Morgan

Our week got off to a rough start.  We had to put Morgan to sleep Monday morning.

She was almost 11 years old and for a Great Dane to not only live that long but live that long without any major health issues?  Props to her owners for keeping her in such great shape.

We had her smaller size on our side.  My dainty Dane rarely weighed more than 105 pounds, which helped her joints.  We treated her for pneumonia in the past 6 months and she had one other major illness in her lifetime but otherwise, she was as healthy as a you-know-what.

We adopted Morgan from the Mid-Atlantic Great Dane Rescue League.  She was four months old at the time and was one of three sisters given to the Rescue by a breeder who had saturated her market with Great Dane puppies.  The volunteer who took the puppies in said her husband only agreed to fostering three puppies if he got to name them.  The foster mom thought that was a fair deal and that’s how she ended up with Sky (as in the vodka), Harp (the beer), and Morgan (after my favorite: The Captain!).  It was fate, I guess.

Morgan wasn’t the most exciting dog, but that’s what we wanted: a gentle giant who liked walks but who wasn’t exploding with energy.  She was more like a cat in her needs for human interaction as she was perfectly happy to just lay on her bed, preferably in the sun, for the better part of the day.  Even from the beginning, she wasn’t overly needy; she definitely wasn’t a Velcro dog like I’ve heard so many Danes can be.  However, she did have “the lean” down to an art.   For those of you who haven’t met a Dane, they like to lean against your legs and be petted.  You have to be ready for this move because even a smaller dog like Morgan can knock you over if you aren’t prepared to accept their weight.

Morgan also had a habit of going between people’s legs.  She may not have been the tallest Dane around, but she took quite a few people by surprise with her trick.  Right, Mom?

Morgan was spoiled in that she always had to have a bed to lay on.  If the sun was just right and I wasn’t moving her bed to where she wanted it, she’d sigh, give me a dirty look, and lay on the floor, but she preferred to always have a bed between her and the ground.  When she laid down with her legs tucked up against her body, she looked like a much smaller dog and, well, I guess she was as you can see by how she squeezed her Great Dane body into a bed for a Boston Terrier.

Besides being my dainty Dane, I also called Morgan my Dane-a-roo.  Back in her younger days, she would get excited and jump up.  She wouldn’t jump on anyone.  She literally just jumped straight up into the air.  Silly puppy.

I know she’s now enjoying laying on a fluffy bed in a warm sunny spot as often as she likes.  The icing on the cake is not having to walk on any gumballs.  Those things used to get stuck between the pads of her paws, and she’d have to limp up to the back door so we could get them out for her.

Goodbye, old girl.  Give Tucker a hug from us.

Lapping it up

Last weekend, the McHusband took Mr. Crankypants – I mean Connor – out on the deck to see if some fresh air would help his mood.  It didn’t do too much for the baby, but his parents enjoyed the change of scenery and visit from the kitties.

Tori has always loved the McHusband and his lap.  When she was inside with us, she’d be on the other couch for an hour while I watched TV alone.  Soon as the McHusband sat down next to me, she’d leave her comfy spot and settle down in his lap.

Before long, Emma also had to see what all the excitement was about.

Ignore the crying baby.  See how Tori’s pretty much hugging the McHusband’s leg?  Actually, the McHusband shouldn’t feel too special; she used to assume the same pose with the couch.  I can relate; I love my spot on the couch, too.

Emma decided being on the table alone was just fine, thankyouverymuch.

Looks like that fresh air finally worked.

Scenes from (the days after) Thanksgiving

The families overlapped on Friday when Jenny and Chase joined me, my sisters, my mom, and the kids at the movies where we saw Frozen.

After that, Jenny and Chase went their own way and the rest of us headed back to Bri’s for lunch and hanging out.  When the McHusband got there later in the afternoon, we dragged Shannon out to the playground/greenway in Bri’s neighborhood and asked her to play photographer.

There are more, but I won’t bombard you with them. Shannon did a great job and got some really cute shots.  When she was done with the McHusband and me, we called Bri and had her join us so the McHusband could get some shots of the three sisters.

We got some cute ones.

 

And some silly ones.

Speaking of silly, let’s check on those kids.

They’re all gathered around the iPad watching a What Does the Fox Say? video.

We had a lovely grilled chicken dinner with rolls, Shannon’s corn casserole, and Bri’s roasted broccoli, and then we raided the dessert buffet once the kids were in bed.  Kinda evil of us to wait until they were asleep to break out all the sweets, huh?

The next day, Kevin left early to do car stuff and Jenny was taking Chase and Leah to Discovery Place Kids so we only saw them for a few minutes.

And I’ll wrap things up with a few pictures of the fur kids.

Hard to believe Morgan was once all black except on her chest and feet.  But at 9 1/2, she’s earned the right to sport a few gray hairs.

Morgan was soon joined by Monte and the McDad.

If you look very closely, you’ll see that the McDad is about as awake as the dogs.

Another Thanksgiving come and gone and it was wonderful to spend time with those we love.  I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that next year at Thanksgiving, we’ll have a kid of our own at the table. 

And I’m already looking forward to having a wine glass on that table.

Jerk cats

I don’t have a real post for you today, but if you have a few minutes, you should check out this video of cats stealing dogs’ beds.  My cats will do the same thing and the dogs just stand there, sometimes barking in protest, but then they give up and let the cats have the bed.

Man do I miss that sweet boy.  Don’t know if it’s the pregnancy hormones or what, but it’s amazing how emotional I’m getting over one picture.  I can’t believe it’s been almost a year since we lost Tucker.

But let’s end the post on a slightly more upbeat note.  Our animals have been known to share a bed as Morgan and Tori are demonstrating below.  It’s amazing how some sunshine on a cool day can bring them together.

Happy Hump Day!

Meet Monte

This weekend was a while in the making.  The McHusband and I decided a few months ago that we were ready to take the plunge and expand our family.

So this past Friday, we brought a puppy home.

Come on!  First, it’s us and second, it’s April Fool’s Day.  You didn’t really think I was going to make a pregnancy announcement, did you?

This is Monte.  He’s a Greater Swiss Mountain Dog.

He’s 8 1/2 weeks old and weighs 16 pounds.

He wasn’t too sure about his adoptive parents, but he took to his new sister immediately.  I think the jury’s still out on how she feels about him.

In the week before we picked Monte up, the breeder had given him a vaccine, dewormed him, and bathed him so for the first couple of days he wasn’t as perky and playful as you’d normally expect a puppy to be.

But by Sunday, he was feeling more normal and energetic.

Monte running around

We won’t be holding him like this for too much longer, that’s for sure.

Plenty more on Monte to come this week, including the Meet and Greet I hosted in his name on Friday.

P.S.  Happy Birthday, Bruce!

Two cats + lots of sunshine = bliss

I’m not sure anyone enjoyed the sun and warm weather this past weekend more than the cats.  They soaked up the sun like they were never going to see it again.

I’d put Morgan outside so she too could enjoy the beautiful early spring day and when she came back in, I left her bed out there.  Emma has always had a thing for the dog beds with the cedar in them.

I don’t know if the wood is akin to catnip or what, but it always makes her act a little strange.

Tori, with her black fur and extra layers of, well, we’ll call it insulation, preferred to be only sorta in the sun.

The glimpse of what’s to come weather-wise was a tease, but it was a good one.  We ALL have full-blown spring fever right now, that’s for sure.