No Name....and So Much to Learn

Jackie: "What in the Sam Hill....! Cookie! You had better get out here quick! There is a cat out here!"Cookie: "Jackie, this is not a cat. It is a little puppy. Hello little girl, what is your name? Why are you here?"Puppy: "I don't know. I don't know. I was just in a pen with my two sisters and then this boy and girl came and took me home. I don't have a name."Jackie: "Sniff...sniff....I guess you are right, Cookie. It isn't a cat. Why do you suppose it is here?"Cookie: "Well, I am guessing here, but we have all been so sad since Annie went to the Hunting Ground. You have not been yourself Jackie. You have been spending a lot of time curled up in the rocking chair looking out the window. This family loves us and has a lot of love to give. Maybe they wanted to give us a new friend."

Jackie: "Well, no one can take Annie's place EVER!"Cookie: "Of course not, Jackie. I told you before, we will never stop missing Annie. But we have to enjoy our days while we are here. So you don't have a name yet, little fella?"

Puppy: "No name; I am just me....who are the two of you?" Cookie: "I am Cookie, the chief dog here, and this is my assistant, Jackie. Welcome to our yard, you are going to like living here with us. You have a lot to learn, my little friend and we will teach you."

Puppy: "Will I ever have a name? I don't what to be called "It"! Where are my sisters!? I am scared!"Jackie: "Don't worry, Puppy. I won't call you "It" anymore. The family will give you a name when they get to know you a little. Cookie is right; you are going to like it here, and Cookie and I and this family are yours now. We are going to take care of you and teach you what you need to know." Cookie: "You know, Jackie. You were just saying that you wanted a baby in the house....a puppy is a baby, only better.

Jackie: "You know, you are right! And I remember Annie told me that one day I would not be the pup in the house anymore. That day has come! Does this mean you won't call me "Pup" anymore, Cookie?"

Cookie: "I probably always will call you "Pup" Jackie since you are special to me and I have known you since you were just a pup like this little one, but we'll see. We need to get to know each other."

Jackie: "Hello Little Girl. I can't wait to know what your name is. I can't wait to play with you."

A Little Fun

Jackie: "What ya doin' Cookie?"

Cookie: "I don't know. We haven't had any fun this afternoon."
Jackie: "I know! Let's get James to throw the ball! We haven't done that in a long time, and I have a new green ball.......Throw It James!!!!!"
Cookie: "Yeah! Throw it James!"
Jackie: "Okay! Okay! Okay! Here you go!"Jackie: "Throw it again James! Cookie! Pay attention and get ready to chase it! This is a critial situation! We can't let it get away!"Cookie: "Get that one, okay Jackie. I think I am going to run by Mama for a petting."Jackie: "Cookie, I sometimes wonder whether you take playing ball very seriously."Cookie: "I am very serious about ball....I just get a little tired, that's all."Jackie: "Well, maybe it is time to move along to chewing on the ball then." Cookie: "Okay, you chew and I will pant.....but that was sure fun!"

I Wish We Had a Baby

Jackie: "You know, I sure wish we had a baby in this house. Our friend Jasey just got one and it sounds so nice." Cookie: "Valerie was a baby when I first came here. It IS very nice, especially when they start eating food. All I had to do was camp under Valerie's high chair and she rained food down on me."

Jackie: "Jasey says that babies smell nice too."
Cookie: "They sure do."

Jackie: "And Jasey says that babies have really nice toys to chew on."Cookie: "She is so right. Very nice rubbery, chewey, slobbery toys!"

Jackie: "Well Jasey sounds like she is enjoying her life--the only problem is there isn't quite room for the whole family on the couch! Jackie: "I don't think Jasey's couch is as big as ours."
Cookie: "Either the couch or something else, Pup."

Missing Annie

Jackie: "I am so lonesome without Annie here. I can smell her on her bed and blanket." Cookie: "I know you can, Jackie. You will smell her for a long time, and that's a good thing. When I smell Annie on the blanket, I think about her."

Jackie: "But Cookie, what are we going to do without Annie?!"

Cookie: "Well, Pup, I'll tell you what we are going to do. We are going to get up out of bed every morning, go outside and patrol the yard perimeter, just like we always do. Then we will enjoy our breakfast and then go lick the kids on the face. We will sun ourselves in the yard and roll around in the good-smelling warm grass. We will chase birds every chance we get and maybe sometime we will catch one. We raid the kitchen trash when the opportunity presents itself and tear up kleenex from the bathroom trash too. In the evening we will have our dinner and sit on laps and enjoy scratches and pets. That is what we are going to do."

Jackie: "Those are all good things, and it doesn't seem right anymore with Annie not here."

Cookie: "There is not an hour that will go by for the rest of our lives that we won't miss Annie. But all of these things are good things. A dog is only here for a sort while before it is time to go to the Hunting Ground. I have known several dogs that have gone on. Even I am going to be going before too many more years have passed--remember, I am twelve years old."

Jackie: "Cookie! I couldn't bear it if you left me too!"

