Two months...

Two months....since you left for the Rainbow Bidge.
Two months... that feel like years.
Two months... our hearts still grieve over losing you.
Two months... missing you every day, every hour, every moment.

The air is cooler, leaves turn red and gold, like your coat.
Crisp leaves dance in the air and on the ground across our path... you always loved Fall.

Dance in the light, Sherman, dance in the light.
Shine in the Northern sky, shine true and bright.
Shine on our days, and shine on our nights,
You shine in our memories of what you were like.
Shine on these gray days, shine deep in our heart,
Shine here forever, and never depart.

There are no words to express how deeply you are missed, dearest Sherman.

Another game!

Here's another game we got tagged by Bama to play. Every answer has to start with the same letter as your name:


What is your name? Star
4 letter word: star
Vehicle: Subaru Siberian Outback
TV Show: Seinfeld
City: Stow
Boy Name: Sam
Girl Name: Sam
Alcoholic Drink: Sherry
Occupation: Screen Star
Something you wear: shirt
Celebrity: Sean Connery
Food: salami
Something found in a bathroom: sterile gauze
Reason for being late: Street was closed.
Cartoon Character: Snoopy
Something You Shout: Strike three, you’re OUT!!!!

And the Jack-A-roo:

What is your name? Jack
4 letter word: jock
Vehicle: Jeep
TV Show: the Jackie Gleason Show
City: Jersey City
Boy Name: Jerry
Girl Name: Jan
Alcoholic Drink: Jack Daniels (kind of a no-brainer, eh?)
Occupation: janitor
Something you wear: jewelry
Celebrity: Jack Nicholson
Food: jam
Something found in a bathroom: junk for patching up wounds
Reason for being late: “Jury duty”
Cartoon Character: Jughead
Something You Shout: Just a minute there, buster! Where do you think you're going? ( Jack hears this one occasionally)

OK, we tag MayaMarie and Indy to play!

Labor Day Bar-B-Que

'Bout time for an update, no?
Labor day was fun, we got to go to hu-mom's cousins' for a bar-b-que. We even got a few tasty morsels for being so good! "Riley" was there too, he's a beagle with a big mouth, and he's actually afraid of everything. Here I am minding my own business--and he's too afraid of me to get down!

Jack is such a big baby. We were tied out on our long lines in the yard, and all he did was cry & whine, till the human's couldn't stand it anymore & brought him over into the middle of where they were sitting. Then he sat down & shut up, and listened to everyone tell him how handsome he is. Geesh! He's so annoying. I jumped up & down, looked very cute, and waved my paws up in the air, making it VERY clear I wanted to join the people too, but nooo, they moved me closer but I did not get to sit in the middle of all the action. *sigh*

There were two very little girls there, and they adored us. Especially the light-haired one, she kept patting me & telling me I was a good dog.

I put up with her. Jack was a good distraction. Surprisingly, he was absolutely wonderful with the little one - she must have poked him in the face a dozen times, practically pushed her hands into his mouth, hugged him around the neck, and kept tugging on his collar the whole time while prattling on about good doggie, that's Jack...all in that human baby gibberish. There were some older kids, too. Here's "Jack and Zack" together:

I did get next to the bar-b-que for a while, and got so close to a tasty platter of creampuffs....sooooo close, but not quite! We got to lick several sticky fingers, though.

We also took a nice walk. Overall, a good day. We both slept like logs last night!
How was your Labor Day?
Wooos,
Star

Tagged? I'm it?

Our friend Holly tagged us for something called "The Middle-name Game". I love games, thanks, Holly! the object is to find words that describe you that start with each letter of your middle name. I think we'll add commentary to make it more interesting...

I'll go first: My AKC name is Blue Moon Star:
M-agnificient! (I think that's a good start)
O-riginal (as in "original & unique!")
O-bservant (I watch & think before I act)
N-ova...another word for "Star"!

Holly wants the puppyhead to play too. His AKC name is Destiny's DaVinci (call name Jack) so I guess he should use DaVinci. Personally I think a simple "Da" says it all, but I'll let him describe himself:
A-roo everyone! Oh boy, I love games, can I play too? Huh? Can I?...Oh, I'm next? A-rooo!
"DaVinci" is my middle name!
D-arling (I'm so cute)
A-ctive (See Jack run...all day)
V-igorous (Go Jack, go!)
I-nquisitive -about everything!
N-ifty
C-haracter --(mom says I'm a nifty character alright)
I-ngenious (I picked this one myself, Mom says it makes her think of Wiley Coyote)

So there you have it. I think we'll tag our friends Indypindy, Turbo, Royal, MayaMarie,& Meeshka (if you have time, Meeshka) to play "The Middle Name Game".

