Who's on First???

It's been a few weeks since Bella has left us & things are s l o w l y getting back to normal for we humans.  The canines are a different story....they are in search of who is in charge.  Festus has taken to howling in his crate when left alone during the day. He NEVER displayed this behavior before EXCEPT when we were in Ohio once & he was left on the patio when Aunt Nancy & I were trimming a bush @ the top of the hill.  He either lost sight of us or was scared being tied up.

The other morning...he started his wailing & woke up my sleeping son...Trev got out of bed...let him out of his crate & returned to his room.  Fest then began howling from the top of the couch while looking outside !!!

                            Singing the blues.....


Dudley, on the other hand is now feeling freer to roam @ especially in the kitchen - where Bella usually supervised.  He still spends quality time behind Bru's recliner BUT also enjoys laying by the front door, relaxing on the carpet....I now think Bella intimidated the lad!!


Another thing I noticed is that when I let the 2 dogs outside....Festus now waits for me to escort him ( like Duds does )......too funny. One thing that Duds is doing now that HE never used to do is....chase the pug!  Previously, Payton was his target who could jump onto a kitchen chair for an escape.  Poor Fest - being the same size ....is pursued & than tries to have a smack down!  They always end up walking away from each unscathed....possible power play - who knows?

                             Bru & the Duds bonding :)



I'm hoping in time, the canines find their place in the pecking order & will soon settle into a nice quiet routine.  Personally, I think they both just miss their protector & room mate...Miss B.

And Then They're Were 2.....

Sadly, we had to put down our Mastiff - Bella - last week.  She became very ill very suddenly & we could not let her suffer any more than she did.  She was 10 years old & had a heart of gold.  On many of our walks ....people would cross the street to get away from this gentle 100lb giant.  If they only knew.....

Miss B in her younger day...she was a beautiful specimen of the French Mastiff

                        A face only her MaMa could love :))

   She was definitely the largest of our pet family...but the Pug was in charge.

                     She never met a kitten she didn't like.......

                        Always willing to share her post....

                        Regardless of who wanted a peak :)

            She often took on the Mother role when we adopted a new member

                And didn't mind sharing " her " couch w/ her sibs

     She was beginning to slow down & enjoyed lying around a little more.....

                    The lady knew comfort when she felt it :)

   She was not bothered @ all when the flood arrived or Dudley for that matter!




She was my lil girl & I miss her terribly BUT I still have 2 wonderful lil canine beings to keep me busy.  I know she is @ peace now & not hurting ....& that's what I have to focus on. 

Another difficult part of this whole ordeal was...I didn't have Pud to call & share my sadness.....she was always a wonderful source of support & love & would always check in on me a few days later.  I do know that she is finally meeting Miss B & she probably took one look & thought ...Dudley survived YOU!!!!

The Duds vs Water

Between losing power for 4 days 2 weeks ago & the 7 inches of water we received on Friday....I'm losing faith in Mother Nature.  On Saturday, Bru, I & the boys worked all day to remove water from our property.  Dudley was in & out stepping over hoses, pumps,articles left out to dry & didn't waver a bit.  He did have to be carried out the first time b/c the crawlspace door was wide open & not being a water dog - he wasn't impressed with the 3 feet we had down there!!

  Yep...there is our de-humidifier floating in the crawl which is located by my washer & dryer as you enter from the garage. At one point we had 2 hoses going @ one time.

We had @ a foot & a half of water in our yard earlier - we could not believe how fast it went down once the downpour was over.

                    Just to give you an idea of the amount :(

Bella, being a Mastiff, is a water dog & walked thru all the water with ease...

                             Dudley....not so much.

       When Festus joined him... Duds was ....what happened to my yard?????

   He did eventually get braver & began his way down the walk way. His lil legs ended up looking like 4 sticks :)

I'm sure they were all looking for a life boat to take them to dry land!  The huge heavy pot by Bella floated from the other side of the yard earlier that morning.

It's now Monday & things are still drying out - we did a lot of purging & are glad garbage day is tomorrow.  I'm sure it will look like we are moving to our neighbors! 

Dudley's 1st Big Bang Bash!!

Last weekend we celebrated Bruce's Mom's 91st Birthday here on Haddow & Dudley was a rock star.  There ended up being a total of 20 adults & 7 kids & they were  scattered everywhere!  Bella & Festus are used to the family parties - having attended MANY over the years.....but ...... I'm not so sure that Dudley has had any experience in this area.

        Here is Inga w/all her great grandchildren in the screened in porch
                      

                      We had peeps in the back of the yard.....

                  Lots of peeps underneath the tent on the patio

               

                   Here he is assisting in the present opening....


               

                      Some family went in the house to eat.....

