what's meant to be, is meant to be.

i read something awhile ago that resonated with me. the article spoke about how human nature is to look for patterns in things. we tend to relate things to other things that really don't have anything to do with each other. or we try to find meaning in things that have no meaning at all. i think this struck a cord with me because i read this after shortly after layla passed away. and, as most of you know, also shortly after layla died, we adopted denali. as hard as we tried not to, we related a lot of things denali does to her.

her sweetness. her desire to be loved. her lean. her sass. her need for snuggles. her dominating personality. her gimpy leg.

the signs all pointed to "she was meant to be." and i don't doubt it for a minute, but we attributed it to her similarities to layla, not her own "denaliness". but we try our hardest not to. because she is denali. not layla. we also know we chose her for other reasons.

to save her. to complete our home. companionship. love.

as much as she is different from layla, because she is an independent and stubborn lady, she will forever remind us of her. her adoption date will always be near layla's passing date. her leg issues will always be a reminder of layla's end of life struggles. her sweetness, love, and zest will always remind us of our peppy and happy girl.

and as much as we try not to make up patterns and try not to relate her to layla. i find that it is ok that we do. denali helped this grieving house. she did not replace layla, no other dog ever could, but she did help complete our family again. she brought life back into our home. she brings energy, craziness, and excitement.

as much as i try to separate denali from layla, it's tough. just today i was setting up her microchip information that that i finally received. the rescue organization had input some information to her online profile. so, when i logged on it had her name, birth date, etc. it was exciting to see her birth date on there because we have always been kind of unsure of the exactly date.

do you know who she shares a birthday with?

LAYLA.

if this isn't a fucking sign, i don't know what is. she was definitely meant for us.

xoxo,
ks

rest sweetly now, layla

our lives changed forever on december 1.

it has taken me three weeks to even think about writing about this. as most of you already know, our sweet layla passed away.

it is difficult to describe the emotions that come with making a life ending medical decision for an animal you have shared your life with for 12 years.

heart broken.

we knew it was the best thing to do for her. based on the condition of her rapidly deteriorating legs, the vet determined she probably had a nerve and/or bone cancer. she was surprised layla's shoulder had not popped out of its socket yet.

there was nothing for us to do to save her.

it was only going to get worse.

she was living [and dying] in pain.

the hardest part about losing a pet is that they have become a part of your family. they are a part of your life. you have come to love and cherish them. you plan vacations around them [or including] them. they are a part of your day. you teach them things as they teach you things. you snuggle and play together. they make you happy.

animals teach us [or remind us] of compassion. loyalty. LOVE. wanting to please. happiness. pure joy. running and playing JUST BECAUSE. how to properly greet someone [slopping wet kisses, of course]. comfort. LOVE.

layla was all of these things. and so much more. she and i have lived in countless homes [eight...i think], been on even more trips and car rides. she's had many doggie friends [and doggie non-friends]. she was a prissy lady who was in charge. she was obedient, yet stubborn. she never met a human she didn't like [after all, they were going to love on her and give her pets - her all time favorite]. she was easily excited and always in the mix.

she shared everything with us. laughter. tears. joy. sickness. successes. loss. struggles. celebrations. she was there for it all. she was always by our side. she supported us as much as we did for her.

stanley laying with layla when she was really sick. what sweetness.

the more pets we have, the more i have learned that they just want to love and be loved.
and it hurts my heart that i can't love on her. ever again.

as much as it hurts every bit of my heart to lose my girl, sharing her life, well, i wouldn't trade it for anything.

12 years. so much happens in 12 years. i am so lucky to have had layla during such a challenging, chaotic and wonderful time in my life.
often times she was the only thing that was consistent. her loyalty and compassion never wavered. no matter what i was going through. she saw some pretty rough and dark days. she was always my shining light.

she was always there. to love. and be loved.

love your animals and your humans. i had 12 amazing years with my sweet dog. but often times we aren't granted so much time. we are never promised tomorrow. so hug your family and friends, sweetly squish your pets, and let them all that you love them.

because they love you too. as do i. thank you all for your love, support and compassion now and always. we can't thank you enough for being the amazing people that you are.


perhaps this wasn't the best pre-christmas post ever, but it was time for me to get out of my heart and head and down on "paper".


lots and lots and lot of love to you all.

happy holidays and merry christmas to everyone!

xoxo,
ks

pizza dinner

everyday around mid-afternoon i start thinking about what to make for dinner. today was no different. i figured we could have some meal with chicken and veggies. so, i needed to take the chicken out of the freezer. i typically put the chicken in a bowl, so as it defrosts, the melty water doesn't get all over the counter. for some reason, today i didn't do that. i just set the frozen chicken on the counter and went on my way.
shortly after that, keith got home and we had to run some errands. and we know that before we leave we must "layla proof" the house. this means we must pickup ANYTHING we think she might eat or destroy [socks, paper, cardboard, magazines]. i did a quick scan of our room and the living, looked good. so we left.

