Bad, bad news: Almost all of our original beloved Pack has died in the last six months. The only one left is dear old Bridger. See why I haven’t been blogging? Billy, Ranger, Madea and Sanyu are all gone, buried in our backyard. A crazy illness took the boys, Madea went a few weeks later because she was simply heartbroken, and Sanyu passed just this month due to a poisoning which I think came from her flea treatment. I never quite realized how much I loved our dogs and how much a part of the family they truly are so the last six months have sucked in that regard. My heart still hurts.
Better news: Although we lost our beloved pets, we’ve also acquired a butt load of new ones! I went a little crazy there for a while and my antidepressant of choice was collecting more puppies and dogs.
First of all, last November, shortly after Billy and Ranger had died, we went to the animal shelter (the one and only) in Kampala and I grabbed the ONLY ridgeback cross puppy there was, thereby welcoming RUSTY to our Pack. He is a sweet, gentle boy who would at first hide in the closet and cry whenever anyone (especially the vet) would come. He still doesn’t run up to people but really likes to use his nose to check things out. He doesn’t like too many snuggles but loves to just stand by one of his people and be stroked. We love our well mannered Rusty who doesn’t jump or lick and does the same nose snoot as Ranger, when he wants attention!
Rusty is known for his big ears and long legs!
Secondly, we found little curly tailed MALAIKA, the morning after we buried Ranger. Her name means “angel”. She was a couple months old, hanging around at the office gate and had a terrible respiratory problem. After two weeks at the vet she came home and has been my special little buddy ever since.
Thirdly, HAZEL was found, with her three siblings, dumped at a Convent. She was about three weeks old and we bottle fed her and her brother and two sisters for several weeks. We found homes for the other pups but kept her. She reminds us a lot of Billy when he was a puppy and has the same coloring as Sanyu. She is Ella’s special dog now that Sanyu is gone.
We love our baby Hazel!
Fourthly and fifthly came BONNIE and EDDIE. We also got them at the animal shelter (I made the mistake of ‘liking’ it on facebook!). Bonnie is a HUGE Great Dane cross and just as lovely and fun as can be with a really big bark. I’ve ALWAYS wanted a brindle dog and I got one! She is about 1.5 to 2 years old.
Bonnie is indeed a "BIG DOG"!!
We got Eddie the same day we got Bonnie. He is a pure white (and I mean WHITE) with dark around one eye and a ridge. So white like Madea with a ridge like Billy. He is a little dog that marches to his own beat and is quite good natured.
As long as he's on the dog bed, Eddie doesn't care who he shares it with!
Lastly, two weeks after bringing Bonnie and Eddie home, we brought BESSIE. Bessie is the last of a litter of 11 puppies that Bonnie had at the shelter. Bessie was my first choice but then I decided to get Bonnie and Eddie instead. Imagine my surprise when two weeks later she was the only puppy from that litter left at the shelter! It was meant to be. She is BEAUTIFUL and SWEET. She can be a little timid in new situations or with new people but Pack Walks are quickly taking care of that.
And thank God we still have our dear old Bridger. What a good dog he is. He still guards his home and family but is mellowing out a bit in his old age. He’s eight this year. We love our Bridger so very much.
