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.

Hi Karen, and I just wanted to say hello. It is a terrible thing to have to adjust to both losing a precious furbaby and dealing with a diganosis of cushings. Just one can leave you paralyzed with grief, two is a real doozy. I think you are stronger than you realize though, as you are doing so well for Annie

ugh, I don't know, that head butting thing sounds rather painful. I"ll have the ibprophen on standby for the headache!

Hi Sharlene,

Thanks for stopping by to say hi and I appreciate your words of support. I’m so new to all of this and today I’ll be grateful for your presence and words of wisdom and experience on this site. Judi and I share experience with dual diagnosis pups—cushings/diabetes pups so the “head butt” thing was just tongue-in-cheek.

If I may ask,which Provence in Canada are you located? The reason I ask is because my husband and I are avid walleye fisher-people and we love to fish the Lake of the Woods in Ontario. About ten years ago we were seriously talking about retiring in Winnipeg. When Annie was about two, we took her, her big angel sis Gracie and her other big angel sis Sable on a big fishing trip up north. Sable was a big beautiful lab and was comfortable in the boat, but our two little miniature schnauzers,Annie and Gracie had their little pink life jackets on and Annie hated the entire experience. Oh, just writing about this makes me smile—

The hubby has done a lot of hunting over the years in the northern territories and my mother worked in Edmonton during WWII as a payroll secretary for an army general when the Al-Can highway was being constructed. Oh wow, I’m so sorry for total digress into my past—- but I do love Canada!

Blessings to you and all those to whom you gave a smile today. Karen

I assume you were asking Sharlene (who I met personally and helped me along with Keesh) what province she is in. I am originally all my life from Ontario until 2 years ago then moved to New Brunswick. My son was an avid hunter and went into northern Ontario during hunting season. Here in New Brunswick... known for it's fishing, the hunting season lasts longer but it's all done by draws-and I believe it's the same in Ontario. My niece is in Montana... and it seems she's always hunting.

Keeping you in my thoughts with precious Annie.... it's quite an experience. I can just see her waiting for that Robin... so cute.

Hi Judi!
Was I correct that you also have experience having a dual diagnosis pup—cushings/diabetes and are also on the k9D site? I think it was Marianne who told me to look for you.

You also mentioned having a niece who lives in Montana. My mom grew up in Billings and I had a beloved great aunt who lived in Helena. Is your niece anywhere close to those cities or is she in the northern part of the state? Forgive the curiosity. Blessings to you. Karen

Hi Karen
No... Keesh did not have diabetes...so I'm not on the KD site, but this forum saved him. He was misdiagnosed and the vets almost killed him. He was actually rescued from certain death by the advice that was here... traumatic to say the least.
About Montana.. I was in Helena myself last year and my niece actually lives in Fairfield. She is a school teacher there. She married a Montana boy and the whole family went from Ontario to Montana last summer for the wedding.. I personally had to take 3 flights from where I live. Long trip, and won't be doing it again - LOL.

Hey Karen, the Judi who’s also on K9D is registered here under the username of “Jenny & Judi in MN.” So she’s definitely also a Judi, but a different one. We haven’t seen her over here for quite a while, but maybe she’ll check in on the reunion thread, too. That’d be great!

Marianne

Marianne—

Thanks for letting me know which Judi I need to be looking for but I’ve really enjoyed getting to know our Judi over here.

In other news, it’s snowing here in Spring Valley, IL and we are supposed to get between 3-5” of snow by this afternoon. I don’t know where you are in Georgia but the Weather Channel was showing massive storms moving through Georgia. I hope you’re family is safe, in fact, I hope all of you and your families in the path of this storm system are OK.

Blessings to you all and your pups.

Hi Judy....
Now that Marianne has me straightened me out on"who's who" in the world of people named Judi, I would love to hear more about your wonderful Keesh. I'll bet he was an amazing pup!

If it makes you feel any better, we are having somewhat of a blizzard here in Illinois today and it's going to be very difficult for me to find something to be grateful for today. Misery loves company. Why don't we sit on our couches today for awhile with a warm cup of coffee or tea and dream of the day when the real spring will finally show up.

Thanks for the info on your niece. I'm a retired teacher so I feel another connection with your family. You are such a devoted aunt to make that long trek to the wedding. I'm embarrassed to admit that I had to look at the map to remember where New Brunswick is located. I couldn't believe it is north of Nova Scotia! Next time we go fishing in Ontario, I'm not going to complain about riding in the truck for two days to get to the Lake! LOL Stay warm. Karen

Except for all the snow melting from Sunday’s wild and wacky freak blizzzard, I ‘m trying to feel grateful that my little Annie is still living. I haven’t slept much at all thinking of her in the vet ICU. I just hope she’s alive when they open up at 7 this morning. I’ll also be grateful if I don’t get a phone call at that time. Blessings to you all and your pups. Hold them near and dear.

