how much?

rainbow bridge remembrance day is a day set aside to remember the fur babies that have left us with a broken heart. ok, it’s actually a day to celebrate them, but for me, it’s just a day to remind me of how much i still miss them.

remembering Kibbles (1995-2010) & Aoife (2006-2018)

blog hop

until we meet again my friends-

remembering aoife

i can hardly believe an entire year has passed since eefy crossed the rainbow bridge. i’m so glad y’all got to know her and her giant personality. our lives have been so quiet without her. she always made her presence known, that’s for sure. she was so lovable, and smart, and playful, and cuddly, and bailey’s best gal pal, and we miss her terribly.

baby aoife with kibbles

aoife and bailey

rip sweet eef

until we meet again my friends-

remembering angel kibbles

before bailey, there was kibbles, my heart dog, and today marks another year without her. i found kibbles, a scrawny little dachshund mix, at a local shelter in 1995.

1995-2010

she was the smartest little dog i've ever known. she understood everything i said and even things i didn't say. it was like she could read my mind. she was sweet and gentle and full of life and i loved her more than anything.

in november of 2009, my beautiful little girl was diagnosed with kidney disease. that was the beginning of the end because 2 months after that she was diagnosed with cancer and just like that, she was gone. she was my once-in-a-lifetime dog and my heart still aches for her.

kibbles was such a sweetheart, i have no doubt she's been sitting patiently at the bridge, just waiting for aoife to join her. i can just imagine how happy she was to see her again. and since there is no illness in doggie heaven, they can run around and play, just like they used to.

kibbles & aoife in 2007

until we meet again my friends-

angel aoife

along with the joy and happiness that comes with having a dog, also comes the pain and heartache when they have to leave us. this is what we went through early saturday morning. eef had been dealing with some health issues lately but nothing that would lead us to expect this outcome. preliminary diagnosis was a ruptured heart valve. they resuscitated her a couple of times but the only humane thing to do for her was to let her go. it was sudden and unexpected and we are all devastated.

2006-2018

daughter #1 brought aoife into our family in april of 2006, when she was just 2 months old. she was so tiny, she fit in hubby's hands! it's hard to believe she was ever smaller than bailey.

a month later, her ears stood up and they were huge!

she was such a cutie.

kibbles, my heart dog, was still with us, and let's just say, she tolerated little aoife's puppy antics. poor kibbles was so patient with baby aoife. they shared 4 years together.

aoife was the coolest and she totally rocked her shades.

2010

she was just as comfortable with mud on her face...

2013

as she was all glammed up.

2013

she loved going out on new adventures. as long as she didn't encounter any people ... or dogs. she wasn't very social. BOL

2013

she loved to hunt lizards. no matter where they were, she'd always find them.

2014

she was a beautiful ring bearer when her mommy (daughter #1) got married.

2015

but most importantly, she knew how to have fun and not take herself too seriously.

2017

when kibbles crossed the bridge in january of 2010, aoife was here for me. then bailey came into our family in november 2010, and she and aoife became fast friends. she was bailey's best gurl. they went rock climbing...

2013

they'd go shopping...

2013

they had pajama parties...

2014

they were the best gal pals.

2015

we are all going to miss aoife something fierce. she was a part of our family for almost 12 years. she was woven into the fabric of our lives. and now there's just a hole. a big, ugly hole.

nobody is ever prepared to lose a fur baby but when it is just hurled at you, out of the blue, it's just so unfair.

run free sweet girl ... i love you.

until we meet again my friends-

write your sorrows in sand, and your blessings in stone

until we meet again my friends-

pet lovers license plate

it's here! months and months and months ago, like back in 2012, i ordered the pet lovers license plate for hubby in memory of our original pound puppy, kibbles (pictured), that we lost in january of 2010.

the dmv had to reach a pre-order of 7500 plates before it could even go into production and i am proud to say i was one of those 7500 people on the waiting list. the artwork was done by pierce brosnan (did you know he is an artist?) and proceeds from the plate go to provide funding for no- or low-cost spay and neuter programs throughout the state.

it took a looong time, but it was worth the wait and now hubby can show his love for animals everywhere he goes.

until we meet again my friends-

bark for a cure!

bailey is taking a break from the black and orange of halloween to go pink. october is breast cancer awareness month and bailey is joining the fight. show your support and go pink with bailey.

bark for a cure!

