Category Archives: Dogs

Hiking

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I’m lucky to live in an area with lots of great hiking trails. The Cuyahoga Valley National Park is close by and there are a number of Metro-Parks (run by the county) in the area. I take my dog Nunu with me to hike as much as I can though as she’s aging, I have to be selective on where I take her. She really can’t do long distances any more.

I am going to have to decide if I will hike alone since Nunu can’t go that far. I’ve never felt alone when I’ve had my dogs with me.

I signed up for some hiking clubs on Meetup.com but have only gone to one hike. I don’t know why it feels so stressful to join a group where I don’t know anyone but it does.

I love hiking so I’ll have to figure out a solution I guess.

Flower on Boston Store Trail in CVNP

Flower on Boston Store Trail in CVNP

2014 Update

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I’ve been remiss in posting here. I was struggling with so many things that I just didn’t feel like sharing my feelings with the world.

So here’s my update:

  1. My son has graduated from high school and is off to college in North Carolina. He’s doing well and seems to be enjoying himself.
  2. My dog Nunu is still alive…she’s elderly and probably doesn’t get enough attention since it’s down to just me at home with her. I’ve thought about getting another dog but I’m just not home enough to do that right now.
  3. I’m still working in the same place. Nothing much has changed with that.
  4. I have made teeny steps towards fixing up my house. I do want to sell this house and move out of it but getting there is more work than I want to do at times.
  5. I had a tag sale last summer and sold off the wood working shop in my basement. I sold a bunch of other things as well. We’re still trying to figure out what is gone and what we still have. A lot of Dave’s clothes were donated to a veteran’s shelter so that was good. Having that sale was both freeing and very disturbing.
  6. I got out all of our Christmas decorations this year and decorated the house. Nick and I went out and chopped down a tree and brought it home and put it up. That was a lot more work than we realized. Next year we’ll probably buy a pre-cut one! That too was emotionally difficult but also positive.

I’ve been missing writing here so will try to come back to this.winter scene

 

More Canine Grief

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Nunu and Nessie

Poor Nunu is still grieving. She’s lonely though she’s doing a bit better. She dislikes being alone so is very glad when one of us comes home. Unfortunately, we’re not home all day so she suffers. When I pull into the driveway, I see Nunu peering out the window at me. If I delay at all, she begins to bark. If that doesn’t work, I can hear her cry. I’ve never heard a dog cry before but that’s what she does.

Poor dog. She’s not happy.

 

 

Canine Grief

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My remaining dog—Nunu—is grieving for Nessie. Nunu was about 8 weeks old when we brought her home and one year old Nessie quickly became the big sister even though Nunu quickly dwarfed Nessie.

I think Nunu, who is now 10 years old, has not been alone in the house for more than 8 hours total in her life before Nessie died. Nunu doesn’t know what to do. She eats because she always eats but I can’t get her to go for a walk or even to go outside for more than a couple minutes.  She follows me around but I’m gone most of the day.  If I drive her to a park, she’ll walk there but I can’t drive her to a park every time she needs some exercise.

We’re giving her lots of attention. Unfortunately, Nunu never was much for playing with toys unless it was taking away Nessie’s toys. So we can’t start a game with her. Why a retriever doesn’t like to play fetch is not clear to me!

Actually, Nick and Dave used to play Nunu in the Middle with her and a soft toy so perhaps Nick and I can try that.

Anything to get her up and about again.

Sweet Nessie

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I haven’t been corresponding much lately because we’ve been dealing with more loss and bereavement.

 Our sweet little dog Nessie turned out to be quite ill. I thought she was dealing with arthritis or some sore muscles because she wasn’t eating much and she wasn’t her usual energetic self. Eventually she became so lethargic that I called the vet.

 It turns out that she was very ill and I ended up taking her back to the vet less than a week later to have her euthanized. Such a hard thing to go through. Nessie was the mixed-breed supposedly healthy dog. She was going to live a few more years with me. The vet said it was probably cancer or an autoimmune disease where her immune system was attacking the red blood cells.

 We got Nessie when Nick finished kindergarten. Memorial Day weekend, in fact, so it’s an anniversary coming up.  Dave picked her out. She was living as a foster puppy in a barn in Boston Heights. Her brother and sister were there too. We often regretted not taking her sister when we adopted Nessie.

Nessie was a wonderful dog. She was so sweet but with just enough mischief in her to keep us on our toes. We will miss her mightily.

 Poor Nick and I are back to being heart-sore.