Well, I thought this post was going to be about the fires, yet once I got going, I ended up talking about our dog Casper again. Hopefully, you guys will not be too tired of the subject. It seems that I have to work my way through it somehow before I can move on.
You see, as these fires were burning, we were stressing over our sick dog, Casper, that had lung cancer.
Starting from the beginning, on June 11, Casper had what appeared to be a seizure, so we took him to the vet on the 12th. Due to the fires, the power was out during our first trip to the vet, so we couldn't get any x-ray's done, but they did do a blood test. Later that evening, Casper had another seizure, so we called the vet back on the 13th and she prescribed a seizure medication and we also scheduled some X-rays for Monday, June 16.
Meanwhile, the fires were burning and they evacuated part of a town near by. They did not evacuate our area, yet there was enough of a scare that there were gas lines at the pump, to fill up with all this wonderful expensive gas, just in case of an evacuation. I think that I might have written about this in one of my comments somewhere. A lot of the streets were closed to everyone but fire trucks and the ones that weren't were congested with people trying to evacuate. A lot of the gas stations were actually running out of gas and the gas trucks were having trouble getting in in order to deliver more gas to the stations. What a mess!!
We packed up our car, just in case we would have a need to evacuate, yet I was really hoping that we wouldn't have to because I wasn't sure that our sick dog would make it through such an experience and anyway, how are we supposed to get those x-rays done if we are required to leave town? I was so unbelievably stressed.
Well, luckily, we didn't have to evacuate, yet the x-rays that were done on Monday did not bring us good news. Casper was diagnosed with lung cancer and was not expected to live too much longer.
The following week was really hard. As the fires kept burning, Casper was having trouble breathing and after awhile he stopped eating.
By the end of the week, they appeared to have the fires under control and since we were expecting company on the weekend of the 21rst and 22nd, we decided to unpack our car and put our house back in order. In the hope that Casper might decide to eat something, we cut back on the dose of the seizure medication that we were giving Casper because it was making him sort of groggy and depressed, unfortunately, he still wouldn't eat.
On Friday, the 20th, Casper did something sort of interesting. He walked through every room in our house and just stood there and stared at each room as if saying good bye to his house. He also walked over to some of the furniture that he used to actually sit on when he was strong enough to jump up onto it and laid his head down on each of his favorite spots. It was sort of sad to watch.
Saturday morning, June 21, at 9:40 AM, Casper passed away. I heard a thud in the hallway next to the front door and when I went to check on him, he was gone, so we put his body in a box and took him to the vet for cremation. When we got home, I had to finish cleaning the house for our company that arrived later that evening.
In the afternoon of that day, there was the most horrible thunder storm and I was thinking of how it was sort of a blessing that Casper had passed away in the morning, early enough to miss experiencing this storm. Casper always hated thunder and this storm was so loud that it even made me shutter. I don't think I've even heard one quite so close and loud as this one. It would have killed Casper for sure and I felt grateful that the thunder storm was not his last memory.
Our company admitted to not being really strong dog lovers, yet they were quite supportive anyway and it was really nice to have the company.
Well, wouldn't you know it, the thunder storm started more fires and before long, we had our car all packed up again for possible evacuation. I've been wondering all this past week, if this is ever going to end. I've been feeling really tired of feeling stressed and I really would like to return to normal life soon. On one day, it seemed like the fire might be coming our way and we actually packed up our travel trailer and moved it to the property of some friends of ours, just in case we might decide to use it later. Well, we are still here and no evacuation has been announced for our area.
I want to thank you all again for your kind words of condolence and sympathy that you've put on my previous posts about our dog. I was telling Gayle in one of the comments that perhaps "the mourning process wouldn't be taking quite so long if they could just get these fires under control." This seems to just go on for days and even weeks.
"I praise God that, so far, they have been able to keep the fire from coming our way, yet I'm so tied of the smoke. I'm tired of wondering and stressing and I even miss some of the family pictures that have been removed from our wall. If they would just get these fires under control, we would be able to move on with our lives in relation to both the fire and the loss of our dog."
On a more positive note, the smoke did clear a little later yesterday afternoon and I was so glad to hear the sound of the helicopters flying over head. The smoke has been so bad that they have not been able to fly their aircraft over the fire and without the air support, the fire fighters have not been able to make much head way in getting these fires under control. As the air cleared and I begin to hear the helicopters, I was really praising God!!
It is even getting easier for me to look at the pictures that I've posted below of Casper without crying, so I can tell that there will be better days. Praise God!!
