Tag Archives: papillons

July 2, 2020 · 01:34

Long Two Days, But Back with More Tomorrow

 

Friends of Padre Steve’s World,

It has been a long couple of day in which about 12 hours of each were spent on the road. As you know from my posts last week, we lost Judy’s emotional support and therapy dog Minnie Scule from Kidney failure at the age of 8 1/2 last Monday. Judy was distraught, depressed, and crushed by the loss of Minnie, who since she was an 8-9 week old puppy was Judy’s constant shadow and companion. She was an extremely complicated, funny, at times demanding and obnoxious pup, but she was sweet, and the bond between Judy and Minnie was amazing. As such our next two Papillons, Izzy and Pierre pretty much bonded with me and formed their own security, observation, and wrestling team.

A very special friend of ours saw what was going on with Judy and bought her a little Papillon puppy from her breeder. I had to get special permission to take Judy to New Hampshire and back, but this morning we were rewarded with little Maddy Lyn. She immediately bonded with Judy and rode on Judy’s shoulder the whole trip home. She is so smart, sweet, and adorable it is amazing. She is definitely Mommy’s girl, and in some things she acts a lot like Minnie. In others not, but I wonder if Minnie travelled up with us in spirit to giver Maddy some pointers.

As you can see from these pictures there already is a bond between them. By the way, she was great on the trip and is making herself at home here. As for Izzy and Pierre, who have transitioned from being the younger dogs, this is their first time having a puppy. Maddy follows  them around and it is so funny.

I am grateful for the support I have from my command, their willingness to give me permission to travel out of the area, and for the kindness of so many people.

So until tomorrow,

Peace,

Padre Steve+

1 Comment

Filed under life, papillons

Tagged as , , , , , ,

June 23, 2020 · 02:18

No Joy in Mudville: Our Mighty Minnie is Gone

 


Minnie and Me on a Mission from God

Friends of Padre Steve’s World,

John Grogan wrote:

“Such short little lives our pets have to spend with us, and they spend most of it waiting for us to come home each day. It is amazing how much love and laughter they bring into our lives and even how much closer we become with each other because of them.“

I find it is amazing how true that is. We have been blessed by some of the most amazing dogs who have each occupied our lives in fascinating ways. They have been lovers, consolers, jokers, and defenders. All had or with our two remaining Papillons, Izzy Bella, and Pierre, have carved out distinct places in our canine-human pack. I live to come home and see them jumping up and down, barking and waging because I am home. In fact they start looking for me even before I get home because they know the routine.

We have been owned by six dogs in our marriage, each with a distinct personality and place in our pack, beginning with our German Wire Haired Dachshund and Dowager Queen Frieda. Frieda could be sweet, but she was cunning and had an attitude. We loved her but it was kind of like Stockholm Syndrome because while Frieda loved us, she was her own dog, and we were the bumbling help. If you have ever had a difficult and headstrong Dachshund, imagine that pup being a 28 pound German standard size one, bred as a hunting dog, with not an ounce of fat on her, big boned, lots of muscles, teeth like that of an Alsatian, and jaws that could lock down. She was incredibly smart and devious, and we referred to her as the Queen. That being said she was incredibly gentle to children and old ladies. Judy and Frieda had an almost psychic bond, it was like Frieda was always inside Judy’s head. We lost her in early 2001 at the age of 16 1/2 years, and three days. She shared Judy’s birthday. When Frieda died I was deployed to Okinawa, mainland Japan, and Korea. Judy did her best to keep her alive for my return but it didn’t work out. When she died, Judy recalled that it was like her mind was alone. However, Frieda never really left our lives, we both had paranormal encounters with her, and sometimes I catch out of the corner of my eye a Frieda sized shadow figure. Go figure.

We got our second pup, also a dachshund but a smooth hair red dachshund designed to American, not German specifications. We named her Greta, and she was sweet, but a thief and chow hound. She was mommy’s girl, completely codependent and attached to Judy. She was sweet, and when she saw little girls when we walked her she would roll over to get her belly rubbed. She was smart, sweet, but somewhat dour in personality, but she could be funny without meaning to be. When we got her Frieda retired from watch dog and patrol duties and handed them off the Greta. Frieda was like someone who retired from the military at 20 years and lived to be 120, collecting retirement and demanding her due. We lost Greta on June 22nd 2003 to cancer, 17 years to the day before we lost Minnie.

