Chancey's Obsessions

This wonderful story was written in December, 2008. I posted it earlier this year but very few people read the post so I decided to post it again. Some of you know that Chancey has a rare form of skin cancer and is Stage 5. With that said, he's a happy little character and enjoying life. Go Chancey go!!!

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Chancey, is the latest addition to our four-legged fur family. I dog-napped him this past summer while visiting a friend down in New London, Connecticut. She was dog-sitting him for a week while his family was on a business trip. They didn’t want him in the first place but their daughter did and then she moved to California and left Chancey behind. 

At the age of two: Chancey hated being walked so he pulled a great deal; he also had a great hostility of anything with wheels on it so he would charge at it while barking at the top of his lungs; he didn’t know any basic dog commands (sit, stay and do doggie commercials and bring home the mega bucks) nor was he potty trained. With that said, I wanted a better life for him. So I brought him home. Which then made him dog number three in a tiny house (1097 sq. feet) on a heavily-trafficked state road with no fenced-in yard. What was I thinking?

Episode #1 - I learned quickly that I was in way over my head having three dogs.The first hint happened when I took all three of them to the local dog park. I had Chancey on a leash but he was pulling so hard I let him off, which was a very stupid move on my part. Everything was fine until we met up with several groups of dogs. With all the doggie greetings involved, (barking, sniffing butts and a little bit of growing) he walked off with another group. By the time I got my wits about me and had the other two dogs under my control, I realized that I was missing the newest addition. Yikes! I walked around yelling for him but had no luck. I took Chloe and Fast Eddie back to the Jeep and went searching for him.

I was running around asking other dog owners walking their dogs if they had seen him. No luck! Finally, a woman with her own three dogs shows up with Chancey in tow. Yeah!!

Episode #2 – I didn’t have a tight hold on him while transporting him from the Jeep onto the kitchen porch. He quickly took off and headed East on Rt. 66 while running down the road using the double-yellow lines as his guide. With four knee surgeries, it is hard for me to move quickly much less run but run I did, and I scooped him up.

Episode #3 – We are back at the park and I’ve now learned to keep him on leash and use the Gentle Leader that a friend had given us. It was just the ticket when it came to keeping him from pulling and under control. We finished our morning walk and headed back to the Jeep. Both Fast Eddie and Chancey needed help getting up into the back. Then it was Chancey’s turn. My big mistake was removing the leash before lifting him up into the Jeep. He took off. I went after him leaving Chloe who jumped out of the Jeep with a fellow dog walker while Eddie was left in the Jeep. Right next to the parking lot is a large community garden which was in full bloom. Well, I couldn’t see him because he has such a low profile. His legs are only six inches long. He evidently returned to the parking lot where we re-united.

Episode #4 – A friend of ours came over for dinner this past fall. We were using a baby gate out on the kitchen porch to keep the dogs contained. In letting our friend onto the porch I created a small opening that Chancey used for his escape. I’m screaming for him to stop while I’m doing my version of jogging to catch up with him. Off he goes, again heading East following the double-yellow lines again! Now he’s a little black dog and with the light fading, it was hard for me to see him much less for the on-coming drivers. Of course, a woman waving her arms does slow traffic down a bit. The first driver stopped but the truck behind her moved around her and was heading directly toward Chancey and the driver didn’t see him. At this point, I felt something moving quickly pass me. It was Mary madly running. She hadn't had any knee surgeries like I've had so she’s still able to sprint. She had heard my screams from the house and knew it had to do with one of the dogs. She finally caught up with Chancey before the truck ran over him!

Episode #5 –Mary and Lisa had just gone shopping for our Christmas dinner and were unloading the groceries with Chancey jumping up and down on the porch. He was so excited that they had come home. Seeing the opportunity to make a run for it, he did. Both Mary and Lisa ran yelling and screaming after him as he again headed East on the double-yellow lines. This time is was light enough out for traffic to see him. Traffic came to an abrupt halt. Coming from the East was a large truck, the driver made a quick decision and turned his vehicle so it blocked the road. And, a pick-up truck coming from the West stopped traffic from that direction. Yeah, another possible disaster averted!

We’ve come to the conclusion that Chancey thinks he’s “Toto from the Wizard of Oz.” He is a terrier just like Toto was. He does hail from Kansas and he is obviously searching for that elusive yellow-brick road like so many of us are!

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P.S. Even after all these years of living with us, when Chancey has the opportunity to escape he will, and he always heads East using the double-yellow lines as his guide. Old behaviors are hard to break. Boy, am I a prime example of that!