                 Kids were running amok with bubbles in the backyard!

Seems to me Dudley really enjoyed all the attention & affection he received during his first real party experience in Illinois :)



By the way, both cats were sequestered safely in the house & knew within a minute of every one leaving & walked @ freely.     

A Day Without Dogs.......

I decided to have all 3 of my canines have a spa treatment on the same day.  The short walk to the facility was VERY enthusiastic (only 2 blocks - thank goodness) & Dudley took me right up to the door - as he was already a veteran of the place.  He didn't mind going in at all, Fest had no problem either, but, Bella walked in & then ...right back out!  Needless to say, she needed some encouragement to re-enter the establishment.

I have not had my house minus dogs in a very  l o n g  time & @ first it was quite liberating - no gate up in the hallway, my stable door remained open (to those who don't know my house, the stable is my half bath that I have adorned with only equine decor), I  could exit my back door any time I wanted without a conga line & it was all VERY VERY quiet.  This was all fine & good for a little while, but... then I began a withdraw of sorts!!  There was no one patrolling my every move, no one following me inside or out & no one staring @ me for direction or affection.  It was really getting weird....... 

So, I was much relieved when they called & said all the canines were ready to be picked up.  Bru drove me so... the ride back home was quick & quiet (thank you Duds).  They all drank tons, peed like race horses , consumed their dinners like it was their last meal  &  ultimately collapsed in various locals in the living room.  I must say...they look clean & smell good & will be a hit @ the party happening here tomorrow for Bru's Mom.

            At 13 y/o - his jet black coat is turning turning salt & pepper :(

                 Her coat looked richer & was SO soft to touch.....

       The Duds looked as handsome as ever & you could see his eyes again!




I don't know that I'll ever take all 3 again - it was just too darn lonely - no offense Pate & Gracie :)

A Lil Touch of Home.......

On a recent trip to Ohio, I brought back Gracie's cat tree - cleaned it up & brought it into Trev's room ....after we completely rearranged his furniture to accommodate the sacred window seat.  It probably took her @ 45 minutes to realize that this stand actually belonged to her. Payton, however, loved it immediately!!  Of course, a rumble had to occur to straighten out the true ownership & of course, Gracie Grace won :)

The cat tree in the garage before I had a chance to vacuum etc.  Notice Cheddars checking it out :)

Also returned with the kitty tubes - that are presently in my living room since Payton loves to hide in them & attack you as you innocently walk by - & Dudley's stairs which we have not tried yet....since he can jump on Trev's bed in one leap.

                        Looks like I could open a pet store!!!!

                      Gracie checking out her new "old" home.....

   She turned VERY playful quickly....that's Trev's hand....he's braver than me!

         Alas she ended up jumping to the lowest seat & took a much needed cat nap!!


At times like these...I wish she could talk & share with me how happy she is to have this cat tree back in her life.  I know this b/c she spends ALOT of time napping on different levels & watching out the window from the top tunnel. It's also a great hiding place to surprise Pate when he thinks she's not around....& WHAM she springs alive - scaring him to death!

  Yep, Gracie Grace is one fierce lil kitty & I'm so glad she has joined the Bang Family.

Taking a Blog Break.....

I thought I would take a blog break from the usual animal antics & share some adventures of the last few weeks.  As some might already know - we had our hall bathroom gutted & remodeled - trust me it was time!!!  There were FREQUENT problems & set backs....but the biggest problem was verbal communication.  The gentlemen worker bees were not born in America & didn't choose to speak any English.  Which meant several long days of hearing only their native tongue which is VERY unsettling to me as the home owner - especially since I had not taken a course in this particular language back in high school. ( I did want to bring in some of my neighbors to hide in my bedroom BUT they all work during the day.)  I would better understand  all this IF we moved to their homeland & decided to have home improvements done BUT we live here in lovely Arlington Heights, Ill USA.

Was the end product done correctly you might ask.....yes ...it was....after many delays & problems.  The thing is I would have felt much better @ the whole situation  if I had known what was happening as it was happening  & been told the truth up front.  Most people, I know, can accept things much easier when all the cards are on the table & all those involved are on the same page.  When only those who REALLY know what is going on hold all the cards - it's just not fair to the rest of us.


I just know after reading this ....you'd like to see a few photos :))

                               We went from this .....

                                 And this.....

                                 TO THIS......

                              AND THIS.....nicer, huh?



Now, I don't want anyone to feel that miscommunication only happens with non-Americans.........b/c it doesn't.  Just recently I had an interesting experience with a very fluent English speaking person, who was not up front @ the situation & had different ideas & rules @ how things were supposed to be understood. So at this point I don't know if not speaking English is wise OR if withholding information is wiser...as it turns out.....I guess good communication is just lost on some people.