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You are here: Home / Archives for Winston

Remembering Winston and Riley

December 21, 2014 at 10:04 am by Claudia

When Don and I decided to move in together, a little over a year after we first met, we knew we wanted to live in a house so that we could adopt a dog. Within a week of the actual move-in date, we were at the Humane Society. The first dog we saw was a black Aussie shepherd mix, who was trembling in his cage. Turns out that at the age of 18 months, he had just been given up for adoption by his family because of allergies. He was frightened and didn’t understand why he was no longer with his family. He broke my heart.

We went on to look at many other dogs that day, but that trembling boy kept tugging at our heart strings and we ended up back at his cage. We asked for some time with him in a special area set up for that sort of thing. They brought him to us and we knelt down and talked to him and petted him. I had placed my purse on the floor of the pen so that I could concentrate on petting him. He promptly went over and peed in it.

He marked his territory. Us.

We adopted him. He was named Winston and we liked that name. It suited him. We had to wait a day or two for him to get checked out by the Vets at the Humane Society and for them to take a fecal sample. We waited and waited. Why? Because he wouldn’t poop. Finally, they…ahem… ‘went in’ to get a sample. We brought him home and he promptly pooped in our backyard.

That boy marked us again. It was meant to be.

winston

Here he is with the ball he would pick up and carry in his mouth each time he moved from one room to another. Lord, he was a beautiful boy. At one point, we almost lost him from an illness that was a baffling mystery for a long time. He lost weight. He threw up. He was weaker and weaker. Eventually, it was determined that his pancreas was not working and from that moment on he was on special medication for the rest of his life, medication that helped his pancreas to function. That medication brought our boy back to us.

We loved him deeply. We ended up getting Scout so he could have some company. And, when we decided to move from San Diego to New York, our babies moved with us across the country to our new rental cottage.

A couple of years after we moved out east, Winston suddenly cried out in pain. His tail stayed down. We took him to our Vet and during the course of an ultra sound, the Vet said he couldn’t hear a heart beat. He discovered that was because Winston had a tumor on his heart. Suddenly, we were talking about draining fluid from the lining of his heart, something that might keep him alive for six more months. He was eight years old. But that ended up being a wishful fantasy because within five days – in and out of the hospital – he was in so much pain that we knew we had to let him go.

I didn’t realize it until I came out of it, but I went into a mild depression for several months after Winston’s death. I had Scout to take care of and that helped keep me somewhat anchored. But the loss of our boy, so young, so suddenly, really took its toll on both of us.

I don’t mention him often on this blog, which was started a few years after his death. I found that photo the other day and I took a picture of it, so that I could share it with you. It’s also going on my sidebar.

winstonornament

This is the ornament we bought that first Christmas without him (photo taken last year.) Every year, it’s the last ornament we put on the tree.

This year, I realized I hadn’t found an ornament for our Riley and I felt tremendously guilty about that. It’s been over two years since his death. I bought one yesterday, which will serve as a place marker until I find the perfect ornament for our other beloved boy. And I will.

rileyornament

By the way, we adopted Scout when she was eleven months old – still a puppy. In those days she had short hair. She was our desert dog, having been rescued from a desert-like area of California.

I found a photograph of her yesterday. This is what she looked like.

scout 12-21

I mean. Look at her! All eyes and ears. You see why we couldn’t resist her.

All of our dogs have been rescues. We strongly believe in that. They’ve all been older. Winston was 18 months old. Scout was just under a year old. Riley was at least two years old.

Our dogs aren’t ‘like’ our children. They are our children. Even if we had human children, that wouldn’t change.

Simple as that.

Scout will be celebrating her 16th birthday on January 4th. Oh yes, there will be a party.

This Christmas, and every Christmas, we remember our beloved Winston and Riley.

Happy Sunday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Filed Under: Christmas, dogs, Don, Riley, Scout, Winston 51 Comments

Tending Riley’s Dish Garden

March 25, 2014 at 8:37 am by Claudia

I’ve been searching for succulents to replace the ones that didn’t make it when I knocked over Riley’s Dish Garden about a week ago. Right now, the pickings are slim around my neck of the woods. I’m sure there will be much more available when the nurseries put out their new stock for the spring. But since snow is forecast for the Northeast today, I think that’s going to have to wait. (By the way, I think we are going to dodge that bullet, with only a sprinkling of snow. Cross your fingers.)

I did find two plants, one of which will probably have to be transferred to a pot in the near future. But in the meantime, my precious Riley’s Dish Garden has been replanted.

rileysdishgarden1

The tall plants in the back are from the original dish garden.

rileysdishgarden2

rileysdishgarden3

rileysdishgarden4

I miss my boy.

I was fine yesterday when I was adding soil and plants but, today, looking at these photos? I’m suddenly teary eyed. I see the dish and I see his big brown eyes. I can smell his wonderful scent. I feel the silky smooth hair on his ears and forehead. I tell him I love him and miss him and oh, how I wish he was here.

You never get over the loss, do you?

I was recently telling someone the story of our first dog, Winston, and his rapid decline at the age of eight when a tumor was discovered on his heart. To my surprise, I started to cry. It’s been over ten years since we said goodbye to our beloved boy, yet in an instant I can be right back in that horrible time of grief and loss. It wasn’t until a year or so after we lost Winston that I realized I had been in a sort of depression for several months following his death.

