missing barney

barney found a new home on september 12. i haven't posted about him leaving as i haven't known exactly what to say. barney was extreme - extremely playful, extremely loving, extremely barney! there wasn't anything he did halfway. and, although it was frustrating at times, it was what made barney barney. and it was what made me love him so much. driving home from work each day, i knew that as soon as i walked in the door, barney would be bouncing in the barney box, waiting for me to let him out. then he would bounce his way to the back door (usually by way of the love seat arm) and outside where he would proceed to bounce even more around the yard. and no matter how long or hard or bad a day may have been, watching him always made me smile. and then when we would come inside and he would curl up on the couch next to me and look at me with those huge brown barney eyes, the day would melt away, the world would right itself again and nothing would really matter anymore. barney had a way of making you remember that life should be lived with enthusiasm and to the fullest.

i didn't realize exactly how much i missed barney until i started writing this post. and then it hit me just how much of a role barney had in my every day life. i know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he is with the perfect family for him. he will be so well loved and cared for! his family now consists of two human siblings and a new canine baby sister! his new parents couldn't be more perfect for him either. they will work with him and help him to become the best dog he can be. they will be even better for him than ed and i could have hoped to be. that doesn't stop me from missing him and wishing i had taken better advantage of the time he was with us, however. in the midst of sadness, though, i am extremely grateful for the time i had to love and be loved by barney.

catching up

we haven't posted much about barney the last few weeks. it's been busy! but, it's time for an update. barney has been working on his manners and is doing fairly good. he does really great with sitting on command and knowing that the way he gets pets is to sit. we're still working on his jumping. honestly, i think barney has a spring somewhere in him. he can jump head high from a standstill without any problem!! he is especially bouncy when he first gets out of the barney box. i come home and let him out and all he can do is jump up and down! he reminds me of tigger. :-) his top is made out of rubber, his bottom is made out of springs - he's bouncy, trouncy, flouncy, pouncy, fun, fun, fun, fun, fun!!!! and, the most wonderful thing about him is he's the only one! hahaha!! that is one thing i can say with complete and absolute certainty - barney is one of a kind.

swim, barney, swim

ed and i took the dogs to lake lanier yesterday. it was barney's first time at the lake and the first time he had ever been swimming. considering he is not a water dog like amos and calvin are, he did extraordinarily well!!! at first, he wasn't all that sure what he was supposed to do, but once ed got in the water with him, he decided it wasn't so bad. :-) although he will probably never been the fish amos is or the duck calvin is, he is definitely on his way to holding his own.

we learned something about barney yesterday. he LOVES park rangers!! the ranger came walking around the corner of the cove where we were and as he walked off, barney ran after him. TWICE!!! hahahahaha ed ran him down the first time and then as soon as he put barney down, off he was again, running full speed after the ranger. lucky for us, the ranger was a dog person. :-)

the only other trouble we had was when barney heard some people through the woods in another cove. off he was yet again to see if they may be more fun than ed and me. i ran after him this time, with calvin and amos close on my heels. we all got to him before he ran pelmel through someone's lake picnic.

true to his barneyness, he wore himself completely out at the lake and fell sound asleep in the car. it was a fantastic day for all. :-)

for more pictures of barney at the lake, click here.

opal is a little gem

i haven't posted much about opal, but i should. she is such a funny little kitty!!! after such a rough start, i was worried she would never really be a people cat, but she has proved me wrong. i also worried she wouldn't get along with the dogs or other cats. again, she proved i didn't know anything!

opal has become fast friends with dougal and bram. the three of them will chase one another around the living room, hiding, pouncing and wrestling. it is just a hoot to watch. opal will hide in one of the cubbies in the table and jump out, thinking she is being all sneaky. meanwhile, the boys know exactly where she is, but being the great big brothers they are, they let her think she has bested them. :-) browser has even befriended opal. she is the only one he doesn't give a paw to when she comes up to eat his special food out of his bowl. he is very patient with her.

the dogs are not even remotely a big deal to opal. she lets barney chase her and will chase him right back. she really is just a little dear. :-)

The Wonderful World of Barney

Barney came to us about a month and a half ago. As always seems to be the case, we weren't expecting to have another rescue dog so quickly. When Barney came into our life, we found after just a couple of days that we weren't able to simply drop him off at the county shelter.

Barney is a dog of extremes: extreme energy and playfulness followed by snuggling, deep sleeping and snorning! I don't think we have ever had a dog who wants so much just to be part of the family. He wants to be exactly where you are at all times, which makes it easy to know where he is. He loves everyone he meets and gets along with Amos and Calvin as well as our cats.

Will write more in the next few days. Just wanted to say my first words about Barney.

good dog, bad dog, barney dog!

with each of our previous rescues, ed has been the one to get annoyed first and i have been the one to have more patience. well, barney has changed that! :-) ed has the patience of job with barney and i just want to ring his little doggy neck most of the time. (not really. he's way too cute to stay frustrated with, to be honest.)

i think barney has more puppy in him than any of the others and he has more of a need to be right where you are all the time. he chases the cats and wants them to play with him. he chews on calvin nonstop. he grabs toys from your hand and won't let them go. he hasn't finished housebreaking yet. he's just a mess.

and yet, he can fall asleep on his back at the drop of a hat and snore like a freight train. he runs through the yard with this wonky, puppy run and his tongue hanging out, and it makes me laugh out loud. he has all sorts of little grunty, groany noises he makes that are just too funny. he is smart as a whip and learns things so quickly!! he makes friends with everyone at the dog park, human and canine. he tilts his head to the side when i talk to him and i know he is trying so hard to make sure he gets everything i am saying. but best of all, he snuggles on the couch with me and makes everything in my world okay.

barney and opal went thursday to be neutered and spayed. they both did great! opal had a slight reaction to the anesthesia as she was coming out from under it and acted a little crazy. i hate to say it, but it was absolutely hysterical watching her try to walk while she was drunk and hallucinating. apparently, some cats experience that with anesthesia so i didn't worry too much. but i did laugh.

barney left lifeline in an e-collar. as soon as we got out the door, his head fell forward and the collar was on the pavement. he stopped and just stood there, not able to see and not knowing to pick up his head. it was just so sad and funny at the same time!! poor little barney!!!