Farewell, My Heart

On Friday, the 20th of December, I had to say goodbye to my Samhain, my Sam, Sam the Man, Sam-Sam. I am crushed beyond words, so I'll try to spend a minimal time on the sad, and share some of the cherished memories.

Our last photo on Friday afternoon.

Sam had been fighting Hemangiosarcoma since sometime before the end of March. Just before my birthday (which seems to be the time for things to collapse to utter garbage), he was diagnosed with splenic Hemangiosarcoma, and had the splenectomy.

Friday, after a very good day at work, the dogs got their dinner. Within a short time, Sam started showing the symptoms of bloat, and I rushed him to the emergency vet. (My dad was very brave and didn't scream once as we were racing to the vet and weaving in and out of traffic!) The vet confirmed my apprehension, and said she thought there was another tumor which had possibly caused the bloat. Sam had thrown up a few times in the past few weeks, which was unusual, and putting that together with the bloat, I felt the time had come to let him go. He was already six months past his prognosis, and putting him through a surgery would not have been the kindest thing to do for him.

There are a bunch of posts about Sam here (a couple popped up in search that don't have anything to do with him) which go back to the very beginning, when he was a newborn.

Last week at the office, helping out in the archives

He was there for me when those I trusted most, loved most, left. He was always ready to play, ready to cuddle, ready to go for an adventure, ready to hang out and watch movies. He loved people so much that he was the unofficial greeter of the UPS store next door to the office. People went nuts over him. 

The kids this past Hallowe'en were telling other kids and parents that there was a "really awesome dog" at my house that they had to meet. The babies thumped him hard on the head and he just gave them tiny little kisses on their chubby legs. The toddlers threw their little arms around his neck and he stood still so he didn't knock them over. The teenage girls fawned over him and called him handsome, and he preened and gave them mighty slurps and giant, full-body wags. The moms and dads were amazed at what a good boy I had.

He adored them, one and all.

And he was good to the newest addition of our family, even though she's a terrible brat and does not care about pleasing anyone, unlike my Sam, who was crushed to report he had, in fact, tipped over the trash can.

I don't know what I'm going to do without him.

Dog Noir

About three months ago, now, my Sam was diagnosed with Splenic Hemangiosarcoma. He came through the surgery very well, but the oncologist told me the usual life expectancy after surgery was three to six months with chemotherapy. 

I just couldn't see putting my boy through that. Fortunately, there are a couple of alternative medicines which seem to have some ability to make him comfortable for however long he has left, and having joined the Hemangiosarcoma Facebook page, I have some hope he may last longer than what the doctor thought. He's still eating and completely ball-obsessed, which is situation normal for him! He's even taken well to the new addition in our home, Grace, a black German Shepherd pup.

Those of you who have followed this blog for a long time know how much I've loved my Sam and can imagine how devastating the diagnosis was for me. I am nowhere near ready to let him go, but since I don't get a vote on that, I decided that I do get a vote on how he's remembered.

Enter Diana Lundin Pet Photography! I found her webwsite through a Facebook ad promoting her "Dog Noir" style photoshoot. 

Since I am a lover of all things atmospheric and spooky, I decided to contact Diana for a session. I explained my (and Sam's) situation, letting her know that sooner would be better than later for a shoot. She expressed her sympathy and suggested a few spots for the shoot. L.A. has numerous locations suitable for a noir-themed photo shoot. We kicked around a few different options, and finally decided on a bridge which was featured in Orson Welles' last film, A Touch of Evil.

It had been rainy all week, and rain was promised for the next day, too, so I was a little nervous we'd have to reschedule. The weather gods were smiling on us, though, and gave us a rain-free afternoon and a beautiful sky with only a few fluffy clouds highlighting the sunset.

To put it mildly, handling two dogs, one of which is a puppy with no concern whatsoever for pleasing you and all manner of interest in bugs and leaves, was difficult. Diana and her photographic assistant came prepared, though, and helped me to get the dogs pointed in the right direction and get me to look appropriately distressed!

She came by the house to drop off the large framed print and the 8" x 10" I ordered, and I was so pleased with the results!

I'm so glad I decided to have Diana do this specific type of shoot for us! I think she caught the dark moodiness of the Noir genre masterfully! Both Sam and Grace look wonderful; and it's not easy to photograph all-black dogs. 

I honestly can't think of a better way to remember him when he's gone. I'll treasure this always!

Sam and the Continuation of the Craptacular

My sweet boy a few weeks after surgery.

For those of you who aren't a Facebook friend or who haven't been following my blog for all that long, that doggo in the pic is my sweetheart, Sam. (If you're interested in his history, you can click here.)

