JD is one tough girl

Barney arrived in Puyallup Washington quiet unexpectedly, having just visited Lincoln, who lives about an hour north of here. Unfortunately, he was a couple of months too late to meet my sweet JD and let her have a crack at de-fluffing him. I would bet that JD would have been the one to make Barney into a Tri-pawd dinosaur! So it is appropriate that Barney’s visit here be chronicled on JD’s Blog. Since I know her spirit is still around me and her newly adopted sisters Serena and Maya, surely she had a paw in some of the torture inflicted upon him during his stay with us.

The Barney box arrived during the Christmas holidays while we had snow on the ground. Barney came wearing nice hand knitted mittens, one brown sock and an eye patch. Now I am not so sure the purple guy really needs an eye patch; his Ginger scar has healed nicely. I suspect it is just a sympathy thing. For their first introduction we all went outside into the backyard.

Do you think we should get him?

Now Maya is somewhere around one year old and quite a bundle of energy, to say the least.
She grabbed Barney right away and gave him quite a shaking, and many tosses into the air. He was dragged around the yard and an attempt was made to bury him in the snow.

Take that Barney

Serena decided on the non-violent approach and just sat on him; if you look closely, you can see a bit of Barney underneath her rump!

They ‘played’ together for over an hour, and Barney got quite frosty and begged to go in!

Can you see that ‘crutch of an eye patch’ hanging off his cheek?

All of us were a bit chilly and came in to warm up, so after Barney took a ride in the clothes dryer…

He parked himself on the hearth.

Here is Barney warming his bum by the fire.

A few days later, and with a brief break in the weather, we set out for a car ride. Serena and Maya said we needed to take Barney to see “The Mountain” The Mountain is how Washingtonians refer to Mt. Rainier. It is quite a spectacular landmark here in the northwest. The official measurement is 14,410 ft. above sea level. and is an ‘episodically active’ volcano. Unfortunately the weather only allowed a brief window of opportunity to catch it on camera and my photographic skills are quite lacking, so If you look closely maybe you can make it out over Barney’s shoulder.

Barney’s last adventure at Lincoln’s house was marked by drinking and driving and an eventual DUI arrest. Serena and Maya wanted to have a paw in his re-hab so thought a visit to the Puyallup Public Library might be a good idea.

First stop was at the library’s giant Christmas tree, where Barney tried to hide in the branches.

Good luck with that!

Barney found the Children’s area very fun and Maya and Serena gathered many books about dinosaurs for him to look at.

One of the books was very important considering his most recent past.

Yes, there actually was a book about Barney going to the Police Station. Got him thinking!!!

Hey, who is that in the background? He looks familiar!!!

Here is Barney doing some genealogy research.

Applying for a library card

Getting his card – He is so proud!

We lost him for a while and then…wait there he is …what is he reading now?

Oh…let’s leave him alone. Looks serious. Can Re-hab be far behind?

Yippeeee the travel section!-Considering his options!

This was Barney’s last selection-Where will he go next????

On our last outing we all went to the pet store, Barney was convinced that Serena and Maya needed more toys for their stash at home, I was not so sure!

We did stop in front of the lizard habitats.

Barney was remembering his genealogy research at the library and thought they might have found some long lost cousins.

Now as I said, it was very sad for me to not have JD get a crack at the purple guy, but I must admit there is something special about him. He started to grow on us. Having traveled all over North America he has stayed with some of the coolest Tri-Pawds on the planet and so far none of them have done him in. Maya and Serena have managed to destroy every single stuffed toy I have given them since they came to live with me. Even the Tuff-toys . (They have toughness ratings from 1-10 . We had an 8 here and it was made of some Kevlar/bullet proof fabric and they still managed to have my living room carpet look like a Winter Wonderland of fluff and shredded material.)
Yet Barney was unharmed by my girls. One day I had left Barney on the dining room table when I went off to work and came home to find him on the floor, wet and chewed on, but still intact! Almost a miracle I would say. In our time together I have come to believe that maybe the spirit of Jerry is protecting this Barney! Keeping him whole so he can continue to visit many others and spread the fellowship of Tri-pawds. It brings tears to my eyes to think of all the heroes who have crunched and slobbered over him.

We have truly enjoyed our visit with Barney and will be sending him off with love and hoping his adventures continue for a long long time.

Where is he going next?

