Big Time Scary

Finn

I’m okay now but I sure had Mom worried for a while. We’d been to the beach where we all had a great time. Me and Journey got to go on lots of walks and sniff really cool stuff.

A day or two after we got home I started tossing my grub. I felt bad for Mom because I kept wandering around on her favorite rug making messes everywhere. She could see exactly what I ate last and it wasn’t a pretty sight. Soon I was just gagging up a bunch of nothing.

Mom never gets mad at me when I’m sick on the rug, but it sure makes her work hard to clean up after me.

For the longest time Mom wouldn’t let me eat ’cause she was trying to get my stomach to settle down. After what seemed like forever she fed me and Journey our favorite meal of white rice cooked in lots of chicken stock. I was so hungry and that felt soooo good in my belly. I kept everything down for the next two days so Mom was hopeful that I was on the mend.

It soon became obvious that I wasn’t doing very well. I wouldn’t play with Journey, I didn’t want to chase eagles in the backyard, and I would only go outside if Mom put a leash on me and led me out.

After a couple days of not being my bad boy self, Mom got really worried. Our vet was on vacation so Mom started calling emergency clinics and urgent care clinics. One place told us to come over and wait in the car. We sat outside for over an hour only to learn they couldn’t see us that day. Mom kept calling around and finally found a clinic not too far away that would see me that night.

By now Journey knew something was bad wrong. Dinner time came and went and neither one of us got fed. Then we loaded in the car and drove to the vet for my 6:30 appointment. It was dark and rainy and we were hungry.

Things went from bad to worse when we started to walk in the clinic and I saw the floor was gray. Oh no! I don’t ever walk on gray floors so I quick ran back out the door of the clinic onto the sidewalk. The vet and the tech were watching me.

“What’s the matter?” they asked. “Is he afraid of the vet?”

Mom shook her head and told them, “No, he’s afraid of gray floors.”

The vet burst out laughing and said that’s the first she’s ever had a dog that didn’t like the color gray. Mom picked me up and carried me into the clinic. The tech put down big blankets to cover the evil gray floor.

After Mom explained to the vet what was happening to me, they came up with a plan. I’m glad I didn’t understand what they were gonna do with me because I would have freaked out.

I spent two hours at the clinic while they took X-rays, did blood work and examined every possible orifice. In the end the tests showed I suffered from a “dietary indiscretion”. HaHa! That’s the story of my life, but this time I must’ve eaten something that really irritated my innards. Apparently there was some “mineral like material compatible with boney fragments” in my colon.

The vet gave me an anti-nausea shot, a bag of fluids, and some pain pills. She told Mom to keep feeding me rice and broth and get me to drink as much fluid as possible.

When we got home Journey and I were starved. Mom quick made our rice and broth and we gobbled it up. A fast trip outside to do our business and we were ready for bed.

Both me and Journey slept deep and long that night. When we woke up I felt kinda funny but my stomach didn’t hurt. Another meal of rice and broth then me and Journey went right back to sleep.

The rest of the day felt like old times. I tried to swipe something off the kitchen counter and chased a bird with Journey. I’m still a little weak but I feel pretty good.

Mom told me and Journey she already got the best possible Christmas present. All she wanted was for me to feel better and I do! Stay tuned. I’ll let you know how I’m doing so you won’t worry about me.

 

 

 

What’s In A Name?

Journey

Journey, it’s such a lyrical and unusual name. People ask us all the time how Journey got her name. If Mom thinks the question is sincere, she will explain why she chose the name Journey. Otherwise she just laughs and says it’s a secret.

The story of Journey and her name predates my time at Asherpark, but I’ve heard the story so many times I know it by heart.

Long before I was born Mom was blessed with a dog named Asher. For years Ash had a girlfriend named Tess. They were called the evil twins and did everything together. Then Tess got cancer and died. Ash was really sad without Tess and wasn’t his silly self any longer.

Mom saw how unhappy Ash was and knew she had to find Ash a pal, so she went back to the farm in where Ash came from. She told the farm lady she needed a girl puppy for Ash to raise. The lady said one of her best dogs just had a litter and there were several girl puppies available.

While Mom was talking to the farm lady, one of the little girl pups climbed out of the whelping box and went on an adventure all by herself. It was clear this little puppy had a strong spirit and would be a perfect match for Ash.

Baby Journey

Young Journey

The puppy was too young to leave her mother, so Mom drove home and waited until the little girl could come to Asherpark. Mom was trying to decide what to name the puppy, but none of the names she came up with seemed right.

One night Mom was in a deep seep when she had a dream. She didn’t know who was talking to her in the dream, but a voice said “Name the puppy Journey.”

The voice repeated the same command another time.”Name the puppy Journey. Her name will remind you that life is a journey.”

Mom woke up from her dream and remembered every word. She couldn’t figure out where the voice came from, but she knew it was a sacred message and she had to do what the voice told her. Two weeks later little Journey came to live at Asherpark. And now you know how Journey got her name.

Can BarkingProse Rise Again?

Journey – Mole Killer

Lately I’ve been thinking about inertia. It makes sense that if you’re in motion it’s easy to stay in motion, but once you’ve stopped it’s hard to restart.

After our dad died me and Journey argued over who was gonna write the barks for BarkingProse. Mom didn’t have the heart for it and neither did we.

Journey tried to boss me and told me I had to do it. I said I would try if she helped, but she didn’t want to. Journey said she had enough on her plate keeping the damn moles from destroying the yard. I said she was just using that as an excuse.

Months went by and BarkingProse was silent. Journey kept busy killing rodents, mostly moles, and I practiced my manners until mom told me I was the best behaved dog she ever had.

Still I knew mom was sad that BarkingProse was offline. I also knew that as sweet as Journey is, she wasn’t gonna help me with the barks. I decided that if I just started writing, even if I didn’t have much to say, maybe I could bring BarkingProse back to life.

So here I am writing about not much of anything except how hard it is to write. Maybe that’s enough for the first bark. Maybe that’s enough to get the energy flowing. Maybe that’s enough to make me want to write again tomorrow.

To be honest I don’t know how to end this bark. It feels weird to be sending my thoughts out into the universe. Who will read them? Will dead people realize I’m writing about them? Will my dad read BarkingProse? Will Asher look back over the rainbow bridge and say, “Well done, Finn. I’m proud of you.”?

I’m trying to get BarkingProse in motion Then I’ll have inertia on my side. Wish me luck and if you have any suggestions, please leave me a comment. Here we go!

Finn