Six months after we lost Frieda, we got Molly. Molly was a rescue found of North Carolina Highway 24 in Carteret County. When found she was covered in tar as the highway was being widened and repaved. Judy met the lady and Molly at our vets office and since Judy thought Molly was a dachshund told the lady that we had a lot of experience with dachshunds and to call us if she needed advice. We it turned out that Molly, who was estimated by the vet to be about six months old was too much for this lady’s old dog which suffered from hip problems. She asked if we would consider taking her and I said why not. However, Molly wasn’t fully dachshund, she was a dachshund-papillon mix. She had the long dachshund body, slightly longer legs, the beautiful long fur coat of a long rich red hair.her body was that of a dachshund but her legs, ears and tail didn’t look at all like a dachshund. Being a mix she was fascinating, one day she could be the cheerful Papillon, and the next the “what the hell do you want Dachshund.” But she was smart, somewhat devious and mischievous, but always good for a long snuggle and kiss fest. She was a daddy’s girl, but Judy’s protector during a period where I was deployed or away from home more often than not. In late 2010 I was assigned to the Naval Hospital at Camp LeJeune, North Carolina and I rented an apartment under a beach house on Emerald Isle. While there Judy and Molly would occasionally visit, but in early 2012 Judy had to have an Achilles’ tendon resection surgery. Since our home in Virginia is nothing but stairs, we decided that she should do her first month of recuperating with me, because my apartment was ground level and had nary a step to be found. Molly came down and during that month, decided that regardless of what mommy was doing that she was going to stay. On Emerald Isle she could chase deer, squirrels, foxes, and go for walks on the beach. She also had a daddy who would take her for rides which usually ended up with her being rewarded with a Molly Burger from either Hardee’s of McDonald’s. However, not long before I was reassigned back to the Hampton Roads area in late 2013, Molly went blind from a  genetic disorder. One day she was snapping Dragonflies out of the air, and the next she was running into things. But, she adapted to blindness marvelously. We bought her a visor to protect her eyes and she used it like a blind man’s cane, tapping her way through the house without missing a beat. However in early 2014 she developed Kidney Disease and died in May 2015, just over the age of 14. It was a good thing that Molly came to live with me, because in those years I was so wracked with PTSD that had she not been waiting for me that I could have easily driven my car into a tree and ended my life. Molly saved my life more than once.

However, because we loved the Papillon side of her personality, and because if she stayed with me Judy would be alone, I decided to look for  Papillon puppy, and I found Minnie. When the breeder sent me the picture of a very tiny yet confident and cocky puppy, I knew that she was the one. Judy named her Minnie Scule because fro what she read she didn’t expect Minnie to get over 7-8 pounds. When we got Minnie she was just 2.4 pounds with tiny little legs and a somewhat oval body. Judy nicknamed her the piglet. However, Minnie took to sitting on Judy’s shoulders like a parrot would do with a Pirate. But Minnie kept growing and at one point she was all ears, legs, and tail, a gangly puppy. But then she started to fill out and for most of her life weighed between 13-15 pounds. She had a huge personality. She talked like Scooby Doo, and was demanding like a Frieda, but much sweeter about it and without Frieda’s armament. I encouraged her worst habits. She was a thief, could be defiant, and was not always obedient unless food was involved. But above all she was mommy’s girl, not that she didn’t like spending time with daddy who would walk her around the lake in our neighborhood and let her chase ducks and geese, and as any good spaniel would do, jumped into the lake in pursuit. But Judy was always first in her heart, she was her shadow and constant companion.

Monday, was sad day in our household, Judy and I lost our Minnie Scule to Kidney failure and probable sepsis this evening. Over the past few months she has been battling it, but over the past couple of weeks she would have good days and bad, some days she would eat and other times not, and and her weight went down from about 14 1/2 pounds to by today less than ten.

But it was last week when things started to get really bad. She stopped eating and no matter what we tried we couldn’t get her to eat. So we began to make daily visits to the vet where we would drop her off for tests, IVs, medication, and really everything the vet could try to attempt to reverse the course of the disease and to try to get her to rally. On Saturday it seemed like she might be rallying but Sunday morning she was worse. While at home we did everything the vet had us do and more, but even had she staged a rally, she might have just lived another couple of weeks or months.

Last night was weird. She usually sleeps next to Judy or between her legs. About 3 AM Judy got me up because Minnie wasn’t on the bed. We looked everywhere and couldn’t find her and she wouldn’t respond to us. I finally found her curled in some clothes in a pull out bin on my side of the bed. I have heard the stories of dogs who knew it was time to die by leaving home and going into the woods, but since she couldn’t get out and was really too week to go anywhere else in the house she went to that spot. I got her back in the bed, and we both petted her for a long time and told her how much that we loved her.

Today we took her in for a last ditch effort, but I could tell that her breathing was labored and heartbeat too fast, and she was pretty much skin, fur, and bones. Not long after I got out of my latest set of knee injections at the Naval Medical Center I got a call from the vet who has been seeing her since she was a 2.4 pound puppy. He was not hopeful at all but gave us some options which included taking her to a 24 hour emergency veterinary hospital where she could receive round the clock care, but I didn’t expect that to do anymore and asked if at the end of the day we could take her home and see how she did. He was agreeable to that and agreed to meet us in the morning as he had to leave early, leaving her in the care of another very good and experienced vet who we also really like. About 4 PM, the other doctor called and said that she had gotten significantly worse. So we made the decision that it was time. We got to be with her and the doctor who had been hers since the beginning came back to the office to be with us.

