Lucky Update August 31, 2008

My intuition must be working overtime because last week Lucky had a rough go of things – namely, with his ability to live. He’s still alive, but not doing so hot. Sunday night, he peed all over the kitchen floor, despite me having just let him out to pee a half hour earlier. Now, it’s not like he’s never had an accident before, but it’s not all that commonplace and it was a foretelling of things to come. After the peeing incident, I took him on a walk. He dragged ass behind me the entire way and it was only about a 20-minute walk. I’ve taken him on hour-long walks that didn’t bother him, so for him to walk four feet behind me for 20 minutes was unusual. After his walk, he wouldn’t eat dinner. Again, it’s not like he’s never missed a meal, but all of these things combined was suspicious. He could barely walk and practically refused to stand. The next morning, his condition had only worsened. Again, he could hardly walk and wanted no part in the dog biscuits I presented him. He was also breathing oddly – real slow and deep one minute, then really shallow and fast the next. I had to go to work, but I didn’t want to leave him. I truly believed that I was going to come home to a dead dog. Needless to say, I was bawling as I patted his head, professing my love for him. Thankfully, my mom, who lives down the street, was home that day, so I asked her to check on him while I was at work. She did, but felt the same way - that Lucky would be “lucky” to make it through the night. She couldn’t get him to move from his position on the ground. I asked my mom if she thought I should make an appointment to put him down for the next day, just in case his condition worsened further. She rightly told me that there really wasn’t a clear cut answer to that question. So, afraid that he would be on his “death bed” the next day, I made an appointment for late in the afternoon the next day. Tears slid down my face as I drove home from work that day, as I realized that I would probably never walk him down that street again, as I had done almost daily. When I walked through the front door, my husband and mother were standing in the living room, as they watched Lucky make his triumphant, if not pathetic, attempt at walking for the first time that day. I was happy, but cautious as he lost his balance, leaning into the entertainment center.

By Wednesday, Lucky was back to normal, to a certain extent. I could only walk him for about fifteen minutes, and at a much slower pace than before. He still refuses to eat any kind of dog food, eating only deli turkey and some biscuits. I will spare you the details, but his “waste” is not normal for any living being. Then, he pooped on our bedroom floor one night and peed on the floor in the hallway the very next morning. Ugh!

Tonight, he seems to be on the downward slope again, as he’s breathing really funny and only getting up with boisterous coaxing from me and my husband. I took him on a very slow, fifteen-minute walk and he was, once again, dragging behind me.

I know the inevitable is coming, but I’m just not sure how long it will take to get here and in what form it will come. Being the hyper dog that he is, I always imagined Lucky would go with a heart attack while chasing after a ball. So, this slow, dragged out procession is torture. I know I just need to put it out of my head. It will come when it comes and however it wants to.

Coincidence? August 23, 2008

(Yeah, not the best picture of me, but I was also trying to get him to stay still for the pic.)

So my last post was about my aging dog, Lucky, and tonight I have an addendum. Over about the last month Lucky’s been doing a lot of gagging – particularly when we play fetch. Well, tonight I was playing with him and he was gagging almost immediately. Of course, I kept throwing because he just loves to chase that damn ball. By about the 18th throw (I typically throw it 20 – 30 times), he was coughing up blood – all over the ball and patio. I assume he has some kind of lung problem since it seems to happen most when he exerts himself a lot. It’s not exactly a surprise – as I’ve said repeatedly, he is old – but, I always figured he would go out fast with a heart attack or something. I don’t want him to go slowly like this. I told my husband that I didn’t want to have to stop playing fetch with him. He told me,”Well, look at it this way: If you throw the ball, you’ll kill him; but if you don’t throw the ball you’ll kill him. You’ll be taking away his whole reason for living. At least if you throw the ball, he’ll die happy with a ball in his mouth.” Wise words, honey.

That’s all.

