Today is the final day of www.bittersweetdiabetes.com’s Diabetes Blog Week 2017.  The topic is: More Than Diabetes, about me, with or without a relationship to diabetes.  Easy peazy!

 

 

 

D Also Stands for DOG!  INDEED!

I seem to absolutely ADORE dogs.  I often can imagine their voices if they spoke in human.  They make me smile, breathe easier, brings laughter and joy. 

My passion for our four-legged spirit guides started when I was in my thirties, with Toby, my English cocker spaniel and then King Louis IV, a feisty toy poodle puppy with lots of interests!  After I dig up some physical pix, you will see him showing up in my blog posts! 

 

But then life became seriously more dog-centric, with Ginger, the wonder toy poodle.  She “chose” me and seemed to be my alter ego.  And she taught me so much about life.  The biggest lesson:  If someone enters your life who is not “good,” it’s okay and best to retreat under the bed!  I beg your indulgence here but I couldn’t just choose one photo!  Included below is Ginger’s 7th birthday party with 14 people and 10 dogs … and all dogs were served birthday cake (made of ground chicken, carrots, broccoli and the icing made of mashed potato in the shape of a bone)! Ginger left us at age 16:

My little dog – a heartbeat at my feet.  ~ Edith Wharton

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And some of Ginger’s best friends:

Zoe

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Annie and Annie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enter Hey Buddy and Bon Bon in 2008 … pure joy and love!  Hey Buddy is our Westie (his middle name is I’m Busy) and he’s definitely an old soul. Bon Bon is our Lhasa Apso, definitely a new soul!  Once again, please indulge me … I couldn’t stop myself!

Whoever said you can’t buy happiness forgot about puppies.  ~ Gene Hill

No one appreciates the very special genius of your conversation as the dog does. ~ Christopher Morley

The BEST nursing care, after cervical spine surgery and with my Charcot foot CRO boot

Dogs are miracles with paws.   ~ Attributed to Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy

They love to snuggle onto of my JDRF Shooting Stars Walk to Cure Diabetes shirts!

And here they are sporting the Coyote Vests, complete with spike strips and mohawk attack defenders!

 

 

They are just joyful and loving … they make smile ALWAYS!

Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.  ~ Roger Caras

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some of their friends: Milo (who spends weekends here) and Jags, the regal standard poodle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And if you’ve made it this far, here are some of my favorite dog quotes:

• A dog teaches a boy fidelity, perseverance, and to turn around three times before lying down. ~ Robert Benchley
• Properly trained, a man can be dog’s best friend.  ~ Corey Ford
• Whoever said you can’t buy happiness forgot about puppies.  ~ Gene Hill
• Dogs laugh, but they laugh with their tails.  ~ Max Eastman
• My goal in life is to be as good of a person my dog already thinks I am.  ~ Author unknown
• There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face.  ~ Bern Williams
• If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.  ~ Will Rogers
• A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.  ~ Josh Billings
• A dog wags its tail with its heart.  ~ Martin Buxbaum