If you want to see some pictures of Casper and read more about him, than skip over the next post and go on down to where the pictures are and than read the post below the pictures. He was really quite a pretty and also special dog. Enjoy.
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19 comments:
What terrible situations you have had to deal with lately, Lista, having to deal with one is hard enough. You are an inspiration that you can still say "Praise God" after all that.
Thanks Beth,
Why shouldn't I praise God? We still have a house. There were some homes that were destroyed due to the fires, but our house is just fine and not only that, but I'm beginning to see the light at the end of this tunnel.
I walked outside just now and I can actually see blue skies. The smoke appears to be clearing and most of the fires here in Northern California are at least 50% contained. Some of them are even more contained than that. On my way home from work today, I saw several helicopters fly over head with their buckets of water. The smoke is down, so they can fly over the fire now and they appear to be making real headway. That's cause for Praising God. Don't you think?
I just feel bad because I've been so preoccupied that I haven't been making my rounds to very many blogs. I'm so grateful that you have dropped by here anyway. Thanks so much for your friendship.
Hey Lista, I heard about the California fires yet I have never heard a first hand account of anyone who was close by, sorry to hear about the loss of Casper even though it has been a while. At least the fires are done.
Are they done? When we were coming back from our trip to Canada on August 2nd and were approaching the Northern California border, we drove back into the smoke. Once home, we were informed of two more fires, not really that far from us that had started while we were gone.
Another week and 1/2 have passed now and I haven't heard much further news, so I assume they got these out, yet they don't always give the updated reports that are more positive. Quite often we don't hear about stuff until there is a serious threat to our area. Aside from that, the news is not that different than what people out side of the area are hearing. The news in our area really isn't that great. Oh well.
Thanks for your condolences. Life probably will continue to not feel right until we get another dog. Usually one of the things that makes coming back from a vacation fun is seeing our dog again and that's not what's occurred, so the house still feels empty.
I guess we will be getting a thorough breed Samoyed this time. We've been reading about the breed and aside from the fact that Casper was sort of small (only 47 pounds), he not only looked like, but also fit the personality profile of a Samoyed.
Not only that, but I've also learned that some Samoyeds are not always pure white, but do come in biscuit and cream (Casper was buicuit) and while some have a shorter nose and ears and a wider face than Casper did, there are others who have more of a wolf like face, so Casper may have been way more Samoyed than we knew and what ever else that he was mixed with was not that significant.
I didn't realize that the information was lacking in regards to fires. From what I am reading, california is quite prone to these large fires, does your typical home insurance cover that?
Getting another dog makes sense though when I think about my mom, she raised our st. bernard oscar from the time he was a puppy. Unsurprisingly, oscar never listened to anyone except her :) however when he died, she refused to get another dog. It's weird too because she often makes the statements driving around dublin that "I wish I we could have one like that..." but when I press the issue she still says no.
Anyway, I will be looking forward to the new pictures of a samoyed when you get him/her.
Yes, fire insurance is usually included in insurance policies. This summer is by far the worst fire season I've seen since we moved to Northern California 13 years ago. The threat just went on and on and on, for more than a month. Unbelievable! Oh well.
I guess some people respond to loss differently than others. I was way more attached to our dog, Casper, than I've ever been to a dog before, yet the house is far too empty. I've got to get another one. How else is a person supposed to get over it?
My husband, Ray, always wants a male. I'm not sure why, but whatever.
The same could be said here for Ireland except with the opposite weather, the worst rainy season we have had here in a long time.
On male dogs, I guess perhaps it is that male dogs can be kind of like your best guy friend? I know a buddy of mine in Minnesota has two Great Perenese males, they are huge and they actually play tackle football with him. Just a thought :)
We could really use some of that rain, Crian. Care to send it over?
Actually, I do know why Ray likes males. He says that females pea on the lawn and their pea actually kills the grass and they also bleed a little when they're in heat. I was telling him that maybe we should get one of each and than we could sell the puppies. I don't think he's convinced. Oh well. :)
Samoyeds are surprisingly hard to find. Ray's been looking for them on the internet for about 3 weeks now and he saw some in Southern California and in Washington, but currently the Southern California ones are gone and there is only one female listed in Washington. We haven't seen anything in our area.
I told Ray that the next time he sees one listed in California, Oregon, Washington or Navada at a reasonable price, perhaps we need to snatch it.
