tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65573607459974298712024-02-19T12:16:46.663-05:00Therapy Dog JosieHi, my name is Josie! My owner and I received our Pet Therapy Certification in June of 2009. We belong to the Furry Angel Therapy Dogs, who are a Division of Bright and Beautiful Therapy Dogs. We visit hospitals, nursing homes, libraries, detention centers, any place where we can cheer people up. I love visiting people and making people take their minds off their worries. We'd like to tell you of our "tails" while we take this journey. Woof!Josiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13558497341737607122noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6557360745997429871.post-54639510999013318132011-10-25T23:10:00.000-04:002011-10-25T23:10:02.649-04:00Hello Everyone!!!Just wanted to say hello to everyone after a long absence. I won't go into a long-winded story, but a lot has been going on. What I will say, it through it all Josie and I have still been doing our Therapy Dog work and she has been working her magic. That being said, here is a little story. (There will be lots of little stories to try to catch up...)<br />
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This past spring, I had to go dermatologist to have a few moles removed. Nothing serious. One of the moles came back suspicious. Again, nothing serious, but the doctors wanted me to have the skin removed around the mole. I decided I didn't want this done until the end of the summer because I wouldn't be allowed to get any sun on my back. So, this past early October I go to have this procedure done. I am laying in the room and the doctor and nurse are performing the procedure. They are making conversation with me to take my mind off the fact that they are actually cutting me and removing some skin. I don't feel a thing and I mention that I do volunteer work at two of the local hospitals with my dog and we are a Certified Therapy Team. When they are done, the doctor leaves, but the nurse is finishing up with me and she says "My daughter had a therapy dog visit her when she was in the hospital..." and I say "Well, maybe it was Josie. Did the dog go up on the bed?" and she answered "I don't remember, so much was going on." and I said "Well, Josie is the only one who goes on the bed on a red blanket..." and I soon as I mentioned the red blanket, she stopped and looked at me and started crying. I looked at her and said "What's wrong?" She said "Nothing, it was Josie that visited her..she remembered the red blanket", so that's when I showed her a picture of Josie and she said "Yes, that's her" and she proceeded to tell her how much that visit meant to her daughter. That they weren't going to even let the dog visit her because her daughter is allergic to dogs, but her daughter really wanted to have the dog visit and that Josie was a wonderful experience that day and her daughter talked about it for weeks and weeks. And it meant so much to her. And she hugged and thanked me. So here I am having this surgery and I meet someone who Josie has touched. How sweet is that??? Soooo sweet. Well, she said her daughter is doing very well and never forgets what Josie did for her. Gotta love it!!<br />
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I will be posting a new post after Halloween complete with pictures. Hugs and woofs to all of you.<br />
Much Love,<br />
MB, Josie and Blues<br />
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And now...some pictures of my pups...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX37AzU2Hw1zm956dSbYBONcS6smKxSWSWAbn7bj922LbibWsMmLKchPyyQ7Vm15eut_KE2tAuYB034SdpJcUQYf7ntpY9iAKtnqCIZhtFuQ14B6nyzz2QIWDvZeKchiSsAqEr2UnHadk/s1600/DSC_0529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX37AzU2Hw1zm956dSbYBONcS6smKxSWSWAbn7bj922LbibWsMmLKchPyyQ7Vm15eut_KE2tAuYB034SdpJcUQYf7ntpY9iAKtnqCIZhtFuQ14B6nyzz2QIWDvZeKchiSsAqEr2UnHadk/s400/DSC_0529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Josie making sure we're sailing the boat correctly...check out her ears...you can see how windy it was...two ears up!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjplUmxbjivQcfgpL6g-GHNZhVt903-_RdGbbSG5u_qzYls8aVLFFqfFiellC1J1JoiF1rWeW5oxRbCDetpdhMDqpXwN63fed9Hrqj4ELnz79g_TcUVzy2Shqmpzq-piVNxrvnvW9vztas/s1600/DSC_0525.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjplUmxbjivQcfgpL6g-GHNZhVt903-_RdGbbSG5u_qzYls8aVLFFqfFiellC1J1JoiF1rWeW5oxRbCDetpdhMDqpXwN63fed9Hrqj4ELnz79g_TcUVzy2Shqmpzq-piVNxrvnvW9vztas/s400/DSC_0525.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First Mate Josie making sure the port side is clear.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3ZvdLGTyRmV-SH4cUssdK_sIiZPyS51ZuZoTndtREgM8xFHTTNWqdAZIpCHw484lL5nhr3vTAf0PvbvbcmPMSJjb7AKZzES1pNmWdKydAWgonQT3S97tatc3JRKPXz03wh7EX7JoHX3I/s1600/DSC_0507.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3ZvdLGTyRmV-SH4cUssdK_sIiZPyS51ZuZoTndtREgM8xFHTTNWqdAZIpCHw484lL5nhr3vTAf0PvbvbcmPMSJjb7AKZzES1pNmWdKydAWgonQT3S97tatc3JRKPXz03wh7EX7JoHX3I/s400/DSC_0507.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First Mate Josie on our last voyage of the season.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkv6oabGx4tzDLCLo_tqj22JeAKcpQc4jTwl4E2_nYO_fV3fgifRW3zuY5jKcn7wQRERCcAXry1Ab-aCXSCHV2UKCEPW-WO9N9tqEeoH5CCchMDE8VYcofRnw-HNTn_-Ya5OPUi15uPCk/s1600/DSC_0406.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkv6oabGx4tzDLCLo_tqj22JeAKcpQc4jTwl4E2_nYO_fV3fgifRW3zuY5jKcn7wQRERCcAXry1Ab-aCXSCHV2UKCEPW-WO9N9tqEeoH5CCchMDE8VYcofRnw-HNTn_-Ya5OPUi15uPCk/s400/DSC_0406.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Josie looking cuter than ever on our new futons.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZEK_cabDtGvdO4GSNHGGsNwxHdmiU2z77EGC4W_wHLboAXot8W2ZdG6DwpRLma41-0qUINsjkyHNUxAgtLrjsrJ5Vf7GGvizXMKwRzn_vSH4fY4ZmILlNI28SdLopodspbKB-sVirTNQ/s1600/DSC_0395.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZEK_cabDtGvdO4GSNHGGsNwxHdmiU2z77EGC4W_wHLboAXot8W2ZdG6DwpRLma41-0qUINsjkyHNUxAgtLrjsrJ5Vf7GGvizXMKwRzn_vSH4fY4ZmILlNI28SdLopodspbKB-sVirTNQ/s400/DSC_0395.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mr. Blues all grown up and striking a pose!!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Josiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13558497341737607122noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6557360745997429871.post-68853117801217992532010-07-29T11:46:00.000-04:002010-07-29T11:46:55.873-04:00Finally back after a couple months off...so much to tell!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsnKBQOJh1ibgcHpDnH6dKm17v6eQerCBoRS1n6ywUrTXnLrvW6p8W5BccmB8YnhQTNQ_ZgOZVuxBjXlxBsnrN5m4uY82i7QCeKetZIgKaiLH53wEwxnS_3UgnGX0xfzk0RNlbCzbo0Mk/s1600/DSC_0031.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsnKBQOJh1ibgcHpDnH6dKm17v6eQerCBoRS1n6ywUrTXnLrvW6p8W5BccmB8YnhQTNQ_ZgOZVuxBjXlxBsnrN5m4uY82i7QCeKetZIgKaiLH53wEwxnS_3UgnGX0xfzk0RNlbCzbo0Mk/s400/DSC_0031.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Josie and Blues trying to stay still....LOL.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV03IkD5qWPXK54c3GVXkEG6AmvqyDfoPaw-Kh9z7x8nA-8lWhBzrbSthpYUVvglWBIWjo546TCbdNHnTaXqb7iubT5IU3vTjbn0kLmiFglTvRtwrf2JdEpL7v4w-qDAlKtBs58vfw6Io/s1600/DSC_0053.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV03IkD5qWPXK54c3GVXkEG6AmvqyDfoPaw-Kh9z7x8nA-8lWhBzrbSthpYUVvglWBIWjo546TCbdNHnTaXqb7iubT5IU3vTjbn0kLmiFglTvRtwrf2JdEpL7v4w-qDAlKtBs58vfw6Io/s400/DSC_0053.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My blue-eyed boy Blues.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7TOiY8mvDpxKqvz6o10VH8ehNqhWpUCyUg18EcnEQ51ddYhRz_6LM6YKj9_oGK1Vqm4-qs0ReaRPgf3So4xEWliMZhgAIawgL6iFMjTHVoFI02R8JGnhBEeWGF8YRq1MwTEeZ-QYuM_U/s1600/DSC_0056.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7TOiY8mvDpxKqvz6o10VH8ehNqhWpUCyUg18EcnEQ51ddYhRz_6LM6YKj9_oGK1Vqm4-qs0ReaRPgf3So4xEWliMZhgAIawgL6iFMjTHVoFI02R8JGnhBEeWGF8YRq1MwTEeZ-QYuM_U/s400/DSC_0056.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My brown-eyed girl Josie, sitting up for a cookie.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIBubD3OZ6a_TyKW8IHqTGG6NHoqo_owcULvOnvVVm6qsb4aVFKy9hCbYcOQu2oKnT7102yJiKu3MQ6R3qLS8RSD6f7gHGHIfVgT1heMj9rRnTuPhHaKcMv7Q_XjhT8oR0IdODjJVwyFI/s1600/DSC_0058.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIBubD3OZ6a_TyKW8IHqTGG6NHoqo_owcULvOnvVVm6qsb4aVFKy9hCbYcOQu2oKnT7102yJiKu3MQ6R3qLS8RSD6f7gHGHIfVgT1heMj9rRnTuPhHaKcMv7Q_XjhT8oR0IdODjJVwyFI/s400/DSC_0058.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Josie looking sweet.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibAh1ietQj6dHHlAvDzWZkWvTXV9FtR202NWxo_Ck0UUKws0oaCBJ3mG-V3DN8DO6hIhWnfs6XfXaOtk4RfSwWx8nF1Cb0fwgWi8L81UJQRzsrfdT5B5V5BSa-0a2KGqasPglMiqzf70Q/s1600/DSC_0060.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibAh1ietQj6dHHlAvDzWZkWvTXV9FtR202NWxo_Ck0UUKws0oaCBJ3mG-V3DN8DO6hIhWnfs6XfXaOtk4RfSwWx8nF1Cb0fwgWi8L81UJQRzsrfdT5B5V5BSa-0a2KGqasPglMiqzf70Q/s400/DSC_0060.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Those blue eyes.....</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgogxNGcWR4RJjgTmaSMIjfnlelJuBTCb-mLdccWZMaWl12EtUER6cB8RM2noXVjTXiv4DcNGR7mMuuCLnqKva2wouE0VoWahAhdsCgayh8n9G_tINNWn6kO9H-7y9h-tbg593dIOAIGxU/s1600/DSC_0068.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgogxNGcWR4RJjgTmaSMIjfnlelJuBTCb-mLdccWZMaWl12EtUER6cB8RM2noXVjTXiv4DcNGR7mMuuCLnqKva2wouE0VoWahAhdsCgayh8n9G_tINNWn6kO9H-7y9h-tbg593dIOAIGxU/s400/DSC_0068.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blues snuggling with Nigel.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8cQjcCSsEuld9vFb3NBdUwax8NVA_wtuGpR1Kryd_J95dCz8SoVemri1imqpbEHipKYQWuqsXnXI3V8AE_oO2mrmu0qvOSyq_PlONrIu_Zt7sN_XMcx3fHcF6ns0WoYdzbGFw4S0g4As/s1600/DSC_0018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8cQjcCSsEuld9vFb3NBdUwax8NVA_wtuGpR1Kryd_J95dCz8SoVemri1imqpbEHipKYQWuqsXnXI3V8AE_oO2mrmu0qvOSyq_PlONrIu_Zt7sN_XMcx3fHcF6ns0WoYdzbGFw4S0g4As/s400/DSC_0018.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gertrud and myself after our tubing adventure.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV03IkD5qWPXK54c3GVXkEG6AmvqyDfoPaw-Kh9z7x8nA-8lWhBzrbSthpYUVvglWBIWjo546TCbdNHnTaXqb7iubT5IU3vTjbn0kLmiFglTvRtwrf2JdEpL7v4w-qDAlKtBs58vfw6Io/s1600/DSC_0053.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8cQjcCSsEuld9vFb3NBdUwax8NVA_wtuGpR1Kryd_J95dCz8SoVemri1imqpbEHipKYQWuqsXnXI3V8AE_oO2mrmu0qvOSyq_PlONrIu_Zt7sN_XMcx3fHcF6ns0WoYdzbGFw4S0g4As/s1600/DSC_0018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs-uLoI8an-SWZWUKgjquMyb4eU6RyFot_txVoDEQPl1iUT8i4wOkJMRE-y1T8aPL89zJSaQ6bIBJ0j1O6FWaZ9EjN7ei_hJwaG-G-ZYG5IkTW9Edbea265mHfQ2umbcuMkuglQFQAWxs/s1600/DSC_0082.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs-uLoI8an-SWZWUKgjquMyb4eU6RyFot_txVoDEQPl1iUT8i4wOkJMRE-y1T8aPL89zJSaQ6bIBJ0j1O6FWaZ9EjN7ei_hJwaG-G-ZYG5IkTW9Edbea265mHfQ2umbcuMkuglQFQAWxs/s400/DSC_0082.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Josie giving Nigel some loving.</td></tr>
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As you all know, I took some time off after my patient John had passed away in March and I befriended his wife Gertrud. All this after sleeping on the floor on a doggie bed with Josie for three weeks while John was in Hospice care. I would do it again in a heartbeat. I don't regret a second of it.</div><br />
I did stop back in on my birthday, May 24th, only to find out that our beloved friend <a href="http://theadventuresofmaxdog.blogspot.com/2010/05/my-max.html">MaxDog</a> had passed on that day. What a sad day that was. I posted my condolences to MaxDog's mom, who has a new beautiful blog called <a href="http://africanwhitechild.blogspot.com/2010/07/more-puppiesdestined-for-service.html">Living Life to the Max</a>, but decided I still needed to take some time off to spend with Gertrud and myself.<br />
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I had grown quite close to her and she to me. Something I was not ready for was the sadness that accompanied John's passing in March. It enveloped myself and Gertrud. At first I didn't understand what it was. But it crept up on me until I was fully wrapped in it. I couldn't escape the feelings. I didn't know what to do, so I went to see a Therapist. Funny, the Pet Therapy person seeing a Therapist. But, hey, what I do is all volunteer work. I am not trained. I just give from my heart. And someone had passed away. And there was a great loss, a void. And I also had became very attached to him and his wife. Now what?<br />
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And not only was I down or sad from it, now there was his wife, who was dealing with his death, and 54 years of marriage and I wanted to help her. So I did what <i>any</i> friend or family member would do, and I was there for her. I still am. What I learned was that the best thing I could do for her is just <i>"be"</i> there for her. Let her <i>"be"</i> sad, with me being with her. Try <i>not</i> to "cheer" her up. That is my natural persona. Try to make them laugh or smile, but I learned, just to <i>be</i>. And it's an awesome lesson.<br />
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We have become very close, Gertrud and I, and I am very blessed to have a good friend like her. We have adventures together. She's experienced some <i>firsts</i> with me. I took her tubing down a river. We ate crabs together. She flipped out of a pool and was okay (that was not planned!). She bought a new car. Yes, a new car. I helped her trade in her two cars, one of which only had 2,300 miles on it, the other 30,000 miles and buy a new car. My cousin works at a local car dealership, so we got her a fantastic deal.<br />
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Josie and I have been visiting the hospital on Fridays to visit Pediatrics and we visit a special school for children every other Wednesday on our lunch hour so the kids can read to her. Once in a while we do adults at the hospital, but it's only because I am spending so much time with Gertrud right now. I also went and got Josie's and my certification at another hospital right around the corner from the one hospital we go to so in the Fall we can start going to both hospitals.<br />
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Blues has been growing like a weed. Seriously!! I think he has Greyhound or Whippet in him!! When he runs his ears go next to his head the way a Greyhounds do and his legs are sooo long and so is his tail. He just screams Greyhound! So I think he is a Shepherd/Husky/Greyhound mix. But he is so sweet. I really think he is going to make a wonderful Therapy Dog one day. Love those Greys!!<br />
