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October 25, 2014: Rainbow Convalesces

Pete and I are alternating hanging out with Rainbow today. We are fortunate in that we’re both home. As I write this, he’s changing truck tires. I’m sitting in the Adirondak-type chair that Bill Schmidtkunz made for Pete. Rainbow is next to me, on her bed, but a few minutes ago she got up and hopped up onto her couch. She’s ambulatory – this is a very good sign.

It would not have been so good if Pete and I had 9-5 jobs. I can’t imagine having to leave her for this length of time. Thank dog for small favors.

The down side of this is that we have limited funds. We’ve had a large number of animal illnesses in the past year. I will have to get a real job, for sure. But today, I am glad to have the time to watch Rainbow, and think some about her.



A short while ago, Pete moved the bees from behind the house into the greenhouse. Our hope is that, this time, they’ll winter over. This has never happened before, but the location they are now in might be more conducive to this. He then came into the house, with some bees clinging to his clothes. They flew around the kitchen, kitchen addition, and living room. Rainbow, who is deathly afraid of bees, attempted to get away from them by going upstairs. The stairs are steep, so several years ago she opted to live downstairs. So we decided that I’ll hang close while Pete takes care of the vehicles.

I’m extremely tired because we didn’t get home until late last night. I didn’t sleep because I was worried about our dog. You can say to a veterinarian “this is a truly great dog, in fact the best ever.” The response is usually a noncommittal “yeah, yeah, yeah.” This is because veterinarians hear this quite often. And yes, all dogs should be considered great. Everyone should feel this way about their dog or dogs.

We’ve been fortunate. Bootleg, our first great dog, lived to be 17 years old. And Rainbow, our second great dog, is now 13 years old. She will be 14 on Halloween. That’s (right there) 31 years of wonderful dog ownership. Jenna, who is now 13, and will be 14 in February, is our third great dog. We got her when she was seven. And lastly, now there’s Ryder, who is almost two years old. She is not yet a great dog, but with a few more years under her collar, she will have attained great dog status.

I have heard stories of those who claim to have not-so-great dogs. I’ll bet dogs converse with one another about not-so-great owners. All our dogs would say that we’re great owners.

So now, oh lucky dog is resting on the couch, half-awake, half asleep, of course even drugged, in pain. I am well aware that Rainbow won’t live forever. However, every day that she’s here is a day that I rejoice. How lucky we are – I hope she realizes this.

Next: 285. 10/26/14: Letting Sleeping Dogs Lie