As a gentle late summer breeze blew, our beloved Harley passed peacefully outside at home today in the early afternoon, held by my daughter and I, and wrapped in so much love. Standing nearby their surrogate mother's side were Wolf and Bandit. While our hearts are truly broken again, after just losing our sweet Chloe in June, Harley is free now from pain and running with both Gibson and Chloe, North of the Rainbow Bridge.  “Dogs’ lives are short, too short, but you know that going in. You know the pain is coming, you’re going to lose a dog, and there’s going to be great anguish, so you live fully in the moment with her, never fail to share her joy or delight in her innocence, because you can’t support the illusion that a dog can be your lifelong companion. There’s such beauty in the hard honesty of that, in accepting and giving love while always aware that it comes with an unbearable price.” – Dean Koontz Future FiveSibes Alpha Queen My daughter and Harley....

Born on March 10, 2005, our beautiful alpha queen, pupster surrogate momma, and my daughter's and our first Siberian Husky,  turns 14½ today! You may be wondering why are we celebrating her half birthday? Because, as heartbreaking as it is, we now know she will not be here in March to celebrate her 15th Birthday as I once had hoped. Heartfelt thanks to Ann at Zoolatry for this beautiful badge. Thank you all who are sharing it and joining paws for our girl. As amazing and strong as our queen has been, and how proud I have been of how she still could outrun Pupsters Wolf and Bandit, still splash in her pool like a puppy, tear up a dog bed like there's no tomorrow, and chase her tail until the sun sets, our beloved Husky leader has also been dealing with health issues that we have been treating, but are now slowing her down and, heartbreakingly we are preparing ourselves for her journey, that we as pet parents all dread, to the Rainbow Bridge.  “Dogs' lives a...

Harley says, "Thank woo, everyone, for all your kindness!" Harley Update: Wonderful news! The pathology report for Harley's dewclaw tumor was benign! Happy dance! It showed a deep infection, but no cancer! SO relieved! She had her bandages changed by our fab vet, and she is now limping less. (To read original post and view the pics, visit HERE ).   ❤️ Thank You ❤️ for all your prayers, healing vibes, lovely messages, and love for our girl. Harley sends you all big Husky hugs and once again a reminder to periodically check those paws and dewclaws.  

Yesterday was a long day of waiting as Harley went in for her surgery to remove the infected dewclaw and tumor (see previous post and pics HERE ), but our Harley is back home! Surgery was performed by my "dream team" and it went well. Dewclaw and suspected tumor have been removed. Harley had a severe abscess deep in there. The vet sent off a sample, but preliminary report seems good, other than the infection.  Harley is currently on restricted rest, antibiotics, and pain medication, and she will have the bandage removed and a follow-up on Thursday. She was quite out of it from the anesthesia, but now is resting and more herself. We and the #FiveSibes Pupsters are just so happy she is back home! Chloe, since she loves to chill, is busy keeping her company! ❤️ THANK YOU ❤️ for all your amazing prayers, well wishes, and caring notes since my post about her surgery. Harley sure feels all the love! I am so thankful to be part of such an amazing and caring pet commun...

Dewclaws. Such an unnecessary evil for a dog. In August, I noticed Harley limping. At 11-and-a-half, she is a bit stiff-legged at times from arthritis, but this was a more pronounced limp and she was having an extra tough time sitting down. She seemed very uncomfortable. She was also becoming a bit snarley, especially when I was touching her paw, which is something that never typically bothers her. Upon further checking, I noticed an odd lump around her dewclaw on her right leg, thinking it was possibly a pulled dewclaw, maybe a splinter, thistle, or even a bee sting , she became extremely agitated when I touched it.    (Warning: some photos may be somewhat graphic, but I am sharing for educational purposes).   Oddity beneath the dew claw.   Off to the vet we went. At the vet, Harley is protective of her paw by hiding it . Harley's paw was shaved and it uncovered a very large inflamed area surrounding the dewclaw and beyond, as you can see in ...