The dog whisperer

Ha ha… yeah. This is what my mom and dad called me as a child. I have always had a way with animals and I , more than anything, wanted to grow up to be a veterinarian. I did the whole 4-H thing in middle school and high school, and won lots of ribbons (2 blue).

Growing up in the country we had every possible domestic animal that you can find on a farm. We raised hogs, potbelly pigs, had 2 calves, a horse, cats, dogs, fish, quail, rabbits, and pigeons and then I had so very exotic pets too. I had a pet squirrel for 13 years, hermit crabs, bearded dragons, water dragon, cockatiels, cockatoos, parakeets, frogs, tad poles, turtles, snakes, iguanas. (We have had them ALL). My favorite pet out of all of these was a rat terrier, named Odie Ray. I got him right before my 13th birthday and that dog went every where with me. I had him house broke in 3 days and he knew a vast array of tricks. Sitting, rolling over and talking were some of the first tricks I taught him but as the months went on, it just amazed me how smart he was and how many tricks he could learn.

Well, when I moved out of my parents house at 18, I moved into an apartment and Odie Ray couldn’t go with me. Mainly because my mom and dad were also very attached to him. So, I went on about my life and Odie lived with my parents. I missed him so much. When I went to visit my parents Odie would be so happy to see me, which it hurt my heart because I couldn’t take him with me.

Last weekend I got a call from my mom. Odie had died. He would have be 12 years old this August 14th. I had only been out to my moms house once in the last 8 months and when I saw him (about 5 months ago) I could tell he had lost some weight and was very gray. He had gotten so old. He had arthritis in his back legs and began having trouble seeing.

I’m not even going to explain how he died as I will probably start bawling. It was his time as he was having A LOT of health problems. Oh how I miss him and am so mad at myself for not going to see him recently. It amazes me that animals can really become a part of the family and how much they can be missed when they are gone.

I got a Blue Heeler puppy  about 7 months ago right after my second son was born. He is kind of wandered up to our house and was so sweet that I just had to keep him. He is a great dog and so good with my kids but he will never take the place of Odie Ray.

Last night after my hubby got home, he took Jaxon for a ride on the tractor and of course Blue had to go for his evening run through the field and chase the horses. After about a 30 minute run my husband was heading back through the field and Blue (not at all paying attention to what he was doing) run underneath the tractor. He was hit by the front tire and my hubby immediately shut down the tractor as the bush hog on the back was still turning and because of syntrifical force it doesn’t stop turning until the tractor stops completely. He was almost ran over by the bush hog. It would have killed him. Kasey carried him in to me and I looked him over (checking for broken bones) thank goodness there are none. I stayed up with him most the night making sure he didn’t start having seizures, or peeing blood or having trouble breathing.

We went early this morning to the vet to have them look him over and he is fine. I am so thankful he’s ok. I don’t know what I would do if I lost to dogs this week.