Minnie was on Judy’s lap, completely limp, With no energy at all, and her breathing worse than in the morning. She lay completely limp in Judy’s arms as we petted and talked to her, then mustering whatever strength she had left she shifted her body in order to be in a place where she could see both of us, and then collapsed again in Judy’s arms. She Expended her last ounce of strength to see us. She knew that it was time. She was so weak that the injection took just seconds to put her out of her suffering. She died in Judy’s arms with me beside her. Despite, that her face looked calm, and she never lost her beauty. It was hard to believe that she was gone.

We had dinner and Judy went to bed with Izzy going up to be with her while Pierre, the daddy’s boy that he is came downstairs with me as I tried to answer the hundreds of condolences and heartfelt messages that we received in less than a couple of hours. They were all heartfelt and genuine. I could just barely reply to a few because I was just trying to hold the tears back. So I went through my email I had a really kind message from Mikey Weinstein, head of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation. When I read it I burst out crying. It was one of the kindest, most considerate notes on a personal loss I have ever received from anyone. He found out through a mutual long time friend that Minnie had died, and his words had the depth our soul, character, and spirituality that are lacking in so many Christian churches and other religious organizations.

Mikey is a friend, and his organization defended me when one of my retired parishioners at my old chapel attempted to have me tried by Court Martial for a sermon that I preached, in which he made bold faced lies about what I said. But the command conducted an investigation and I lawyered up with the best, the MRFF. The attorney handled the investigation well, and the investigating officer interviewed over half of the congregation present that day. None corroborated the lies of my accuser and the investigation was dropped. What was interesting was that one of the questions asked was how each parishioner viewed me. Active duty personnel, a tiny minority in the congregation had no problems with what I preached on that day, and regardless of their race they defended me to a person. The retiree population was another matter. Blacks viewed me and my preaching favorably, one even saying that my words that day “sounded like the voice of God.” But the Whites, though not backing the accuser, all said that they thought that I “was too liberal to preach in a military setting.”

I found that perplexing because when I preach I use the texts from the lectionary and apply basic Catholic theology and social teaching to them and couple them to what is known as the Anglican triad, of Scripture, Church Tradition, and Reason. Then I preach a sermon firmly grounded in these. As well as history, since I also happen to be a historian, but I digress. The point is, that Mikey came to my aid when most Christians, including some members of the Chaplain Corps would have thrown me under the bus. I respect him, and I love him.

His note meant so much, not that the other expressions from so many others mean anything less, because I appreciated all of them, and as I said I was fighting back the tears when I read them.

Mikey noted something else in his reply to my reply on his first email. He noted how much his dogs were like family, and that they tended to be better friends and more loyal than most people. I have to agree with that. Others, going back to the Greek philosophers have said much the same thing.

Charles Darwin noted: “Man himself cannot express love and humility by external signs, so plainly as does a dog, when with drooping ears, hanging lips, flexuous body, and wagging tail, he meets his beloved master.“

When I think of Minnie, and our other pups, I think of that. She was a joy, I shall never forget her and I will always miss her. If I get to heaven, I know that she will be waiting for me, with Molly, and maybe Frieda and Greta, and providing that if I outlive them, certainly Izzy and Pierre.

Until whenever,

Peace,

Padre Steve+

16 Comments

Filed under dogs, faith, life, Loose thoughts and musings, papillons, PTSD

Tagged as , , , , ,

April 12, 2019 · 21:20

Recovery Night

Judy Waiting For Her Trip to the Operating Room

Friends of Padre Steve’s World,

It has been a hellaciously long and tiring day, following a long day of preparation.

On the positive side Judy’s knee replacement surgery was very successful and recovery wise she is well ahead of where she was weeks after the first surgery. The hospital physical therapist was really impressed.

This is mostly a testimony of how hard she worked in physical therapy after the home healthcare physical therapist pushed her so hard that she tore one of her quadriceps, setting back her recovery by over a month. Of course back then she walked into the hospital on crutches, she couldn’t walk without them. It has been months since she used them last and now is using the stair rider only when she has to carry heavy loads upstairs.

My Regal Pierre Puppy

Now I am home sipping a glass of wine and hanging out with our puppies. In the morning I’ll go back over the floors and master bath so that when she comes home it is to as sterile environment as I can make it. The puppies won’t be happy because for the next week or so I will be living with them downstairs at night to make sure she doesn’t get any infections. Since the puppies love to cuddle us at night they will not be happy that they only get daddy, especially Minnie, who is Judy’s shadow. Pierre and Izzy would just as soon hang with me but when we go to bed Izzy likes to sleep on the pillow behind Judy’s head. Pierre, the cool puppy just likes his space on the cedar chest at the foot of our bed. Even so, I’ll be on the couch and they will be positioned around me like last night. During the day we’ll put a flat sheet on top of our duvets so they can hang out with us under close supervision.