My “Babalu” August 21, 2008

 

As some of you may know, my poor dog, Lucky (a.k.a. “Babalu”), is getting old and I’m not sure how much longer he’s going to make it. He’s a fourteen-year-old border collie mix, whom we’ve had since 2001. Of course, since his name is Lucky, he has a story:

My parents and sister were on vacation in New Mexico in 1999 when they were driving about 70 mph on the highway. In front of them was a pick-up truck with a dog tied up in the bed. The dog had his two front paws on the edge of the truck bed, enjoying the wind whipping through his long fur. Of course, minutes later he slipped and fell out of the truck. As he hung there by his collar, bouncing against the side of the truck, my parents honked and screamed to no avail. Finally, after what seemed like several minutes, the dog slipped out of the collar and rolled across the busy freeway – all without getting crushed by oncoming vehicles. My family pulled over, gathered the dog, and brought him to the local SPCA. They wanted to take the pooch home, but they figured they’d give the owners a chance to claim him – twenty-four hours according to SPCA regulations. Shockingly, he had only bruises and some broken teeth – certainly, a “lucky” dog by any standards! When my family showed up the next day to adopt him, they advised the workers that they were there for a dog named Lucky. The SPCA employee quipped, “Do you know how many dogs we have here named Lucky? You’re going to have to be a bit more specific!” Touché!

Unfortunately, my parents soon learned that Lucky was not a “dog dog” – he was a “people dog”. He and their dog, Miko, both wanted to be the dominant canine and, as you might suspect, this did not make for a cohesive relationship. They had to fence off a section of the yard just for Lucky. So, when my husband and I moved into a house a couple years later, we gladly took him in.

I always tell people that even when Lucky “goes” we will never EVER own another dog as smart as he is. Of course, being a border collie, his intelligence is not surprising, but he never ceases to amaze me. He always looks like he’s thinking intently about something. His little “eyebrows” are always moving. Even now, at his advanced age, when he can’t hardly hear or see anything, he shocks me. He’s always fed just outside of our patio door. Many times, he will stop eating to look at me, as if to say, “Come on, let me in! Why am I relegated to eating out here??” All I have to do is give him a “look” and point to his food dish and he turns away from the door and back towards his dish. If I want to scold him for doing something wrong, I really only need to give him a dirty look and he puts his head down, as if acknowledging his naughtiness. He also never digs, chews, or gets up on the furniture. And, although he’s not a fan of the canine species, he’s fine with all four of my cats. Actually, they go after him and he walks away, nervously.

Lucky now has lumps and bumps all over him and when he lays down, he really lays down (slamming to the ground instead of gliding). He’s always been a complete “ball psycho” and has literally brought himself to the brink of heat stroke playing fetch. Now, he will stop himself – sometimes after only about 25 throws – when he’s too tired. One time, years ago, I was letting him pee on a bush while out for a walk and he started nosing furiously through it. I couldn’t imagine what he was doing, until he came out with a tennis ball stuffed in his mouth. Only Lucky would find a tennis ball buried deep within a bush immediately after peeing on said bush.

(By the way, for some unknown reason, I started calling him “Babalu” a couple years ago. I don’t know why; but just a couple weeks afterwards, I was reading the book, “The Kite Runner”, and found out what babalu means in some Middle Eastern language – boogey man. Can you believe it? Very weird. And I know I’m very weird for continuing to call my dog “boogey man”, despite his already having a perfectly good name!)

Anyway, I know I’ve gone on forever about my dog, but those of you who are “dog people” will understand. I just love him and I don’t want to think about my life without him. He’s my “Babalu” (a.k.a Lucky, Luck Dog, Luckers).

Sunset

 

His eyebrows twitch like the wings of a hummingbird.

Thoughts ricochet rapidly with pinball machine momentum.

But his angry joints betray his mind.

 

Cloudy eyes lack clarity

But they cannot hide

The determined thoughts concealed behind them.

 

Attentive ears wait expectantly

For what is next to come,

But his senses have not endured with age.

 

He wants to run.

He needs to run.

But how long can he run?

How long will his sunset last?

Update: My Life August 21, 2008

First off, I just wanted everyone to know that I succeeded in my quest for tickets to the KTAR/Glenn Beck event at the Orpheum; row 13 (out of 27) – not bad. Secondly, it sold out in an hour – that’s right – an hour! Thirdly, my last class EVER was Monday. Woo-freakin’-hoo! I will NEVER have to enter another classroom in my life.

That’s all.

