Comings and Goings

In other news, we note the inevitable changes in the pack over the last two years.

January 2023 started with this adorable puppy, who went to a great home, where he is now called "Snorro", international dog of mystery!

After that brief but rewarding event there was a string of deaths...

2010 - 2023-01-11: Stella had to be put down, with a mouth full of cancer and swollen organs. She was an independent spirit in need of some assistance when we met her, and was really good company.

2013 - 2023-02-08: Roxy died of cancer peacefully here at home. She went in to the vet's the same day Stella had to be put down and was diagnosed, we were giving her meds to fight it. We don't know how old she was (nor Stella), they both came to us full-grown and in crisis, were cured of heartworm and lived with us for many years. We loved them and miss them.

2015 - 2023-02-22: June had to be put down, another mouth full of inoperable cancer, like Stella. She could've gone on for a few months in her drooling, grouchy old age but we decided it was enough suffering. I cannot express how hard this was... miss my running buddy (she's the one on the right, with her sister, Zoila, who is still with us).

2014 - 2023-12-06: Cancer claimed sweet kitty Cali, the most affable of Sugar's kittens.

2009 - 2023-12-09: Three days after Cali, loud, joyful Maggie had to be put down. She hadn't been able to get up on her own for several days, was blind and had lost enthusiasm for everything. We miss her dearly.

2009 - 2023-12-26: Goodbye to our sweet, serious Jack. Some dogs gray gracefully, others sprout silly eyebrows. Love him.

2011 - 2024-04-05: Four months into the new year we lost Daisy. Just a few weeks before we could feel she was slowing down, but she still had her little light and she never stopped letting it shine. One evening in March I remember walking to the kitchen and having her just appear besides me, so joyful to accompany me, and I thought: "Remember this. It's an honor that she's so proud and happy to be with you." So it was.

2014 - 2024-05-30: Another of Sugar's kittens died (how we'll always think of them even though it's been a decade), this time Falafel. Like Cali he had some kind of cancer and had to have one ear removed a year ago, but he gave it a good run afterwards and outlived expectations. He's buried next to Cali, out by the Jeep. Post-op Falafel catching some rays on the roof:

2009 - 2024-06-07: Elewah finally had to be put down, she couldn't get up and had been through a string of bad nights. She was with us 15 years, and was probably 2 years old when we met, so that's a long run for a dog. We miss her, will always miss her.

2009 (Lily), 2016 (Perl) - 2024-06-15: A doubly sad day: both Perl and Lily went to the vet in bad shape and neither came back. Perl always had problems, we used to say she was made of spare parts; her sister, Ruby, is still fine, but Perl's kidneys finally crashed and there was nothing to be done. Lily had long been suffering with some urinary ailment which was finally dianosed as an inoperable tumor in her bladder. Left is young Perl, right is Lily.

2024-06: Somewhere during the month of June, an errant pregnant dog we now call Nell made her appearance and unceremoniously produced 10 pups, out in the shelter we have arranged for the Jeep/Street dogs. Two died early on, leaving eight, four of which found homes around their 8th week. The remainig four are still with us, still looking for good homes.

2010 - 2024-07-24: Monkey had to be put down. I am not strong enough to write down what the last few months have been like, how important Monkey was to us both, I just can't.

2011 - 2024-09-14: Our buddy Steve McQueen died peacefully in the night. He had not been doing well for a few days. He was good looking, not so much with the smarts, kinda skittish but a sweetie and he loved his siblings, two of whom still remain with us after all these years.

2011 - 2024-10-17: Had just "finished" this post last night and then Linda took a turn for the worse, was all of a sudden very weak and listless and just died next to Roni a few minutes ago. She was an amazing, awesome presence who could fill a room with her razzle dazzle. She was 13.

lost and found

New life in the palm tree.
Two chicks, days before they left their impressively engineered nest.