Woos,
Star

Dogpark day

I got to make a couple new husky friends at the local dogpark, which is why I'm smiling...

Two very nice husky boys were there, very happy to play with such a lovely lady husky as myself. Didn't catch the name of this silver guy, but I hope he comes back. We had a great time together.

The second (and very handsome) husky dude is Moon, who also happens to live right down the block from me. We've woo'd at each other while on walks, & he's very mellow. He is the one with the arrow pointing at him in the next pic. (Hu-mom will try to get a nice portrait of his handsome face sometime)

Jack's first trip to a dogpark was...let's just say, a start. He spent some of his time on a leash, because he was just waaay over the top too enthusiatic for several very young puppies whose owners would like them to survive to reach adult dogdom. But he did get to run offleash too, and raced around with a husky/greyhound boy ...man, they were FAST FAST FAST!
(OK, hu-mom just reminded me that when I was Jack's age, one of my favorite dogpark pastimes was rolling terrified puppies & small dogs... I guess Jack'll grow out of it, too)

Hu-mom didn't realize till she was loading my pics that this next photo is full of huskies...The big fluffy husky butt is Moon, the bigger fluffball behind him is Toby (looks like he has some husky in him), then Jack sniffing in the corner, Hu-mom, me off to her right, a GSD devil-dog (click the pic & just look at those eyes!)...and if you'll notice the U-haul directly behind us -- it's got huskies on it too! All in all, it was "husky day" at the dogpark.

Does he stay, or can I send Jack back?

Yeah, yeah, I know, I've been out of touch. I've had to work overtime correcting this new pup. Gotta watch him every minute. It's exhausting, so I have to sleep more too. I really really have to do this hard work because Jack has worked his magic on my humans. They say they think he & I will be okay together and the little puppyhead is going to stay.
They may say “I” decided, but that’s only because they are interpreting my tolerance as acceptance. So I give you the evidence, you decide.
Here is our first “group” picture:


Do I look pleased, or what? See my “happy ears?” Neither do I. I’m only sitting there because I am a good, good, girl & I listen to my humans when they threaten me. (I’m no fool, I know who passes out the treats.)
He's still a pain in the butt. He kept running off with MY squeakies, so instead of punishing him, you know what hu-mom did? She took HIM to the store & he got a brand new toy that he won't share with me! I told him ALL the squeakies are mine, but he looks at me and says "not this one!"


He even took it outside with him. He hasn't even figured out how to make it squeak, dumb puppyhead. I'm trying,...I'm really trying, to smile through all of this!



That Jack also took over one of my favorite sleeping spots and spend most of the day like this:

Another annoying thing he does is that he follows Hu-mom EVERYWHERE! I mean EVERYWHERE! But probably the most annoying thing of all is that he is so darn cute, he has that "puppy face" humans melt over. OK, I'll give him that, he is about as cute as they come...

So I decided (because I am wise and can see the writing on the wall)Jack can stay.

We're back, Jack!

We're back from our trip. Of course, our empty kennel-house wasn't the same without Sherman, and I didn't want to stay there alone. Hu-mom let me stay inside with her, which was good because it was 97 degrees and the big house is air-conditioned. It was soooo good to be back at my old dogpark. I played with some of my old friends & a couple new ones. I got to go see my boy, too. He drove me to a big kennel with lots of huskies! See me, I got the whole compound to myself for a while!

Then a crazed husky boy came flying into the kennel and stomped all over me, can you imagine? I was not too pleased. I wisely left the compound and watched a whole howling pack of huskies charge in. Good thing I left, cause they were zooming all over the place crashing into each other. Mom got a picture during a break in the action:


My hu-mom & boy bravely waded into the middle of all those kissing huskies. See that lt. red one? that's Sherman's mama, Cara. She covered my mom's face with kisses, and they both chatted about Sherman. I don't like being cried on, but Cara didn't seem to mind. She just kept kissing my hu-mom. She kissed my boy, too.


Syd, Sherman's dad, and his sister Tori were also there, and mom cried again when she saw Syd, cause Sherman looked a lot like his dad. I think Sherman got his sweetness from his mama, though. I was in a run by Syd and told him off. I forget about what, probably about having been stomped on.
The craziest thing happened. I don't know who decided this one, but when we got ready to go, that husky boy (whose name it turns out, is Jack) gave his mom a big hug & kiss....and climbed into the car with us! What the...?

