Jana's Radical Weblog 3

Gone but not forgotten

Lupe has been gone a few weeks now but the memorials continue to come in helping us keep his memory alive, and letting us know just how he special a dog he was that he befriended so many people. Today I discovered a neighbor made a Lupe memorial for her window. So sweet. . Lupe went on walks with her and her dog all the time. Jerry, the publisher of the local paper gave him a nice write up in the Highline Times. Thank you Jerry! And yesterday we got in the mail a notice that Linda Plein, another Lupe fan (and a neighbor I am assuming!) made a donation in his name to the Washington State University Veterinary School. I plan to upload a photo of him to the site soon. I have some great photos of him I want to scan in first (like the one LB gave me from the professional photographer). Awesome idea! We were so touched. I didn't know that was possible. Ursula made a Flickr slideshow of some classic Lupe shots. She even got a shot of him in the jail break costume the neighbors put on him for Halloween. Watching the video of him with the cone on his head made me cry. Here it is: Here he is on a snowy day wearing one of the coats that Margi bought him. See all the photos here. All of these gestures make us so happy. We still look around for him in his favorite spots. Andy said he thought he saw him the other day when he saw some yellowish beach grass near the road that looked like his fur. Karsten is really sad about Lupe, and Britta keeps telling everyone that our dog has died. Lupe is a dog that won't be forgotten! We miss our yellow dog.

Wonderful weekend

My plants will probably die if I write this instead of water them, but here goes! Let's see what "drought tolerant" really means. Sadly the reason I enjoyed my weekend so much was because Andy has a ruptured disk in his back. My extroverted husband wanted to stay home, sleep and pop pain pills (which means the man is really, really hurting). But it also makes me realize that I need to make sure I finagle my way out more often once he is back to Fun Andy. Thursday we kicked it off with a fancy lunch at the Seattle Tennis Club to watch the Blue Angels. Laura Beth invited us. Friday night was the Lupe Memorial Celebration and it was done up right. Almost 60 people were there to share wine and Lupe stories. I didn't know everyone there, which is quite the tribute to the Luper. It was just the type of party Lupe loved, with lots of treats. (See all the photos here.) After the party I stayed around the fire with Laura Beth, Scott and Denise to continue the memorializing and wine drinking. Saturday was Heidi's pony birthday party. The kids were in heaven! (See all 117 photos here.) And then Saturday night I went on up to help finish up the ice cream at the B-Town Scoop. It was Ashley's last night of scooping --and my weekend of gorging before I start my Insane Diet. Sunday was the perfect way to wrap up the weekend. We watched Elvis in Blue Hawaii and roasted s'mores with Movie Club on the beach. (More photos here.)

Heart warmed by graffiti

Wow, even the graffiti gangstas are remembering my dog. At first my blood started to boil when I saw the graffiti but then I realized it was a memorial for my dog. My heart warmed, and I cried for a second time today.

Goodbye Lupe

The old yellow dog that rallied could no longer rally today. He woke up and his back paw and leg no longer worked. Andy held him up him while he peed, and Lupe barked in pain. The vet said it was time for him to come in. We held Lupe's head on our lap and said our good byes. The kids brought him toys and pillows. Karsten made him a sign. I realized I had not seen the smile on his face (my dog always smiled) nor the wag in his tail in a long, long time. Amazingly he woke up every morning and headed on his rounds up and down the street. Sometimes he fell over and couldn't get up, but he always managed... until today. I'll forever remember Lupe as doing things his way. Like giving the Dog Catcher hell. Wrestling with a raccoon or two in our front yard. Killing the neighbor's rooster and plucking a chicken. Breaking out of so many layers of fences. Going commando down the side of our house with broken ribs and a cone on his head. All of his trips to the liquor store in White Center. Following all the kids to school and meeting them at the bus stop. Breaking into the neighbors' houses to sleep at the foot of their bed. Getting car sick all the way to Mexico.... and then puking up steak and us wondering where he was getting better food than we were eating. Good bye Lupe! We will forever miss the dog we called ours but really belonged to the hood. More Lupe here. We're planning a celebration of Lupe's life maybe next week. Andy wants to make it a bring a bottle of wine and your favorite Lupe story.

