Monday, September 5, 2016

Monday, September 5, 2016

Tonight's picture was taken in September of 2008. Mattie was a month into chemotherapy, and at that point Patches was still living in our home. As you can see we had a lot going on. Mattie was on IV fluids, but his surgeries hadn't occurred yet, so he was still walking. Mattie loved Patches!!! However, a few weeks after this photo was taken we had to board Patches at our vet full time for over a year. Patches had her own health issues and needed proper management, and though it was a hard decision to remove Patches from a home environment, I know that for Patches it was the right decision. We were never home (as Mattie's treatment basically resulted in us living in the hospital) to care for her and we needed to be completely focused upon Mattie's care. 

Quote of the day: Work and play are words used to describe the same thing under differing conditions. ~ Mark Twain

This morning after Peter walked Sunny, he came back looking exhausted. I had no place for him to lie down in Mattie's room (where I work), so I pulled out Mattie's old blue comforter. A comforter that I washed years ago and stored. I have to believe that Mattie would want Sunny to sit on his blanket, since Mattie was always determined to get a dog. In a way, Mattie was with us today and I know Mattie would have absolutely LOVED Sunny!

Sunny gets four walks a day. This afternoon we took him for a two mile walk and he got to see the Potomac River for the first time! He loved the sights, the ducks in the water, and the excitement around him. Sunny seems totally desensitized to loud sounds, bicycles, cars, trucks, children, and other dogs. He is a "cool cat" and very easy to walk. Except the fact that he is intrigued by squirrels and rats. It is actually disgusting to know that there are SO MANY rat holes in DC and guess who is finding each and every one of them?! When Sunny sees a squirrel it is a big deal. He literally wants to chase it. The first time he saw one with us we weren't prepared, but now we know how to hold him so he doesn't go flying!  

In addition to all the cat and dog excitement in our home this weekend, we also have been having hummingbird sightings. Can you see this little bird (sort of greenish) right by the pink rose? Before I left for Los Angeles two weeks ago, we put a hummingbird feeder on the deck. We did this because I saw while working at my desk that we were having visitations. Today I saw it for myself..... a hummingbird feeding right outside my window.