Blue Eyes

Me and Nellie are Blue Dogs. I’ve barked about that before, but I’ll explain it again in case you weren’t paying attention.

Aussies come in lots of different colors. I like to think us blue merle dogs are the finest color. Codie was blue. Me and Nellie are blue.

Codie had soft amber eyes the color of honey. Mom used to call her Princess Amber Eyes.

I was born with Paul Newman blue eyes. People see me on the street and say, “Look at his eyes!”

Nellie has a blue eye and a brown eye. It’s hard to know which eye to look at. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not talking trash about Nellie. It’s just the way she is.

Nellie doesn’t see so good, and everybody assumed she was blind in her blue eye. It turns out her blue eye sees pretty well but the brown eye doesn’t work anymore.

Nellie gets lost real easy because she only sees one side of things. Mom has learned how to be her guide, making sure Nellie doesn’t fall or get stuck in a corner.

In this silly short bark I tossed together this morning, you’ll see two pictures. One is me, the other is Nellie. Do you know which blue eye belongs to which dog?

 

My Special Friend

Jack

I was so excited. My special friend Liz came to see me last week. Liz has sponsored me through Old Dog Haven and she sends me treats to share with the other house mutts.

Ash tried to prep me for when I first met Liz. He told me I should walk right up and give her a little bump with my nose. Ash even gave me a couple things to say in case I got tongue tied.

I’m not a party boy like Ash. I’m not a diva like Tess. And I’m certainly not petite and vulnerable like Nellie. I have strong feelings but I can’t express them.

People who know me say I’m soulful. Everybody thinks I’m sweet and gentle and kind. Maybe I am all those things, but it’s still hard for me to communicate.

I know Ash was pulling for me. He really wanted my time with Liz to be something special. I did too, but knowing that Liz was my sponsor made me even more shy.

I wagged my tail and then beat a retreat to my bed when she arrived. I couldn’t keep my eyes off of her, but I always hung back and let the other mutts soak up the attention.

I followed Liz wherever she went. She is so lovely, I could hardly believe she had come to see me.

When she went to her room, I guarded her from the hallway. When she sat outside, I stood at the threshold and watched her.

Jack and Liz

Liz made me feel good about myself. She said it was okay to be shy. She said next time she came up I would feel more comfortable around her.

How could she know what I was feeling? It’s like she looked into my eyes and read my heart.

I guess that’s what it means to have a special friend. Somebody who accepts you for who you are. Somebody who encourages you. Somebody who makes you feel loved from the tip of your tail to the bottom of your paws.

Thank you, Liz. You really are my special friend.

The Long Road Back

Nellie

I almost died. I had to go to the hospital. Ash and mom took me there and then they had to leave me. They cried when they left. I was too sick to cry.

It started with another of those horrible vertigo attacks. Geriatric canine vestibular disorder is what Dr. Brad calls it. I call it awful. I’m so dizzy I can’t stand up. I flop around like I’m having a seizure. I’m sick at my stomach and couldn’t eat even if I wanted to. I don’t have the coordination to drink from a bowl.

Mom knows what to do when it happens. She quick carries me to the studio so I won’t crash into anything sharp and get hurt. She gives me a pill to stop the sea sick feeling and another pill to help the pain and make me sleep.

Usually I wake up later in the day and start to feel better. This time I just got more sick.

After one whole day of me being a mess, mom and Ash took me to the emergency hospital. Mom says this always happens to me on a weekend when Dr. Brad isn’t working. Ash came in the room and kept me company while we were waiting for the vet.

At the Hospital

Pretty soon they put me in a hospital bed and hooked me up to an IV. I went to sleep wondering if I would ever get back to Asherpark.

The next day mom and Ash came and got me. I was still pretty sick but I had enough fluids to keep me going for a while. Here’s a picture of me and Ash on our way back to Asherpark. You can see he’s worried about me.

Going Home

I was so tired I could hardly lift my head. I had to be carried everywhere. I still couldn’t drink or eat. Mom made me chicken broth popsicles. They were so good. The other mutts got some too, but I got most of them. Mom made me frozen cupcakes. She took our slop and froze it in muffin tins. When it was almost solid she would shove one in my mouth. That was yummie!

I still couldn’t get enough fluids in me, so we went to Dr. Brad. He gave me a bag of sub Q fluids. It looked scary but it didn’t hurt. When I left his office I had a big lump on my shoulders like a camel. I sure peed a lot that day.

Bit by bit I got stronger. The first time I took a drink out of a bowl the whole pack cheered. Soon I was eating my wet slop. I stagger like I’m drunk and fall over if I’m not careful, but I’ve hardly had any accidents in the house. I let mom know when I have to go and she gets me out just in time.

I know I gave everybody a scare. Mom asked me to try to get better. She said it wasn’t my time yet, that I need to enjoy my life at Asherpark a little longer before I start my next journey. Then she confessed and said she wasn’t ready to let me go.

Ash got all teary eyed. He said it’s the worst thing in the world to lose a Blue Dog. “You gotta try to get better, Nellie,” he said. “You’ll know when it’s your time. Codie will come and get you.” I fell asleep thinking about what Ash said. I’m not ready to cross the bridge yet. I’ve got some good days ahead of me still at Asherpark.

Beautiful Nellie