Happy Birthday Little Pink Foot: We Miss you Every Day

Gone, but not forgotten.
My sweet Pearl was "born" to Dogwood on the Thursday night before Memorial Day.
She would have been seven years old.

Daddy loves you little pink foot. Happy Birthday.

DAISY'S GUARDIAN ANGEL "STRIKES" AGAIN

GOD is with us 24/7--every minute that we live--every breathe that we take.
He protects us--watches over us--and listens to our prayers.
If I hadn't known that already--I would have become a believer after what happened to us Monday evening.

We had just gotten home and my four canine convicts had been released out into the back yard for the evening constitutional (AKA-poop time).
We had been out on the back patio/carport for about ten minutes, playing fetch and letting everyone stretch their legs. We were all preoccupied with having fun and playing catch up after being away from each other all day.  Daisy had already had her turn with the rope, and had walked behind me, kindda nosing around the ground where the concrete of the patio meets the brick of the house.
Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Daisy jump back about a foot. I turned to look, wondering if she had found another intruder grasshopper to play with.
At first, I didn't see anything but a few leaves that had blown up against the house.
But then I saw it--a copper head snake --alittle over a foot long--coiled up, head pulled back and ready to strike my curious Daisy dog. 
Of course, seeing the life threatening danger she was in, Daisy did what any normal dog would do.
 WHAT AM I SAYING? This is Daisy we are talking about.
She practically laid down IN FRONT OF IT.
But lucky for us--God loves dumb dogs---and the idiots that own them.
I reached down, snatched Daisy up from the ground, and screamed for Better Half to grab Charlie.  My special big boy was just a few steps away from discovering what Daisy had found.
I knew if Charlie saw the snake move, we were in BIG TROUBLE.
He would be right on top of it, and would more than likely be bitten by the viper.
Luckily, when all this happened, Hines and Lucy had already been pawing at the  backdoor, ready to go back inside.
Before the true panic and realization of what was goin on hit everybody else, we piled all four mutts thru the door and closed it. My heart was beating 90 miles a minute as I reached for the shovel I use to keep the yard cleaned up and poop free.
I was shaking so bad I couldn't hold onto the thing, so Better Half chopped the copper head into mulch, and threw it off into the woods.
I immediately grabbed Daisy and flipped her every way I could think of to see if she had actually been bitten.
Do you know how hard it is to examine a dog for snake bite while she is trying to chew on your ear off?????
It took an hour or so, and some medication, for my heart to stop beating out of my chest and get back to normal. I laid on the couch ,Daisy and Charlie laid out on either side of me.
With a little bit of LUBBINS, I was fine.
I praise God for answering a prayer that I say every day: Lord put angels by my babies and keep them safe.
We had all walked past that coiled snake several times as it lie on that hand full of leaves. It could have easily struck at any of us.
But God kept it at bay.
Even when Crazy Daisy discovered it, her guardian angel kept her back far enough to not be bitten, while another one whispered in my ear to turn around and see what it was that made her jump back so.
I thank the Lord for our safety and for being with us.
Now I know God made the snakes too. When you get right down to it-one of the best stories in the bible would be lost without the presense of a slithering serpent.
But brothers and sister, I am here to tell you that just because I know God made them, doesn't mean I have to like them. 
So remember boy and girls out there in Pet Lover Land--SNAKE SEASON is upon us.
MAKE SURE to keep an eye on all your pets when they are outside.
 If you see that someone is spending just a bit too much time sticking their nose to something, or pawing just a bit too long, GO SEE WHAT IT IS THEY ARE SO INTERESTED IN!!!
AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION FOLKS!!!!
 YOUR ATTENTION to their movements could SAVE YOUR BEST PAL from suffering a POISONOUS BITE, AND CAN SAVE THEIR LIFE!!!!
Be safe my friends!

Friends Lost--But Always Remembered

There is nothing harder in life than facing the death of a loved one. We try to find comfort through prayer and through solice from our family and friends--but nothing ever takes the sting out of the loss you feel. It's a kick to the gutt: an empty place that will never truly be full again, the place where your loved one once sat.
It's no different when a pet that you have loved for years crosses over the Rainbow Bridge and into the fields of God. It's the same situation--an empty place in your home and in your heart where that furry four legged family member once played, loved, and existed.
Today, my good friends, the Lewis family, handed one of their beloved animals over to God. Sadie was diagnosed with cancer this week. It was already too late to treat, and because of the amount of suffering she was experiencing, the family did the best thing they could for her--they let her go.
Though I cannot go to their sides to offer comfort, I write this in effort to reach out to them in words--to give them a big old Dogwood hug--and say, "I love you guys. I know what your going thru."
It's horrible today--it'll be bad tomorrow--it'll be crappy for quite some time.  But I encourage you to lean on the Lord, and don't let the dark times of the past few weeks ever over shadow the light of a wonderful life that you were given the priviledge of sharing and being part of. The rest of your pack needs you to be strong, and to help them deal with being smaller in number, and to begin learning to live in a restructured household.
Sadie lives forever--in your memories--in your hearts. As long as one of you is left to tell the tale of her lifetime, she is still here. Reflect on the things she taught you, and the laughs she gave you, and what a truly marvelous life that you enjoyed together.
On another plain of existence, in a place where no one ever suffers, ever hurts, or ever, ever dies, Sadie runs free and happy from all the trappings of this world. You can't touch her, you can't see her, but you will ALWAYS feel her in your heart.
My deepest sympathies, and prayers for strength to you all.
Love--The pack at Dogwood