My dogs are my children. As I watch Scout lose the crazy energy she once had, see her slow down and sleep more, hear her groan because of her aching joints, with eyes and ears that aren’t functioning as sharply as they used to, I know that this time is precious. Beyond precious. We are all too aware that she is 15 and we are so grateful she is still with us. Don doesn’t like being away from her at this time in her life. I understand. She is everything to us. She is our daughter. She is the magic dog that everyone loves. Her smile lights up the room.

Ah, I’m crying again.

Anyway. I know you understand. Riley has been gone for a year and a half, though it seems like yesterday when he was here with us. Winston has been gone for over 10 years, yet in an instant, I am with him.

I like to think they are with me in spirit and soul. I hope they are. I hope they nuzzle up against me when I’m down. I hope Winston and Riley visit Scout, who has outlived them both. I hope that, when I am sleeping upstairs, they are all having a fine time together downstairs. Wouldn’t that be nice?

Once again, a blog post has taken me somewhere I didn’t expect to go. I was just going to write about the new look of the Dish Garden and here I am, writing about love and loss.

By the way, Scout is on Glucosamine and that has helped a lot. Nevertheless, she has swelling on her joints, her hips hurt, she limps a little. She gets tired easily. But her spirit is strong.

Let’s close on a ‘cute’ note. While I was at the nursery, there was a display of minis meant for fairy gardens. But fairy gardens are ubiquitous and I have enough to handle with my real-sized gardens. However, one piece stood out and I bought it.

For my dollhouse, of course.

adirondackchair

Yep. That adirondack chair. The owner of the dollhouse sits in it and reads while drinking a glass of iced tea. Sometimes she props her legs up on the porch railing. Sometimes she just sits and watches the world go by.

Happy Tuesday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Filed Under: dogs, dollhouse, Riley, Scout, Winston 53 Comments

A Christmas Memory

December 23, 2013 at 8:50 am by Claudia

chair&tree

After two days of rain and temperatures that soared to 63°, we are left with a few mounds of snow.

That’s it. It’s muddy, it’s raining, and it definitely is not going to be a white Christmas. It will get colder by Christmas day, but no snow.

As depressing as that might be, it is not comparable to some of the terrible weather conditions many of you have had to deal with; ice storms, power outages, just plain horrendous weather. We had a conversation about that on this blog’s Facebook page yesterday. My heart goes out to all of you and I pray that power is restored and the damage, if any, is minimal. Stay safe.

tree

Speaking of snow, I have fond memories of one of our first Christmases here in the East. After having lived in San Diego for eight years (me) and off and on his whole life (Don), we made the big move to the Eastern part of our country many years ago. We rented a little cottage, even smaller than this one.

On Christmas Eve, the weather report predicted a blizzard for Christmas Day. My West Coast born and bred husband was excited, to say the least. We had everything we needed in the house, the presents were bought, the tree was decorated, the four of us (Don, me, Winston and Scout) were safely nestled inside our cottage. Our neighbors called us on Christmas Eve morning. They were headed down to Princeton, NJ for Christmas Day but they had decided they should leave early to dodge the storm. They were taking care of our other neighbors’ dogs. Would we mind taking over those duties for a couple of days? Absolutely not, we said.

It was a huge blizzard. White-outs. Snow swirling everywhere. Many, many inches on the ground.

After eight years in San Diego, this Midwestern girl was thrilled. Don was, too. We had to shovel a path outside the door and take the dogs out on leashes, so we could see them and keep them safe. When it came time to venture next door to feed and let out our neighbors’ dogs, we slogged through snow drifts that seemed a mile high, falling down, laughing, pushing against the wind that threatened to keep us from our destination.

We felt like kids again.

I remember that day every year at this time. It was magical. The wonder of it all still stays with me. I think we lose a lot of that wonder as we grow older. I know that in my case, after years of big snowfalls in Michigan, then in Philadelphia and Boston, I got sick of the whole thing and couldn’t wait to move to San Diego. Familiarity breeds contempt. I’d had enough. And though I loved San Diego, after eight years there, I missed the seasonal changes that are part of living in this climate. I missed the wonder that can come from watching the leaves turn vivid colors, seeing the green buds of Spring transform the landscape and watching snow blanket the horizon as far as the eye can see.

Of course, I complain about all of the above. Leaves need to be raked. Spring brings rain and mud. Summer’s humidity can be oppressive. Winter’s snow needs to be shoveled.

I’m human.

But, if I take a moment to remember that particular Christmas, I’m a kid again. And that’s a good thing.

Happy Monday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Filed Under: Christmas, Don, Scout, snow, Winston 45 Comments

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Welcome!

Welcome!

I live in a little cottage in the country with my husband. It's a sweet place, sheltered by old trees and surrounded by gardens. The inside is full of the things we love. I love to write, I love my camera, I love creating, I love gardening. My decorating style is eclectic; full of vintage and a bit of whimsy.

I've worked in the theater for more years than I can count. I'm currently a voice, speech, dialect and text coach freelancing on Broadway, off Broadway, and in regional theater.

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Scout & Riley. Riley left us in 2012. Scout left us in February 2016. Dearest babies. Dearest friends.

Winston - Our first dog. We miss you, sweetheart.

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