Monday, December 21, 2009

A sad kiss goodbye



Hello everyone. Marmie's human here. I just wanted to let you know that we lost our beloved girl this Sunday. She had a wonderful Saturday morning romping in the snow with Bernie and was fine until the evening, when she got very sick. We were completely snowbound and the vets we spoke to on the phone gave us some advice but we had no choice but to take care of her and hope for the best. I stayed on the sofa bed and tried to reassure her. She eventually settled down and I fell asleep. We found her the next morning. In hindsight, there was probably nothing the vets could have done. It's likely that her liver failed as a result of the medications she was on. We are consoling ourselves with the fact that she had a great last six months and was happy almost until the end. Her grandparents have been visiting and she got more love and affection than ever the last few weeks. Needless to say, we are devastated and shocked at this great and sudden loss. Marmalade was with us for almost three full years. Whatever her past, we know that these were three good years. She was loved and cherished every single day by us, our friends and neighbors, and her brother, Bernie. The sadness on people's faces when we walk down the street with only one hound is palpable--she was such a fixture in the neighborhood. We will all miss her beautiful bay (she was known as the neighborhood rooster) and I will miss our sofa-bed snuggles so much. People thought I was crazy for spending the last six months downstairs with her on the sofa bed; I'm so glad I had that time with her. She fell asleep every night with my arms around her and woke up to a kiss on her beautiful, noble head.
Rest in peace, my beautiful girl. You will never be forgotten.

--Marmie's human, Ilonka

By the way, the photo above was taken on Saturday morning while they romped in the snow. I could not think of a nicer picture to post.

Friday, December 11, 2009

'Tis the season...



'Tis the season to be houndly, fa la la la la--a-roo!

I was not amused and suffered the indignity of wearing antlers for only a few short minutes. The things we do for our humans... seriously!

Anyway, life in Houndonia has been quite eventful. The grand-human from Canada is visiting and another is set to arrive tomorrow. This means more pets and hugs and, of course, opportunities to swipe food when they're not looking (alas, they are not owned by hounds). Speaking of being owned by hounds, Dad gets us on weekends and last weekend we managed to successfully sandwich him on the sofa bed. With all the snoring going on, Dad said it was like sleeping on a massage-bed.


I also have to share this pic of Bernie doing his pig imitation:


This was taken on Thanksgiving. Of course, the humans gave thanks for having us hounds around. They also got on the topic of what life would be like without us. Unimaginable!

Food could be left on the counter;
There would be ample sofa and bed space;
The humans would gain weight and get way too much sleep;
The vacuum would get a well-deserved vacation;
The neighborhood would be quiet--no ear splitting bays;
The postman would actually walk up to the house slowly, instead of sprinting up to the mailbox and back due to the furious barking and baying;
The humans would have something called "disposable income" since they would not have to shell out for food, treats, medicine, and expensive vet visits;
The walls would stay clean;
Clothing would remain undecorated by rope drool;
And the list went on until they humans decided that houndlessness would be boring beyond belief!

I will sign off on that happy note.

Marmalade, a most festive hound