Missing the LaLa, but Now I Gotta Job to Do!

It's been a couple of days and I'm still wondering where Sissy LaLa is. It must be a good vacation, cuz he's still gone for a very very long time. The first few days he left, I was kinda sad.

The beans left this bed here. It has all of his monkey toys in it and his blankie and leash.

When they came home and left Grady at bye-byes, I smelled his bed and it smelled funny. I tried to rub my face on it like I do all the smelly stuff outside, so I could figure out what happened to my brudda.

What did you do with my Sissy LaLa?

Everytime I ask the beans where he's at, they tell me he will come home someday, but that Grady is in a better place. Of course, they take him to a better place??! Why can't I be there? I obviously have lots more research to do to find out where this better place is and find out when he's coming back.

Then the next day, we got a really nice basket of pretty flowers. The beans read me the card, which was from one of my friends at the doctor's. It was very pretty and it too smelled really nice, but I couldn't reach it so I could rub my face on it. I just smelled them from afar. It still didn't tell me where Grady went though.



Later on, I went and laid next to Grady's bed and toys. I wanted to visit him and thought I'd wait here for when he comes back. They won't let me play with his toys. I guess they are waiting for him to get back too?

Where did he go? And why did he leave me with the beans? Where is this "better place" and can I drive there?

Even Ms Kitty is wondering where he went. She comes out of hiding in the bedroom all the time and goes up to the momma bean and yells, "meeeeeoooooowwwwwwwww!" Which I think in Kitty Speak means...."where is that other doggie?!" I'm pretty sure she's hoping Grady doesn't come back. Or maybe she's asking when it's my turn to leave? That Kitty is EVIL!

OMG! Don't tell me....She's right behind me, isn't she?!!!!!!?!!!!!!

Kitty went up to the bed a couple of times too and sniffed and rubbed her face on it too. I had to go back and make sure she didn't do anything weird to Grady's smell. While I was there, I thought maybe if I bring Grady a toy, he will come back? So, I took one of my toys that he gave me from a trial over to his bed and tried to get him to play with it. But, he wouldn't play. I still don't know where the heck he is! But at this point, I'm wondering if he's ever gonna come home?

Then, I remembered what Grady told me on our walk the day he left. He was going to go away on a very long journey and I had to do alot of things for him. He said it's the most important job ever and only a very special Queen Dumbass like me can handle such tough responsibilities. I'm still not allowed to say what he told me to do, but here's a few samples of the things I have to do....

Keep the corner of the couch warm. This is the Daddy Beans favorite spot and when he's not there, Grady would make sure he kept it warm for when Daddy Bean came back. Now, I am keeping it warm.

Look cute. Still trying to master Grady's monkey face look, but he showed me this move and it seems to work well.

And be sure to look silly too. This one is easy. I can do this one all day. And look...multi-tasking. Keeping the corner warm AND looking silly!

Make sure da bunnies don't come in the house. I have to make sure to watch the front AND the back now. Grady and I used to take turns, so now it's even tougher trying to watch two spots at once.

And most importantly, keep the snuggle spot on the Momma Bean nice and warm... He used to lay here every night before bed. I don't mind doing it now. I also have to keep her warm at nite-nites. She must get cold very easily.

Enjoy the sunshine with the beans too. I always did this too, but it's more important I do it now.

But, even though I still have lots more to do, I do still miss that Sissy LaLa.

The beans took me out the other day. We took the Momma Bean out for her favorite yummies...frozen yogurt....and I got to go with them and visit with other peoples that were there. It felt good to get out of the house. I think the Beans thought so too.

Then yesterday, it was some day called Remormial Memorial Day and they had some friends come over for some yummy food on that big fire thingy.  They had 3 little girls come over and play with me and we had great fun running and playing red light green light in the yard. They brought over hula hoops and I got to play while they did a funny dance with them. They ate snacks and gave me nom noms. We played hide and seek and I was always the first to find them. It was the happiest I had been since Grady left. I don't know if he'll ever come back, but hangin out with these peeps made me smile and almost forget my brudda was gone.

