It’s been five years …

... and its time to return for an update 

(I’ve missed blogging)

Stay tuned 

(Here are a few teasers)

Dogs on Wheels (hrmph)

It seems there's been a takeover.

It all started with Winston

(Click here to get to nearly the beginning of that story)

and

Miss Enid

(in London-town)

But now

Wheeled (and some rather wheelless)

Straw stuffed, scraggly coated, scruffy old Square Dogs

keep popping up all over the house.

It seems that they multiply yearly

(if not monthly)

Not only do they collect dust

but

they get the attention of the little guys

who come to visit

Thankfully

They are quiet

and

Only speak in hushed tones

But we're making sure that the hierarchy

remains known and strong.

Ignoring them serves us well

Stuffies and babies are collected and stashed away

(just in case)

and

We Live Wires continue to rule the house.

We always will.

(Good thing we don't have to share treats)

Let's Start with VIRGIL

DISCLAIMER

I'm just a dog

Jake

 a terrier

and

I really try (most of the time)

to do what Moma asks of me.

She says blog

I blog

Even when it gets really long

and

I get really hungry

I can't help it if she gets on a roll

and

gets really wordy.

She is, after all,

the one who feeds me.

Three days in a row

We're wondering if this new behavior is going to stick.

We've heard Moma saying she misses blogging

and

She especially misses the "journal" of memories

that it creates.

So

We are willing to accept that not EVERY memory

may revolve around us

or

more specifially ... me

Jake

(the one left of the original TwoSpecialWires)

Truth be told

It was I who introduced Moma to Rescue and Adoption

(doggie adoption, anyhow)

and

It's pretty clear now

that she's never turning back.

In fact

It has become her passion.

ESPECIALLY

for the seniors (like me, now)

and

the "special needs" doggies

(aren't we ALL special?)

So

This blog of ours

(Mine and my Siblings and my Foster Siblings)

is going to play catch up

and

Document some of the VerySpecialEvents

that have happened over the past three years

(and, if we're lucky, will continue on

for even more)

Let's start with VIRGIL

(this is long ... but worth it ... she says)

Just a few short weeks after our NinaGirl's (and Aaron's) wedding

on 16 August 2015 to be exact

Moma got a call

from Wire Fox Terrier Rescue Midwest (WFTRM)

 about a stray WFT

in Pocatello, Idaho

who'd been picked up by Animal Control

in bad bad shape

and

who was about to see his last day.

 Cheryl (of WFTRM, in Iowa) would have nothing of that

So a "drop everything and go" road trip

immediately got underway

and

Moma headed to Idaho.

Here is who she met

 

Virgil

Virgil and Judy (his rescue angel)

Virgil

With dreadlocks that drug the ground

and

Eyes that were crusted and matted (and bloody) shut

(We weren't even sure if he had eyeballs ...

will spare those pictures)

His back story (as we knew it at that time)

was that he was picked up as a stray in a trailer park

Unknown and unfamiliar to the residents

apparently having wandered in

(who knows after how many months

of surviving on his own)

To say the boy was desperate for some love

and

attention

was a huge understatement

and

boy

oh

boy

was he appreciative

It didn't take long to realize that he was

one of the sweetest and most sensitive

wires known

He made an immediate trip

the TheMostWonderful Dr Batch

who adjusted his appointment schedule

to start immediate assessment and treatment

Turns out Virgil did have eyeballs

but VERY infected and unhealthy eyes

Treatment started there.

Weeks of cleansing and antibiotics

and

an eventual trip to a veterinary ophthalmalogist

who determined that Virgil's eyes

were inoperably damaged.

He is blind.

Sees only vague shadows

(But he sees very clearly with his heart)

We (the pack) immediately accepted him.

It was decided he would stay in Colorado

and

get his medical care here

Thanks to the internet

and WFTRM

and to a PetFinder/dog.com contest that was going on

Virgil got LOTS

of

Love

Attention

and

Support

(This was Virgils' contest picture)

He was one of several doggies that won

(based on popular vote)

$5000 donated to WFTRM

There was also an ongoing auction to raise funds

for his VeryExpensiveMedicalBills

and

Another several thousand dollars was gathered

(Thank Goodness!)

This boy was WORTH IT!

Dr Batch and Jake and Virgil

Everybody that knew about him

Fell in love with him

and

He had several visitors

and

made lots of new friends

Shawn and Virgil

Ginger and Virgil

After Virgil's eyes got mostly under control

It was time to tackle his ears

Sadly, the canals that were left

(he had apparently had vertical ear canal ablations

at an earlier time in his life ...

a radical and expensive procedure ...

and evidence that at one time he had been loved

and ((sort of)) cared for)

were calcified solid.

There was no way to treat the horrible infection.

He was mostly deaf and in horrible chronic pain.

The only option to relieve him of his pain

was to perform complete ear canal ablations

which

sadly

left

Virgil

completely deaf

But boy oh boy

was he a brave trooper

One of the wonderful vet techs the hospital

Just a few days after his surgery

(with his doctor's permission)

he traveled to the top of Rocky Mountain National Park

 Way above tree line

where he sniffed the fresh air and felt the wonder

of his new world.

One free of pain

One filled with love and adventure.

Friends continued to come to meet him

Andrea

and

he made a road trip

(to help deliver some rescued Irish terriers)

to WFTRM, in Iowa

where he got the meet Cheryl

the woman responsible for making

his rescue, rehabilitation and rehoming possible

Thank you, Cheryl!

On the way home

He met still more admirers

(Don and GrammyJoanna, in Lincoln, Nebraska)

Virgil continued to Love Life

       just as he should have

all along

After all those years of neglect

 

  

Jake, Virgil, Sandy, Ginger and Bella

In many ways

It was hard to realize that he was deaf and blind

He was happy

and

He gave as much love as he received

Mom-Gramma and Virg

All this time

Really, from nearly the very beginning of the story

Someone in Texas had his eye on Virgil

(and had already lost his heart to him)

Wanting (and waiting) to make his home

(with his wife and their two miniature schnauzers)

Virgil's Forever Home

After the application process

It was determined

Virgil would be moving to the Hill Country of Texas

(just as soon as he was medically ready)

In anticipation

His Future Dad came to meet and visit

and

clearly

very clearly

Fell in Love

It was a short visit

but

a VerySpecialOne

It was then only a matter of time

until Virgil could travel

to his ForeverHome

In the meantime

He had more friends to meet

Kathleen and Virgil

more Colorado adventures to experience

and

more laptime to share

Eventually it came time to say goodbye

to our FosterBoy

and

His daddy (and his new auntie) traveled to Colorado

to come get him.

A wonderful life of ForeverLove was about to begin

and

Pictures from Texas

confirmed it

However

It seems that bonds were tight

and

Friendships developed

So much so that we've

(all of us ... TheGirls and I)

have been able to travel to Texas on several occasions

to visit.

Look at that handsome boy!

My FosterBrother

and

Look at us together

Buddies for life

Jake and Virgil in Texas

I truly think Moma has found her passion.

Rescue Rocks!

(Even if it's hard to say goodbye)

PS

Virgil has a Facebook Page of his own.

Search for Virgil's Home

and

you'll find it