Mourning....

This month has been so hard, and it just got worse. When the month started, it was Labor Day weekend and my parents went out of town. So I was house/dog sitting. 3 Dogs and the cat. I was having a good time on the Sand bar with my Big brother and his family that were in town. Saturday night I decided to go up to the cabin for the yearly bash. I decided to take the puppies- Honey and Petey with me. Now, they had been running all day on the river so I figure they would behave and be tired. OH no, nothing is that easy.

About 9pm the fireworks and boomers start. I am paying close attention to where the puppies are so they know it is okay. It is Petey's first time at the cabin. So I have both of them on their shock collars and I made sure they were working. No sooner do I turn around then Petey is GONE. Just like that- gone. Now the cabin is on acres of land with farms surrounding out in the country. I start calling out for him, Honey is still close and she can sense something is wrong. No luck. Before I knew it was almost midnight and he was still missing with no sign of him. I was starting to get a little nervous as a lot of people were leaving the cabin party and things were starting to quiet down. I could only hope he would come back. Time just continued to tick by and I kept looking. It was 5:30AM and still no Petey.
This continued for 2 more days. On Sunday night the panic started to set in when we hit the 24 hour mark. I went home about 9pm to check Duke ( my parents older dog) and Clyde the cat and get some flashlights.

I got home and Duke was acting sort of strange, he usually comes down to the gate and I let him out. He forced me to go in the house. As I open the front door I see the cat laying on the rug at the bottom of the steps. And then I looked closer. He was not breathing and his mouth was open. I instantly freaked out. Honey started to lick him and try to get his attention. Duke was barking and I was screaming. I could not believe this was happening to me. So my parents are still of our town, their puppy is missing, the cat is dead and I have not slept in now going on 2 nights. I had to call for help, I was having a meltdown. I called my friend Kristen and she came to my rescue like an Angel sent straight from Heaven. I had no recollection of time at this point. She came to town, helped me with the cat- we put him in a box outside for the time being, and then on our way to the Cabin to continue our search for Petey.

To make a long story a little shorter-- some of my friends were awesome and definitely there for me, on the other hand some people were in short a disappointment.

The search continues on until Monday Morning of Labor day. I finally call my parents to let them know what is going on. I was not ready to give up. The boys came up with Four wheelers and we also continued to look on foot. My heart was just not ready to say Petey was gone. They were just puppies- 10 months old in the woods, in the rain. In my now lack of sleep for 3 days I had printed up some pictures and flyers of Petey and his information-- I was dropping them off everywhere in the surrounding town out by the Cabin.

Honey was exhausted and having a hard time as well. She actually had a seizure again as well. I think it was just the situation and the stress, so again we had a rough night.

In my ongoing search, I stop by a Rummage sale to ask the local ladies for help as well. Turns out I got quite a deal on bags of clothes as well.

I continued my search and and I was not going to give up until the sun went down again-- this is day 3 as it was. Just as I am about to go home and meet up with my parents I get a call on my cell. It was the lady from the Rummage sale. Turns out her mother knew all these people in the small town and called everyone to see if they had seen Petey. HE WAS ALIVE ! He was at her brother's house in town, they had just found him walking down the road. I burst into tears and said I was turning around and on my way.

These are people I will never forget- good people, small town who all seem to care. I was so happy to have Petey back, Honey was so tired and we were ready to go home. I said my Thank you's- over hundreds of times to them, offered Money and they declined. They were just happy to see him back with me. Words could not express how grateful I was.
What a fast drive home ! Mom was happy to see Petey and mourning the loss of the cat. Overall it was nice to just be home.

So this is when the Mourning started- Clyde had passed on to Kitty Heaven. He was old and it was his time I guess, but you are never prepared. Yesterday my parents old dog Duke went to the vet as well. It was his time as well. He had not been doing well the last week with falling up the stairs due to bad hips, heaving breathing due to a bad heart and now he was getting sick all over the house. No more suffering for Duke, it was his time to go in peace.

So as you can see September has been a month for Mourning. It is amazing how you can get so attached to pets and they mean to much to you. Some people understand this and some don't. Just like my mom says- who would have thought when we picked up the Puppies last year December that we would have known we were going to lose the two old ones in the same month this year.

Duke and Clyde are together hanging out and in no pain. I just know it. On the other hand I have my puppy Honey and Petey is back home where they belong. They are a little confused right now but at least they are there to light our lives back up. I am so grateful for the pets I have had in my life, they keep me sane.

I just had to share part of my story and get it out. God bless our animals for they are the happiness and spirits that live on in us forever......