Saturday, October 16, 2010

Run Free, Casey

We lost Casey to aspiration pneumonia as a result of his megaesophagus. Words don't even begin to describe our grief and sadness.

Monday, October 11, 2010

Weekend at Grandma's House


This weekend, we took Gibbs to my hometown and alma mater for the annual homecoming parade, football game, and other festivities. It was the perfect opportunity for a variety of socialization and he got to spend some time with my parents' goldens, Bea & Casey. If it weren't for Casey, I would not know how special, in-tune, attentive, loving, and snuggly a golden retriever could be. Because of Casey, I have Gibbs. Casey is such a wonderful dog, he's 12 years and 2 months old. I don't know what the future holds for Casey or how much longer we'll have him here on Earth, but I hope and pray that it is a long, long time.

At the parade, we couldn't believe how mellow and low-key Gibbs was for the entire thing. Marching bands, cheerleaders, loud music, cannons being shot off, people, kids, candy being thrown into the street- you would have thought that he went to a parade everyday. He met a lot of people and got a nice helping of pats on the head.

Gibbs stayed with my Mom and Dad while we went to the football game. He was a little goofy but was well behaved, even for a 4 month old puppy. My mom still said she doesn't want a puppy anymore, Casey and Bea are enough work.

What a grown up puppy Gibbs is becoming. He is getting some tail feathering and some butt feathers. Hard to believe that he's growing so quickly. It won't be long and he'll look like an adult.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

A Mushroom Hunting...


With all of the rain we've been having, we've been seeing a LOT of mushrooms growing outside. On Tuesday, I took Gibbs for a walk in the late afternoon. I usually let him drag his leash around as at that time there aren't many people. He usually always runs to catch up when I say "Let's Go" but something had his undivided attention under a small maple tree. I went to investigate and Gibbs was sniffing (or maybe eating???) some small mushrooms. In case you aren't aware, mushrooms can be toxic. We immediately went home and I induced vomiting. Ahh! I gave him two doses 30 minutes apart and no vomit. Grrr. I am a vet school applicant so I'm lucky that I have my vet's cell phone and home phone numbers. I called and he recommended that we wait to do charcoal or IV fluids because if I'm not sure that he actually ate any mushrooms, he'd hate to put Gibbs through all of that. I was on diarrhea and vomit watch 2010 for Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning.

Each and every time Gibbs had a bowel movement, it was solid, no diarrhea. I fed him boiled chicken and rice to soothe his tummy from the hydrogen peroxide. 2 days later, Gibbs is still feeling good. He must not have eaten the mushroom after all!

This afternoon, we went to the park again. Gibbs was on mushroom patrol, he had 1 in his mouth within 10 minutes. *sigh* All of these mushrooms are giving me a headache. Keep an eye out for mushrooms on your walks. If you don't know if it is poisonous or not, assume that it is. If your dog eats a mushroom, induce vomiting and call your vet!

Here are a few photos from a more sunny Thursday morning walk.

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Dogtoberfest 2010

The local humane societies and radio stations of Pittsburgh hosted DogtoberFEST at the Southside Works today from 10 am- 6 pm. What a perfect time for some socialization and to buy some goodies for our little guy, so off we went this morning. We arrived at about 11:30 am, and I needed to stop into the bookstore to buy our niece a book to go with her birthday present next week. I love the books by Mo Williems, so I purchased I am Invited to a Party... The best part was that the bookstore allowed us to bring Gibbs inside- I felt as if I was breaking an unspoken rule, like when I run in the hallways of the school when the kids aren't looking and I'm in a hurry.

Off we went to the Dogtoberfest, which was mainly an adoption event for local humane societies and breed rescues. We attended so that we could buy a few goodies for Gibbs and for the socialization that a young puppy needs. Well, there was lots of people and dogs to sniff and meet. Gibbs had a great time. I honestly don't think we even made it to half of the booths, people stopped us ever 3 feet to pet our little man. It was great and we certainly didn't mind. You can't make up for this again, so it was good to soak up all of the strange, new people and smells. We met two other goldens. It was hilarious, there were all were in the middle of the parking lot event and all three goldens were rolled on their sides waiting for a belly rub. So typical and such a reminder of why I love this breed SO MUCH.

Once we were through most of the booths we headed to the trails that run along side the Monongahela River, which along with the Allegheny river, forms the confluence of the Ohio River at the Point State Park of Pittsburgh.

Gibbs and his people were getting tired and it was much warmer than expected, so we took a little break, ordered some lunch from the Cheesecake Factory and ate it on the wonderful benches at the Southside Works.

A beautiful way to spend this fall day.

Friday, October 1, 2010

An Old Soul


I feel like Gibbs is an old soul in a young, puppy body. He is so sweet, gentle, cuddly, and eager to learn. He's also so easy to sit on the couch or floor with and just "be."

I wonder if we're not enough for him, we are boring or in some way not giving him all that he needs. I realize though, that he gets a lot of love, attention, and plenty of walks. He has toys and a full belly, he looks to me especially to know right from wrong. I love him, he loves me. We are enough. I think he is just a gentle soul inside a puppy body. I hope this post doesn't make me eat my words in a few weeks, months, or years when a wild child appears! :)

Melissa