Attitude for gratitude

[Katy1]

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

[labblab]

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

[Katy1]

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

[Katy1]

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

[Katy1]

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

[Squirt's Mom]

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.

[Katy1]

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

[spdd]

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.

[Katy1]

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

[apollo6]

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.