Cookie: "That is why we have to enjoy every day while we are together. When I go to the Hunting Ground, you will get up every morning, just like always and go on with your day. We have time together here yet, and someday there will be other dogs for you to play with. They will be puppies and you will be the old girl. This family believes that there should be at least two dogs in the house so they can keep each other company.

Jackie: "You are good company, Cookie. I am glad you are here with me now."

Cookie: "We will always miss Annie. Always. But I am glad to have you here too, little pal."

Gone

Annie

Beloved family member.

Cherished friend.

Mother to many many puppies and foster mother to several more.

Humble little dog.

Grateful girl.
You leave behind broken hearts; your family wanted to give you a long, healthy, and happy life.

Born in the spring of 1999.....Gone to the Hunting Ground on September 18, 2006.

Run Annie, run and run!

Just You and Me

Jackie: "Annie.....Annie are you awake?"

Annie: "Yes Jackie. I am just resting here."Jackie: "Are you comfortable?"

Annie: "Yes. I have this soft blanket under me. I am comfortable."
Jackie: "Annie? Would you like me to come up and keep you company for awhile?"

Annie: "That would be nice....just you and me resting together."

Jackie: "I would like it to. I want to be with you for awhile."Annie: "Sigh.....just you and me." Jackie: "My mother."

Annie: "My puppy."

My Time is Near

Jackie: "Are you hurting, Annie?"

Annie: "It hurts a little, Jackie, but more than that, I just don't feel well anymore. I won't be here with you much longer.....my kidneys aren't working anymore."

Jackie: "What! Where are you going?"

Annie: "Mama is going to take care of me since since I am beginning to suffer."

Jackie: "What is she going to do?"

Annie: "She is going to send me to the Hunting Ground to wait for you and Cookie."

Jackie: "What is the Hunting Ground?"

Annie: "It is a place where dogs go. It is a nice place where dogs can run free over grassy hills and chase rabbits and squirrels. I hope Squirrely Jedi won't mind if I chase squirrels at the hunting ground. I will be respectful."

Jackie: "Oh, I DON'T WANT YOU TO GO! I will be so lonesome for you!"

Annie: "You still have Cookie, and James and Valerie. You are going to be okay. You know, this is a good home. When I lived at the breeder's I dreamed of going to a home and having a family, but I didn't think it would ever happen. It used to make me so sad to see my pups go away to homes and I had to stay in my pen at the breeder's. I remember the first time I saw James, Valerie, Mama and Master Man. They came to look at you....but Mama held me for a long time and said what a nice girl I was. She even said that she wanted to take me instead of you, but the breeder said I had to stay. I was glad you had a good home."

Jackie: "This is a good home."

Annie: "I remember, it was a long time later that Mama came back for me. I couldn't believe that she was coming for me and not another one of my puppies. I didn't think that I was special enough to have a family and people to love, but she took me home."

Jackie: "I remember that day! I was so glad to see you! But you were so scared."

Annie: "I was scared for two reasons. I didn't know how a dog was supposed to behave in the house and I was so afraid that they would get impatient with me and take me back to the breeder's again. I didn't know so many things. I was afraid of the dog door, I didn't know how to walk on a leash, I didn't know where I was supposed to sleep. I just didn't know. But the family was always so kind to me. They took care of me when I was sick, and you know, I have been sick a lot since I came here."

Jackie: "You are part of this family. When you are in a family, that's what they do, they take care of you."

Annie: "It sure has been a good home. I wish I didn't have to go, but I am so looking forward to the Hunting Ground. How good it will be to run and run and run!"

Jackie: "And when my time comes, you will be waiting there for me?"

Annie: "I will meet you right at the gate!"

Tests at the Vet

Annie: "I hate going to the vet."

Jackie: "You do seem to go a lot these days. What did the vet do?" Annie: "They took about half my blood out with a needle. The vet is testing to see if my kidneys are shutting down or if maybe I have diabetes."

Jackie: "Maybe that means you will get to eat currywurst!"

Annie: "I don't really care about eating anything. I don't feel hungry, just cold and tired. The vet said he would call tomorrow morning to tell Mama what is wrong with me."
Jackie: "I am sure it is just that you need more currywurst in your diet."

Under the Weather

Cookie: "Annie and I both have been ill, and I am glad to be feeling better. I had a bad case of gersmootch eye again and my ears were really hurting me. James has been putting the drops in my eyes and the medicine in my ears and I am much better."
Annie: "I am glad you are feeling better, Cookie....."

Cookie: "Annie, you have been ill too.....you are not feeling better, are you?"

Annie: "I have a pain in stomach. It hurts so much I cry when Mama picks me up to cuddle me. I can't eat anything and I feel cold all of the time too, even though it isn't cold, that's why I am wrapped up in this blanket. Mama thinks something is wrong with my kidneys. She is going to call the vet tomorrow and talk to him and see if anything can be done."Jackie: "Annie, I want you to get better! I want you to play with me! We need to finish our Bookish Meme!"Cookie: "Jackie, Annie needs to rest." Jackie: "Annie, do you think you will get better if you rest?"
Annie: "Maybe......maybe......or maybe not."