Ruby Dog ... My Angel Dog ...

My apologies for coming out of my writing lapse with a post that is a sad one.

Ruby, my beautiful, smart, loving angel dog, passed into spirit on Friday, November 16 after the rather sudden onset of paralysis with its accompanying desperation, and with a shutdown of her complete digestive tract. A week before this, she had intermittently worn a facial expression of "I need your attention" and I'd check and see if she needed anything. Then she had a brief playful streak and tossed around her tennis balls that had been ignored for months. In retrospect it seems to me that it was the rally that often happens with animals and with people who are on the verge of a serious happening. Well, when it was clear to me that we were in a scary zone, I called a mobile vet and made an appointment for the next day. The vet was very knowledgeable, thorough, gentle, and kind and was recommended to me by my own vet.  

Ruby ... at about six weeks away from her 11th birthday ... was suffering and her face wore a worried, pleading expression. The vet and I helped her to lie down and the sedative helped her to relax ... and the pained look left her face. I sang to her all the while ... the song "Ruby ... you're like a dream..." from the movie Ruby Gentry ... and I petted her. I'm going to back-pedal slightly here to tell you that Ruby has always loved to hear music and my singing ... and would appear from wherever else she'd been in the house and lie down in front of my amplifier or the stereo. So on Thursday night I played a blues CD that a Knoxville harmonica player had given me a few years back ... it has several old blues tunes done by great blues players and singers; Ruby actually was smiling, as I played the whole album twice in a row.  

So on Friday afternoon, my beautiful angel dog, who had earned her service vest and, who had, previous  to when I met her at the shelter, won her battle with heartworm, and then gotten adopted at age 8, will ceremoniously be gone.

I think of her as a hero, as well as the most loving, intelligent, sweet dog I've ever known. I keep thinking I still see her, still hear her walking down the hall. Tomorrow, in keeping with my beliefs on waiting until the third day before doing cremation, her spirit should be flying free and, in truth, be with me in so many ways. This Thanksgiving I will feel thanks for the almost three years I was privileged to be mom to this awesome dog. And so, through my tears, I'll close with these words for her.

"God bless you, Ruby, Ruby Dog, Rubinski. Mommy  loves you and misses you; misses your beautiful face, expressive eyes and pointed ears, your long luxurious tail, your very silky cuddly self, the way you love to shake hands ... and your interesting baritone/basso bark and occasional growl. Watch for me ... and when I come we'll be together again." 


      

Earth Day 2018 and an Update...

I haven't posted here for a while, partly due to a couple of medical issues -- and they work as a team :) Also, time seems to be flying by. But there is a good reason, too:  I've been working on two songs to record later this week. One is the '50s hit cover song "Only You"; the other is a re-make (and re-structured version) of one of my originals, "Conversation". Vastly different from each other in genre and mood, they do go well together in expressing the singularity and attributes of the emotion that goes with my desire to sing and play them. 

My dog, Ruby, is wonderful ... she is a darling, affectionate, and super intelligent being and is now also a service dog.

Today is Earth Day and my thoughts and feelings about it are hopeful, painful, fearful, and apologetic to our Earth Mother. Of course, humans are what have brought conditions to a woeful level for our planet, ourselves, and the myriad of non-human inhabitants. We've seen the widely circulated picture of polar bears in the ocean looking for ice floes that are no longer there. We've read about the plight of bumble and honey bees. There are so many other examples of animal suffering and exploitation, environmental destruction, and threats to our own existence, brought about by ignorance and apathy ... and corporate and political greed. Even so, I can make myself say "Happy Earth Day" because I know that there are a great many of us who care about our planet and fellow beings. Let's make our voices be heard in whatever ways we can!  And let's vote for our environment. Earth is our home, we need to protect it.

Please send comments to the blog rather than my email address so that others can see what you say. It's easy ... just click on "anonymous". I always like to hear from you.

"They Say Ruby You're Like A Dream" (song title from movie)

As I look around my house, I see the photographs of my pre-Dixie dogs ... some of whom resided in Connecticut with me, one that bravely traveled in my truck with me and a bunch of household items during my move from Connecticut to Knoxville in October of 1986, and several other wonderful dogs that I acquired after I got settled in at my first Knoxville house. Their framed pictures were carefully preserved in moving boxes in 2004 when I moved from one side of Knoxville to another, twice. In the days and weeks after Dixie passed into spirit, I took comfort in getting the dog photos out and putting them where others and I can see them. Faith Rose "Rosie" is looking down at me right now from the wall above my computer ... she's in a reddish brown frame (to match her poodle hair color).  I'll have to get the picture scanned so I can put it in the computer (she's sitting in the 1974 Ford Courier pickup truck that made the move).  

I had some multi-faceted talks with myself about whether to have another dog ... and "when" the time might be right. I found myself sitting on the benches in the park Dixie and I had frequented ... and I would sort of "borrow" people's dogs as they walked by. Petting a dog is such a soothing, spiritual experience.   

