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| Mabel & Suzi in front of the heater |
Mabel
is enjoying life with Cindy, Suzi and Bette for the winter. I think of her
often and get updates on her progress that I want to share with you. I frequent
a pet shop called Wags here in Hendersonville and have found the perfect gift
for my fospices girl in Alaska. It’s a surprise but I’m sure you will see
pictures of her wearing it soon!
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| Sharing the bed with Bette & Suzi |
Mabel
continues her daily meandering and enjoys the company of the other girls in the
house. In fact, she has decided she prefers the girls to the butt-sniffing
males that she tolerates at TBTB Dog Camp. All it takes is a little snarl and
they tuck their tails and leave her alone, but there is none of this at her
winter home.
Mabel
is a tough broad that knows exactly what she wants and doesn’t want, and is
doing better than we could have ever imagined. All she needed was some love and
patience, a few canines to make her feel at home and a vet to diagnose and
treat her health issues. Having all of this has resulted in an amazing recovery
of the little black cocker pulled out of a ravine near death just five short
months ago. She’s like the little train that could. . .
Before I left Alaska I
was picking Mabel up in my arms, giving her hugs and gently lying her down on
her pillow where she would fall fast asleep. Cindy discovered Mabel only likes
to lie on her left side. When she told me this I realized it was indeed the
side I put her on. She’s probably arthritic on her right and it hurts, but on
her left side she sleeps for hours. It’s the little things we figure out that
matter.
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| Rolling. . . |
Mabel
takes short naps, lying beside Suzi on the throw pillow in an arrangement of
dogs
around the house that is hilarious. Lots of comfy beds adorn the place.
Everyone has a spot and Mabel has her heart-shaped pillow that is coveted by
Bette. Bette sometimes gets to rest on it until bedtime and then she is kicked
out so that Mabel has her designated sleeping spot for the night.
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| Rolling. . . |
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| Rolling. . . paws in the air! |
She continues to be a
finicky eater. Why, you wonder? Well, probably because she can be now that most
of her meals are cooked for her. She gets bored easy, so food has to be varied
to keep her interested. She loved halibut for two days and then turned her nose
up at it, the same is true of salmon and hamburger but she always seems to go
for the chicken. Cindy found that by grinding up all the food she had
previously turned down, gave her a new attitude. She gobbled up the entire
meal. LOL.
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| Eating is Tiring. . . |
Occasionally Mabel goes
on strike refusing to take her morning meds served in the baby food she
normally loves. So, out comes the liver pate! That’s right, Cindy is preparing
a liver pate that she freezes, to make medicine time a little easier. When
Mabel becomes bored with the pate dollops, then it will be back to the baby food.
Of course any form of medicine takes a bit of coaxing before she actually
agrees to take it – especially if it’s in the morning. Mabel is definitely not
a morning girl, preferring instead to start her day around 2. So, Cindy is on
her hands and knees spoon-feeding Mabel her meds all the while hoping she won’t
spit it back out at her – this usually takes about 30 minutes. This can be
extremely frustrating or laugh-out-loud funny, depending on whether you are
trying to get to work on time or have the extra time needed to pamper her.
Mabel is always so
happy to go outside. Sometimes it takes a while for her to get her walk on, but
one thing that never changes is the wagging tail. It’s almost like the tail
winds her up and then she takes off walking. It is very funny and she’s always
excited to go out for a pee in the snow. She loves meandering on the deck but
when it’s cold? Well, she doesn’t stay out long – who can blame her? She
prefers her bed in front of the heater when the temperature drops below her
comfort zone. And, she sleeps much better at night after a few drops of the Passiflora/Valerian
Root tincture that we order for her.
Woof-Woof!
Mabel wanted me to say to all her fans, and tell them that she is doing fine at
Cindy's. “I get tons of bedding to help me keep the memories of my doggie
friends at Tails-By-The-Bay Dog Camp. I also have a deck to meander around on,
and a warm heater to snuggle with my sisters Bette & Suzi. Sometimes I fall
off my pillow couch and end up sleeping with my paws straight up in the air!”
Thanks
to all of you who continue to support this little girl. No donation is too
small so please consider giving to the Mabel fund at http://mabel.chipin.com/meds-for-mabel-the-rescued-cocker.
All monies help Cindy and I with meds, specialty foods and wee-wee pads – did I
mention how much Mabel likes to pee on these? They remind her of squatting in a
meadow.
Happy
Thanksgiving!
Woof!
Woof!
