My Day in 3 Parts Part 3 where everything goes sideways blue
This is Molly.
She showed up as a stray. She tried to adopt our neighbors. The lady called me, "I don't know what to do. We're going to have to take her to the pound. But she's sooo sweet."
My husband said, "We'll take her! Journeys needs a companion!
This is Journeys
Journeys is part German Shepherd and part Great Pyranees. My husband who has been known to name is favorite childhood dog, "Dog" and my cat, "Kitty," Actually came up with Ger-nees ... Gernees ... but no one could spell it right and it seemed just a little too close to gurneys ... especially for a big, crazy, untamed goof!
Molly came prepackaged with 5 more companions.
Molly made a great mom and Journeys made an awesome crazy uncle. The two pups in this photo are still with us.
It looks like this:
They follow him every where! If he doesn't leave the yard, they don't leave the yard ... but there's these fields ... and Molly and Journeys love the fields !
Molly loved to hunt. I don't mean go out with men to help them find critters. I mean she could hunt! Shortly after she got here, I watcher her track a rabbit back and forth across the field. It finally out smarted her by doubling back and forth enough times ... that worked until it didn't. We found the rabbit dead 2 days later.
She took on a skunk. ... The skunk only got away because Molly was frantic to find out where The Crazy Uncle had taken his favorite puppy. (Bandit, the one on my profile.) Those two stayed out until 2am! There's not even a bar for 5 miles! I don't know where they were. Except I can just see Journeys waiting over and over for Bandit to catch up and Stopping over and over to let Bandit rest up.
We don't need to really talk about the other critters, but ...
Molly also spent part of one day ... here, in the green green grass of home.
Because she had this critter treed right outside my kitchen window.
Yes, friends. That is indeed a Ground Hog up a tree.
But Molly started going out with the boys less and less.
We could see her slowing down.
She even brokered a deal with the cats so she could sleep on the front porch.
The cats were a bit uneasy about the arrangement at first.
They eventually all adjusted. For the most part.
Molly definitely adjusted.
We could see her getting slower.
Monday (Tuesday?), @mitchmiester couldn't find her when he went out to feed the dogs.
Evidently, Sometime in the afternoon, she went to sleep on the back side of the garden (that we didn't plant this year) where she could watch over her beloved fields. She never woke.
My husband found her while he was mowing. I miss her. But I'm so relieved to know what happened and that her leaving was most peaceful.
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Absolutely beautiful !
Thank you.
So sorry for your loss.
@allyinspirit told me check check out your page. I'm glad I did!
Thanks! I stayed up way too late writing this post that refused to go untold. Mostly it was the technical stuff that was slow. The the photos told the words to write. I do miss her. Thank you for your sympathy.
I hope you'll give the #useeisee writing style a try. You're already on my list to browse tomorrow. My notifications (noteefi bot for Telegram) told me Ally @allyinspirit was telling on me. She's a sweetie. I'm blessed to have met her here.
They all look soooo happy! Even when they pass, it's comforting to know they've had a good life. Someday, when I don't need the city, I'm going to go live out on a ranch and have tons of animals too.
<3
Don't wait too long. Life zooms! And start investing because animals are EXPENSIVE!
I'll tell you another secret. We rent the old farm house that is surrounded by hay fields. When the hay has been mowed, we have free run of the fields. The landlord has portions that can't be hayed. He has been more than willing to allow us to get goats. So. Thinking hard about that. But the point is, you don't have to own land to be able to raise animals.
Oops I wasn't really finished yammering at you lol ... you are right about
Before we knew for sure what we suspected was true, we also had to admit that it was possible she'd gotten into some tangle with a coyote or a poisonous snake or even a car.
Could we have prevented this by keeping her kenneled all the time? Maybe maybe not. Would it have been like caging an animal that really belonged in the open? For Molly, yes.
Now I will tell you my maybe, maybe not story. The extreme short version.
When I was young and my kids were too, we were adopted by a stray, Adrian. She was, as near as we can guess, beagle and labrador. Mischievous as the day was long.
Every now and again, fairly often, she would get out and give every kid on the block a merry run for their money in an ongoing game of tag.
Well we all got older and we all made life changes and Adrian ended up with my kids grandparents. And she pretty much gave up the "I'm pretend running away" routine. They were all extremely happy with each other. Life was good.
The grandparents eventually moved into an apartment where pets weren't allowed. And it was decided Adrian wasn't well enough to transition to another family. Basically, they were just moving forward the inevitable by a few months when they decided to put her to sleep.
On the day that the end was to come, Adrian bolted and ran like the wind right into an oncoming car.
To this day, I am convinced that crazy dog chose her own path out of this world. Doing precisely what she loved most. Running.
Oh my god, that sounds surreal. I believe it too. I have a dog too, but just one, because we live in Mexico City. We have lived in 8 cities together. I know a lot of people think it is cruel to live with a dog in the city, but for Luna it isn't, not in our case. We go for walks everyday, there are always parks around, we explore cities in ways that I wouldn't do on my own! When we lived in Barcelona, they let dogs on the public transportation, and she loved going on, all the people oogling her, then ending up in a new little town and beach with tons of new smells.
And here, the other day, I finished my work early, so we went out wandering the neighborhood, Luna leading, and she led me to the most MAGICAL little street on blocks from my house that I doubt I would have ever seen if not for her. And the most magical part wasn't even that there was a small church in a small courtyard with a small fountain and cobblestone, the late afternoon light coming through the foliage like a fairy tale (though that was pretty great), it was the narrow cobbled leading out. There was a beautiful door with its windows open playing some old classical music very loud that it filled the area and our ears. I felt like I was suddenly transported to 1940's colonial Mexico. We just stood outside listening for awhile, both of us, so happy :)
Anyway, I guess I am telling this story as a form of doggie camaraderie. They certainly do have each their own individuality, the same as humans. I have no doubt Adrian was fully aware of what was going on, and that was his response.
<3
I LOVE IT when one story leads to another!
In the US, many many dogs live cooped up lives in the city. Most of the dogs are quite content with it. Companionship is always the key to a happy dog.
I hope you go back to the fascinating little street quite often. Luna definitely found a way to refresh you!
Post photos of the street when you can and feel free to come back to one of my current posts and leave a comment with links.
And
You are officially invited to try your hand at a "You see, I see " https://steemit.com/useeisee/@marillaanne/the-description-and-story-of-you-see-i-see-and-how-it-became-useeisee ... on no particular day or season, just as you see fit.
I will! I haven't gone back yet (it was less than a week ago), because I don't want to magic of that specific moment to turn into something ordinary. Eek. But I have to go back. I didn't take pics cuz my phone was dead, which was another cool way to really connect to the environment and moment that day. I will go back soon with my phone soon, take some pics, and join the #useeisee community for sure! Thank you so much for inviting me <3
Awesome!