Tuesday - Seven Days Till We Let You Go

Baxter and Diesel

Yesterday I blogged about an amazing family that is challenged with the hardest decision every pet guardian must accept as a part of their responsibility. Their long time family pet and best friend Diesel is getting old and his time has come.

Now they must do what every dog family must do at this point in their dog’s life. Make that final decision to let them go. Jennifer and family have decided that they have seven more love filled days left to cherish their beloved Diesel.

As I chatted back and forth with Jennifer talking about doing a blog series I could feel her sadness and her strength in the words she wrote. Together we decided it would be a nice tribute to Diesel to share each day of their experience with anyone who cares to follow along this journey.

Making the Hard Decisions

I’ve written a blog in the past on dealing with the death of our most beloved friends and companions. It’s never a pleasant subject and it’s something we as pet lovers have come to expect, knowing that the dreadful day will eventually come.

But for us at Poooh Busters, we experience it through our clients on a regular basis. We feel their sadness when a customer emails or calls to tell us that they no longer need our service because their dog has gone over the rainbow bridge. Or sometimes when they have two dogs, they let us know that they only need service for one now. We can hear it in their voice and sense it in their emails, the simple act of notifying us is breaking their hearts.

If you have ever struggled with the loss of your best friend, you know how hard it can be to cope with the grief. There are many websites out there that offer advice and can even help you find services where you can get counseling if needed.

And The Thunder Rolls

Last night I was actually enjoying a rather sound sleep. These are few and far between for me as we let our animals sleep with us. Those of you who allow their pets to snuggle next to them in bed know all too well what I’m talking about.

Sleeping with your dogs and/or cats is like a guilty pleasure that isn't good for you. Sort of like secretly enjoying a whole box of Wagon Wheels all to yourself. You can’t help it because you love them so much but you know you’re going to pay for it in other ways.

Now usually the lack of sleep comes from being unable to move freely, one dog lying on my left side and the other on my right. They have me pinned down beneath the blankets making me feel like a trapped burrito. I imagine at any moment a bunch of guys are going to appear and start beating me with bars of soap wrapped in towels.

How Many Times Does it Have To Be Said?

Another summer has arrived and along with it, the heat. Here in Calgary we’ve had quite an eventful summer so far when it comes to weather. Massive rainfalls and the melting runoff from the mountains caused some incredible flooding along the Bow River and the Elbow River affecting thousands of residents (and their pets) from Canmore to HighRiver. Calgary was in a state of emergency for nearly two weeks. But that’s another story!

Today I’m here to talk about the spells of hot weather that we've had over the past month or so. And as always with the hot weather I see two things happening when it comes to our pooches.

1. People leaving their dogs in hot cars.
2. People bringing their dogs with them as they go shopping and leave them tied up outside the store all by themselves.

These are probably my two biggest pet peeves when it comes to irresponsible guardianship of our beloved pets. I can put up with people not picking up their dog’s poooh or those dreadful people who leave their dogs in the backs of open trucks while driving around town or even the constant barking of neighbourhood dogs left out in backyards. But I simply will not tolerate items #1 or #2 if they are happening right in front of me. My story today has to do with item #2 on the list.