Siblings

Blood has nothing to do with it.

Neither does species {evidently}.

Yup, these 2 are like brother and sister in my book. ;)

See you on the flip side

It is official, sweet Branny boy is home to stay with his new family.

This past weekend, I went to his new home to do the adoption paperwork, and surprised myself by breaking into tears in relaying a simple story to his new Momma about how J noted the light bouncing around our home one day, and no Bran to chase it anymore. ={

It was mostly happy tears, but also those bittersweet tears of having shared our family with this beautiful creature and knowing that it was over for us, yet just beginning for his new family.

Bran makes #9. Pumba, Mischief (LT), Libby, Timon (Hammer), Bailey, LuLu, Olive, and Bowie came--and went--before him. I suppose if I count the pups, Bran actually makes #14, with Fergie (Suvi), Marie (Nya), Charlotte (Penny), and Tre (Millie), and Mugsy (Caliber; don't get me started on his new name) joining their new families before he found his place in this world.

It is yet to be seen if Sula will become #10/#15. She is still very much on trial, though actually the trial is on hold as she is back with us for the week. ;) Seeing as how I love her so, you can imagine this came as a very welcome visit. She goes back to her potential family next week and we will see where it goes. Her first 2 weeks with them weren't the smooth sailing I think most everyone expected, so the trial we thought was just a formality (because of her unaltered state, for the next week anyway) has turned out to be very much a trial after all.

For what it's worth, this is why I love trial visits, or foster-to-adopts. In a way, it takes the pressure off and keeps us (the rescue organization) very much in the loop for support and encouragement. Let's face it, the beginnings of relationships are rarely easy, and the dog-human relationship is no exception. Granted, sometimes a trial is not necessary and not warranted or wanted by the family, but there are times it is immensely helpful and it can frame those sometimes rough early weeks in an entirely different light.

Sorry, today's post turned into a commentary on rescue. Oops! That happens I guess. ;) Just goes to show, I often don't have a plan when I sit down to blog. Successful bloggers probably have a plan. HAHA. At any rate, I'm off the cuff usually, sometimes I have a picture. And the crazy voices in my head of course, if that's any consolation. Which for me, it's not. Oh well.

To atone, I offer this...

Happy Friday everyone! =)

Promises, promises

I just asked Paisley if she was going to live forever.

"Sure Mom, of course, haven't we been over this?! I promise to live forever, okay?"

I was reassured, for a moment. Then I saw her roll her eyes.

The nerve!

Guess she tires of her Momma's clingy, insecure ways. ;)

Don't ask...

Don't ask what these are...

I couldn't tell you. Personally, I just call them...pretty...and wild...and abundant on our little slice of this great planet.

My jelly jar glasses get a bit lonely too and I thought I'd give one of them something pretty to hold on to for a bit. ;)

I've been feeling the sting of this lately...

Empty nest. =( Okay, so it's still rather full in all reality, but "empty" can be such a relative term. Bran and Sula--recent foster-dogs-extraordinaire--both journeyed to new families this past Friday. It landed me in a bit of a funk for a few days. Now I've settled back into the {mostly} easy life with just the Bug, Paisley, crazy felines, and the hubs to keep in line. HA!

And anyway, how can I be lonely with this little face around?!

I call him many names too...Bugga...Goofer Snoodle...Little...Buggie...BuggO....My Little Turkey. ;)

Whatever I choose to call him, this is my new favorite face:

This is the face that makes my insides do backflips and turn to jelly all at the same time. I'm told--by J, who I suppose has studied my face more closely than anyone else at this point--that he gets this face from me. That my nose does this same scrunch, right up between the eyes. I'm guessing, it doesn't look near so cute on me. It's a face of consternation sometimes, just silliness others. Regardless of its roots at any given moment, I love when this expression pops across his little face.

This wraps up the random update for today. ;) Thanks for stopping by! =)

This one's for Memaw and Papaw

=)

I fear I've made them suffer through a few too many dog-heavy, Bugga-light posts.

This boy...

...keeps us laughing.

Random trivia:

He had this outfit last Summer too. I suppose the fit was a little different then, but not much. Crazy!

Next goal: To capture pictures of him doing his downward facing dog. ;)

*Yawn* *Blink*

Well, at least the coffee is on, maybe that will help. The last week has been something of a blur.

The short version: last Thursday, Puppies + Sula + Bran went to a vet in the cities, then the puppies went home with Laura, another Director for MN Pit Bull Rescue; {Friday the pups all got spayed/neutered, though that was all on Laura, as I was home having the laziest day of my entire Summer}; Saturday ALL the program dogs were at a Grand Opening event for a new dog training facility; then Sunday, a carload of pooches and Laura and I drove all over MN (well, it sure felt like it) for adoptions and foster placements.