Today I ‘m just grateful that we made it to this clinic in Chicago in one piece. I’m also grateful that Annie is safe with eyes on her 24/7. We’ll get to see her in the morning. Blessings to you all and your pups. Karen

I know i’m Just talking to myself right now,but that’s okay— the universe will here me. I’m so grateful that my little baby is rallying and I just know that her big angel sis, Gracie, is biting her in the butt saying, cmon—you can do this, mom and dad need you right now and itt’s Not your time....you can do it sis!

I blesss all those wonderful people who are caring for her and especially her surgeon who preformed a miracle in my books, not to mentionhe’s just a nice guy and returns phone calls. We just feel like we have a little Easter miracle wrapped up in a pup. Blessings to you all and your pups. Karen

Hi....sounds like you are going through quite an ordeal. Keep us posted as to how things are... I'm sure you will. If you click on my user name.. you should be able to get all the info on Keesh. He was my life, and to this day even now typing, the tears flow. I will be off the forum for awhile... some good news finally, so check in on the In Loving Memory Thread.. I'm going to post it there. Please know you are on my mind and heart along with your baby.

I really wasn’t sure where to post this so I just picked here. Today I’m more than grateful for the little life who got a second chance. I’ m also thankful as a mom that she is hungry and is eating well.

Now here’s the”kicker”.....I’m sooooooo grateful for her absolutely more than perfectly formed huge poop after her supper tonight. If I had my phone I would have taken a picture, just for me and to show doc. If the weather was better, I would have painted a portrait—that is if I could paint.

As a mom of both human and pup kids, after years and years, I appreciate and revel in the value of a a healthy poop. Not only does it mean that my little patient is getting better, it means that even without her gallbladder, she is digesting her food and processing it to her advantage.

If there is a universal collective sigh of “OMG”. “ this poor woman has nothing better to think about than her pup’’s poop”. Believe it or not, it’s more important than one may think, although I think I ‘m preaching to the choir on this forum.

Well it really is important for those who even read all my garble. I am truly grateful. And for all of this and all of that,Blessings to you all and your pups,near and far.

I’m also grateful that our sister, Judi, who has been so miserable for so long with her living situation now has an opportunity to change that and also may be adopting a new pup.

Poop...one of our major concerns. I look at the poop all the time..making sure everyone is digesting well. I always checked Gable's to make sure he's doing okay. I am grateful that so far, so good! He's drinking a lot, but the panting seems to have lessened a little. Only 16 days before we see the specialist!

A good poop is a good thing!

Hi Joan, maybe we should start our own “Hoop it up for Poop” thread! Just kidding but I’m thankful to know I’m not alone with my obsession. 16 days and counting—I know how hard this may be for you. It’s always the waiting that kills me.

Sounds like your big guy is holding his own—and I will be thinking of you and Gable during the count down. I hope you don’t have far to travel far to see your specialist and I ‘ll be sending you good thoughts for good news. Blessings. Karen

No travel, the specialist is 20 minutes away. It's just that it's at the clinic where Lena died and I hate going there.

I totally understand. After we lost Gracie, Annie got sick and my husband had to be the one to take her in. I just couldn’t. Even now, three plus months later, I can’t even drive by without a big twinge.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Joan2517

A good poop is a good thing!

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I second that statement!! :o

Well at this late hour, I’m grateful that my hubby is home and can help me supervise our little wonder-pup who continues to think she can leep tall buildings in a single bound. I have a feeling she’s going to give that up tomorrow. She was panting earlier in the evening so I called the clinic in Chicago where she had her surgery and was told that her panting was a sign of pain. Right now, no body cares about her cortisol or blood glucose..... they just tell me to breath and I just hate that! She is doing so well for a little 14 lb pup with 33 staples. Anyway, Blessings to you and your pups from the most neurotic pup mom on the planet. Hopefully, no one will read this but me.

Hi Karen,
Sorry I don't get back on here very often these days, so wanted to stop in. I'm in Ontario, the Toronto area. Interesting that I don't get as much out and about here in Ontario as i do when we go to British Columbia. We go to Kelowna a couple times a year as have daughter and grandkids there.

Yes I did get to meet Judi, Keesh's mum, in person, that is one of the great things with this forum, we are friends, near and far, no matter how many years pass.

I'm sorry that Annie has had to go through so much lately. On the other hand, we are all quite experienced at poop patrols!

