wow it's really been a long time!

I don't know where the time has gone - so much time has passed since my last entry. Needless to say my "puppy" is not longer a puppy more like a teenage boy and I am not so sure if that is a good thing LOL! He is doing really well as far as doing his "business" outside I don't think I have had to clean up any accidents in quite some time. Though I can't say the same when Scott is in charge because for some reason he doesn't "get" that when the dog whimpers and cries and barks and carries on that uh yea he might need to go out? So you don't let him out you pay the consequences LOL! He is still sleeping in his crate which is a great thing, however, back in my last entry I praised him for not chewing on my moldings and darn it all if he hasn't started chewing them. He has really done too much damage but it was definitely enough for me to have to come up with a grand plan on how to deter him. So I went out the pet shop and bought good old "bitter apple spray" you know the spray that is supposed to STOP any and all chewing? Well guess what - this buster LIKES the freakin taste of the bitter apple - why am I not surprised? So now I have a baby gate up against one window and I came up with the great idea of electrical taping the other exposed moldings. Think it's a good idea? Think again LOL! After about an hour I came out into the kitchen to find that bugger had removed most of the tape from one of the moldings and it was stuck to the back of his head LOL! I have NO clue how it got there but again I am not surprised. But you know when I think about it in the grand scheme of things he is still a pretty good pup when it comes to chewing up things in my house - I honestly think he is doing that now because he is bored - I work all day and since Scott is working nights he sleeps most of the day so poor Gabriel is not getting the attention he needs - though I think now since this "outcry" for attention Scott may make it a point to let him out more to run in the yard so he won't be so tempted to get into trouble. Another thing I want to write quickly about since I need to get back to work is about how Gabriel absolutely LOVES going out in his backyard - we have a nice big yard and like Brittany whenever Gabriel goes out there he acts as if it is the very first time he is ever seeing it and he will run and explore for hours if I let him. One of his favorite things to do is kick or carrying around the empty plastic flower pots - whenever we get something new for the yard as far as landscaping for some reason Scott cannot part with the original plastic pots these things come in - why he doesn't just throw the darn things out is a mystery to me but let me tell you Gabriel is not complaining - he LOVES to go out and get one of the pots and kick it and chase it all around the yard and the funniest is when he picks it up and it ends up over his head so all I see is this pot with a body and four legs it is really funny to watch. Only thing that concerns me is he gets so carried away I am afraid he will kick the pot into the pool and without thinking jump in after it - but so far he is seems to back off if anything falls in the pool. Not to say he doesn't LOVE the pool he does (I will save his pool antics for another entry) but he so far as been very cautious around the deep end. So that is my update for right now - I am going to try my hardest to get back into writing - I still have so many funny memories of Brittany I want write down :o) But for now I must go back to work.

It's been a while

wow I didn't realize how long it's been since I have written here - I guess I was just in a funk but now it's time to come back and write some more about Brittany and also start to write about our new pup Gabriel :o) It's funny there are so many similarities between the two that I find myself calling Gabriel Brittany LOL! so many things that he does reminds me of her and I am not sure if they are just "every dog traits" or traits specifically "mastiff related". One thing he does that she used to do all the time is sit up against me - he didn't really do this up until a few weeks ago but now when I am cooking or washing dishes he will come right next to me and position himself so that he is either lying across my feet or touching my legs - and she did that all the time (and of course I love it :o) though sometimes it is hard to do what I am doing with this gigantic dog on my feet. He also spins in circles when he gets excited and that is what Brittany was famous for. And the thing that really reminds me of her is when he chews his blanket - he doesn't do it as much as she did but when he does I look at him and I see her face :o) He is a good puppy for the most part - we have been very lucky due to the fact that for some reason we have so far been spared the chewing up the furniture, moldings, etc. He tends to stick to chewing on his toys which is great though every once in a while a shoe gets thrown into the mix. One thing he is doing that Brittany NEVER did is "counter surfing" - this basically means he stands on his hind legs and makes his way up and down the counters (while holding on with his two front paws) stealing everything he can get his mouth on. The latest casualty was my brand new roll of paper towels I came in the kitchen to find shreds of paper towel all over the floor. He also got a hold of my box of tissues and a box of plastic baggies. Of course Heather and Kaitlyn think it is the funniest thing when they come into the kitchen and there he is standing at the sink - now if I could only teach him how to do the dishes he could be quite an asset LOL! We are really enjoying him - he was pretty easy to housebreak though once in a while he still has accidents. He also took to his crate nicely and now that he is bigger (he is 6 months) we have started just gating him in the kitchen and leaving his crate open so he can go in and out of it as he pleases - which he does but when it comes to bedtime he will climb in his crate and sleep there all night long even though the door is wide open - so obviously he likes it in there and recognizes that as his "bed". We are still having issues with him being quite "mouthy" - I had hoped that would stop once he got rid of his baby teeth but it hasn't and he has now decided he also likes to jump on us (not me so much but the girls fall victim to him mostly every day) we are trying the "be a tree" approach but it still needs "tweaking" where the girls are concerned as it seems he has decided the girls are "equal" to him on the "food chain" LOL! He will try the jumping/mouthing with me but since I am still bigger than him and weigh more than him he doesn't get away with it - he seems to steer clear of Scott with that behaviour though once in a while Scott gets a good dose of it LOL! Anyway we love him and he has certainly filled the "void" - he doesn't take her place but he is definitely helping us heal from her loss :o)

It's been a year

It was a year ago yesterday that you left us :o( I am still SO sad -I miss you more than ever. I miss everything about you, the way you used to sleep next my bed, the way you would follow me around and always had to be touching me, the way you would wait for us to come home and when we would open the door you would be standing there wagging your tail holding a shoe or one of your toys in your mouth, the way you used to come lie down near me and put your head on my feet to keep them warm, the way you used to get so excited when we would be eating dinner and share our food with you, there are so many more thing I miss I can't name them all. Just know you are and will always be in my heart my precious girl - until we meet again in heaven.

On Thursday, Jan 20

it will be 11 months that Brittany is gone. So why does it still hurt so much :o( We got a new puppy last Tuesday. He is a beautiful little 2 month old mastiff and we all just love him to death. But even though we have him the pain I feel from not having her is still there :o( Why? I feel so "not normal" why am I still grieving after 11 months? I do have to say I have gotten better I don't cry as often but I when I do I break down and sob :o(
Funny thing too this little pup reminds me so much of her - he does so many similar things already - one thing in particular that really reminds me of her is when I am preparing his food - just the way he stands and then he will spin around and as I am walking to put his bowl down he will walk along side of me and kind of jump - she did that almost EVERY time I would feed her :o) I have also slipped several times and called him "Britt" - his name is Gabriel. I am hoping he will be able to help my heart heal and I keep remembering a quote from Joe Pesci (I know crazy person to quote right LOL) but in Lethal Weapon 4 there was a part where Riggs was at his wife's grave and he was contemplating marrying Lorna and Joe Pesci comes along and tells him the story of his frog "froggy" and how he lost his frog but then Riggs and Murtaugh came along and he said how they weren't "better" friends than Froggy they were just "different" and I keep telling myself the same thing - Brittany will always always be my special precious girl and now I have Gabriel who will always be my precious boy :o)