Apparently I post annually now, which means there is a lot to cover.
The year did not begin easily. We said good-bye to our friend Gracie on January 2, 2020. With us since 2007, she was a great friend and big part of our lives.
Gracie's last day, spent in the sunshine with Wombat at her side
On February 14th we said goodbye to our Zasu. After more than 22 years together I may never grow accustomed to her absence.
100s of photos to choose from, this one from a few years ago suits her
Two of Gracie's daughters
Bean
and Blue (airborne)
...succumbed to their particular ailments soon after their Mom
(Feb. 28 and March 25).
We had a few months before Ernie, who had been suffering from a neurological problem, had his final trip to the vet on July 11.
Even when getting around was becoming difficult for him, he liked to be in the middle of the action
Tupo, Evo, Ernie Ruby and Rose
An old favorite of Ernie, flanked by Archie and Otto
Many happy years with Ernie, Gracie, Bean, Blue and Zasu, too many to do them justice with a blog post. All brilliant, loving, vibrant dogs! The weight of their loss is crushing, but I'm glad to have known them and contributed to their lives.
At the end of December we took in a puppy that was doing poorly.
We named her Clementine
With Lenny (still one of her best pals), Zasu and Biscuit
Clementine and gang in January
Spayed and thriving, Clementine and Lenny in August
In February a stray had puppies in the bushes near our house
Sean kept her well fed and found homes for her pups. She took up residence under our Jeep until he took her to be spayed. Unfortunately she was diagnosed with an advanced case of heart worm and had to be euthanized. She was a nice dog, we were sad we couldn't do more.
Since then another pair of dogs have made themselves at home under the Jeep; we call them Belle and Loverboy. This time our intervention came before puppies.
The pandemic has compounded the time and stress of taking dogs to the vet. We're hoping, more than ever, that someone doesn't poison them.
One of Clementine's litter mates took to spending time with the sterilized callejeros, so at the end of September we had her spayed as well.
Rhubarb (pre-naming) escorts Sean on a swim
She made it clear she'd rather be inside than outside of the yard by chewing a hole through the fence, into the area where we kept her after surgery.
She's wonderful- with big paws and a stubby tail (you'll have to take my word on the tail until i get a better picture)
A few pictures of Xmul for everyone who misses her:
with Pete
digging holes with her pals Reina and Willy
under the neem tree with Reina and Ramona
shots of some of the rest of the crew:
Evo chasing insect shadows
he and Rocky do this all day, come sun
or rain
sister Rosie is not interested in their game
Herbie, Rosie and Willy, all curly-tailed dogs
sisters Bindy and Biscuit
Nico, Jojo, Peaches (foreground)
Evo on bug watch, Clementine and Boomer (rear)
Far above the doggie hijinx, warbler chicks on their last day in the nest