Have I mentioned . . . ? August 18, 2008

Have I mentioned just how much I love Glenn Beck? Well, I was listening to the local talk radio station, 92.3 KTAR, on Friday and I kept hearing a commercial for some live stage show they were going to do. I hadn’t really paid too much attention to the commercials. Yeah, it sounded pretty cool (and when I say “cool”, I mean something totally geeky that I wouldn’t mind doing), but I didn’t have much desire to go. Then, when it came on again I actually listened to it. OH. MY. GOD!!!!! They are doing this live panel thing with a bunch of the station’s talk show hosts – Darrell Ankarlo (whom I also like a lot), Mac Watson, Pat McMahon, AND da da da daaaaaaaa – the one and only GLENN BECK!!!! He’s a special guest host. I just about lost my mind! I feel like one of those loony Beatles fans. Anyways, it’s going to be at the Orpheum Theater on 9/5 from 4:45 to 7:00 pm. The first hour is all of them together and the second hour is a special edition of Beck’s live stage show, which, if you’ve been reading my posts, you know I saw live at a movie theater. WOO HOO! I am so freakin’ excited! And, best of all, the tickets are only $9.23. How much better can it be?! Tickets go on sale Monday @ 10:00. I already told my co-workers that I will be unavailable at 10:00 tomorrow. Normal people get excited over rock stars (or, these days, sadly, Barack Obama – the “Great One”). Me? I hyperventilate over a conservative talk show host. Yes, I’m a complete and total geek to the tenth degree – squared.

 

(These are the two shirts that I debated getting to wear to the show. I ended up choosing the torches and pitchforks one, but I really do want to get the other one, as well. For those not familiar, Beck is always talking about how we (American citizens) need to gather our torches and pitchforks and take back the government, etc. The bitter shirt is a reference to what Obama has said in reference to white people.)

That’s all.

Medellin August 11, 2008

One of my recent posts was in regards to this Medellin loser who took part in the brutal gang rape and murder of two teenage girls fifteen years ago. I just learned over the weekend that the two girls were vaginally, anally, and orally raped over the duration of an hour. AND, he stole one of the girls’ watches and gave it to his girlfriend. He bragged to her about what he had done to this innocent young girl. Yes, I know it’s horrible to hear, but I’m a strong believer in the truth and every U.S. citizen must know what this pig did and exactly why Texas defied the world and killed the son of a b*!@% and why we should all celebrate his death. Sorry, but this story just makes my blood boil. I am obviously pro-death penalty, but only in cases where there is no doubt of guilt and there was absolutely no doubt in this case – he did it.

That’s all.

Now Hiring: Border Agents to be held at gunpoint by rogue Mexican military August 11, 2008

As some of you may know, four members of the Mexican military recently held one of our U.S. Border agents at gun point just over the border – on the U.S. side. It was about 2 a.m. and he was only held for about five minutes before his backup arrived. The more-corrupt-than-our-own  Mexican government is claiming that it was simply a “misunderstanding”. The sad part is that our government is accepting this pathetic excuse. Some say this was a ploy on the part of the Mexican military. They assert that these thugs were paid by drug or people smugglers to do this so that the agents’ backup would be diverted from their stations. In the meantime, the smugglers would high-tail it over the border with no chance of getting caught since the border agents were ocupado. Since I’m reading Another Man’s Sombrero by Darrell Ankarlo (an excellent read, by the way – I highly recommend it) right now, this is a very likely scenario. Whatever the case may be, I find it highly unlikely that the Mexican military was “confused” as to where the border was located. Isn’t that kind of their job?

Even if you did happen to hear about this story, here’s a fact that the mainstream media probably failed to share with you: Incidents such as this have occurred over 200 times since 1996, but this is the 43^rd of its kind just this year. If you didn’t think the border was out of control before, I bet you do now. Also, although this has occurred many, many times on our southern border, did you know that our northern border has never had such a problem? Didn’t think so. Well now you know. What are you going to do about it?

That’s all.

Uninteresting August 8, 2008

So, I sent an e-mail out directing people to my most recent post and people actually read it. YAY! I was beginning to wonder why I’ve been doing this blog thing. What, exactly, is the point of writing it if no one is reading it? I was wondering if I really was that uninteresting. Thanks for the kudos! I’m not a loser, I’m not a loser, I’m not a loser!

That’s all.

Woo Hoo for the Death Penalty! August 7, 2008

Yes, I’m back, everybody (er, I mean the two people who read this)! I only have two weeks left of school and I’ve got very important and exciting news to bring to you. The only one who really seemed to talk about it was my hero, Glenn Beck. I didn’t notice much about this in the media and I think everyone should be aware.

