cell phones, dogs and family ties

I was thinking this morning, AGAIN, how thankful I am for cell phones. Some days I talk with Notah and his family twice. They share photos with me and text me with bits of information and ordinary everyday things.

When a lady at Notah’s work was giving away a Great Dane because her old dog was beating up on it, I had a blow by blow account of the adoption of Bella. (yeah, mind boggling--a dog that can beat up a Great Dane. Well, the old dog was a Saint Bernard, but still!)

When Seth brought home a stray with mange, I saw the dog within a couple hours and discussed mange remedies with Notah. I heard about the search for the owner. I heard about his bath and his mange treatment. I heard how Huck taught him his place in the pecking order of the ‘pack.’ I learned his name-Jack. Notah dubbed him that and it is a pretty good indication that he is going to stay.

All of that happened by cell phone and made me feel a part of their days, even though we are nearly 2000 miles apart!

I think of my mother-in-law whose children lived so many miles away. She had no phone and spoke no English. She couldn’t read. How many times her heart must have yearned for her sons and grandchildren! Today, my sister-in-law has a cell phone. My nieces have cell phones. My nephew has a cell phone and a computer! Technology has hit the reservation! And I’m so glad! I wish Mom could have enjoyed it.

NOW! The new members of our family. Bella is a pure bred Great Dane. As I said, her previous owner was looking for a new home for her because their older dog, a Saint Bernard, was fighting with her regularly. They had decided to find a new place for her when they had to take her to the vet for stitches because the bite marks were so severe. When Notah called me to tell me about it, I knew that dog was going to go to the Howe house to live! I have to laugh sometimes. Notah is so low key. He was very laid back and quiet when he was telling me but I knew he was excited. He and Kerra have dreamed of a Great Dane for years, but the cost was always prohibitive. He said he would have to talk to Kerra. HA! I had no doubt what she would say. And unless Notah absolutely completely and positively said NO the dog was theirs. Sure enough he sent me a text in the evening saying that Bella was arriving on Saturday.

 They sent me a series of photos of her arrival. She looked very sad. There was one photo of her standing at the gate looking out after her people left. It didn’t take her long though to decide this was a good place to live.     Soon she was exploring the dog yard and getting acquainted with the other dogs.  She is friends with Thain.  Sadie likes her but she is to big to mother.  Huch ignores her.  Chloe stays away from those big feet!

 The last two photos of the day were of her lying on the sofa beside Kerra and another of her reposing on her bed (the lady brought her big bed and her other things with her.) with Thain beside her.

She has fit right in and got to go on her very first hike ever last Sunday! How sad such a big dog, a year and a half old and never having gone on a hike!

Satisfied

Seth has to walk ten steps from the bus stop to the gate and in that space he found a lost dog! He must be related to his Aunt Rachael. He brought the dog in the gate and it was home. The poor thing has the worst case of mange I’ve ever seen. It was wearing a rabies tag which Notah and Kerra traced back to the owners.

As of today, they still haven’t shown up to get their dog. Notah said they hadn’t sounded too excited that someone had found their dog…he thinks they dumped it out along their road. The mange had been seriously neglected. Probably they didn’t want to bother with treating it.

So now Jack has come to live with the Howe family. He has gotten a bath. Notah paid close attention to the horrific scrapes and cuts on his face where he had scratched until it was bleeding. I found a treatment for mange on line that is supposed to work better than the vet meds. Just to be sure, Jack got both the vet meds and the home treatment.

So that’s the story of my cell phone and why I love it. I can live on the other side of the country and still feel a part of my kids’ lives! I would have paid a fortune to the land line phone companies by now. In fact I simply wouldn’t have been able to afford it. Five or six long distance calls a week! Never. And photos? Since when can you send photos on a land line?

We have traded in our land lines for cells.