(get a scarf like bailey's at kibbles place)

until we meet again my friends-

august is senior pet month

i was going to write this post about our precious kibbles, whom we lost to cancer in 2010. she was 14+ years old. but as i sit here at my computer trying to make sense of my thoughts, and going through her picture albums, all i can do is cry. i have no words. i've been trying to make a coherent sentence for over 2 hours now. kibbles was a part of our family for almost 15 years. that was nearly half of my married life!
when i lost my kibbles, my heart broke. literally. i felt it break. it ached for her. it still does. i'd never felt that before. she was my once-in-a-lifetime dog. i miss her so much it hurts.

kibbles was about 10 years old in these pictures, during happier times, well before cancer entered our lives.

i'm sorry this post doesn't make much sense. i don't know why my thoughts are so muddled. i've been able to write about kibbles before. if you're interested, you can read about her here. it was hard to write but i made it through. i think i need to just post this "as is" and pull myself together offline. thanks for your understanding.



rip my sweet kibbles. i love you.

don't shop, ADOPT!

bailey and i are huge proponents of adoption and rescue. there are thousands pets being killed on a daily basis at the shelters through no fault of their own. the general public has to be made aware that the shelters have perfectly good pets just waiting to be adopted.
yes, shelters are a sad place. yes, it will break you heart when you see so many lonely pets waiting to be freed from their impending doom. no, you may not find the pet you are looking for on your first visit. yes, you may need to return time and time again. believe me, i know.
when i adopted my precious kibbles in 1995, i visited several shelters: pasadena, san gabriel, pomona, baldwin park... and i finally found her in duarte. i made numerous visits to each shelter. it broke my heart that even though i visited the same shelters, there were always different dogs. kibbles was the perfect addition to our family and she lived with us for almost 15 years!
shelter dogs are not defective and i don't think everyone understands that. i get calls on a regular basis, because of my business, asking if i sell dogs. i always refer them to their local shelter and i can tell by their response that is not the answer they were looking for. please help bailey and i to educate the uneducated about rescue and adoption.

until we meet again my friends-

remembering kibbles

january 26 holds some very sad memories for me. it is the date we lost our kibbles to cancer. she had had her share of illnesses throughout her life (a hernia, tumors, melanoma, torn ligaments in both her back legs, congestive heart failure...) but she always pulled through each one. however when cancer took hold of her, it didn't want to let her go. it was heartbreaking to watch her decline. i was watching cancer taking her away from us. each day was worse than the day before. her back legs were giving out and she had to be carried everywhere. she had no more strength to fight and no more strength to live.

it's a terrible thing when one has to be put in the position of deciding when it is time to say goodbye. unfortunately on january 26 we had been put there. i looked deep into kibbles' eyes and asked her if she was ready to move on... if it was time to make "the decision". i needed her approval. i could see in her eyes that she was ready. she was tired and the sparkle that once was in her eyes, had gone. we called the vet that very day and we took her that afternoon so she could finally be at rest. the final drive to the vet took about an hour and it rained all the way there. it's as if the heavens felt our pain and were crying with us.

i found her at a local animal shelter in 1995. she was a scrawny little mutt that stole my heart from the get-go. we were blessed to have had her as a part of our family for 14+ wonderful years. she was so much more than just the family dog. she was family in every sense of the word.

this picture was taken on the morning
of the day we had to say goodbye.

i love you kibbles <3

national pet memorial day

this is my precious kibbles who we lost to cancer in january of 2010. there isn't a day that goes by where i don't think of her. i have her picture in each room of our house, so she is never out of my sight. the day we lost her, i felt my heart literally break. it ached for her. the pain was like nothing i had ever experienced before. almost 3 years later, i still find myself crying for her and it is even difficult writing this post through the tears. she touched place in my heart no dog had ever reached before. i miss her with all my heart & soul :(

RIP my sweet angel
1995-2010

until we meet again my friends-

KIBBLES 1995-2010

i know this blog is all about bailey but i would be remiss if i didn't take a moment to acknowledge our 1st rescue, kibbles. 2 years ago today, we lost her to cancer. her health had been in decline for about a year and we knew this day would come but i don't think anyone can really be ready for the last goodbye. i had never been present for the final moments of one of our dogs before, so i didn't know what to expect. though she went peacefully, and i held her through it all, it was the most heartbreaking thing i have ever been through. she was our once-in-a-lifetime dog and remembering our final hours together brings a rush of tears to my eyes and a pain to my heart that cannot be described. i literally lost a piece of my heart the day i lost kibbles. she started out as just another mutt at the shelter but ended up as a beloved member of our family for almost 15 years.
i love you kibbles and i miss you each and every day.
rip my sweet, sweet angel :(