Remembering - Memorial Day

Monday - May 30, 2011

Always Remember - Never Forget

Last year my partner and I went to a very special presentation at the Calvary Christian Center in Yuba City. They asked all the Vietnam Veterans to come up on the stage. My partner was the only female Vet, and I was the only doggie!! They put on an extremely realistic and moving montage of a Vietnam jungle patrol that gets ambushed, then airlifted to an Aid Station, which in turn gets attacked and severely damaged. The huge auditorium was filled with noises: first the subtle sounds of the jungle insects and the soldiers footsteps and equipment as they moved thru the aisles of the darkened auditorium, then the firefight with its M16s, AK47s and grenades, followed quickly by screams of pain and yells for the medic, then the helicopters to medivac them out to the Aid Station... 

At the sound of the M16s and the AK47s and the grenades, my partner started to get sick. She was rocking back and forth and shaking. When the helicopter sounds came, she went away from me. I tried really hard to bring her back: I pawed at her, jumped up on her, tugged hard on the leash. I even pawed at the soldier sitting next to her. I couldn't make her come back. I finally jumped really hard on her and she came back, but was really sick. The soldier was talking to her, but she wasn't talking back. She finally listened to me and got up to leave. Even though the auditorium was pitch black, I was easily able to find all the doors thru all the halls to get us outside. 

I found a hard place around a tree where my partner could sit awhile. I did a paws up and laid partially across her lap and let her hold me, breathe me, stroke me. When she finally slowed down, she gave me a nice treat and we got up to leave. Out by the parking lot, the Army had parked a bunch of their moving crates. From the old jeep to some pretty humongous thingies; they were all pretty impressive. We walked over there and my partner was pretty relaxed talking to the Officers & Soldiers. She told them she was once in the Army - they didn't seem to care as they were quite smitten by ME and my flashing, flouncy, fancy petticoats!! They let me get into their moving crates in the front row. My partner NEVER lets me get in the front row - and she always makes me wear a seat belt. These soldiers let me go in the front and I didn't have to wear a seat belt in any of the moving crates. They all laughed at me when I put my paws on the circles in front of the seats. What was funny about that? I see my partner doing that when she's in that seat. My partner had taken my vest off, so I got to be loose on my leash and got to solicit all the attention I wanted from these humans dressed in green clothes. They all looked alike. They must buy their clothes from the same store.

So for the last week, my partner has been doing the weirdest thing. She has been on this silver machine and has had it making loud noises. Thank heavens she has stopped it after today. She was listening to noises made by M16s, AK47s, grenades, machine guns and the dreaded helicopters. Every time the helicopters started, she'd begin to get shaky, and she'd go away from me. I'd paw at her leg, or jump on the sofa and push at her to bring her back. She did this a couple times every day. It was not a fun week.

My partner had been in contact with a nice Captain lady who had made arrangements for us to have a special seat in the back like last year, so I'd have room to lay down and if she got sick again, we would be able to slip out without disturbing anyone. When we arrived, the Officers in the front greeted us by name! They were expecting us - we felt very special. One of them was escorting us into the auditorium, having to pass thru the patio area first which was crowded and scary for her. Then we entered the really big foyer...

I could smell my partner's extreme fear and anxiety and knew a panic attack was coming - that foyer was packed shoulder-to-shoulder with a hundred people all visiting with each other and now a lot of them noticed us and wanted to talk to us - but our escort had continued on. She was trying to respond to the people and keep walking but couldn't. Finally she told me to "Follow" and I pulled her thru that crowd, weaving thru the bodies, making a path for her until I found that Officer who was looking around for us. He took us to a nice padded bench that had a reserved sign on it just for her, and there was a nice open space next to it for me!

My partner was still in a panic state. There wasn't enough space in front of her to do an About to help her. So I did a Paws Up across her lap as best I could. My partner was shaking and she was going away and not coming back. I kept jumping on her. She was doubled over and I jumped onto her shoulders. I pulled hard on the leash telling her she needed to leave this place right NOW. I put my paw on the man sitting next to her, but he didn't know what I wanted. 

A soldier came over and talked to my partner. He talked at her several times while I was pawing her and finally she sat up and talked to me, then to him. She gave me a treat, then stood up and and at last allowed me to lead her out of that place that haunts her dreams. 

When we got home, my partner was incredibly sad that she wasn't able to watch this presentation that she wanted to see so badly. She didn't even get to see the Color Guard. She wasn't even able to go have fun with me on the Army moving crates. She so wanted to be a part of honoring Veterans on this special day. Instead, she had wimped out and felt ashamed and a failure. She got on this silver machine and made tappings to my Auntie Jeanne. That was the only good thing about this Memorial Day. So we celebrated by looking at our Military War Dog picture album which we always enjoy, and we will keep on keeping on.

Kalifornia Kota

I'm At My Wits End

Thursday - May 19, 2011

I am NOT a touchy-feely dog! If my partner hugs me one more time, I swear I'm gonna lose it! This den-hunting business is making her crazy and is driving me insane... 

