And a random sunset here.

It's such a bittersweet moment to witness him getting old...It takes him twice as long to get up and move now and I just can't imagine how I am going to handle not being with him, one day! I wish there was something I could do...I keep telling myself to cherish each and every moment but even then, how can we prepare ourselves for something like that...

Officially had Wylie since April. He’s a rescue from an animal hoarding situation. I’ve had a lot of dogs, and I’ve loved every one of them. But this guy is something special. Can’t be more than 5 feet from me most of the time and always wants to snuggle.

Had to share because when rescues finally feel at home they really are just the best.

She's my baby!

it’s been about a month now since we had to put my childhood dog miley down. 🤍

we got her as a puppy when i was four, and i named her after miley cyrus (obviously from my favourite childhood show, hannah montana. 😭🤍 it’s strange trying to come to terms with the fact that she’s no longer around, especially when she was such a constant presence in my life for as long as i can remember. i still have the impulse to go let her out in the mornings, feed her at night, and check on her to clean up her old lady messes (poor girl had neurological problems that eventually led to incontinence and, eventually, the loss of use of her hind legs). it’s the little routines that seem to hurt the most sometimes, because i spent so many years doing them without ever having to think about the fact that one day i wouldn’t be able to anymore.

honestly, the only thing that’s really helped me through the grieving process has been rescuing two beautiful kitties in the weeks after her passing. without my girls, the house felt so strange and quiet. i was so used to the sound of miley walking around all day, having her cuddle up with me on the sofa, and just knowing she was there. it’s difficult to explain how much you can miss the presence of an animal until you’re suddenly living in a house where they aren’t anymore. i miss her so much, and i don’t think i fully realised just how much space she occupied in my life until that space was suddenly empty.

sometimes i have to comfort myself with the fact that she lived to be 18 years old, that she was incredibly spoiled, and that she got to live a very long life surrounded by people who loved her. her favourite thing in the world was always running and jumping through the long grass in the fields near where i live, and i think that’s how i want to remember her. just being happy, doing what she loved most. she always adored her walks and never quite grew out of pulling on her lead because she was so eager to run ahead, even when it eventually became too dangerous to let her off lead due to changes in her behaviour around strangers as she got older and became more unwell. 😭😭
i wish i could’ve done a lot of things differently, of course. i think the regrets are the hardest part of losing her, because no matter how much you loved them or how hard you tried, it’s so easy to look back and wonder whether you could’ve done more. i know she had a good life, but i still wish i could go back and have a little more time with her.

i think one of the things that comforts me most is knowing that she would’ve loved my cats as much as i do, and that loving them doesn’t mean i love her any less. i wish she could’ve met them, even if only for a little while, and i wish she could’ve been here to see them settle in and make the house feel like home again.

i’ve had miley since i was four years old. she was there for so much of my childhood and growing up, and it feels strange trying to imagine the rest of my life without her in it. eighteen years is such a long time to love something, but somehow it still doesn’t feel like enough. i’ll always be grateful that i got to be her person for as long as i did. 🤍

Saying goodbye to this sweet girl tomorrow and I’m just not ready even though she is

The last pic is her this evening.

We adopted these two puppies today. They're almost two months old. The brown is male and his name is Kiko, and the white is a female, his sister, and her name is Kika.

When I get off night shift in the morning my 3 babies are always waiting for me and when I get up they are sitting at my back door waiting, both times to be fed and played with. When I get up in the afternoon I always make sure to spend any free time I have playing with them and it always relaxes me before work.

Tonight I looked outside and they were all tired out and sound asleep. Sleep well my babies I will see you in the morning

It's so nice that they love each other. We wanted our other dog to have a companion, and it worked out well.

I’m writing this to forever let my pup’s story to be seen.

I first met Tomma when my friend called me and asked if I was interested in getting a puppy. Their dog had just given birth to a litter of 9 and were looking to home them. I had been diagnosed with Aspergers and we were considering getting a dog to training as a Service Dog. When we got there, my mom wanted me and pick the only girl from the litter but wanted to hold each of the puppies. He was the second puppy I picked up and refused to leave my side as I held the others. In that moment he picked me as his person. After we had left, as the puppies were still too young to leave the mother, we got a call from my friend telling us that Tomma had been whining at the door since we had left. He came home with me June 2, 2015.

After he was trained, he went everywhere with me. He was by my side in high school, lived with me in college, and has been with me for the past 11 years. The last few months, his health had been deteriorating, sluggish movement, muscle spasms struggling to climb steps/car seats and exhaustion/labored breathing. Because of his training, he had been hiding his pain from me and I didn’t realize it until my mother had told me that, during a a visit, that he had yelped in pain when she was just holding him.

About 4 months ago, I adopted Aria (a new puppy) to help with the transition and, after a few weeks, he started to truly show he was ready. 2 hours ago, we said goodbye to my best friend of over a decade as the vet put him to sleep. My mom and I gave him the best day with a 2 hour ride, a home made pup cup, sharing some of our lunch and a walk in a park near a major river in our state. We did some clay paw prints and some canvas paw prints before the vet appointment.

I love you Tomma. This isn’t goodbye, only a a see you later. When my time comes, you’ll be there to meet me at the pearly gates. Thank you all for reading his story and keeping his memory alive.

Post Edit: For anyone curious about his name, I have always been a major fan of anime. A little bit before I got him, I had watched the anime Hayate the Combat Butler and loved the animal character in the show. His name was a variation of the character’s name Tama.

Say wondering what they're playing with... It was a piece of bone 😂. She thinks she's as tiny as him whilst he thinks he's as big as her 😅.

I think Kino would sound like Spongebob.

Lil Dude and our next door neighbor Etta Mae. His companion Jill passed in August and since then he and Etta have been best friends. They each watch for the other to come out to play. They are so cute together.

I've been missing my little dog lately, so I looked through some old photos of him and picked one of my favorites to draw.

I ended up spending way more time on his eyes and little facial details than I expected lol

I found a long forgotten open bag of chicken quarters in my freezer, probably about 6 pounds, improperly stored (bag was OPEN. I don’t know what I was thinking storing it like that) and really freezer burnt. I checked the date on it- it had to use by date of 2022. Yikes. I looked up on Reddit for the best way to dispose of it. Luckily, I found a post about using it to make dog safe chicken broth, so I thought what the hell. I defrosted it all (because it was one solid chunk) and then put three of those chicken quarters into my 6 quart slow cooker along with some carrots that were about to go off and a sad looking stalk of celery. I put it on low and eight hours later, my dogs are now getting the most delicious topper for their kibble, which honestly is great because my 15 year-old girl is getting really picky with her food lately (I did skim the fat off). I still have like 6 chicken quarters left to use, but they’re back in the freezer, separated and ready to go in the crockpot when this batch runs out. I got some happy girl dogs, and I’m happy that I didn’t have to waste what once was perfectly good chicken. Bonus: the meat actually came out really good and though it’s dog safe, I might use some of it for tacos or enchiladas!