Minnie making a Bed on a Quilt Judy had folded and put on Our Linen Shelves

As for the rest of the day I was tired. After Judy left the preparation stage and went to the OR I went and got breakfast with lots and lots of coffee prior to going to the memorial service for our friend Mitch Vickers, before dashing back to the hospital to wait for her to go to her room. In that time I did a bit more work on the pamphlet that I am preparing to go along with my sermon at Norfolk’s Temple Israel on the last Sabbath of Passover and the beginning of Holocaust memorial week.

One of Izzy’s nicknames is Miss Kiss

So anyway, I am pooped. I’ll probably watch a movie and some episodes of The West Wing of Cheers before I let the pups out one more time and lay my head down on the couch. If you wonder why I do this, it is because Minnie will keep me awake barking all night if she is cut off from us. To help her, at the suggestion of Judy I have put one of Judy’s nightgowns for Minnie to snuggle on.

Thank you for your kind words, thoughts and prayers. We really do appreciate them.

So until tomorrow,

Peace,

Padre Steve+

2 Comments

Filed under healthcare, Loose thoughts and musings, papillons

Tagged as , , ,

April 11, 2019 · 22:47

A Day of Preparation

Friends of Padre Steve’s World,

Today has been as busy and tiring day as I have tried to get ready for Judy’s Second knee replacement surgery early. The effort was hindered and pushed back when my right knee gave out I fell down my porch last Thursday. It led to Judy doing a lot more of the work than she was expecting. Today I came home after work and did all I could before I pooped out to continue to get the house ready for when Judy returns from the hospital, most likely Sunday.

We have to be at the hospital at 6:30 AM and while she is probably either finishing surgery or in recovery I will be attending the funeral of our friend Mitch Vickers who died in his sleep last week. Then it will be back to the hospital for much of the rest of the day before I head home, let to puppies out and get back to work. I anticipate that I will complete what I can on Saturday with the expectation that she will be home Sunday. My knees hurt, my hip hurts, and my ankles hurt, but I got some work done. Eventually, I did some work on some materials I am writing for a sermon I will be delivering on the last day of Passover at a local synagogue where a friend is the Rabbi. The title is Lest We Forget: Walk, Remember and Bear Witness: Bearing Witness to the Holocaust when All who lived it Have Passed Away.

It will become my next book draft and deal with how history, memory, and walking those sacred places where the heinous crimes of the Nazis which beggar the imagination, the Holocaust was executed by Hitler’s SS, the army, the police, civilian Party and government offices, aided by the corporations that profited from the war and use of slave labor.

Eventually you will see portions of it here, although much has already been written due to my visits to those hallowed sites, and illustrated with my own photos and pictures from the era.

Pray for Judy, Mitch’s wife Barbara, and wish me well. By the way the puppies won’t be happy, because for a while they will be banned from sleeping with us. But such is life. By the way, Pierre says hello.

Until tomorrow,

Peace,

Padre Steve+

10 Comments

Filed under healthcare, holocaust, life, Loose thoughts and musings

Tagged as , ,

October 20, 2018 · 22:07

Dog Days: Pierre has Emergency Stomach Surgery

Friends of Padre Steve’s World,

I didn’t post anything last night because we had a bit of a crisis with our little Papillon boy, Pierre.

He had an upset stomach and threw up earlier in the week but still acted pretty normal so we weren’t concerned. He continued and also had diarrhea and started being a bit lethargic so Judy took him to the vet. Then there wasn’t too much cause for alarm, although some liver enzymes were elevated. There were a number of possible causes for the elevated levels, but none were obvious, so he was sent home with medication scheduled for a follow up visit the next day.

He didn’t improve and was in obvious pain so x-rays were taken and they revealed that he had a lot of gas in his stomach. So that night we watched him closely and took him back in Friday morning. This time his discomfort was more pronounced, more x-rays were done and he was taken in for emergency exploratory surgery in case he had ingested any foreign objects or toxins. None were found, but he had a very angry ulcer in his stomach. The veterinarians took care of the bleeding, cleaned out his stomach, took a biopsy of the ulcer, and sent him home with us and a lot of medications.

When we discussed the situation with the vet, who has taken care of our dogs since we moved here in 2003 we came up with the probable cause of what happened. We think that he ingested or inhaled portions of a very large, dried out, purple mushroom that was in a pile of branches that were knocked off our tree in our backyard. It would account for the high liver enzymes and the ulcer which came on so quickly. We went home with the vet’s wife’s cell number in case we had any emergencies during the night.