During the second week of May I saw an ad in the Bargain Mart featuring some of the dogs at Young-Williams Animal Center (Knoxville and Knox County's animal shelter). One of the faces peered out at me and I went to the main facility to see if she was still there. Yes, and the staff told me the sad story about her past.  No wonder she hardly would look at me in the "get acquainted room".  I kept talking to her in soft tones and petting her. She was at the shelter for a second lengthy time, after being confiscated from her first owner and then brought back in by her next owner. She was suffering from heartworm. Some kind soul had paid the money for her treatment (expensive) and her adoption.  God bless the person or persons who saved her! Her fur was growing back in at the two shaved sites of the medicine injections. The Shelter staff was fond of this 90 or so-pound dog and coddled her, though no adopter was choosing her. Probably it was a combination of her size, age (8 years), color (black dogs are the last ones to be adopted for some nutty reason), her heartworm recovery process, and what seemed to me to be her trust issues.  I took a leap of faith and filled out the adoption papers.

A trip to the pet supply store yielded toys, leash, collar, and dog food. Next day I went back and got her. She was  happy to get into my truck and seemed right at home lounging in the back seat. The first several weeks were rigorous for me because I had to leash-walk her around my hilly yard to keep her physical activity minimal (until the safe-date had been reached regarding her heartworm treatment recovery). Once June arrived, this sweet dog could safely walk and run off-leash in our fenced-in backyard and everything got much easier for me. Her personality has blossomed and bloomed!  She is very affectionate, very smart, and IMO very beautiful.   

I would like to introduce to my readers my awesome, wonderful girl -- her name is Ruby.    

Ruby, The Horse Who Captured My Heart --

Yes, I will tell you about her. Also, I want to tell you about a wonderful local organization that rescues and rehabilitates neglected and abused horses. It was my major pleasure to visit their facility this past Saturday, which was their monthly adoption and visiting day. First, though, I’ll preface the details of what brought me there at that particular moment in time, with a bit of background.

One of the very noticeable phases the teenage girls of my time experienced was a strong interest in horses. I remember well the excitement of my high school girlfriends about "going horse-back riding" one or more times a week; I remember their descriptions of horses and I remember the sincerity of their passion about horses. I’m thinking that maybe the interest young women have in horses transcends generations and was not specific to the days of my youth. Anyway, those years, for me, were a time of dealing with survival issues, so I was not able to become involved with or think about horses then. Later on (years later), I became a strong animal advocate and have remained so, over the years, working on behalf of marine, farm, wild, and companion animals (dogs & cats). In fact, humane education and animal advocacy are a big part of my identity. But I never championed horses ... not until now.

A couple of years ago, I began writing legislative letters, urging enactment of laws to protect American wild horses and horses in general, from being sent to slaughterhouses. Eventually, a law was passed to ban horse slaughter in the U.S., though these magnificent animals are now shipped, under horrendous conditions, across Canadian and Mexican borders, to be killed there for European and Asian "delicacy" markets. Please read some of my earlier posts that urge letter-writing to legislators to protect our horses from this cruel fate.

Well, that’s enough preface. About two months ago, I was flooded with a deep, spiritual desire to make the acquaintance of horses in a hands-on way, no small wish for someone whose horse experience was limited to feeding Jake, the milk wagon horse, an occasional sugar cube when I was a tiny tyke ... and on one occasion, having a "pony ride" on a poor, patient horse at an amusement park when I was nine years old. As an aside (you know I frequently do asides), Jake faithfully toted his milk wagon around town for daily deliveries and would, occasionally, get disgusted with his toting job and just begin running wild, all over the place, until he either became tired or felt satisfied – with his wagon driver hanging on for dear life.

Anyway, my recent desire to get to know horses led me to Horse Haven of Tennessee. I was welcomed there by Nina, who founded and heads the effort there. A number of capable, cheerful volunteers were on hand and three of them tutored me on various things I needed to know. I took it all in. Remembering my few up-front meetings with Jake (and the driver’s instructions to "hold your hand flat") I asked if I could feed a treat carrot to a horse. Most of the horses were outside, but two were still in the barn. I felt drawn to one of them, softly called to her, and she responded by affectionately nuzzling my neck and then kissing the side of my face, much like Dixie (my dog) often does. So I held a carrot on one of my very "flattened" piano-playing hands and darling Ruby gently and carefully took the treat, and then another, and then another. I fell totally in love with this wonderful horse. On my drive home, the hauntingly beautiful song "Ruby" (from the 50s or 60s) floated into my head and I've played it on the piano many times since. Ruby is available for adoption, as are several other nice horses at Horse Haven.

Horse Haven needs financial contributions to help with the costs of caring for the horses who are there and with the expenses involved with rescuing others. Check out the HHT website at www.horsehavenoftn.com. to read their news and see the horses. You will love it!