Found by the Side of the Road

Aren't they beautiful?!  My sister and I were driving home Wednesday afternoon when something in the tall grass off the side of the road caught our attention.  We both saw what appeared to be ears sticking up out of the grass.  So we turned the car around, got out and approached what we assumed was a puppy.  Well, it turned out to be two puppies.  So tiny and skinny and obviously starving.  We were able to pick up the little one right away.  But the larger girl ran off down the road.  I followed her and with the help of a passing truck who stopped traffic behind him, I was able to pick her up too.  I live in a very rural area of South Texas and people just do this kind of thing for each other.

What could we do but take these beautiful girls home.  I think they are some type of German/Belgian Shepard or Shepard mix and they are just gorgeous and so very sweet.  I can't believe how skinny they both are.   I assume they are sisters but one is much larger than they other and they have obviously been without food for quite some time.  Considering the freezing nighttime temperatures we've had these past few nights, it broke my heart to think how cold they must have been and how hungry they are.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do with them (although in my heart I'm pretty sure), but I know that for now, they are warm, safe, have food and water, lots of love and affection, and have a big crate with lots of warm blankets to sleep in.  Today I take them to my vet for a good examination.  Stay tuned :)

A Day at the River

This post has nothing to do with gardening and everything to do with my life in the Texas hill country.  My husband and I have a beautiful second home deep in the hills on the Dry Frio River.  We go there often, mostly on weekends, and just hang out.  It's a beautiful place and our dogs love it out there almost as much as we do.  We turn them loose in the river and they are as happy as they can be.

Last weekend was the first weekend in 10 years we were at the ranch house without our dog Bandit.  A sad time for sure, but it also made me realize that as much as Bandit loved the water and loved to swim, I had no pictures of either him or Tyson in the river.  I set out to remedy that last weekend.  I turned Tyson loose in the river and began taking pictures.  Now remember, Tyson is almost 11 years old; but in the water, he still acts like a young pup.  His mission in life is to chase and retrieve sticks.  Here is a small sampling of what our Saturday afternoon was like:

 Shake shake shake...

Would ya throw the stick already?!

 No stick is too big for Tyson :)

My beautiful sister just moved to Texas and is staying with us for awhile until she gets settled.  She and her little dog, Chico, came with us last weekend and Chico was "baptized" into the Dry Frio River (a misnomer because there is always water in the river).  Here is the lovely Carol and a few snapshots of Chico enjoying one of Texas' most beautiful rivers.

The dogs get along very well and Tyson was a great mentor for Chico, although Chico was *not* interested in going any deeper in the water than where her feet could touch the bottom!  The little minnows were quite intriguing to Chico as well. 

Despite missing Bandit and the huge void created by his absence, it was a wonderful weekend for all of us.  And Tyson was totally wiped out by Sunday afternoon.

But he is my best dog ever and I am so grateful that he is healthy (although quite arthritic) and still has such a zest for life.  Hang in there beautiful old boy Tyson, there's plenty more sticks to chase!

Goodbye Bandit

Friday was a very sad day for me.  We had to put our beautiful chocolate lab, Bandit, to sleep.  He was 10 years old and his hips had completely given out on him.  We've known for many months that his hips were bad but after seeing an x-ray of them a few weeks ago, we did not know just how bad.  Basically, they were completely worn out and he could barely walk.

Most labs are water dogs by nature, but Bandit was something else.  He lived for the water.  When we would go to our ranch house, we'd turn him loose in the river and he would just swim and swim and swim.  There was no need to entertain him by throwing sticks; he just loved to swim.  And he would make this little sing-song sound when he was swimming, like he was very happy where he was and wouldn't want to be doing anything else.

When we first got him he was a fat, wiggly little bundle of brown fur.  Of all the dogs, he was a little trouble maker when he was younger, always making mischief and getting into things he knew he wasn't supposed to (hence the name Bandit), but he simply wanted you to notice him and pay attention to him.  Which I gladly and lovingly did. 

He was a great dog and I miss him terribly already.  But he was suffering so much and I wasn't going to let him suffer any longer.  Although making that final decision was so very difficult. 

So on Friday, with his head in my lap and my tears on his face, and with Harry and my sister by his side, Bandit quietly and peacefully went to sleep. 

Rest in peace beautiful bad boy Bandit...You will always live in my heart.