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Cricket’s Thoughts

Cricket's Thoughts

1 Puppy 2 Puppy 3 Puppy

It’s 4 am when I hear a very faint whining coming from somewhere.

As I walk in to check on the puppies, the whining stops, but I continue on to check anyway, not trusting that Sassy isn’t sitting on one.

I see a bunch of sleeping puppies.

1 puppy

2 puppy

3 puppy

4 puppy

5 puppy

6 puppy

7 puppy

8 puppy

Awwww…. 8 sleeping puppies.

HUH?

Wait a second…

1 puppy

2 puppy

3 puppy

4 puppy

5 puppy

6 puppy

7 puppy

8 puppy

SASSY!!!!!!!!

Where did you put the puppy??

DANG IT SASSY!!!

Yes, I know she whines a lot and you get sick of it, but I am getting very sick of this game.

WHERE DID YOU PUT THE PUPPY?????

(Sassy hangs head in shame)

I now begin a room by room search for the missing puppy.

ONE HOUR LATER!

I find the missing puppy sound asleep under the couch in the front office.

Finally I return the mia puppy who is now screaming its head off, and tell Sassy to feed it.

The puppy begins eating like it hasn’t eaten in ages while Sassy glares at me.

Sassy is not going to win the mother of the year award…
 

Thanks For Being A Part Of My Life!

Cricket Walker

Cricket's Thoughts

Puppies Are Everywhere!

It’s been a little over two weeks now. As much as I like to complain that we have puppies everywhere, I have already fallen madly in love with these brats. You can’t help but smile from ear to ear when you spend any time at all watching them.

Faces Only a Mother Could Love!

With faces that only a mother could love, they are so dang ugly that they’re cute. Go ahead! Take a closer look . Then let me know which one is YOURS!

This is when they are the cutest!

Each and every one of them have very distinct personalities which are amazingly similar to people! It’s like watching a bunch of kids. Some are less secure and hang close to their mother. Others wander off to investigate the world. Some are content to wait their turn to eat.

The bullies though, jump right over the top and force their way in, threatening anyone who dares to question their right to be first in line. You just have to laugh…

Life is truly good!

Thanks For Being A Part Of My Life!

Cricket Walker

Cricket's Thoughts

Nine Screaming Puppies

Sassy was fascinated with motherhood for all of two days. Or, perhaps she was simply too tired those first two days to argue about the whole thing. In any event, her intrigue with the puppies is over.

She spends every waking moment finding ways to hide nine different puppies in nine different locations and then promptly lays in the driveway sunning herself. This of course leads to SCREAMING puppies waiting to be found.

Haley and I have counted to nine so often this last week that I am considering learning to count in several languages.

The Face of a Screaming Puppy!

In Sassy’s defense, it cannot be fun feeding and taking care of nine fussy puppies. They are truly huge puppies. They do not all fit at the dinner table at the same time, so she must feed them in shifts.

Of course those that cannot survive the bullies of the litter end up waiting in line screaming.
 

Thanks For Being A Part Of My Life!

Cricket Walker

Cricket's Thoughts

A Special Gift or Two

When our dog Sassy adopted us, I never imagined the joy and companionship she would bring to our lives. Yes, my wording here was intentional. We did not initially choose Sassy. She chose us. Stray animals just seem to find their way to our house. It took Sassy all of 15 minutes to work her way into my heart.

About a month ago, I noticed that Sassy seemed quite a bit heavier. At first I simply attributed this to the fact that she was underweight when she came to live with us and that she was finally filling out.

It wasn’t long though before I realized that this went far beyond filling out. She was getting just plain fat! I honestly thought that perhaps I had been feeding her too many treats and contemplated cutting her back a bit.

ARE WE HAVING PUPPIES???

When she began waddling with her belly nearly dragging the ground, I could no longer deny that Sassy was about to give us a special gift or two. I began researching everything I could get my hands on so I would know what to expect. I don’t know why I bothered though, because absolutely nothing went the way the books told me it would.

This one never stops eating!

I do not care how much time you spend planning and setting up the perfect place for a dog to have puppies. In the end she will have them where she danged well pleases. It will NOT be even close to where you wanted. In fact, it is likely to be the most inconvenient place possible!

She also does not care about your schedule. She is going to have them on her time schedule and not yours. She will begin delivering puppies at the exact point when you are sure you cannot keep your eyes open another minute.

To top it all off, every time you begin to think there can’t possibly be any more puppies in there, another one is going to come out to prove you wrong.

When it was all over, I may have been even more proud than Sassy was. Of course, I am certain that these must be the most beautiful puppies on the planet.

This one is finally quiet for a moment or two!

Sassy did not give us a special gift or two. She gave us NINE of them! We plan to put a few bows on these gifts so we have a good excuse to share them with others!
 

Thanks For Being A Part Of My Life!

Cricket Walker

Cricket's Thoughts

Me and Stray Animals

I am not much of a dog person.

I have always been a cat person.

For many years I had a HUGE pure black, long haired cat. He had an attitude that is a lot like mine. Every major challenge I faced in my life, he was right there beside me. He just seemed to know when I needed him the most and would be right there bringing me comfort.