It was so much fun makin friends, but boy is that exhausting.

Even though LaLa is gone, and I don't think he's coming back, I'm starting to get back to my normal self again. This morning, things felt a little different. Like, I knew he wasn't coming back and knew he's not hurting no mores and like I felt ok with it.

I wasn't eating the past couple of days. Not how I normally eat. I was worried that Grady might come home and be hungry, so I'd take a bite of my din-dins and drop some in the living room for me to eat, but would leave the rest of the din-dins in my bowl, just in case he was hungry when he came back. But, after a lil bit, I realized I was hungry and he wasn't here, so I'd eat it and promised I'd save the next din-dins for him later. Well, after a few days of trying to leave him din-dins, this morning I decided to eat it all by myself. And boy, it was  YUMMY!!!

And sure enough, just as I stop leaving him some of my din-dins, he did finally come home today. But, it was weird....he was in a box. It smelled funny. It still smelled like Grady, but just had a really different smell to it and I wasn't sure what it was.

The beans told me that he was coming home today. I was soooo excited, that I barked, I looked out the window and I grabbed my toys - getting them ready for him to play with when he gets here. But when they showed me the box I thought, "how'd he get in there? Let him out NOW!! We's gotta play!!!" I tried to rescue him out of there. I tried to lick the box alot and all over and tried to nibble on the corner to see if I could set him free. But the beans made me stop. They said he's already been set free?

Huh?

Maybe they want him to stay in that box? Maybe they want ME to start gettin all the attentions again? Either way, I must admit,......I'm (kinda) happy he's home. I do miss his smell. I still have a long list of stuffs he told me to do, so I know I am a busy girl from now on.

This is the start of a new adventure for me, but I know not to be sad anymore. I'm getting extra attentions, extra snacks, and extra space on the bed. Grady did say it's my job to make sure the beans don't miss him anymore. He told me to make sure they knew that he was lucky to have them to take care of him. He said of all the stuff to do on my list, I have to make sure that they knew he loved them just as much as they loved him. It's a tough job, but someone has to do it.

Grady told me many things on our walk that day and I'm trying to remember them all. It's a long list, but I know I'm the ONLIEST special Queen Dumbass that can do this job for him. But, gee....truth is....guess I still miss him too.

A Note From The Lady Hooman Bean

Mom says she has to censor everything I write, so I'm letting her write a note to get you caught up on everything first.  She says I forget everything, including that I just had din-din 5 minutes ago so there would be no way I'd remember our story. I've got her trained so well! That's cuz I'm a Dumbass! :)
So here's her note. Excuse her for being boring, she's a hooman bean and they don't know how to have fun...

Shaddup Rubi!

Words we say way too often in this house, but that's cuz she's got quite the mouth and the reason why I'm letting her write this blog. She needs a job, something to keep her busy....and out of my training books, underwear, socks, and any paper we happen to leave laying around.

Anyway, my name is Dawn and my husband is Shawn. We were married in 2004 and for our one year anniversary, decided we wanted to get a puppy. We knew we wanted a boxer as I lived with one in college and my husband has one (Koho, now 12 years old) that lives back home with his grandma and mom. So, we knew it had to be a boxer. Total no brainer.

We searched the papers and found a breeder in the area. I called, went up there and there were 3 puppies left. Another family had picked out one lil girl and I was there playing with a shy lil girl and a really outgoing lil boy. Both just as cute as could be. The boy was a goober, he barked, he bounced, he jumped, he rolled over. But the girl was shy, she ducked away when you reached to pet her, but turn your back and she was following right under your feet. I had to have her. We named her Rubi.

Rubi at 8wks when we brought her home...