We drove for hours and finally stopped at a dog-hotel (they let people stay too). Will you just look at me! I slept like a Queen!

Goofy boy just jumped from bed to bed for silliness & belly rubs. After a long walk in a park, (and a hamburger) we fell asleep.

We made it home, and showed Jack around. I don't know about him, he's been a real pain the butt. We've had a couple tiffs, and if it were up to me, I'd send Jack back today. But he's using his good looks and fun personality to make the humans want him to stick around, so now they expect ME to make up & be friends. Hey, he started it.
Look at this face, see what I mean? How can they say "go away" to those eyes? I can. Easily. "GO AWAY."

*sigh* I think I'm stuck with him for a while. My people say they want to give us a chance to work it out. Yeah, sure, after he tromps all over me in my own house. Well, I'm avoiding him. We'll see. You know what they say --
"It ain't over till the fluffy husky howls."

Woos,
Star

Hit the Road, Jack!

Wooos of joy, we're hitting the road in the morning!

Hu-mom's been packing the car & cleaning all the nose-smudges off da inside of the windows. I've been supervising all day, just to make sure she doesn't take off without me. But she packed my food, my big sleepy quilt, & my squeaky husky puppy, so I guess that seals it, I'm going too! I lovecar rides, don't you? She said something about not having a computer around all week, so I guess this is "Bye for now!"
This photo is a an oldie but goodie...

my new dog park

Congratulations Meeshka! A great bolg-a-thon completed!
And hey, look, I won a barking non-shedding husky - somebody to talk to! Thanks, Meeshka!

This is what I did Sat. afternoon:
After my humans got done with their work, they took me to a new dog park. It's not at all like my old one (in a real park, lots of trees, spring water, nice nice nice). It's basically a fenced in area filled with mulch. There are a few benches around, and that's about it...and ya gotta bring your own water. But the dogs & people were nice. After surveying the entire boundry, I said hello to a couple of other newcomers. The white boxer was fun to play with, and I liked the little red fluffy guy a lot too.
There were a couple kids there, they were fun. They had a very friendly little Jack Russell named Snowbelle that didn't want to leave me alone, but she was kinda cute so I let her tag along for most of my border trip. Several other dogs showed up, and at least I got to go offleash for a while. My humans are talking about getting me a new friend, they think I'm pretty lonely. Hmmm, maybe not such a bad idea...

blog-a-thon day

Today is the blog-a-thon, and I'm tuning in to Meeshka's world for all her latest rants!

It's very boring around here, without Sherman. So I thought I'd just post a few pictures of us from this time last year.
Sherman's favorite summer posture:


Me convincing him he should get up & play:


Come on......


Success!


We were having so much fun, hu-mom decided it was time to take us to the dogpark & run off some energy...

Ah, such sweet memories! I miss you, Sherman, **kisses**

Woos to HULA

I'm going to catch up on old business today...

First, my official HULA bumper sticker arrived, doesn't it look great? (See how it matches my eyes?) It will be the perfect touch on the bumper of my own personal transport vehicle, my Siberian Outback. I'll get a picture of it on the bumper, once Hu-mom gets around to cleaning it up. The reason I look like I do is because hu-mom woke me up from a nap to take a picture. I'm trying to nap up for the upcoming blog-a-thon. Many of my bloggin' friends are doing it - so many blogs, so little time!

Second - Finally FINALLY, Hu-mom figured out that little blog-link thing, so now I'm working on adding all my blog buddies to my sidebar. (This will be an on-going project, if you don't see yourself there, please be patient with me, I only have two typing paws!)

Third - eons ago, I got tagged for telling 7 things about myself.... (forgive me, I don't recall who did it, I can't find your note, woos of sorry) then Sherman got sick & I spaced it out. Better late than never-

1. I'm in charge around here. I direct the play activities at the dogpark, I tell (or told) Sherman what to do and when to do it, I use my psychic powers to make humans do my bidding.

2. I LOVE my stuffie babies. Do not touch them.

3. I'm a very picky eater. What is this unadorned dog-food doing in MY bowl?

4. I hate being brushed, I like my fluffy left right where it is.

5. I adore attention from people (humom says I'm a big flirt) Why shouldn't everyone have a chance to tell me I'm pretty?

6. My registered name is Blue Moon Star.
(Hu-mom, dad, & boy each gave me one of my names.)

7. I love tiny little dogs, and cats, too. I really really love kitties.

Wooos,
Star

So you think you want a husky??? *edit

Hu-mom took me to Petco today. On our way in we met a nice young couple & their 10 yr. old skin kid. They went ga-ga over me, gushing all about how they were just reading a book about siberians and how they think they want one. Then they started asking question like....

