We have all, at one time or another, read posts by David talking about his freeloaders.

I finally got some photos from him of his freeloaders, who look quite loved indeed.

There is Elmo, a Welsh Corgi who has been in the show ring, Gracie, an eleven week old (here anyway) Welsh Corgi of a different color and Jax, a dog of unknown origins.

Enjoy the pictures:

Eleven week old Gracie and Buddy Elmo

Little Gracie at 11 weeks chewing a twig

Roughing up Elmo

Chillin' out with Elmo

Elmo finally gets a break

And now, beautiful Jax at seven years

Kimsch from Musing Minds has dressed her little dog up as Dorothy and Toto too since she’s a little dog!

Follow the link and be prepared to smile!

Two weeks after my beloved cocker spaniel Silky had to be put to sleep she came home in an urn.

She’s on my dresser with her hair clipping taken from her leg the day she died and her picture beside the urn.

I have loved and lost animals many times, but this one hurts especially deep.

I keep watching for her to be at my side, whether I’m sitting at my computer, in another room or lying in my bed.

I’ve thought about getting a puppy, but it’s too soon. I would only be trying to replace Silky and that wouldn’t be fair to the puppy.

Besides, I’ll never find another dog who is as gentle as she was. She never growled at anyone or anything, and would even stand back to let the cat eat her food before she’d eat. I’d move the cat away and she’d step up to the plate to eat and share her meal with the cat.

She was a once in a lifetime dog, and I miss her terribly.

At least she’s home now.

Yesterday my very good blogging friend The Anchoress read about the death of our precious Silky and wrote a post called All Dogs Go to Heaven, asking pet lovers to come over and commiserate.

You all have been wonderful in your comments and some of you are suffering the recent loss of a beloved pet.

I received private emails from the Anchoress and I value them as I value any she sends me. She is one of the most wonderful people I have ever had the pleasure of communicating with.

In honor of all who have lost their beloved pets I offer you this poem:

Rainbow Bridge

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge.
There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together.
There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by.
The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together….

Author unknown…

I’m like Truman who says dogs don’t have souls and I’m also like him and the Anchoress who believe our pets will be with us in Heaven.

After all, if God knows it will make us even happier He’ll have our loving pets by our side for all eternity.

Today I said goodbye to my best four-legged friend Silky. She was a chocolate cocker spaniel who had gone through many medical problems like a champ, but just couldn’t fight off this latest illness.

Almost 14 years ago we lost our male cocker spaniel very suddenly. He was our second cocker and this time I wanted a chocolate female instead of a black male.

We got her when she was but five weeks old, although the breeder told us she was six weeks old.

She was the most kind dog we have ever owned. She actually owned our hearts. She stayed beside me all day and all night and slept beside my bed at night.

Three and a half years ago she was diagnosed with anal gland cancer, a very aggressive form of cancer.

We took her to the veterinary teaching hospital to have her treated and rented a corporate apartment so she could come home every day after her radiation and/or chemo treatments.

For two years we took her back for check-ups and she was declared in remission.

A month or so ago she became ill with a mystery illness. After a week of hospitalization she came home and was doing fine. She had her last check-up last Wednesday and had regained all the weight she had lost when she was sick.

Last night she seemed restless but was still eating well. I noticed it sounded like her foot was flapping when she walked, but I had heard that sound before. Unfortunately, it was when she got sick the last time.

Today I heard her in the next room, panting very hard. I heard her bump into something twice and still heard the panting.

I called my husband and went to the room where she was, only to find her just standing with her head down, shivering and panting.

I wasn’t ready to go anywhere so I called the vet’s office to see if our vet could see her and my husband carried Silky in to me to say goodbye just in case. Her eyes were spaced-out.

After the exam I spoke to the doctor and my husband had told me she couldn’t even stand by then. We found out her temperature was 107 and 101 is normal. A neurological problem such as a brain tumor was suspected.

Euthanasia was recommended. I asked for a clipping of fur from her leg as that was the longest hair on her body.

She was given a sedative and my husband said she was already asleep when she was brought back to the room. He held her as her leg was shaved and as soon as the blood went back into the needle she had quietly slipped away. He kissed her goodbye and we both knew we had done the right thing for this wonderful pet who had loved us unconditionally.

Now we deal with the hurt and grief of losing such a fine pet who got into our hearts the way only she could.

I’ll be away from the blog for a couple of days. Sue will do her usual fine job. I wish to thank Sue and Guss for their posts.

If dogs go to heaven Silky is there with the other pets we loved just as much and will be waiting for me when I cross the chilly Jordan.

Sue adds I am bumping this post back to the top as it was late yesterday when J entered it. J is doing okay today, just missing her wonderful companion. You and hubby are in my thoughts.

Welcome Anchoress Readers.

I’ve been stressed out all week because my favorite dog has been sick and we don’t know why.

She is a cancer survivor and when she began to vomit for no apparent reason the doctors and we were quite concerned.

She’s been in the hospital since Monday.

Yesterday she had exploratory surgery and no cancer or blockages were found in any of her abdominal cavity. That was the greatest news I had heard in a long time!

Her sinuses were X-rayed to rule out a sinus tumor and that came back clean.

The only thing they can find wrong with her is her jaw doesn’t open as widely as it should, but they say that can be treated with prednisone.

Today they are going to re-evaluate her and possibly change her medications. They are in hopes of starting her on some bland foods since she hasn’t eaten in several days.

I want to thank Sue and Guss for being so busy with the blog since I’ve taken the time off to tend to our pup. Today I feel like someone pulled the plug out of me and I’m like a wet dish cloth. I hope to get back to blogging on Friday, but it seems we have more hits when I don’t.

That’s it for now.

Update: I just got a call from our vet. Our dog is not interested in eating today. That could be from the surgery yesterday and her prednisone has been increased to see if it will get the inflammation down faster in her jaw.

In a couple of days they may try to feed her some gruel via syringe down her throat, but if that’s the life she’s going to live it’s probably time to let her go.

We’ll give the new meds a chance to work and see what happens. As the vet said, at least we have given her every chance possible and should have no regrets. She has eight vets in that practice all stumped.

I’m having a crisis right now with a sick dog. Not just any dog, but my favorite dog.

Right now she’s in the hospital for vomiting and Monday she stopped eating. She has a history of cancer that has been in remission for over three years now.

Wednesday our vet is probably going to do exploratory surgery on her digestive tract to see if she can pinpoint the problem.

Depending on what it is and how severe it is she may be euthanized while on the operating table. We have been told we can go in there to be with her if that happens.

If we find an isolated tumor and chemo can take care of it we’ll probably do that, but no radiation as that burned her badly last time.

I’ll return when my head is back on straight.

In the meantime, Sue’s server is giving her trouble and she’ll post if she can get service. Guss will be aboard and has promised to write conservative as well as liberal posts. I may be here for commenting.

As you know, two days ago we had to have our Golden Retriever/Chow cross dog put to sleep due to his being unable to stand any longer.

We have two other dogs and a cat. Sweetie is a Shepherd mix and came to live with us a year ago. She chose us.

She and Muggsy got off to a bad start, with Muggsy being territorial and from that time on they would get into a tiff at every opportunity. We had to keep them separated most of the time.

We also have a full-blooded cocker spaniel, who is just a few months older than Muggsy was. She was actually the one we expected to go first as she had anal gland cancer, which is very aggressive.

Our vet recommended we take her to North Carolina State University Veterinary Hospital for treatment and she is in remission, but we know the extra three years we got for her can be gone with the first signs of a recurrence of the cancer. We have no intention of putting her through surgery, radiation and chemo again. She’s too old and has had enough done to her.

Since she and Muggsy were puppies together they formed a bond. He was forever licking on her and she’d let him. She had a terrible recurring problem with ear infections, which is something dogs with long ears are prone to have. He would lick her ears and she’d lie there quietly enjoying the cleaning he was giving her much more than the ones we gave her.

We finally had her ear canals removed so she would be out of pain and she was already deaf from so many infections. Still, Muggsy would lick her back and she loved it.

Friday and Saturday have been hard days for Silky. She goes to all of Muggy’s special places and can’t find him and then she wants to go outside to see if he’s out in the back yard.

She knows, and she’s grieving too. How do you help a grieving dog? We give her extra attention, but it’s not our attention she craves.

In a few days or weeks her urge to find him won’t be so great, but it’s so heartbreaking to see her this sad.

Until then we’ll spoil her more than she already is and try to help her get over the hurt we all feel.

Nearly 13 years ago our son asked us if we could keep his puppy until he got a place that would accept pets.

The puppy was so small he could walk under our cocker’s belly easily and those two and the other dog we had at the time would frolick in the backyard, having a wonderful time.

Several years ago he blew out one knee and we had to have surgery done on it. He was so strong he blew it out two more times before the doctor used the heavy-duty suturing thread on him.

As soon as that one healed he blew out the other knee, but by then the vet knew to use the heavy-duty thread. He was confined to the house and leash walks for the better part of the year.

He would always put his head on our knee for a head pet, and then a paw shake, and has been a wonderful member of our family while our son finds a place that will take animals.

Last night his knees gave in on him. We could see it coming but we were giving him pain medication and the vet was keeping a good eye on him.

Last night he couldn’t get up without a lot of coaxing. Throughout the night I could hear him panting and whining just a little bit.

Today at 10:30 he will visit our vet for his last time.

I write this with tears and a broken heart, but I know we are doing what’s best for him. He’s been loyal to us all these years and it’s the least we can do for him.

But life will never be the same around here without him.

I know you will understand why I won’t be around here writing today.

Hat tip: Hootsbuddy’s Place.

When the news first came out about a national pet food recall we weren’t concerned because we buy our animals premium pet food and ours wasn’t listed in the recall.

Yesterday afternoon my aunt called me and told me she had just heard on the news the recall included Iams and Eukanuba pet food.

We feed our dogs Iams and our cat gets a prescription dry food from the vet.

We have a 13 year old cocker spaniel who went through cancer treatment 3 years ago and because her appetite wasn’t what it should be and the fact we had to travel 150 miles each way for check-ups we started buying the Iams Select Bites, a food with chunks of meat and gravy.

A few weeks ago she was vomiting and gassy and we were concerned but it went away.

We immediately went to the website to find out codes we should look for on the packages . Our food was made in the factory that has the problems.

We called PetSmart and they said they had pulled it all off the shelf and to bring in what we had for a refund. My husband took all 4 cases (one was opened) to them and got a full refund.

Since they had nothing like that for a 13 year old dog that was safe he picked up 2 whole chickens and we are now feeding her dry food mixed with chicken pieces, rice and broth. The other dogs get the same mixture too.

I have a cousin who works in a well-known pet feed production facility as a maintenance man for the equipment there. He has told me everything that goes into the food (this facility produces feed for livestock) is supposed to be measured due to the chemicals etc. in the feed. He has said he has seen the workers just pour it in without measuring it and one of these days something bad is going to happen. I hope not.

Check the recall site mentioned in the linked article against what you feed your pets and make sure you are not harming them with their food.

Hang Right Politics is also blogging on this today.