Happy Layla

We lost another dog to cancer last night. Here is a post written by Gloria.

Happy Layla – that is who she was. She touched so many hearts in her short time in OBG. Shortly after coming into OBG it was discovered that she was a very sick little girl, but without looking at her labwork, you would never know it. She stole your heart immediately. She was such a happy little girl. Her little nub was constantly going at a speed that couldn’t be clocked. Despite being blind, it didn’t slow her down. She would practically beat me down the hall to the bedroom or into the kitchen. She was right at my feet. She enjoyed simple things, ear scratches, belly rubs, sleeping in a pile of clean clothes, squeaky stuffed toys, and homemade pumpkin treats. Her favorite thing to do was get up in bed and nuzzle up next to us on her back and have her belly rubbed. She didn’t like being alone and would let you know it immediately if you left the room. She enjoyed evenings in front of the TV where she would go to sleep in my lap as we were winding down for the night. All that mattered to her was that she was loved. She passed to Rainbow Bridge last night in her sleep. She was a beautiful little girl. We are honored to have had the opportunity to love her and be loved by her for her last weeks. To be able to be that content and happy despite everything that has been going on in life is a gift. Thank you Layla, for sharing your precious little life with us, you will forever be in our hearts and home.

Our Old Man Hardy

On Tuesday we had to take another one of our furbabies to the Rainbow Bridge.  Here is a memorial shared by Gloria on Facebook.

We took a walk today! One that is all too familiar and that we don't enjoy. But never is that walk done alone. This evening we walked our beloved Hardy to the Rainbow Bridge. In your previous life you were tossed aside and wanted no more. 15 yrs was too old said your owner. You were blind and deaf and a hassle to deal with. We heard your story and sight unseen you stole our heart. Angels Terry Maguire-Casillas and Publio Casillas in Mississippi shared your story and Angels of the airPilots N Paws brought you to us. You were so adorable and all you wanted was to be cuddled and be loved. Your favorite spot - mommies shoulder, not daddies, but mommies. Snuggling had to be right between mommy and daddy. Food you knew exactly where it was. The eyes and ears may not of worked but the nose most definitely did. You grew older and slept longer and had a hard time standing up at times, but you still loved life and food! The memory started going and life seemed to be going in circles, but you still loved be cuddled by mommy and food well you're a cocker what more needs to be said. We are honored to have shared the last 2 1/2 yrs of your life. We walked you to Rainbow Bridge tonight with tears and much sadness. We held and snuggled you for the last time we gave you kisses and told you to run free and look at the beautiful colors and hear all the beautiful sounds at Rainbow Bridge. You took a part of our heart with you tonight, but left the rest of our heart with love and wonderful memories. Sweet runs and dreams our dear Hardy and until we hold you again!.

Early Fall visitors passing through

On Sunday afternoon we saw a few visitors that we hadn't seen before in the yard.  I went to get the camera, but didn't take time for the tripod, so these shots were "freehand" and some at high zoom.  But I wanted to get some pictures.

This was the first one that caught my eye while I was out with the dogs on the patio.

I haven't seen any monarchs, so I was excited to get some pictures.  He was probably migrating through, given the time of year, but it was still fun to see him. He was checking out some of the late blooms on one of the butterfly bushes.

While I was out there with the camera I decided to get some shots of the daisies. They're finally blooming and adding a lot to the garden.

They were having their own visitors too.

But then I spotted this guy.

Thanks to Google Image Search (where you can upload a picture and search for similar images) I was able to identify this as a Variegated Fritillary.  The site where I found the other pictures like this had a lot of examples from North Carolina, so he could have been migrating south as well.  I haven't seen him before, so I'm glad I already had the camers to get a couple pictures to be able to identify him.

I'll be using the Google image search more often to help me identify the plants and visitors in the yard.  One of my goals is to identify the different plants we got when we bought the house.  It's been over three years now and I want to be sure I know how to care for the plants, and how to identify what might be toxic to the dogs.