeper. I am going to start including in this blog, the vicarious adventures of my life as a dog walker. I don't live in the City where you see a solitude person laden with ample leashes attached to an assortment of dogs. I live in the suburbs where money is the solution for every problem that you may encounter. I'm not one of the money throwers, I'm more of a money catcher and I'm learning to catch all the pitches. My daughter is the actual dog walker but I go along as back up and to step in when there is a really precarious situation. Believe me, this is not a job for the faint of heart. This brings me to a little tale I'll call Yappy, yap, hot damn, God Bless those bigger dogs!
Off we go to this house in a wealthy little hamlet to feed and play with these two dachshund dogs. The owners are away on vacation and, from the looks of things; they are an older couple who consider these little darlings as their grandchildren. Specific instructions are left for us. What to feed the dogs, where the treats are, how long to let them run wild and free, and a special "please" to clean up any little accidents that may have occurred before we arrived--complete with Swiffer Wet-Jet. Understand that these McMansion people all hide their keys for us various peons like cleaning ladies and painters to access their house whenever necessary. I think this one concept truly separates the wealthy from the poor. I may not have much, but what I have, I treasure and keep under lock and key! Now, I should mention that people leave instructions but some like to play games with your head. Case in point: the key is under the mat in front of the house. Guess where the key actually is? Hint, not under the mat. It is in the flower pot. Of course we don't know this so we decide to walk around to the back of the house to check all of those mats in front of the very many entrances you can access from the back. Naturally, Yippy and Yappy spot us and the fun begins. Personally, I never knew dachshunds could fly. Should that come up in Jeopardy, the answer is yes, but they fly straight up and the yapping never stops. Ok, so we finally get the key and enter the house. Finally is 15 minutes later. I am convinced someone saw us snooping around and that the police are on their way but here we are. Now Yippy and Yappy are afraid and are doing nothing but yapping. Poop and pee is everywhere but those are just the bonus rewards. We have to open the back door and let these guys out. Here folks are where we made our critical mistake. I am used to bulldogs and spaniels with a sprinkling of setters and beagles thrown in for good measure. Yippy and Yappy run outside and are yapping and yipping their heads off the entire time. They are hiding under bushes and beneath decks. They are joined in their strategic move of not returning to the house. Food means nothing to them. Their purpose is but to yip. How are we going to get them back in? Don't worry, a plan is in effect. My daughter will corner one of them and I will spring forth just as it runs by and tackle it gently and swoop it into my arms. Yeah right. This move would have required the grace of a prima ballerina, the speed of a road runner, and the tenacity of a linebacker. I am none of those. All this gets us is more yipping and yapping. We decide, in our combined intelligence, to re-enter the kitchen and wait the little buggers out. That's when it happened.
We hear a knock at the front door. My daughter tells me, "Don't answer it." She, like me, is paralyzed with fear. Yippy and Yappy are still outside yipping and yapping. Next we hear a key in the lock and the tumble of that lock followed by a strong push in of the door. I do what any mother would do. I stand in front of my daughter to block the surely impending hail of bullets and declare in my best Wonder Woman voice, "We are the dog walkers." In steps this handsome young man who informs us that he is the son and stops by periodically while his parents are away. Here you may be wondering why he can't just feed and let out the dogs. Don't be crazy, these people have money and there are people who would actually do this for you. I confess that we can't get these little darlings back in the house, but don't worry they have used the facilities, (I luckily Swiffered everything up before he arrived!) and had their treats. He sits on the deck and states how nervous they are but that he could get them in. He promptly calls them to him, and one of the little creatures comes to her master and nips him right on the hand. We took this as our curtain call. We asked son of the McMansion's if he would get them back in and he gave us our ok to leave. You never saw two people exit as quickly as we did. This is why I don't let my daughter go on her own. I don't know what son of McMansion is capable of. To me, its a bad sign when your own dog nips your hand. They have a way of getting to the root of someone's character. Anyway, we took our wages to purchase new underwear.
I told you, this line of work is not for the faint of heart.
I must go, leashes and four-legged friends await.

Diet, diet, diet

So I've lost a few pounds. This is some small miracle considering that my life is surrounded by food. I am off for the summer so I have been treated to what hubby does all day. It amazes me I don't weigh close to 500 lbs.! His day starts out with a discussion of what will be served for dinner. This is followed with court shows intermixed with the food channel. Then he goes to lunch and comes home and tells me what he ate and what the others ate. Then more judge shows and cooking channel. Next its dinner and more, you guessed it---cooking shows. AHHHHHHHHHH! I lov to cook but I don't want to be defined by food.
Better off I concentrate on bulldogs!

Bulldogs, bulldogs, everywhere

Anyone that know me, knows I am crazy for everything bulldog. If you were to come to my house you would see that it homey with a definite bulldog decor flair. Once I see a bulldog item, I have to have it. In fact, I probably already own it, or I will launch a huge internet search for it, and before long it will be mine. My latest find is Ugga, the bulldog planter. When it gets a little later in the day, I'll take a picture of it if the day doesn't get away from me and post it. Ugga is the mascot name of the Georgia Bulldogs. Me, I know nothing about football, but I sure do love their mascot.
Now, since I did announce that I'm hoping and praying that a new little somebody will be with me soon, I thought I could use some help with a name. Since Bruiser starts with a B, I was thinking of keeping up the B tradition. Names of every kind have been flying around in my house and no 2 people can agree on 1. Any suggestions?

I know its been a long time!

Ok, I know its been since forever that I have written anything for this blog. The thing is, I'm sure I'm the only one reading it! Thing is, now I think I have big news. It seems as though my dream of getting a new bulldog may finally be coming true. Yup, that's right, Bruiser may be getting a sister. I feel as though if I share this with no one but me, or put it down in writing, it will, indeed; happen. So here it is. If it goes through, I probably will be writing once again. Should you happen upon this blog, envision a little dream for me. Keep the good karma coming!