Oh Gretta's & Rufus's Mom.....

Thank you so much for your kind words......You're welcome for the little encouragement that I could give to you and Bobbie. You both gave me encouragement and kept me going on this board. We had some laughs too.

That is such a blessing that Bobbie is doing better and can go to friends' houses and have Thanksgiving dinner. I will always say prayers every day for Bobbie, you, and all your family. I hope you had a blessed Thanksgiving Day too. We had a quiet one here, the kind I like on a cold day like this.

God Bless you and family,

LMM

Dear LoveMyMickey,

Thank you for the love letter you wrote to Trevor. Short and sweet and to the point!

I love you so very much!

XO Bobbie XO

Hi Bobbie,

I had to laugh when you said my letter to Trevor was short and sweet and to the point. That's what my husband says to me, that I always get to the point. But he can take a short story and make it really long and sometimes forgets what the point was....

I hope you're feeling better today......God Bless...

Love ya'

LMM

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Announcement!

Mickey! Your brothers and sisters!

Big party at 7 PM tonight (where Trevor's mom lives)!

Please help gather up allyour relatives and friends and romp on over to Rufus and Gretta's house and make a LOT of noise!

Why? Trevor's mom got a wonderful report from her doctor yesterday!

Thank you my little whitle mops! xoxoxoxoxoxoox

Gretta and Rufus's mom

Hi My Sweet Little Mickey!!!

We're having all kinds of winter weather here, rain, freezing rain, ice, and snow. I wish you were here, but I'm glad you're where it is beautiful and warm. I remember you did like the snow, but you didn't like your sweater or your raincoat. You really didn't need them because you had your own beautiful thick fur coat.

Isn't that wonderful about the doctor's good report on Trevor's mom? I saw your party picture. Looks like you and all your friends had a good time. You all keep that prayer hummmmm going for Trevor's mom to be well.

We miss you so much, my baby boy, and our love for you grows stronger every day. We will always treasure the wonderful 10 years you gave us. No matter what problems we had, you were always there for us to take care of and to snuggle with......Until next time, my little one, watch over us.....

Kisses and Snuggles,

XOXO Mommy & Daddy XOXO

Hi you dear sweet little Mickey!

Thank you for coming to the Bark party. That daning picture was the greatest. Your mom says just what I think: I miss my Gretta amd my Rufus SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much, but now that it si winter I'm glad I don't have to drag these poor elders out into the cruel cold and freezing ice for their walks. Oh, they wore dog boots and sweaters, but it was sitll freezing cold. I'm so glad that they are there with you in the Perfect World where it's always warm and sunny in the sun and cool and comfortable in the shade.

Thank you for being such a good friend to Rufus and Gretta and thank your mommie for being such a good friend to Trevor's mom and us. We need to get her a t-shirt because she's part of our very inner circle - The Three (she makes Four) Musketeers.

Keep up the good spirits for us there like you always did here.

I love you Mickey (and your brothers and sisters, too).

Gretta and Rufus's mom

Hi, LoveMyMickey, just wanted to let you know I'm so glad you were able to avert a potentially serious situation with your credit card. It is soooo easy now for people to get ahold of our personal information through technology. I'm glad you will be getting a new card from your credit card company.

I hope today is treating you and your husband kindly, LoveMyMickey, and that you both will have a very peaceful, blissful, and cozy evening blessed with your beloved Mickey's sweet Living Spirit to comfort you. Please know you are in my thoughts and prayers, and that I always look forward to sharing your news.

Peace and blessings,
moon_beam

Thank you moon_beam.....That is scary when somebody tries to steal from you. I do a lot of online shopping and I won't let that stop me.....I hope to get my new card soon because I have two doggie friends I want to order and ship some freshly baked doggie treats to. This one company bakes them fresh from people food.

moon_beam I hope you and Noah have a warm and cozy evening. I'm so glad Noah is doing well. He's a sweet boy.....You all are always in my thoughts and prayers......God Bless....

Hugs,

LoveMyMickey

Love My Mickey

OMG - someone stole something (not mentioning on a public form) from you! It's always the good people who suffer. Gretta, Rufus and I are glad you are safe and are getting the situation under control.

All for one and one for all.