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I seriously want to thank all my FB friends (you know who you are) who gave me my boosts each day to keep me going through all of this and all my Blog Friends who checked in with me. God Bless you all. My hubby (love him) got me a Macbook Pro for my birthday so I will be checking all of your blogs.<br />
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Thank you for being so supportive and loving. I love you all. xoxo<br />
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Much love and Woof!!<br />
<br />
MB, Josie and Blues<br />
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P.S. A very special THANK YOU to our good friend <a href="http://www.lifewithdogs.tv/">Nigel</a> for his "nipping at my heels" about getting back to blogging. Thanks Nigel. It's good to be missed. Love you dear friend.<br />
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P.S.S. A shout out to <a href="http://sierradogblog.blogspot.com/">Sierra Dog</a> and her folks. I will talk about them in my next blog!! They went and did a very nice thing!<br />
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P.S.S.S. I hope you all like my new look. I am working on it as we speak...much love!Josiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13558497341737607122noreply@blogger.com39tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6557360745997429871.post-90578292095301143022010-05-18T23:13:00.000-04:002010-05-18T23:13:21.756-04:00Josie's New Visits, Blues' Ears, Birds and Flowers, Oh My!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSBJxrHIzlBnpmzrSIpRoIoV4F-pc3OldS0p84o0GBjwnIzUvc1DmVUbi-ieSQKGlYWhCJl-hSSFabao9XKiroIhUNzXUg2s5xGDfbuxSUvPwhkdJF2ECzKrmuq-SQo9U8tWPVp2XcRdI/s1600/DSC_0001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSBJxrHIzlBnpmzrSIpRoIoV4F-pc3OldS0p84o0GBjwnIzUvc1DmVUbi-ieSQKGlYWhCJl-hSSFabao9XKiroIhUNzXUg2s5xGDfbuxSUvPwhkdJF2ECzKrmuq-SQo9U8tWPVp2XcRdI/s400/DSC_0001.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUqxrVnlh25O8wPWhpZkYwankJQ89Q_xyZnNgrUD1R6db9hUwdDqvLORmTUIaJ9EAHcE0aFJHTJw94MD7oPsDZnnXVmIsSgRto7lDhvLhdc1kCQyWm1dL5HyDTI88mikGHHZXYilwEcu8/s1600/DSC_0002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUqxrVnlh25O8wPWhpZkYwankJQ89Q_xyZnNgrUD1R6db9hUwdDqvLORmTUIaJ9EAHcE0aFJHTJw94MD7oPsDZnnXVmIsSgRto7lDhvLhdc1kCQyWm1dL5HyDTI88mikGHHZXYilwEcu8/s400/DSC_0002.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
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Hi Everyone! I'm so sorry it's been so long since my last post.<br />
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Josie and I have been busy keeping company with Gertrud, which we love, and training baby brother Blues, who will be turning 6 months old on June 6th. Gosh how time flies!<br />
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Josie and I also signed up to do a children's hospital on Wednesday's during our lunch hour. The kids are special needs kids and they read to her. She had her first visit last week and she did so well! I was so proud of her. The kids all asked questions at the end of the session and then they all come up and wanted to give her treats all at once. I was a bit concerned because they all approached at once, and there were about 15 children, but Josie was fantastic and just smiled and kept still so they could all pet her. I just beamed like a proud mommy could.<br />
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We also received our volunteer status at another area hospital that is a 600 bed facility. We really have our work cut out for us. But we do as much as we can. We still go to the oe hospital at least once a week to go to pediatrics, but at this new hospital we are going to concentrate only on adult patients.<br />
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Once Blues is a year old I will take him to Therapy classes and then I will have two Therapy dogs (hopefully!!)<br />
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So, a little about the pictures. Well, of course you know Josie and I wanted to show all of you out there that Blues' ears were back to matching Josie's!! Isn't he growing into a handsome boy?<br />
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The rest are of my flowers, a peony, one of my hand painted birdhouses, which I painted and a clematis, and a red rhododendron.<br />
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The last five pictures are of a Robin's nest I found hidden in my coral honeysuckle bush and the babies. I couldn't get too close or I would disturb them. Can you see the parents yelling at me in the last picture???<br />
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I do apologize for not keeping up lately. I have been thinking about all of you so much and been feeling so bad because life has been so hectic it's been hard to post. My hubby is getting me a Mac Laptop for my Birthday so I should have no excuses for keeping up with all of your blogs by the beginning of June.<br />
<br />
Much Love,<br />
Hugs and Woofs,<br />
Josie and BluesJosiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13558497341737607122noreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6557360745997429871.post-54854629740456008772010-05-05T16:58:00.001-04:002010-05-05T17:05:41.937-04:00Wordless Bluesday!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNfVwHL8F7EAu4fkT9-7bZxmlIt1D-xfEw2p810uO04Tfj1quMHy9s1KgTGybLaoN7AiBiObY4A3u9pstrhyphenhyphenj8RQYcQNZOYRcWO5iJIh3x3NAeLQx7O3Cwx7it5dQqj0_SjnfaFiFzS9w/s1600/DSC_0029.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: right; text-decoration: none;"></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNfVwHL8F7EAu4fkT9-7bZxmlIt1D-xfEw2p810uO04Tfj1quMHy9s1KgTGybLaoN7AiBiObY4A3u9pstrhyphenhyphenj8RQYcQNZOYRcWO5iJIh3x3NAeLQx7O3Cwx7it5dQqj0_SjnfaFiFzS9w/s1600/DSC_0029.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: right; text-decoration: none;"></a><div style="text-align: auto;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNfVwHL8F7EAu4fkT9-7bZxmlIt1D-xfEw2p810uO04Tfj1quMHy9s1KgTGybLaoN7AiBiObY4A3u9pstrhyphenhyphenj8RQYcQNZOYRcWO5iJIh3x3NAeLQx7O3Cwx7it5dQqj0_SjnfaFiFzS9w/s1600/DSC_0029.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: right; text-decoration: none;"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNfVwHL8F7EAu4fkT9-7bZxmlIt1D-xfEw2p810uO04Tfj1quMHy9s1KgTGybLaoN7AiBiObY4A3u9pstrhyphenhyphenj8RQYcQNZOYRcWO5iJIh3x3NAeLQx7O3Cwx7it5dQqj0_SjnfaFiFzS9w/s1600/DSC_0029.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: right; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNfVwHL8F7EAu4fkT9-7bZxmlIt1D-xfEw2p810uO04Tfj1quMHy9s1KgTGybLaoN7AiBiObY4A3u9pstrhyphenhyphenj8RQYcQNZOYRcWO5iJIh3x3NAeLQx7O3Cwx7it5dQqj0_SjnfaFiFzS9w/s400/DSC_0029.jpg" style="text-decoration: underline;" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"></span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRsjxNtnMZPzu5o7c23qNzqNMGduSKtUcFMv45NkrybUGAzNkkQV6anpJRTkfyHEtZbclGGsIhLgxPo5awEiCSAQTwCtUX34T2j6o4ikHr0fhrA3TjgJV2xwQoqei-1324d2I9G6QSGeI/s1600/DSC_0056.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRsjxNtnMZPzu5o7c23qNzqNMGduSKtUcFMv45NkrybUGAzNkkQV6anpJRTkfyHEtZbclGGsIhLgxPo5awEiCSAQTwCtUX34T2j6o4ikHr0fhrA3TjgJV2xwQoqei-1324d2I9G6QSGeI/s400/DSC_0056.jpg" width="400" /></a>Josiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13558497341737607122noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6557360745997429871.post-5127285399113282232010-04-25T18:27:00.000-04:002010-04-25T18:27:45.706-04:00A Delivery From My BFF Remington!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>I think for once in my life I'm really speechless. Or is that Woofless. My mom and I came home Friday from our Pediatrics visit (which went very well BTW), and we run into the kitchen and there's this nice sized package from <a href="http://our-remington.blogspot.com/">Remington</a>.<br />
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Now, I know Remington is all head over tails over his new girlfriend <a href="http://rileystar-mymaltesekids.blogspot.com/">Star</a>, who is the cutest little thing, so I am so delighted that he had taken the time to send me and my new little brother Blues some new "Happy Spring Toys!". What a true friend you are Remington! Paws up to you! Woof! Imagine our delight after a very long week.<br />
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We love you so much Remington. We can't wait to put together a Summer package for you!!!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Now my mom went nuts taking pictures, then she had to decide which ones to post. I think we narrowed it down to about 23. Sorry it took so long to post, but just enjoy them. They are priceless and just tell the whole story of the night. From package to bedtime.<br />
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As you can see, Blues was the first to get the toys out of the bag, then wanted to eat the tags. (Figures!!! BOL). Josie was a lady and waited patiently and posed for the camera. Then playtime and tug-of-war. Then sleepy time (zzzzzzzz).<br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Remington, I am very lucky to call you a BFF (Blog Friend Forever!)!!! And Star is one lucky lady to have you as a girlfriend.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!<br />
Here's to a good upcoming week to all of you!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Much Love,</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Woofs!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Josie and Mr. Blues, Jr.</div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Well, I know it's supposed to be Wordless Wednesday, but since I haven't posted in a few days, I have to write a few thoughts down. Mr. Blues, Jr. is growing in leaps and bounds. He won't leave his big sister's side. He follows her EVERYWHERE. Which is really cute. Josie is being really patient with him, to a point. When I know she's had enough, she gives me this look and I know it's crate time for Blues. I've actually been taking Blues to work with me. I have a portable "tent" crate I use there with him. His training his coming along just fine. He's a normal puppy. But he sits on command and he stays when I open the car door to get him out. Which is really good.<br />
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My visit with Josie to Pediatrics last Friday (4/16) went so well!! We have another visit this Saturday. She just loves visiting the children. Their faces are worth every minute of being there. There was one little boy who we visited who had his little brother in the bed with him, so it was Josie and two little boys all at the same time. I wish I could have taken a picture to show all of you. Priceless!<br />
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It was also the one month anniversary of John's passing yesterday (4/20). I wanted to visit Gertrud, but when I called her, she didn't pick up the phone. I was in her area, but I didn't want to just stop by. I always call first. I give her space, but am always checking on her. Turns out she was just outside watering plants. But I did get to talk to her on the phone. I will visit her tonight. She's coming along, but it's very hard. She misses John so much. I can tell her life is so empty right now. I am trying my best to help her along. I tell her that John would want her to be happy, but she needs to process the loss in her own time. I do know that. I am there for her and so is Josie and Little B.<br />
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I also know that today is the day that the show <a href="http://www.pbs.org/dogs-eyes/film">"Through a Dog's Eyes"</a> shows on PBS. (click on link to check it out). I know lots of our blog friends have been talking about it.<br />
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I also wanted to tell you about this wonderful woman Lisa and Sister Mary Beth who is running through all 50 states to raise money for all good causes. She started 2 days ago. It's called <a href="http://www.runhope.com/project.html">"Running Hope through America"</a> (click on link to check it out). Since we are all over the place in the USA and beyond, she might be running near you, so it might be fun to read out it. Pretty amazing stuff!<br />
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Right now, I am at work, they have laid off everyone but me and my boss. Josie is laying at my feet. Ahhhh, I have my Pandora music playing and am about to dive into a newsletter that I have to do. Hey, it's all in how you look at it. It's a beautiful day. No worries.<br />
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Thanks for all your love and support,<br />
I love all of you so much,<br />
Woof!<br />
Much Love,<br />
Josie and Mr. Blues, Jr.Josiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13558497341737607122noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6557360745997429871.post-29356286313207806912010-04-16T14:55:00.000-04:002010-04-16T14:55:33.376-04:00Josie Makes Wolf Face!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHOMHCc98OOoE5eevQKu2Kr3TNRXIiPQDXQjAjX6dAWVHZBybypOdd3IO_lIoHc34B2SSkE912Yk4yRuOcKJ0ePHBUOoouw5g5bpIlQy-1UFP8g-iQ7sy5mPVlHybnuc1esN2jCq7dZ78/s1600/DSC_0054.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHOMHCc98OOoE5eevQKu2Kr3TNRXIiPQDXQjAjX6dAWVHZBybypOdd3IO_lIoHc34B2SSkE912Yk4yRuOcKJ0ePHBUOoouw5g5bpIlQy-1UFP8g-iQ7sy5mPVlHybnuc1esN2jCq7dZ78/s400/DSC_0054.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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So this is what happens to a Therapy Dog when you get them a little brother and their big sister genes kick in. WOW! We call it "Wolf Face!" It's just way too funny to watch. I am going to try to get more pictures and post more. But this shot just captured the moment perfectly. Just look at it!! It's just too funny to imagine that she is the most docile creature in the world and does Pet Therapy when I see this picture. But what she is doing is disciplining Blues because he is just pushing her to the edge with his constant attention, so her doggie instincts kick in and she goes to town. She never hurts him, but they play and it's amazing to watch. Like my own little National Geographic Channel in my own house. I guess I should video it sometime. Get out the popcorn and wine and I have my own entertainment. LOL.<br />
