Hi Everyone

[RedLetterRev]

So glad to find DU again and happy to "meet" the folks in the pet group. I'd like to introduce my family to you.

My partner and I have three furkids, Dora Lee (SD), Ashley-Marie II and Callie. Dora is my partner's service dog, detecting and alerting for impending seizures, then staying with him to help him center himself if one does hit. Ashley is my travelling buddy and farm-girl who loves to "help" with the chores. Callie is "the baby" and everyone's snugglebuddy.

At the end of the month, we'll be receiving a half-dozen guineafowl hatchlings to raise up to prowl the property for ticks and bugs. I'm going to foster these inside in a kiddiepool for a few days so the girls can get used to them. (They'll learn that guineafowl don't need or particularly want to be herded :) )

Part of my practice is Animal Companion Clergy, being a shoulder or a hand to squeeze when dealing with tough things like loss of a companion or caregiving through illness or injury. I welcome PM's in time of need.

Looking forward to participating in the group and getting to know my fellow DU'ers!

-Rev and the crew

[demnan]

1. Lovely Fur Kids

Welcome to DU! :hi: I think we should have a dogster/catster thread as its been a while. I have to update mine to include a cat that my family adopted last year, and I'll post mine.

[ceile]

2. Welcome!

Your babies are beautiful!

[brer cat]

3. What delightful kids, Rev.

Welcome to DU!:hi:

[hobbit709]

4. Welcome to DU!

A friend of mine has six chickens on his five acres. No scorpion, spider or small lizard is safe.
We currently have five kids and in the past four years we've had four cross over the Rainbow Bridge-two in the last year.
Here is the Thundering Herd
Rusty-one of our cow dogs

Jake-his brother

Boogie-mostly smooth collie-We call her our ADD child

Sweetie Pie The Snuggle Puppy-We're not sure what all she is

Wheezie-our Rat Terror-aka Devious And Conniving Little Weasel


And the ones gone over the bridge
Bebop-bestest dog ever

BB The Moose-surfer dog

Hank-Jake and Rusty's brother

And Boo-the Queen Bee of the herd

[RedLetterRev]

5. Thanks, Y'all

for the wonderful welcomes.

DemNan, what beautiful kitties! Wish my girls got along with kitties better; they're pretty good mousers but not as efficient as a kitty. When you live way-way out in the country, meeses are wont to try to move in with you every once in a while. As for meeses, there's a whole 'nuther 8 acres they can have so long as they stay out of the house.

Hobbit, what a fine crew. It's plumb-awful to let one cross The Bridge, but they do leave us with sweet memories. Boo looks like she could have been Dora's mama. I would love to have known her. Dora is just a little over six; for a cattledog X, that's still pretty young. Still, she is Queen Bee around here and everybody obeys. Ashley will be 3 on the 29th of August and she's giving thoughts toward becoming a lady. She's my tomboy buddy and reminds me of my buddy Sadie who crossed The Bridge three Februaries back. Her place is always right beside me, picking right up where Sadie left off. All three are rescues who had pretty rough starts, but what fine "daughters" they have become. I don't know what we'd do without Dora; service dogs are the lifeline that lets folks with disabilities enjoy the wider world. We've learned to trust and obey her alerts.

It's wonderful to share the favorite things of my youth with them: open land to run in, the sweet smell of spring-cut hay, wading in the creek. Keeps me young just keeping up with them :) As for the hay, thank goodness these three don't fear the vacuum-boogie. If you start up a vacuum around here, you won't get any vacuuming done because they all insist on being FIRST to get vacuumed. Well, it keeps the hairbunnies to a minimum and I guess the cool feels nice on their skin. It's a blessing that they're so fearless and confident, yet completely loving.

Can't wait to see the guinea chicks. There's nothing that's at once uglier or cuter than a baby bird. We're in tick-heaven out here amongst the deer, raccoons, skunks, squirrels, possums, groundhogs and whathaveyou. I've been told there's no more efficient tick remedy than guineafowl. They're not my favorite birds, but I think I'll grow to appreciate them for their suchness. Chickens will come next year when I'm more ready for them. I'm really looking forward to some real eggs. All around, we're putting together a tiny eco-farm; no chemistry and other than the blackberry plants, no hybrid anything. We're looking to be as self-sustaining and to have as low a footprint as possible.

Glad to "meet" you all! Thanks for sharing pics of your kids. Blessed Be.

