Showing posts with label Tasha. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tasha. Show all posts
Monday, October 14, 2013
For The Record
I guess I have to take back what I said about Justin fulfilling his tear quota. He woke up this morning and proceeded to cry for 20 minutes about Tasha not being with us anymore. We asked him if he had a dream or something, and he said no; that he simply woke up and got to thinking about it. In all, it's just a reminder that people grieve in different ways. On the subject of lost dogs, I guess we're not out of the woods yet.
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Best Dog Ever
Big dogs die young. So, when you bring a seven-year-old 110 pound dog into your home, you pretty much know that you're on borrowed time from day one. And when you bring that dog into a home with small children, you also have to know that some tough lessons are (not just ahead but) right around the corner.
About a week and a half ago, we said goodbye to Tasha. I'll spare you the details of how rough things had gotten in her last days, and simply say that it was time. Anderson Animal Hospital was awesome to work with, and I'm appreciative of them and everyone else that lent their support and sensitivity throughout the process. Prior to being a pet owner, I'm not sure I would have even known enough to do the same for someone else. As for Tasha, she was our first family pet. Given that Venesa was afraid of dogs before we adopted Tasha, going from zero animals to having a polar bear as an indoor pet is a mystery all by itself. And the story of how close Tasha came to being sent back to the pound is another story that's always fun to tell.
To make a long story short, she was an awesome dog. She was old, not particularly mobile (understatement of the year?) and definitively past her playful puppy years; but somehow that big lump of fluff still found a way to bring joy to our house for two years and a handful of weeks. Tasha "Stick em Up" Reyes (Jasmine had a million nicknames for that dog, and I have no idea where she'd get them from... but stick em up definitely took the cake). April, 2004 to September 2013.
As for the kids, they've done quite well with the loss. Justin cried just enough to fill his quota as a caring big brother. Naomi was a bit disturbed when we pulled off from the hospital without a dog in the car ("Where's Tasha?!")... but she is otherwise (age-appropriately) clueless as to what actually happened. Jasmine... well, Jasmine lost her best friend on the planet, and this was made obvious by the river of tears that she cried on two different days. Day one was the day we left Tasha at the hospital, and day two occurred seven days later when we explained to the kids that Tasha "wasn't alive anymore." Granted, she was euthanized on day one, but we decided to let the kids handle their grief in stages. As expected, within minutes of both meltdowns, Jasmine moved on with the resilience of a typical 4 year old. And while her memories of "her dog" are both fresh and fond at the moment, her age still makes me wonder exactly how much of this experience she'll actually remember when she grows up. If my own (lack of) childhood memories are any indication, my guess is that the answer is little to none. That seems unfortunate at first, but the truth is, no matter how many details she forgets about Tasha as the days and weeks go by... I doubt that we will ever be able to mistake the impact that owning a dog has a had on her because one thing has been made clear from the way that the she cared for, referenced, sought after, and connected with that dog: Jasmine is officially and certifiably a life-long animal lover.
About a week and a half ago, we said goodbye to Tasha. I'll spare you the details of how rough things had gotten in her last days, and simply say that it was time. Anderson Animal Hospital was awesome to work with, and I'm appreciative of them and everyone else that lent their support and sensitivity throughout the process. Prior to being a pet owner, I'm not sure I would have even known enough to do the same for someone else. As for Tasha, she was our first family pet. Given that Venesa was afraid of dogs before we adopted Tasha, going from zero animals to having a polar bear as an indoor pet is a mystery all by itself. And the story of how close Tasha came to being sent back to the pound is another story that's always fun to tell.
To make a long story short, she was an awesome dog. She was old, not particularly mobile (understatement of the year?) and definitively past her playful puppy years; but somehow that big lump of fluff still found a way to bring joy to our house for two years and a handful of weeks. Tasha "Stick em Up" Reyes (Jasmine had a million nicknames for that dog, and I have no idea where she'd get them from... but stick em up definitely took the cake). April, 2004 to September 2013.
