New Life

We took Zuma out to her new home yesterday, and with tear-filled good-byes drove back to our increasingly quiet house. One more letting go, one more absence in our lives. Not as painful as the ones that preceded it, but still painful. As Tom told her new family about the tricks and disciplines Yuma had acquired the sadness grew. What a wonderful dog she is; smart, obedient, loving, compassionate. Once again she has other dog playmates, and two little boys and a little girl to love. As we thought it would be.

I miss her. It's like having an amputated limb. I woke up at 4 this morning expecting to hear her whining. I look at the front window thinking her coney head will be poking out waiting for our return. Cassidy had leftover eggs from breakfast, but I had no dog bowl to dump them in. This will take some adjustment. I miss her. Our only hope is she will have a better life out there than in our home. Her new family is very sweet, and has a lot of land and other distractions for her. It seems like the perfect fit. Well, almost perfect.

 We love Yuma Zuma. Thanks to everyone for coming over to say good-bye. Thanks also to Jeremy for connecting us with the wonderful family that will love Zum back to good health. We pray G-d blesses this family for their kindness and generosity. And may Zuma be a blessing to them. She was to us.

Yuma Zuma

Saturday afternoon we will take Yuma Zuma to her new home. We are thankful to Jeremy for connecting us with this great family that will take care of our beloved pup. They have Shepherds already and are aware of how to rehabilitate Yuma. At least they're willing to give it a try.

I've cried several times about this, mostly because I am so sorry she's in such pain. Something that Sarah, the woman adopting Yuma, said is that German Shepherds are intensely loyal, especially the females. She is not surprised that through all of the stress and confusion of the last 17 months Yuma has tried to take our pain onto herself, and biting herself is how she does this. Unfortunately this has only made her life horrible and increased the stress in our lives. We pray this family will have success with getting Zuma to relax and feel at home.

The last few days she seems to be in a weird funk, partially due to the fact that her front elbows are pretty raw from licking. She doesn't seem to want to lay down and we've caught her several times falling asleep sitting up. Since she will be gone in less than 48 hours I have decided to post this video. I hope you enjoy the silliness of Yuma Zuma. She really is a wonderful dog.

The conversations in the background are also kind of funny.

Love for Sale

Poor Yuma. She is not happy in our home anymore. After Zeke went she started biting herself. We thought it was fleas. Then Wyatt left and she started biting more. And since Harley has gone she's fallen apart. She is stressed out and confused. Maasen took her to a vet tech friend of hers and she gave us several options for why Yuma is biting herself. One of her suggestions was that Yuma still smells Zeke, Wyatt and Harley and thinks they're just going to show up sometime. Since we noticed Yuma biting herself more when Tom went to Guatemala and when we were in Branson and while Maasen was in Michigan we think that points to her biting herself because the boys and Hars are gone.

Therefor we are looking for a new home for Yuma. She is brilliant and sweet and very well behaved. Ask anyone. She needs a new home where she doesn't have any triggers of her old life.  As a dog she has no way to deal with the stress and sadness, so she bites herself. 

She also has one more "issue". She has a problem with her pancreas which requires us to put medicine on her food. It comes down to $1 a day and I order the medicine online. Once we figured out that issue, a couple years back, she regained a lot of weight and returned to her normal self. Until...

Please, if you are looking for a wonderful, fully trained (she walks in a heal off-leash, stays in the yard without an electric fence or leash, loves people and children of all sizes), beautiful dog, or know someone who does, contact us. In the last year and half this has become one more stress for all of us, and we feel terrible that she is so unhappy. We NEED to find a new home for Yuma. Join the cause.

I enjoy the Wintertime, specifically when it snows. Tom thinks I get silly about the snow, and it's probably true. I love seeing it float down and pile up. Since I'm blessed to work at home it means I get a beautiful scene outside my window and I don't have to drive on the dangerous streets. And since Maasen's work cancels because of the snow I am happy with the snow this week. We've had two really nice days together and I feel so blessed by her and the PBlakes. On Monday Cassidy spent the morning playing in the snow with them and loved it. 

She had everything she needed, except boots. I went downstairs to the closet where we store clothes that are either too big or too small. I found the bag of shoes that were Wyatt's. His snow boots from last year were in there. They were a bit too big for him last year, and I knew they'd be too big for her, but they were the only option. It's a hard thing to decide. I knew the best thing for her would be to put her in his old boots, but seeing those boots on her feet was hard. He loved the snow. Last year we built a snow family, dog included, with Lauren and Noah. This year Cassidy played with the PBlakes at their house.

Bittersweet.

Tom went to Antigua, Guatemala with our friend Jim. Jim owns a cafe in Antigua called The Refuge. They spent time at Jim's place and then travelled around Guatemala, touring coffee farms, from little to large.

Trying out the cafes in the area was an adventure only a coffee aficionado would appreciate; others wouldn't understand (or care). Regardless of the coffee they had a wonderful time being together, reconnecting and growing their friendship even more.

While we're on the topic, please keep praying for the coffee shop ministry here in Merriam. There are two different options for us and Tom is trying to find out what G-d's will is for the ministry. Sometimes He speaks so loudly and clearly, and other times it feels like He's either saying, You decide, or Hold on. It's hard to decipher which is which sometimes and Tom is doing a good job getting guidance and wisdom from people he respects and trusts. All that, and we could still really use your prayers.

I know the pictures seem like he had a beautiful time in Guatemala, and he did. It was a nice break from the stress at home. But now he is back and figuring out the next step, and the times are just as tense as before he left.