Speaking of poop patrols....years back my Squirt had to have a tumor removed from her spleen. As she was healing I was meticulous about checking her poop and urine for any signs of problems. One day I was out in the back yard studying an "offering" when this voice said, "Lady, did you lose a diamond or something?" A neighbor standing on a ladder while he worked on his house saw me inspecting and couldn't for the life of him understand what I was staring so intently at! :D:o:D

That’s so funny Leslie! I really needed that laugh right now! I still can’t get over how different and more healthy they look compared to anything that she’s pooped out her entire life—even before she was sick with anything! I’m very grateful. Blessings to you and your pups. Karen

I’m so grateful to have my miracle baby out of her pen, staples out, and being able to do whatever she wants. Right now, all she wants to do is sleep. I’m hoping we will all get a better night’s sleep tonight. Annie is a true miracle and a testament to the spirit of a pup who is counting on someone else to not give up on her. This was not Annie’s time to leave us and we were blessed with the knowledge of where to take her for the extra help and expertise she needed. For that knowledge I ‘m also thankful, but I think it’s just because I’m older and know what I need for my pups and where to get it. I’m not smarter than anyone but I like to think of myself as a “fierce protective mom”. Species doesn’t matter. If I bring a life into my world and that life is dependent on me, I owe it to that life to protect and nurture it to the best of my abilities. Blessings to you all. Karen

Has tough as it gets. There are moments of gratitude. Apollo died 6 years ago. I learned to adapt to his ailments, sicknesses and medications. I am grateful for every day I had with him. There were days of sadness, grief but also days of joy, love, laughter, acceptance. We fought together for as long as we could. I was there to love, care and support him to the end. Always in my heart.

Apollo looks like he was a darling little guy. Is this the anniversary of his passing? No matter what, I'm so sorry for your loss. I looked at some of your photos and I love the one where he is standing up behind you on your computer chair with one paw on you for balance. That really reminded me of my Gracie who passed this January. She hated it if I was on the computer too long and would jump up behind me and paw at me to stop and pay attention to her. Thank you for that memory. I'm still having trouble balancing my time between all the meds, doc checks, testings, and the list goes on. Most days it's hard to put on a happy face, even though I have so much to be grateful for. Blessings to you. Karen

Oh my gosh golly be........my little baby Annie with cushings, diabetes, no gallbladder and cataracts to boot has turned into a 3 year old instead of 10! She is our little Phoenix who has truly risen from the ashes and for that I will forever remember and be grateful.

Friday, yesterday, we took her in for her first groom since before her gallbladder surgery. She came out of there prancing to beat the band! We stopped by home to let her potty and get a drink, then we loaded her up in the truck for a 30 minute road trip to pick up some parts for the lawn mower. You have to know at this point that in the back seat of our truck, she has every luxury that could be afforded a pup in a truck and she never wants to jump up front or anything. We always have bottled water and her leash for potty breaks when needed. She is such a trooper.

On the way back from our little road trip, Jerry told me that he needed something at Home Depot— in and out is what I was told. Well, I decided to go in with him as Annie was snoring peacefully to herself in the backseat and it was only 52 outside. So in we go, and low and behold we start running into everyone we have not seen for ages and 15 minutes turns into two hours. After 45 minutes I told Jerry to go out and check on Annie— which he did and she was still sawing away.

I have to digress for a moment....We were told that Home Depot is pup-friendly and we could have taken Annie in with us on her leash, had she been awake. Is anyone else aware of this? It was happy news to me. I’m not endorsing Home Depot just passing on a new founded pup- friendly place to go.

Back to our best day yet. Time marches on and now we have been in the store for almost two hours and finally we are back in the truck and Annie is happily looking out the window from her nest in the back seat and we are on our way home. When we arrive at our street corner to turn, she knows she’s almost home and starts barking like we’ve never heard her bark before—it was a joyful bark. We pulled into the driveway, I got out, her dad got her out of the back and she bolted to the door into the house from the garage. I put her outside to potty and she came in right away, grabbed a couple of toys and was playing like there was no tomorrow. Granted, she had slept like rip van wrinkle in the afternoon, but we just played with her on the floor until her supper time. She ate everything on her plate, sat still for the last of her eye medicines for the day and we all played some more until she jumped on th couch and curled up.

After everything we have been through with her, even if tomorrow is her last, I shall forever remember this day as being the best one ever but I’m just taking it one day at a time and being grateful for every pee,poop and bark. Blessings to you all and your pups. Karen

Awww Karen, what a wonderful post to read first thing this morning. I’m *so* happy for you guys!!! I hope the rest of this holiday weekend remains just as special for you all three.

Many blessings right back atcha ;-)
Marianne

A memory to cherish for sure! What a wonderful day!

Those are the days we hope for. The ones we will always remember. We forget when they stop doing them, but we sure notice when they do them again!

Today, I’m so grateful that the lumps on Annie were benign and were removed. I’m also so grateful for our local police department who made the time to rescue me from my dead garage door so I could rescue my pup from her long day at the clinic. I just hope it doesn’t hail tonight because my car is sitting outside. But if it does, I’ll be be thankful for my car insurance.

Since this is in the everything else category, I’m also thankful that my sister-in-law came through her kidney transplant with flying colors. It all happened faster then we were expecting, but now she has a second chance at life like my Annie. I am so grateful for all that I have to share with others. Blessings to you all and your pups. Karen