Several days ago, I wrote about my "little blessing" - Thea - and how she was almost 15 and starting to have health issues. One of those problems - she has started to "lean" to the left with her head and neck. We first thought it was an inner ear infection. But it has started to get worse. Today we took an x-ray of her neck to see if there was anything noticeable. When my boss (and veterinarian) came out and said - "we have serious neck problems" - I knew he was not joking around. Two discs in her lower neck have no space between them - they are so close together, they look like they are fused together. Which means there is no cushion between those discs. He commented that it is no wonder she is in pain. Our options are: neck surgery (which is quite risky and would mean going to a vet school to have it done); checking into accupuncture to see if that would help at all (and that won't correct it, just help with the pain); or continue treating with prednisone (which also just helps the pain). The neck surgery is not really an option because of her age and the risk involved. So we will be checking into the accupuncture and we will be treating her with the prednisone. We will also have to try to keep her from jumping up and down off the couch and try to keep her from straining her neck.
Thea has been in my thoughts a lot lately. I have been thinking of her neck pain and I think in the back of my mind, I knew there was more to it than just an inner ear infection. And I have been asking myself - how much longer will she be with me? I pray that God will let her be with me for several more years, but I don't know if that will happen. And I know that when I do lose her, I will feel a sadness that will be hard to deal with, but God will be there always to help me through it all. Thea has been with me through so many things in my life. Good things (visiting and getting to know and love Jo) and sad things (Mom going into a nursing home and then passing away 4 years later). She has let me cry on her and would just lay her head on my arm while I cried.
I don't know how much longer Thea will be with me. I hope a long time. But I do know I will not let her suffer in pain. And I will love her and Thank the Lord for her every day that she is here with me. God has blessed my life with her and I love her very much. And I pray that when the time comes, the Lord will give me strength and courage to get through the pain and sadness.
"Lord, thank you so much for the gift of Thea that you gave me 14 years ago. Thank you for allowing her to be in my life and giving me her unconditional love. Her love has shown me just a glimpse of what YOUR love for me must be. Thank you for loving me and always being there with me. And I pray that when the time comes and I must let Thea go, that you will be beside me and hold me in your arms and give me your comfort. I love you Lord. Amen"
Today was an eventful day for Jenna - seeing old friends, meeting new friends, and learning new things. It started out with seeing old friends at the monthly Greyhound Rescue "Meet and Greet" at PetsMart. This is where owners and their greyhounds they have adopted and greyhounds who are up for adoption get together and "meet and greet" people who want to know more about the greyhounds and possibly adopt one. Jenna saw several "friends" from last month's meet and greet. My friend Susan and her two little girls, Hazel and Emily, were also there to see Jenna. Everyone commented on how great Jenna looked - how she had put on weight and her haircoat was so soft and shiny. And of course, Jenna was loving all the attention and petting.
Then from there we went on Jenna's FIRST THERAPY DOG VISIT!!! We met the therapy dog group at an assisted living facility. Before going in to visit, the group evaluator/trainer helped me with a problem I was having with Jenna. She is very strong and pulls against her collar straining to go where SHE wants to go. So the trainer put a "gentle leader" collar on her and what a difference. Jenna didn't like it at first but she sure listened with it on. Then we went in to visit. And she did so well. I knew she would as she has such a sweet, laid-back disposition. She would go up to the residents and just stand there with her head in their lap. I think once we get the pulling on the collar worked out, she will be terrific as a therapy dog. Going on therapy dog visits is such a blessing for me - I feel I have something I can give to people who are missing their pets or just need a visit from someone.
And after the visit - well, let's just say Jenna was a little tired and slept all the way home in the back seat. What a trooper!!
God's Little Blessing - THEA - my sweet little Italian Greyhound, who has blessed my life in so many ways. Who knew when I first saw you 14 years ago, what a journey we would take together. Nothing earth shattering - just loving and blessed. It took me several years before I realized that you were a gift from God. I tried to make you a show dog - that didn't work since you hated the show ring. You were 8 years old before I realized what God had in store for the two of us. And it hit me what it was when I took you to see Mom at the nursing home she had just went into. You jumped into bed with her and sat next to her the whole visit. For the next 2 weeks while we were visiting Mom, every evening you sat next to her in her chair, sometimes just sleeping, sometimes watching everything that was going on. But always calm and loving. You made Mom fall in love with you - from that day on - you were her granddog. That's when I knew you were destined to be a Therapy Dog. You aced your training classes and your certification test. You were always so calm and gentle with the elderly at the assisted living centers. Then we moved up to visiting at the hospital. You always brought a smile to the faces of patients and their families. Now as you are getting older (15 in August) you are only visiting your favorite friend - Jo. Your hearing is almost gone and your vision is going also. But you still love to sit in Jo's lap. Because of you, I have also felt blessed when visiting patients and residents at nursing homes. To know that I have a gift from God that helps bring a little joy into someone's life is so precious. I only wish Mom could have seen you one more time before she left us to be with Jesus. It is getting hard watching you grow older - the health problems you are starting to have. But even with those, you still enjoy your visits to Jo.