Wow JD, you really have passed on your dislike of posing for photos to your two new sisters!

You always seemed to have a ‘Oh not another picture’ look on your face,

and Serena and Maya are no different.

It seems I must practice the headlock on Maya!

Thank you Serena for living up to your name!

Merry Christmas to all

Spirit JD + Quad-pawds Serena and Maya’s mom

With JD’s permission I am posting a few pictures of my two new girls.
Both are quad-paws, but that’s OK, they are still good girls!

This is seven year old Serena- she is one of the most mellow dogs I have ever met.

And here is one year

old Maya

Maya has a pink star in the middle of her nose!

Sleepy Maya

‘Come on

MOM !!! Not

another picture!!!’

Thanks for letting me share my new family members with all of you.

Spirit JD’s mom

Dear Sweet JD,

Well this has been not just another Sunday. If you are around me now then you can see that two girls have joined the household. They were in a Rescue and needed forever homes and you know how much my heart needed to heal from losing you. It has been three long months since we said goodbye.

I hope you have watched me move through my grief, sometimes not too gracefully, but always with love for you. You were so loved by our friends and family Our special friends here on Tripawds were such a help with your diagnosis and surgery and your tragic death. I have met some of them, and hope you were with me to meet their furchildren.

Maya and Serena and I are just getting to know each other and make some of the adjustments necessary to become a family. You and I had worked out our lives over the 10 plus years. We knew just how each other operated, what to expect. But now I am embarking on a new path, with two new loving creatures so desperate for love. I hope you can give me a bit of your spirit help to teach them that peeing on the grass is good and in the flowerbed is not. Help them to know that when I have to leave for work, I will always come back. Help me show them that they can relax, they are home now.

You will never leave my heart and I hope you can help the girls and I to form a strong bond of love and caring.

I miss you my sweet girl.

Oh my sweet girl. Iam missing you so much right now. The calendar page is about to change and the weeks march on since you had to leave me, I am actually able to sometimes think of you without crying. Not tonight however.

If your spirit is here with me, you know all this. Keep pushing me forward and helping me to remember the lessons you offered. Unwavering loyalty, companionship, spunk, tenacity, stuborness, beauty, tenderness, toughness and love.

I miss you.

Each day moves me farther from the day this huge hole in my heart was created. The day JD’s physical form was not here for me anymore. The day I had to accept the fact that I had to go on without my friend here next to me.

Each new day as I wake up without her snuggled up behind my legs, and the thumping tail slapping the covers as I open my eyes. I see her water bowl empty and think , oh I need to fill that, then the reality, no I don’t. I truly can’t say I miss her less with time. She is never far from my waking thoughts, popping in when I least expect her. I cry less frequently now, but am constantly surprised what brings on the tears.

Yesterday I returned to the Vet’s office to pay the final bill for her last x-rays and the euthanesia. I knew it would be hard, but needed to face it. Tears began to roll as I drove into the parking lot, and they continued as I approached the gals at the front desk. I stated my business and then they asked me if I knew that the staff had voted to have JD be their ‘Pet of the Month’ for October. I had no idea and was so overwhelemed to have her honored in that way.

Just the month before JD and I sat in that same waiting area and I was reading the story and looking at the picture of that ‘Dog of the Month’. I asked her ‘So what’s up with that? We have been coming here for over 10 years now. How do you get to be ‘Dog of the Month’? Well the answer came when I needed to hear it. In just the blink of a tearfilled eye that news of her being honored meant everything to me.

This week has continued to bring condolance cards and emails as people hear the news. Including a very special one from Spirit Jerry, Wyatt Ray and Rene and Jim. Thanks, your kind words were so soothing.

I haven’t shared here that I too had cancer, not OS but breast. I too had surgeries and chemo. And always by my side was my friend JD. I miss her so tremendously. It is a physical ache. But I am managing to move forward some days haltingly and some days with a confident step, as I learn to go it alone.

Spirit JD’s mom

One week today, I last stroked your sweet soft belly spots, whispered in your ear and set you free. So many people are helping me to be strong, wow you sure were loved!!!!

You are now my Spirit Angel. Help me to transform my sadness into the great memories of our years together. I want to honor your life with dignity and not sloppy tears.

I miss you so very much sweet pea, you were ‘One tough Girl’

Angel JD’s mom

Baby JD 1999

The cancer did not get her. However, she is gone.