One less friend. Our Twiggy was suffering from multiple health problems and had a rapid decline. This is one of the last pictures of her, fittingly between her sister/rival Xmul, and Xasu who helped raise them both.

JoJo, Rose and Rocky have been spayed, cones are off, and stitches are out.  Not a moment too soon for us; they were dangerous with those things on!

Rose is as big as Xmul now. All 3 of them are.

Xmul, Zasu, June, Murci and Tuesday. Zasu helped raise them all. 
She's 20 years old and always in the middle of things.

Excited faces...what could it be? Zasu knows.

Sean found her along the road by herself. She wasn't from any of the nearby houses and she nearly climbed into the Jeep on her own.

1st bath (and an undeniable resemblance to Twiggy).

We're calling her Brooklyn.

Big ears and markings like Twiggy, but not the ornery temperament. We were hoping for a break from the constant influx of dogs (and eventual spayings) but she has made sure we don't regret it by being an absolute sweetheart and the least trouble a puppy can be.

















 
Look at those long legs -she may end up Twiggy-sized. $o much dog food!

Rocky was her size a few months ago. 

 
She and the older pups play all day and half the night, with the occasional nap.

 
Brooklyn tries to get Monkey to join in... Monkey is not having it.

Lil'squirts: Tupo,Coco &Nico

We've been calling the 3 newbies the little squirts, though they won't be little for long. Most of these shots are from January.
Tupo out for a walk with Linda and Tito.

Tupo fronts a group shot.

 
Coco is lovely.

 
Nico couldn't be sweeter.

Early January shot of Tupo.

 
Nico and Otto.

Monkey and Tito with Coco on one of her first outings.

Nico!

Coco gets used to being on a leash.

Linda watches Coco and Monkey.

Taking a break.

Tito, Henry and Zasu leave the puppies at home and go for an old dog stroll.

Tuesday sleeps with one eye open.

Where has the time gone?

It has been too long since I've updated. So much to cover!
Nov 16, 2015 Tupo arrives. He was the runt of the mosquito shack litter.
Cookie again proves herself to be a patient big sister.

No one else wanted the little guy and we were worried he wasn't eating enough, with so much competition. Tupo means something like runt in Mayan. Closer to 'the last little bit'.

The traditional 1st bath photo.

A quiet pause after a long day.
Tupo naps on a beard pillow.

Zoila shows Tupo how to dig a hole.

Big sisters are the best! Cookie wrestles with Tupo.

December 1st we brought in Coco, the 2nd smallest of the litter. 
She was a little skinny and had a sore leg, but was otherwise fine. 
Cookie makes Coco's acquaintance.

First bath for Coco. 
She had enough dirt in her ears to grow a plant.

Coco and Hazel meet.

Coco checks out the yard. 
She is calm and sensible (and pretty) like her mother Sola.

Monkey is recovering from surgery to remove bladder stones. 
She's doing great now, but needs to be on the same expensive diet as Maggie. Apparently the little white shaggy dogs are prone to it. 
Otto, Monkey and Tupo.

Monkey poses with the stones Dra Sandra removed.

Just to keep things interesting, we had company over the holidays.
Sweet Xmul was here and Kiki's 2 dogs stayed for a few days. 
PupG kisses Xmul and Zoila hangs out with her new little buddy, Chiquita.

Group shot with Zoila and sister Junebug in surgical collars.
They have both been spayed and recovered beautifully.

Siblings Coco and Tupo nap on Sean.

December 12th, not quite 2 weeks after Coco's arrival, Sean brought the last unplaced pup home. She's bigger than her siblings and shyer.
We call her Nico.

Nico's 1st bath. Mega and Steve say hello.

She has a skin problem that we had diagnosed at the clinic on Sunday!
Dozens were treated and/or vaccinated (5 in 1), one dog had to be put down, and they managed to neuter 2 -despite not planning to preform surgeries this time! Pretty good considering we were thinking of canceling it.
Nico is all legs and paws! Her dad must be Ringo and he's a big boy!