I'm still getting used to the idea of removing a poor frightened puppy from his mother, putting him in a cage and exposing him to several hours of confusion at an airport and alone in the belly of an airplane, only to be picked up by a couple of scary strangers (us) and taken to some strange location far from home. Poor thing.
It's hard enough when all that's involved is a short car ride and a little separation anxiety. I do wish that we could find one close to home. That would be so much easier.
I'm glad in a way, Crian, that you decided to write to this page cause it gives me the chance to talk a little more to someone about our dog search.
Naturally, we thought our dog was special because we loved him, yet I never realized what a special and unique treasure he actually was until we have attempted to replace him.
I was looking through one of the local newspapers and there were no Samoyeds listed. There were some Malamute puppies and some Husky/Malamute puppies (Malamutes are WAY too big, Ray says.).
And get this one; an Alaskan Husky/Wolf mix. Now that one caught my interest. They are only $300 and we can go pick one up today cause it's local, but Ray thinks this might also be too big. And then there were some Border Collies and some Australian Shepherd/Border Collies. The Border Collie is another bread that I think is sort of unique and cool looking and about the size Ray likes, but no, he's pretty set on getting a Samoyed, but we're actually going to have go out of the area in order to get one.
I guess we should also include Idaho and Montana in our search area in relation to Samoyeds.
Do you know that we actually found a thorough breed Samoyed that is almost a spitting image of Casper? It's a female in Illinois. Same wolf like face and even a little brown in the fur. Wow! We could actually get a Casper twin if that's what we wanted.
She's a little over priced at $750, in spite the lack of "Champion Blood Lines", which we aren't willing to pay the extra for anyway. She sure looks like Casper, though. Wow!
Of curiosity, I looked around the web some and find that Samoyed pups range from $300-1500. They sure are cute little guys..likely to become invisible in a snowstorm.
The related breeds, the Malamutes and Siberians can sometimes be lighter weight like the Samoyed, but typically have darker coats, although some Siberians can be a very pale white/tan. They all seem to have the even temperment.
Back when I was a boy wonder chemist at a midwest ammunition plant, I had a tech by the name of Ruth, who raised Samoyeds; she really loved those dogs; did shows and sold puppies and the like. I thought they all looked alike, but she knew each by name! A place with continuing litters is here:
http://fallingcedarfarm.com/ up near Seattle. They are pretty pricey, but pretty nice...next trip to Canada..no wait, you mentioned raising your own!
Hey Lista, $750 is a lot of money to pay for a pure breed but that is probably because I am not too knowledgeable about the different types of dogs, their breeding and the associated cost.
That being said, I am a big advocate of my dad's policy if really want something and you have the money, you should buy it if it means a lot so maybe the Casper look-a-like is worth it?
I am glad I wrote to this page too, the conversation over this week has been great not to mention the things I am learning. I really miss having a dog at home but unless you are fantastically wealthy in Europe, no way to get a house with a big enough yard to have a dog.
On the subject of rain, been raining all day today, so please do me a favor and take it off my hands, I have a sweater on in autumn which will tell you the kind of weather it is like at the moment.
I like Border Collies as well, see a few of them in Ireland, maybe you can slowly convince Ray to get one?
BB,
We are looking for a dog in the $300 range. We don't need a show dog. We just want a friend.
The weight range of the Samoyed is 45 to 65 pounds. Ray's the one who doesn't want a big dog. Casper was only 47. I kept reminding him that we could end up with a 65 pound dog and he's Ok with that. The weight range of a Siberian Husky is higher. I don't remember the exact numbers. Some Malamutes are huge. Too much dog for Ray, but I would absolutely love it.
We know some one who owns a sort of light colored Siberian that weighs 70 pounds, but they can get bigger than that. It's not usually possible to know the weight you're going to have by looking at the puppy. You can request the runt of the litter and look at the size of the paws, yet this only increases the chances of a smaller dog. It is not a guarantee.
Crian,
"$750 is a lot of money to pay for a pure breed."
Yeh, tell me about it. My brother bought a Norwegian Elk Hound once (they're gray) and it was hit by a car as a puppy. It's sad to loose a friend, yet add a little money to that as well and Ouch! I don't know what he payed for that dog, yet it's not a real common breed. I would have loved to have seen that one grow up, but oh well.
I don't need a Casper look-a-like. It's not going to be the same dog. Each one is different and anyway, she's female.
In the news paper that I was looking at Yesterday there were also some horses ranging from $150 to $600. I was teasing Ray and telling him that we could get a horse for the same price as these dogs.
