Tango's Adoption

As previously mentioned in this post, we brought Tango home to be a part of our family Wednesday, July 18th. We had decided it was time to add a furbaby into the McGugan family, and we therefore pursued the best route to make that happen. We knew we wanted to adopt a dog in need, so Mr. McGoo began the work of finding some places for us to go.

We found a pup online through PetFinder that peaked our interest, he was a yellow lab about three months old and was at the Memphis Animal Shelter with the nickname, Lover Boy. So we took a trip to the shelter to and go and see.

Mr. McGoo warned me before we walked in that this process might be hard and I would "need to be ready" for what I was going to see. I did not understand what he meant until we began the walk through and saw cage after cage of adorable animals scared, alone, and in a cold environment of metal cages everywhere. My heart ached, but I worked hard to be as objective as possible, knowing we would only take one and it was important to be comfortable with how this one might react with our current furbaby, Dexter.

We walked through all of the dogs, no Lover Boy to be found, but many adorable pups and a set of 5 puppies impressed me the most. Apparently, their owner had "released" them the night before to the shelter along with the mom and dad. Mom and dad were in one cage and the pups were in another cage together. Mom was a shepherd and dad was mutt with a boxer build but his head did not look like a boxer. I loved that I could see mom and dad - knowing their size and getting to experience their temperament a bit. I chose to visit with one of the male puppies... he was the darkest of the pups with a black tip to his tail and snout, he had the biggest belly of the bunch and allowed all 4 of his siblings to crawl, chew, and walk all over him. I knew he was perfect. We played with him for a bit and left because the shelter was closing with a big decision to make...

Was it really time? Were we prepared for the changes a puppy would bring? Were we ready to give the time it deserved? Would Dexter be okay?

Ultimately we decided YES, and Mr. McGoo went to pursue to make this puppy our own. I already had a name in mind - - - SAMSON!

To those who have not heard this story, this may surprise you... yup, our original pursuit was not Tango, in fact it was his only brother, Samson. I never knew that Tango existed at this point. The next day Mr. McGoo made his way to the Memphis Animal Shelter and visited with Samson once more, affirming that yes, he should be ours. He filled out the necessary paperwork, paid the funds, and officially adopted him... we would be able to pick him up in a few days following his neutering.

A couple days later, while at work, I received a call from Mr. McGoo - with excitement I answered believing he was calling to inform me that Samson was in his possession. Instead, he broke the sad news to me that our little guy did not wake from surgery. Samson would not be coming home with us and a decision needed to be made... what now?

After much discussion, following some tears on my part, we decided the best way to honor Samson was to give one of his siblings a good home. I left the task up to Mr. McGoo, feeling heart broken over Samson... I told him I did not want to see the dog or talk names until he or she was home in our possession. I could not chance being heart broken again so soon.

A few days later, I was introduced to this little guy and Mr. McGoo perfectly named him... TANGO! He has been dancing around our house ever since...

Introducing Tango

Wednesday, July 18, 2012 the McGoos added a new member to our family and introduced a new addition into our household... meet Tango, our newest furbaby!

Instagram: "Introducing the newest addition the McGoo
Family, Tango! Dexter is no longer a furbaby of one!

We had been talking about adding to our family in the form of a furbaby for awhile, wondering when the best timing would be for us and for Dexter. Following Kodi's passing (Nov 2011) we wanted to be sure to spend some quality time with Dexter alone, as he too was grieving the loss of his brother. In addition, we wanted to honor Kodi's memory. We thought waiting for awhile would  allow us to grieve and remember him regularly through the quieter moments of the house, rather than being caught up in the hustle and bustle of a puppy too soon. 

Towards the end of June and beginning of July however, it became apparent that Dexter was is need of a sibling. He was obviously lonely and becoming more anxious about being separated from Mr. McGoo and me. Dexter expressed this reality to us in numerous ways...

It was time...

Enter Tango...

Wed - July 18th

Wed - July 18th

Size comparison: Dexter & Tango
Wed - July 18th

 I will share our story as to how Tango became a McGoo in another post. His adoption has quite a tale.

Tango meeting his mom for the first time

Easter Weekend

As you've noticed (as if there are any of "you" still around), I've been MIA in the blog-o-sphere. I've missed it, missed writing. But especially, I have missed keeping up with the many blogs that I follow and being encouraged, challenged, entertained, and informed by you them. I'm behind in the blog-o-sphere for sure. Life has been at a tempo, I'm not sure even this normal busy body is able to keep. The ability to "make it" truly has only come from one source, Christ and I find myself meditating regularly on three key verses: Isaiah 40:21-31, Philippians 4:6, and Matthew 6:25-34. He has been so faithful, and I've made it this far... 8 days to go to complete the trimester. I'm super close to saying, "one more down!"

Considering the pace of life these days, my blogging isn't the only thing that has suffered. I feel out of touch with friends, family, and at times, even my mate. I don't mean to sound like Nancy Negative - but at the same time I don't want to be fake... it's hard right now. Thankfully the Lord has blessed me with an amazing support network all throughout... lately I've been more humbled than ever by that network (husband, family, friends, church, etc) God has provided and their abundant support, encouragement, and provision.... seemingly just when I need it, right when I'm at breaking point.

