Big sleepy boy, still recovering from neglect. We suspect he was abused because of the way he cowers when we raise our voice. (Not at him…but at the kids from time to time.)
After some research, and talk with the experts we have come to the conclusion that this guys is a cross between a Plott Hound, and Shepherd. Yay! We know what he is (sort of).
It doesn’t matter what he is, though. We pretty taken with this guy. He is still recovering from the stress of being in a shelter (although he was given impeccable care with lots of love and support), and there are signs of abuse from some monster in his past. It breaks my heart.
Luckily his hair is growing back in the bald patches, and his cough is improving. He takes his heart meds. like a champ. He loves the girls, and sleeps in our room at the foot of our bed.
I will give another update in a week or so, to mark his progress and hopefully to show his continued weight gain as we nurse him back to health with good food, lots of fresh water, rest, antibiotics, and love. 🙂
One of the little girls who takes care of me is Lenore. She takes me on my walks, feeds me and gives me my antibiotic pills. I need to gain my weight back to my normal 78-80 lbs.
They call me, Onyx. I’m a hunting dog. I use my nose like a Bloodhound.
I was picked up a month ago. I was hungry, dirty, tired, scared, and full of fleas. Some of my fur was missing from malnutrition. I weighed only 68 lbs, and was nothing but skin and bones. I am almost three years old.
The humans at the shelter said I have something called a ‘Heart-Worm’, and I have to take pills and get a round of shots to make it go away. I don’t mind.
Lots of things happened to me in the shelter. I got poked with needles with medicine. I got a bath–more than once. I had a surgery and micro-chip installed, too. It was exhausting and took a long time to make me well.
I saw lots of people with kids come and go at the shelter. All of them were nice. They would pet me, rub my belly (I always let them), and then move onto another dog. I wanted to go with them, but no one would take me along.
But yesterday was Saturday, and something changed…..
One of the little girls who takes care of me is named Raven.
I was loaded into a van with other dogs and taken to a Petco. It was a long ride. It was ‘Adoption Day’.
Lots of people came into the store. They pet me, and I wagged my tail. I showed them what a good boy I am, and how friendly I am. No one would take home.
Then, a family with three small girls came in. They were there to buy bunny hay, but the girls ran over to me. The big girls pet me and I rolled over to let them pet my belly. The little girl laid down on my back and gave me a big hug. I didn’t mind. Then she laughed as I licked her little hands and knees.
I thought I was going home with them, but they left after they paid for the hay. I was sad to see them go…..
The tiny girl who plays with me is Evangeline.
But the family came back after a couple of hours! The girls came running into the store and came right up to me. The adults talked to my shelter care-giver about my needs.
Then before I knew what was happening, I was sitting in the back of their car and heading to my new home! I was a good boy for the ride, and an even better boy for my first night with them. I slept with the adults, and let them know when I had to go out. I like to snuggle and share the blankets.
I still have to gain all my weight back (at least 10 lbs.), and take my heart antibiotic pills. This family is going to foster me for 2 weeks to see if we both like each other. After the two weeks, provided I like them, I will get to stay.
So far, I think its’ working out for all of us.
Below, you can see a picture of me when I first got to the shelter. I was so skinny and sad! I have come a long way, but still have a way to go before I am considered ‘completely healthy’. I like my new home. 🙂
A while ago, Raven participated in another documentary project through Hawaii Women In Film. She got to help direct this documentary that focuses on women who have been incarcerated in Hawaii. It was a very moving experience for her, and I’m happy to share it. You can see her name in the credits starting around 20:34, but you should watch all the credits for more. 😉
She may go into the film industry some day as a director. It’s definitely one of her passions.
Today we have a full day of school in town, and then it’s back home for guitar practice. This is a clip of what she has so far for “Diary of a Madman”. I suspect she will learn more with her teacher tomorrow. Maybe…she is working on three songs right now and he may dedicate the lesson to something else. It’s all good.
