Dogster

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pinetrekker's howling log & journal

Our Christmas/holiday wish

The "old lady" as I have recently nicknamed her is getting up there in years. Sure Lena Malik is agile, full of life and as trusting & appreciative of life and experiences as she was in her youth to the point people still ask "how old is your pup"?
They don't know she's started to have more accidents or adopted strange new habits like barking and pushing her food bowl around or whipping around to chase a ghost squirrel or rabbit. The slight misstep or aching feet and bones after a long hike. I start to honestly freak out...getting somber at what the supposed "golden years" hold, all the people I have tried to support through a loss and darkest times. I don't do morbid well but I prepare because of slight nuances I see in my beloved pup and reality catching up with us.

What I have learned through my dog and relations with others who have strong & cherished bonds with their pets is, their lives are simplified which in turn reminds us the basic golden rules to attain.

To wake up each day appreciative of living and with an open heart to possible adventures, experiences and delights. To be as loyal as you can be to those you hold dear and most importantly to be grateful, kind and trusting in the possibilities no matter what you have been through.

We are a good pack of two...Lena Malik & I
We wish everyone the warmest hugs and comfort this holiday season no matter how high or low the emotions flow.
We relish the times we have and yet my heart aches for those friends we lost and their humans who bear an empty & aching place in their hearts.

The best all of us can do is keep pressing forward with what time & resources we have to ensure our pets and their peers are protected, honored & recognized. That means continuations of cross postings, petitions, donations of time & money because we are not only their voice but those who are not lucky enough to have a human or family to look to or call home.

Everyone at dogster & catster obviously has much more so let's try to take a step beyond.

Blessed wished & happy holidays from Lena Malik & Sasha

Investing emotions has a price & take their toll, but it's- worth it

Tribute to all my friends who have truly left their mark.

So many paws have veered off on another path/journey here at dogster and at home.
Glancing sideways, expecting to see their familiar faces and easy banter that comes with friendships grown over time, all the milestones...celebrations, holidays and even the dark hours when we would pick each other up and start again.
We with paws know it's just a matter of time til we converge and continue where we left off, with each other and of course our humans but they sometimes ignore or try to forget their journeys are longer and more intricate than ours even though deep in their heart they know we wait patiently beyond.
The reason why we exist is to provide companionship and an unconditional loyalty, to try to be daily reminders to humans that if you simplify your life and realize what is important, you have much more time & heart to attend to really appreciating the opportunity to LIVE and not just breathe....we often teach give them lessons or reminders how to treat other humans no less.

We lost our friends here in Minnesota, Bailey & Sarge recently to cancer the past few months and our mind and thoughts are here with harleyboy & Campeche and their families.
Poking my nose around I see many more who have crossed recently like Juneau, Jazz and Smiley, and even through time the edge hasn't softened in missing my friends QUANNAH and ELVIS and I just found out my friend Molly sought out the bridge as well...

I worry about mom 'cause I find her mind wander over there, to rainbow bridge since I guess I can officially be classified as an old lady or at least a few husky toes into senior citizenship. She scrutinizes over the added white hairs to my muzzle which you can hardly notice if you don't know me that well and because of my coloring. I like to throw a wrench into her thoughts & notions by still being as spirited in gait to the point people still ask her how old of a "pup" am I, when she tells them, their voices drop an octave and the Ohs" come out as the reminder of time and mortality cannot be ignored.

As I lay here in good health and give her the same loyalty and joy I have provided these past nine years, in the emotional nest of comfort & support, her heart goes out to my friends and most of all their humans, she can relate to.

(message from humom Sasha)

We invest in relationships, whether human or pets to take that leap of faith that our rewards will far surpass the sacrifices, sorrows and pain that feeling so deeply can bring.
People who don't have pets, especially dogs like to think or label us as crazy or eccentric at times but I take pity on them, those who have never experienced the joy of a beloved pet or being as simply, truly loved & adored as in the eyes of our pups here and now, beyond, forever.
We write this for all of you and know someday actually the message will ring the same for us. Know that there are others out there that have bearded similar grief, have experienced or are experiencing the bittersweet joy of walking down memory lane and that would do it all again to have known you and call you family.

THE harleyboy

Dogster is a highway, full of pups coming & going, an endless parade of dogs & humans with so little time to choose who you meet & get to know.
Some of us gather by region or breed or by other common interests. Many meet by chance and from those a few make a lasting impressions and perhaps a friendship or two.

harleyboy was truly an original...his looks made many of us fawn and coo because truly he was a looker, combined with the charms of his spokesman human, he left a trail or curious, interested and at times broken hearts because being social & extremely charming was natural to him.
But for a stingy gal like me, more is needed to impress and what really welcomed my heart was his love & zest for life...the endless curiosity and joy he found in LIVING. So many of us dogs are lucky to have a home and human guardian to care for us but there's a few who really excel at showing what a truly contented dog can share.

I cannot bring myself to look at harleydog's videos right now, the same ones that brought me such joy & laughter are remembrances of a one in a million special pup and it's hard to glance at that missed spirit.

harleydog for me was synonymous with dogster along with a handful of others and one of the pillars/cornerstones & fine ambassador of this site is now gone.

The hardest part to deal with is that harleydog exemplified life, joy & spirit. With him gone I feel dust in my lungs & breath, the continuous wave of energy is not complete down here, he was the one who tried to make you smile or laugh when you were crying inside so where do I turn to now?

All I know is somewhere up there at the Rainbow Bridge, it just got a whole light brighter...harleydog is lighting it up, I know it to my bones & husky paws. My friend sure knew how to live & liven up wherever he went and I am certain he is bringing a whole new ray of sunshine & energy beyond us.
The tears flood the vision of the keyboard and it's hard to type, but thank you friend for being such a light, a gift to those who crossed your path, til we meet again, love LM.