He also made it perfectly clear that our home really belonged to him, but he graciously allowed me to stay as his guest. He did not like other people. In fact he hissed at visitors and made a sound much like a dog growling. We made a good couple, because at that point in time, I also did not allow people in my life.

It just wasn’t worth the pain.

When he died, I vowed I would never again allow myself to become attached to another animal. People had already long since been on the “do not get attached list”.

Then Jack and I got together. I guess I just realized he was already my very best friend in life, and no matter how badly I behaved, he didn’t seem to be going anywhere.

We would rescue animals, keeping them only long enough to get them healthy and find them a home. I would not allow myself to become attached because I could not risk the pain of losing another “friend”.

Jack would tell me that when the right stray came along, I would not be able to keep them out of my heart, no matter how hard I tried.

One day a gorgeous blonde shepherd wandered into our lives. He had been badly abused and roaming the woods for quite some time. He was near starvation and needed a ton of recuperation time. He would require an unbelievable amount of time and attention before he would be ready for a real home. I didn’t even like dogs, let alone a male dog.

It took him all of about 5 seconds to work his way into my heart.

Unlike the other strays that seem to find their way to me long enough for me to find them a home, this one was already home.

We had the most wonderful 3 years with Wolfie that I could ever imagine. He made me understand why dogs are often referred to as man’s best friend. He followed Haley everywhere and was very protective of our property. He knew he was not allowed on my bed, so he would wait until I would fall asleep and then jump in. I would never admit that I had of course felt him jump in because that would admit that I was allowing a dog to sleep between us. It was pretty hard not to notice a 90 pound shepherd jumping in the middle of us though.

The day a truck veered off the road and killed him instantly, I was devastated.

I cried for so many days that my eyes actually swelled shut.

I was so angry with myself that I had allowed myself to once again be in this position of unbelievable pain.

It was then that I knew, I couldn’t ever do this again.

Jack patiently asked me if I would have given up even one moment of the time I had with Wolfie to prevent the pain. I knew that I would not have. Every moment Woflie was with us was a blessing, but it didn’t stop the pain.

Others would frequently say, just get another puppy.

Jack would explain to them, that the only answer was time. Another puppy simply was not Wolfie. I truly tried to let several stray puppies into my heart, but it was not fair to them, as I was not ready.

Jack would again patiently explain to me, that animals choose us, not the other way around. He told me that when the time was right, I would once again allow the right pet into our lives.

We continued to rescue many animals during that time, but none stayed longer than it took for us to get them healthy and adopted into a good home. I simply could not risk the pain.

Over time I began to remember Wolfie with laughter instead of tears.

On Monday, I kept hearing sounds near the shop. I went out several times to see if the raccoons were getting themselves into trouble, but couldn’t find anything. This repeated itself several times.

I went out one last time just to make sure they hadn’t gotten themselves hung up in the equipment, or if a ‘possum had wandered down the hill.

Suddenly I realized there was a drop dead gorgeous full blooded Brindle Pit Bull laying under the utility trailer we use for hauling equipment. She seemed exhausted and very hungry.

I told her, “Look, I will find you some scraps in the house, but I am not going through this again. You can’t stay here, but I promise to find you a good home”.

She looked up at me with these eyes that were trying desperately to find comfort.

I said, “Oh for crying out loud. Fine, I will go buy you some dog food, but you are not coming in the house, and you are NOT staying!!!!”

I went to town to pick up some dog food. When I returned she was still under the utility trailer but her tail was thumping back and forth, so I figured she could stay long enough to get a full tummy, but she was not coming in the house and she was NOT staying.

It started getting dark. I looked out the window several times. She had not eaten, nor had she come out from under the utility trailer.

“OH FOR PETE SAKES!”

“Okay, you can come in the house, but you are not staying!!!”

She followed me everywhere I went in the house. While I worked on the computer she was laying across my feet.

“Okay you miserable mutt.  Just don’t get too comfortable because you are NOT staying!!”

Jack came home and really didn’t give it much thought. He went to the kitchen where we keep our vet supplies and started treating her. First a gentle bath, treatment for all the things strays have, from massive ticks to worms, and started her on heart worm medication. It was nearly 5 am before he was satisfied that he had done all he could do for her for the night.

She came back to where I was working and once again laid across my feet.

Jack mentioned that a 50 pound bag of dog food was quite a bit for a dog that wasn’t staying. I said yeah, but I wasn’t sure how long it was gonna take him to get her healthy and find a good home for a pit.

He smiled at me and said, ummm, Baby? Looks to me like she is already home.

I said, “SHE IS NOT STAYING!”

He said okay baby.

I made her a perfect bed for a dog in by the fireplace.

Finally we crawled in bed for the night. Within a few minutes she was standing next to the bed. I said, “Okay mutt, now listen to me. You are not getting in my bed and you are NOT staying!”

She looked up at me with these sad eyes that tore at my heart.

About 30 minutes later, as I drifted off to sleep she suddenly jumped in the bed between us. Jack quietly said, “I told ya she is already home.”

All checking for her owner seems to lead to another tourist dumping their dog at the boat landing that borders our property.

Her name is Sassy now, and she is home.

 

Thanks For Being A Part Of My Life!

Cricket Walker

Update 2007: In the time following the writing of this short story, I have learned to trust stray animals, but not men – go figure. (grin)