76 days ago by nikkiandlulu | 40 views | 1 barks

Update!!!

We want you all to know that we miss you and are so sorry we have not been in touch. Our house has finally been declared mold free!!!!!!!!! but, they will not have it put back together until July 10th. Which probably means August 10th. We are doing okay, the tears have yet to subside but we are trying to be strong. We hope you all are fine.

Hugs

Jan & Nikki

 

102 days ago by nikkiandlulu | 61 views | 4 barks

Thanks to all of you at MDS

All of you have been so fantastic through this time and I really want to thank you for everything. It has been such a huge source of comfort to know that you all are just a "bark" away.

I have not been able to revisit Ellie's book "All the Joy In My Life: Tails of True Love & Devotion" but will hopefully get things rolling again very soon. It has just been so hard.

I am still searching for her and so is Nikki. We do feel her with us every day and her spirit keeps us moving.

We all slept downstairs for a very long time so that we could be next to Ellie. She really stopped wanting to sleep upstairs in 2006 and then by the end of 2007 the doctor said no stairs. She would wake me every night around 3 and then again at 4. Now Nikki does exactly the same thing. Whether the door is left open so she can go inside or out or if it is closed she wakes up and starts that wonderful husky howl.

Thanks again you guys. MDS is a really great place filled with very special dogs and very special people. Your kind words and prayers have meant the world to us.

Hugs to you all

Jan * Nikki

 

104 days ago by nikkiandlulu | 77 views | 6 barks

A question someone asked me today....

A very dear friend of mine asked me a question today: “Why are dogs better than children?” Of course my first response was quick “They are not better, they are different.”

I have just suffered the great loss of my incredible seventeen year old Elle. She was perhaps the most beautiful creature to ever grace my life. She opened my heart, she taught me patience and understanding, she taught me sympathy, she taught me how to care for others when they were down, alone, afraid, sick or too old and frail to care for themselves.

With this question in mind I began to explore my own minds thoughts on dogs vs. children. There are of course many humorous reasons why as a childless divorced woman that I could give you, but my first thoughts remain the same they are different not better or worse. There is no competition between the two although my ex-husband may argue that I think dogs are better than husbands but that’s a whole other topic.

I can tell you that I would love to have a child someone that reflected my own self, someone that could inherit a little bit of my eccentric side and someone that would look to me for comfort and safety and the answers to all of life’s questions. Unfortunately that was not in the cards for me. What I was blessed with was a wonderful creature with beautiful blue eyes and a spirit that let you know that God or someone greater than us existed. That the universe was large and diverse but somehow we found each other and became each other’s hearts and souls.

If you were to offer me today to go back and change the way things were, to give back my beautiful blessing I would emphatically tell you NO! There is not a moment of my time with her I would have missed for the world!

My friend is so afraid that if I am to ever be blessed with another creature like Elle it may be very hard for me since we must accept the very difficult fact that these wonderful creatures do not live as long as we do. Again, I have to answer with a very simple “The pain I feel today is immense but the love that I was blessed with is far stronger, far greater than any other experience I have had in this life.” So I guess my answer would be the same as any mother who has lost her beloved child. God blesses us and we need to live each moment with others as if it were our last, and when we look back after the tears have subsided (if only for a moment) we are grateful for the time we were given, we are grateful for the love that we shared and somewhere in this great big wonderful world of ours my little girl is running free with all the other children that were taken much to early from this earth. Their spirits are free, proud and strong as they await the ones they love, the ones that miss them, the ones that mourn them and the ones that promise to continue to grow as human beings in their honor.

 

130 days ago by nikkiandlulu | 64 views | 1 barks

Ellie

Today is the first day Ellie looked at me and her eyes told me that she was going to have to leave me. I am petrified to face the world without her. She means the world to me and I can only hope that I have given her a quarter of what she has given to me.

She is sleeping next to me pretty much in my arms. Please say a prayer for my Ellie. Will write tomorrow and tell you how she is doing.

