Retirement news

 

EEk! Another dog in the family already!!!! says Allie Cat. Looks kinda like Louie, but, I liked him alot better. This girl looks scared of me, how strange is that?

 

This is Marilyn. She is 11 years old and since she was a pup, she has taken care of an elderly lady named Ruth as an official seeing eye dog, trained in Columbus. Several weeks ago, Ruth suffered a paralyzing stroke and can no longer stay with Marilyn.So, M is officially retired and ready to try life as the only retired member of our family. Yesterday morning, I picked up a voicemail from our vet clinic. Betty said that they knew of a white Standard poodle that needed a home and she wondered if we would be interested. Actually, I  was getting used to two dogs again and had decided not to pursue adding another dog after Louie passed away. Knowing, however, that placing an 11 year old dog would be next to impossible, Ron and I agreed to give it a go.

 

So, Marilyn ?? monroe, do you think? has been getting used to Jack and Kate and puzzling over Allie Cat. On the way home from the kennel where M was staying, she stopped at Purrrfect Paws for a bath and blowdry in order to make the best impression on the brood. At age 11, she has some seeing problems of her own, but otherwise is in excellent shape. Knowing that Standards average to age 12, we're counting on the fact that a few  live to the age of 15. Paulie stopped by to meet the newest member of our family and brought us some wonderful homemade soup and bread for our dinner, courtesy of Chef Bob.

 

It was a three dog night again last night. Ron stayed with Kate and Allie and  Jack(not Kennedy) and Marilyn (not Monroe) were with me. This morning, as I write, Jack, Kate, and Marilyn are all asleep at my feet and Allie is still perched on the cabinet gazing down at the group. So far, this is going much better than we expected.

 

By the way, last night we all watched the funny Disney movie, The Cat from Outer Space, starring Dean Jones, Sandy Duncan, Harrry Morgan, McKlean Stevenson, and Roddy McDowall. Allie refused to watch, however, and headed upstairs for a cat nap.

 

I think we're going to visit Ruth in the hospital today and give her an update on her beloved companion and see if she wants to snuggle with Marilyn for awhile.