Attitude for gratitude

I wanted to start this thread for selfish and confessional reasons. I spent the weekend boo-hooing the fact that my precious pup has Cushings and is also diabetic. Then a big dose of reality hit me out of the blue as I read through past and present threads. There are so many of our fur-babies on this forum that have many more problems than I can comprehend. I felt so guilty for complaining about stuff that just concerned me—and was non life threatening to Annie. I have been so consumed with my own grief of losing my beloved non-Cush pup Gracie, I haven’t been able to be grateful for what I have in my living pup. Hence, this new Attitude for Gratitude. So here we go.

First and foremost, I’m grateful for this forum and those who take care of it and offer very wise advise. Second, I’m grateful for the tail wags and little barks I get from Annie. If I get that, I know she’s still alive and has a will to live. Most days, I feel like a full time nurse, and that is very selfish because Annie is under my care, no matter what---so I’m also grateful that she is still here with me and I can wait on her hand to paw.

I feel like Gracie reached below the “Bridge” this weekend, whooped me up-side the head with her right paw, and said; “Com-mon Mom, you’ve got to get your act together for my baby sis—she needs you, and you need to be grateful that she is there for you and dad.”

So here goes the Gratitude thread. Maybe it will only be me on here, I hope not…but if that’s what happens, I’m still grateful.
To all of you who are hurting, I hope that this will be a place of collective joy for a tail wag, a little bit of hair growth, less thirst, a paw in the right direction and a small ray of hope in our collective sea of sadness for our babies.

Life is hard enough, even on a good day, for most of us. However, if you pile on a Cush-pup, or pups with special needs on top of that, it can be overwhelming.
I’m not trying to minimize the seriousness of this or an other disease, I’m hoping to encourage all of us with pup challenges just to look for a tail wag and smile. Blessings to you and your pups. Karen

Karen, I think this is a great idea! I’m such a worrier. It’s so easy for me to get mired in the quicksand when anything at all is going wrong. What with my mom’s death in January, and my “baby” Luna really starting to show her age, I’ve been pretty darn sad and anxious lately. But reading your post reminds me how one of our beloved staffers, Addy, used to coach us to find “One good thing” in every single day. One good thing to be grateful for. What a good habit to get back into!

So my “one good thing” for today is that Luna’s tummy is better (we’ve been doing chicken & rice the last couple of days because she must have scrounged up something nasty to eat over the weekend!), so we could take a little walk together in the bright afternoon sun. Truly the best part of my day, and I’m so grateful for that time together!

Thank you for starting this thread, and for sharing. Speaking of, that’s a “second good thing” — that you started this thread! I surely hope more folks will join us here. It’s been pretty quiet around the forum lately, so we’ll just have to see. But even if it’s just the two of us, I’m grateful that we’re here together ;-).

Sending lots of hugs to you and Miss Annie!
Marianne

OMG Marianne— you and Luna must have had a wonderful day! What joy and smiles walking in the sunshine with your pup. I’m so glad that her tummy is feeling better for today. Tomorrow may bring a different challenge, but right now, I hope she is curled up in her favorite spot like my Annie.

Things might be different for us tomorrow, but right now I’m so grateful that Annie had a good day too, She was outside a lot, running patrol along the fence. I just feel so blessed that I got to watch her sitting on her butt in the grass waiting for a robin to invade her yard. Blessings to you all and your pups. Karen

I can see that Wednesdays and Sundays are going to be difficult for me to Find some sort of gratitude for/in. These are Annie’s Lysodren days and I usually gag as she eats knowing that I am puttting poison in her little body.

But let me re-think this—-I know I ‘m talking to myself anyway. I’m goiing to be grateful today that I only have to do this twice a week instead of everyday. Ok that’s one. So far, no one has died. That’s two and my third will be for all of you who have put up with my whining and and crying over more trivial matters.

