Meet My New Buddy....Brady

If you've been following my blog, back in March of 2013 I blogged about losing my companion fur baby, Josey.  Soon after, I decided that I didn't want to get another pet.  For the first time in many years I didn't have a pet, or children, to hold me down.  It was nice to just pick up and leave without having to make arrangements for someone to be taken care of.

As time passed, I realized that as a single older working woman days might pass and I didn't actually speak to someone...whether it be dog or human.  No longer was there anybody happy to see me when I got home from work.  I've been thinking about another pet for a while now, going as far as searching the online rescue sites for just the right one.  One that needed me and one that I needed.  I knew pretty much what I was looking for....a female dog, not a puppy...and something small that could ride around with me when I had to do inspections.  Lord have mercy, I didn't have the patience, or the time, to train a puppy!

My son, Zack, rescued a standard poodle named Stowe. 

 

A BIG, goofy young boy of 1 1/2 years that needed a babysitter now and then.  Well, yeah...this worked out purty good!  I could be the MeeMaw that loved on him and spent quality time with him...... and send him home.  This worked out great!  I am madly in love with this big boy...but soon I started to really miss him when he wasn't around.  He is exceptionally good at hearing my stories and giving out unconditional love.  

Still looking around..."thinking" I might get a forever furbaby,  another year has passed.  I still came home and there was nobody waiting for me.  I still slept with my whole bed to myself at night, stretching out in all four directions with nobody to worry about but me.  I missed sloppy kisses when I needed them and I missed sad eyes making me feel guilty when I had somewhere to go.  I missed my Josey....and I missed having Stowe around more often.

As I was fumbling through Craigslist for some used furniture I decided to look at the pet section.  It was meant to be.  A man in Columbia was having to give up his precious dog.  It was a boy...it was a puppy...and it was a standard poodle.  Not exactly the small, female older dog that I thought I was looking for.  

After quick contact with his owner I was on my way halfway to Columbia to pick him up!  It was love at first sight.  It was also evident that for whatever reason, the man I met loved this baby very much.  In a parking lot in Florence we exchanged greetings and he put the big baby, named Brayden, in my car.  The man cried...I cried...and Brayden cried.  

The man gave me a very large storage container of dog food, raised dog bowls and a big  hug....and a basket of "stuff".  On our way to his new home Brayden whimpered for about 15 minutes...then lay down in the back seat and went to sleep. 

About 25 miles from arriving in Ocean Drive I thought "what have you done, you crazy old woman"? 

My life had been nice and quiet, with no stress....and no obligations for two years.  Now I had a great big, black, furry baby who was going to be very needy!

He didn't know how to get in a car...he didn't know how to get out of a car...he HATED a leash...he wouldn't go up or down the steps at my house...Oh, Lordy!

The first night, Brayden didn't sleep at all...which meant I didn't either.  He'd get on the bed, jump off of the bed, run around the house, sit at the front door crying....then start the routine all over again.

Gradually, he started looking to me to give him reassurance, food and shelter.  After about 4 days at my house, I looked in the basket that his previous owner had given me.  There were about 6 well worn toys...it was evident that they were very much loved.  There was an assortment of beautiful dog collars...different sizes...from tiny puppyhood to his now clumsy and big footed 40 pounds.  There was a hair dryer, an assortment of dog brushes and beautiful dog tags with Brayden's name on them and contact info for Ambrose, the man he knew as Daddy.  I sat on the floor with Brayden and we went through the basket...him sniffing every single item as I pulled it out.  Yes, Brayden loved his Daddy and it was evident his Daddy loved him.  It made me sad...and it made me happy.  Thank you, Ambrose...I'll take good care of this baby!

Brayden's name was shortened to Brady.  We needed a new start.  Everywhere I went, he went.  He learned to love riding in the car....he loves the way the wind feels when he sticks his head out the window.  He learned how to get out of the car (he still won't attempt gettin' in).  He learned how to go up and down the steps, now bounding in one big leap to get back in the house.  He doesn't leave my side.  He snuggles up to me in the bed at night and hogs all of the space because he has to be touching me.  He romps and plays with his toys til the whole house shakes.  He sits on the floor in the bathroom every time I'm in there with his big 'ol paw laid on top of my foot.  He's learned how to ride in the golf cart and go places....and see lots of new people.

He's been to the Pavilion and met Miss Mary...and now knows where the water bowl and snacks are that she keeps for special furry friends.

Brady's not been around a lot of other dogs and he is excited beyond ecstasy when he hears me say "Let's go to the Bark Park"!  He now knows we're going there to play with the other dogs before we turn off of the highway.  His nose starts sniffin'...his tail starts waggin'...and he starts makin' happy sounds and prancin' in the back seat.  Brady LOVES the Bark Park....and I truly believe he loves ME for takin' him there.  

Yep, we're gonna be ALLright!  He needs me and I didn't know how much I needed him.  He's everything I WASN'T lookin' for...and he's EXACTLY what I needed!  Only thing he's got to learn now is how to dance!

