looking back at when Mikita was just a puppy… this makes me smile.

Mikita Head Tilt

He didn’t make it.  Just a few days to go before he would have turned 16 he passed away on Monday, May 23. He died doing what he loved most – hanging out by the pool.  He loved the water! Even in his old arthritic days when he didn’t swim much he would still go out and lie down by the pool, falling asleep.

I thought he was going to be 15 but his original owner, Mike H., corrected me that he was going to turn 16!  Wow, what a long life he had.

I can’t stress what a good dog he was.  Faithful, obedient, calm, happy, friendly, and loving – he didn’t have a mean bone in his body.  He had few health problems most of his life, until this past year when age crept up on him. He brought me so much happiness and love – I will truly  miss him.   Mikita loved him, too.  She would sometimes go up to him while he was sleeping and kiss his face then lay down next to him and go to sleep.  It was so sweet!

God bless you Jefferson. You were a great dog!

Jefferson is going to be 15 years old this June.  Thats REALLY old for a Black Lab. He’s been such an amazing dog – a true gentleman if there ever was one in the canine family.

On Mother’s Day he gave me a great present – he went swimming!  It was his first time in the water in a very long time. In fact, I had given up on him ever going swimming again because he knows his limits and hadn’t wanted to take the plunge.  He knows his body best so I always just let him determine things like that.

But today, he paced around the pool and whined giving the indication he was ready to get back in again.  With some help from me and Mike, we got him onto the first step of the pool then helped him get fully in the water.  He swam around like fish – going the full length of the pool.  It was such an awesome sight to see.

I love my dog!!

Date:  Saturday, February 20, 2010

Location:  Orlando, Florida

Outside Temperature:  68-degrees

Water Temperature:  57-degrees

Dogs say:  Let’s Swim!

Mom says:  Not me!

Gotta get the ball out of the water.

I can get to it this way.

I’m going in.

Got it!

Ah – Let’s do it again – about 30-times!

Happy Sunday everyone.

My Canine Wordless Wednesday

The kids continue their daily love fest. And I seriously mean, daily!

And this is how the day ends.

A friend sent me this video for my birthday, knowing I love animals and that I have a German Shepherd, too.  It’s hysterical!  And the dog looks just like my Mikita. Enjoy…

Dear Ed – my dog trainer,

I’ve done you wrong.  You showed me how to earn respect and gain control of my dog.  I just didn’t follow through. Now, I’m paying the price.

The Prized Yellow Football

Take a look at this photo to the left. Mikita is cherishing her prized yellow football. She loves this football, as torn up as it is. It’s her most favorite toy of the bazillions of toys she has.  I bury this ratty ball in the bottom of her toy chest (yes, she has a toy chest) and she sniffs it right out. There is absolutely no hiding this ball from her. I could just throw it away, but why deprive her of the fun of playing with something she’s destroyed. 

So, now that you know how much she loves this football, the rest of this post will hopefully be funny and make sense. 

I have a dog sitter who comes to the house once a day to let the kids out and play with them for awhile. I’m fortunate to have someone excellent, whom I can trust with my babies, and who loves them almost as much as I do.  She leaves me daily notes of the highlights of her visits with them. Today’s was exceptionally humorous:

Dog Visit 05/20/09

“I had a battle of wills with Mikita today and lost both times. I think I was cranky from the rain because I didn’t want to play with the football. I threw the pink ball and she brought me back the yellow football. This went on for 5 minutes until I finally gave up.  Then, when the skies opened up she didn’t want to come in. You just can’t help but love her.”

Gotta love Mikita.

Mikita loves her toys

Lap dogTired baby