The Gravy Train

Countless bloggers I've read since joining the blogging world are animal lovers whether canine, feline or wild. Although I love all nature I am partial to dogs and cats. The only reason I have no cats is I am, or was, allergic to cats, but not dogs.

Like Arkansas Patti [ The New Sixty ]with her beloved dog, Mighty, who once operated an animal shelter, I have a number of dog stories. We now have a shelter dog, Luckie, but once we owned pedigreed German Shepherds. A recent story by Arkansas Patti, CAN CODY COME OUT AND PLAY???, stirred my memory of another German Shepherd, Felicia.

My husband's tour of duty when we married was a reserve training ship, U.S.S. Mills, docked at Fort McHenry in Baltimore. We rented the main floor and basement of an older house in a suburb. There was an apartment above us which was a separate rental.

Next door was a single family dwelling occupied by a family with children and an older, very friendly female German Shepherd, FELICIA, whose name had been shorten by the children to Fleecie. Since the children were young, I suppose they had difficulty saying Felicia, so it was shorten to Fleecie.

Being newlyweds removed from familiar settings, we made friends as best we could, including the dog, especially myself.

Since my husband's duty shift and my pharmacy shift rarely coincided, we spent time alone in an unfamiliar setting and culture.

Our kitchen served as an entrance; the kitchen window looked out at the neighbor's home and side entrance where the dog usually camped. Sometimes I sat on my steps and petted Fleecie and often fed her food scraps. The neighbors did not mind at all.

I noticed certain times of the day Fleecie appeared at my door even when I was not sitting on the steps. If I ignored her, she disappeared for awhile.

As months passed and winter set in, I notice Fleecie had difficulty getting up and down--my first initiation in the Shepherd culture of hip dysplasia and arthritis.

The owners took her to the vet for evaluation. They came over and asked me not to feed the dog because she needed to shed weight to prolong her life with less pain. Of course, I complied and only petted her.

After a period of time the owners asked me if I was still feeding the dog; I replied. 'NO" but I petted her and inquired why the question. They said, "She is not losing weight and we are barely feeding her."

I thought a minute and said I noticed she disappeared at a certain time of day every day about 4 p.m. She was not confined to a yard, nor tied, but only strayed once a day and always returned to her rug mat by her owners' side door.

Several weeks passed. I saw the owners outside one day when I arrived home. I asked them if they ever solved Fleecie's diet program. They said,"yes, and you won't believe it!'

Frustrated with their efforts for naught in Fleecie's weight loss program, one day the owners followed her, when she disappeared at the appointed 4 p.m. time. They were amazed the dog had appointed rounds throughout the neighborhood at houses where food was waiting when she arrived. This route was not just one block but involved several streets and quite a number of houses. The treats were not a few kibbles, but mounds of food scraps, dog treats and large bowls of dog food.

The owners followed her more than once mapping her route. When they had all the houses marked, they retraced the route and asked the owners to please refrain from feeding Fleecie.

The owners filled me in on Fleecie's well organized gravy train. The persons contacted were so disappointed, but apparently complied as she lost weight. Their comments were like mine: "She is such a sweet, friendly dog to adults and children. She would not hurt a flea!"

Before we were transferred the couple had marital problems and filed for divorce. We heard the couple didn't fight over the children, but there was much contention over Fleecie. Even though I am overboard in my love of dogs, I wonder how the children felt that their parents fought over the dog above them. Perhaps, it was explained to them, there was no need to fight over the children as they had reached an amicable agreement. I only hope so.

PHOTO: very old snapshot of our third German Shepherd, Gabriela, "Gabby" for short, a sable Shepherd. Felicia was the more common black and tan color.

FOTO FRIDAY

While you view this admittedly haphazardly assembled post, we'll be toodling home from Little Rock like two stuffed piggies, Arkansas Razorbacks.

We left Luckie at her un-favorite spa Tuesday in the rain. By the time we traveled 15 miles, it quit. By Little Rock the sun was shining.