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On another note, Josie and I visited the hospital last night (4/15/10) and went to the Diabetic/Metabolic Floor to visit the patients. We hadn't been there since John's passing. It felt good to be back. Well, it was a beautiful visit. The patients really appreciated our being there. Even to the point that one patient emailed us and this morning this is what I received:<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>Dear Marybeth and Josie (or Josie and Marybeth, don't know who gets top billing),<br />
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Just wanted to say thanks again for stopping by to visit my Helen yesterday. That was the most at ease she had been all day, and it was because of you guys. Your Josie is someone special! Bless you both.</i></span></span><br />
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Unbelievable....it just feels so good to cheer people up. I'm so glad the visit went well, and Josie was such a pro. Feels so good to be back up on that horse.<br />
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The hospital video which we were in (in December), was finally finished and debuted yesterday too. We didn't get to see it, but everyone who worked in the hospital did, so as we walked through the hospital, everyone who saw us said, "Oh my, your both famous! So cute in the video!"<br />
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And also, Josie and I were on the front page of the local Newspaper while we were in Hospice Care with John and Gert. I forgot to mention that. A huge photo on the Front Page!!!! How embarrassing!!<br />
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And they also took our picture yesterday to put in a hospital brochure. So yes, Josie is getting famous. Remember, it's all about the dog!!! Not, me.<br />
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Today we go visit the kids in Pediatrics!!!<br />
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A special thank you to Cloud and Khyra for cheering me on when I need it the most.<br />
And my little Eva. ;-)<br />
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Much Love to you all!!<br />
Have a great weekend!<br />
Woof!!!<br />
Josie and Mr. Blues, Jr.Josiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13558497341737607122noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6557360745997429871.post-85121004437972571622010-04-07T13:59:00.004-04:002010-04-07T14:06:23.549-04:00Introducing Our New Puppy Mr. Blues Jr.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrwumfrQ0p4c15uyA65-ZM522n6zZSP0qt-Gwj4Ipk909Z_yApF2t0OxWGsYDr3Uv3nKzIh8PCMUUSizjiovcBn1ctthzShCJu5JX60R2-lDf9w6hula3q9HkS4QrTmPZMnKdeiVzVnJk/s1600/DSC_0088.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrwumfrQ0p4c15uyA65-ZM522n6zZSP0qt-Gwj4Ipk909Z_yApF2t0OxWGsYDr3Uv3nKzIh8PCMUUSizjiovcBn1ctthzShCJu5JX60R2-lDf9w6hula3q9HkS4QrTmPZMnKdeiVzVnJk/s400/DSC_0088.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNXeKfJzZV33HEAKuXeyb89NZyQEa8ninByKFT6RxEcOu6AX7hEAM5ShyphenhypheneJxqKudmFiIJOGHhvyUx1W0sulaY64aFnmUPXExNMP5QtwBpHUct3epVzGbxfpRlnGPWN4L7CZ-Vs15e5xeM/s1600/DSC_0086.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNXeKfJzZV33HEAKuXeyb89NZyQEa8ninByKFT6RxEcOu6AX7hEAM5ShyphenhypheneJxqKudmFiIJOGHhvyUx1W0sulaY64aFnmUPXExNMP5QtwBpHUct3epVzGbxfpRlnGPWN4L7CZ-Vs15e5xeM/s400/DSC_0086.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ-RkXhgwPh5nvv0cST0YzLxSxWw1CeFX6d8PguHQog-bnphknTX88_Ol1VnLo-Riw-lFi2oQHgkiFvRsGkj1c8J8kmgefPo9C0RH_lcYPj2VGLDRg3jEvLOdkYfwirKKSO1rDO7JAZpU/s1600/DSC_0067.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ-RkXhgwPh5nvv0cST0YzLxSxWw1CeFX6d8PguHQog-bnphknTX88_Ol1VnLo-Riw-lFi2oQHgkiFvRsGkj1c8J8kmgefPo9C0RH_lcYPj2VGLDRg3jEvLOdkYfwirKKSO1rDO7JAZpU/s400/DSC_0067.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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Well, Spring time brings lots of things, baby birds, flowers, sunshine, green grass...and for us, we rescued a new puppy. We named him Mr. Blues, Jr. He was going to be killed in a gas kill shelter in Ohio. We call him Blues for short. He is half German Shepherd/Half Husky and has the bluest eyes you've ever seen. He is 16 weeks old and is so funny. I don't know why, but I always seem to get dogs with funny ears!! I don't know if his ears are going to stay that way, but looks like he might end up with one ear up and one ear down like Josie.<br />
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Enjoy!!!<br />
Much love to you all.<br />
Josie and her mom<br />
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<i>A bit of kibble from a Phycolliegist:</i><br />
<i>Sometimes you just have to give up on chewing the same old bone. </i><br />
<i>Know when to start on a new one.</i>Josiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13558497341737607122noreply@blogger.com37tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6557360745997429871.post-63002213097317803792010-03-21T13:22:00.002-04:002010-03-22T09:10:56.092-04:00Update on John and Gertrud<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyIA_mv7922mAwENOJbK6vafnChpyg0r-kId6_4MSovluThHw7hA_uAly125_nEZQLiBdMOBGhirl8bXXaSsEpg6zn9DDYd4ZBx99tPYogl3vBUfwJR3w2UC6hcJjrDrmZekUC0m5PEuU/s1600-h/GertsCard-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyIA_mv7922mAwENOJbK6vafnChpyg0r-kId6_4MSovluThHw7hA_uAly125_nEZQLiBdMOBGhirl8bXXaSsEpg6zn9DDYd4ZBx99tPYogl3vBUfwJR3w2UC6hcJjrDrmZekUC0m5PEuU/s400/GertsCard-1.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZy5NIGhuX8TaZAoVU-Eh-fjcqmSwizq3MaKKVjJDu7d-DqS6AUoweL9ln0uRy2lvTpC7nflLBZ_b0mv_KEop5TzOkj5SxS1SG3iAiFQwFoRrs9kv7JAm7fk2WTZlECIHynks6KOEJkww/s1600-h/GertsCard-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZy5NIGhuX8TaZAoVU-Eh-fjcqmSwizq3MaKKVjJDu7d-DqS6AUoweL9ln0uRy2lvTpC7nflLBZ_b0mv_KEop5TzOkj5SxS1SG3iAiFQwFoRrs9kv7JAm7fk2WTZlECIHynks6KOEJkww/s400/GertsCard-2.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd-zzLujmYLfJ4ctsvx4aMbf7YLvAT1SRT_QWBGiKpivKgh3D0B0zVr7WPfDJoiEwwalMi-foWE7UI9gxwRgJn5nxwPmYyDf_JtOrrDMYQlW4a_x3cgVGHZv8ih0G4BQNHQn8TSo0vBOg/s1600-h/GertsCard-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd-zzLujmYLfJ4ctsvx4aMbf7YLvAT1SRT_QWBGiKpivKgh3D0B0zVr7WPfDJoiEwwalMi-foWE7UI9gxwRgJn5nxwPmYyDf_JtOrrDMYQlW4a_x3cgVGHZv8ih0G4BQNHQn8TSo0vBOg/s400/GertsCard-3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div>On Saturday, March 20, John passed away early in the morning with his wife Gertrud and his sister by his side. In the past three weeks, Josie and I had spent only 4 nights home in our own house, and that was one of them. The other nights, Josie and I had spend with Gert and John in the Hospice sleeping on Josie's largest dog bed, which I purchased one Christmas from Doctor's Foster & Smith Catalog.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; color: black;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9dzs-JyOEjFPhbzu6qemLAX8MzaXHpb6-LSV8DzvSPTofJ9tceSpas8epOq4FywCNtD_jMpfU8QU3P64SBw1bOBL_TR1t-kDzgoNblGfWExGtfhB8vYsl66FgfQUrHAZ-2XHxFuzsYsk/s1600/GertsCard-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"></a></span>These three weeks have been the best and the worst. The best in the fact that Gertrud, Josie and I have bonded in a way that I've never imagined one can bond. We gave of our hearts unconditionally and were there for her in any way we could be. We made sure she slept and ate. We were there for her to talk, cry and just sit quietly and hold her hand if need be. Josie was incredible with doing her Pet Therapy. The nurses at the Hospice were amazed at her abilities and how sweet she is. She would watch over John every minute. Anytime a nurse came near him, she would watch what they did to him, lovingly. She would console Gert too.</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;">And the worst because we watched this dreaded disease called Cancer slowly take her husband from us. He seemed in a way to get better, before he left us. But, then again, We've never had an experience like this before. The love between them was so incredible. Sometimes I would cry in my car on the way to the Hospice just so I wouldn't cry once I got there. I would call my brother Gary and talk to him. He would make me cry or laugh...or both. (thanks Gare, for being there, always!)</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;">And THANK YOU to all of you, my blog friends, for your support, love and patience as I went on this journey and you all waited for me and you all posted your many words of support and love. How great it is to have all of you as my "family" to be here to me. I love all of you so much!</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;">A special shout out to Remington for Josie's "St. Patrick's Day Card"! What a bright spot that was! Josie would have posted on your blog had we had a computer to do so. But we have much posting to do now and much postings to read and comment on in the coming weeks. It will be fun catching up on all of your antics, I'm sure!!!<br />
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The pictures above are of the card Josie and I made for Gertrud and gave to her at when John first went into Hospice Care. Josie and I have are going to go to the bakery and get some fresh baked bread to bring to her and some Pignoli Cookies (Gert's favorite!). Yesterday, I made a huge batch of homemade sauce and zitis and brought that over with fresh grated cheese so she would have some fresh food to eat. And some tulips, bright yellow, to brighten her house up.<br />
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I love the whole card, but the one quote quite sums it up:<br />
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"To live in the hearts we leave behind is not to die" ~ Thomas Campbell<br />
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Much Love to all of you! Woof!<br />
Josie and her mom, MB</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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</div>Josiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13558497341737607122noreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6557360745997429871.post-80087137889865379042010-02-27T15:13:00.001-05:002010-02-27T15:35:15.805-05:00Praying and crossing our paws for our friends John and Gert<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpoTlQ6R1Szoo1mGNSkwn71ToikQZW42SRnvSqVzb6_accOFfSVSQwon93znL0O9vQ_kqx5srfhMlGyO0x2EJlgPT8sTHPdD_dOB8YbmbaS_AXjULxVQFVflk-Kz-bS_9lVrIvbl_wczw/s1600-h/josiepraying.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpoTlQ6R1Szoo1mGNSkwn71ToikQZW42SRnvSqVzb6_accOFfSVSQwon93znL0O9vQ_kqx5srfhMlGyO0x2EJlgPT8sTHPdD_dOB8YbmbaS_AXjULxVQFVflk-Kz-bS_9lVrIvbl_wczw/s400/josiepraying.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirrkLS5b5oKqqwBltkndJvprmtyrh4_pKudcnFhKNV9ilvhCjLvzGruMFLXRlWyFc1nfS1n-NqDq5I6vGYxViN3WNdKZi4lSMi9ofYJj3FMayvVYUb4jkrcJajB5gPu4VmlbDZRqxs3LY/s1600-h/Josiepawscrossed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirrkLS5b5oKqqwBltkndJvprmtyrh4_pKudcnFhKNV9ilvhCjLvzGruMFLXRlWyFc1nfS1n-NqDq5I6vGYxViN3WNdKZi4lSMi9ofYJj3FMayvVYUb4jkrcJajB5gPu4VmlbDZRqxs3LY/s400/Josiepawscrossed.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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Never in my life did I imagine that doing volunteer work with Josie would be THE most rewarding experience of my life. But at the same time challenging and heartbreaking. Last night, Gert had John moved into a Hospice Care Center, after learning that the doctor's refused to allow her to take John home to care for him. They said she couldn't handle it, that he would need too much care. The Center which John is going to is a small center, only 6 beds, so he will be getting care 24/7 and the facility is quiet and about as nice as a place can be for that purpose. I held her hand the night before, the last night in the hospital as she was distraught and cried and said to me, "I feel as if I am just bringing my husband somewhere to die..". I didn't know what to say. I am not trained in hospice work. I am only a volunteer. But I am now her friend. So I spoke from my heart. I looked into the Center and it turns out that this particular center is quite well known in our area and there is usually a waiting list to get in. I looked it up on the internet and asked staff members about it and then came back and told Gert that if she has to go through this, and she does, to go through this with the best care available in the best place possible.<br />
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So last night was a very emotional night for all of us. Once we got John settled into the Hospice, I sent Gertrud home so she could take a shower (she spent the last 2 nights in the hospital) and get some extra clean clothes. John's sister and her husband ran out to get something to eat and Josie and I stayed with John. Josie slept with him and I held his hand and sang him Beatle songs until they all arrived back. Gert's sister-in-law brought food back for Gert and I set up a tray with all the food on it for her so she would eat.<br />
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I kissed Gert and John good-bye before I left and told John (who I call "Handsome") that I would see him tomorrow.<br />
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All I can ask of all my blog friends is to keep John and Gertrud and her family in your prayers. These next couple of days will be very up and down and emotional. I will keep you posted when I can.<br />
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I will be checking your blogs as soon as I can, so keep them light and funny for me and Josie because we will need that. ;-)<br />
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Oh, I made a card for Gert and this is what I wrote inside:<br />
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"I'll cry with you,<br />
until we run out of tears.<br />
Even if it's forever.<br />
We'll do it together."<br />
There it was a simple<br />
promise of connection.<br />
The loving alliance of grief<br />
and hope that blesses both<br />
our breaking apart<br />
and coming together again.<br />
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When I get a chance, I will post a copy.<br />
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Please post any support messages for Gert and John that you would like to post. I will print them out and share them with them. Love you all!!!! Woof!<br />