Get a small dog, Crian. Do the research and find a breed that requires less exercise. A walk once in a while is often all that's required.
One of the other things that Ray mentioned in relation to the size of the dog is that Siberian/Alaskan breed are pullers (sled dogs). My husband is older than me and has back problems. The bigger the dog, the harder the pull, but than maybe you're just a youngster and don't have that problem.
Believe me, if I could take that rain off your hands, I would and the cold weather too. We've been having heat.
Ray's hung up on white for some reason. Can't sell him on the Border Collie idea. He had a white cocka-poo when I met him. I like the Siberian/Alaskan breeds and he likes white, thus the Samoyed is our pick.
Morning Lista, I didn't realize horses were that cheap, I always thought they were a few thousand dollars at the minimum. Interesting.
We would definitely need a small dog here, something that doesn't require a lot of exercise, research is what I need to do. Thanks for the advice.
Hi Crian,
They were Arab Horses. I'm guessing that means Arabian. They were going for $150-$550, "untrained, no papers, but good looking". There is a listing for another Arab Horse at $600 and another 5 horses, breed not mentioned, for "$500 each, take your pick."; Obviously not thorough breeds.
I feel like I could just ramble on, on the subject of the dog search. Ray and I were actually looking at a dog kennel at Costco designed for a litter of puppies. I was shocked that he was even remotely considering it.
Then I asked a girlfriend of mine about the whole "in heat" thing and discovered that an unfixed female will actually bleed a little for about a week. That could be a little bit of a hassle when you consider that, plus making sure that she breeds with the correct thorough breed dog and not some other one that shows up feeling horny. Then 2 to 3 months out of the year you have a litter of pups to take care of and find homes for.
I'm guessing this might be fun for the first few years, but like anything else, the newness of the experience wears off after awhile.
We found another Casper look alike in Iowa, only $250, yet he is 5 months old, already weighs 30 pounds and has not been potty trained. 2 to 3 months is the typical age at which puppies are given out. They grow really fast after that and not always, yet sometimes, even reach their adult weight by 6 or 7 months.
There is another litter of pups in a different town in Iowa that are going for $350 each (3 Males/3 Females). They are only 5 Weeks old and will be ready for shipping at 2 months, September 8th. The airlines will not ship a puppy that is less than 2 months old. I'm still waiting for pictures of the puppies.
I guess the shipping for small puppies ranges from $275 to $325, a little less than the price of the dog. I wonder how much it will cost to ship a 30 pound 5 month old.
I'm really getting an education. That's for sure.
Strikes me curious; why would Iowa, of all places, have Casper
lookalikes?
I have no idea. Here is the sight that we have mostly been looking at if you want to view it.
http://www.puppyfind.com/for_sale/?breed_id=94
At the moment, the 5 month old puppy we were looking at, named Frosty, is on page 2 (Male, 5 Months, $250). He's in Milton, Iowah.
The last time I called the lady who owns this one, she was reluctant to agree to the sale because his brother, who she shipped to New York, is having trouble adjusting and she is hoping that the new owner might buy the other male as well, to give his brother company. I never did get the more current pictures of this dog.
The next puppy down is the female look alike that I think I also mentioned (4 Mo Fem Pet, 5 Months, $750). She's in Lockport, Illinois. She's over priced and we have decided against a female.
Oh and BTW, I discovered that a female dog can produce two litters a year, not only one. Wow!!
The dog we are considering now is from the litter of pups that are listed as Male #1, #2, #3 and Female #1, #2 and #3 (5 Weeks, $350). You have to sign up to this sight to see the information on these, but both parents have the same wolf like face as Casper and neither of them weigh over 50 pounds. When I emailed these people, I discovered that 2 of the males are already spoken for and 1 of the females, so I very quickly reserved the remaining male. These can't be shipped until September 8, but we are really excited.
I was looking at a few of the new listings today (Yellow Girl, Green Boy and Puppies), on page one. The first two are in Alberquerque, New Mexico and the last one is in Skopje, Mocedonia. That last one is gorgious. Wow!, is the mother ever pretty, yet so is the price, at $1500. Oh well.
Oh Gee! There's another one. They just listed an 8 Week old puppy named Crusoe (Male, $400). He's cute. Mom and Dad appear to have the same long nose, wolf face, but they look like bigger ones and Ray was hoping for a smaller one. Too bad, cause the big ones are really pretty. Oh well.
This one's in Houston, Minisota.
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