Thanks all for listening

Jan

 

136 days ago by nikkiandlulu | 49 views | 1 barks

Thanks

Thanks so much everyone for all the info and incredible advice and support. Ellie is doing better but still not so great. We are going to see her vet today and I will write more and let you know how she is doing. All your support and thoughts and prayers are so appreciated and I know that Ellie knows that everyone is out there wishing her the best!

Thanks so much

Jan

 

141 days ago by nikkiandlulu | 75 views | 5 barks

Ellie

Yesterday  I had to rush Ellie to the vet. She is okay. We thought she may have had "bloat" and I was terrified. Her stomach was full and she seemed to be okay maybe just a little uncomforable from too much food. She slept well and only had to get up twice in the night. For most of the night she slept in my arms. She has been doing that now for the past several weeks. I know she is just making sure I am close and letting me know how much she loves me. This is so very hard I never thought the day would be here when I might have to say good bye. I don't want her to feel she has to stay for me I want her to know that it's okay when the time is right when she has made the decision to go I will be with her and I will love her through every moment and always.

When I look at her I realize that she has taught me to love she has helped me to become the person I need to be. I have loved her for every single moment and she has loved me. I could not have been more blessed and I could not be more grateful to her for being part of my life.

Nikki knows too. It is almost as if Ellie is passing her wisdom and her thoughts to Nikki. Nikki likes to stay very close to Ellie now. If she is not laying right next to her she is very close and keeping a watchful eye on her.

Putting together "Tails of True Love & Devotion" for Ellie has kept me strong. I am so thankful that so many people have taken the time to share their amazing stories with us. I know that Ellie can feel the energy of all the wonderful people and their amazing best friends that have sent stories and photos. This is going to be so beautiful when it is finished.

I will write more later and let you know how she is doing.

 

157 days ago by nikkiandlulu | 39 views | 0 barks

Photos

 

157 days ago by nikkiandlulu | 39 views | 1 barks

THe Kiss

 

194 days ago by nikkiandlulu | 95 views | 4 barks

Ellies 17th B-Day

Seeking “Best friend stories”If you share my passion & joy for your “best friend” and would like to share a touching story about why your long time best friend is Your Heart & Soul, I am collecting stories for a new book to be titled All the Joy in My Life: Tails of True Love & Devotion. Of course, this is for Ellie’s Seventeenth Birthday this March. The maximum word count for each story is 1,200 and if your story is selected, please submit your favorite photo as each story will be accompanied by a mixed media rendering of your best friend.  I will include a 50 word biography and a permission fee for one-time rights to print it. For more information, or to submit a story, contact me & Lulu  via e-mail: elle.nikki@charter.net.

 

267 days ago by nikkiandlulu | 93 views | 2 barks

Not one single second....

 Not one single second goes by that she is not on my mind, not one single second goes by that I do not feel my heart ache because I love her so much............

This really hit me hard when I took Ellie to get a bath on Tuesday. My friend took one look at her and I saw tears streaming down her face. Ellie is just not doing so well. It really hit me when my friend started crying, she is a hardcore "animal activist" and would do ANYTHING to help any and all animals in need. This lady is sooooooooooo strong and in the eleven years that I have known her I have NEVER seen her so sad. I really felt that she must know somthing that I didn't, that she must have some insight into Ellie's feelings that I wasn't understanding. We did not give her a bath because we really didn't feel she was up to it. I took her to the vet and one of the techs came out and gave Ellie an atiquan?? shot to help relieve any inflamation.

This is just so unbelievably hard. She is really my heart and soul. She is my life. I just want her to be okay. I want her so much not to hurt. She is such a strong soul, she has taught me so much over the years. I hope I am listening to her and doing everything that's right for her. I just want everyone to know how incredible she is and how much she has meant to me and how beautiful she made my life. If I had to go back I wouldn't change a single second of it.........not one single second!