Final Notice

I was geared up to write a blow by blow report of my run in with the dog catcher but now I don't have it in me. Let's just say the F Bomb was dropped by both parties. Let's just say that I told her if she takes my dog in to the pound his death will be on her shoulders. She said she hopes my dog dies soon because she will take him in and his death will be all my fault. Ok. That's it. No more memory trips down that scary lane. My dog is safely passed out in his own bed. On a happier note, Jerry Robinson, the publisher of the local paper ran a nice story on my dog last week. I did get outed for being the only person who hit my dog with a car. I won't link to that blog post because that is another memory I have no intention of re-living. Before the story ran someone called to check on Lupe. Andy called the reporter back. Andy: This is Lupe's dad. Reporter: Lupe's dead? Ohhh, I'm sorry to hear that. Jerry was afraid that might happen before the story runs. Andy: No, I'm Lupe's DAAAAAD. Lupe's still alive. Lupe's safe from the pound and alive for one more day.

Lupe the miracle dog

After a week of loss of bowel control Lupe seems to be back to his normal elderly state. Whew. I hope I don't have to think about his fate again for quite some time because it is too sad.

It is time

I have a sore throat/cold/cough. Andy threw his back out. To make this a terrible triumvirate I think it is time to say goodbye to Lupe, our dog of 14 years. And now I can't type anymore. Update: After scrubbing up runny, mucous-y dog diarrhea while I'm sick and then having to pick my dog up because he can't stand up on his own I thought "this is it." However I should wait a bit until Andy can put on his own socks and I'm not wanting to take naps all day. However while I know Andy and I will improve I don't think there's going to be an upside for Lupe in his geriatric age. I don't want to think about his fate being in my hands though. As long as he has a good quality of life Lupe will be roaming the beach.

My original puppies

Here's a photo I justed edited on picnik.com. This is back in the day when my dog Lupe could get air under his legs. He could jump and climb stairs with ease. When he stood up his legs didn't buckle under him. He didn't have any "accidents" when he woke up in the morning and couldn't make it outside quickly enough. It's tough times watching my first born grow old. This photo is from a trip we took to Mexico in 1994. I had never had a dog before but figured if I was going to be spending a few months on the beach while Andy windsurfed it might be nice for some companionship. Lupe has been the most easy-going companion I've ever had! Don't go thinking this is a "goodbye Lupe" post because there's one thing I've learned about this geriatric dog is to never underestimate his desire to keep on truckin'. Also, if you look really closely you can see Andy still had a fair amount of hair here. Yep, these are my original puppies.

Suicidal Pets

Lupe is back in action, even if I don't want him to be. We've been trying to confine him even though we gave up this idea back in 1994 after we'd had him for a year and he continued to injure himself escaping from our yard. The fence kept getting higher and higher and you guessed it, uglier and uglier. After 4 layers of fencing and many dog wounds we eventually just left the gate open. We figured out why he had been in the pound in the first place. For the last 12 years Lupe has been The Neighborhood Dog. Really he's more like a cat. He takes himself on walks. He has a route of neighbors to visit and knows who on the block has treats. He used to walk himself up to Andy's parent's house, swim in the lake then walk back home to our pad, happy as a wet dog. Sometimes we'd get calls from the liquor store miles and miles away for us to come pick him up. Twelve years later he doesn't stray so far. When I hit him with my car it was pretty amazing it was the first time he has been hit. I'm actually glad it was I that hit him rather than a stranger or a neighbor just so no one else would have to feel badly about it too. Friday night Andy and I went to the Art with Heart auction. We took all precautions to keep Lupe inside. We baracaded the dog door from the front and the back, installed a gate to the back porch and saftey gates in our house so he wouldn't attempt the stairs. Guess who was waiting by the road for us when we came home? Lupe. He escaped via a steep hill down the side of our house. All this with several broken ribs. We've had reports from neighbors that he's back to his routine, all though his route is now even shorter. Yes, our pets are suicidal. Jack, our cat has a herniated diaphram and is not so quick on his paws either. He seems to linger in the road just a little too long tempting fate. Damn, our pets have one hundred lives.

The Lupster Update

Lupe's been a champ the last few days. Last night he wanted some chicken for dinner so we boiled up some chicken breasts. He probably ate a whole one then swilled it down with a good quart of toilet water. After that he needed a little break outside. I opened the door for him and he lifted his leg in the gravel area Andy set up for him on the back porch. He returned to his basket and slept all night. Andy took Lupe out for a bathroom break this morning. He knows Andy is a sucker (and a heck of a lot stronger than me) so Andy carried him across the street for his little break. Andy even let him hang outside for a bit, but I'm too paranoid for that.