You and your housemates (Fancy and Tiki) are the "inspirations" for this blog. You are blessings from God and even though you are just dogs - you have blessed my life. I know God gave you three to me - you are His gift to me and I thank Him for you. He has given me other blessings but you are my daily blessings and when I see you three and see the unconditional love you give me - it is a constant reminder of the love God has for me. I know God loves me and I know I am His child.
"Thank you Lord for your Love, for your son Jesus - who died for me. And thank you for my little "girls". I pray that everything I do with them is for your Glory. Thank you for our newest "girl" and I pray that I can continue bringing smiles to faces with her and I do this in your name. Amen"
Yesterday was my sister Carole's 60th birthday. How I wish I could have been there this weekend to help her celebrate her birthday. But I live 10 hours away from her and even farther away from the rest of my family. But even though I couldn't be there, she was in my thoughts most of the weekend. It is at times like this - birthdays, holidays, and special occasions, that makes me stop and think about how important FAMILY is. My family means everything to me. And not just my 4 sisters and my brother, but their spouses, children, and grandchildren, my Aunt Dixie and her family. I thank God for the closeness our family does have - even though we are spread out around the country. God has blessed me with a wonderful family. I know that if I ever needed them for anything, they would be there. And we are always there for each other in prayer. We may not be close physically, but we are spiritually very close.
"Father - thank you for my family, for keeping us safe, for watching over us. Thank you for your love, your grace, your mercy. I ask that you keep everyone in my family safe in your hands and let them feel your love and protection. I love you Lord and I Praise Your Name!"
I found myself today thinking of love and how blessed I am with family and friends who I know love me. And how much I love them. But today I was especially thinking of two friends and how much they mean to me and how much I love them.
I took Thea this afternoon to visit our friend Jo who is in a nursing home. I met Jo about 6 years ago when Thea and I started our Therapy Dog visits. She immediately took to Thea and our relationship grew from there. She is such a special lady and I always come away from visiting her knowing I have been blessed. Sometimes we talk a lot during our visits and sometimes, like today, we talk just a little and Jo spends most of the visit petting Thea (who is totally content to lay in her lap and relax). I don't visit her as often as I would like due to work and other commitments. But I realized today how much I love her and how she has blessed my life. And God has put us together and has blessed our friendship. She is a "Very Special Blessing" to me.
After my visit with Jo I arrived home and was reading my friend Susan's blog and I felt God reminding me of the VERY SPECIAL friendship Susan and I have. She is my sounding board, my "sister", and my best friend. I have seen her go through some very tough times in her life. She had three foster children taken from her when her husband (who was in the Service) was transferred to Connecticut. DSS would not let them take the children out of state and they were placed with another family. Susan was devastated. It was a very difficult time for her and also for me. I had come to love Elijah, Brianna and Zane. But I was also devastated because my friend was moving away and so very far away. I could no longer call her up and meet in 20 minutes for dinner. But the move did not weaken our friendship - but strengthened it. We were "sisters in Christ" and the Lord has greatly blessed our friendship. And now Susan and her husband have moved to North Carolina and she is only 1 hour away and we see each other frequently. We have been there for each other through many things - both good and sad. She is going through one of the tough times now. They are foster parents to two adorable little girls and are waiting to see if they will be able to adopt them. The court date is in March and we are all praying they will be able to adopt Hazel and Emily. Lord I pray you will bless Susan and Thom with the permanent addition of Hazel and Emily to their family.
So as I sit here tonight reflecting on these two friends - I realize that they are both "Special Little Blessings", except I feel they are BIG BLESSINGS to me. "Thank you Lord for Susan and Jo. Thank you for putting them in my life and I pray I will be as good a friend to them as they are to me."