Whew...that was the short version?! ACK, I've never been good at being concise. ;)

At any rate, driving home from the vet last Thursday, knowing I was coming home to a puppy-free environment, driving with Sula next to me, I couldn't help but feel like it was just the day prior that we had brought her home. With her insanely large belly containing who-knew-how-many puppies. Of course, we were soon to know, we just didn't know it at the time. ;) Okay, I'm not making much sense, but the point is, I felt like I blinked and it was over. The puppies were graduating to a life without their Momma, I was going home to a lonely--yet admittedly less busy and stressful--household. There were tears, but goodness, that's nothing new with me. ;)

Thankfully, I've been blessed to see my little snuggle-muffins a few times since last Thursday. I even kind of lucked out and landed one back here with our family while she waits for another foster placement. I feel lucky to be enjoying this special time with Bobbie, but I miss her sissies and bro too.

It also looks like Momma Sula has found herself a new family, though she is still here for the time being while we more fully assess her temperament and give her time to heal and rest up now that the puppies have gone...except for Miss Bob, of course, who is temporarily back. So...more tears, but what's new?!

Here are some parting shots of the pups we took a week ago today, their final full day with our family.

Sula's last nursing of the pups. This is how she nursed primarily for their last 3 weeks with her, reluctant, but still dedicated. ;)

Token boy of the litter, Mugsy. Already completely shameless in his cuddle-monster ways with any human who is close enough to reach out and touch.

Originally Marie, now Nya. Hello Junkyard Puppy. ;) She worked hard on this hole, then just laid in the cool earth she uncovered. This is also Mini-Paisley, in so many ways, not the least of which is her coloring.

Una. Oh Una.

J was so thoroughly enamored with Una, he harassed me relentlessly for days about her expected return date to our home. =( "She's not coming back honey, you know that." Such sadness. But darn, little Tramp Stamp, the temptation was there, believe me. =)

Hey Char, why must you be so stunning?!

I have a disproportionate number of pics of Charlotte. I can't explain it. She either made herself more available or I was drawn in a way I was unaware of. A mystery.

a

Tre telling Charlotte a secret. I bet it was a good one. Maybe it would solve the mystery of all the pictures I have of her...hmmmmm. ;)

a

And then there's Fergie, now Suvi.

She was more attracted to Bugga than any of them, another mystery I can't explain. Especially considering he wasn't always exactly gentle when faced with their attempts at getting close to him.

Dot. My Pokey Little Puppy. Oh how I adore her, and her little extra skin flaps around her nose, that filled with dirt and made her look ridiculous within moments of playing outside.

Look at all that wrinkly, fuzzy skin....ahhhhh, it kills me! I will most certainly need to see how these littles grow into some of that good stuff. =)

Tre and Bobbie. The girls everyone mistook for boys. ;)

Bobbie looks so different already, if we could get some sunshine, I'd get some updated pictures. Tre is a soft girl, and I mean that both physically and temperamentally. She's going to need a soft touch, structure with tons of love to bring out all her best. Bobbie is more confident, more ready for whatever crosses her path. She takes on the 3 big dogs, including her Momma, in this house with little fanfare.

Sweet Tre. Oh and those blue eyes of hers I spoke of in the past....yup, they went green (like so many of us these days, HAHA).

Uncle Bran!

J trying to lure the whole crew into a group shot. It proved to be insanely challenging. But check out Una's earnest attempt at that treat, gotta love her!

The closest we came. I'm sure Fergie/Suvi is in there, she just is hidden in the back. If you click to make it big, I'm about 99.357% sure that the black spot above/behind Tre and Charlotte is her backside. ;)

Have I mentioned Sula is so very food motivated. This is her determined to get more out of J.

"Uhhh...hey, guy...you see this, this is called sitting, I'm doing it exceptionally well. Do you have a little something there, in the bag, in your pocket...just a little something...give a girl some encouragement man!"

I have more, many more, pics of The Great 8, as I dubbed them. I'm just starting to feel like they thoroughly took over the blog and some readers may well be mighty sick of pup-a-palooza.

Plus, Bug just requested I read him a book called Naughty Parents. Gees...he's getting pretty good at getting right to the point, huh?! ;) Better go!

Balancing Act

Papa and Bugga...

Just another silly evening before bath.

Oops, lost one noggin {Bug}, gained one noggin {Paisley}. =) Or rather, Chief Investigator Paisley D. Jackson.

Tell me, Investigator Jackson, do you believe your licking the subjects helped or hindered their chances for achieving their objective?

"No comment."

My kooky boys. {And girl.}

=)