A couple days ago we went to look at a den in Granite Bay. When she found it she was hugging me a LOT. The rent was a little higher, but this den was only a couple minutes from Mom's house and a 10 minute bike ride from my partner's 2 brothers. It had a huge fenced back yard, but you had to go thru the garage to get to it. The minute we went out there, 2 of the bordering dens had several dogs in their yards that started barking furiously and attacking the fences. It was quite a racket. My partner had filled out the application on her silver machine before we went there. The agent man had no fur on his head! He also looked at copies of our other applications and said he would verify them independently, but expected no problems, and that we were #1 on the list to have the house. The houses are very close together. All around the house are lots of gorgeous trees and bushes and flowers - they make the whole house dark and gloomy inside - the windows are all very small and high up on the walls. Mom liked this house because it was so close. My partner didn't like this one for reasons we won't go into here... but we still signed up for it, because she wants a big yard for me.

This morning, Ms Ashleigh of The Tudors called my partner. She reminded us that she was waiting for us and Mom to deliver proof of income. My partner was stunned to think that so many days had gone by and been wasted over something so simple that she had forgotten. She gets so very angry and upset and frustrated with herself when she realizes that she has forgotten something. She never knows if it's because of her bad memory or if it was because she had dissociated at the time. I know she was very sick and had gone away several times when she was in Ms Ashleigh's office last Saturday, so maybe that was it. But why didn't Mom know that we needed to do this???

At any rate, we had a copy of Mom's IRS 1040. So my partner got on this silver machine and pushed some buttons to make a copy of her 1040 and some bank papers. She was very excited, dancing around and hugging me every 5 minutes. We drove down to The Arbors to deliver those papers. When we got there, my partner realized she had left Mom's papers at home. She got all quiet and she went away. I jumped up on her and made her come back. Nick told her she could fax those papers when she got home. (We don't have a fax machine.) I took my partner back to the car and waited patiently while she fumbled with my seat belt. Thank dogdom she had the sense to get in with me until she was able to drive! And yes, I allowed her to hug me, because that was the right time for me to be hugged.

We stopped at Ben's Bark Ave Bistro in Roseville on the way home to get some yummy food for me. I went straight to the right freezer that holds my brand & size of bags - yep, I'm that smart. On the way to the register, I started pulling my partner to the left, and she was trying to stop me - she wasn't able to smell that Ms Sally was in the next aisle!! I love Ms Sally! She wasn't there 2 weeks ago and I missed her. She always scritches me and gives me a treat. So I had to go over and say "Hi!" to her. Finally my partner must have gotten a scent of her and she laughed and gave me the Go Greet command. When we got back in the car, I had to suffer thru even more hugs.

After driving all the way home, we picked up Mom's 1040 form, then went to Staples. We faxed those papers to The Tudors and confirmed they had arrived. Nick said all the papers would be given to Ms Ashleigh who would verify them. If they were, then a date would be set as soon as possible for us to view the house to say Yes or No as to whether we wanted it. Then we would pay the Move-In fee and sign the lease. So now we are in a waiting stage. And apparently my partner seems to feel that means she has the liberty to hug me every 15 minutes in her excitement that she is so close to getting this house.

My partner found out from Nick that the house does have a washer and dryer installed. So we have to find a good, loving home for the excellent Kenmore work horses we have. And we have just the perfect deserving family: my Auntie Jeanne is to be the recipient! I love my Auntie Jeanne - even though she doesn't give me cookies - it is just her being herself that I adore! Going to a laundromat is no fun at all. Now she can wash clothes in her jammies!! And when my partner found out that Auntie Jeanne had washer and dryer hook ups at her den, she got all excited again and started in with the damn hugging.

So, I request that those of you who have knowledge of my partner to please pray in the name of dogdom that she be darted with a tranquilizer gun so that she is knocked out, or at least calms down. I'm at my wits end trying to avoid all this hugging and cuddling crap. Now when she is sick, I immediately and happily go to her and do my works which do include tactile stuff like allowing stroking, holding and hugging. Or when she's overwhelmed, I'll quickly get up on the sofa with her and curl up as close as possible with my head or a paw on her leg and my body against hers. But these random, and hit & run, and out-of-nowhere grabs to hold me close and hug me telling me how happy and excited she is about moving are getting quite tiresome. I'm beginning to think she has turned bipolar and is in a mania phase. What is a dog to do? In the den I have nowhere to run, nowhere to hide: so I guess I'll just keep on keeping on.

Kalifornia Kota

A New Den?

Wednesday - May 11, 2011

We were up almost all night. My partner was so fidgety that I had to keep calming her down.  She is all excited and nervous about a big den she is going to see this morning. It is the same one she went to see last March. She really loved it, but other humans were in line ahead of her and they got it.

Just last Sunday she found out it was back on the market again and made phone calls to get back on the list for it. Right now she is #5. I like this big den too. It has large rooms I can go all around in as they are interconnected. 

And it has a really big back yard that is fenced just for me! It is all grassy, so no more gravel for my paws. It looks small from the front, but it is really quite big.

So my partner is gonna brush me really well this morning so I look extra nice and shiny. Then we'll go down there and try to make another good impression on Miguel again. Maybe my partner will have moved up on the list? I hope so. She said my Auntie Jeanne has proclaimed "I have spoken" in regards to getting this den, and she is always right, so... we will keep on keeping on.

Kalifornia Kota