Bubbles is Here

 On May 26 I had to take Bubbles in for a surgical removal of a lump/wart that had grown pretty big on her back. That same morning I awoke to a bloody faced dog. Yes, you heard that right. Bubbles had scratched her head so invaisively the night before while we were sleeping that she had a pretty bad spot on her head that needed attending to.

So. When I left her there at 8AM for surgery later that day, I was told by the tech that her head would be looked at as well.

I got a call from the vet an hour or so after noon and she said all went well with the surgery. Only one stitch and it would need to come out in two weeks. Addressing her head injury she prescribed an antibiotic and the cone of shame for at least 2 weeks or until her head heals. 

Bubbles is a real trooper when it comes to the cone, but those meds! 

On May 26, four years earlier, around the same time I picked Bubbles up from her surgery, I was walking into the same vet hospital with a dog whom I had spent the better part of eighteen years loving, to say goodbye. I was so broken.

But walking out of that hospital the same time, four years later, with Bubbles... I was reminded of God's love and how He gives us good gifts. 

Life goes on.

Gracie will be in my heart forever. And Bubbles is here now. For a while, hopefully a long while. 

LOOK-A-LIKE

Maybe getting a dog that looks so much like Gracie was a mistake.  Maybe not.  

I find myself comparing them a lot, which is unfair. To my advantage, Bubbles pays little attention to this fact as long as she is loved, fed, exercised, and loved some more. 

Dogs are good like that.  

I believe Bubbles is grateful that Gracie paved the way for her --- for example, Tennis courts.

Gracie loved the tennis courts.  And if possible, I'd say Bubbles loves playing at the tennis courts even more!  I miss Gracie and her ways.  But this little Gracie look-a-like has won me over, and there is room in my heart for both - and for all of the pets I ever owned. 

GRACIE

BUBBLES

 

Time Has A Way

 I lost Gracie on May 26, 2022.  September 19, 2022 We brought Bubbles home.  Bubbles was an adorable puppy.  Who doesn't love puppies?  But I had a really hard time at first.   

My most noticeable observation:  Bubbles did not have the beautiful almond-shaped eyes that Gracie had.  This puppy had beady round eyes.  

To be honest, the round eyes were CUTE and she looked like a little stuffed animal, but, inside of myself --  I wanted the lame, sick, tilted-headed, blind, deaf dog that I had to help get into bed at night.  I wanted Gracie. 

It was bittersweet.

But time has a way of making things better if we work on finding the good going forward.  

Bubbles has helped me in so many ways.  I can now look at Gracie in memories with a smile.  Bubbles has won my heart and I love her so much!  I will always love Gracie too.  My heart feels really big these days, and there is room for both.  There's room for every pet I've ever owned.  

GRACIE

BUBBLES