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Much Love to all of you. Woof!<br />
JosieJosiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13558497341737607122noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6557360745997429871.post-62193435971536895792010-02-22T17:27:00.001-05:002010-02-22T17:30:21.254-05:00Mischievous Monday....Snow and Squirrels!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIW1LPyWcgPIVzsJhY7pAOyZshdrhSEHP4pSWne8dNr7wusS5aV6mLMAFF5Q8DxwF_cBT7bRYc7aUvtqalOIPt9SNY1G2UQfe3uLwfZLsd8Y01jjQZdBdN4Md6SsWpvXKyQRwbk__p6JQ/s1600-h/josiesnow1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIW1LPyWcgPIVzsJhY7pAOyZshdrhSEHP4pSWne8dNr7wusS5aV6mLMAFF5Q8DxwF_cBT7bRYc7aUvtqalOIPt9SNY1G2UQfe3uLwfZLsd8Y01jjQZdBdN4Md6SsWpvXKyQRwbk__p6JQ/s400/josiesnow1.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN8U3ifsT4KL2NLRnSzouSZWzMY67Bn4hUq41fKuh6YHAs-0exc6TXnMCTiBENxNv3jYiJdhRg39doxNwBsndtb_fp5Rh6xyU0U2hrQlXOIAPLXAPnsDWl9LJqNJ0h6cquS6M6iZWta5E/s1600-h/josiesnow2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN8U3ifsT4KL2NLRnSzouSZWzMY67Bn4hUq41fKuh6YHAs-0exc6TXnMCTiBENxNv3jYiJdhRg39doxNwBsndtb_fp5Rh6xyU0U2hrQlXOIAPLXAPnsDWl9LJqNJ0h6cquS6M6iZWta5E/s400/josiesnow2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSH-IJtP_UuA5aRRmAiHDeNCwZkc1XCiPfA21jRxfIkMiFyVOiwfJrGkw-VJgk47urH3qV2gq7pjJr20V9156hAAcT3Z6nB86-8_V6B2xkVYgwvQeRjWhS2BjePWkp3OZVzHzmy-xDV1Y/s1600-h/josiesnow3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSH-IJtP_UuA5aRRmAiHDeNCwZkc1XCiPfA21jRxfIkMiFyVOiwfJrGkw-VJgk47urH3qV2gq7pjJr20V9156hAAcT3Z6nB86-8_V6B2xkVYgwvQeRjWhS2BjePWkp3OZVzHzmy-xDV1Y/s400/josiesnow3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_j8pnkHzI8lb2GdMAL3D37cmM6nKosC1ncHAyA6kwf4uU4JYvlJ2nJTrJzobMjsm7IbiprmDL9pRVRry_0hyphy17nQEwUcgrohFrIrRmex-RT7-uVmwL0HUaj736Uc-LCDpP2uVPGWk/s1600-h/squirrel1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_j8pnkHzI8lb2GdMAL3D37cmM6nKosC1ncHAyA6kwf4uU4JYvlJ2nJTrJzobMjsm7IbiprmDL9pRVRry_0hyphy17nQEwUcgrohFrIrRmex-RT7-uVmwL0HUaj736Uc-LCDpP2uVPGWk/s400/squirrel1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhivoYnrY8hioZbivs8HOYaxEQFvegEYq_XhPNS-xBL-mZRUJ605VZiBZp-EQ9ywB2arYEM0o6CrMmqkLN1nHUQLGMl2aFK0V3b7L9IF6niCyqG_kEUx7TKwjJeSENF6mDnymHbZhjotJ4/s1600-h/squirrel2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhivoYnrY8hioZbivs8HOYaxEQFvegEYq_XhPNS-xBL-mZRUJ605VZiBZp-EQ9ywB2arYEM0o6CrMmqkLN1nHUQLGMl2aFK0V3b7L9IF6niCyqG_kEUx7TKwjJeSENF6mDnymHbZhjotJ4/s400/squirrel2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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I just needed a small break from the seriousness I was posting. I mean, why does Jazzi, Chloe, Remington and Madi get all the fun! LOL!! I wanted to just post some fun pictures of Josie playing in the snow. They remind me of what she would look like if playing with Khyra! So here's to you Khrya, my beautiful snowy friend. And of course all my other friends out there. You know who you are. ;-)<br />
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The bottom two are for....oh come on......it's not that hard...SQUIRRELQUEEN!!!<br />
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Judy and Miss Cindi, OMG....sorry they are a little blurry...we have a big picture window, (so I had to shoot through that)...and our holly bush was broken in one of the snow storms. And it was last Saturday, and I had just come back from a visit to the hospital (that's of course a whole new story) and there's a squirrel sitting right on top of the broken branch eating a nut. Well, I thought of SQ (really, I did, isn't that great!!) ran and grabbed my camera and clicked away. So there you go Judy....I hope you enjoy them. So cute. If you enlarge it, you can see three colors in the squirrel's tail. Pretty neat. I will try to get more for you. They have been pretty active since the snow has started to melt.<br />
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Madi and M.O.M., you are next. The birds are starting to arrive too. So get ready when I take my breaks from my visits and serious posts. Which I can tell I will need. I have some serious pictures of some Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks I know I promised you!!!<br />
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John and Gert need your prayers, BTW. So keep them coming. It's only a matter of time. Thanks. Josie and I have been working overtime. That's why the much needed break.<br />
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Sorry if we haven't been hitting your posts or posting too much. I hope you all understand. Plus I heard the Rainbow Bridge has been a bit busy. For all of our furry friends that have passed on, may angels carry you on their wings and may your humans get peace in knowing that you loved them dearly unconditionally. May that love live on in stories and pictures, so that they may live forever in all of our hearts. Much love everyone. Life is way too short for anything else. Woof!Josiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13558497341737607122noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6557360745997429871.post-9201640569453817182010-02-18T21:57:00.002-05:002010-02-19T09:28:16.903-05:00Getting a dog was the best thing I ever did....EVER.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxyLQlAI9e4GxG4DojIU82nsFhmr23Tl2pFRx9xR8UuQg9VlSI_Fk30YxkjjghAqcj3_nH8ux3TeAwcF3n2obDi3s5K7C2Ux6xeE_NFqDsx5nVxMicoeB6BGaLTU1CbFTiI1jfF-qICmU/s1600-h/Josie.waving.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxyLQlAI9e4GxG4DojIU82nsFhmr23Tl2pFRx9xR8UuQg9VlSI_Fk30YxkjjghAqcj3_nH8ux3TeAwcF3n2obDi3s5K7C2Ux6xeE_NFqDsx5nVxMicoeB6BGaLTU1CbFTiI1jfF-qICmU/s400/Josie.waving.jpg" width="302" /></a></div><br />
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I'd like to start off by thanking everyone for their heartfelt support of Hana's passing. I'm sure Priscilla and her family really appreciated the support. You guys are so amazing. Give yourselves a big hug from Josie and myself. You just learned your first lesson about Pet Therapy. ;-) Although, you've all been doing it all along, just via the computer. I guess we can call it 'Puter Therapy. Big Hugz to all of you!<br />
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It's been a crazy couple of days. Sorry it's taken me a couple of days to write. Josie and I have been really busy with our hospital visits. We went on Tuesday and found out that Joe passed away late Saturday night. I'm glad we got to visit him on Saturday. (Re Post: Happy Valentine's Day) Hopefully it made him more peaceful and able to cross over more easily. You know, I never found out his last name, but I am going to inquire at the hospital, so Josie and I can send the family a card. I had a wonderful talk with them during our visit. (Sigh)<br />
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And we have been visiting with John and Gertrude all week. John has been having a very rough week. He has finally been transferred from Respiratory to Oncology, which, in a way, is good. The rooms are newer and all of the rooms are single rooms. And when Gert spends the night, the chair is much more comfortable for her. Weird, how the little things mean so much. The love between the two of them is incredible. And they look forward to Josie's (or our) visits every day, except for the occasional day off. I feel really special to be a part of their lives. And I truly believe that Josie is part of the reason John has made it this long. And will make it longer. He will get better. Gert admitted to me yesterday that she never expected him to come home from the hospital in January, but he did. I just held her hand and told her to be strong and that he was going to pull through this.<br />
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My life has completely changed the day I adopted Josie. April 1, 2007. I've done a lot of things in my life. Made a lot of mistakes. Done a lot of good things. But nothing compares to that day. That day was the best day ever! It was the day that changed my life forever. It is because of Josie that I am now giving of myself unconditionally and with her and through her I am able to give more love to complete strangers and help people in ways I've never thought possible. Although, after one visit, they are not strangers anymore. They are friends. We have bonded. And there's a connection and love. That's why, getting a dog was the best thing I ever did! EVER!<br />
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BTW, the photo above is of Josie waving good-bye to a patient. She always waves good-bye when we leave a patient's room or say good-bye to someone. I know...she's a cutie!!!<br />
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Dogma Thought of the Day:<br />
<i>Be wise, even if someone you love hurts you, stick by them.</i><br />
<i>They'll come to their senses.</i><br />
<i>You be the smart one.</i><br />
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Much Love! Woof Soon!Josiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13558497341737607122noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6557360745997429871.post-17162592922192951972010-02-15T18:43:00.013-05:002010-02-15T19:11:48.068-05:00One of my Blog Friends needs our support<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQP4hbpU-Z8mbnSLd20trZN6T7jm87dPG3lnoSq9ciuJrUAh-WGLOvm6nbW9mw4CPKjMxUdJ6fm7LFJruG3xKmSc6qEJTfpuD9ZcT5sKWIQBx89_UjJNz6OE7S8jNmyi2N_1zj06unbLw/s1600-h/DSC_0139.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQP4hbpU-Z8mbnSLd20trZN6T7jm87dPG3lnoSq9ciuJrUAh-WGLOvm6nbW9mw4CPKjMxUdJ6fm7LFJruG3xKmSc6qEJTfpuD9ZcT5sKWIQBx89_UjJNz6OE7S8jNmyi2N_1zj06unbLw/s400/DSC_0139.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><br />
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Hi Everyone...<br />
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One of my blog friends, Sheltiebeauties, lost their beloved dog Hana yesterday, on Valentine's Day, no less.<br />
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She was only 3 years old. They do have her beautiful daughter, Eva, who is not even 3 months old yet.<br />
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If you have the time to leave a message of condolences, please go to:<br />
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<a href="http://sheltiebeauties.blogspot.com/2010/02/rip-hana.html"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3d85c6;">http://sheltiebeauties.blogspot.com/2010/02/rip-hana.html</span></b></a><br />
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Long may you run, Hana, over the rainbow bridge....<br />
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Thank you so much!<br />
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Much Love!!!<br />
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Josie<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; border-collapse: separate; font-weight: normal; white-space: normal;"><br />
</span></b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; border-collapse: separate; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', 'lucida Handwriting'; font-style: normal; white-space: normal;">I AM NOT THERE</span></i></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; border-collapse: separate; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', 'lucida Handwriting'; font-style: normal; white-space: normal;">Do not stand at my grave and weep;<br />
I am not there. I do not sleep.<br />
I am a thousand winds that blow.<br />
I am the diamond glints on snow.<br />
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.<br />
I am the gentle autumn's rain.<br />
When you awaken in the morning's hush,<br />
I am the swift uplifting rush<br />
of quiet birds in circled flight.<br />
I am the soft stars that shine at night.<br />
Do not stand at my grave and cry;<br />
I am not there, I did not die.</span></i></span></span>Josiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13558497341737607122noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6557360745997429871.post-69495651223895505672010-02-14T19:44:00.002-05:002010-02-14T20:33:53.346-05:00Happy Valentine's Day!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh04Rca-uSYjqRKgjUEeOOllOAahXUfol1EzrFESmDUPUyGH_xKYCwqdEuwNTgldfc37L3vIJIe6G8BB88xPJAz44CcpRiotQWHqHUXFmGXsHkIr_8zLDalHhyphenhyphenrx2Py0BCOEGQm-IKYOMI/s1600-h/TherapyDogJosie.VD.2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh04Rca-uSYjqRKgjUEeOOllOAahXUfol1EzrFESmDUPUyGH_xKYCwqdEuwNTgldfc37L3vIJIe6G8BB88xPJAz44CcpRiotQWHqHUXFmGXsHkIr_8zLDalHhyphenhyphenrx2Py0BCOEGQm-IKYOMI/s400/TherapyDogJosie.VD.2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiWm7_slRSZ_U0LNBeSsZMUTWGrYi8h9wP1NyqY8mhDPwF0KtGRUEgrgKBZhS5c2HdkqwuHxtFko-Njfyqp32WgwOlKabqNAg2zQMtEVC7KdENPWBXE9aulR24KJaSqNwJfdc3KXuAzBM/s1600-h/TherapyDogJosie.VD.1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiWm7_slRSZ_U0LNBeSsZMUTWGrYi8h9wP1NyqY8mhDPwF0KtGRUEgrgKBZhS5c2HdkqwuHxtFko-Njfyqp32WgwOlKabqNAg2zQMtEVC7KdENPWBXE9aulR24KJaSqNwJfdc3KXuAzBM/s400/TherapyDogJosie.VD.1.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
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Just wanted to wish everyone, animal or human, especially those who are sick, unloved, unwanted, and hurting, and in extra need of love and prayers, a Very Warm, Cuddly, Happy, Valentine's Day. And know that there are people out there who do care about you and will be coming to help you and rescue you and give you food and shelter and warmth and love.<br />
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I also wanted to shout out a few Happy Valentine's Day wishes to some of my FBF's (First Blog Friends), so here I go...in no particular order: Cloud the Wonder Dog, Madi and Mom, Lindy MacDuff, Sandra, Bijou and Banjo, Khyra and Mom, Remington, Sagira, Judy and Miss Cindi Lou, An English Shepherd, Bunny and all at Houndstooth, Aine, Lorenza, Anya and Kareltje, Mistaya and M.O.M., Sara, Havetailwillwag, Fosterdoggies, Yodi and Jess, McGillicutty, Emma Rose, P.J., Life With Dogs, Jazzi, Sugar, Max, Twix, Chloe, TC, Priscilla, Sharon, Daisy, Summerrr, Canoe.Bill, Kinga, Tina, Coltin1948, Kasmid, Miz Minka, For The Love of Dogs, Jacks Dad, NancyTurtle, Spider and Smudge, Signe, DSS, Shangey....oh yeah..Jersey Joker and Josie's Dad...BOL...that's Uncle Gary and Daddy! If I've left anyone out, I apologize...but I think I've got you all. I've only been doing this for a couple of months, but the love we've received has been tremendous...life saving...in a way you'll never know. So I want to thank you all for being there for me and Josie and letting us share our stories with you. Thanks so much for listening. Hopefully next year the list will have more than doubled, but you will be special because you are my FBF's!!!<br />