The good news is that he did well and is recovering very well. We are having to keep him from jumping on the furniture and wanting to do his own thing. At the same time we have had to deal with a less than five pound dog who is not happy about having medications pushed on him. That being said it is funny to have such a little boy growl every time he knows he is getting medication.

and who still didn’t want eat this morning after we took him back to the vet to get his IV catheter out and a post surgery check. That being said, he has been more cooperative with his medications, especially since we put the pills in cream cheese, and he loves cheese. He is also eating now that we mixed cheese his recovery food and convinced him that it was safe by having Izzy eat a bit of it in front of him. If Izzy eats it, it must be good.

A funny thing happened when we brought him home this morning. We set up a pen for him with a Ed, his food and water, and a pee pad. He wasn’t happy at all with the restrictions. He sulked by the gate of the pen looking like a prisoner on strike, so we decided to keep him on our laps and only plan on putting him in the pen when we can’t watch him or both have to be out of the house.

I didn’t sleep well last night because I was hyper vigilant and worried about him. But today he he has spent most of the day on my or Judy’s lap. This afternoon I fell asleep on the recliner with him sleeping on me. Izzy occasionally checks on him, nuzzling him and kissing him. She is very sensitive and I think that she isn’t happy that her play buddy and security force partner is not feeling well.

So anyway, he seems to be doing well, so send your positive thoughts and prayers his way.

Until tomorrow,

Peace,

Padre Steve+

1 Comment

Filed under dogs, life, Loose thoughts and musings

Tagged as , , , , ,

June 24, 2018 · 00:05

Friends, Papillons, World Cup, and the Padre’s Pizza

Friends of Padre Steve’s World,

It has been a nice day with our friends in the DC area and our Papillon dogs. It was very relaxing, I got to sleep late, enjoy a nice home cooked breakfast with our friends. After that I retreated to the basement where I watched two World Cup games, Mexico vs. South Korea, and Germany vs. Sweden with Pierre and Izzy beside me on the couch.

Since I have been a fan of the German Mannschaft since mid-1980s when I first took an interest in the soccer with Bayern Munich and the National Team I have become a more and more serious follower of international soccer. I have to say that I really get into well played games especially when my teams are playing and when games are close and my team is on the verge of either advancing to another round or being eliminated things can become very tense, not that the world will end or anything like that, but sometimes it feels like it.

It was like that today when Germany, the reigning champions had to come back to avoid being eliminated in the group stage for the first time since before WWII. In fact they have reached the semifinals the past four World Cups. Tony Kroos the German National who plays for Real Madrid scores the winning goal in the 95th minute, which not only kept Germany alive but set them up well to advance if they defeat South Korea and Mexico with wins or ties against Sweden. Needless to say I will be cheering for Mexico as hard as will be Germany on Wednesday morning.

After the game I went back upstairs, relaxed and socialized and then made The Padre’s Pizza.

What most people don’t know about me is that I worked some of my way through college and seminary working in pizza parlors. While I was on my first active duty tour in the Army I began to experiment with my own pizza dough and sauce recipes and over the years I have become quite well known to my close friends for it. It’s a lot of work because I take the time to craft each pizza, and despite the work I find it very relaxing and good for stress relief. I should do it more often at home.

I love doing it. I love making the dough to perfection, seeing it rise, and turning it into a pizza dough. I love cutting the vegetables so that they not only look good but cook perfectly. I love crafting the sauce with my own blend of spices. Then I love building the pizza so that when it cooks that it looks as spectacular as it tastes. There really is an art to it you don’t see every day.

Tonight I made large two 16″ New York style pizzas topped with mozzarella, provolone, Romano, and Parmesan cheeses, pepperoni, Italian sausage, fresh mushrooms, Roma tomatoes, and garlic, peperocini peppers, and Kalamata olives. I also whipped up a pizza crust which became garlic bread.

Sometimes people ask me why I don’t try to start a pizza parlor, but truthfully I do is truly artisan and trying to mass produce it would take away the fun and turn a stress relief activity into a chore. Likewise I will not answer the question of “when does a pizza become a pizza?” (An obscure Seinfeld reference.)

Now like last night everyone has gone to bed but me and Piere. I’m finishing this up so it will Post after midnight and I will go back to reading the book Seduced By Hitler: the Choices of a Nation and the Ethics of Survival. It was published in 2000 and while I have had it in my library for at least 10 years I never read it until this week. I’m about 40% through it and I will give a synopsis when done.

So anyway, until tomorrow.