Their mom

Hi Gretta's and Rufus Mom,

Everything is straightened out now, no harm done so far.

That is such a beautiful post you wrote to Dakota Rose's Mom, brought tears to my eyes. You have always helped me in the way you explain things about our pets, and I thank you...... I have a tiny bit of Native American in me too, so I have been told. Also there was a white buffalo born just a few miles down the road from us. I don't know what happened to him.

God Bless,

LoveMyMickey

Hello My Sweet Little Mickey,

We had a storm last night and went to the basement. We missed you so much as we remembered how you would snuggle up betwwen us on the couch. You were never scared of the storms, you just liked to snuggle and oh, how we miss that. The storm passed and all is well, except we didn't have you to come back upstairs with us.

This is the third Christmas without you, my Little One, and we miss you more each year. I still put out your favorite treats for you by your picture. I do the same for little Annie and Mugsy.

I finally got to order the Christmas treat gifts for your cousin Comet and our little friend Concheta. I hope they arrive before Christmas, but they will enjoy tthem no matter when. I wish you could have some, but I bet you have all kinds of goodies in Heaven.

I look at your picture of you laying in the sunshine inside the patio door. Oh, it looks so warm and peaceful. You loved to lay there so much. I'll be glad when spring and summer gets here so you can send us some butterflies. You know your mommy loves jewelry, so I am collecting butterfly rings now.

Well, mommy has to go now, I have some things to watch on TV later. I remember how you would jump up in my lap in my chair and we would watch TV. We love you sooo much Mickey Baby.

XOXO Mommy & Daddy XOXO

Mickey

You are so lucky to have a mom who loves you so much. Special days called holidays are very very hard for us humans who are still living on earth. We remember all the holidays we had with you our furbabies in the past and wish and wish and wish those times were still here. Please send some special love rays to your mom today. She's very sad because she misses you and your sisters. Breathe some cool breath on her and let her know that she is still first in your hearts and that you will wait for her as long as it takes - anad then you three little white mopheads will be dancing and singing at the Rainbow Bridge to escort her into the Perfect World.

OK, on three - some nice cool breaths: one ...... two ...... THREE!

Great work you great dog

XOXOXOXOXO

Gretta and Rufus's mom

Hi Sweet Little Mickey,

Thank you my baby, for the cool breath. I do believe I got it, because I was real sick last night and got better today. I know you and your angels and the Good Lord was helping me.

My baby, this is Christmas Eve and you know we would open our presents then. Oh how I miss you tonight watching you open your toys and treats. Of course you would grab the treats first. I have been looking at some Christmas past pictures of you and got tears. They were happy times and I miss them so much.

Your cousin, Comet, and friend Concheta received their treats yesterday. Their mommies said they were so excited. Concheta's mommy will send a video later.......I try to be good to the animals and pets in your honor, my little one.

Goodnight my sweet baby, and I hope you and your sisters have a happy Christmas which I know you will in heaven...

Love, kisses, and belly rubs,

XOXO Mommy & Daddy XOXO

Hello My Sweet Little Mickey,

This is the third Christmas and New Years without you. We miss you as much now as when you first left us. Oh, we talk more about the fun things that you did and all the joy you brought to our lives. But that empty feeling is still there. We still have one of your beds out in our bedroom with toys on it and we still talk to you. We love you more than ever.

There are a lot of new pet parents here that have lost their babies and are feeling so sad and empty. Could you ask your Guarding Angels and the Good Lord to help them get through their grief journey? Mommy will says prayers too.

My Little One, I will say goodnight for now. Enjoy your Heavenly time in Heaven with all your relatives and friends. We love you and miss you so much....

XOXO Mommy & Daddy XOXO

Hi LoveMyMickey

Thank your for sharing sweet Mickey's angelversary with us. This is my third holiday season without Sir Thomas and I empathize with how you feel. I hope he and Mickey are frolicking together with all the other pets who have crossed over the bridge. God Bless

TTT

Good morning LMM (The Fourth Musketeer)

I'm thinking about you this morning and about all the love and support you have been to both me and Trevor's mom during our crises of the last couple of years. You were right there with us every step of the way, with your beautiful dog family both here and in the Perfect World. You send the most gorgeous and touching posts to Gretta and Rufus. And your poem to me when Gretta went home is the only thing that will console my heart when I am most missing Gretta or Rufus. I have shared its two most precious verses with a couple of people here on LS who seemed to be having a lot of trouble with guilt and regret. Thank you for that gift.