[AZBlue]

6. What a beautiful family!

Welcome to DU!! :hi:

This is my favorite forum. And I want to thank you for the work you do with Animal Companion Clergy. What a fantastic thing that is! When I lost my Sally two years ago I was devastated - and I was so new to DU that I hadn't found this forum yet. Luckily I have animal lovers in my life - we attract each other I think - but it's such a hard thing to go through and you really need someone there who understands.

[RedLetterRev]

9. Glad to help where I can

I've done some support for folks with aide dogs. Human-aide teams get awfully close since service animals are often the lifeline that lets disabled folks move freely in the world (nod to Dear Bumble who coined the phrase). Trauma, illness and especially transition of a companion are rough on anyone; moreso on folks who are absolutely dependent on their companions. My partner is one such and I don't know what we'd do without Dora.

I'm deeply sorry for the loss of your Sally. She apparently transitioned about the same time as my long-time companion Sadie. I'd like to think they're probably chasing squirrels and pranking just as the other side of The Bridge (Sadie, Spirit love her, was definitely a scamp). I often say you never really get over the grief, but it does find a place after a while. As painful as transition is, they do leave us with a great stack of wonderful snapshot memories that remain great comfort. They never fail to bring a smile and there's the magic :)

Hugs!
-Rev

[AZBlue]

12. I can't imagine what it would be like for someone with a companion animal.

The loss would be so much more magnified!

For us all though, memories are finally accompanied by smiles instead of tears. And I know that heaven, whatever that may be, is a place that I will see Sally and all my fur-friends again (my family's always had dogs but Sally was the first time I was the mom). In the meantime I know she and Sadie and everyone are having fun, are healthy and young and vital, and we are making more room in our hearts to love the new ones currently with us while never forgetting those who have gone over the bridge. I found Maggie about a month after Sally passed and from the first moment I knew we were meant to be together! And you have your gorgeous family too - it's a continuum of love!!

:D

[RedLetterRev]

13. There's a writing that I use

in a lot of wedding ceremonies. I think it sums it all up pretty nicely:

The law of life is love unto all things. Without love, life is nothing. Without love, death has no redemption. Love is anterior to life, posterior to death and the exponent of Earth. If we learn no more in life, let it be but this.

I'm really blessed with good and kind furkids. Our family might not be Ward and June Cleaver, but we have peace, friendship, mutual respect, and yes, we're blessed with love.

Funny how you just know when the right furkid has picked you. I found Ashley-Marie the day after my beloved Sadie crossed The Bridge. It's that blue flash you get when your soul recognizes another piece of itself. Even though our family was deep in grief, we knew that bringing Ashley in was the right thing to do.

Funny, I'd never heard a dog sob like a human does before. The afternoon when Sadie crossed the bridge, my partner, Dora and I were sitting on the couch, letting silent tears find their way out. Dora began sobbing; I knew her heart was breaking because Sadie was the only "mama" she knew. I've heard dogs whine, even whimper, but never before had I heard tearing sobs from a dog. Later, we all went to the shelter to donate Sadie's special food; that's when Ashley found me. There's a whole-nuther story. But having a project in helping to raise Ashley got Dora back on track with her aide-dog duties for my partner.

Funny thing, though. Ashley-Marie's kennel-name was Rasha (which I thought was pretty and exotic). She would not react to that name, nor any other except for "Sadie" or "Ashley" (my two original furkids). At that point, I couldn't bear to name her Sadie (even though now she has picked an astonishing amount of Sadie's habits, good and bad {heh!}). Perhaps by long-shot coincidence, she had been named Ashley in her original home. Either way, SHE picked out the name.

[CountAllVotes]

7. hi and thanks for sharing!!

:hi: and nice to see you and the rest of the pack! :D

:kick:

[livetohike]

8. Welcome to DU and the Pets Group

:hi: Your dogs are beautiful! Mine are Cindy (Catahoula Leopard) and Murphy (ACD) who we rescued from dog shelters in S. California five years ago.

IMG]

[RedLetterRev]

10. Well, hello, furkids!

There's nothing like the gratitude and friendship of a rescue. All ours are rescues and had some pretty hard puppyhoods. But what good friends they grow up to be! Thanks for sharing!

[Eurobabe]

11. Aww, welcome to DU and Pets!

Nice to have you here, what a worthy cause your furkids work for!! :hug:

[sazemisery]

14. Howdy, Rev

We look forward to many posts from you.:hi: