If you have ever owned a dog you must watch the movie, "A Dog's Purpose". Our family was finally able to sit down together and watch it a couple weekends ago and it was worth the wait. We even rewatched the movie this past weekend with my parents. There were moments that were funny and moments that were incredibly sad, and the narration is from the dog's point of view; it was brilliant. Our family could relate to the thoughts going through Bailey's (the first dog you are introduced to) head and how similar many of those thoughts must be to our dogs. The first time Bailey is brought to the grandparent's farm he gets a big whiff of manure and is so excited for this wonderful new smell. He is introduced to a miniature horse and fondly refers to it as a "horse dog". He finds disgusting smells to roll in and finds joy in running through the fields.

Of course we were sad when Bailey died, but my daughter was sobbing when the German Shepherd died. We all knew that this dog would come back again, but for some reason Lily was really affected by the death of this dog. This brought on the conversation about about losing someone, whether it be a person or an animal, and how those who you love the most are harder to lose and their loss makes you deeply sad. I asked both of the kids if it would be worth it to have pets if they did not mean anything to us. If we had pets that were not special would we be so sad when they died? Is it worth having the short time we do with our pets when we know our hearts will break upon their death? They both love our animals and understood that the more you love someone the more tears you will cry and the harder it will be to get over when they die.

None of us really know what happens when our pets are gone; are they waiting for us on the other side of the "Rainbow Bridge", will they come back as another pet? This movie definitely gave me comfort in the idea that the furry beings in my life will be back to give someone else joy and love. It is hard to imagine these sweet faces not having a soul, they may not be as smart as the humans who love them, but they know things. They know when you need comfort and do the best they can to try and cheer you up and I like to think that once they have fulfilled their time with me they go on to do the same for someone else.

If you love dogs you must see this movie. ​

We had to find a new home for this little guy and for me this was definitely a tough decision. However, when I realized that there was nothing that I could do to stop Bunker's chicken killing ways I submitted to the fact that rehoming him was the best thing to do. Instinct always wins out.

The first time I knew we had a problem was on a cold day in March when he had gotten out of his pen and chased a chicken until it was so worn out that it sat down in the snow and basically froze to death. I found this unfortunate hen and moved her to a warm location, but it was just too late for her. I really knew that we had a problem after I chased him around our property trying to get him away from another hen and after securing Mr. Bunker found more carnage behind the wood pile. 

Bunker never tore into the chickens or tried to eat them, he just joyously chased them and then "played" with them until their unfortunate passing. 

I attempted to add height to the fence to keep him in his area and he managed to find ways around that so the poor guy ended up being sequestered to the fenced in area on a leash. I gave him extra slack on the leash, but this was a mistake because he would jump over the fence and then stand on the opposite side still attached to his leash. 

Thankfully, some friends of ours were able to help us find him a good home. This new home is a family with children and two other dogs, and most importantly no chickens!

If you follow my page on Facebook, then you already know that we had a rough Sunday.  Shannon got home from running a few errands to find sweet Gabby at the edge of our property, she had been hit and had died.

When he came in and told me he said that it must have just happened because her body was still warm when he picked her up to move her.  My poor little girl.  

Gabby was a little nut, she ran around like crazy and could jump 2 - 3 feet off the ground.  When she would come into the house she would run into the living room and use the furniture as launching pads only to launch herself to another piece of furniture.  As hyper as she was, she was our little protector and she was by my side every morning when I fed the animals, glued to my left leg.  Gabby was my send off every morning, she would come to my car door and wait for an ear rub and then as soon as I said, "OK, I gotta go," she would move out of the way and I would be on my way to school.  Gabby would also greet me as soon as I pulled into my spot in the driveway, she would often jump into the car and onto my lap or onto the kids and then follow us into the house.  

She taught me a new kind of patience that I have not had to have for a dog before.  Gabby always needed to be doing something, to be working, and she would bug you if she was bored.  I had to learn to find things for her to do so that she would not be such a pest.  Gabby, being a Blue Heeler (Australian Cattle Dog) was incredibly intelligent and learned tasks quickly.  One weekend my goal was to start working with her on staying by my left side when I would walk around and take care of all the animals.  I put a leash on her and would stop and make her sit when she was not doing as I expected, then we would start again and I would command, "walk," and she would walk in step with me.  I am not kidding when I say it took me two mornings and two afternoons of working with her on this for her to understand what I expected.   I took the leash off of her on that Sunday morning and when I said "walk," that little dog stuck to my left leg like velcro, and that was the way it went whenever I was outside with her.  