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Josie and I visited the hospital on Wednesday, during the big snowstorm. On Thursday, we had to dig out. On Friday we visited again. And on Saturday, we had a Pediatric visit. We also visited 2 patients in the ICU Unit. These are patients that we've visited before and needed some extra love. We also visited John and Gertrude. John is doing better, but not good enough to go home yet. Then we visited an patient in Oncology, who had taken a turn for the worse.<br />
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We ran into most of his family Friday night while waiting for the elevator. They explained his condition after they asked a bunch of questions about Josie. (Josie is a great conversation starter!) I explained that we would be more than happy to visit their father/grandfather, even if he was "seemingly" out-of-it and Josie could lie on the bed with him. They seemed a bit skeptical, but I explained about how the healing/calming properties of the dog's presence helps the patient and the patient is aware the dog is there. I just left it at that. When we walked out of the hospital that night (Friday), we ran into them again, as they were bringing a bunch of food into the hospital and they said "did you go visit him?" and I said "well you didn't seem like you wanted us too, would you like us too?" and they said "Yes!" so I explained that we would be back on Saturday and we would visit then (meaning tomorrow).<br />
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So when we got there on Saturday, their Dad/Grandfather was mostly out of it, breathing steady, and I laid Josie's blanket on his bed on one side, and picked up Josie and laid her on the blanket. I introduced myself and Josie and she laid her head right on his chest and breathed in synch with him and fell asleep with him. It was quite beautiful to watch. I was told that Joe (that's his name) is a huge animal lover, especially dogs. We'd like to visit Joe again on Monday.<br />
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Also, I will have more updates on "Rescue" the dog when I can. We still do not know if she is going to lose her leg or not. So please keep her in your prayers.<br />
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Dog-Ma Thought for the Day:<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Be Gentle and Kind.</span><br />
<i>There is Already so Much Pain in our World.</i><br />
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Much Love. Woof Soon.Josiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13558497341737607122noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6557360745997429871.post-39395219816987770962010-02-11T12:26:00.003-05:002010-02-11T12:29:15.948-05:00UPDATE ON "RESCUE"!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP_VFxm1GPR9aLCODwySUCl6CibKzgkRU0I9dqIsOAo2HHo9q0Eped-S3dpp1m4_f0-aibM3WvNUZw82gOjUsVs8SWMQrzxj6IcZfXpuhpRI5bkb-eWYNBvc8l6zAYIUjUYVBuJDQnVZA/s1600-h/Rescue.1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP_VFxm1GPR9aLCODwySUCl6CibKzgkRU0I9dqIsOAo2HHo9q0Eped-S3dpp1m4_f0-aibM3WvNUZw82gOjUsVs8SWMQrzxj6IcZfXpuhpRI5bkb-eWYNBvc8l6zAYIUjUYVBuJDQnVZA/s400/Rescue.1.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br />
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I opened my eyes this morning and waited for someone to call my new name. If I could just hear this I would be free from worry. And then it happened, someone called "Rescue". It is for real, a new name and a new start at life. I want to get up but I could not. I tried over and over but I am just too weak. I needed to let them know I heard my name so I lifted my head. Everyone around me looked very happy. Now all I need is to hear that familiar voice who whispered to me just the night before. And then she came and that voice made everything more real. I am saved. I need not worry anymore. I trust my new friends. They did what they said they would do, help me through this. I feel a heartwarming relief that my new friends will not fail me as I have been failed in the past. This is important to me for my healing because my emotional pain seems to be leaving me and that will give me more strength to conquer my physical pain. I will forgive the humane who discarded me and begin my life with trusting people. Thank you all for giving me the chance to trust again. I am told that I have badly injured my front left leg and I may loose it. I also injured my front right shoulder but I must wait to see how bad it is. As far as my back end, well, we just have to wait and see what happens. It is way too early to tell. I feel much better and have a positive attitude. My spirits are good. Without the help and prayers of you, I don't know if I would have opened my eyes this morning. I realize now how important to my new friends it is for me to pull through. I am trying very hard. Alex has been such a big part in my recovery. She has gone over and beyond for me. I want to soon get up and run over to all of you and feel you touch me. I am looking forward to that day. For now, I am tired and will need to go so I can get my rest. My only wish for tonight is to wake up again and hear someone calling "Rescue".<br />
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"Today was a quiet day for me. After looking out the window I am so glad that I am not wondering outside in this weather looking for food and shelter. It makes me sad to think of all the others that are still out there waiting and praying to be saved. There are so many humans that help us but more that discard us each day. I once heard someone say that the soul would have no rainbow if the eye had no tear. My tears are not able to be seen by you but for now my tears are shed for others like I was only a few days ago."<br />
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"I received a beautiful letter from someone today. She read my story and responded to me with kind thought and comforting words. If you get the chance, take a minute to read this. I will read it one more time and then return to resting. Again, I will be looking forward to tomorrow and my recovery so I can extend my never-ending loyalty to you for all you are doing for me."<br />
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Faithfully,<br />
Rescue<br />
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Letter which Rescue received:<br />
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"You never met me and probably never will, yet I know so much about you. It breaks my heart when I think of all the torture you had to go through and I thank God you finally found so many people who love and will take care of you. Think of the voice that whispered in you ear, she is the one that brought you here, she is the one that will stand by your side, she won't give up, she never does, she's your angel sent from above. This angel's name is Sharon, she saves so many, but never enough, the job she has is really tough. She's not looking for someone to blame, she just wants you to live for her, she's the one that gave you your name. You have a long road to go down, you won't go alone. When you get better you'll have a brand new home. So PLEASE wake up each day and fight to stay alive, so many people are praying for you to survive. Right now all we can do is pray, pray for you to get strong enough so the vet can decide what has to be done to make you better and keep you alive. You have come this far, PLEASE don't give up, be brave, stay strong, this was so very wrong, lets make it right PLEASE RESCUE WIN THIS FIGHT."<br />
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Thank You to all the prayers and love everyone is sending for "Rescue". She is one of many, but at least she has a chance now, thanks to Animal Rescues such as Adopt-A-Pet. Please keep those prayers and happy thoughts coming. I will be posting updates as I receive them. Can you imagine her being out in the streets in this snow? She never would have made it after being hit by that car. The thought is just too much for me to bear.<br />
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Much Love to all of you! Woof Soon!Josiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13558497341737607122noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6557360745997429871.post-91010073059714740202010-02-10T17:03:00.009-05:002010-02-10T17:28:09.199-05:00Wordless Wednesday! Well, Sort of...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: left;">I'd like to start off by thanking everyone for their prayers for "Rescue". I will hopefully have an update about her tomorrow. Word is that she is in critical, but stable condition.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">But for today, <i>Wordless Wednesday, Sort of...,</i> we are in the process of a "white out". The snow started last night and has been hitting us pretty much non-stop since. Here are two pictures, taken this morning at 10:00 am. One of our Redwood, (not normal in our area) and one of our brook.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">The rest of the pictures are of Josie and her BFF Lily playing in the snow together this morning. Josie is wearing a her first sweater. How do you think she looks? Mah-velous!!!!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">And for those of you who are wondering. My patient John is still in the hospital and in stable condition. His wife Gertrude is keeping the faith bedside. I was able to visit them with Josie this afternoon during a slight lull in the storm. But we had quite a ride getting home. Good thing for Subaru's! </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Much Love to all of you. Woof Soon!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiZvZ6pbcCQQcfls8c7cldZbODN2l2hNuaW0GVQXiAPIs9QEgks_x5etWjTZu36tfMjayj1G0sq8LSH-iDJeIbYqDoIkz6aT1aJg0kjEubKnoVEWLsheuZXh8pVcEJK9-tyJwqKdKqpvU/s1600-h/DSC_0015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiZvZ6pbcCQQcfls8c7cldZbODN2l2hNuaW0GVQXiAPIs9QEgks_x5etWjTZu36tfMjayj1G0sq8LSH-iDJeIbYqDoIkz6aT1aJg0kjEubKnoVEWLsheuZXh8pVcEJK9-tyJwqKdKqpvU/s400/DSC_0015.jpg" width="266" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiZvZ6pbcCQQcfls8c7cldZbODN2l2hNuaW0GVQXiAPIs9QEgks_x5etWjTZu36tfMjayj1G0sq8LSH-iDJeIbYqDoIkz6aT1aJg0kjEubKnoVEWLsheuZXh8pVcEJK9-tyJwqKdKqpvU/s1600-h/DSC_0015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br />
</a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWC59N4uX3muVEKmtUZOgZLbueUy0IJX_Wsar6m8sk8_3kweL83GqdvgRS5fs3bplF6TCiHRZc7IThXn-gqq-dG_OT70wcMH-fwnMRKdxkG3o2_wFa4ljMcMUbe150f2jeN0miOEAcPAI/s1600-h/DSC_0136.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWC59N4uX3muVEKmtUZOgZLbueUy0IJX_Wsar6m8sk8_3kweL83GqdvgRS5fs3bplF6TCiHRZc7IThXn-gqq-dG_OT70wcMH-fwnMRKdxkG3o2_wFa4ljMcMUbe150f2jeN0miOEAcPAI/s400/DSC_0136.jpg" width="266" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuH4vdzfKnpCp18MtjbjdHcShI4DNJVUP1tLqMKuDwNwWA7EBup0z6GD_nIMeUf9b2FqvG395ry8JoMVjngSkFbhLdSp0PJgp8uopNZqtus6f5e-JQkDHIEHo9s77u5Fcoyunm0exUbO4/s1600-h/DSC_0060.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuH4vdzfKnpCp18MtjbjdHcShI4DNJVUP1tLqMKuDwNwWA7EBup0z6GD_nIMeUf9b2FqvG395ry8JoMVjngSkFbhLdSp0PJgp8uopNZqtus6f5e-JQkDHIEHo9s77u5Fcoyunm0exUbO4/s400/DSC_0060.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoLWB_bh_RsuXPSMnToLhOtXBS1pd-hMXMmUeI1occ01M2HE-v2mExLiMxQOHs4nbqX2Q8v8dMf0FuXgTEXr16TysULS4uefPtGVCjpaCHT-SabJ210BJtVMudTM8JxLCgpni3p3VS89c/s1600-h/DSC_0128.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoLWB_bh_RsuXPSMnToLhOtXBS1pd-hMXMmUeI1occ01M2HE-v2mExLiMxQOHs4nbqX2Q8v8dMf0FuXgTEXr16TysULS4uefPtGVCjpaCHT-SabJ210BJtVMudTM8JxLCgpni3p3VS89c/s400/DSC_0128.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ8N7AAwRU-p83iDkoLZb2seSg7dJNrRx-bBZSNJlx2mEogqa8vlsdHKZmRMNupKhnHgKLk9hyphenhyphenqEeq6bWBfE6Yb7yLgTtcWudHloIn19cHMdC7BQJtB9V-ASgt2ARR3eheo1H1jKo25xE/s1600-h/DSC_0104.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ8N7AAwRU-p83iDkoLZb2seSg7dJNrRx-bBZSNJlx2mEogqa8vlsdHKZmRMNupKhnHgKLk9hyphenhyphenqEeq6bWBfE6Yb7yLgTtcWudHloIn19cHMdC7BQJtB9V-ASgt2ARR3eheo1H1jKo25xE/s400/DSC_0104.jpg" width="342" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc0zmcFxt1MQ5tKf3do0atewMEmhrMSkROHezb4PleKo2zq3vI0Iw1arJFGopuZOezG8mnmyCmLFIs7TEXAcyPEMzyvXymqNuGTGacu6r0R8ORLGAJrJkOzHVxkhv-t26Lct2hOpAmtVQ/s1600-h/DSC_0067.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc0zmcFxt1MQ5tKf3do0atewMEmhrMSkROHezb4PleKo2zq3vI0Iw1arJFGopuZOezG8mnmyCmLFIs7TEXAcyPEMzyvXymqNuGTGacu6r0R8ORLGAJrJkOzHVxkhv-t26Lct2hOpAmtVQ/s400/DSC_0067.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKXgdH0la6qOjqXG8e2thnfmx06q5ARb0uo5XhQAgLs2x2hk3e6CaEad1RfrFAj8LzVOTpO8hPoVekci1SWvIjiWWiB4ULaQUqiwD4Fur29O-UX-oV5EtIZAQATPWiRs6BwYmPiqWAsn0/s1600-h/DSC_0091.a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKXgdH0la6qOjqXG8e2thnfmx06q5ARb0uo5XhQAgLs2x2hk3e6CaEad1RfrFAj8LzVOTpO8hPoVekci1SWvIjiWWiB4ULaQUqiwD4Fur29O-UX-oV5EtIZAQATPWiRs6BwYmPiqWAsn0/s400/DSC_0091.a.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM3QGnR_A9c6_SWZ8TdkoAbk4LHeE1bs_svkegc8xYC3JGURwotdj4xsKQnk9cneXlKURCJASrR3tPJ-5J553PijXIMTF-P3ub0vyDZNSjCb62facM3t0YCwtUVS1Sqoc_E27ix108wkc/s1600-h/DSC_0088.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM3QGnR_A9c6_SWZ8TdkoAbk4LHeE1bs_svkegc8xYC3JGURwotdj4xsKQnk9cneXlKURCJASrR3tPJ-5J553PijXIMTF-P3ub0vyDZNSjCb62facM3t0YCwtUVS1Sqoc_E27ix108wkc/s400/DSC_0088.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPV8AUISGWaSq_YU5YIGD9TfcqQOVkyw5oLwdGnFyvD7foVI9twUSiIRGA-b0X80X-C3Y5mPZPRPBBK0eJvmbPS-jS8O8CGzjDqw8XP9zkPWqBc35UfD0Lk-aOqi4AF5AVt8Ld-ZrroLk/s1600-h/DSC_0068.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPV8AUISGWaSq_YU5YIGD9TfcqQOVkyw5oLwdGnFyvD7foVI9twUSiIRGA-b0X80X-C3Y5mPZPRPBBK0eJvmbPS-jS8O8CGzjDqw8XP9zkPWqBc35UfD0Lk-aOqi4AF5AVt8Ld-ZrroLk/s400/DSC_0068.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