As for the kids, they've done quite well with the loss. Justin cried just enough to fill his quota as a caring big brother. Naomi was a bit disturbed when we pulled off from the hospital without a dog in the car ("Where's Tasha?!")... but she is otherwise (age-appropriately) clueless as to what actually happened. Jasmine... well, Jasmine lost her best friend on the planet, and this was made obvious by the river of tears that she cried on two different days. Day one was the day we left Tasha at the hospital, and day two occurred seven days later when we explained to the kids that Tasha "wasn't alive anymore." Granted, she was euthanized on day one, but we decided to let the kids handle their grief in stages. As expected, within minutes of both meltdowns, Jasmine moved on with the resilience of a typical 4 year old. And while her memories of "her dog" are both fresh and fond at the moment, her age still makes me wonder exactly how much of this experience she'll actually remember when she grows up. If my own (lack of) childhood memories are any indication, my guess is that the answer is little to none. That seems unfortunate at first, but the truth is, no matter how many details she forgets about Tasha as the days and weeks go by... I doubt that we will ever be able to mistake the impact that owning a dog has a had on her because one thing has been made clear from the way that the she cared for, referenced, sought after, and connected with that dog: Jasmine is officially and certifiably a life-long animal lover.
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
EICBABMLINAT pt. II
7. We've got fleas. Bouncing all through the house. And the battle is not over. After giving Tasha (our Great Pyrenees) three baths in 4 days, one flea collar, an oral med, and a possible doggie overdose of Frontline Plus flea meds... plus two full-house Terminix flea treatment and a twice-a-day full house vacuuming; it finally occurred to us: she's not the problem. The two most interesting things that we learned from this: (1) The dog pleads not guilty. For one, the Terminex guy mentioned that the last 3 houses he treated didn't even have pets. Secondly, I guess we can't overlook the fact that she's flea-free (maybe the only one in the house). With the meds that she's on, fleas only have to touch her in order to die. It's like she's got a force field. So while we've relegated her to the outdoors until we solve the problem, the irony is that she is basically one big pesticide and we probably just need to grab her by the tail and drag her around the house in order kill the last of the fleas. Interesting fact number (2): Dawn dish detergent is more effective at killing fleas that just about anything you can by at a pet store. Google it. Craziest thing in the world. But it worked... and also left me thinking, if this stuff kills fleas... what in the world are we washing our dishes with?
8. After starting midyear last year, we have officially begun our first full year of homeschooling. Justin is picking up where he left off... not that we really know where that is (somewhere between kindergarten and second grade, depending on the subject and the day of the week). And Jasmine is following suit with a very loose Pre-K / K curriculum. In all, they're doing great things, enjoying school, and Venesa continues to do an incredible job at embracing her role as the primary home educator. Now if someone can just get the pencil swiping, crayon breaking, homework eating, no-nap taking Naomi on board, everything would be great.
9. I flew to San Antonio to celebrate my uncle's retirement from the Air Force after 30 years of service. Awesome ceremony. Great to see so much family. Shocked that my parents made it (PA to TX road trip... insane). Would've been cool if Venesa could've made it, too. But her dad's pending liver transplant still has her on house arrest (bag packed for two weeks now, waiting for the call). Congrats, Uncle Daryl.
10. My paternal grandmother passed away on July 12. In early August, Justin and Jasmine joined me for a quick road trip (Thursday to Sunday) for her memorial service in Brooklyn. Despite 24 hours in the car over 3 days, they were absolutely great the whole weekend. Justin was awestruck by the sheer volume of (everything) in New York. Meanwhile, Jasmine barely noticed that we left Hartsville. The highlight of the trip for both was the pool at the hotel on the way there and back. We love you, Grandma Espie. And we'll undoubtedly miss you.
11 Jasmine is officially allergic to Soy, and unofficially allergic to... pretty much everything else. I feel like I've blogged about this already... but thought I'd throw it in just in case I didn't. Venesa has essentially become an allergist and allergen nutritionist over the past 3 months. Want to know how to make 28 different 3-course entrees without a single dairy ingredient? Ask my wife. She's a culinary genius.
12. Venesa took over as the coordinator of the Darlington County chapter of MOPS (Mother's of PreSchoolers). I'm tempted to talk about how the chapter has grown in every which way it possibly could under her leadership (spiritual maturity, membership numbers, organizationally, outreach efforts, community ties, etc.)... but she'd be totally embarrassed if I mentioned any of that... so I won't.
13. Ruben and Stacy welcomed Zane Ruiz into the world about 3 weeks ago (congratulations!), which means that Naomi now holds the family record for the shortest stent as the youngest grand baby. Move over girl, you're last year's news. I hope you enjoyed your fifteen minutes of fame.