Peace,

Padre Steve+

Leave a comment

Filed under life, Loose thoughts and musings, sports and life

Tagged as , , , , , , , ,

July 15, 2017 · 14:29

Lazy Saturdays and Puppy Love

                  Left to right: Minnie, Izzy, and Pierre giving me my Saturday morning wake up call 

Friends of Padre Steve’s World,

I love Saturday mornings. They are the time that I take the time to relax and do nothing except sleep late, enjoy my Minnie, Izzy, and Pierre, not to mention Molly who we lost in 2015. Since I returned from Iraq our dogs have been a source of comfort and joy, they do more for me than almost anything in the world. There is nothing better for dealing with PTSD than puppy love. This morning each of them took individual and group time with me as I lay in bed, and when I got up to drink my coffee and read all of my online news subscriptions at least one was snuggled next to me. I also love watching them play, which is yet another source of joy. 


Saturday’s are also the time when Judy and I catch up on little things. I like to browse the grocery store, and take care of simple chores, nothing big because that would entail real work. When I finish my cup of coffee and get a shower I’ll do the grocery store and run a few other errands before coming home.  Today Judy is making earrings for a silent auction at the Gordon Biersch Christmas in July tapping which will be used to offset medical costs for the mother of one of our servers. She is waiting for a double lung transplant. One thing I do like about Biersch, it is a family affair. For us it is our version of Cheers – place where everybody knows our name. When Judy went through her cancer surgery two years ago it was the people from Biersch, managers, chefs, servers, bartenders, and friends who rallied to help. Church friends simply said they pray, but none bothered to even visit during her hospitalization or prolonged recovery. 


So now it is time to get ready to run those errands and hit the grocery store. Izzy will have to have her snuggle time interrupted, and she is not happy about it, but such is life.

Until tomorrow,

Peace

Padre Steve+ 

Leave a comment

Filed under Loose thoughts and musings, papillons

Tagged as , , ,

May 23, 2017 · 06:30

Papillion Therapy


Friends of Padre Steve’s World,

Dean Koontz wrote: “Petting, scratching, and cuddling a dog could be as soothing to the mind and heart as a deep meditation and almost as good for the soul as prayer.”

I do believe that Mr. Koonz is correct. We don’t have kids, not that we didn’t try, but we have always had dogs. Our first two dogs were Dachshunds, Frieda, a Wire Hair that we got in Germany, and Greta a smooth hair that we got in Texas. They were both great dogs and we still have a soft spot for Wiener Dogs. 


But today we are blessed to have the three best dogs in the world, Minnie Scule, Izzy Bella, and Pierre. They are all Papillons, a small breed of Spaniels from France. The breed is ranked in the top ten most intelligent breeds and they are in my view scary smart. But they are also incredibly sweet, sensitive, playful, decidedly quirky and sometimes obnoxious, in a good way.


I love spending Saturday and Sunday morning with Judy and our babies. Sometimes we sleep late and then after they have gone out to do their business just lay in bed with them, and let them play or cuddle. It is one of the most therapeutic things in the world for both of us since we both suffer from PTSD and have struggled with depression. They are so therapeutic that I often stay off the internet and social media just to enjoy them. 


Our Papillon experience began with Molly, a half-Papillon and half-Dachshund mix that we got as a rescue in September of 2001. We lost her at age 14 in May of 2015, but she was an amazing dog. Exceptionally sensitive and sweet, Judy nicknamed her “Nurse Molly” because if we were physically sick or depressed she would be there doing whatever she could to comfort us. In 2011 Molly decided that she wanted to live with me when I was stationed in North Carolina as our home in Virginia with Judy couldn’t compete with chasing deer off my lawn or running on the beach. So a few months later we got Minnie.



Now Minnie was only two and a half pounds when we got her and she became Judy’s baby. Until she got too big she would sit on Judy’s shoulder like a Parrot. Minnie is funny. She’s very smart, and sweet, but very quirky. She talks like Scooby Doo and has something to say about everything. She’s now five years old, when I walk her in the neighborhood she likes to chase the ducks, geese, and rabbits occasionally diving into the water after a duck. She’s also my drinking buddy. She loves to steal my beer and is an incorrigible thief, but we love her. She can be aloof at times and acts like she’s the Queen of the manor. Minnie grew up a bit. We thought she would be about 7-8 pounds but she topped out at 12 pounds, sometimes a bit more. She has the light bone structure of a classic Papillon and is a Black and White with the black ticking that looks like freckles and a crooked blaze that makes her almost look like a dwarf Australian Shepherd.


A couple of months before we lost Molly we got Izzy. Izzy is fascinating. She like Molly is our nurse and once when we had a friend over and he was mourning the loss of his parents, she glued herself to him trying to make him feel better. In fact it is my plan to get her certified as a therapy dog. We got Izzy at the same age we got Minnie but she was already four pounds and built like a tank. The first time our vet met her he picked her up during the examination and said “My, she’s sturdy!” Sturdy is not a word commonly associated with the breed, but Izzy is just that. Slightly smaller in height and length than Minnie she outweighs Minnie by a pound or a pound and a half. She’s built like a tank, not an ounce of fat on her, just solid muscle and bone. When she jumps on you, especially if you’re not expecting it can take the wind out of you, it’s like being blindsided by a linebacker. Izzy is a very distinctive looking Tricolor who is also incredible agile and loves to dance doing pirouettes when she wants attention.