Yeah...I made the right decision...Let's do this thang!

Thanks for droppin' in!  While you're here won't you leave a comment?

DON'T BE AFRAID TO TELL YOUR FRIENDS YOU LOVE 'EM

I got a text last night....and it was suggested that a dear old friend who I had just recently reconnected with might be very sick.  Those that know me know that I am a demon with the computer and I didn't stop until I finally got hold of someone that could tell me the truth.  The truth hurt.  He is dying.

Haven't seen this friend face to face in many years, but we have been staying in touch through Facebook for  the past 6 months or so.  I didn't realize until last night that I hadn't heard from him since February....that hurt my heart.  I should have known something was up...but I have been "too busy".

We were both born and raised in Lillington, NC...Randy, my old friend, has been close by to me in Wilmington, NC for quite a while yet neither one of us had taken the time to physically see each other.  We took it for granted that friends will always be friends...and this is true!

As I headed out to visit my old friend, who I sadly found out is in Hospice, memories kept flashing through my mind of all the good times.  Times I had completely forgotten about.  He was my boyfriend at about 7.  We went to the same church and the same school.  I could see our first "date" (at 7, I guess it was a play date) when my mother let me go to his Mama Goldie's across the river and spend the day.  Randy took me way down the dirt road behind her house and showed me their pond.  There was a little wooden boat on the shore and he coaxed me in.  We had NO business at that age out on a boat in the middle of the woods...no life preservers...nobody knew where we were.  I can still hear the laughter as he rowed us all around that pond several times and impressed me with his wildlife talents.  When we came back to shore he pulled the little boat up beside an old cypress with huge roots standing out of the water.  As I stepped on one of the roots about 6 snake heads popped out!   He saved me by grabbin' my arm and we ran so fast back to Mama Goldie's, with me screaming all the way, that there had to be a dust cloud kicked up!  We laughed about that afternoon every time we got a chance to see each other throughout the years.

Randy's mother and grandmother raised him together without a father figure.  They spoiled him rotten!  He had such a HUGE personality and in high school some of us just loved to hang out at their place.  Randy's grandfather had the old airport across the river and Randy had inherited a bachelor pad in the old hangar building.  Lord, if those walls could talk!  He finally "got sent" to Military School and I'll never forget one of his first furlough's home.  He had a brand new corvette, top flopped...and a smile that was at least a mile wide.  He picked me up and said "let's ride"!  Well, yeah!  Behind the seats was a small cooler full of cans and I thought "Oh Lord, we're gonna get in trouble"....but was looking forward to a forbidden cold one.  Anybody that knows Randy will remember him as all arms & legs, skinny as a rail.  Come to find out he had the cooler full of Wate On, at that time a popular drink to build you up and fill you out.  We rode all day with the music wide open and I know he drank at least 8 cans of that nasty stuff.  We laughed and paraded through Lillington and always reminisced that he didn't gain an ounce!

Then there was the night he died...yes, died!  In Lillington the thing for some of the teenagers to do was to "ride across the river", circling the grills, gathering to talk....or fight...and drink.  On a dare from some of the guys, Randy started chugging liquor like there was no tomorrow...and there almost wasn't!  He finally passed out and they told us he was dead.  He was rushed off to the hospital in Erwin.Thank goodness he was revived and lived to see another day.  It was touch and go...but he survived..and so did the story.

It's amazing how so many memories can flood your mind on a 45 minute drive...there were many more.  Randy lived a big life and lived life BIG.  He liked fancy cars, beautiful women, titty bars and beautiful clothes.  He was always the best dressed man in the room.

When I finally pulled up at the Hospice facility off of #17 I had to sit in the car for a while and pull myself together...I didn't know what to expect...I didn't know what I was going to say...and the tears started flowing.  Finally straightened up and went inside.  The nice lady led me to his room.  My heart broke.  The friend I knew who was always so full of life was just a shell.  They told me he hadn't spoken since last week.  They left me alone with him.  The words came naturally...."I love you, Big Guy".  I talked non-stop for over an hour.  Did he hear me?  Did he know who I was?  You're dern tootie, he did...in my mind, any way,

Corbett Wrandall Godwin, III...You have always, and will always, be my friend!  Thanks for the good times...and we'll meet again, some day.  I love ya, Buddy!

The point of this whole blog is...Don't be afraid to tell your friends you love 'em.  Don't be like me and not pick up the phone and make plans to see one another.  Don't let the years pass you by.  We're not guaranteed tomorrow!

Sad and feeling guilty about not keeping up with a good friend, I made a couple of stops on the way home...Comfort food...oh, yes!  I'll see my buddy again tomorrow, but tonight I shall be comforted!  North Carolina's own Smithfield BBQ and Holden Farms fresh produce!

Be Young...Be Foolish..and Be Happy, My Friends!  Life's Too Short! .... And Call An Old Friend!

To end this thing....Y'all know what's always on my mind...Don't fret the small stuff...Let's just DANCE!

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