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</span></span></div>Josiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13558497341737607122noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6557360745997429871.post-87182149042933499272010-02-09T11:38:00.003-05:002010-02-09T19:12:15.386-05:00Rescue's Story. Sure to bring tears to your eyes.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu3lbfsAMC41nPpyULYJnSSARnovTDVNqQ_6XPShjoLHfPJNie5XCQI3B0Jcw6K86c2XO8SY03mcZYzPd4-GGeiVfvPEQMljyX0v1kJLdhnoVjBefGzztZKTyERTfrqTz2nz9D0C1rpCA/s1600-h/NJ05.15716405-1-x.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu3lbfsAMC41nPpyULYJnSSARnovTDVNqQ_6XPShjoLHfPJNie5XCQI3B0Jcw6K86c2XO8SY03mcZYzPd4-GGeiVfvPEQMljyX0v1kJLdhnoVjBefGzztZKTyERTfrqTz2nz9D0C1rpCA/s400/NJ05.15716405-1-x.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, helvetica; font-size: small;"></span><br />
<div style="clear: both;">This isn't my normal post, but Josie and I have been so busy this past weekend with Hospital visits and snow, I just haven't had a chance to post yet.</div><div style="clear: both;"><br />
</div><div style="clear: both;">My good friend Sharon, sent me this email, and I had to share it with all of you. She runs a rescue called Adopt-A-Pet out of Freehold, NJ. Website: http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/NJ05.html</div><div style="clear: both;"><br />
</div><div style="clear: both;">"My name will be Rescue if I live. I heard my new name whispered in my ear several times today but I was not sure if that was me. As I lay here now, clinging to life, I will look forward to everyone calling me Rescue. Several months ago, many people saw me running the streets. They tried to call me over but I did not trust them. At one time I had someone to trust but as my life went on I must have done something wrong to be tossed into the streets. I am very street smart, even looking both ways when traveling across the street. Sometimes I had to wait a bit to cross, but I made it. I made it every time for months. I was good at getting food, not sure what it was that I ate, but I could survive. Then someone was tired of chasing me and set a humane dog trap. I knew if I went in it, I may have been caught by someone who would just love me for a short time and rid of me again. I could not deal with that anymore. I did not want my heart broken again. One day Ken came looking for me. He saw me, opened up a can of food and as I ran away, he tossed the food to me. When he turned around to leave I saw the dog food all over his back. I had to laugh but I didn't get that meal. I passed the baited trap every day but still would not trust it, even know the meals inside smelled great. I would just have to search for each meal on my own. The weather has been getting harder and harder to get around and find shelter and food. I was hoping the spring would come soon. </div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div style="clear: both;">As I wondered aimlessly late last night, my pads of my feet were starting to crack from the snow. I could not feel my feet anymore so I decided to walk on the part of the road that had no snow. It made my feet feel much better. A few more days and the snow would be gone again and I could go back to walking on the shoulder of the road were it would be much safer. But as someone whispers "Rescue" in my ear, they tell me that I will NEVER have to walk the streets again. I will never have to search for food again and I will be loved FOREVER. I only hope that this is true because Ann came to pick me up off the side of the road where a car struck me. I am very badly injured and each second is a miracle to be here. Ann called the person who named me Rescue. She said she would one day soon save me off the streets but by the tears in her eyes I don't think she meant this way. I will start to trust again if only I get a second chance at life. I ask for the sake of my humane friends that you say a prayer for me because their hearts are broken. They tried for several months to help me and I do not want to disappoint them. If I survive, I will ask again for your support for I will be in need of surgery. I hope that I will someday be able to meet all of you that listened to my story. If I do not survive, I will now know that I leave this world remaining in someone's heart. Thank you to all animal lovers."<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">2/9/10 Update: Those prayers seem to be working. Please keep them coming. Rescue has make it through the night and if she holds on for another day we believe she will make it. There is a chance that her front leg is so badly broken it might have to be removed, but that isn't something to worry about now.</span></div><div style="clear: both;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span> </span></div><div style="clear: both;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Please keep the prayers coming for Rescue. Much love to you all. Woof soon!</span></span></div>Josiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13558497341737607122noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6557360745997429871.post-27162144650993576132010-02-04T14:08:00.001-05:002010-02-09T11:53:46.359-05:00Josie bringing her love to patients anyway she can<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkk_Nk76-BHm9_Zn8_O3Zy1PulUoEQbKI2T0023uhr4fHExQ8yJLTqMZ0v3xwobmXO7um6bRmDZi3-n0wqhUam4Y10YB9rlsfWVec1iwPFo_zZ9oVg13cGpQDjqJDpTZSdV5QAx3bLUgI/s1600-h/TherapyDogJosie.HospitalBed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkk_Nk76-BHm9_Zn8_O3Zy1PulUoEQbKI2T0023uhr4fHExQ8yJLTqMZ0v3xwobmXO7um6bRmDZi3-n0wqhUam4Y10YB9rlsfWVec1iwPFo_zZ9oVg13cGpQDjqJDpTZSdV5QAx3bLUgI/s400/TherapyDogJosie.HospitalBed.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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I don't know if any of you remember me talking about a patient named John and his wife Gertrude, whom we got quite attached too. (Re: Pediatrics and Germany! post) Well, on Monday, I actually dropped Josie off at their house in the afternoon so they could watch her while I was at work. That is how close we have become. When I went to pick her up after work I sat with Gert and she told me how much fun it was for both of them watching Josie and having a dog in the house again. They used to have a German Shepherd named Rex in their younger days, so watching Josie was a big thrill for them. Josie hung with Gertrude in the kitchen for a while and eventually ended up sleeping with John on the couch. All-in-all it was a fantastic visit. It felt really great to give them the opportunity to spend some "alone" time with Josie. I mean, Josie and I visited John and Gert while John was in the hospital almost every day since November, and then once he was in Rehab, we visited him there too. He has been home now for about 3 weeks, which is great. He is on the road to recovery!!<br />
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Unfortunately, I received a call from Gertrude yesterday morning that John had been brought to the emergency room and was being admitted to the hospital. He had contracted pneumonia. So Josie and I went to visit him and Gertrude last night. We had a good visit, although John wasn't doing too well, but he was stable. He was basically just unsettled.<br />
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I heard from Gertrude this morning that he slept last night and that he was doing a little better (yeah!). Josie and I will be going there right after work to spend time with the two of them. Hopefully, the doctors will get his pneumonia under control and out of his system and he will recover and he can go home (soon). But if it takes a few days or weeks, as long as he recovers, well, that's what matters. I know he is fighting an uphill battle, but we are right there along side them both. And I know Josie's visits make a difference and mean something to both of them.<br />
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Now, the photo above is of a patient we visited on Monday night after I picked up Josie from John and Gert's and went to the hospital for a visit. We went to the ICU unit. We met a nice woman whose husband had been in ICU and had been unconscious for a week. He finally woke up and she wanted us to visit him. I wanted to show you how she lays on the bed and how patients hold her "nose" for comfort. They just keep petting and stroking her nose and face. She can lay there for hours like that. See how her paws are outstretched too. Sometimes they hold "paws" with her. The red blanket is a blanket that I lie down on the patients bed so Josie lays directly on that blanket as to not get "doggie hair" all over the hospital linens. That patient is doing VERY WELL and they really appreciated our visit.<br />
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I'd just like to ask all of you, if it's not too much trouble to please keep John and Gertrude in your prayers for us. I will keep you up to date on their progress and Josie's visits. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.<br />
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Much love everyone.<br />
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<i><b>Dog-Ma Thought for the Day:</b></i><br />
<i>Always stand by the one you love,</i><br />
<i>And remember to lick their face. (slurp)</i>Josiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13558497341737607122noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6557360745997429871.post-71414285726512415662010-02-03T14:46:00.001-05:002010-02-09T11:52:58.990-05:00Wordless Wednesday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi64KV6EVsa316siWW9wFpP9XFBcuoT0UVMRgcRMdvqxzOGO0hGCPzhOQdTohM0g1kwKp4CdJhpLJC4uvAIe0TLHmWDZUd-CW6A1XsUqzYzaZmrcL6Xg5iG5L4UZRcCnVWlGUDvpQUTa0Q/s1600-h/TherapyDogJosie77.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi64KV6EVsa316siWW9wFpP9XFBcuoT0UVMRgcRMdvqxzOGO0hGCPzhOQdTohM0g1kwKp4CdJhpLJC4uvAIe0TLHmWDZUd-CW6A1XsUqzYzaZmrcL6Xg5iG5L4UZRcCnVWlGUDvpQUTa0Q/s400/TherapyDogJosie77.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Josiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13558497341737607122noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6557360745997429871.post-74246254504901509312010-02-01T21:19:00.019-05:002010-02-01T21:36:19.259-05:00Bath Time!!!!!After a very long weekend, my mom decided to give me a bath Monday night. Thought I'd keep it simple and let the pictures do the talking. My heartfelt thanks to everyone and their kind words of support for our "loss" and experience we were going through this past weekend. I doubt it ever gets easy. The wake was yesterday and Joyce was very happy we came. So was her whole family, including her daughter Kelly, who we met on Wednesday night, our last visit with Steve.<br />
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My mom tried to hit all your blogs, but if she missed a few, she apologizes and will be back on track tomorrow. Please enjoy the bath time pictures and the rolling, flocking dry time ones too. I just love to throw myself around the floor after the bath.<br />
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Just so you know we did do a Pediatric visit on Saturday. My mom wasn't her usual perky self, but I was up to par, so the visit went well. I picked up the extra slack and the kids never knew my mom was sad underneath it all. She hid it well anyway. Then we visited our other patient friends Gertrude and John (Re: Pediatrics and Germany! What a Great Day! posting) on Sunday to see how they were doing. More on that I guess tomorrow. Woof tomorrow. Much love to you all.<br />
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God this is hard....My patient, Steve, passed away this morning. Sorry for the sad message. But this is the first patient that I've lost. Steve was the best patient in the world to visit. My mom made him this get well card (pictures of it below) yesterday that we were going to give him tomorrow after our Pediatrics visit. We never got to give it to him. I only saw him two days ago and he seemed to be doing fine. Sickness can do that, though. It never really reveals its ugly head. And we never really know what is wrong with someone when we visit them. And we don't ask. I know it's a hard lesson to learn. My mom is really upset. But I know the times we shared together with Steve and his wife Joyce were special. We lifted their spirits and took their minds off the sad moments about to come. He obviously was much sicker than he looked, but we didn't know that. I just hung with him and put my head on his chest or stomach. And the last visit, which was on Wednesday, he was sitting in a big chair beside the bed, smiling with both legs up, crossed with his feet resting on the bed, so the only way I could touch him was to curl up and put my head on his feet/ankle area, so that's what I did. And he LOVED it. He was singing to me...."Josie! Josie!" as he fed me a whole bag of treats! We had a great visit and I got to meet his daughter Kelly. (she's really pretty!) I waved "Good-Bye" to him and my mom kissed him good-bye and we said we would see him on Saturday. Well, we actually said we'd see him tomorrow, meaning Thursday, but then we got a call from Joyce on Thursday saying he was rushed into ICU for a Biopsy early Thursday morning. So when I spoke with Joyce Thursday afternoon, she said to hold off on our visit and come visit him on Saturday after our Pediatric visit. My mom called today to see how he was doing and that's when we got the sad news. Like I said, my mom is really upset. But I tell her to focus on the good times. And that his family was probably a lot more prepared for his passing than we were. God Speed Steve! I'm glad we got to meet you. Now you get to be with all your Furbabies that went to the Rainbow Bridge. We love you and are going to miss you more than you know. Much Love. We love you!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXWU4bYlR0NJF3jIKszu_CB7rIsXWE1aU9hHF320XoPiEhhy4VbR-pON3Q6DY-x0quXwZBxNTeh6UHfyyoONABf_pCBs0iMFv0Kh8KMkLQAEa5iVd6-adXx7VZ7WDRK6-KVLJJ0Fp7YGE/s1600-h/GetWellCard3-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXWU4bYlR0NJF3jIKszu_CB7rIsXWE1aU9hHF320XoPiEhhy4VbR-pON3Q6DY-x0quXwZBxNTeh6UHfyyoONABf_pCBs0iMFv0Kh8KMkLQAEa5iVd6-adXx7VZ7WDRK6-KVLJJ0Fp7YGE/s400/GetWellCard3-2.jpg" width="257" /></a></div>Josiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13558497341737607122noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6557360745997429871.post-7239829180614745952010-01-28T18:09:00.007-05:002010-01-28T18:34:02.584-05:00Finally......THE PUSSYCATS!!!!<div style="text-align: left;"><b><br />