Izzy and Minnie have been together now a bit over two years and in February we ended up getting our little boy Pierre unexpectedly. Some friends found that his owner could not afford surgery for a luxating patella. They helped arrange for us to get him and he is a joy. He’s a year old and at 4.5 pounds is about as big as he is going to get. He’s incredibly sweet, has a bit of a grumpy side when he doesn’t want to do something, and like Minnie he is talkative, and like Izzy he is incredibly playful. Despite their size difference he and Izzy play constantly and when they wrestle they grapple like MMA fighters with Pierre fighting a bit out of his weight category, but he gives as good as he gets. Sometimes when we go to bed it is time for them to launch their evening Pappy War.


Our life is better for having our puppies, they are amazing therapy. So I guess when I get home from work I’ll get greeted by the three pups and when we get back from our time out with friends we’ll have our evening play and snuggle time with Minnie, Izzy, and Pierre.

Life is good. Have a great day,

Peace

Padre Steve+

2 Comments

Filed under dogs, papillons, PTSD

Tagged as , , , , , , , ,

April 3, 2017 · 06:30

Deaths, Funerals, Baseball, Tornadoes, and an Izzy Emergency


Friends of Padre Steve’s World,

Baseball great Leo Durocher once said, “You don’t save a pitcher for tomorrow. Tomorrow it might rain.” Those are words that can apply to almost anything in life as I was reminded of last week. Friday and Saturday were pretty hectic in my World and I have been moving fast and flying low.

My original plan, before my friend and coworker Mike passed away, was to continue moving things from my current office to my office at the base that I transfer to this month, and then meet a friend for the exhibition game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Norfolk Tides Friday afternoon. 


That of course changed. Friday morning began with a visit to the wife and son of Mike as the area was being inundated with torrential rain. As I said the other day I felt like I knew them just from what Mike had shared with me at work. To have to meet them for the first time in this situation was sobering. They are such nice people, as they told me of his last minutes alive I was reminded of what a good man he was and how much I will indeed miss him. Later in the day the funeral home called me and said that Mike’s widow asked if I would conduct his funeral. I am honored to be asked. 

I drove back to work after the visit as the rain continued without let up. When I got what I could do there done I drove back through the rain to meet my friend at the light rail station in order to go to the ballpark. When I got there the rain was still pouring down and I was really wondering if the game would be rained out. As I sat in my car waiting I looked at the local weather radar and saw that the worst was then passing through and that there was a break in the system. 

By the time we got to Harbor Park the weather was clearing, bit when I looked at the field there was standing water in the outfield and the warning track and foul corners looked like lakes. The ground crew was already working to dewater the field and remarkably they had the field in good shape and the game began just a few minutes after the scheduled first pitch. It turned out to be gorgeous baseball weath, as if the God of Baseball was smiling on us, and the game was good. We left it a bit early in the bottom of the 6th inning thinking that it was a 7 inning exhibition and as we left the ballpark the clouds were building up and the local EMS and news were broadcasting that the area was under tornado watch. 

Judy was planning to have a girl’s night out with a friend so I drove over Gordon Biersch and took my place at the bar. Shortly after I got there the National Weather Serice issued a tornado warning for Suffolk, which then was extended to Chesapeake and Virginia Beach. As I sat at the bar with my fellow Northern California friend Rick, the storm hit, the rain was crazy and mixed with a lot of hail. Judy ended up canceling her night out and it was good she did. The area she was going to had an EF-2 tornado touch down. When it was safe I went home, my personal weather station recorded almost 5″ of rain for the day. 

Things calmed down overnight and on Saturday morning we took our youngest Papillon, Pierre to get his bandages off his leg from his knee surgery as well as getting Izzy her first couple of her annual vaccinations. When we got home I went out and did our grocery shopping and looked for a present for a another friend’s birthday. By the time I got home and we had dinner I was just hoping to relax a bit before working on my taxes. About 9:00 PM Izzy came up to me snorting and coughing. I looked at her and saw that her face was swollen twice its normal size. I immediately scooped her up and was out the door on the way the the emergency veterinary hospital in under a minute; nothing like having worked in emergency rooms a good part of your career to understand that such hints are abnormal and potentially life threatening to motivate you to move fast. They took her back and it turned out to be an allergic reaction to her leptospirosis vaccine. She was given an injection of Benadryl and a steroid and came through everything fine, but it was scary. Izzy has been my therapy puppy since we got her. We have nicknamed her “Nurse Izzy” because of how sensitive she is to us and other people who are sick or depressed. She is a gem and I cannot imagine not having Nurse Izzy with me. For those who don’t have dogs this may sound strange, but she has been a lifesaver for us. 