Shannon and I are fairly certain that Gabby was following Ellie to see where she was headed and that she stopped at the end of the driveway when Ellie went farther than Gabby would go.  Gabby had been with Ellie all morning yesterday, laying with her and keeping an eye on her.  I am pretty sure that Gabby knew something was not right with Ellie since she had been gone all Saturday night.  Like I said, Gabby was our little protector and was always making sure things were as they should be.  

Mentally I have prepared myself for Ellie and the unfortunate fact that she may soon pass.  She is nine, which for a giant dog is old, and her erratic behavior makes me think that she may be a bit senile.  I know that I will be sad when Ellie dies, but it will be nothing close to the way I feel right now.  I feel like I have done something wrong and did not do enough to protect Gabby, she was still just a pup and too young to be gone from us.  

I think that maybe not having these animals would be better, I would not have to go through such heartache, but the joy and comfort they all bring to me and the kids we would not find anywhere else.  Saying that we are not going to have animals anymore because it is not worth the heartache would be a bit like not having relationships with other people in order to avoid the sadness that comes along with their deaths.   I cannot imagine how I would feel, how broken my heart would be if one of my children died.  As broken as I feel right now I imagine that my heart would be shattered and that the tears would never stop.  

I hate that I am sitting here, crying as I write this.  I hate that I feel so crummy and most likely will for quite some time.  I hate that a sweet little dog is no longer with us.  I hate that there are people on this earth callous enough to drive away after hitting an animal rather than stopping and talking to the owners.   I cannot imagine my life without these precious, furry lives because as crummy as I feel I at least know how much these animals mean to me.  I would be worried if I was able to go about my day normally and I would rethink the reason that we have these creatures.  

Writing about this is hard, but it is also kind of therapeutic for me.  I love these animals of ours.  They each fill a spot in my heart.  They make me laugh, they offer me comfort, they often frustrate me, but they are special. My heart is open to many more cases of heartbreak, but I am ok with that.  I know that each time I will eventually feel better and once I do I will have beautiful memories to recall. 

Nothing makes you feel more special than having someone happily greet you when you arrive home from a long day at work.  Gabby Girl is my daily Welcome Home Party and you would think that I had pockets full of dog treats with the greeting I get. 

Yesterday the little girl was so excited that when she rolled over for me to pet her belly she peed. This is actually the first time that she has done this and considering how young she still is I am surprised. 

I have her trained now so that when the car pulls in and stops, she is patiently sitting and waiting for me until I reach down to pet her.  Once she gets her first bit of attention all sense of calm and order leaves, but she is in total bliss.  

Shannon says that when he pulls up in the truck she often will jump in because she cannot wait for him to get out.  She is definitely a sweetheart and always brings a big smile to my face when I pull in the driveway. 

Give that pooch an extra treat, an extra long belly rub, and some extra appreciation for all he does for you.  

Man's best friend has a day and it is annually on August 26th.  Visit www.nationaldogday.com
for more information.

So, my Sweet Ellie Girl is getting up there in age, she was 8 this spring, and I am starting to see the effects of age.  Do not get me wrong, she is still very sprightly when she hears the food scoop hit her bowl or the "cookie" jar opened, but she is definitely taking more naps.

This past weekend we gave the three dogs flea baths and I noticed that Ellie had a few irritated, red spots on her hind quarters.  I could tell that she was bothered and decided to give her a little relief in the form of Benadryl. 

I got online and made sure that I could in fact give her Benadryl and I found this CHART so I felt comfortable giving Ellie an adult human dose.  

Well, it definitely did the job.  Ellie already spends most of her day relaxing in sun puddles, but yesterday she was beyond relaxed.  At one point Shannon said that he thought he should check to make sure that she was still breathing because she did not move when he walked past her into the house. 

It definitely offered the old girl some relief.  I noticed that she had not messed with her irritations all day, and this morning when I fed her she seemed to be better than she had been the past week. 

I may break the dose in half the next time, but at least I know it works for my Sweet Ellie Girl and gives her some relief. 

Dublin likes to bark at Gus, so when we heard him barking frantically, I figured that he was just get his daily dose of Gus harassment.  Shannon said that he thought the dogs were on the back porch and Dubs must be barking at something else. 

Dubs was persistent.  So, I walked out back and indeed, there was Dublin barking furiously at the bottom of the door that lead to the back yard.  What in the heck was he barking at?  Gus certainly would not be at the back door, he rarely ventured off the front porch.  Upon closer inspection I saw a shadow move under the door.  Hmmmmm, who was out there?  Through the window there she was, Precious Pig.  She was back trying to find a way onto the porch again.  Just a little while earlier she had found a way in and snuggled into Ellie's blankey.  

Poor Dublin.  He was just trying to protect the area of the house that he thought of as his own.  Poor Precious Pig, all she wanted was a nice place to sleep.