Unfortunately, a few weeks ago, Sam stopped eating. Since I had already gone through stomach cancer with my old Shepherd, Josey, I was immediately concerned this was a repeat of that situation.

It turns out I was partially right. Sam was diagnosed with Hemangiosarcoma. He had a baseball-sized tumor growing in the middle of his spleen which needed to come out. They diagnosed him after sending it out for a biopsy. I found out on my birthday. Ugh.

Sam is still with me, but his energy level is down. Since this type of cancer is vascular, the next tumor could show up anywhere. The oncologist I consulted with said that usually happens within a month, and most dogs only survive three to six months after the surgery, and that's with chemo. I just can't see putting him through that without the assurance of at least a year or more of good quality of life for him.

In the meanwhile, the oncologist gave me a couple of over the counter supplements to make him comfortable. And while it may sound weird to you, I decided to search for a new puppy for Sam to help me train while he's still with us. I know he's missed his friend Coda deeply, so even though he initially doesn't like other dogs, I know that he'll be fine with a puppy once a few days have passed. Maybe he'll even perk up, some.

I'm trying to keep it together. Focus on positive things. I throw the ball for him until he gets too tired. He's on my bed with me every night. He gets lots of hugs and snuggles from my boss and coworkers, and of course my mom and dad.

After some thought, I decided to go with a breeder for a puppy. It turns out German Shepherds and most other large breeds end up blowing out their knees when they're fixed too young. Something about needing the hormones in order for the joints to form correctly - this happened to my other shepherd, Coda, when she was young. Rescues, understandably, have all puppies fixed before they go home, and Sam won't tolerate an adult dog. So, a breeder it is.

 The new pup has been chosen. She's a lovely black German Shepherd with lines tracing to Germany. Her grandfather has been best in the world in obedience for three years. And, like all puppies, she's adorable!

That little face! Just kills me!

I should be picking her up next weekend. It's going to be a bittersweet occasion.

*Sigh* I am so ready for things to start turning around for me. Maybe starting with money coming to me and my dog being miraculously cured?

Dogs!

"Throw the ball. Please, throw the ball! Throwtheballthrowitthrowitthrowit!"

I figure it's been a while since I posted about my dogs, and you were probably losing sleep, wondering what was up with them!

It's been pretty rainy here in Northern California, so the dogs have felt pretty cooped up. Cabin fever was definitely in the offing! On Monday, there was a break in storm fronts, so I took them around the corner to a local neighborhood park, ball launcher in hand.

Those of you who don't own German Shepherds (you poor, poor dears!) may not be aware that the vast majority of them are ball-obsessed. It's what happens when you have dogs with high prey drives, which is what many, though not all, of the Shepherd lines are bred for. It's what makes them great K9s and Military Working Dogs, along with their keen minds and natural sense of protectiveness towards their families.

My Sam and Coda are no exceptions to the ball-obsessed Shepherd stereotype! Sam is always on high alert, and when he takes after the ball, he pins his ears flat to his head and tears after it for all he's worth! Coda is a bit more relaxed about it, but still does a darn good game of fetch.

Although, they do things a bit differently when they're fetching together versus when they're just one on one with me or Mr. ShellHawk. 

As you can see in the below pic, Coda just wants to chase the dog who chases the ball, in order to be a noodge. She's really not all that worried if she gets the ball or not, as long as he doesn't have it. Kind of like that unwritten Dog Law: All balls are my ball, even if I don't want them!

She's a total nag. And even if he gets it, she'll often just take it from him, and he lets her!

Hopefully, the video will play alright, even though it's not the best clip in cinematic history!

They came home happy and tired, just as it started sprinkling again. That evening and all the next day, it was pouring! I'm so glad I got them out of the house!

Sam is four, and will be five in April. Coda is two and almost a half. I can't believe how quickly they've grown and how fast the time has gone!

Five weeks old and adorable!

All grown up. D'aww!

Face-hugger: GSD edition!

I still can't believe she was this small! She's 91 pounds, now, and
bigger than he is!

How could you not love the German Shepherd head tilt?

Dog snuggles are pretty much the best.

Dogs are just the best, aren't they? 

Studio Staff

I've been working on a few new things in the studio, and am lucky to have a staff member who works for just a bone a day!

I can't believe he's the same dog as the little guy in the above picture!

Been Visiting

Our cousin has been visiting from Chicago for the last few days, and Sam, my dog, has been cheating on me ever since.

I mean, look at him!

What a tramp he is.