It was almost 11:00 PM by the time I got home with Izzy. Upon arriving she ran into the house and started playing with Minnie and Pierre and doing what we and other Papillon parents call the “zoomies.” 

Sunday was a day for chilling out, breakfast with Judy and friends followed by some time with my friend who was having the birthday. This week will be busy, Mike’s funeral, my taxes, and a number of other things that got pushed back amid all the craziness last week. Even so, all things considered things could be worse, it could be raining. 

Have a great start to your week. Love those around you and hug a furry friend if you have one. 

Peace

Padre Steve+

1 Comment

Filed under Loose thoughts and musings

Tagged as , , , , , , , ,

October 29, 2016 · 06:30

The Papillon Gambit

Izzy and Minnie on the Hunt

Friends of Padre Steve’s World

I love my two Papillons, Minnie and Izzy. Minnie is coming up on five years old while Izzy is coming up on two. They are from different breeders and have completely different personalities but they are a perfect pair and a great team.

They both are sweet and incredibly intelligent; in fact they are scary smart and they continue to surprise us with their scheming and attitude.

I try to walk them around the lake near our home two to three times a day. There are a lot of ducks as well as geese, not to mention other birds, squirrels, and rabbits for them to track and chase. I know that is nothing unusual for anyone with a dog, most dogs love to chase and to hunt. However, lately these two have pulled something new that none of our other dogs have ever done and which we have not taught them to do, though I wish I had. I hate to admit it but I do encourage their bad habits.

Recent they have adopted a classic military strategy to outflank and surround the ducks and geese. One will go down the bank of the lake and chase them toward the other who goes higher and then comes down to cut off their retreat. It is amazing to watch. They both have different methods of the hunt. Most of the time Izzy plunges headlong to the attack, but Minnie, she quietly sneaks up, almost crouching and tiptoeing as she stalks her prey. 

When they perform what I now call the Papillon Gambit, it is Izzy who goes down the bank to flush out the prey, while Minnie sneaks around the flank, but last night they switched roles. It was amazing to watch. Yesterday, during their morning walk Izzy took the low road on some Muscovy ducks while Minnie went high and dove down. This time the ducks didn’t realize it until the last second and for the first time I actually saw them take to flight in order to avoid being trapped. But this time they barely escaped. In a near panic the ducks turned and flew away from Minnie and a large drake barely avoided being snatched out of the air by Izzy. Had she got him it would have been really interesting. 


Minnie and Izzy 

Now mind you, Minnie and Izzy are not very big, even though they are large for Papillons, Minnie is 12 pounds while Izzy weighs in at 13 pounds. Papillons do vary in size, some as small as 3 pounds and some up to twenty, but most fall into the 6 to 8 pound range. Minnie is actually a bit taller and longer than Izzy, but Izzy is built like a tank. She doesn’t have an ounce of fat on her, but as our vet said when he first saw her as a puppy, she is sturdy. The ducks in question are bigger than either of them, the males (drakes) average 10 to 18 pounds in weight while the females are a bit smaller. It is really funny to see such little dogs stalking such big prey. The one Izzy almost caught was large, probably in the 15-16 pound range. 

For those that don’t know much about the breed, they are Spaniels. Like other bigger breeds of Spaniels they are not afraid of water, or mud and occasionally will dive into the water to go after ducks or geese. They are also considered to be among the top dog breeds in terms of intelligence. They are incredibly sweet, loyal, and unfortunately sometimes they are a bit headstrong, with an attitude that you wouldn’t believe. That being said I have never seen two dogs work in tandem as these two girls do. They execute perfect flanking movements in order to trap their prey, you’d think that they were foxes or wolves, but they are Pappies.


Back in the 17th and 18th Centuries Papillons were a favorite among French royalty, in addition to being great lap dogs they doubled as great ratters, keeping the royal palaces free of vermin. It is written that Queen Marie Antoinette carried her pet papillon with her to the guillotine;  nothing is written as to whether the dog shared her fate, but I can imagine that the Papillon took a bite out of the executioner’s leg. Likewise, Madame Pompadour, mistress of King Louis XV, cherished a papillon called Inez. Despite being small, they are tough little dogs, and while incredibly sweet and friendly they are fearless. I find that quality quite endearing. 

breedhistory-010

The papillon also appeared regularly in paintings featuring the 17th and 18th century royal children and ladies at court done by such old masters as Rubens, Titian and Van Dyck.Since we haven’t had problems with rats, Izzy tries to catch any flies or other insects that might come into view. It is fun to watch her trap and kill flies. 

538419_10151072307562059_250921066_n

I have to say, that these two girls bring me a lot of joy and are exceptional therapy dogs for my continued struggle with the ongoing effects of PTSD. God I do enjoy them and how can I not?

Have a great weekend,

Peace

Padre Steve+

3 Comments

Filed under dogs, papillons, PTSD

Tagged as , ,