Milkbones With a Kiss...

Milkbones With a Kiss...
By Gloria Faye Brown Bates/aka Granny Gee



Every morning I put six stainless steel bowls on the counter.  Each has been washed, dried... the night before.  They are washed, dried before their evening meal.


The bowls sit there, each shiny clean... waiting for me to put good food in them.


Three stainless steel bowls are big... three stainless steel bowls are medium.  I know you are wondering 'what in the world are there so many stainless steel bowls for'?


Three Pups... three special Pups named Kissy Fairchild... Chadwick Elsworth... and Camie Rose Bates. 


Kissy is a huge bear of a 3 year old Pup... he is a Rottweiler. He is black and mahogany... his coat shines.  He is a giant teddy bear!


Chadwick is a medium size... yellow Pup.  He is a perfectly-mixed Pup of seven years old.  His coat is thick, plush.... and so soft.  He is our 'yellow dog'... I love a yellow dog, always wished for one!


Camie Rose... (her name is 'Precious Camo'... on her Facebook page)... is an Australian Shepherd, mixed.  She is blue-merle in color.  She is a one year old Pup, now. 


Camie is lucky to be living.  She is the puppy I rescued last July 4, 2013.  I found her dying on the cold, wet ground.  She was all alone... a little puppy dying all by herself.  If she died, I meant for her to not die alone.  Her little eyes melted my very heart.  I cried many tears for her.


She was almost dead...no hair on her body... oozing blood, clear fluid.  When I lifted her her... maggots fell from her little body. 


She has an awful medical condition.... once a dog has it... you can't get rid of it.  This is the mange you have to take the dog to a vet to treat... with antibiotics, ivermectin injections and, such. 


It's not like a mange you see some people treat with over-the-counter products.  It can't be done.... no amount of over-the-counter drugs will heal it...


It's very expensive to treat... with many donations from people like you.... she was treated.  She still has it... her skin stays pink, warm to the touch.  If 'sore places' come on her skin, it's time to get her to the vet.  She has most of her hair back... it is thin in places... she is beautiful. 


She was beautiful to me when she was at her worst... for months while helping her .... my grief over losing my son... was bearable.  I became focused on helping little Camie live.  We helped each other... she is special to my heart.  I even found the nerve to ask for help from strangers... to donate to her vet for her medical care.


She will have to always go back to get treatment whenever her skin show signs of it coming back. 
I will have to begin taking her once again, beginning Saturday.  She will have skin scrapings to confirm it is demodectic mange coming back.  She has several places that isn't healing... and can't unless she gets treatment from the vet.


Our Pups, I always call them Pups... no matter, they aren't babies, now.  They are our babies, always will be.  Our Pups are taken very good care of.  We feed them good... we would feed them before we would feed ourselves.  We love them that much.


We go through hard times.... money is tight (yes, we experience that... though I've written books, and published them... I have made only a small amount of money from them).  I wish a miracle would happen, and my books begin to sell.  Every writer wishes that.... :)))


We go through hard times, and when we see it's going to especially hard... the first thing we do is to get the Pups' food.  We are not going to let them go without.  They will eat ... before us. 


That's the way it's supposed to be when you take on the responsibility of pets.  They can't fend for themselves like a human can... not when they are indoor pets like ours.  They depend on us.


We 'pure' love our Pups.  Every morning... evening, I prepare their bowls of food.  Their bowls are always washed, dried... spotless, shiny after every meal.


Lined up on the countertop just before each meal...  are six stainless steel bowls.  Three big bowls are for their immediate meal... breakfast or supper. 


Three medium bowls hold dry food to be there for them throughout the day.  I put a small rawhide chew, and a milkbone in each bowl, also.


When the Pups each, eat their meal... they will go into the medium bowl with their dry food, and treats... to get their milkbone.  I will take their milkbone.... give the milkbone a kiss... and place it in their mouths. 


They will run happily off... to lay down, eat their milkbones!  They love to get their milkbones with a kiss!