Now I am in the process of retiring from work (Feb 28) and a few days later moving to Baltimore to be with Trevor's mom and make a new family. Just yesterday I started to get sad about it. Thinking about how I would be leaving all my work and church friends behind - especially my Hmong friends. And worst of all I'm leaving my dad halfway across the continent in the care of, let's just put it nicely, an unstable person. At times in my life I have felt like I'm re-enacting the Bible story of Solomon and the two mothers. At least we know, when we re-enact one of these stories, that it must have happened so often in the past that it was made into a fable.

Movers came to pick up five big pieces of furniture last night. We had to disassemble my gigantic treadmill to get it out the door. It's real and now I realize how much stuff there is still in here!! My car is so small it won't even pull the smallest U-Haul. But it's getting done.

Please pray for me, LMM. I need it. My heart is SO feeling the absence of a dog.

Thank you for being a musketeer.

Gretta and Rufus's mom

oh Love My Mickey

I have just seen the unbelievable picture you sent from Gretta. Like your poems, your pictures are not only exquisitely beautiful, they and the words go straight to my heart. Our fourth musketeer is truly one with us.

Love My Mickey, I know I could never have made it though the last couple of years without your love and support - and your sharing my heart.

With thanks and love,

Gretta and Rufus's mom

Gretta & Rufus's Mom,

Thank you for your kind words. You always write such beautiful and comforting posts. I'm glad I could be of some help to you and Bobbie. That poem I wrote, I want it to relate to Rufus too. Although you weren't with him, he knew you wanted to, and that you love him with all you heart and soul.

I know it is hard moving, both physically and mentally, leaving memories, friends, and loved ones, even if you do want to be with other loved ones. It will take time to adjust. Soon you will have doggies to help with and maybe you will find just the right one for your own.

You are always in my prayers, as well as Bobbie and all your family. Take care of yourself and have a good evening. May God BBless and Comfort you!

Love from a musketeer,

LMM

My Sweet Little Mickey,

I hope you are having a wonderful warm day in Heaven. I know you want mommy to be happy, but today I am having a tearful day. This is Feb. the month you left us three years ago.

It is a little warmer today and I have seen several robins and all the birds have been singing. Soon it will be warm enough for you to send me some butterflies....I remember how you loved to lay in the opened patio doors in the warm sunshine and watch the squirrels and birds. It makes me smile to remember it and sad that it will never be again.

I love you my sweet baby boy. You will always be "my baby boy" and "daddy's buddy".

We love you and miss you sooooooo much!

XOXO Mommy & Daddy XOXO

HI Little Mickey

You might not remember me. I'm Gretta and Rufus's mommie. Your mommie and I are very good friends. I want to stop by to say hello to her and to let her know that I know how sad a third anniversary can be. Could you send some ""happy rays" down to your mommie so she will feel a little less sad? I know you will, you sweet little guy.

I love you, Mickey - and all your brothers and sisters, too.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOOX

One of your mommie's musketeers

My Sweet Little Mickey,

It has been a cold, icy, snowy winter. We have lots of snow on the ground and a 3 foot long icicle hanging from the storage shed on the patio. Although I miss you something terrible, I'm glad you didn't have to go outside here as you got older especially. But you know mommy and daddy would have kept you safe and warm.......I know you're safe and warm in the Perfect World, Heaven.

My Little One, Valentine's Day will be here soon and I remember your last one. You were beginning to have days that you felt bad. I remember giving you a few bites of my valentine candy and you loved it.

I hope you have met the beautiful giraffe named Marius, that was treated so horrible and unfair. Welcome him to the Perfect World. Tell him your mommy loves him as well as lots of other people.

Good Night, My Love. We love you and miss you.

XOXO Mommy & Daddy XOXO

Hi LoveMyMickey.

Thank you for sharing your beloved memories of your precious Mickey. I read about Marius the giraffe in the news yesterday. What an unnecessary tragedy

At least we are supposed to be warming up - 60 by next Thursday! I hope you, hubby, and the kitties are doing well. As always, thinking of dear sweet Mickey up in Heaven with Sir Thomas and the others. TTFN

TTT

Good morning LMM

I'm praying, too for little Conchetta. That the Good Shepherd will touch her with His finger of healing.