Tuesday I received a H1Ni1 shot at my asthma, allergy, COPD clinic; husband got his hearing aids adjusted at Fort Roots VA hospital in N. Little Rock.

We stopped in Clinton, AR at Western Sizzlin' on our trip to Little Rock and later had a small hamburger in Little Rock at Hardee's after checking in at La Quinta Inn in W Little Rock.

At Western Sizzlin' a mother with three children ( 2 sons, 1 daughter) were seated near us. Mother told her children to shut their eyes and bow their heads while she said grace. As soon as she started the prayer, the two sons grabbed their forks and stuffed their mouths. I nearly laughed out loud. Daughter was obedient.

We had two meals at Luby's Cafeteria including Thanksgiving Dinner.

This time of year on Arkansas we carry twice as many clothes as we use as we never know when it will turn colder, like FRIDAY. Hence our room is really topsy turvy. We know how to move in and get comfortable--trash it up and throw stuff around like we do at home--RIGHT?

1. An interesting cloud formation as we were leaving Luckie's spa, Mountain Home, AR, taken out the front car window (window tint at top)

2. Western Sizzlin' sign in Clinton AR

3 . Husband reading e-mail and surfing 'Net

4. & 5. An interesting species of tree very prevalent around Little Rock. >
It appears to be some kind holly which is now turning red.


6. My Thanksgiving Dinner. Did I say I was on a diet? It is the gym for 56 days now

7,. 8., & 9. Fountain in front of Towbin Hall, Fort Roots, North Little Rock, AR.

Thankfulness #23 -30

Since we are leaving for Little Rock Tuesday I am completed my Thankfulness posts today. We will be staying until sometime Friday. This is a trip of necessity and we usually choose to spend at least two nights for our convenience and well-being.

My husband has a Little Rock VA appointment at the hearing clinic on Wednesday. We usually make at least 2-3 days out of this 300 mi round trip. To do it in one day is just too tiring on both of us. However, since Thanksgiving Day would be the day we normally would return home, we decided to spend an extra night and enjoy Thanksgiving Day in Little Rock, returning home on Friday. We had no other plans, anyway.

I will have my trusty laptop with me, but not sure what we might decide to do, if anything!!!

Thankfulness: [see Holding Patterns by Sandi]:

23. When I remember the original Thanksgiving in our country, the 51 survivors out of 100, were simply thankful they survived one year. So I am thankful my husband and I, despite chronic disease and aging, have survived another year.

24. Because our survival is often dependent on improved medical knowledge from methods of treatment, diagnosis, and medications, I am thankful for all who pursue these fields in health care, both practice and research.

25. It is said President Abraham Lincoln declared a national Day of Thanksgiving at Gettysburg, where grotesque parts of bodies still lay unburied from the greatest battle and turning point of the Civil War. To me this was the most horrific of wars. I pray the union of our states is never again be severed for any reason.

26. I am thankful, despite our distance from kinsman, we regularly are in touch with relatives via various marvelous forms of communication: cell and plain old telephones, various Internet programs, video conferencing which can be done with various chat/video Internet program, e-mail, voice mail, snail mail and newer methods are continually emerging.

27. I am thankful, I have never truly known hunger and poverty in any degree, much less that which exists on much of our planet. Even now some fellow citizens suddenly find themselves without jobs, homes, and sustenance. There are persons in my area sleeping in cars, some of which have little or no fuel to move.

28. I am thankful I have been exposed to military life as a wife and observed the unique, often nerve wrecking, family breaking pressures by the positions and assignments of a spouse. And it is much more stressful today, as there were not two wars. Pray for all our military families.

29. I am thankful for comforts that make independent living in older years easier: lift chairs, monitoring devices, care services, motorized carts/wheelchairs/lifting devices, only a few.To date I only use one of these. I read of new gizmos every day.

30. I am thankful for the blogging phenomenon. It probably will fade or evolve into something different, but that is the fun of it all. Blogginh is a positive creative activity in many ways. It can also be destructive, too. I try to say less, not more, and generally consider my opinion, not too important, if not positive .

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ONE AND ALL FROM MY BLOG TO ALL WHO READ!