"Are they pretty good indoors by themselves?"
AH, WELL, DEFINE GOOD. AND YOU NEED AT LEAST TWO OF US.

"Are they easy to train?"
YES, WE'RE VERY SMART, BUT WE DON'T MUCH CARE WHAT YOU THINK WE SHOULD DO.
DON'T WORRY, WE'LL HAVE YOU TRAINED IN NO TIME.

"The book said they're very good at getting out. Do they really need a tall fence? Can you just put them out on a long chain?"
EXCUSE ME? YOU'RE NOT TYING ME OUT ON A LONG CHAIN 24/7. PERIOD.

"So they're more of an outside dog?
WE DON'T GROW ALL THIS FLUFF FOR NOTHING!

"What about the fur, do you have to groom them all the time?"
NO, JUST THE 361 1/2 DAYS A YEAR WHEN WE SHED!

and so on and so on.
Hu-mom did her best to explain that we are really wonderful dogs, just not for everybody. They looked pretty crest-fallen as mom went on about our prey drive, (I am SUCH a good hunter!) and gregrious no-I'm-not-a-good-watchdog-personality. They did like it that we are, overall, pretty quiet. (I know some huskies aren't, but I am) mom told them to go check out everythinghusky.com and be sure to read up before getting one of us so they know what they're committing to.

It's not that there aren't huskies that need homes, it's just that huskies need the right home. And sometimes people are better off giving a home to a deserving something-other-than-a-husky.

and Meeshka remined me not to forget - WE LOVE KLEENEX! (And I also the cold water fountains in those little rooms. I wish I could train the humans not to pee in them.)

I just needed to rant, I feel better now.

Woos,
Star

Look what we found

wooos, blogging buddies,
It sure is quiet around here. I haven't been wanting to do much, so my hu-mom & dad took me out for a walk around town.
Lots of people talked to me, and I heard others say nice things, you know, the usual things said at a husky sighting..."Hey, is that a snowdog?" and "Look, it's one of those sled dogs"..and some kid always says "Wow, look at that wolf!" We went into a nice little shop and hu-mom found the perfect thing to go on a beautiful little memorial tree some of our Ohio friends sent to us - a red husky angel! I hope you can see it from the RB, Sherman!
Wooos of thanks again for all your prayers, they mean a lot to my family & me. I have lots and lots of new blogs to visit now. See you around.
Woos,
Star

Star's poem to Sherman

My poem for Sherman
by Star

Your golden fluff is everywhere,
reminding us that you’re not here.
Our humans grieve, they do not know
you linger still and did not go.
I hear your padded step go by
when, sleeping in the door, I lie.
I feel your fur against my face
as you curl up beside my place.
I feel your warmth; I smell your breath,
You’re here in spite of what’s called “death”.

Oh Sherman, Sherman, my dear boy,
I feel your spirit full of joy,
and yet at sunset, cry for you,
and softly howl a husky woo:
a-rooooooooooo,
woo-oooooooo,
a-rooooooooooo,
woo-oooo, woo-ooooo, woooooo

A note from Sherman & Star's hu-mom:
We thank you all for your messages, we deeply appreciate them.
May all our beloved furkids play happily at the RB til we meet again.
- Pat

He is gone.

He is gone.

My furever best friend Sherman left for the Rainbow Bridge tonight. I got to sit in the room while he was leaving. I sat very very quietly and watched. When our hu-mom & dad finished crying & hugging him and stood up to go, I paid my own small gesture of respect. It must have thrown the humans off, they thought I was heading straight for the door. But I stood in a moment of silence looking down on Sherman's face, (he looked like he was peacefully sleeping) then slowly walked a full circle around him one last time, tracing out kind of a "sacred circle". Then I headed for the door. They were impressed. Sometimes they forget how sensitive and intuitive huskies are.

Yes, I know, it's very sad, but Sherman is really happy he can breathe again. He feels good.

Then they took me out for ice cream on the way home. I think Sherman would have liked that. He liked to celebrate everything with food.

Hu-mom & dad put a post on this thread, maybe you humans would like to read it:

http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthread.php?t=130252
(You may need to copy & paste it, cause I havent figured out how to put in a link here yet,
or go to www.petoftheday.com It's under Dog Memorial.)