Okay... I am officially exhausted, and ready for bed. And (minus a slew of details and a handful of photos) the blog is officially up to date.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Overgrown
It's not like it happened overnight. That's my excuse for how our Great Pyrenees afro fiasco came about. One day we had a clean-shaven dog; and the next thing you know, we were walking down the block with a big white tumbleweed. Well, the time had come; and we had three choices: braid it and throw some beads in it (I'm thinking cornrows), pony up $90 for a haircut and bath at PetSmart. Or drop $150 for a pair of pet clippers at amazon.com. Option C seemed to make the most sense since the clippers would pay for themselves by the second haircut. And so, without further ado, we present to you... the before pictures.
The important thing to note in the last photo is that the entire lower portion of Jasmine's arm has simply disappeared from view, complements of the 'fro fiasco. The poor dog has a mane. As it stands, we have to actually reach into her 'fro before a walk to figure out if she has on her collar or not. I guess that should've been a clue. I don't think I've seen her collar in like 3 months. I'm pretty sure Naomi, my car keys, and the DVD remote control are somewhere in there, too. I haven't seen any of them since morning. But I'm not worried. She'll shake 'em out in due time.
Coming soon: the after photos.
Coming soon: the after photos.
Friday, December 30, 2011
Christmas pt. I
You know you own a big dog when, instead of chew toys and bones, you buy your dog... another dog for Christmas. Yep. Tasha got a mini me for Christmas. Here you go, girl. Have fun. Walk him twice a day, and try not to eat him by mistake.
Okay, so we didn't really lose our minds and get a second dog. But Tasha did have a time trying to keep up with this crazy pup that wandered into our yard. I'm pretty sure she belongs to the neighbor's daughter who was in town for the holidays. And I'm also pretty sure that, two days later, Tasha hasn't caught her breath yet from her impromptu wrestling match. Somebody fetch that dog a bowl of water and an oxygen tank. Evidently, Tasha still has a few moves left in her tank.
Okay, so we didn't really lose our minds and get a second dog. But Tasha did have a time trying to keep up with this crazy pup that wandered into our yard. I'm pretty sure she belongs to the neighbor's daughter who was in town for the holidays. And I'm also pretty sure that, two days later, Tasha hasn't caught her breath yet from her impromptu wrestling match. Somebody fetch that dog a bowl of water and an oxygen tank. Evidently, Tasha still has a few moves left in her tank.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Monday, October 31, 2011
Jasmine's Dog
The words you'll hear at least once a week around our house these days: You cannot play with Tasha for one full day! (and most recently, for a full and unprecedented 3 days). The fact that this has become our best 
punishment for Jasmine Olivia pretty much says it all. It really does tell the whole story of a love-hate relationship between a girl and her dog. To say that Jasmine can be overly rough with Tasha is to say that water can be a bit wet to the touch. But that understatement is countered by the fact that no one pays Tasha as much attention as Jasmine. And so, Tasha has inevitably learned to take the good with the bad: Agreeing not to eat our second born for neither breakfast, lunch, nor dinner; in exchange for the pounds of love that Jasmine showers her with during the other 1/2 of the day. And just to be sure that Tasha is able to stick to her end of the deal, we'll continue to keep Jasmine on the occasional "Tasha timeout" in order to keep the peace, and also continue to keep Tasha otherwise well fed.
punishment for Jasmine Olivia pretty much says it all. It really does tell the whole story of a love-hate relationship between a girl and her dog. To say that Jasmine can be overly rough with Tasha is to say that water can be a bit wet to the touch. But that understatement is countered by the fact that no one pays Tasha as much attention as Jasmine. And so, Tasha has inevitably learned to take the good with the bad: Agreeing not to eat our second born for neither breakfast, lunch, nor dinner; in exchange for the pounds of love that Jasmine showers her with during the other 1/2 of the day. And just to be sure that Tasha is able to stick to her end of the deal, we'll continue to keep Jasmine on the occasional "Tasha timeout" in order to keep the peace, and also continue to keep Tasha otherwise well fed.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Yes... They're Crazy
When starting a new job, moving to a new state, buying a house, having a baby, and starting preschool just isn't enough change to make your life interesting... get a dog. Meet Tasha (she came with that name): Our 7-year-old Great Pyrenees stray rescue. Or as mommy calls her, our big stinky dog.
We've been a family of 5 for four weeks... and a family of 5 with a dog for 3. We're not sure how long this experiment is going to last. But as they say at Olive Garden; while she's here, she's family.
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