Well, it has now been almost three months now since we've moved here to Georgia and there have been some changes here in our household. One major change that was sudden, traumatic, and completely unexpected was the sudden, tragic loss of our eight year old greyhound to seizures/stroken on February 6, 2006. We rescued him on Superbowl weekend five years ago, and ironically, it was Superbowl weekend, that I found him, in convulsions in our master bedroom having seizures. We had moved to a single family home on an acre and had the property fenced so that he could run; he was in excellent health and there was no indication that anything was wrong. I had been working from home for the last year and a half and was quite close with both of my dogs, but especially the hound. Pretty much after both of my stepkids left, the dogs were all that I had left aside from my husband who is a civilian federal service employee (Ft. Meade) so he had been very busy since 9/11. The dogs were always by my side and my heart was broken when we had to put down my hound, Tony was he was completely paralyzed, with no chance of recovery. I did call my stepson and spoke with him about the dog for awhile and he was understanding and wrote a letter to my stepdaughter's Mom, in hopes that she would pass the information to my SD and reach out, but that didn't happen, either. But I was intent, on trying to make something positive occur out of such a negative event, and moved forward to find out about getting another greyhound rescue. I called two different area rescue groups and found that they were basically competing with each other about who placed more dogs rather than the philothanthropic views of what was best for the dogs. But I still wanted another dog as I deeply missed my Tony and wanted to make things right.
We also checked into purchasing a greyhound pup as we always wondered what Tony would have looked like and behaved like when he was a pup. I found a breeder in Idaho and the 2nd week in February we purchased a puppy and Bullet arrived in Augusta, GA. Later, that week, I got a call from a local rescue group, asking me if my husband and I would be willing to considering taking a dog that had been adopted twice over and turned back in again, as he was hand-shy, very timid, and had been abused. I told them to bring him over that Saturday. The rest is history. We decided to give the dog a chance and renamed him Murphy. So, now I still have my 15 year old minature poodle, and my two other dogs--Bullet and Murphy. I am not crazy, I have just gone to the dogs. They are just easier to deal with as they aren't judgmental, they don't sue you, and they are forever grateful for what you can give them. I am trying to finish decorating the guest room which is the room I was decorating when I discovered Tony was ill (I had closed it up) so I started working on it again this week as my stepson is coming back in April for Easter. And I am working on landscaping outside, transplanting flowers and painting fencing whenever I can fit it in. There's a lot left to do in the house but my time is short right now with getting the dogs adjusted and getting the pup housetrained. I cannot replaced my beloved Tony, it was a tremendous loss, and left a huge whole in my heart, and big shoes to fill. I am doing the best that I can and trying to make a home for Murphy so that he feels safe and wanted as he has spent the last 5 years in a crate.
I try to hold out hope that some day things may be different with my SD, but realize that she is more like her mother so I can't hold my breath. But one thing I have learned is that my stepchildren can't learn to think for themselves until they leave that environment of living with their mom.
Never give up. You don't know what lies around the corner.
Have a peaceful day.