The Ant Invasion

I hate all types of insects but today my hatred is aimed at ants. This morning there was an invasion of ants in the kitchen. I’d kill one and there was his replacement marching around. I stopped counting at 11. These guys were fighters. I had to really put pressure to the point where I heard the crunch sound. Yuck! They are on the large side of the scale, not carpenter ant size, thank goodness, but close. OMG – I just killed one on the wall next to the computer in the study (which is not near the kitchen). What the hell? Just killed a second one!!!

I’ve been to the local hardware store this morning and purchased spray that is safe for humans/pets but kills a variety of insects including ants. Which makes no sense to me how can it kill and still be safe???

I wonder as I spray and create a barrier if I’m just moving then to other sections of the house? Mary just called and said use vinegar and water in spray bottle instead. Easy for her to offer that suggestion, she is not being surrounded by them.

I’m exhausted and the battle isn’t close to being over.  I’ve called our “pest guy” several times but he’s not returning my calls. I hope he isn’t on vacation. If that is the case, I think he should have a backup person covering his calls just like doctors and dentists do.

I want to move where there aren’t insects, is there even such a place?

It isn't even Hump Day!

"I saw Live Camels in a Church Today" was one of my first postings and got buried among the many other postings I've written. So I thought, what the heck, a repeat camel story - just what all my reader's are craving for.

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Back on December 20^th I had no idea what I was going to do for Mary’s upcoming birthday. That night I went to a Christmas party held at the home of friends who attend our church. I was mingling and I heard a conversation about “The Boar’s Head Festival” and I butted in and asked what it was. Well by the end of the conversation I had purchased two tickets and started planning for Mary’s birthday surprise.

Trinity United Methodist Church in Springfield held their first Boar’s Head Festival in January 1984, as an epiphany gift to the greater Springfield area and has continued to do so. This year is their 31^st festival. And, do they know how to throw one! If you go out to Trinity’s website you can read about the history of the festival where the boar was the first dish served at great Roman feasts, nearly two thousand years ago. And, yes folks, there is a Youtube clip from last year’s event which is worth viewing. But what intrigued me when I first heard about it was that they have live animals participating in the festival. And guess what? They have camels, three of them walking around in the church!

Camels have intrigued me from the first time I saw one as a young child when my parents took me to see “Lawrence of Arabia.” I love that loping walk of theirs. And, the cute way they move their mouths. Have you seen the Gieco commercial with the camel in it? What a hoot “hump day.” Oops, I digress. Back to the birthday surprise for Mary.

I created a puzzle that consisted of pictures of the festival and bits of information that I gathered off of Trinity’s webpage. I put each puzzle piece into an envelope. Mary’s birthday fell on a Sunday and we hosted coffee hour after the church service which worked out perfectly. I gave out the envelopes to individuals with the instructions to walk up to Mary when we were singing “Happy Birthday” and give her their envelope. She ended up with 14 envelopes, one cake and a large package. Inside the package were two tickets to the festival and one stuffed camel! He’s so adorable.

Well, today, Sunday, January 12, we went to our very first and hopefully not our last “Boars Head Festival.” The talent and logistical efforts involved was just unbelievable. And guess what? After the camels made their walk down the aisle, each with their own handler, they went into an alcove right next to our seats!  I was no more than ten feet away from three very adorable but large snorting creatures. When they first made their appearance, I was jumping up and down and clapping my hands, I was so excited because all through the performance I had been waiting for that very moment. I was so thrilled. I can now check off from my "Bucket List" the desire to see camels close up and in person. And, did I mention that I saw them walking down the aisle of a church! Oh by the way, Mary enjoyed her birthday present as much as I did!

Chloe and Thunderstorms!

Really who needs the National Weather Service? Poor Chloe; she knows at least an hour before a thunderstorm will hit. She starts panting, pacing, and making very sad whimpering sounds. In past storms, she would go into the bathroom that has the ceramic flooring and tries to dig a hole into the tile. She picks the same tile every single time. She moves the bathroom rug covering the tile before she starts digging. I've always thought that was very considerate of her.

The other night, Chloe changed her digging habit to crawling into Chancey’s crate and staying there during the storm. For you folks who don’t know our dogs, Chancey, a Scottish Terrier, weighs in at 26 lbs. so we picked a medium size crate for him. Chloe, a Eurasier, weighs around 62 lbs. Yet, she managed to get into Chancey’s crate turn herself around and flop down with her paws sticking out. The point is Chloe found a spot where she could feel safe while the storm was in full swing.

It is not unusual for dogs to be afraid of lighting and thunder. For Chloe, it’s much more than that. Chloe and her brother were abandoned in an isolated area in Northern Virginia when they were just a couple of months old in 2003. I can’t image how they survived, but they did and were rescued when they were about six months old. Somehow, maybe getting into someone’s chicken coop, Chloe was shot and injured. To this day, she still has the buckshot in her, but it has not caused her any health problems.

Unfortunately, Chloe reacts strongly to loud sounds such as drums, nail guns and fireworks, to list a few. The 4^th of July is not her favorite holiday.  One year, the fireworks were so loud I had to lie on top of her to calm her down. I talked and told her Chloe stories during the fireworks presentation that was miles away in Easthampton.  Chloe loves hearing about herself as any Diva would.

We’ve had work done on our house when nail guns were used. We learned the hard way that when that happens, Chloe needs to be at Doggie Day Care. Our first episode was so traumatic to Chloe that she ended up hanging out in Mary’s car the entire day. We had a hard time convincing her to come back inside even after the contractor left.

Chloe is such a wonderful dog that we do whatever it takes to keep her calm during any loud episodes. She has an anti-anxiety pill we give her prior to a storm and that helps some except she gets a major case of the munchies afterwards. The dog crate may be our answer. Only time will tell.

For Jeeves’ Sake

I wrote a posting back in February about Jeeves. He’s my iPhone. At this very moment he’s having a little temper tantrum. A big tantrum would be one an iPad might have.  I made the mistake of telling him that the posting before him called “Trolling the Internet at 1 a.m.” has had 2,612 page hits as of today. Wow!!!

He asked what his numbers were and I told him 72. “Only 72?” he yelled. Did you know an iPhone can screech when he’s angry? He wants to know why his story isn’t as big a deal as the “trolling one.” He begged for another chance, so here it is.

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Jeeves

Well it is Tuesday night and I’m trying to figure out what to write. As I look around the room, my eyes focus on something. It is a small red plastic chair that just maybe a flexible Barbie could sit in. Now I don’t have a Barbie Doll collection, so why the little red chair? Well…it’s for Jeeves.

Jeeves is my iPhone and he comes with accessories. Come to think about it so does Barbie.  Jeeves comes with his own Bluetooth Jam Classic wireless rechargeable speaker, which looks like a small blue drum and it comes in a container that looks like a jam jar. That is just brilliant marketing. He also has a small platform that he can recline on while recharging, that hooks onto the charger while it’s plugged into a wall outlet. Lately he’s been letting the wireless speaker use it. Jeeves also has a pink stylus. My choice…not his. He would have preferred black. Well, I am the one using it to punch in letters and numbers as the keypad is small and getting smaller. Jeeves has resumed his workouts at the gym and has slimmed way down.

For Christmas, Mary gave me pink and purple stripped knitted gloves with little silver tips. These are for keeping my hands warm while I’m swiping or punching Jeeves’ keys when I’m outside in the cold. Suede gloves just doesn’t cut it on Jeeves smooth surface. On Jeeves’ Christmas list, he had asked for a fur liner for his Otter case. His Otter case is a necessity in case of sudden impact. I drop him a lot. And, let’s be realistic, Barbie may have a fur coat in her collection, but then she’s in a whole different league.

Back to the little red chair…what is that all about? It is a replica of the popular Danish "Egg" chair. Jeeves enjoys getting comfy in it when I’m listening to music on the wireless speaker. The little blue drum makes a great side table! Plus the chair gives him a safe environment to hang out in. I misplace him often since his Otter case is black and blends easily into dark surfaces. With the bright red chair, he’s hard to miss.

Last night Jeeves was trolling on the Internet. See? I’m not the only one! He found the tour of Barbie’s Malibu house on YouTube. He’s now thinking about moving to a warmer climate. Plus he keeps talking about location, location, location. He’s definitely been looking at too many houses on realtor.com!!!

Two Women, Three Dogs Trolling Mass Pike in the Wee Hours

Back on April 9^th, we left our house at 4:59 a.m. to head to Waltham, MA for Chancey’s oncology appointment at 8:30 a.m. We were told by friends that due to the morning rush hour traffic around the Boston beltway, getting on the road any later than 5 a.m. could result in our missing the appointment.

You might think that we just all piled into the car and drove off. Not as simple as that. Many details had to fall in place for us before we pulled out of our driveway. It started the night before. I emptied out all the contents in my car. Then I started adding. First, a vinyl liner and then a blanket spread out in the back of my car (thank goodness the back seat can be laid down). Second, two doggie beds, water bowl, a gallon bottle of water and extra leashes go on top of the blanket. The rest of these items were stacked behind the passenger seat. First bag, had individual baggies of kibble, one can of dog food and three bowls.  Second bag, dog towels to wipe them off if it should rain or they step in yuck, dog brushes (if they roll in the grass or tangle with a bush that has burrs on it) plus the little orange scoop to pull off ticks.  Third bag has miscellaneous items such as a map (never trust Google Maps), tissues, Advil, and directions to the clinic.

