Zoe

Zoe passed on Sunday. Cue the song Spencer and I have been singing since.

 

In all seriousness though, we're hurting at home.  I'm sad because aside from being an amazing dog, Zoe was a piece of mom, a piece of Galena that had been in our family more than 10 years.  Spencer's sad because she was his first dog, the first dog he really bonded with.

In the months before her passing we both bonded with her even more.  She needed three different heart medications two times a day.  I gave her them at 11 am.  Spencer did the 11 pm duty.  Constant pills meant constant treats, and the ability to train my little 'piss monster.'  She learned to sit, to lay down.  Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks?  Spencer and I also started crating her when we left the house, making us love her even more as we didn't find surprises everywhere when we returned.

The night before her passing Spencer gave her a bath for the first time.  Wish I had taken a picture of him gently washing her as she stood calmly, looking like a little rat.  In her final day we took her gardening.  So appropriate.  Mom gardened the day she passed too.  She wore her little pink coat from Spencer's mom and sat beside us patiently.   All day Sunday Spencer kept saying 'She's not looking good.'  By midday, she wouldn't eat her treats.  And by 5 pm she was hiding under our bed, ready to die.  Spencer found her, we brought her up to our bed and discussed her breathing, how bad it had gotten, whether we should put her down.  And in the next 30-45 minutes she made the call for us.  Her little tongue hung out further, started to turn blue, and she just laid down.  Soon after she wet our bed, and it was clear it was time.  We wrapped her in a towel and cuddled her, telling her we loved her.  It was really an intimate moment, and more than anything, I'm so glad we were both there for her.

We'll get another dog eventually.  But I want to wait.  I've put her crate by the attic door, along with the little steps we bought so she could hop up on our bed.  I realize she's just a dog.  And I realize, others are mourning for far more important reasons right now.  Just wanted to make note though of her passing.

George

I can't not blog about the passing of George Weyerhaeuser.  Allison's father-in-law.  Walker's dad.  Kathy's husband, and just an all-around good man passed away earlier this week.

I haven't told many people at work but when I mentioned it to one person I said I had a 'death in the family."  Because he was part of my family, maybe distantly, but he was.

Christmas 2012 (Walker, George, Allison, and my dad)

I like this picture of him.  Talking as the photo is being taken.  He was always doing that.

I still remember the first holiday we spent together.  Our family rushing around my mom's house, trying to get ready to go somewhere and George standing by the front door patiently, his fanny pack around his waist, not rushing anyone but clearly ready to go, even though I knew we were nowhere close to heading out the door.  It made me laugh then and still does.  

I'm glad Spencer got to meet him over Christmas.  And of course, I'm glad I had the chance to meet him during his final years. He will be incredibly missed.  

Workin' Hard for the Money

Equal Pay Day is tomorrow.

It's considered the date women's wages catch up to what men earned the year before.  So essentially 16 months worth of work to make the same amount as their counterparts do in 12.  

I've never thought much about the issue.  It seems like one of the issues my best friend from high school would be into her.  She's always cared about women equality.  One year for my birthday she gave me a 'Born in Vagina' shirt.  It's those type of women who care about this stuff, right?  Not me.  Until yesterday.

I got in a 'heated argument' over gender pay discrimination (really it was just an ongoing debate).
I'm still heated about it.  So that means I really care about this issue, right?  Or maybe I'm less concerned about the issue than I am about people acknowledging it.  I think that's it. Either way, acknowledge.  

Amy's Moving On Up

Amy is moving!  To Champaign,  next month.
A new home.  New caretakers.  A new life for here.  It's incredibly exciting.

In celebration, this video again.  Uploaded nearly a year ago as the hunt for a new home brought Amy to a place in the Chicago area, that didn't work out.