Homelessness

One of the many changes we have experienced in the last year was being homeless for 19 days.  We sold our house and the new owner had an urgent move in date.  We had not even LOOKED at houses, YIKES!  So, what does one do when faced with this situation?  Why, they take a 19 day vacation at the lake in their travel trailer, that's what!  We found a lovely spot at the top of hill overlooking the lake.  We were a little cramped, and ate a lot of take out food, but we did survive the 19 days!  I did, however, use the time to work on my photography skills, what do you think?

Boo enjoying the sunset

The object of Boo's affection

The sun sets over the dock

Hemi thinks trailer life is booooring!

Another stunning sunset

Just a bit of the surroundings

Luckily, we were able to find and close on a wonderful piece of property.  Loving it!  Country living at its finest.  

Goodbye to another sweet girl

Close on the heels of our loss of Hershey, our matriarch, we lost Kyra, Gene's first agility dog.  Kyra was diagnosed with hemangiosarcoma in November of 2012 and surgery was not an option.  We only had one more week with her before we had to once again make the hard decision to deliver her from the pain.

Hemangiosarcoma is a nasty cancer, and called the silent killer because it does so much damage before it rears its ugly head.  Kyra had a few good days and a few bad days, but was vomiting blood as well as bloody diarrhea.  Kyra was such an easy dog to own, as long as she wasn't left unattended.  She was an eager and biddable dog who spent her "off time" as a couch potato.

We will miss you, sweet girl.

Kyra, enjoying a deep nap.  This was one of the last photos we got of her.

One of my favorite photos of Kyra.  She was so photogenic, and there was so much emotion in those eyes!

RIP Kyra 1/14/2001-11/24/2012

The Queen is gone, long live the queen

I have put off writing this post for as long as I can.  In late 2011, we were informed that our beloved Hershey had adenocarcinoma.  The tumor was extremely fast growing and invasive, which I am told is common for the type of cancer.  The cancer had also metastasized to several major organs, including lungs and heart.  Due to her age and the extent of the mets, we chose to stick to palliative care and to make the most of the time she had left.

On January 10, 2012--just shy of her 14th birthday-- we had to make the hard decision to let her go.  Those who know us (or have followed the blog) know that Hershey was the queen of our household, and taught us so much about dogs, dog training, and life.

The dynamics in the house have not been the same, and we still miss her.  We will never forget you, Hershey, you will always hold a special place in our hearts.

Hershey, as a pup. 

Thank you to Walnut Creek Animal Clinic for the beautiful box for Hershey's ashes.

RIP Hershey 5/10/1998 to 7/10/2012

Changes

It has been a really long time since I've posted, and much has happened in that time.  Shortly after my last post, the Queen of our family, Hershey, was diagnosed with cancer.  We lost her in January of 2012.  We sold our house, and moved into a new house.  During that time, we also lost our other girl, Kyra to Hemangioscarcoma.  The good news, is that we have a beautiful new home, Hemi got his MACH and went to the AKC Nationals and I also got my next agility star, a miniature poodle named Mingo.  I have much to be posted on all of the above.  The first post will be a tribute to our dear Queen.

I am also in deep in the process of trying to write my first novel.  Working title is "Innocence by Guilt."  33,000 words and counting.

I hope to get on a more consistent schedule of blogging again.

Nationals! Another first for the Downing poodles

Gene and Hemi qualified for AKC Nationals this year.  What a whirlwind!  Once Hemi figured out the teeter and dogwalk, he has become one of the most consistent dogs!  He doesn't just Q, but he has awesome speed as well!

It was a stressful situation for Gene and Hemi, but the two of them worked together, and came up with 2 qualifying runs, and had an AWESOME finish for their first ever Nationals appearance.

Look out, Pennsylvania!  This poodle will be back in 2014!

MACH Tintlet Grab Life By The Horns

Yes, that is correct, Hemi received his MACH at the Lone Star Poodle Club!  We are so proud of him and Gene.  With Hemi's issues with teeters and dogwalks, there were times we thought we would never see the day.  But, Hemi was able to work through it, and look at him now!  Love my boys!

Hemi Gambles~

And gets a hard one! Way to go Hemi! (Notice the outstanding teeter performance, too!)