My beloved JD was getting her spirit and spunkiness back, as I had been sharing here. In fact, Saturday night I was telling my brother that she was doing so great that I was having a hard time thinking about the cancer. I figured out yesterday that my silly digital camera does take video so I was out in the yard taking pictures of JD and marveling at her energy. I wanted her to have a video here on Tripawds. She was running and rolling on her back in the dry grass, one of her favorite things was to point that spotted belly into the sun and flip back and forth. My project yesterday was to see if I could get the video out of the camera so I could share it with you and all of my family.

Well at about noon Sunday she showed signs of distress. A few whimpers, lots of drooling and the drool was a bit foamy. She couldn’t get comfortable and it seemed to me that her beautiful spotted belly was puffy. Thank goodness, the Vet clinic is open 7 days a week and they took us right away. Xrays showed Bloat. This is where the stomach and spleen flip on themselves, inside the chest area. This is a very serious condition and immediate surgery gives only a 20-30 percent survival rate. The Vets advice and my gut knew that was not something to put her through. JD’s body had been compromised with the amputation and chemo and her blood count was not good. This was it. Nothing could be done. Nothing except for me to make the decision to end the physical life of my devoted friend of almost 11 years.
When the diagnosis Osteosarcoma was given to me I focused on helping JD fight. I had looked into the future and knew that if the cancer didn’t get her something else would eventually. I would need to make plans, decisions and decide what will be the quality of life for her, beyond which we would not go. But as the days surrounding surgery and healing passed and I became more confident that she could beat this thing, I allowed myself to push the thoughts of the ‘end point’ farther and farther away. I was scared of knowing when the time would be to let her go, hoping she would make the decision with me.
But Sunday afternoon in a matter of an hour, I alone had to sign the papers to let her go. To free her from the Bloat pain and eminent death before her. But this is not fair- it was not the enemy we were fighting- we were fighting cancer. It’s not fair that an activity she loved so much, rolling on her back, would prove such dangerous play.

I am weeping not for JD, she had the greatest dog life possible-loved and spoiled to the max. She only suffered a short time with this bloat thing, and then she was free. I am not sure where her spirit is right now, I asked her to stay close to help me cope. I am weeping for me. I am a mess. She was my life and I miss her so much. She was one tough girl! I want to thank each of you who have shared your stories and pieces of your lives here in this forum, it has meant so much to me and it was great for JD as well. She benefited from all the things I learned here, and the strength I found.

Love you fur-children, give them extra pets and kisses from me because we really, truly do not know what the future holds.

Angel JD’s mom

JD has been a thief all her life. She delights in stealing anything that is not nailed down, and as a pup one of her first’tricks’ was to go into the bathroom and pull on the hanging portion of toilet paper and run through the house. Well of course I buy the Charmin so the sheets do not tear off easily and so our house became a TP fest till we figured out what to do about that little trick. All of her 10 years have been about stealing things or having something in her mouth. We joke that her name is JD for juvenile delinquent!

As I was sitting here working on the computer, I turned to listen to JD’s soft snores that please me so much these days. And there it was the scene of the crime! A full roll of charmin right in front of her.

Oh well this gives you all a chance to see her amp site and how nicely the fur is growing in and of course to view her fantastic belly.

Just had to share

JD’s mom

Oh yes to answer the question of what JD really stands for it is a not very interesting, egomanicial name. J for James (my ex-husband) and D for me. I guarantee she is so much more fun and interesting than her name would lead you to believe.

Hello Everyone,

This is a picture of me in the not too distant past. Yes my left leg is in the photo, but I don’t miss it much anymore!

I am waiting for Mom to get in the car and take me for a ride, THAT has not changed!

I just wanted to update everyone on my progress. Dr Pam says my blood work is good enough to schedule my next Chemo a week from Friday.

Not worried or scared, it was a piece of cake last time.

Mom started me on the K9 Immunity yesterday, tasty, but I do believe my breath is a bit stronger than usual. Oh well Mom’s isn’t so great all the time either!

It seems there are quite a few of us Tripawds here in Western Washington, Mom is communicating with the other pawrents to see if we can all get together for a picnic, sniff-fest and some three-legged races. 🙂

So just an update to let you all know I am doing well and wish you the same.

JD (and YES I am ‘One tough girl’)