Posts tagged ‘izzy’

Jul 31

One Year Ago Today- August 1, 2015

It has been a year since the passing of my sweet Nando. Writing this is hard because I am still grieving. Percy is a gift and the sweetest boy, I love him dearly and he was just what I needed to help me deal with the pain of losing both of my sweet babies less than a year apart. There are many happy memories and I will cherish them forever. This is my way of honoring the memory of my babies, you don’t have to comment unless you want to, not obligated. The hole in my heart has a bandaid covering it, it has not healed and never will.

He loved to sit on my lap while I worked

Nando was brave, loving and the best most well behaved dog ever. a kinder or more gentle soul you would be hard pressed to find. He was a real gentleman, more than anything in the world Nando loved to eat, it made me so happy seeing him scarf down his food with such joy and gusto. Within a minute his bowl would be clean and he would sit next to Izzy, patiently waiting for her to finish so that he could lick her bowl clean as well. Izzy was a finicky eater and often would not finish her food, Nando counted on that.

Izzy waiting for Nando to clean her bowl

It was just 2 months shy of his 15th birthday when Nando passed away from a brain tumor. I have mentioned in many posts how he was diabetic and blind. He developed diabetes when he was 8 years old and lived with diabetes for almost 7 years. The last year of his life was not happy times, he started deteriorating when Izzy passed. They were best friends, I have never seen two dogs so close to each other. Her passing weighed heavily on Nando, and it seemed like he lost his will to live, the brain tumor diagnosis hit hard and he went downhill very quickly.

Izzy was first and what they say is true, you can’t have just one pug. I felt that Izzy needed a companion and I registered with a local pug rescue group saying that I wanted a young adult pug. They told me that is a tough one and I may have to wait a year or longer. I was prepared to do just that. Only 4 days after submitting my application I got a call from them saying that they had a young black pug who was found tied to a pole in Long Island with a note tied around his neck and all his medical records. He was 10 1/2 months old. They asked me if I would like to adopt him, of course I couldn’t get the YES out quickly enough and the next day Nando arrived. I don’t think I have ever seen a pug as big as Nando, he was twice Izzy’s size, a gentle giant. Izzy immediately fell in love with him as did I.

I try to concentrate on the happy memories but it’s hard when the last months of his life were so traumatic. I am so thankful that I was given the gift of caring for Izzy and Nando, taking care of those very special souls was so much a part of my life, when they passed away part of me died with them.

I am so thankful to have Percy and very grateful to Emily for choosing me to care for this special boy. I spent so many years caring for Izzy and Nando with so many health problems, it was a lot of work, day and night. At the end of Nando’s life I was not sleeping or eating regularly and everyday I watched him deteriorate and I’m afraid I was deteriorating as well.

Rest in Peace Nando, my sweet boy. I will always love you!

Oct 9

82 Comments

My Meatloaf Is A Finalist On Food52!

photograph by James Ransom for food52

I am thrilled and honored to be a finalist in the contest “Your Best Dinner That Makes A Good Lunch”. I love this meatloaf recipe l it’s simple and straightforward. I am keeping this post short and sweet as my happiness for being named a finalist is overshadowed by grief and worry, My sweet Izzy is very very ill and I have to make a very difficult decision. Click here to vote and here to check out Food52. Thank you so so much. I really appreciate it.

Izzy please keep her in your thoughts and prayers

Feb 5

6 Comments

The Pugs – Izzy and Nando

I think its about time that I introduce my two pugs, Izzy and Nando. They are the pugs in the kitchen. Izzy will be 11 years old in April and Nando turned 11, November 2011. My daughter brought Izzy to me when she was only 9 weeks old a few months after my other dog died. I was very upset and said I would never get another dog, my daughter knowing me and my love of animals decided I needed another dog so she came home with Izzy one day. I always had big dogs and was a little scared of such a tiny one, she seemed so fragile, long story short it didn’t take long for me to totally fall in love with her. I wanted Izzy to have a doggie friend, I feel its important they there is canine companionship. So I proceeded to start looking for a friend for Izzy, looking online on Pet Finders and rescue groups. I came across a Pug rescue group in Long Island and registered with them, my preference was a young adult dog since Izzy was just a puppy. They told me it would probably be a year or so since I was so specific about what I wanted. I had no preference regarding gender or color, I didn’t care, but age was a factor. Four days later I got a call, they said that they had just gotten a young pug who was left tied to a pole on a street in Long Island and they said he would be a good match as he was only about 10 months old. I immediately said yes, never saw a picture, it didn’t matter to me. They told me they would bring him to me as they needed to inspect my home. The next day he arrived, sweet Nando. Izzy instantly loved him as did I. They are best friends and do everything together.

Fast forward to December 2008, Nando was not doing well, he had always been so healthy and I was so worried, he exhibited all the classic symptoms of diabetes so I took him to the doctor who confirmed my fears. My local vet had me change his diet, I always cooked for my dogs, neither had ever had dog food but following the advice of the Vet I put Nando on dog food, a special formula. He became worse, even with the insulin I had to give him every day his blood sugar levels were very high. Only 2 months after he was diagnosed with diabetes he became blind. I felt that something had to change, he was going down hill fast so I did some extensive research and found an integrative Veterinarian about 60 miles from my home. This Veterinarian practice is quite well known and the founder has been on TV and has a weekly radio show. The first thing they did was take Nando off of the dog food, the first ingredient was corn, not good for a diabetic. I began making Nando’s food which consists of steamed skinless chicken breast and raw vegetables ground in the food processor, some plain non fat yogurt and a half tsp of cinnamon. He immediately started improving, its now been over 3 years. Nando amazes everyone, when we go for his check ups his blood work up is better than Izzy’s. He is still blind but gets around the house and goes for walks outside, he is slow, but manages to walk around the block and sometimes further. He is a fighter and never ceases to amaze me.