Friday, December 14, 2012

DIARY POST - MAY BE BORING

 

What if you could put your life on rewind to a certain day or days and change how the days went? Yes, we've had books and movies on that very subject, which I will not name or discuss, because the post could get interesting. Last Saturday night, I readied myself to take my 15 year old dog, Diana, for a walk at around 10 PM. The late-night walk is not by choice but is necessary if Diana is not to wet her bed during the night. As she has grown older, she won't come to us at night to be let out if she has to pee or poo; she just does her business on the green carpet in the living room. Thus, we close her off in the part of the house which is not carpeted, which makes it impossible for her to come to us to be let out, which she won't do anyway. Washing a dog bed every day gets to be something of a chore, thus the late-night walks, which also have to be rather lengthy, because Diana does not take just one long pee but rather marks her spots all along the way. But her dog bed stays dry most nights.

Diana walks on a retractable lead, which I'd left unlocked as we started the walk. The weather was cool; Diana was frisky and started off at a run around the corner of the house and dragged the back of my hand and arm across the brick post of the carport. My skin is old and thin, and the result was bloody. Grandpère took over the walking chore, while I dressed my wounds, which I'm still dressing each time I shower. The scrapes have finally stopped bleeding, but I'm keeping the wounds covered so I don't injure them again with a scrape or a bump. If I could rewind Saturday night, I would secure the lead and have Diana, as they say, on a short leash.

Diana, Grandpère, and I had our 15 minutes of fame in our town.  Above and below are a photo and the story in the local newspaper, The Daily Comet, of how Diana came to live with us. She was wild as I walked her out of the vet's office, jumping up and down and trying to run, and I remember thinking, "What have we got ourselves into?" As the worker at the office helped me take Diana to the car, the end of the leash caught in the bottom of the car door. The worker was going to let the lead loose, but I told him, "No! Don't let it loose; as it is she can't jump on me while I'm driving home." And that was the beginning of a 14 year relationship.

 
 

And that dog don't hunt. Each time Diana was taken into the woods and let off the leash, she ended up back at Grandpère's truck, ready to go home. The woods where Tom and my sons hunt are not far  from our house, and, on one occasion, Diana became impatient and made her way home on her own. As I said, we love her anyway.

Click on the articles for the larger view. The article is dated February 6, 1998.

15 comments:

  1. What a wonderful story! Thank you for posting it. I hope your hand heals up well. I scraped the back of my left index knuckle on a kitchen cabinet last week. Don't you know, as it was healing I scraped it again on the SAME place this week. Turned the air blue.

    I hope that Diana continues to hunt for a long time to come.

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    1. Chris, Diana doesn't hunt, except for stray cats who come in our yard. She hates cats. She once hunted squirrels and birds in our yard, but she is now deaf, has only one eye, and has clouded vision in the one eye. Despite all her challenges, plus arthritis, she is still in good health for her age.

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  2. Had no idea about Diana's story. Thank you for rescuing her and for posting this.

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    1. You're welcome, Lapin. The only pets we've ever had were rescues or pets who came around and adopted us. We once had 6 cats, and a dog, but not all the cats lived inside. The article has it wrong about Rusty's age when he died. He was only 9 years old.

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  3. Oh, Mimi, since I have met you, I can just hear your voice as you say "She cried out to us from the front page of the Comet." It of course was the perfect thing to say, and the perfect thing for you to do to adopt her. I'm actually glad that dog don't hunt!

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    1. susan s., I had some convincing to do, because Tom was not really ready for another dog. He grieved so over Rusty, the Wonder Dog, who was a natural hunter and an all around good and noble dog.

      I don't mind at all that Diana is not a hunter, despite the hint-hint of her name, but Tom and the boys would like a hunting dog. Diana is about all we can handle now, so we will not be the ones who take another dog into the family.

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  4. On this day of such sad, sad news from Connecticut, your diary post is a welcome diversion. But it's more than just that, really; I'm thinking of the wonderful life Diana is having because of you and Tom. I enjoyed The Daily Comet article. And I just love that name for a newspaper!

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    1. Prairie Soul, I posted the story of Diana just before I found out about the shootings. I'm relieved my post wasn't a rant or a joke, and it's been a welcome distraction for me to respond to the comments here.

      The local newspaper is old with what I think of as an old-fashioned name and is now owned by the New York Times.

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  5. I read this story "Awwww!"ing all the way. :-)

    Yes, a exceptionally nice diversion from the Connecticut tragedy. Dogs have a way of doing that...

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  6. Sweet. Bless you both for showing so much love to the loveless.

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    1. The vet estimated that Diana was approximately one year old when she came to us. What her life was before she was shot with the arrow, we have no idea. She did not appear to be frightened of humans, so I hope she was not abused.

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  7. Rescue dogs are the best! We thought we were rescuing a dog, but he rescued us instead. Thanks for sharing this story. We used to walk our dog near an archery range, and I worried about a stray arrow hitting him. I'm glad that your dog survived, and offer prayers for her in her old age.

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    1. We thought we were rescuing a dog, but he rescued us instead.

      Kittredge, how lovely.

      The exercise from the late-night walk is good for the aging me as well as for the aging Diana, so even though I'd prefer an earlier walk, what will be, will be.

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  8. Wonderful story (Well, except about the pee, poo, and injured hand!)! I keep waiting for my new dog owner to find me, but I'm starting to think she/he isn't looking very hard.

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    1. Thanks, KJ. You know what I always say: Ya gotta take the bad with the good...for better or for worse.

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