And thank you SO much for posting about Marius the Giraffe. This just fractured my heart - especially the attitude of the perpetrator. I spent a morning looking up the laws of the EU about this situation and the more I looked the more my heart broke. I thought the site administrator might take the post down because it wasn't about anyone's personal pet, but I am glad he didn't.

Many terrible words come to mind but I know the someday the man will have to meet a Divine Judge and answer for his actions.

Let's make Marius a Musketeer, OK?

Jeanne

Hi Tracy,

We are all doing well, trying to keep warm. The kitties are doing okay, some days we have several and then maybe one or two. That long icicle is growing on the corner of the storage building. It will probably melt soon. The weather prediction here is snow showers for Friday.

I hope you and furbabies have a warm and cozy evening. I always think of Sir Thomas and Mickey in the wonderful sunshine of Heaven.......God Bless....TTFN

LMM

Hi Jeanne,

I hope you are doing well with your moving. I know that's a big job especially when its long distance. We've done that several times while in the military.

Thank you for prayers for Concheta, she is doing fine. She sent me a Valentine with her paw print, so cute.


I keep thinking of Marius, so sad. We sure can make him a Musketeer!..........

Have a good evening and God Bless.

LMM

This is our third Valentines Day without you, my little one. We miss you more each year, but we know you are in Heaven where there is lots of LOVE.

Thank you for coming to me in a dream night before last. I dreamed you were in the back seat of the car and I was in the front seat. You squeezed between the seat and car door (I don't know how you could have done it) to get to me real fast. You rolled over and I tickled your little belly like I always did. It seemed so real, I could feel your fuzzy white fur....My Baby, I know that was your Valentine gift to me and I am truly blessed to have had that contact with you.

We love you and miss you, our darling little boy.

XOXO MOMMY & DADDY XOXO

Good morning LMM

How wonderful that Little Mickey came to you in a dream! What a huge, blessed gift that is from one who shares your life and your soul. Rufus is my partner in all of these situations now going on. Today we go visit "the dad" for the last time before I move. Let's restart our conversations on gmail. OK? I miss all the people on the "bobbie" list - and it's my fault for not keeping up the correspondence.

Thank you for being a friend and a musketeer.

Jeanne

Oh Mickey and all your cousins, I need your help today. Trevor's mom has become very very sick so I've asked Rufus and Gretta to organize a prayer hum for her. You know all about these pray hums - where animals go to the Good Shpeherd and pray in any voice they have - hums, cheeps, grunts - any voice. Listen for the news and please gather your brothers and sisters, cousins and all the friends you have made in the Perfect World to go to the feet of the Good Shpeherd and plead for her life. Thank you SO much Little Mickey.

A crying sister

Dear Jeanne,

I am so sad to hear that Trevor's mom is so sick. Mickey and his sisters and cousins will join in the prayer hum to ask the Good Lord to heal her. I pray every day for her too....God Bless your whole family,

Love you all!

LMM

Thank you so much, LMM, Musketeer #4. (And in the book, there actuallly was a fourth musketeer!)

Hi My Sweet Little Mickey,

I feel sad because I got a sad email yesterday. You remember litttle Concheta doggie, our friend, well, her mommy had a litttle Bichon doggie for years named Barbie. It passed away, so would you welcome her to the Perfect World? Show her around and be a special friend to her. She had a hard life in a puppy mill before her mommy adopted her 8 years ago. Her mommy loved her and made her a happy doggie. Barbie was good with the foster doggies that her mommy has, helped them to stay calm. I know little Concheta misses her too. We'll say prayers for all of them.

We love you and miss you so much, my little one, Daddy's buddy and Mommy's baby.

XOXO Mommy & Daddy XOXO

Hello My Sweet Little Mickey,

Another 22nd is here and I want to stop by and tell you how much I love you, more than the grains of sand on this earth. Some of our Daffodils are blooming so I put one on yours and Annie's little gravesite. I'll be so glad when the weather gets warm and you can send us some butterflies. I ordered two butterfly bushes to plant later so the butterflies will have plenty of nectar to eat.