Well, That Happened... And Something to Look Forward To

Yes, I know my title isn't grammatically correct, but whatever.

It's been a hell of a week, from start to finish, (for no one as much as those in Boston and Texas) but here I am at the end of it and... Well, it's still going to be really busy but the end result will be cool...

It turns out that my new kiln needs to be sold, because it's not the right type for my work. No, when I researched, no where on the manufacturer page did it say anything about that, so there you go. The woman who sold it to me didn't inform me, probably because she found out the same thing, too.

I'm not liking her a whole bunch right now. 

I need to see if I can place an ad at the local gun shop (apparently it's used in manufacturing guns, somehow, but I'm fuzzy on the details) and maybe it will get to where someone can use it. Meanwhile, I still need a larger kiln to produce more stuff, and I'm back to square one.

Part of my trip to Monsterpalooza was a family visit. The down side was seeing my mom, who's doing very poorly on a number of levels, and my poor dad is trying to see to her needs, pretty much by himself. I helped where I could before I came home, but six hundred or so miles separate us and there's only so much I can do from here.

The up side was that I was able to help him with a garage sale to get rid of a bunch of stuff that had been hanging around for a number of years, and that went pretty well! I also took him to Monsterpalooza and he seemed to have had a really great time.

So I've been feeling down about the family situation (and the thing in Boston, too), and the kiln (an $1100 paperweight, fer chrissakes!), so to try to distract myself, I turn back to business. 

I've been waiting for the wind to die down so I can do a Raku firing of some jack-o'-lanterns (I even have one of them sold, already! YAY!), since giant balls of flame and wind do not equal anything but a potter with no eyebrows and possibly a considerably reduced hairline. Since I couldn't do it, I went back to my wheel to start making some new "stuff" for the upcoming El Dorado Hills Art and Wine Affaire on Mother's Day weekend. 

One pot collapses, but it was my warm up. I threw a pitcher. Yay! Pretty shape, a little larger for a big ol' pitcher of lemonade. Start to throw another and--the wheel just stops.

Just. Stops.

Everything on that circuit that's plugged in and working is still working, so I know it's nothing simple like that. *sigh*

Did I mention the show's in three weeks?! 

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh! 

The good news is, it's under warranty. Bad news is that the manufacturer was closed for the day (dang East Coasters!). Good news? When I got a hold of them, it turns out it was just a fuse. They're shipping it via Priority mail, and the part is super easy to put in, myself. I should have it by Monday, at the latest.

In addition to all this, we're having the front yard re-done. We're adding steps, tearing out the lawn and doing some serious xeriscaping with California natives. They're finally turning on our water meters, and it's going to make a huge difference in our water bill and the amount of care we'll be giving the garden from here on out. I'm finally going to get a couple of disappearing fountains put in (we've had the pots for it since 2006!) on either side of the new steps, so I'm really stoked about that! Pics will be posted as the project goes on...

Down side? Where is my dang graveyard going to go?!?!

Up side? A possible re-vamping of the haunt. Heh heh heh and mwahahahaha! (Maybe I'll get the mausoleum I've always wanted!)

Other down side? Mr. ShellHawk will be out of town while this is going on, we've got to pick up plants, take down a tree and some other things before he leaves. And this while I need to be at CCACA next weekend with my Jackalope sculpture! And I need to prep for the other show, and make hang tags and price things and put them in my inventory and I really need to get to sittingdownwithQuickBooksandgetthatstraightand..... EEK!

Pass the Xanax, please. My brain is going too fast.

Finally, today is my tiny, tiny puppy's second birthday! (He weighs in at around eighty-five pounds, but he'll always be my tiny puppy!) I can't believe he's two, already!

That's Sam, with the little yellow yarn around his neck, and his proud mommy.

Sam at one week old.

My tiny puppy, at four and one half weeks.

Puppy lovin' my old boy, Gromit. Gromit enduring said loving
with classic stoicism.

Sam torturing Josey, who is telling him all about it!

My tiny puppy in October of 2011, with Josey and me.
Seventy-five pounds of German Shepherd!

In January, 2013. My little guy at 85 pounds or so.
Not happy about having his nap disturbed...

 He's our baby! Happy Birthday, Sam!

Sam Says Goodbye to "The Boys"

And gets his puppy hernia fixed, too.


Did you know that dogs can be born with hernias? I didn't either. It wasn't giving him trouble, so with the vet's recommendation, we waited until his neutering to have it taken care of. Sort of a two-for-one deal.