Now it is 4:30 a.m., I’ve loaded up the cooler with treats for us – muffins from Dunkin Donuts (purchased the night before) bags of almonds, oranges, apples, protein bars. I also filled up four drinking bottles of our filtered water and they went into the cooler as well. The cooler went on the floor behind the driver’s seat. On top of that were our coats and two bulky purses. We let the dogs out for one last pee before they got in the car. We got their collars on (which requires running through the house to capture Eddie) and load them into the back of the car. I did a final walk through, checking that all lights are off and no water is running, that the doors to the front yard and back are dead bolted (strong winds have popped the doors if they are not) and I've glanced around to see if I left anything behind. Oops, “Hey Mary, I thought you were already in the car!” It is now 4:59 a.m. and we are rolling out of the driveway.

Two things I noticed about being out and about at 5 a.m. in the morning. Lots of places are already opened. Such as McDonalds, gas stations and Dunkin Donuts! I could have gotten fresh muffins. I never asked them the night before what time they opened. Second thing, there are many more 18-wheelers than cars on the Mass Pike.

We made great time and ended up in the clinic parking lot by 6:45 a.m. They have a great doggie area that is very Zen like. A mobile hanging off a tree and metal dragon flies arranged on a wooden fence.  We let the dogs explore and then we piled back into the car to find a restroom and food for the mommies. We drove around and found a Panera Bread open and had an enjoyable breakfast while the dogs hung out in the car. Upon our return, I took Chancey for a walk around the shopping center so Mary could feed the other two. Because of possible blood work, Chancey had to wait for his breakfast. One of the stores we walked by was a pet store and they had shelves of dog food facing the window. Chancey could smell the dog food and he was jumping up and down wanting to tear open one of those bags.

We headed back to NEVOG, New England Veterinarian Oncology Group, for our appointment. The staff was so kind and thoughtful. When they learned that we had two other dogs in the car, they were invited in. Fast Eddie was having a great time in the examination room, Chloe not so. She started whining and got restless then Eddie chimed in too. Back to the car they went. We then met with Dr. Silver who explained to us how his cancer would progress and what the options were for Chancey. It made us feel better when we learned that this type of cancer rarely had any pain associated with it. She explained to us what we should expect and she thought that he had about six months to a year.

With that information, we headed back to the car so Chancey could have his breakfast. I walked both Fast Eddie and Chloe while Chancey had his breakfast. By now they had already forgotten they had been fed and would have gone for Chancey’s food. That folks, is how food fights start.

One memorable moment occurred on our way back home. We had stopped at a rest stop. Mary went in first and I followed. My mistake was I just got out of the car and walked away without saying anything to the dogs. That’s when the howling started. As I got farther from the car the louder they got. I was laughing and a woman looked at me. I said “Yep, those are mine” and she smiled. You could hear each distinct howl. When they are like this, we call them “Eddie and the Howlers.” Their new single should hit stores next month. What a hoot.

Until next time…

Just Heartbreaking

Back on March 17^th Chloe and Chancey had a spa day where they got washed and trimmed down for their spring do. When Chancey came home, I pointed out several white hairs which I hadn’t noticed when his hair was all curly. Each day more white appeared. With his fur turning white we joked that “Chancey was having a mid-life crisis and was turning into a Westie.” Our vet had seen Chancey twice in one week and was concerned about how much whiter he was getting.  At that point, she suggested a biopsy which was done on March 28^th. 

The results came back on April 2^nd.  Chancey has a rare skin cancer called Epitheliotropic Cutaneous Lymphoma.  It was decided that we would take Chancey to the New England Veterinarian Oncology Group (NEVOG) in Waltham near Boston to get a second opinion, which we did. We learned he is in Stage 4 and neither surgery nor radiation is an option. Chemo is the only option and we don't like the odds. Without any treatment, he has about six months to a year.

We are extremely sad and we are trying to deal with the waves of grief that keep hitting us. It is hard to accept that he isn’t going to grow old with us. He’s only seven and we thought we had many more years with him in our lives. I can’t image coming home one day and Chancey not being there to greet me. I’m crying as I write these words. It hurts so much. I want time to stop. I want this all to be just a bad dream and it isn't.