I was at the vet's office this morning as soon as they opened up, stuffed frog in hand, waiting to see Peanut.  Doc saw me out front and waved me on back, grinning from ear to ear.  He knew how pleased I would be to see that precious little boy sitting up and alert.  And I was!  There he was on top of a soft warm blanket and a heating pad and another soft warm blanket by his side.  He wiggled a little when he saw me and licked my hand as I petted him.  And I cried of course, as I am now.  I told Doc he was my hero and he just grinned some more.  He's really pleased how well Peanut is doing and said that he had stood on three legs this morning.  He's doing so well that as soon as he begins to eat and drink normally, he can come home.  I stayed with him for a few minutes, talking to him and petting him, left him with his stuffed frog and went on to the office for a while. 

Thank you for all your prayers and well wishes for Peanut.  I believe in the power of prayer and I know God is hearing all of yours.  I believe Peanut is receiving all the positive energy you send his way and he will heal at an alarming rate.  I also believe his leg will heal and he won't have to lose it.  I just believe!

I'm staying close to home today and brought work back with me from the office.  I have another grant to write, so I'll work on it here.  The neighbors have the other pit bull tied up, but I don't trust them to have done a good job of it, since they never have before. 

I hope we recover as fast as Peanut seems to be.  I think we're in shock or maybe just coming out of the shock of the horrible scene we witnessed here Saturday night.  I know it's certainly taken a toll on me.  I feel exhausted, shaky, and I cry very easily and often, which is unusual for me.  I'm sure it will pass, but I was just a little surprised at how I physically have reacted to all this and how jumpy we all are at the sound of the dogs barking.  We run to the windows and go outside at the least commotion with the dogs.  I'm sure that will pass too, but just don't know how soon.

We've been talking for a while about putting up an outer fence on the perimiter of the yard since all we have presently is about forty feet of privacy fence between us and the neighbors and we have over an acre here.  I hope my budgeting genious can figure a way to do that since it will be costly.  I worried off and on about big dogs jumping our four foot dog fence, but never dreamed they would attack THROUGH the fence.  Now I know.

Please continue to pray for Peanut and we thank you all from the bottom of our hearts!  What a wonderful group of friends you all are!

Pup

Thank you all for your prayers! Peanut has come out of over four hours of surgery and will survive, but Doc says it will take about a month to see if his leg will heal. The other one was in pretty bad shape too, but will mend for sure. He also had a big hole in his chest which had to be repaired. He will have to stay up there for three or four days so they can watch him, but Doc assured us that he is comfortable and will sleep a lot for the next couple of days. I wish I could see him, but then again, last night was so long watching him quiver and whimper in pain and never closing his eyes. Thank God he will live and with all your prayers, maybe even keep his leg. But we will be happy just to have him one way or the other. He's such a sweet little boy.

I want to say also that I was and still am VERY ANGRY at neighbors that have no consideration for anyone but themselves, people that keep vicious dogs and let them run loose with no regard to the safety of folks around them. I acknowledge the right of individuals to have the pet of their choice and I also know there are lots of people that have pit bulls, such as Johnnie that are responsible pet owners and never have any problem with their pit bulls or rottweilers, etc. They are the ones that realize that their pets have the potential for violence and take extra care to keep them contained. I say kudos to those folks.

What I'm angry about is that in our area, pit bulls are bought and "kept" (not really cared for) as a status symbol, a means to make themselves seem "tougher". And they let them run loose, never caring one whit about what damage these dogs can do to adults, children or other folks' pets. These neighbors that own these dogs also have small children. I've witnessed them trying to get one of those pit bulls off of one of their other dogs with a water hose with no effect. THEIR OWN DOGS ARE ATTACKING AND INJURING THEIR OTHER DOGS!! Yet, they never do anything about it, just live on like there's no tomorrow and no consequences. And they're right! All they have to do is tell the cops "That isn't my dog" and nothing can be proven otherwise. So there are no consequences except that they know now that if ANY of those other dogs that are brave enough to come back in our yard will most likely meet the same fate as the one that had to be killed last night. I hate it that Ice had to shoot a dog, but I would have done the same thing if he hadn't been here.

The deputy told Ice last night that just this week, in a neighboring community, a pit bull attacked a little boy.  His grandfather shot and killed the dog and EIGHT other pit bulls that were running in the pack, all in his own yard!

At least now our neighbors know that the pleas and warnings are over. No more. Be responsible or pay the consequences. Simple as that. What a shame we have to take that stance. What a dirty shame.

Please continue your prayers for Peanut.

Our precious little Peanut is in shock and in pain.  And I'm so angry!  The only thing that keeps that anger in check is my worry for Peanut as I sit with him until time for his surgery at eight this morning. 

Our neighbor's dogs, two of them pit bulls, have run loose for two years.  We've asked them to keep them out of our yard, we've warned them to keep them out of our yard.  They not only keep our dogs stirred up and barking incessantly, but they gang up, come to our chain link dog pen and snarl and charge at our dogs.  They've charged at me, the other neighbors, and Judi as she comes to check on our dogs when we're gone. 

