Buster

Today was one of the hardest days of my life.  I knew it was coming but it didn't make it any easier.  We said goodbye to Buster today.  Jason took him to the vet yesterday where they drew some blood.  The Vet called today to tell us that his asdlkfhaskjd ga sdlkfhasdk;fh levels, or something like that, were elevated 6 times what they should be causing some fluid to be released into his stomach, likely causing him intense pain.  Once she told us, I knew there was nothing to discuss, our decision was "easy".  I had prayed and prayed that he would go peacefully in his sleep but that just wasn't going to be the case.  Thankfully my husband is amazing and handled everything with strength and grace that I just couldn't muster.  We cuddled in bed, fed him a delicious bacon and egg breakfast, took a last "walk" and some photos, he took a nap, then I said goodbye and Jason handled the rest.

When my grandparents passed away and we agreed to keep him, he was very unhealthy and over weight, we thought we'd have him for a year, tops.  Next month would have been 5 years, 4 years more than we ever dreamed we'd have with him.  We did so much in that time and it honestly makes it a little easier knowing that he had such an incredible life.

I love this guy and our home will never be the same without him but I know he lived a good life and I pray he's been reunited with his 1st parents, my grandparents.

Frank the beabull

Y'all know that I am a beagle lover.  I never wanted to be a dog owner but after inheriting Buster, I cannot imagine my life without him and have fallen in love with his breed.  We had decided that when he decides he's had enough of us and joins his original parents (my grandparents) in heaven, that we're going to wait to get another dog.  Then we met Frank.  Now we're not so sure.

We first met Frank at Home Depot.  (These crazy Californians are more fanatical about their dogs than the Japanese.  They take their pooches everywhere.  There were two at the bar we were watching football at last Sunday.  I digress.)  Frank is a beabull.  A beagle/bulldog mix.  We were intrigued and spent quite a while loving on this adorable dog.

Last week while on the World Wide Photo Walk the end of our path was at the Dog Beach.  Buster is so hard to photograph so I knew I wanted to spend some time there photographing (and playing with) other peoples dogs.  As soon as I had the dog beach in sight, I instantly focused on a dog playing fetch with his owner.  He was so active and energetic, he immediately had my attention.  Turns out, that fun, jumping dog was Frank.  I stuck up a conversation with his owner, Brian, and then snapped photos of him for 20 minutes.  Y'all, I love this dog!  He's the perfect combination of beagle and bulldog, the best of both worlds.

Frank and his owner, Brian.

I gave Brian my business card and told him if he emailed me I'd send him some photos.  I couldn't pick just one or two so I sent all of these to him and he was delighted to have them.

heading home =)

So we're heading back to the Nasti Nati for the weekend. Jason is more excited than I am, it's a really long drive to just be there for 36 hours. I do get to see my mom (and hopefully my sister) and all my friends from church, so it won't be a total waste. Before we leave tomorrow, I want to use up some of the fresh produce I have in the fridge so I'm making veggie risotto for dinner tonight and I can't wait!

We had to take Buster to the vet today and they're going to keep him for a while. They are taking an x-ray and a urine sample because his belly is tender and we don't know why. I hope they call soon with good news! I'll keep everyone posted!