Travel updates. And one heckuva dog, "Louie".

So we had a great visit in Franklin area of Nashville, Tennessee.
Hubby Hansoo travels/works occasionally in that area, so I was delighted to get visit him and our "new town" for connecting, and re-connecting.
Speaking of re-connecting, I was thrilled to see cuz Jeff(the son of my mom's sister, my dear sweet Aunt Mary, who died of pancreatic cancer in 2003)who is continuing to make a name for himself in the music-land that is Nashville.
Jeff pens songs, plays a bad-a*& guitar, and sings eloquently.
I love having such a talent in our family! Check out the link to his site, under "Poets, Bloggers and Others", to the right of this entry.
Just scroll down.
From Franklin area of Nashville, Tennessee, we headed by car to Indiana, to both the area called "Little Nashville"(I am researching a woman called "Grandma Barnes"--a colorful character who was half-Cherokee, extremely beautiful and a subject for artists from all over the world, a poet and an actress...and my great-great-grandmother!)....and also, the Franklin area of Indiana, to attend 3rd-cuz, Robin Hall's outdoor wedding. It was a lovely, albeit extremely hot day(perhaps karmic punishment for my own, overly-cold wedding: a garden-wedding held in February, 2007!), and one I treasure:
Robin was radiant, and when her Daddy teared up as they danced the Father-Daughter dance, I recalled my own precious moments with my own Dad, who was sitting across from me.It was great to meet-up with Daddy, especially since I was(and still am!) extremely grateful he could be there:
his 4th heart-attack of the past 14 years, was the same day he flew into Indiana(he left just hours after!).His "saving grace" was the new (Fall, 2004) defibrillator implanted in his chest.
Whew.
We listened to children laughing, I danced the "Macarena"(the cheesy dance everyone else plays at their wedding; our cheesy dance-song was the gay anthem, "YMCA". giggle.), and we ate bbq and took pictures.
We listened to master-pianist, Larry Wayne(another 3rd-cuz of mine) play Preludes he'd written.
And then, we returned home to see our beloved(adopted from Golden Retriever Rescue Association of Atlanta in October, 1998) Golden Retriever is losing his footing, partly due to his hips weakening, and partly because he is suffering from a very nasty bacterial infection of the ear(he's had this "Pseudomonas" several times, but this time, it re-curred, and got to his inner-ear/brain area.sigh.). He's in a constant state of extreme sea-sickness, combined with a loss of balance.He appears to be nauseated, as he is refusing all food,though he's not vomiting.
He weaves, and often, falls.
The library in our house now looks like a small obstacle course of pillows and cushions, to prevent him hurting himself.(double-sigh).
At age 13(approximate, since we're not certain--he could be as young as 12-and-a-half, or closer to 14), we know we're luckier than most, having him for so many fun, great years.
But that doesn't mean when I look into his huge, wet brown eyes, his head tilted in a ridiculously amusing way (horribly, it's from the infection making him dizzy), that this is any easier.
It's so hard to do what I know we must do, to prevent him suffering any further.
We originally just wanted to clear up the infection(minimum time for healing:3-6 weeks, possibly months), and then have a few great weeks to celebrate his life.
It seems, however, that we must now take it not day-by-day, or even hour-by-hour, but moment-to-moment.
If you believe in prayer healing, I would humbly ask for you to pray for healing of any/all kinds.If not of Louie's illness, then may it be a healing of our hearts.
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Peace, kids.

Dog Saviors/Savior Dogs

Our Golden Retriever, "Louie", is growing old, and is slowing down.
An abandoned and abused dog, he was our sweet rescue(from Golden Retriever Rescue Association (Atlanta))whom we adopted in 1998(his age was estimated to be between 10 months and eighteen months when we brought him home), he's now between 13 and 14 years old.
Originally, he was company for ol' Frisco(our beloved Australian Shepherd, who passed away in January of 2008), and tremendous company for me, when we moved to the hinterlands of Suwanee, where we used to live. In those days, my then-boyfriend-not-yet-husband, Hansoo, traveled a great deal, and I was very often, very lonely. "Louie" made the days and nights,kinder:
I had two sweet furry creatures to care for, and often,it was also like having two comics on hand for my own private enjoyment!
Hansoo, too, softened, by virtue of having "Louie" in our household. When Hansoo was a kid, his family dog was a Golden,and so having "Louie" reminded him of his pleasant memories of childhood.
Hansoo's sense of play, of gentleness, improved, just as "Louie's" behavior(he was quite the escape-artist when he first came to live with us!)improved.
Currently, "Louie" is a friend/mentor to our sweet(also a prior-abandoned, and obviously neglected) "Afton", a female German Shepherd we just adopted from Big Canoe Animal Rescue, last(2009)summer.
And he can still make both Hansoo and I smile, too.
I hope he can continue, as I tell him every day "to hang in there, Louie...".
"Louie's" big goofy grin and loping gait are what greet us each morning.
Life won't be the same, when--heaven forbid it is anytime soon-- he is no longer here on earth.
For now, we're enjoying long walks with him, and extra treats and toys are happening with increasing frequency.
I know he's considered a "rescue dog", but come to think of it, I think HE rescued US. :)
For info on Golden Retriever Rescue Association, and the great folks who are saviors for these wonderful dogs(they also rescue Labs,too!),and also Big Canoe Animal Rescue, and the varied needy dogs(and cats!) they rescue, see auto-links to these organizations, in the list of links, to the right of this column.
Peace, kids.