Friday, September 12, 2008

Silver Lining

We hope every-paw and hooman stay safe from Herricane Ike. We are really worried what is happening in Texas.

We evacuated to Orlando, FL on Sunday and stayed at hotel with a wonderful walking area. There was a pet friendly park in barking distance. We walked on our leash there and found interesting things to sniff.


Deacon at the Hotel
Essex at rest

Tuesday Dad drove to St. Augustine for our surprises. First we stopped by the home of Oreo & Snoopy. Those two were Essex’s favorite Angel Paws Park paw-pals as a pupster. They left in December 2005 and it has been almost three years since she had seen them. Essex uncharacteristically wagged her tail and jumped on their Dog Mom. We went for a long walk and visit.

Oreo is happy to see us.
Snoopy sez Howl-low Essex

Next Dog Dad drove fifteen miles north. Deacon smelled familiar scents and his tail wagged. Something was familiar but he couldn’t place it. Then Dog Dad turned into a strangely familiar yard. Deacon’s jaw dropped when his saw Carol, his previous Dog Mom; her mother; sister Cici and their friend Nancy. Deacon calmly received big hugs and loved the comments about what a big handsome lad he is now. Deacon was in heaven from all that attention. Essex noted Deacon’s behavior and uncharacteristically relaxed, which amazed Dog Dad.

Deacon was well behaved and went around sniffing his favorite spaces in his old home. He charmed them with his calm loving demeanor. They said Deacon was on the way to being a juvenile pup-linquent. As a puppy, Deacon would jump on people, nip and mouth hard enough to bruise the skin. He went through the screen door once and pulled really hard during walks. Once Carol’s Mom scolded Deacon, then the phone rang and when she started talking on the phone, Deacon just started barking back at her! That pup-linquent behavior led to his return to Holmhaven. It was a hard decision and Carol cried all the way to and from Holmhaven. She was upset about leaving her little boy and what would happen to him. When she told Dad that seeing Deacon again brought a sense of closure, Dad thought of his five-cent dog, Pudgy.


Deacon sits pretty for Carol


Dog Dad was proud when they exclaimed what a wonderful Collie Deacon had become. Under the calm assertive leadership of Auntie Essex and Dog Dad, Deacon fell right in line. We met Annie too. Annie is a wonderful older rescue Collie. She plays very rarely but was a pawtastic Collie. Dad was sad when it was time to leave.

Annie posses with her favorite tuggee toy

Annie liked Dog Dad

We could tell on the way back that Dad was thinking of Pudgy and he was glad he took Deacon to visit his former home. When we stopped for gas on the way back to the Orlando, we got a special hug. Life is good, we love our Dog Dad and he loves us.

Essex & Deacon

12 comments:

Cowspotdog said...

Am so glad to see you guys are all okay. We are just watching IKE come ashore now.......can not believe people wanted to stay there. Prayers going that way.

Kess And Her Mama said...

There really is a silver lining in every storm. What a lovely visit to your friends and to go back to your former home!

Unknown said...

Wow what a nice travel home you had. One day, maybe Booker will get to visit his foster dad and all the people who helped get him to us. Our good friend from Key West was here yesterday and lamenting all the boarding up he did ... but all the precautions were so necessary. Just watch Texas and thank whatever is above that it didn't hit us!

Sunny,Scooter, (sometimes Jamie) said...

Glad y'all made your trip safe and sound. Ike is about done playing with us. We only ened up getting rain and wind-just as I figured. No power outages, no tornado watches. Cool
Hugs,
Sunny,Scooter&Jamie

Maximillian the Valliant said...

Glad you guys are safe. Nice of you to bring your Dog Dad with you. He probably can't swim as well as you can.

M-the-V

Xsara and Tani said...

we hope every doggy and their people stay safe in this crazy weather! glad that you guys are OK

Anonymous said...

You did have a very interesting time:)

I am happy to know that all of you are safe from the Ike. I guess we should learn to expect the unexpected...this year's been so full of the unexpected!

The pictures are fantastic:) Mercury needed some references. She wasn't happy with her earlier sketches:(

Licks n wags,
Oorvi

Arran, Arthur and Mum said...

How great that yuo got to see all them other dogs and people. Very nice of your humans to do that. Glad you were safe from the big windy!

Jake of Florida said...

So that sounds like a silver lining indeed!! Seeing old friends and proving that Deacon has grown into a fine guy!! What a nice alternative to what could have been!!

Just curious: which dog friendly hotel did you find in Orlando?

Jake and Just Harry

Kess And Her Mama said...

Come by my blog to see what I think about your blog :-)

Anonymous said...

Hi Furry Friends...you are two Smart Pups!

Oh yes...you have the distinction of being the first "Smart Pup Award" winners. You received this award for solving the Chihuahua adoption puzzle correctly:)

Congratulations...and stop by to collect your award:)

Licks n Wags,
Oorvi

Tatum Tot said...

Woo Roo I'm so glad Ike left you guys alone! Staying in hotels is super fun, I like to do that too.

You guys are so pretty!