I’m also going to be grateful for the hubby today. He’s had to put up with this hot mess I call myself, and he seems to be doing ok.
Blessings to you all and your pups today. Karen

Well, here I am facing another Sunday morning feeding my little baby stuff that could knock down a horse. But I ‘m honestly trying to be grateful that meds exist to help her. Today, actually Saturday, I ‘m grateful that Annie is still well enough to play a short game of ball. Her version is, someone throws a tennis ball, she runs to get it, but the thrower has to retrieve and throw it again. This is nothing new for Annie, I just worry about taxing her little body when she’s not used to it on a daily basis. Anyway, I ‘m grateful she’s still here to whine about.

Are there any other grateful pup parents out there? Blessings to you all. Karen

There are too many things in my life for which I am grateful to list here. But chief among them are that fact that I am alive and cancer free for almost 3 years and that this state was achieved via surgery alone not chemo or radiation, for my rapidly growing grandsons who are intelligent, funny, kind, and loving human beings, for my brother and his family who have stood by me through the worst times of my life and the best, for my home which has brought much comfort the last few years, for friends old and new who share old memories and help create new, for my babies past and present who bring joy, sorrow, and the lessons of love each of those hold, and for this forum which came into my little world during the darkest days I've ever known giving me hope and life once again not to mention friends from all across the globe. And then there are all the so-called little things - the sound of Cardinals singing while thunder rumbles in the distance, the tiny white bells blooming on Solomon's Seal and the teeny, fragrant blooms of the Bluets, the scent of Rosemary when I brush by her leaves, the many varied hues of green surrounding me, the honking of geese returning to the South, the wondrous colors of sunrise and sunset, the magical light of the full moon while stars dance around her, the morning dew sparkling like diamonds on the too tall grasses in my yard. For so much I am grateful but most of all for the next breath and the next heart-beat that allows me to revel in them all.

Leslie, today I am so grateful for your post and most of all, the wisdom behind the words. You are an inspiration for us all.

Your spring has come earlier then ours does in Illinois. It was warm today and will be that way again tomorrow and then a cold front is supposed to push through.

Today, the hubby and I had to board Annie at the vet and we drove down to Kansas City to take care of some business. I'm grateful we made it in one piece and that Annie will be well cared for the next couple of days. Blessings to all you love. Karen

Today I ‘m grateful for this website and all the wonderful people who take care of us “newbies” and our pups with their saged wisdom and advice.

I’m also grateful to be home and have our little family reunited after having been apart for several days. Annie did very well being boarded at the vets—but she pretty much has the “run of the place” with the vets pups when possible. She was very happy to see us and both her dad and I noticed an increase in her energy and excitement level.

Don’t know if it’s the Lysodren (my guess is no). I think that she is now coming into her own after loosing her sis Gracie in January. I’m just thankful and grateful and feel blessed today that we have a roof over our heads, enough to eat, a comfortable bed....and most of all, Blessings to all my Cush pup family. Karen

I am trying desperately to change my attitude. Quite frankly it really sucks. I make myself sick.... so reading what others have gratitude for is an inspiration. Sure hope it rubs off.... I really need to give my head a shake or have someone knock some sense into me. Thank you for posting this thread.

Hey Judi—

Here’s an idea— why don’t we do a “head dual”. We will start back to back, walk ten paces, then turn around, run as fast as we can and head butt each other. Maybe we will both feel grateful for just being able to stand upright.

I know I started this thread, but most days I feel like a 24/7 365 nurse. I’m always looking for a reason to get up in the morning besides having to take care of my baby Annie.

I’m probably still grieving the loss of my non-Cush pup Gracie who crossed the bridge on 1-11-19. She was my “PITA” (pain in the a—-) pup and ended up being the most amazing pup I’ve ever had. So today, I’m just going to be grateful that she was in my life and also grateful for this forum.

Many Blessings to all and the small things you can find for which to be grateful. This is really hard for me too.