Wistfully Wooing,
Star

No more waiting...no more pain

The diagnostics are back.... Sherman has lung cancer that is growing rapidly.
Our hu-mom & dad have made the hardest decision they've ever had to make. Typing this is just as hard. Sherman will be free to join the pack beyond the Rainbow Bridge later this evening.

The most lonesome wooo I can woo,
Star

Waiting...

Hu-mom & dad are waiting for the results of Sherman's tests....waiting appears to be very difficult for the humans. They burst out crying every time they look at him, and emit human howls of anguish. I'm just chillin, watching over our dear boy. He seems to be hanging in there. The rimydal has brought down his swelling and he seems more comfortable. He's having such a difficult time breathing, but he's still chowing down a couple times a day and can walk himself out for pee breaks. He was allowed to go lie down where ever he wanted, and he went out to lie in the kennel briefly, then came back in. It's cooler inside. He was massaged, and brushed, which seem to make him feel better.
We'll post an update when we hear more, maybe later today, but might not be till tomorrow. I can sense that he's got more than one paw on the road to the Bridge, but this seems to be a difficult thing for Hu-mom & dad to accept. Just for today, they're pretending everythings going to be alright.

Woos of thanks for each & every heartfelt message & prayer.

Wooos,
Star

Very very bad news.

We are heart-broken....
Our Sherman is gravely ill, it appears he has a mass of tumors in his lungs growing at a rapid rate and spreading into his bones. It doesn't appear to be fungal, but conclusive test results won't be back till mon. or tues. Honestly, we aren't sure he's going to last that long.

We have brought him home, he seems glad to be back, but he's really really out of it. It may be a few days, it may be a few hours...

Thank you for your prayers,
-Star & her humans

Sherman's in the Hospital

Hu-mom & dad took Sherman to the Emergency Hospital tonight.

The regular vet did the picture thingy again this morning & said his lungs didn't look good at all. So they ultrsounded him & sucked fluid out of his lungs & said getting him to an Emergency Hospital would be a good idea.

The big hospital vets said he has to stay for a couple days for critical care & tests, and they put him in a little private suite with oxygen so he can actually breathe again. He's also all swelled up and they don't know why, but they aren't too happy about that either.

*sigh* To be honest, it's looking a bit grim. It could be "bad"...or it could be "really bad". Please keep paws crossed it's only "bad."

Very sad woos,
Star

This morning Sherm came over & laid down in my spot, I stayed nearby to give him some moral support. I told him "Don't woo-rry, the humans are gonna catch on any minute now & figure this thing out. You hang in there!"

what now? baffling : (

Just a short post. Sherman ended up back at the vets yesterday. While he has stopped coughing and seems to have a bit more energy, his legs are swelling up. This goes beyond what a poofy husky should look like. He cries when he has to stand up. He is baffling them with his symptoms. They took more of his blood out for more expensive...I mean, extensive tests. Well, there goes my stuffie budget for this year. I hope he's fixable.

Wooo is me,
Star

P.S. Thanks for tagging us, husky friends, but Hu-mom is kind of crazy right now and will aswer the tag thing as soon as she can settle her brain down. Sorry for the delay...

Since you asked...Sherman update

It's been a l-o-o-o-n-g week for Sherman. The new medicine must be helping because he seems to be making slow progress in the last 48 hours. He looks a bit more alert, although he's still sleeping 23 hrs. a day. See, this was a couple days ago...when he could barely lift his head and was tripping over his own paws. Looks kind of ragged, huh?

and now he looks more like he should...for about 10 minutes at a time. At least most of the awful coughing & hacking is over (paws crossed)

A big problem now is his lack of appetite. He's gotten pretty weak because he won't hardly eat anything. Forget the kibble, Hu-mom! He ain't touching it. Hu-mom's cooking all kinds of tasty human food, and I know he's still sick because he's refusing to eat most of it.
I said to him "My Dog, Sherman, you're refusing ground beef??? eggs??? turkey lunchmeat??? cheese????" and he says "No thank you. You eat it." So I'm eating pretty good right now.
He does eat peanut butter and a little chicken when Hu-mom feeds it to him bite by bite.
I think she's getting pretty tired of sleeping next to us, on the couch, and will be less grumpy when she stops worrying about him every night. *edit: "not that she's all that grumpy"....(is that OK now, mom?)

The vet's are going to look inside him again in a week to see if the new-monia has gone away. I hope he doesn't get any more monias. They don't seem like much fun.
Sherman wants me to type a thank you for all your words of sympathy & encouragement. Knowing huskies everywhere are pulling for him makes him feel better. After all, pulling is what huskies do best!

Woooos, Star