A Sentiment

God knew what He was doing when He sent a gentle breeze and brought a lovely butterfly to set my heart at ease. The happiness of your friendship and the gentleness of your words have touched my life in special ways and now I feel assured. Thank you for your loyalty and for reading everyday. I only hope you find things to make a happy day.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Here is the birthday boy. It isn't a picture of this year, but I wanted to post this now and not wait for the picture taking. Maggie is below on her Christmas here. Wasn't she a cutie?


Today is Laddie's 11th birthday. This afternoon we will celebrate with spice cupcakes, and dixie cups. He deserves this celebration because he is a wonderful dog, He is an English Springer Spaniel. He belonged to my husband and his first wife from six weeks of age. He was a naughty puppy, I'm told. The main rooms of the house were covered in plastic...wooden fences across every doorway. He chewed on furniture, toys, bedding, and people's hair. He had sharp little teeth. He was taken to obedience classes and I'm told by one of his classmates, that he was a hand full. His first Mommy died, when he was 5 yrs. old. A while later his Daddy met me. We married and I moved in with my Cocker Spaniel, Maggie. She walked into Laddie's home like she owned it. She marked her territory on the rug. Laddie didn't know what to make of this female. He shared his home and all his toys and comfortable resting places with her. They became great friends. Sometime after the first year, things reversed and he became top dog again. She was OK with it. They were so cute together and gave us lots of love. Maggie was 15 yrs, when we had to put her to sleep. Joe and I were heart broken. We stayed with her till the end. Just before she slipped into her eternal sleep, she reached up and kissed Joe's nose, as if to say.....Thanks for taking care of my Mom and me. She loved him dearly. He carried her up and down the back stairs, so she could be outside with Laddie, and I think she loved him for that. So, now Laddie will celebrate his birthday by himself. He has turned out to be a calm, loving, wonderful dog. His dark brown eyes are so expressive...he talks with them. He loves me, but his true love is his Daddy. I hope we have many more years with this great dog.


Balisha

8 comments:

Margie's Musings said...

What a sweet dog.

Balisha said...

He is so gentle and well behaved.

coolwaterworks said...

We also had a share of wonderful dogs when we were growing up. And they were all loyal and protective to us. From where we live, there were many violent street dogs. Our dogs have sort of protected us from these fierce ones when we were children. Filipinos don't usually put old dogs to sleep, we just let them be... And it's heart wrenching when you wake up one morning to find that your loyal and loving dog has passed into dog heaven... Sigh...

Balisha said...

Hi Coolwaterworks,
It is so hard to know what to do when a pet that has been such a big part of your life,can no longer walk up stairs,or even get up to eat. We have the option of putting them down. It is so hard to watch, but so is watching the suffering.You know, dogs have a way of looking at you with those expressive eyes, they almost seem to be saying, "Help me." When Maggie went to sleep...Joe told her to go find her Daddy...I like to think that my first husband and Maggie are together.

Mary said...

Balisha, you made me cry. You see, Maggie looks like my late Casey, an American Cocker who died at a young age - 5-1/2 years old. Casey's death was sort of tragic and we were not with her when she died. We still have her ashes. I loved that dog.

She would have looked like Maggie in her senior years...

Balisha said...

Hi Mary,
Dogs are so wonderful and love us no matter what.They are lucky when they find a good home. Now, when I see a Cocker...my heart skips a beat. I was the lucky one.

Teri said...

First, thanks for your visit. I think quilting and painting is so closely related; all creative activities.

This is only the third quilt I have shown on my blog and am always amazed how other quilters find it :) Like you I am sketching and painting 90% of the time.

I enjoyed looking through your Blog. Isn't the Internet just wonderful?!

Balisha said...

Hi Teri,
Glad you visited. I am going to be taking another set of watercolor classes soon. I am really starting to enjoy that way of painting.
The internet is great...nice to find people with common interests and see what they are up to.