well, our errands weren't as productive as we had hoped.

we took a keg back to the local lowe's [since we have a kegerator] to get the deposit back. well, the lady at lowe's said we couldn't get our deposit back because we had kept the keg for more than 4 weeks. let me tell you this, we have had this kegerator for over 2 years and NO ONE has EVER told us to return a keg within 4 weeks to get our OWN money back. now, there is the chance we've always returned a keg within the 4 week period, hence never having this issue. but i do remember a time or two of empty kegs just sitting in our storage room, for who knows how long. so needless to say we are pissed. and of course she couldn't help us as she is not the manager and she kindly told us to call back tomorrow when the manager will be there. YOU BET YOUR ASS I WILL.

anyway, we left lowe's and went to harris teeter to pick up a few items. yes, we went right down the street to another grocery store. we weren't about to give lowe's anymore of our money. since we were frustrated with the situation and we both have been wanting pizza for days now and HT had them on sale, we bought one for dinner. no need to buy those pesky vegetables now.

so we head home with less money than we started with [which was NOT the plan]. when we walk in the door, we expected something to be chewed up. we have a psycho dog that we just cannot stop. well, we saw a different material on the floor. no, it wasn't paper or magazines, like usual. this had a metallic look to it. what was that? we quickly realized it was shredded aluminum foil. and also a chewed up plastic tupperware lid. someone [layla] had been counter-surfing while we were gone. i was puzzled. i had no idea where the aluminum foil came from. keith reminded me that it was sitting on the edge of the counter. i quickly gasped! "that had raw chicken in it!"
that bitch.

good thing we picked up the pizza.



i think it is now about time for a glass of wine. 

xoxo,
ks

pick up your poop.

in case you didn't get it from the title, this blog is all about poop. you have been warned.

so, i was walking our dogs, in our new neighborhood on saturday. we live in a condo community. so all of the natural areas are considered shared/common areas. it's designated for everyone, humans and pets. the landscaping is well maintained and there is even a sign that says "notice: pick up after your pet. $100 fine." what? $100 fine? how could they enforce that? regardless, i am fine with that because we always pick up after our dogs. plus, i don't want to step in any poop.

back to the walk. we were walking and layla has to poop. we were in one of the common, grassy areas. as she was pooping, i took the bag off the leash to pick it up. then this man pops out of his condo. i thought he was going to make some dumb comment about how big my dogs are. (I mean, no kidding they are big). he does make a comment about them and them being pretty and how he probably loves his dogs as much as i love mine. then he says he doesn't want to have to walk through shit to take his dog outside. i was thinking "what the fuck? i have a damn bag on my hand. what is the point of this lecture, old guy?" he goes on and on about how i should take my dogs over to the wooded area to let them go to the bathroom.
when he finally stopped running his mouth. i said to him that i had a BAG ON MY HAND, and i proceeded to show it to him. i also informed him that i was going to pick up the poop and that i didn't like walking through it either.
he let me know that he admired me for picking up after my dog, but still encouraged me to take them to the woods to take care of their business.

the more i thought about this conversation, the more frustrated i got, for many reasons.
this man doesn't want to walk through shit to walk his dog. i totally get that. however, i am not certain why i was getting reamed about that issue, since i was about to pick up the shit once my dog was done shitting. i always pick up the shit. now, if i was a person who always left the shit, and he came to notice this, then fine...give me a 5 minute lecture about it. it would make more sense. however, i am walking my dogs, minding my business and doing the right thing and this guys still thinks he has the right to fuss at me. what the hell?

also, he must have said 10 times for me to take my dogs to the wooded area to poop. the more he said that the more i thought, "you sir, are lazy." you are giving me a hard time for walking my dog and then letting my dog poop where they are allowed to and supposed to; and then picking it up. however, you are not walking your dog, you simply take your dog to the backside of your building to poop so you don't have to pick up the poop. i will walk my dog where ever i want to. because i know that with having a dog, comes having to exercise them and cleaning up after them. it's called being a responsible dog owner.

this guy lecturing me was at least in his 60s, if not older. his lecture came across as "oh, here is this young person...let me go ahead and tell them what to do." i really do not care that you are older, younger, shorter, taller than me. it gives you no right to be condescending and rude. you are no better than me.

so, my solution to the problem? pick up their poop and leave it on his door step. this way he knows i cleaned up after my dogs. and he won't have to walk through shit. (just kidding. i would never do that. i would like to do that because this guy deserves it).

all i know is, that i am not going to change my dog walking habits because this guy is lazy and rude. we'll see what he thinks about that...

xoxo,
ks