Rubi started out being a smart girl, yet had lots of issues with anxiety and fear (hmmm...wonder how I woulda known that would be an issue?) but we worked through that, built up her confidence, started training in obedience classes and wanted to get her into agility. However, when she was 6 months old, we found out she had hip dysplasia....pretty bad. She had trouble walking, trouble running and keeping up with her playmates, yet she never let her disability stop her. But, it did stop our wish for agility.  We continued to do some small-scale obedience with her, enough to earn her CGC (Canine Good Citizen) certificate, then let her retire to "Couch Dawg" which she does REALLY well with.

 

When she was 3 years old, she had a Mast Cell Tumor removed from her paw. MCT's are common in boxers, but we were worried as it was a Grade 2 with a small chance of returning. Fortunately, it's not come back but a year later, Rubis's trouble with her hips finally caught up with her. Her weakened hips left her susceptible to tearing ligaments in her knee. We were warned. And then it happened....she tore her CCL. She has a huge battlescar to prove just how tough she is because once again...she didn't let that stop her either.

Before Rubi's knee issues, we had just brought home Grady. He came to us at 11 months old from a great breeder in Maryland (mine and Shawn's homestate). Grady is a beautiful brindle boxer pup that I had the pleasure of watching grow up before coming home to us. I had met his breeder online about a year earlier and when Grady was born, I wanted a pup BAD, but we were sure Grady would be with another family by the time we were ready for a 2nd dog! We waited til we had bought a house, fenced in our huge backyard, then we were ready and fortunately for us.....Grady was still available. He was on hold for a show home and it never worked out. So, he was ready for a home that was interested in obedience and agility. Ding, ding ding! We're here! Let's bring our boy home! So we did. Just seems like it were meant to be.

Grady as a pup (before we brought him home. He's  about 8 weeks old here)

Grady, a few months after we brought him home. He settled in pretty quickly...

When Rubi had her knee surgery, Grady really showed just how dogs can sense when people and other animals are hurt. He hugged us when we were worried for Rubi. He sat and watched while we did her stretches and physical therapy. He pulled his bed up to Rubi's crate when we first brought her home after surgery, so he could sleep with her that night. How sweet can one dog be?

Grady started obedience classes a few months after we brought him home and he was AWESOME! So attentive. So eager to please. Just happy to work. He was the star of all of his classes and I just couldn't believe how easy he was to work with. My first dog that I had ever done obedience with was a German Shepherd named Jomer. He was so wild. I was 14 and clueless. No idea how we managed to not take out the entire class while doing heelwork, but somehow we earned "Most Improved Dog" at the end of the 8 week session- I think they felt sorry for us, they applauded when we left.

Anyway, in his 2.5 years of obedience, Grady has continued to show he has great working potential. He's earned his Rally Novice title, his Rally Advance Title and, like Rubi, is CGC certified. It is our hope to continue now with Novice Obedience and start getting into agility. He loves to jump and balance, so I think he would really enjoy all the fun that agility has to offer. He goes through the motions in obedience, just to make me happy. But I can see his eyes light up when he sees a jump, so I know where he's happiest in the ring.

Our Celebrations....

Our first Rally Novice Trial. We got 2nd place!

 After our first Rally Novice Trial. Grady with all his ribbons and toys.

 Grady New Title ribbon. Rally Novice...

 Earning our Rally Advance Title, November 2010

Grady entered an IABCA Conformation Show. He was the only boxer in his group and won 1st Place. LOL Still, he wears his medal proudly!

So, that's our story. For now at least. I'm sure Rubi will keep ya'll up to date on all the important stuff and not so important stuff. If she gets out of line, I'm sure Ms. Kitty will let me know.....oh wait, did I mention we have a cat? She's a black cat. She hates the dogs. Hates life. Hates people. But likes me, so we'll keep her. :)

Boxers are a working breed. This just proves it....

So, there you go......A Tale of Two Dawgs.....

They have fun together.

 They know how to relax.

They may be a lil bit spoiled...

 

But they are best friends...