</b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Josie's Pussycats</span></b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixae4uqRC60v7hwaqJuLJnJ7rvDyFEFHBGUgATY2Lq_RlXqwxYKzHRgiogXIzEmZdYgp6DEg5LK3Ra-Aj1dIHWvi4HemZYgms_YS9UCPxCrmXtJxdKxpGCvhyphenhyphenvsdRpVDFIDD0kUsPibmE/s1600-h/IMG_2284.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431922991810982466" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixae4uqRC60v7hwaqJuLJnJ7rvDyFEFHBGUgATY2Lq_RlXqwxYKzHRgiogXIzEmZdYgp6DEg5LK3Ra-Aj1dIHWvi4HemZYgms_YS9UCPxCrmXtJxdKxpGCvhyphenhyphenvsdRpVDFIDD0kUsPibmE/s400/IMG_2284.jpg" style="display: block; height: 400px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 300px;" width="300" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitsNz5U3bTJBY-B5LiVpc_ML-f6dJJy8hHrfVp8vpuvyzdhlWsOZ6Ta1aCN7pK7oE4GOphWDZ74gk5Ao-7Y1p0ki4q9YXXvoCFXBL5WGroaqf0u-gnxpPVK2-U9DsYUoNAzVxiYOdy82A/s1600-h/IMG_4012.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" height="300" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431921352298058146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitsNz5U3bTJBY-B5LiVpc_ML-f6dJJy8hHrfVp8vpuvyzdhlWsOZ6Ta1aCN7pK7oE4GOphWDZ74gk5Ao-7Y1p0ki4q9YXXvoCFXBL5WGroaqf0u-gnxpPVK2-U9DsYUoNAzVxiYOdy82A/s400/IMG_4012.jpg" style="display: block; height: 300px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" width="400" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFTvFSf6nVW9kFVUq-skitPlvjZscx0Udw9rb3t1RmqNUYRlfKV_abYEEnZrtJ5MgG9OLbG2bdsNmlI3JrwgP3_Ns5wBKw9MMiFKupuyj8gb-d1nL94dQsLdzn-fBkACgQvorJySOvS20/s1600-h/DSC_0179.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" height="266" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431921184506805858" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFTvFSf6nVW9kFVUq-skitPlvjZscx0Udw9rb3t1RmqNUYRlfKV_abYEEnZrtJ5MgG9OLbG2bdsNmlI3JrwgP3_Ns5wBKw9MMiFKupuyj8gb-d1nL94dQsLdzn-fBkACgQvorJySOvS20/s400/DSC_0179.jpg" style="display: block; height: 266px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" width="400" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZZl9UYwbzzNwgpYEkcRVRz_5KLtpjMjGV7yrrTySSlrzyrIg9rbT_rKvp16XihHX1Al85t2jwbrey6ZM-oYX0cB28EDVKqAlyIIe6ik16Di9JTuNvIhw-gyXB_WJqINt69stH5hgG3iw/s1600-h/DSC_0142.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" height="266" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431920830136502754" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZZl9UYwbzzNwgpYEkcRVRz_5KLtpjMjGV7yrrTySSlrzyrIg9rbT_rKvp16XihHX1Al85t2jwbrey6ZM-oYX0cB28EDVKqAlyIIe6ik16Di9JTuNvIhw-gyXB_WJqINt69stH5hgG3iw/s400/DSC_0142.jpg" style="display: block; height: 266px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" width="400" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgR30bQZHx30_pajSpNlQRDIcJch7hvy3n9QNe7AkV6oaS5sA4FKNtjBMc0HO1NkFFNQzYUDNlulbeizZBUF_ly37QFQjY08x4y9ogga11fLVEPKDK2cEkP1ZskVYcaNUJLNuIDiPRNLw/s1600-h/IMG_6647.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" height="300" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431920733451401554" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgR30bQZHx30_pajSpNlQRDIcJch7hvy3n9QNe7AkV6oaS5sA4FKNtjBMc0HO1NkFFNQzYUDNlulbeizZBUF_ly37QFQjY08x4y9ogga11fLVEPKDK2cEkP1ZskVYcaNUJLNuIDiPRNLw/s400/IMG_6647.jpg" style="display: block; height: 300px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" width="400" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsTZV-cv4UPwoZiHFjJiK1lFYNiY-3Y332XUOMi8Udblp1GnYTCqTuOSiDmq3r0uXmz68qwulrums2nV68op8_g7uKzRUprNeJEm5NGT7ajBHdd-rsR95IoBGCZHGbMjBnk0esZ3chUVk/s1600-h/IMG_6642.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" height="300" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431920619487881602" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsTZV-cv4UPwoZiHFjJiK1lFYNiY-3Y332XUOMi8Udblp1GnYTCqTuOSiDmq3r0uXmz68qwulrums2nV68op8_g7uKzRUprNeJEm5NGT7ajBHdd-rsR95IoBGCZHGbMjBnk0esZ3chUVk/s400/IMG_6642.jpg" style="display: block; height: 300px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" width="400" /></a><br />
After having many of you request to see the Pussycats (thank you, btw for the interest) here are some pictures for you to enjoy! Okay, so from the top down we have Mizzen, whom I rescued when I worked at a printing plant. She was pregnant and only weighed in at 7 pounds. Two days after I took her in, she gave birth to three healthy kittens. It was my first and only experience with birthing something. It was awesome. We raised the kittens until they were 12 weeks old. Got them all their shots and made sure they were all socialized and healthy and found them all very good indoor homes. Then came the time to find her a home. Well, my husband and I just couldn't do it. We were so attached to her. And now she follows my husband everywhere he goes in the house to the point of cute annoyance. It makes me laugh, but he's constantly saying "Mizzen, cut that out!" or "Mizzen, can you move so I can see my computer screen." LOL. She also does this one thing with her face we call "Puffy Face" where she squints her eyes and puffs her face up. We love her so much. She is still only 7 pounds.<br />
<div><br />
</div><div>After Mizzen, we have Miss Sophia Loren, Sophie for short. She is a beauty. Pictures just don't do her justice. Sophie just showed up on our doorstep. We tried to find out who she belonged to by putting flyers up, but no one claimed her. Then one day we got a phone call from someone who said they knew who she belonged too. So we contacted them and they said, "Oh yeah, she's been missing for weeks. You have her?" So by law, we had to return her, so I did, crying. It was about 3 blocks from us. It was a Friday night and I was miserable, because I was attached to her by then. So I didn't feel like cooking, so we ordered take-out. When the food arrived, my husband was saying, really strangely "you can come in...it's okay" and I was thinking, "why is my husband talking like that?" So I walked over to the door and in comes Sophie and I pick her up and hug her. It was about 4 hours after I returned her to her owner. Now mind you, we live in a town where you cannot let your cats outside. It's against the law. No outside cats. So I looked at her and my husband and said, "I guess she's ours now!" She sleeps on my pillow every night and that was 4 years ago. Love my Sophie. And as you can see, Josie LOVES Sophie too. They sleep together every chance they get.<br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div>Then I put in one picture of my BELOVED Dakota. Dakota went to the Rainbow Bridge in 2005 at the age of 18. I will NEVER get over that loss. That's all I need to say about that. I know all your cat/animal/dog lovers out there understand where I am coming from. Love you Dakota. I had Dakota since he was 8 weeks old.<br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div>Then we have Ripken, who too, went to the Rainbow Bridge in 2008. He was the sweetest, biggest, lovable cat. And yes, he was named after Cal Ripken of the Baltimore Orioles. Rippy will be missed forever too. I had Ripken since he was 5 weeks old. His best bud was Mr. Big who is the next kitty in the photo list.<br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div>Mr. Big (yes, named after Sex and the City) because he looks like he's wearing a tux. He greets everyone at the door. We rescued Mr. Big after Dakota passed after visiting a shelter and seeing him. He was 10 years old and in the shelter for 10 months. I thought to myself, "this poor kitty is going to get put down because everyone is going to keep passing him up for kittens or younger cats." So I told my husband about him and we went back and adopted him. I also heard that the original owners just left him in the house they sold and moved out of and the Humane Society found them and fined them $1000 dollars. I hope it's true.<br />
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Well, I hope you enjoyed my Pussycat pictures and their stories. I could have told longer versions, but I tried to keep it short. I have a lifetime to tell you more.<br />
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One quick note, one of my patients that I visit, Steve, is having a biopsy today, so can you all say a prayer for him. There's strength in numbers and the more prayers the better. Thanks and Much Love to you all.<br />
<br />
Also, Thank You to everyone who has been following me and has visited my blog. I am trying hard to keep you interested and coming back for more. And I am trying to visit all of your blogs too. Again Much Love, because you can never have enough....<br />
</div>Josiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13558497341737607122noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6557360745997429871.post-73703664072595519892010-01-27T16:32:00.003-05:002010-01-27T16:37:29.897-05:00Dog-Mas and a Hospital Visit on Tuesday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWe6Zf0hIBJKSGW95eP1AKYxTWJaRE4FeE7fnmho544OwlqKhUq-ctrDMPPY65LAtGiGoIoLSBA2Tlq-ZXYoORmzeM-n61rxWEMcAJSlyk57tLcxULtDWrHUnsWB9ppdVqyUJZduO8wg8/s1600-h/P1260001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWe6Zf0hIBJKSGW95eP1AKYxTWJaRE4FeE7fnmho544OwlqKhUq-ctrDMPPY65LAtGiGoIoLSBA2Tlq-ZXYoORmzeM-n61rxWEMcAJSlyk57tLcxULtDWrHUnsWB9ppdVqyUJZduO8wg8/s400/P1260001.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJxOp4dm9Wjw7u623OwUBxhyphenhyphenRPPeKg5AH3bYa1OcnlF8U9L-uhd2vSSyqsrPtkdwfscEtelkQt0ka2tZ4uA__N6WYWpbEByOWfiWh9uIsTJUd_-GwSQiJYbR1gBmyeT394pQ75ngbvgoo/s1600-h/P1260007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJxOp4dm9Wjw7u623OwUBxhyphenhyphenRPPeKg5AH3bYa1OcnlF8U9L-uhd2vSSyqsrPtkdwfscEtelkQt0ka2tZ4uA__N6WYWpbEByOWfiWh9uIsTJUd_-GwSQiJYbR1gBmyeT394pQ75ngbvgoo/s400/P1260007.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0WuWO44FveflrCJDb5p1aCKpwDDvdMRxOoyP0EhxevOm6ba-KVGsJmo06v8SWnU1aAcMGBOxMQbqnJxDGAcOUrb8l7eEFD6e_5BBscmb4yrGi0E_w3hC_poaav6rsy9sGkM-qHxaB-D0/s1600-h/P1260009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0WuWO44FveflrCJDb5p1aCKpwDDvdMRxOoyP0EhxevOm6ba-KVGsJmo06v8SWnU1aAcMGBOxMQbqnJxDGAcOUrb8l7eEFD6e_5BBscmb4yrGi0E_w3hC_poaav6rsy9sGkM-qHxaB-D0/s400/P1260009.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
</div>First day back since turning three. <b>Thank you everyone for all the Birthday wishes.</b> I took the day off to play with my owner and relax. Chew some bones and eat some peanut butter. Boy, do I love peanut butter. So does my Uncle Dave. LOL!<br />
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I wanted to share a Dog-Ma from a book a received from a friend of mine named Sharon for Christmas. It's called <i>"Dog-Mas: Simple Truths from a Wise Pet"</i> as reveled to Bill Zimmerman.<br />
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"Greet each day with hope and expectation.<br />
Wipe from your memory an hurt or slight from the day before.<br />
By doing so, you set a good example for your humans."<br />
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Isn't that a great quote? I just love that. ;-)<br />
<br />
(mean people suck and they can hurt you pretty deep. But it is good to remember that each day is a new day, don't you think so!)<br />
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Okay now, well, back to my Tuesday Hospital visit on January 26th. We visited the Telemetry Floor. We like to start on the highest floor of the hospital beginning of the week and work our way down, so by the end of the week, we have usually covered the whole hospital. We really are only supposed to do one hour of Volunteer hour a month. But I can't help but do more. Once you get in there and you see people straining to see the dog walking the hallway, you just gotta stop in each room and ask if they want a visit. Also I told you I would post some pictures of me in my vest. Sorry about the quality, but it's hard to do hospitals visits carrying around a nice huge camera, so we had to settle using our little Olympus that we slipped in my mommy's pocket.<br />
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So when we go to the Telemetry Floor, first we visited the Nurses and there was one Surgeon there too. He was quite smitten with Josie. That was fun. After asking permission from the Charge Nurse to visit the rooms, we were on our way down the hall way. Our first room was eager for us to enter. We were met with two sets of smiles. One from the patient, Fran and one from her daughter, Caroline who was visiting her mom. I laid Josie's blanket down on the bed and Josie jumped right up and laid down next to Frances. We visited and talked and you could tell Frances completely forgot where she was. Her face lit up and she just pet Josie the whole time smiling as she did so. Again, Josie did her customary "good-bye" wave and we went on to visit more patients.<br />
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The whole night was like that. We met one patient after another who was so happy for a visit from Josie. They always say "Thank you for doing this." And I always answer "It's our pleasure."<br />
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One man, Ron and his daughter Nancy, were pretty funny. Ron was eating some vanilla ice cream. He as actually sitting on the side of the bed. So I brought Josie into the room and after asking the usually questions and placing her blanket, she was up on the bed next to Ron, just staring at him eating his ice cream. Not moving a muscle. Just staring. His daughter Nancy thought that was so funny. She commented that their dog would never survive such a trial. Josie just laid there and watched him eat his ice cream, never making a move for the ice cream, and SHE LOVES vanilla ice cream. I was very proud of her. I just told her to "leave it!"<br />
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One of the things you train for in Pet Therapy Classes is leaving food or pills alone on command. And Josie was one of the worst in her class, in the beginning, that is. But as I worked with her, she got much better. And as time has gone by, she gotten MUCH better. There have been many times we have visited patients, and they deliver lunch for dinner, and she will just lie there and sleep and snuggle with the patient.<br />
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When we were done in Telemetry, I was going to leave, so we got in the elevator and I pushed "G" for the Ground Floor, and as fate had it, it opened on the First Floor, so I figured let me go to Oncology (which is on the First Floor). Well, I'm so happy we did. First, I went to go visit the Nurses and say hello. <br />