Last month, Mr. McGoo and I celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary! It's doesn't seem like it's been that long, but at the same time it feels longer - - - I'm quickly forgetting what life was like before Mr. McGoo. And have been abundantly blessed the last 5+ years as God has blessed me with him in my life. To celebrate - I got Mr. McGoo a ring:

To celebrate our anniversary, Mr. McGoo took me to Hot Springs, Arkansas - but due to our schedule, Easter weekend was the earliest opportunity for our trip's date. So... this weekend we enjoyed Thursday night thru Sunday morning in Hot Springs and had a great opportunity to hang out with one another without distraction. It was grand! So without further adieu, here is a quick photo log of our trip.

We slept in (YAY!), read, ate a massive pizza at Rod's Pizza Cellar, went to a Secret Church simulcast, watched the races at Oaklawn Park, and ultimately just laid low. It was a perfect weekend.

We made it back to Memphis in time to worship and celebrate Easter with our church family. Following service, we headed to the rents' casa. We enjoyed some time with family, ate a delicious Easter lunch, got Mom and youngest sis signed up on Instagram (encouraging them that surely my BIL would be posting pics frequently once Baby Fisher arrived, no pressure Brent), watched some of the Master's, and headed out to bring our furbaby home.

Home now... back to the grind.

Furbaby Doing Alright

Dex is hanging in there and doing alright. Today is my first day without him bandaged up and we're giving it a go. Last night I took off the wrapping and cleaned the wound, letting it stay out in the open the rest of the evening. Today, I decided to give the entire day a try because it's looking much better and ultimately I didn't have the time, nor strength to wrestle him to get it done.

We're both ready to have daddy home tomorrow night!

Cartoon Style Dexter Doo

Furbaby Problems

When Mr. McGoo is away, apparently the cats will play furbaby problems begin. Yup - Mr. McGoo departed Memphis yesterday afternoon to go see his mom and step dad (a long overdue adventure) and therefore my adventures apparently began soon after....

Came home from class last night, let the furbaby out, he ran around lots, and when he came in - I fed him. Went about my evening for a few minutes until I noticed Dex licking his leg constantly... came over to his bed to find a small pool of blood and a nail hanging by a thread on his back leg. I clipped the remaining portion of the nail and attempted to stop the bleeding. Here is what it looked like once the bleeding ceased (ouch!):

Next I called my rents for advise - they've had dogs their entire life, so I figured, surely they'd have a story about how this once happened and their solution was..., didn't get a hold of them and Mr. McGoo was on a plane in route to Arizona, so I hollered at my middle sis (Thirty-One Gifts Consultant if you ever need anything) and brother in law who are the proud owners of Dexter's sister, Maeby and cousin, Mak. I figured they'd have some ideas or at least understand the challenge I was facing with attempting to work with a wound with my dog by myself.

My sis and bro were the perfect help and talked me through what I somewhat already knew, and gave me the encouragement I needed to attempt to tackle bandaging the foot. It took 9 tries (Dex was not having it for 8 of those 9 attempts), but I finally got it.

Dex did great throughout the night with the bandage - never pulling on it from what I saw and it was fully intact this morning. Once they opened this morning, I called the vet and got the go ahead to keep doing what I'm doing and most importantly KEEP THE FOOT CLEAN.

I made a quick trip to Walgreens with Dexter Doo in tow (he stayed in the car), walking away with $26 worth of these lovely first aid supplies.

Several minutes later, most of the time spent on an attempt to get my furbaby to lay down in the right position and not pull away... I was able to clean the wound and re-bandage Dex up. Once he got settled, he was an excellent "patient".

Finished result as follows:

 

The real test is now underway... what will the state of this bandage be when I return home this evening?

So the test was complete... it failed.
I got a call about 3pm from my friend who was nice enough to stop by and check on the furbaby this afternoon. She said that although Dexter was doing well, his bandage was off and completely in tact as if it just "fell off". I returned home to try again. With the help of my friend distracting the pup while I cleaned the wound and reapplied antibacterial ointment and the dressing, we attempted again. Thankfully, I returned home more than 4hrs later to find the dressing in place and my furbaby doing well. Check him out...

I love me some Dex!

Study Material

So... I'm certain that Dex is not a fan of all this studying and paying attention to books that his mama does while at home... often keeping me from loving on him to his liking. He has shown me this with many of his to dos, one of which I documented here showing how he puts his head on my books and won't move.

Last night, he showed me once again his disdain for my study habits and school pursuits...

Mr. McGoo was away in Starkville, MS with some friends watching his beloved CATS take on the Dawgs in men's basketball. I walked into the house after class and knew something was up as soon as I didn't have a visual of Dexter from the doorway (meaning he was hiding).

I walked into the backroom where he's confined to find the book (on the left) looking like....

THIS on his bed! 

The entire plastic cover devoured and left for me in a nice throw-up like treat on the other side of the room (I didn't photograph that, you're welcome). In addition, he grabbed my note card filing box and when it popped open from the pressure of his mouth, he devoured the note cards I had made also (probably 10 total). Yummy!

Guess I'll have a story every time I pull out this drug reference book for the rest of my school career - never short of an adventure!