My Little One, get all your friends together and say a special prayer for Trevor's Mom and Gretta & Rufus's Mom. Get that prayer hummmmm going like Gretta & Rufus"s Mom always says.

Rest your little eyes tonight little Mickey, like your daddy always said. You would always shut your eyes and take a nap or sleep all night. You remember the last words I would say to you at night were, "Goodnight Mickey".
We love you and miss you sooooo much!

Mommy's baby and Daddy's buddy.

XOXO Mommy & Daddy XOXO

Oh Love My Mickey

Lightning Strike hasn't been working for me for almost a month now. Even MarcDavid can't figure it out, but somehow I got in today. Your message to Mickey was SOOOOOOOO sweet. He truly IS a little angel. And so is his sister Annie. And thank you SO much for including Trevor and Rufus and Gretta in you angel-versary message to Little Mickey. All the Musketeers really need remembrance, solidity and prayer. It's our time in the valley of the shadow of death, but the Psalm declares that we shall have no fear because God's sword and shield to protect us and when we emerge - which we know we will - He will lay a banquet for us. Thank you with all my true heart, Mickey's mom, for your love and strength, given so freely to us for so many months and years. We're building our mansions above right next to each other, so our doggies can play together forever.

Love always,

Gretta and Rufus's mom

Thank you Gretta and Rufus's Mom for your kind words. We love you.


My Dear Sweet Mickey,

Mommy is very very sad right now and you know why. I hope you are well and happy, of course you are, because everyone who is in the Perfect World (Heaven) is well and happy. The ones left on earth are the sad and lonely ones. But that is just the way things are...We love you and miss you, Baby Boy!

XOXO Mommy & Daddy XOXO

Hi LoveMyMickey.

I'm sorry to hear that you are sad I know that your precious Mickey is looking over you from the perfect world and sending much love your way. I hope you feel better.


TTT

Hi Tracy,

You're right, Mickey did send some love this morning. We were working in the back yard where the sun was so bright and warm. I saw a small white butterfly flying around. Such a wonderful surprise!

I hope you and furbabies are doing well today....God Bless..

LMM

Hello My Sweet Little Mickey!!!

Mommy is stopping by to wish you a Happy Easter!.. I hope you and your friends have plenty eggs and maybe an Easrter egg hunt. I remember you loved eggs. We miss you on this Easter Sunday and we miss you more every day. We love you soooo very much!

There was a doggie obit in our newspaper this morning. Her name is Morgan Miracle and she looks like you. Make sure you welcome her to heaven and be a friend. Until next time....Lots of kisses and bellyrubs...

XOXO Mommy & Daddy XOXO

Hello My Sweet Little Mickey,

I hope you are doing well today, but of course you are, you are in the Perfect World Heaven.....I sent our little friend Concheta some fresh baked doggie treats from a website for Easter. Her mommy sent me a video of Concheta and all the little fosters having a treat hunt in the yard. There were 4 little white doggies and 1 little tan doggie. They were just like little kids having an Easter egg hunt, so cute......I bet you and her angel doggie Barbie were looking down on them with a smile......I also sent your cousin Comet (little Doxie) some treats too. His mommy said he really loved them.

My Little One...today, Tuesday the 22nd is another angel-versary, exactly 3 years and 2 months, seems like forever. I have been looking at your pictures on my computer tonight, remembering the good times. And I thank you for them. I will always love you and miss you and so does your daddy.


Love and Kisses on your sweet little head,

XOXO Mommy & Daddy XOXO

Hello My Sweet Little Mickey,

On this Mother's Day mommy is stopping by to say hello and to say I especially miss you today. I looked at a lot of your pictures last
night, and was remembering the good times. I wish I could bring the happy times back. Thank you for sending a little white butterfly this week. I saw one twice.
We love you baby and will always cherish your memory.

Kisses on your sweet little head and lots of belly rubs.

XOXO Mommy & Daddy XOXO

Hello My Sweet Baby Boy,

Mommy is stopping by to say hi and that we miss you and love you more every day. The weather has been so nice and I miss you
laying in the open patio door watching the squirrels and birds, and maybe Herman the groundhog.