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If you read my earlier Posts (Re: Back to Our Hospital Visits), I mentioned about a whole family who was visiting a young man that we stopped in to visit a couple of times, well he was still there. Unfortunately, his white blood cell counts were low and I couldn't visit with Josie, but I did pop my head into his room to say we were thinking of him and wish him "Love and Good Wishes" and to "Get Well Soon!" Josie needs to make a Get Well Card for him. We do that for "special patients" from time to time. His fiance was in the room with him. They all smiled when they saw Josie at the door. But with low white blood cell counts, I cannot let her in the room.<br />
<br />
So I went back to the Nurses station to see if any other patients would benefit from a Josie visit. So one of the Nurses went to check on a patient Taylor and she actually came back to the station with him. He had his I.V. and everything. I told him I could come to his room and have Josie visit with him there. And he explained that if I did that, that Josie would be going home with him. That's how much he loves dogs. I laughed. I understand. I gave him some doggie treats and he fed them to Josie. He smiled huge smile and I had Josie do some tricks for him. I told him I would stop by tomorrow and have him come out again to visit with Josie and he said that would be fantastic.<br />
<br />
And the night ended on a very good note. Then one of the Nurses said, "I have one more patient for you to visit" and she led Josie and myself down the hall and she opened the door to a room and there was a patient who I knew, Steve. Steve was the patient (also mentioned in the earlier Post: Back To Our Hospital Visits) whose wife intercepted me and asked me to visit him when he was Respiratory. Josie had visited him back in late Nov/early Dec, I believe. Anyway, I was SOOO happy to see Steve. I said, "I've been looking for you! But I was hoping you were released and went home." And he said, "No, not me" Turns out he's fighting a few things, but I believe he's going to get better soon. He looks good and boy, did he perk up when he saw Josie. Just like our last visit, he started patting the bed and said " Come 'on Josie! Up! Up!" and up on the bed she went, after I laid her blanket down, of course. Took her a few minutes to get used to the breathing bag he had on his face for oxygen. Josie's funny that way. Anything new, she has to check out. Then once she does, she settles in. By a few minutes into the visit, she had her head resting on Steve's lap all comfy and cute, sleeping. Steve was petting her, all cute too. Then his wife, Joyce arrived, and as she walked through the door she says, "Ahhh!!! We have Josie and the Pussycats visiting us! You found us!!!" She was so happy to see Josie there. It was so apparent. I ended up staying for about 45 minutes talking with them. What a nice couple they are. I promised them I would definitely visit them again tomorrow.<br />
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It's really hard not to get attached to certain people. Especially the ones you see night after night. If you see someone one night and you come back and they've gone home. Well, at least you know you did your job and cheered them up and they are feeling better and got to go home. But, for a patient like Steve, who is there for more than a week or two. Well, you just want to help them. You want to fix them somehow. And the only way I know how to do that is to visit them with Josie and lift their spirits, cheer them up, take their mind off their sickness or the disease they are fighting. Give them hope. Make them laugh and smile. Share a story or two. Be their friend. And I don't take it lightly. I give all of that whole heartedly and so does Josie. She gives 200% of her doggie heart. And it's all volunteer work.<br />
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<b><i>Now for all of you who are are asking for photos of the Pussycats...come back tomorrow as I will have pictures and a story posted of all the Pussycats for you to see and read about. Meow..</i></b><br />
<b><i><br />
</i></b><br />
But for now....Much Love and Woof Woof!!!Josiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13558497341737607122noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6557360745997429871.post-3066281694402810822010-01-25T17:17:00.017-05:002010-01-25T18:47:09.916-05:00HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOSIE!!!<span style="font-family: Times, serif; font-weight: bold;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-weight: 800;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">HAPPY 3RD </span></i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-weight: 800;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">BIRTHDAY JOSIE!</span></i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-weight: 800;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><span style="font-family: Times, serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">I guess that means in dog years she's legal to drink! LOL. I got out of work an hour early and am going to take her for a walk since it rained "like cats and dogs" all day today. I also wanted to put some cute baby pictures up for those of you who wanted to see her growth over the past 3 years. That's ALWAYS fun, eh? As my British Columbia Vancouver friends would say, eh? LOL! The first photo is the day we adopted her, April Fool's day 2007. And then there are a few more pictures of her first year. I will post more in upcoming blogs, but I can't post them all at once. Just look at that puppy belly. It's just calling to be kissed. God, I miss that puppy belly. I used to give her raspberries all the time, well, I have to admit, I still give her raspberries on her belly!! In the one picture, she's sleeping with her best buddy Sophie. Pictures of the Pussycats coming soon. And as you can see, the famous ears are doing their own thing. What until I post a few where they are both going out to the sides. Talk about the awkward months. Just like a teenager.</span></i></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8nNdhByFFi2bln_4rMplZP7BeOWCPkOcf0o25L-9CutwKQ9pqtF4e2CS6XEniIuw6fGKLt1Y7VXA0FK9EeXdEUoO4eL_CLgQxTG8ITMggN5u4vqFRNOKxRd-hOQag8XnkCN8qj0g0sLs/s1600-h/IMG_6648.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" border="0" height="300" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430803402577715602" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8nNdhByFFi2bln_4rMplZP7BeOWCPkOcf0o25L-9CutwKQ9pqtF4e2CS6XEniIuw6fGKLt1Y7VXA0FK9EeXdEUoO4eL_CLgQxTG8ITMggN5u4vqFRNOKxRd-hOQag8XnkCN8qj0g0sLs/s400/IMG_6648.jpg" style="display: block; height: 300px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" width="400" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Gm_qhYE6gfwJHDnbPV66La_CRmjRQEErJmdTHqSF4R23puHytScjGTpYIat3AYUyqiRvZVi_L9PyI41w96diOmz2FzRW6VWX3_r004ah1DBc2fEjN6IFui9qBym6bogT1kW8WF1Ypgo/s1600-h/IMG_6718.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" border="0" height="300" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430802841694507490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Gm_qhYE6gfwJHDnbPV66La_CRmjRQEErJmdTHqSF4R23puHytScjGTpYIat3AYUyqiRvZVi_L9PyI41w96diOmz2FzRW6VWX3_r004ah1DBc2fEjN6IFui9qBym6bogT1kW8WF1Ypgo/s400/IMG_6718.jpg" style="display: block; height: 300px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" width="400" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSlCdsooFiqk4A8iDxhhvF5747GtgUewH74hD52PzWWIc-lEdD0gY2Y-jS3breZYdozgHopb3O5MBfGHJr_AXEpvtXjmyrCQOUXWL2Fn1JC9s8_m6nrceQFodAD3y3619nsyTmLx7LCHw/s1600-h/IMG_6850.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" border="0" height="300" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430802675218906610" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSlCdsooFiqk4A8iDxhhvF5747GtgUewH74hD52PzWWIc-lEdD0gY2Y-jS3breZYdozgHopb3O5MBfGHJr_AXEpvtXjmyrCQOUXWL2Fn1JC9s8_m6nrceQFodAD3y3619nsyTmLx7LCHw/s400/IMG_6850.jpg" style="display: block; height: 300px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" width="400" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAGb_bM6F6NllU2dTh3kqHTi8_WyuuT9-LualLb_yKRhxOcWRmvpIXXbBE5d_YofAe-ToHB1PnF23ePiUaWyG8EIAqOOfMneohYn18SxChQQjV9IiFL4Q6-drnQGZTD2NXVSgYlOp8GUk/s1600-h/DSC_0011.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" border="0" height="266" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430802514049675090" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAGb_bM6F6NllU2dTh3kqHTi8_WyuuT9-LualLb_yKRhxOcWRmvpIXXbBE5d_YofAe-ToHB1PnF23ePiUaWyG8EIAqOOfMneohYn18SxChQQjV9IiFL4Q6-drnQGZTD2NXVSgYlOp8GUk/s400/DSC_0011.jpg" style="display: block; height: 266px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" width="400" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqN3nOgEt5h3C_H21yaR-U9I0tmN53angpMhlswMv3gNhfizmIrKEzO0Li4j0R3NiOjuxxr6AY77tJQmFuKmoFS7sF9Oi-2oZ1-Cwj0551W4Vyhp9SCz3KYpjafR4fR95gAGVe9_weKPQ/s1600-h/DSC_0122.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" height="266" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430802157162612466" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqN3nOgEt5h3C_H21yaR-U9I0tmN53angpMhlswMv3gNhfizmIrKEzO0Li4j0R3NiOjuxxr6AY77tJQmFuKmoFS7sF9Oi-2oZ1-Cwj0551W4Vyhp9SCz3KYpjafR4fR95gAGVe9_weKPQ/s400/DSC_0122.jpg" style="display: block; height: 266px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" width="400" /></a>Please leave comments to wish Josie a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!<br />
That is, if you can. ;-) Much love to you all!<br />
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</div></div></span>Josiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13558497341737607122noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6557360745997429871.post-34531956253840163442010-01-24T18:27:00.005-05:002010-01-24T18:32:40.023-05:00Pediatrics and Germany! What a Great Day!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBzU-P7LkOvK386VZpmB7uF6EeleBBJPzDq44l59pLd9nP0dVrIHtD8xbwALiAWHMTuo9ut94o1-OfhgLbSrZa1-WDQ3K77R-Kp79R26GErISGldgkUUrkCdVBgH5TzebvhmoLQjfQXUs/s1600-h/DSC_0413.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBzU-P7LkOvK386VZpmB7uF6EeleBBJPzDq44l59pLd9nP0dVrIHtD8xbwALiAWHMTuo9ut94o1-OfhgLbSrZa1-WDQ3K77R-Kp79R26GErISGldgkUUrkCdVBgH5TzebvhmoLQjfQXUs/s400/DSC_0413.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
</div>We had a Pediatric visit today, Saturday, January 23. But first just a quick note about the photo. This morning, Josie was lying on our guest bed looking out the window and the sun was shining in on her. And the contrast of the orange and pink against her black fur was just gorgeous. I tried to capture it with my camera, but I'm not sure I did it justice.<br />
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So back to our visit to Pediatrics. We had a visit at 1:30. It went very well. One little girl, Jennifer, really thought Josie's ears were the best. She just kept playing with her one "up" ear and giggling. Her mother is scared of dogs ( because she was bitten by a dog as a child), but Jennifer kept looking at her mother and saying "touch the dog, touch the dog" really slowly. It was funny. But her mother just kept looking at Josie and kept her distance. She warmed up to Josie at the end of the visit, but I kept Josie a safe distance from her to respect the fact that she had a fear of dogs. I had a really nice talk with Jennifer. She was a really nice, cute kid.<br />
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All-in-all, I believe we visited about 11 children. They were all very special in their own way.<br />
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The really neat thing about visiting the kids in Peds is that the child can be hooked up to all kinds of machines, but as soon as they see Josie walk in the room, they just smile a huge smile. A lot of times the child gets quiet and just bonds with her, but sometimes the child starts to talk a lot and gets really excited and we just talk about all different kinds of things. What they like to do, do they have pets at home, anything really. Like talking to your kid sister or brother or niece or nephew. And all the time, they are petting Josie. Then when we leave, Josie does her signature "good-bye wave". Everyone loves that. I can always tell when Josie is getting tired by how enthusiastic she is with her wave. It's my meter.<br />
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The visits to Pediatrics only happen once a week. The hospital has to have the parents sign a release form or permission form that the Therapy Dog can visit the child, since the child is under 18 years of age. Also, on any of my visits to the hospital, I am not allowed to take any photographs of the patients with Josie. I have taken pictures of Josie with Nurses and Doctors. But this Blog is more about how we cheer people up and about Josie than the people themselves.<br />
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I would like to post a picture of Josie in her little Therapy Vest though. I will do that soon.<br />
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Now about the Germany comment. And I've been meaning to talk about this. But I've just started this Blog and there is just so much to say, but just so little time to type.<br />
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We first started visiting the hospital back in October 2009. In November, We were in Oncology and visited a patient named John and his wife Gertrude, whom Josie and I got very attached too. We visited John and Gert almost every day until he left the hospital right before Christmas and went into a Rehab Center. John would ask for Josie almost every day. They are the most amazing couple. I will write more on them later. All I wanted to write today was that John got out of Rehab in January and I was able to go visit them at their house after the visit to Pediatrics yesterday which was really nice. I did so, because Gert's brother and sister-in-law and her cousin were in from Germany and I wanted to meet them. And they were leaving today. Like I said, more about them in another entry.<br />
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Spread the love! It's catchy! Oh tomorrow is Josie's birthday......Josiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13558497341737607122noreply@blogger.com5