R.I.P. Ranger

3 July 2004 - 27 February 2014

Dear Tanner,

I was hoping Ranger would be able to greet you when you arrived home this summer, but he didn't make it. We think he had cancer, as he lost a lot of weight, and had other symptoms that made his quality of life too close to suffering. Your father was away as well, and hoped to make it back to say goodbye, but didn't get home in time.

What a difficult day! Ranger has provided our home with much needed protection, better than any alarm system we could have bought! He was a great player, and LOVED that ball! Remember when he use to pull you on your skates? Remember how he would chase the tennis ball all the way down the block of unconstructed homes?

There were a few things that day, which made all the difference in the world to me, and provided me with a few tender mercies while I was all alone.

I thought far enough ahead to bring a knit sheet for him to lay on, so he could be comforted by smells from home. It was probably more important to me than him, but I hoped it helped as he was falling asleep.

I had an established relationship with the veterinarian, as he was Ranger's vet, and his son has been in my cub scout pack for four years. He was very caring and compassionate with both Ranger and I.

I found out I knew the owner of the pet cemetery / internment services business. She took 20 some pounds off Ranger's weight, and saved me $50 dollars off their services. And, again I had compassion and sympathy from someone else I knew during this difficult time.

The vet office provided a body bag, and wrapped him up while I waited in the hall. It was important to me to keep the memory of my dog dignified. To me it was comforting to be able to pick him up and hold him again, and this made it easier. (This is important if you're taking your dog with you, as bodily fluids can be released.)

Make sure a sedative is given first, and that you wait for a full twenty minutes before proceeding. The amount of calm and restfulness increased the longer we waited, and it was a wonderful time to talk to him and stroke his fur, and share the love we had for each other.

Remember how much he loved you, and how much you loved him. You will see him again, and what a reunion! Until then, I love you!

Mom

Senior Pictures

I found it very touching that our senior, Hunter, wanted his school picture with our "senior" dog Ranger. They love each other's company, and he's been a good golf companion, chasing down all of Hunter's golf ball drives in the field, sleeping in his room when the stairs were more than he wanted to tackle, and helping to clean off his plate ;-)

Top Ten Snowy Day Moments

10. Watching Miller go out two times, staying out until he was soaking wet, building a snowman and fort, and having a snowball fight...He does snow days right!

9. Ranger chasing snowballs like his tennis balls, and barking continuously!

8. Cooper, who stayed out the longest, resting when the snow started spitting.

7. Discovering the birds loved the snowman ball tracks, and watching them find worms!

6. Knowing Sawyer was the first one out the door, the last one in, and all before breakfast!

5. Watching Porter gird up his loins to join his brothers outside.

4. Watching Breyer FINALLY decide to go outside, and then having a neighbor stop to play.

3. Thinking Hunter is going to build a really TALL snowman!

2. Having Hunter dedicate his snow pile to his newest nephew, Lincoln.

1. Having Cooper build a snowman...using the toilet!

(Cooper's very excited about his almost 100 likes/comments on Facebook ;-)

Princess Pony

Jane

See Jane.

(We're dog sitting for a week.)

See Jane sleep.

(There's a lot of heavy breathing going on at night.)

See Jane play.

(Mastiff's secret weapon? Slobber.)

See Jane walk. (It's a circus!)

Good Guard Dogs

Does anyone remember this cartoon?

Sam the Sheepdog and Ralph the Wolf.
I remember that dog always sitting, waiting for the wolf to attempt to steal a sheep.

Had a little deja vu looking out my backdoor today.

Although Ranger isn't guarding sheep, he's always patiently watching. And waiting.

Go Dog Go!

Ranger has no fenced yard.

So we hook him to a large, heavy sled.

He's free to roam the yard,

but he can't get too far, too fast.

Miller found a ball, and got a ride.

doggie doo do

Traveling 16 hours to Texas can be daunting alone with six boys, but add a Christmas hamster and a BIG dog, and you've got chaos (although he looks really peaceful there!).

Ranger was a really good dog. He loved playing with 14 kids, enjoying the big, fenced yard, and two dog buddies.

But, he caught a whiff of something he wasn't very familiar with.

And chased it up the tree!

Thank goodness that cat knew how to climb down.

Meeting the New Neighbor

This is the field on the side of our house, with its new occupant: a miniature horse.

It's about the size of Ranger, the dog.

The boys have really enjoyed "Little Buddy."

Ranger's currently in a new domestication retraining program. He's not enjoying his new neighbor nor his new duties: Refrain from eating the horse.

Finding Contentment

I'm happy to report a general consensus was reached between Ranger and Dad. Hanging around the house all day provided Ranger with another playmate, and he chose Dad. Ball after ball would be dropped in his lap, or on the kitchen table, or at his feet, in hopes that Dad would play ball with him. It didn't work all the time, but a few balls were batted and a few more were thrown, and in the end, they were both good. At the end of the day, what makes you content?