I planted two Butterfly Bushes in pots on the patio, one is a big plant, and the other one is a mini bush.
The mini bush already has dark pink flowers blooming. Today I saw a little yellow butterfly flying around from bloom to bloom.
Last night I ask you to send me a butterfly because I hadn't seen one for quite awhile, and you did. Thank you my Little One!

I'm sorry I haven't been around much, but mommy has had some health problems, couldn't get around too well, but a little better now.
Your big brother has been grocery shopping for us. You know your big brother loved you so much and you loved him

Mommy must say goodnight for now. Rest your little eyes like your daddy always told you and you would go to sleep. Until next time,
remember we'll always love you and miss you, my Little Mickey.

XOXO Mommy & Daddy XOXO

Hello LoveMyMickey

Thank you for sharing with us the loving memorial of planting the bushes for your precious boy. I'm so sorry to hear you have been having health issues. I was starting to worry as I have not seen you here for a while. I know Angel Mickey is looking over you and I hope you feel better soon.

TTT

Dear LMM, our faithful fourth musketeer,

I can hardly believe that so much has happened in the past year. So much sadness, So much loss, So many tears. This world truly is a vale of tears. But having a true and faithful friend like you, who truly DOES get it, makes it possible to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Please let me stand beside you and tell Sweet Mickey how much I love him, too.

There is a hymn that says, "When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be" and we know that will be true when we come to the gate of the Perfect World and all our animal children come racing to meet us, tails wagging, each one trying to be the first to give us a great big kiss. Until that day comes, all for one and one for all.

Gretta and Rufus's mom

Hi Tracy.....Thank you so much for your concern. It was an arthritis flare-up, went to the Dr. and got a shot. He said 2 or 3 peope had come in that morning
needing a shot. Maybe something is going around, I don't know. It didn't help much anyway........Pet the furbabies for me and have a good evening...TTFN..

LMM



Hi Gretta & Rufus's Mom....We will always stand beside each other, we Musketeers have to stick together. I can just picture in my mind all our doggies running to
meet us at the Pearly Gates. Shhhhh....I know who I would pet first, although I love them all very much.
Thank you for being a friend as the "Golden Girls" would say.....Hang in there and God Bless....

LMM

Hi LMM

Glad to hear you are doing better, and hope you continue to do so. Our best to you, hubby and the waifs.

TTT

Hello My Darling Little Boy,

It has been one of those days where I have really missed you. I still can't get around very well. Mommy and daddy were standing
in the yard by the patio and a little white butterfly circled almost all around us. If you sent it to comfort me, I thank you.

I must go for now, but I will talk to your special picture tonight and we will tell you goodnight and "rest your little eyes." My Little One, I love you with all my heart and soul.

XOXO Mommy & Daddy XOXO

Hi Love My Mickey

There must be something about summer and being able to be outside that makes us miss our babies even more than we do every other day. I'm trying to rent an apartment in a rowhouse near Johns Hopkins University which will take big dogs and it's like looking for a place and having to tell them your roomate would be a vampire - and he wouldn't have a credit score. The one that is showing next Tuesday looks promising though.

Setting up a new home far from your old one and being basically a stranger in a strange town and having given away or thrown away most of your stuff except clothes, books and artefacts is a challenge - but I've faced challenges far bigger than this one. This one just takes persistence - working on it every day.

Soon I will have a place with beautiful hardwood floors and a big dog and the walls full of dogs pictures - and it will be the closest thing to heaven on this earth.

Thank you for being our best friend.

Rufus and Gretta's mom

Hi Gretta & Rufus's Mom,

Thanks for stopping by and being a friend. I hope and pray you will find the right place to live. Sometimes you find things when you least expect it. That's the way we found this house. After the flood in '97, we kept driving through neighborhoods and all of a sudden we saw this For Sale sign.
We stopped, looked at the house, just what we wanted, and the lady wanted us to have it. So here we are almost 17 years later.......Again I hope you find what you want and a big old doggie too.

LMM







Hello My Sweet Little Mickey,

Happy Fourth! You were my brave little boy, fireworks and thunder never bothered you.
I know you and your friends had a wonderful Fourth of July. Because in Heaven, you have the freedom to love, live without pain, and freedom of all good things.