Tonight, three of them were at it again, and managed to get Peanut's front legs pulled through the chain link fence, plus his snout.  They tasted blood and wouldn't let go.  Ice fired a shot in the air and two ran off, but the third (pit bull) refused to stop.  Ice had to kill him to stop his attack.  Thank God Ice was here.

We called the sheriff.  When they got here, the neighbors denied it was their dog and swore their other two were in the house all the time.  Liars.  Sorry, fucking liars!

The vet met me at his office and he bandaged him the best he could, gave him pain medication, antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, and something for shock.  He wouldn't risk putting him under anesthesia until in the morning, since he was in shock.  Now he cries when he can't see me and Junior is watching over him diligently.  Peanut is his little buddy.

Please send a prayer up for our little Peanut.  Doc says it's possible he will lose one of his legs.  I'm angry, my heart aches, and I must stop, for my own shock is wearing off and the tears are starting to flow.

Okay, folks!  It's time to liven the place up a little.  Feeling a little mischievous this morning, I started writing a story and since I'm lazy and rarely finish things, I decided to let you guys do it.  All ya gotta do is keep with the "theme" which will be obvious.  I can't wait to see your contributions!  Here's the story so far:

Bangles, Bobbles and Booby Prizes

Being a blonde bombshell from Brooklyn, full of beer and bored, she became brave.  She embarked on a journey that blasted her to the Bay for basking.  Bombarded by bearded, belligerent  boobs was beginning to boggle her, so she left the Bay to blast into Burbank, where she won a booby prize at the bakery, that being a beloved Bassett hound that bayed at the blue moon.  Now the brave blonde from Brooklyn buys black bloomers and Barbies from Ebay.  Still bored and full of beer............

Belle's part:

....she blows into Boston for some baked beans and Bangles reunion. While there she bumps into a boozer who wants ro borrow a few bucks. She replies,"I am broke...you boorish,boring,bootlicking bum!Beat it!"
She then boards a big silver bird in the bitter cold that will blast her blondness back to Brooklyn. ^Belle^   (Thanks, Belle!)

PolarB's part:

When the blond bombshell boarded that big silver bird back to Brooklyn, she drank some more booze and came up with a hair-brained idea she thought was brilliant, and before she knew it, she had bribed a boyishly handsome man to buy her a plane ticket to Bangkok! Her boredom would soon be replaced by brazen bravado as she blundered her way through the airport as soon as they landed back in Brooklyn... She brightened and breathed a sigh of relief as she finally spotted the sign where the boarding dock was ready to leave for Bangkok... The blond bombshell boarded another big jet with the man who had all the boyish charms and a brilliant white smile with bright pearly teeth... the blond thought to herself as she smiled at him, that's an added bonus! As she found her seat and asked for the good booze this time, she looked out her window once they were in the air and saw beautiful breathtaking scenery but then out of the blue she remembered something and almost went berserk! "Oh my!" she exclaimed as she clutched her bossoms.... "I made a big boo boo! I left my new bloomers on the other plane!"----PolarB ;) (that's hilarious PB!)

Whit's part: (thanks, Whit!)

On her way back to Brooklyn, Beth, our blonde bombshell, met a bloke named Bob who blew her black bloomers away. Beth bombarded her new beau with a boundless barrage of bluster about her breakup with her former boring boyfriend.

Bob, bewildered by her bickering, besotted behavior, believed it best to ...

SarahW's part:

...she bustles her beguiling backside to the Bronx where she's bonked by a bookish brute in boots, and heads for the boondocks where she meets a babbling boor who boots her out. Bombed, she takes her bony, boozy body with no boobs to a brothel where she bowls over a bossy, big-shot bonehead who forces her to bow to and bang him. She bounds out the door and bumps into a brawny butcher brandishing a beer bottle who busts her butt. She fights off the blockhead with a blackjack, thus ending the brawl. She bolts back to Brooklyn--bruised, bewildered and bored--to her bullheaded boyfriend.  (outstanding, Sarah!)

And BethAnne wrote:

Boy, if I had know you were Bullwinkle, Beth the blonde said to her boorish boyfiend, I would have bought a Browning and mounted you on my blue bedroom wall. But the boorish boyfiend, being boundless in his beligerance berated her. Beth bounded to the door and bounced him out on him bum. Befuddled Beth began to ponder the ball, beginning at Buckingham Palace. So she borded a B12 Bomber as it was going her way...  (Thanks, Beth!)

Okay, we need more! 

Well, the Iceman made it home safe and sound and he was certainly a sight for sore eyes!  We've unpacked, had supper, fed the pups and now he and his son are watching "Planes, Trains and Automobiles".  From the sound of the laughter coming from the living room, I'd say they're enjoying it. lol

I was browsing through my many picture files and found some that I love.  We actually watched this wall cloud from a safe distance as it slowly moved through the area.  I remember standing in my in-law's driveway, mesmerized by the beauty and the hugeness of it.  I don't know who took these pictures, but obviously someone in the area.  Clouds have always been such a thing of beauty for me, especially thunderheads.  It's amazing to me that something capable of causing so much grief and damage can be so breathtakingly beautiful. 

Awesome!