My sweet pups....

Good morning everyone and everydog,

It's Mack and Mia's momma here. It's been a long time since my last post, which was of Mack finally coming around a few months after I brought the new baby home. Well, the baby is now 14 months!

Our home has had a lot of changes, but probably the most prominent and most sad would be that I ultimately surrendered Mack and Mia to the Lab Rescue of the LRCP just last month.

Here is the direct link below of the adoption page:
http://www.lab-rescue.org/content.asp?pl=788&contentid=788

Mack and Mia are now available for adoption.

Last night, I received a call from the adoption coordinator at the rescue. She wanted to give me a status update and also ask a few more questions. Mack and Mia are currently in a foster home.

The reason that I am posting to my blog this morning after this long is that she had mentioned that a prospective family who wanted to possibly adopt them had stumbled across my blog dedicated to them and had some concerns regarding my previous post about Mack and his antics when we brought the baby home and if he was truly okay with children. I guess he has been having the toughest time adjusting at the foster home...

While you may be appalled or totally disappointed in my decision to surrender Mack and Mia - all I can say is that it was one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make. And honestly, I had never searched to see them on the lab rescue website because I knew that would break my heart and stir up all my torn feelings of what I had done. However, after the phone call with the coordinator I couldn't help but look and re-read my blog.

I cried. A lot.

While I know I cannot turn back or make you understand what our family went through in our decision - I feel like I have to defend my Mack and just wanted to write that Mack and Mia are the sweetest labs and were always good to my children. Even though Mack had a hard time adjusting initially, he did come around and I think his jealousy was just and fair as he had ALWAYS been the baby in our home.

So, I'm writing this entry as a plea that maybe anyone else who stumbles on my blog will know that we had to let Mack and Mia go because they were acting out (angry poops and such) due to jealousy and due to the decrease of attention I could give them. I'm only one person and I was being pulled in so many directions. They need to be in a home where they can be number one - that's the spot my Macky and Mia deserve to be in. I want to tell those prospective families to read more entries. Read them all. Not just one bad time - a time of adjustment. Read about all the good times so you can see that they are GREAT pups and that they came from a home of love and lots of attention. Lastly, please be patient with him - his intentions are good and his heart is made of gold.

Hopefully, Mack and Mia's pawfriends can help 'advertise' my sweet babies so they can find a good home. I'm so heart-broken over this whole thing.

Thank you,

Christina

A happy ending...

Hey everydoggy and everyone,

First, I want to start by saying thank you for everyone who reached out and offered their sympathy, advice, comfort, hugs, and encouragement.

Second, at this point, I am kind of embarressed and saddened that I had written my previous post in the first place. It was a desperate time and I think I was looking for a desperate solution.
I knew it would take all the 4-leggers time to adjust to the baby, I knew there would be some acting out, maybe some withdrawl, jealousy etc... But as the weeks went by, Mack was the only one who was NOT liking the new addition - He was not taking well - AT ALL. I won't go into details, but there was a lot of growling, snipping at times, shredding of stuffed things, blankets, pretty much anything he could get his paws on, and angry pooping and peeing in the house (I say angry because Mack is 5 years old and house trained. I can't remember the last time he messed in the house and here it was happening DAILY.) To be honest, at that time, I thought Mack was a lost cause - I gave up...

The turning point: I went on the Potomac Lab Rescue website and just looking at all the pups faces on their main page waiting to be adopted really struck my heart strings. I was thinking what blurb they would write for Mack, what picture they would use, and I just couldn't even imagine someone coming to take him from me. I don't know how to explain it, but after looking at that website it renewed me - renewed my patience.

This is a picture my husband took of Mack within the first few weeks after the baby was born. When I look at this picture today, 3 months later, it makes me sad. He looks so sad, lost, and like he doesn't know where he fits in anymore since he isn't the baby anymore - like he's the outcast.

And just so everyone knows - we tried everything in the book. We brought home the babies cap so the animals could know his scent before he came home. We gave extra lovings and attention to them all. We exercised them more than the norm. All that jazz - Mia and Milo came around so easily and so quickly, but not Mack.

So we all PILED it on THICK - REALLY THICK! Especially, Little Bryan, he made it his mission to make Mack act back to normal, fearing he would lose another friend...

I don't know if it was the extra love, the random threats, the scoldings, or the extra pieces of cheese noms I gave to Mack to try to bribe him, But somewhere around 8 - 10 weeks something clicked for him. I swear he was a different dog. I mean he was back to the same boy we always knew. Mack stopped acting out towards the baby just as fast as he had started - it was so so strange.

Look at my boy now....