Evangeline is looking forward to a “Bye-Bye” day with momma. We’re going to hit the library, pet store, and lunch at one of her favorite stops. Raven is looking forward to having some time to herself for school work. Teenagers….
I’ll try to get a shot or two of the baby at the library. It’s really her favorite place to be.
This past weekend was filled with live music and football. On Friday, Jon and I had to split up the game plan because there were two events happening at the same time. Alex had Homecoming, and Lenore had a performance at a church. Jon took the boy to the football field, and I took Lenore to the church.
Lenore made a couple of minor mistakes with “Diary of a Madman”, but she rebounded. She was disappointed with herself because she had practiced for a full hour immediately before the performance. We met up with the boys later that night, but Lenore was determined that she would not stumble on “Ozzy” the following night.
Saturday night, we got there early to practice again.
Practice, practice!
She tuned her guitar more than once with my phone:
Guitar tuner/phone.
And she even had time to joke with some of the audience before she went on.
Ready to plug in!
The practice and joking paid off. She did not stumble this time and the crowd exploded when she was done. I wish I could have taken a picture of the packed house, but I was wedged in pretty good, so I could only get Lenore on stage while she played.
Playing a little Ozzy for the crowd.
After her performance, she got to relax with a Coke-which is a big deal for her because she is never allowed to drink soda.
Coke! The forbidden drink.
Then it was time to sit back and watch the show unfold. And what a great show it was!
Two guitars, a base, bongo drums, a violin, and a singer all present! 🙂
Last night Alex’s school celebrated their Homecoming. It was your typical high school celebration with a King and Queen, Court, and lots of face paint, glitter, and selfies. Actually….maybe our school isn’t so typical: the Queen is also the starting kicker for the football team. It was the first time I have ever seen the Homecoming Queen in a football uniform with a tiara. She rocked it.
Very cool.
Go Alex!
Another very cool component to the game was that Alex got to be the ‘Drum Major’ for a good portion of the festivities. He had to share the role with the senior DM, and the other senior band members who wanted to play their last homecoming…but he got some time too. Currently, the senior is training Alex to take on the responsibilities for next year. 😉
I don’t want to think about next year though…last night was perfect.
So yeah…Lenore had some time to kill before guitar today, so she decided to ‘hang out’. HA! As much fun as this looks, this is still a Friday and there is lots of work to be done.
After the lesson, we had to hightail home so we could get to work. Raven has a huge project due by the end of the day, I have many piles of laundry that need attention, and Lenore has Vocab. and LA review before we move onto the next unit.
Fun!
In addition to the school-work, Lenore has a new song from her teacher, and he wants her to clean up the “Beast and Harlot”, solo. I think she was a bit discouraged, but she knows he’s right and we don’t want him to sugar-coat things for her when she needs to adjust. She agreed to jump into the guitar work after the school stuff is done. That’s why he’s the best, and why she’s going to be amazing some day.
Jon is running around the island, getting his work done and Alex has a full day of school followed by Cross Country practice.
I posted this on FB, so I might as well post it here. Lenore is constantly working on this solo. It’s difficult, but could be quite amazing if she can pull it off someday. This is an updated version of what I had posted a couple of weeks earlier. She has improved, but still has to work on timing and speed/technique. Ultimately, it is better than before and will only get better with time. She desperately wants to qualify for a sponsorship by the time she’s a teen. Only time will tell.
Over the weekend, we bought Evangeline her first set of “Big Girl” pants to continue with her PT journey.
She doesn’t wear them. Nope.
Rather than wear the pants, she likes to carry them in her purse along with a couple of plastic puppies and a small framed picture of Raven and I taken when Raven was three years old.
I’m not sure when we’ll get the pants out of the purse. This could take some time. We’ll just let this play out and see what she feels like doing in the coming weeks. I wonder what other items will end up in that purse.
Our three day weekend grudgingly came to an end last night with a family outing to one of the kid’s favorite restaurants, compliments of my mother-in-law. No one, and I mean NO ONE wanted the weekend to end.
But here we are on a rainy Tuesday, back to the grind.
Our Lovely Little Curveball 