Day: May 6, 2018

There are some big hoops to jump through but we got some exciting news this morning.

Gus’s mother, Hannah, is in heat, and Gus’s breeder Robbin Gibbons wants to breed her one more time. Robin has said we can have one of the puppies.  If this happens, we will be getting a puppy sometime in the late summer of Fall.

Robin was very upset at Gus’s death from megaesophagus,  she wasn’t going to breed again.

But she wanted to breed Hannah one more time, and we told her nothing would make us happier than getting another dog from, megaesophagus is not a breeding issue, but some kind of virus, it’s cause is not clear. Her son Brian also urged her to breed again, he saw how much she loved doing it.

Robin is the kind of person who should be breeding dogs, she breeds for health and temperament and is patient and nurturing.

No other dog in Robins’ line on either side has ever had the disease, and our vet and other vets have assured us it was not a genetic issue. We are very fond of Robin, she has a great and loving way of breeding her dogs, and we would not think of looking anywhere else is she is interested in breed. Gus was a great dog, and so is his mother, Hannah, who is full of sweetness and personality.

And something about getting another dog from her just feels right, it would close the circle in a positive and meaningful way.

It depends on Robin and the litter, but we would consider getting a female Boston Terrier as well as a male. Hannah has a wonderful temperament.

Maria and I were very happy to hear this news, we saw and felt that this is something we need to do, and  want to do, and are ready to do. We both felt great sadness at the loss of Gus. But I am a believer in radical acceptance, pain is unavoidable, suffering is a choice.

It is a very good time to get a puppy, an affirmation of love and life.

Gus’s death hurt, but I choose not to suffer and move on instead. I want to continue learning and writing about the small dog experience, and Gus brought much joy and laughter into our home, and that is always a good things, especially in the Year Of Bad News.

This is good news, and I am happy to share it with you. If everyone in congress had a dog like Gus, we would be a happier and more generous country. Robin said she would keep me posted, and I’ll keep you posted.

Hannah is in heat, but still has to bred, etc. But I feel good about this, it seems to me it wants to happen.

It was a great surprise to me to learn how many of the refugee children are terrified of dogs. Many have never seen dogs as pets, and the urban dogs they see are often aggressive and unfriendly, some even dangerous. When they first saw Red, many of these children ran and hid from him.

For many of these children, the dogs they grew up with were guard dogs from militias and soldiers, the idea of a family pet was almost unheard of. They saw dogs as dangerous or menacing. Visiting Ed and Carol Gulleys farm is a powerful antidote.

Ali and I worked with the children to  and showed them how to approach a dog and learn to trust them.  Red certainly melted some ice.

The Gulleys have four big Aussies, great farm dogs, and they came running out barking, as farm dogs are supposed to do. Some of the kids backed up and moved away, but the dogs were patient and friendly, and in a half -hour, the kids were all over them.

it is so important for them to see animals, they are so healing and engaging for them, Ed Gulley’s farm is a perfect laboratory for kids who are anxious about animals, before they left, they saw a new-born calf, hugged dogs, scratched the ears of six month old cow.

Ed and Carol know how to fascinate children and engage them. The big boxes of ice cream at the end of the visit didn’t hurt either.