This evening your daddy and I sat out on the back patio where there was a shade and a nice breeze. The grass was green and the bushes and trees were full of leaves
and some flowers, lots of birds too, all colors. Yours and Annie's graves were fixed nice. I saw the little white butterfly that comes around every day.
Anyway I sat there thinking of alll the walks we took with you around the yard, saying hi to diifferent neighbor's doggies across the fence over the years. The yard seemed so full of memories
and spirits, because all the doggies are gone now. I got so sentimental and got tears. I had to go inside.......I love you Baby and
miss you so much. I miss your little sister Annie too. We had some good years with her too.

Goodnight, my Love, rest your little eyes.

XOXO Mommy & Daddy XOXO

Good evening, Love My Mickey,

Thank you for sticking by us no matter where or what part of the universe we are in.

I did find an apartment in roughly the part of town I wanted to be in. I am familiar with a census tract in Baltimore City called Charles Village. (The net can describe it much better than I can.) In 1995 Bobbie was in a nursing home in the center of the tract and I spent a lot of time walking around the area. Also the church I still go to was close by and I could walk to it. (They have since moved.)

Neighborhoods change over just a few blocks in the city. There is a 4 square block area that is entirely 19th century 3-storey rowhouses - that have been split into 6 apartments in some strange and not so wonderful ways. One I looked at had a little alcove that they called the living room and a huge room with a sealed fireplace that they called the BEDROOM!

About 10 blocks north was a two-storey rowhouse, an end-of-group unit, which was a D-U-M-P. And another one was a tiny place right across the street from the nursing home from hell!

Finally, the first apartment I'd seen when i started looking (by computer) and liked a lot (from the picture) came back listed as for rent. It was kind of unusual because a few days after I'd seen if the first time it was listed as rented. But it wasn't - so it came back on again and I grabbed it. It is about 5 blocks south of the 19th century rowhouses and the neighborhood is pretty different - a mixed neighborhood of rowhouses (mine's one), small shops - ethnic restaurants and ethnic clothing stores, coffee houses and of course the usual nail and hair braiding places. There is a large supermarket about 5 blocks from my apartment. From the picture, I had thought that it was a 2nd floor apartment for rent but it was really the third floor. The entrance is large and beautiful (early 20th century). It is a 2 bedroom apartment with the correct rooms being the bedrooms and the living room. VERY unfortunately, there are NO animals allowed in the building - NONE, NONE, NONE - despite what the original listing had said.

I'm going to visit my dad - whose health has declined a lot - on July 23-28 and then I will move gradually starting about August 15. I moved here from Minnesota thinking that I would be living with Bobbie and Stan as long planned - which is a fully established household - so I gave away or threw away almost everything I had. Most of what I brought or shipped was books, musical instruments and precious artifacts I've collected from various parts of the Third World. I don't have a plate or a cup or a spoon or a fork to my name! Hooray for Goodwill! They got most of my stuff anyway.

Living with Stan for these last 3 months has had its ups and downs, especially at first, but we have settled into a comfortable routine. I am mostly in charge of taking care of Bobbie's great dogs, Dreamer and Kelly. I walk them every morning and I almost have them trained to walk of 'soft leash'. I'll feel TERRIBLE leaving them but I have a hunch that I'll be back here a lot, walking them and taking care of them when Stan works (about 2 days a week).

How is life treating you, Dear Fourth Musketeer? i think of you often and always with a deep gratitude and love for the relationship we have developed over the years on LS. I have always loved your LS name: Love My Mickey. Who knew that as we got older, life got MUCH sadder? If we'd know that earlier in life, I think we'd have tried to enjoy life more then. But no regrets.

Stan and I often say that it consoles us greatly that Bobbie is out of the agony and free of the fear that dogged her almost her whole life. She'll never again hurt, or be afraid, or cry or be lonely - EVER. We say we wouldn't want her to come back if she had to come back with her old earthly life. It helps a little. We bought a double brass and marble marker which should be ready this week. It's very beautiful. I'm going to be buried in that cemetery too but I bought my plot long after they did so I don't know where it is, but I assume it's off in another corner.

Please have a wonderful summer and take good care of yourself - you're greatly needed by the other two musketeers.

XOXO

Gretta and Rufus's mom

Hi Gretta & Rufus's Mom.......I will send you an email. LMM