Last night, a truly beautiful moment occurred at 9:57 pm, Central Time. One of the biggest scumbags we have had the unfortunate pleasure of sharing our planet with was put to death in Texas – Jose Ernesto Medellin. Fifteen years ago, (that’s right, it took 15 years to kill this piece of garbage!) he, along with fellow gang members who all have been put to death, are awaiting execution, or have been given life sentences, decided to BRUTALLY rape and murder two teenage girls (14 and 16 years old). The girls were on their way home, when they decided to take a shortcut that would shave about ten minutes off their trek. These dregs were participating in a gang initiation and decided that they would attack these two innocent young girls. Many of the disgusting details have been played down, but from those “in the know”, it was “brutal”. The group gang raped both of the girls for at least an hour and then choked them with their belts. They pulled the belts so hard that the belts broke, so they had to resort to thei shoelaces. Then, they proceeded to stomp on their throats, for good measure. You get the horrific picture. This guy was technically an illegal immigrant (he’s lived here illegally since he was 3), so the Mexican government got involved, as well as those losers at the U.N., the “International Court of Justice”, and eventually, the Supreme Court. Needless to say, despite all of the demands and pleadings of those bleeding hearts, Texas did the right thing. If you want to read some of the details, go here: http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/08/05/scotus.execution/index.html.

 

 

Anyways, Glenn Beck was talking about it yesterday, and I thought I’d share some of the transcript:

GRAY: So he and his group of animals were out one night on a gang initiation and these two 15 and 14-year-old — one was 15, one was 14. They were a little late getting home from a party and they were scared and they tried to cut across TC Jester Park which is not a great area of town and it’s down the railroad tracks. They thought they would save 10 minutes on their way home. And unfortunately they stumbled across this gang initiation rite that Jose Medellin and his thugs were performing at the time. And Medellin grabbed them and threw them on the ground and Elizabeth Pena turned around to help her friend, Jennifer Ertman. And then she was grabbed and the horror began for the two of them over the next hour where they were repeatedly raped. They were tortured. They wrapped a belt around their necks and pulled so tight that it broke the belt. Then they took their shoelaces and strangled them. Then just for good measure, they stomped on their throats to crush them to death after having their way with them. So –

GLENN: And I mean, I don’t think you need to make this more brutal, but when you say having your way with them, you can’t even begin to imagine — we read this stuff so you don’t have to. You can’t even imagine how many ways they had their ways with them.

GRAY: Jose, Jose bragged in jail about how the two were virgins, and the story has just been heartbreaking for 15 years.

GLENN: 15 years.

GRAY: Every time it comes back up and Mexico throws some other stall tactic, it puts the families of these two girls through the whole thing all over again, over and over and over. It is the most unbelievable horrific situation I think I’ve ever encountered.

GLENN: Okay. So you know, I talked to your governor, Rick Perry, when I was down in Dallas. He came to the comedy show and he was standing backstage. Mainly I think the crowd made him afraid a little bit, but he was standing backstage and we were talking before I went on and I said, “Are you gonna make sure this guy’s executed?” And he said, you know what, Glenn? He said, “It’s not my job to judge, it is not my job to forgive.” He said, “That’s the Lord’s job. The Lord can forgive and the Lord can judge.” My job as the governor of Texas is to arrange the meeting between Medellin and Jesus.

GRAY: That’s so great.

GLENN: And I said, will you look me in the eye right now and tell me that on your watch you will arrange that meeting, that meeting will happen? And he got out his cell phone and he said, yep, hang on just a second. I’m going to give you the exact date when that meeting’s going to happen. And he gave me this date and he said, “This is it and it will happen.” Now today Ban Ki-moon, who is the, you know, the leader of the world, the UN.

GRAY: Uh-huh.

GLENN: How would you say that if you were in Nicaragua?

GRAY: (Inaudible).

GLENN: Okay. So anyway, he said that he was –

GRAY: It’s hard without the R.

GLENN: Yeah. He said that the United States should obey the decisions of the International Criminal Court and make sure the scheduled execution of a Mexican prisoner in Texas does not take place today. I talked to your governor again last night and he said, “Uh-huh, gonna happen, gonna happen.”

GRAY: All systems are go supposedly. And you –

GLENN: If, if Edouard doesn’t get in the way.

GRAY: Yes, right. Well, then that’s where my baseball bat comes in. But as you notice, our governor is not that popular because of the decisions he’s made since the last election.

GLENN: Yes.

GRAY: But this, I’ve got to take my hat off to him because he’s been great on this. He’s shown a spine on this and he’s doing exactly the right thing.

GLENN: What time is it scheduled for? What time is it scheduled for?

GRAY: 5:30.

GLENN: 5:30, you’ll be able to have dinner and go, hey, that execution thing, that was pretty sweet, huh? All right. We will continue — we’ll continue to follow the story and we’ll bring you up to speed tonight on TV on this. And also we’ll bring you up to speed on tomorrow’s broadcast. Will you join us again for that as well tomorrow?