He went from snipping at the baby to following him everywhere. It's crazy. I don't understand how his mind works. Did he just give up? Did he finally realize that the baby wasn't leaving no matter how much he growled? Did he finally accept the baby into his pack? I have no idea, but I'd like to think the latter. :)



 

And this morning - August 26, 2012 - Look at that smile - It's was a busy morning on the play mat.

I don't know what else to say about the last 3 months - there was a lot of crying, laughing, stress, and sleepless nights had by everyone and everydoggy, but I'm just so happy and so relieved for everyone's sake that it's back to the way it's supposed to be. Now, we can get back to dealing with all Macks OTHER antics, the annoying, but tolerable, and mostly funny ones...

Thank you and much love,

Mack's momma

Reaching out for help...

Hey everyone. It's Macks mom here. I am so torn about this post and quite sad actually...

I think I need to find Mack a new home.

Mack is our 'Marley' (from the movie) He can be so bad at times, but oh so lovable. He just has a lot of energy and is used to be being the baby of the house.

However, we just had a new baby - a real one - a two legger.

and Mack is having a hard time adjusting - a really hard time...

and I honestly feel like I'm at the end of my rope. Please don't judge me.

With that said, I REFUSE to take him to a shelter of any kind. I have been asking my friends to see if they knew of anyone who was looking for or willing to adopt him because that is the only scenario that I would let him go in...

I wanted to reach out to my blog friends to see if they knew someone or could help. I need to find my boy a good home. A dog lover's home.

If you have any guidence I would really appreciate your help. My email address is christinasgibson@verizon.net

Wordless Wednesday

Is it Friday yet?....

((((((Sigh))))))



Wags and Woofs,

Mia and Hailey

House guest

Hey everydoggy,

It's Mack here to report a GRAVE injustice that is happening in MY house, right now, as we speak! So, woo all know that my Uncle Keith is in the BIG CITY NEW YORK temporarily. Sooooo, we temporarily have his BEAST in our house. And she is TOTALLY taking over, I tell woo!

Exibit A:
Please note the TWO dog beds.
Please then note the SIZE of the TWO dog beds.
Mack = 86lbs
Hailey = 20lbs
I rest my case, your honor!

Then to make matters worse, last night, that big FAT lug got in MY bed with MY mom. ...I don't even let my REAL FATSO sister in bed with mom, she sleeps with the little two-legger and I would like to suggest HAILEY to do the same! HRMPH! Until then, I am so NOT talking to the momma!

  

Mom is trying to talk to me, but I am very SERIOUS about ignoring her. ...She even is trying to nudge me with her swollen pregnant foot, but I DON'T CARE!

I'm standing my ground. Mom gave up. Hailey is trying to move in on my momma - using her big ugly googly eyes to try to STEAL my mom! Just makes me SICK inside!

Wags and Woofs,

Mack



MEAN MOM!

Hey everydoggy! Does anydoggy else out there have a mean mom? Well, lately I have been hearing a whole lot of nagging from mine! Its goes a little something like this...

 MACK, GET DOWN OFF OF DADDY!

 MACK, GET OFF THE COUCH! LAZY BONES! Can't you see the perfectly nice doggy bed by the fireplace in the background??

 MACK, GET OFF OF MY PILLOWS, YOU BIG LUG! YOU WEIGH 80 lbs, NOT 8 lbs! MOVE IT!

MACK, GET OFF OF MY SHOES! and don't think I don't see the one lodged under your neck that you are trying to hide so you chew on it later! MOVE IT BIG BUTT!


MACK, MACK, MACK, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, MOVE HERE, MOVE THERE, GET OFF OF THIS, GET OFF OF THAT. HRMPH!! Where am I supposed to lay, lady? On a dog bed?? I DON'T THINK SO. FAT CHANCE!

Wags and Woofs,
Mack

Mack's mom here, just so everydoggy isn't flipping out thinking Mack is all ABUSED and TORTURED or something, he is pretty much allowed anywhere, however, I prefer to not ingest a pound of dog hair when I go to bed at night. Just sayin'! He is kind of a drama king and tried to make woo all feel bad for him. Did it work? OH GEEZ! Typical. :)

Lazy dayz

Hey everydoggy,

Look what my little two-legger did to our house guest! Her name is Hailey. Her daddy had to travel to the BIG CITY and so she got left with us...She is kinda considered an old lady, so I assume that can be the only reason that she is not so enthused about my boys antics. I mean what doggy wouldn't wanna be buried and covered in stuffies?? HELLO?? Clearly she is not a LAB.


 Woe is me. I'm such a tortured soul!

Who do woo all think is bigger?? Me or my boy?? Man, I love that wittle booger.

Wags and Woofs,
Mia