HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANGEL!!!

Guess who's 3 today??

Happy birthday, sweet Angel girl! You have brought immeasurable joy to our family since your arrival. We love you so much and count every day blessed to have an awesome dog like you!!

Angel Does the Laundry

 Is it laundry day or sleep in the laundry basket day? Just ask Angel! 

 What? I won't wrinkle anything! I'm keeping it warm!

 I'm just cute. No matter what I do.

I think I'll just stay here and sleep as long as I want.

Angel- A Toddler on Vacation

Eh, not the greatest picture of sweet Angel, but it will do. My husband and I were able to take a small weekend getaway together. Finally!! The girls stayed with grandparents, but because of Angel's, um, shall we say..., unique personality, we chose to take her with us. Did we really have a choice? I think not.

We drove up to the family cottage about an hour away, and while Angel loves to ride in the van, she must always ride on my lap. Sigh....We stopped about halfway up and bought her a plain McDouble from her favorite place. Hence, the extra weight she is carrying, I'm sure.

We arrived at the cottage around 8:00 ish Friday night. Angel seemed excited to be at the familiar place she had met over the summer. She was like a fish out of water as we attempted to unpack in the rain. Finally she made herself at home on the love seat while we tried to settle in.

At bedtime, we had her cozy little bed all ready on the floor. We even put her in said cozy bed...but she waited for us to climb in our own smaller-than-bed-at-home and then found her place right between our shoulders. Yes, we took a toddler on our vacation.

Angel, being Angel, could not be left at the cottage alone on Saturday when we decided to venture into nearby beautiful Petoskey. So, she went with us as we drove along the lakeshore, stopping at a lakeside park to let her run. And did she run!! She was energized by the sounds of the waves lapping the shore, and the wind blowing in her face. She was loving every minute. It wasn't until I reached down to pick her up for a picture together that I noticed her face. Somehow in her travels, she got a face full of little black thistle-like seeds.

So thus began the lengthy process of pulling out hundreds of little seeds from her long white hair. Again, we took a toddler on vacation! 

On Sunday we took a tour of every avaliable apple orchard/pumpkin farm we could find. And so did Angel. She didn't like being left in the car for short periods of time, but she eventually had to give in. We had to be strategic in parking nowhere near other people, as she just can't handle strangers getting within 100 feet of her. She let a few unsuspecting children know exactly what she thought of them. Poor kids.

For awhile we got her to ride in her own seat in the back, but she wasn't having it. She began whining and crying, something she rarely ever does. She kept jumping up on the fixed window, expecting it to open. So finally I allowed her back up front where she happily stuck her head out of my window....in 45 degree weather. Yes, we love our dog.

And so it is with Angel, our "special needs" rescue dog. I hate to label her, but let's face it, she has issues. And because she has them, so will we. We had a fun weekend. I don't know if Angel did, but she doesn't care what she's doing as long as she's doing it with her family.

Bed Hog

So, it's getting cold at night..and we don't want to turn the heat on just yet....and "someone" is getting cold at night too...so......Angel has been sneaking into our bed every night! Stinker! We try to put her back in her cozy little bed, and she slinks right back in! She does look a little guilty, but she's so cute...I just let her stay.

It's going to get old soon. She's a squirmer. I reach down to pat her and she's flat on her back, feet up in the air, nose buried in the blanket. What a doll, our Angel girl! And what a bed hog....

Video: Angel in the Leaves

Angel Loves the Leaves!

Do we really need words here? She was a blast today playing in the leaf pile I made for her. She loves to chase apples, so we kept tossing them into the middle of the pile. She cracked us all up watching her play.....what a joy!

A Love Like Mine

I finally did it. I finally broke down and watched the old videos of Angel and her 4 surviving puppies. I also found and looked at the pictures of her and her pups the day they were born. It was bittersweet! I really didn't want to see her that way-a young pup herself with 6 little ones. It just brought back to mind the difficult existence she has had so far.

Somehow I had to make myself see this part of her, and with my daughter beside me, we watched. And smiled...

What a beautiful, protective, full of mischief puppy mom she was! It just makes me love her more.  Those puppies were so adorable, with those chubby little butts! They look just like their mama.

I have such a special connection with Angel. I don't know if it's her background or mine...but we mesh together perfectly. She's still my little shadow. My stalker even! She's ever at my feet, my side, my back. Protective, needy, clingy...both a puppy and a mama. And I let her care for me and be cared for...whatever she needs that day...whatever I need that day...

My Angel. My love!

Angel Walk

Angel loves our daily exploring. Today she discovered one of the girls' old "hideouts".

She loves to investigate! There was a small hole here, and she sniffed like crazy.

Just some health updates for Angel

Miss Angel had her annual checkup at the vet last Saturday. She's as healthy as can be! I'm sure that's good news to all the puppy moms. Her heart and lungs are good, no signs of any fleas, infections, injuries, sickness, etc.. Her joints are fine, and she has just a little tartar on a couple of teeth. She does not care for the vet or his staff, but they do a great job trying to make her comfortable. She shakes pitifully the whole time. Maybe the smell of the office reminds her of shelters? Although it doesn't smell bad, maybe it brings back thoughts of being left behind? It is sad, and we always do our best to comfort her and reassure her we're not going anywhere. Ever!

The only thing we were told is that she is at her maximum weight! Could be from all the treats we give her when new people come over. We just have to cut back her food intake just a bit and make sure she gets a chance to run. She runs faster than any dog I've ever seen. She'll be fit as a fiddle in no time at all.

Her tail became matted to the point that we had to trim it back just to get at the tangles. It looks a bit stubby now, but is already starting to fill back in. We don't claim to be dog groomers...just trying to keep up. She really needs to be brushed daily. It's sometimes hard to do, but it is important and we are doing better with her. She doesn't like to be brushed on her head. She runs and hides when the brush comes out. I've tried to make it a gentle experience with lots of treats and petting. She'll get there, I'm sure.

The vet recommended a groomer near his office that he thought would do well with her anti-people personality. We may call and give her a try. Angel is an absolutely gorgeous dog and deserves to have a beautiful coat too.

She'll be three years old on October 29th. She still acts like a puppy! I hope she never loses her happy puppy personality.  Although new people are her least favorite experience, I really hope we can pull off this puppy reunion with some success. I am really looking forward to it!

Calling all Angel Babies...well, two of them anyway

So far, I am in personal contact with two of Angel's puppy Mama's- Gina, mama of Marley, and Judy, mama of Samba!!  This has been so amazing to not only follow the lives of these pups, but to meet their amazing moms and families. It has been a rewarding experience in a way that I never could have imagined. Who would have thought....humans united through puppies?? It's usually the other way around!

So, my plea is this: If you are the owners of the remaining two puppies, please contact me or Gina over at her blog, "A Family Blessing". We are trying to put together a mom/babies reunion in a public park soon. I would love to wait for all of us to be able to meet, so if you are following because you have one of these amazing dogs, please comment, leave your email address (I will not publish personal info), and we will include you on all the details!!

Thanks! I really hope to hear from you soon.