There's not enormous drama involved with this for us. We don't intend to breed Sam (Can you imagine me taking on one more completely life-hijacking task? Really?), so we did the responsible thing and had him neutered on Tuesday. There was a lot of going back and forth on what age to have it done. Some people say as soon as four months, some people say it should wait until one year. We decided to split the difference at 7 1/2 months. Since I never act stressed at the vet's office, and my vet's office has a great team, Sam was totally relaxed when he was led off by a veterinary tech, and wagged his tail at one and all. Even through the closed door, I could hear them fussing over him and telling him what a good, handsome boy he was. That made me feel good.


It was very gratifying to have one of the vets comment on how stable a dog I have on Tuesday morning when I dropped him off. You have to figure that veterinarians see the full range of dog owners, from the crazy pet hoarders who love their dogs too much and never set any boundaries for them because they think it's mean, to the ones who plainly do not care and either abuse or neglect their dogs to dangerous levels. That compliment made my day, because it means I'm doing my job.


Anyway, I found out my little puppy now weighs in at seventy pounds! Wow, that happened fast, huh? And I found out that though he cried really loudly when they put in the i.v. needles, he didn't nip at anyone or show any signs of aggression. Another good sign. He came out of the sedation well, and they let me know I could come and get him early.


So now, it's Sam's first experience with both pain that doesn't go away in a minute or two, and "The Cone of Shame."

Not surprisingly, Sam hates The Cone of Shame. Whined about it for several hours straight, although he also could have been disoriented by the last of the anesthetic working its way out of his system. That night, he was up and down, bashing the cone into the walls so much that I had to get out of bed and go lie down on the couch to be with him and allow Mr. ShellHawk to get some sleep. Around two a.m., Sam crawled up onto the couch with me (something he never, ever does, because he knows he's not allowed on the furniture without an invitation), and went to sleep. I think he was not only needing his "pack leader's" reassurance and closeness, but was hoping I could make it all better and incidentally take The Cone off. It was a very special moment. I threw an arm over him and managed to go to sleep for a little bit.

He seems better today. Now, all I have to do is keep him from playing with the other dogs. *sigh*

Have You Seen--

This tiny little puppy?

Because someone stole him and replaced him with this monster!

Can you believe he's seven months old already?

BlogTV Thanks

Well, I did my first BlogTV show last night, armed with my blue raspberry martini. Big thanks go out to Fright Guy, The Bloodshed Brothers, and Chris Baker for co-hosting and making the show almost halfway intelligent.
For those not able to make it, we had two home haunt celebs join us to chat: Mr. Chicken and Spider Rider, both of whom are gracious enough to be helping me with a new prop and revamping an old one. Chris Davis of Davis Graveyard checked in for some fun, too, and debated the value of blue drinks vs. wine. 


We had two new TV stars appear, as well: Christmas Ape and Samhain. Neither of them has much comment, although Ape thinks Jeromy looks pretty hot in his little blue dress. (Credit for the pic goes to Jody Bossert of Haunted Night.)
I'll get some new pics of Sam up shortly. I have to say, it was pretty wild being gone for a week and coming back to see how much he'd grown in just that short time! He didn't seem to mind being on TV, and didn't demand his own trailer and makeup people, unlike Ape, who can be a little full of himself sometimes. Ape, by the way, has new Facebook pics from the Shasta trip, if you want to check them out.


I took the opportunity to show off the latest creations out of the kiln, so if you missed that part, you'll just have to wait until I put pics up for the Etsy store! (Big thanks to DixieDawn for her mini-ghost purchases!)
O.k. kids, it's time for me to get back to making Hallowe'en!

Three Months Old!

Happy Birthday to Hell Hound Samhain! I can't believe he's three months old already. It just doesn't seem possible!

 

 

Hard to believe he was this small six weeks ago!
Official puppy training class starts Saturday. The trainer informed us at the orientation to expect chaos on the first day, so I am prepared  for crazy puppy behavior! At home, he's about 98% consistent on his "sit" command, and maybe 75% or so on "come," though of course distractions have a lot to do with that. I have to separate him from the other dogs while I'm training him, or he can't be expected to focus. The other dogs, of course, whine, bark and generally carry on because I'm not in the room with them, but they'll get over it.


In other news, progress, though slow, continues in the "making stuff to sell for Hallowe'en" department. Below are one of my jackos-glazed and ready for firing, and a nice candy bowl, which will take me a while to complete. Keep in mind that I hand-paint three coats of glaze on each piece, and the more detail, the slower the going! The bowl is one of the largest I've been able to throw, and is nice and light. I probably should have thrown it a little thicker, but overall, I'm pretty happy with it.

I'll post them again when they're done, plus the plate I'm working on right now!