Welcome Spike to Misfit Manor…
A few weeks ago a new Misfit joined our family. Spike is a 10 year old pomeranian beauty. We were looking to add another little girl at the Manor after the loss of sweet Holly… but when Spike became available we couldn’t pass him up.
While we think his name is adorable…it certainly doesn’t fit his personality. Spike is so sweet and mellow. He fit in here at the Manor right away…getting along with everyone else and quickly learning our routines. Spike was apparently picked up as a stray so we know nothing about his past. Other than an eye infection and looking a little scruffy he is a very healthy, vibrant boy.
He has quickly learned the daily exercise routine here and loves going for walks with his sisters. For a senior he has a lot of energy and runs all over on our daily park walks. We are so excited to have him join our family and grateful that he found his way to us just in time for the holiday season.
Holiday Fun at Misfit Manor
The holiday fun has started at Misfit Manor…with no help from Solstice. Working on the tree was no small feet with her participation this year. Solstice is the spunkiest (naughtiest) cat we have ever had here…the house is her playground and climbing, knocking things down and batting things around are her favorite things to do. Despite her shannanigans the tree is up and looks beautiful…I can’t wait to fill up the base of the tree with their presents in a few weeks. The stockings are hung…though they have all been knocked down several times already this season. Christmas morning is one of my favorite days of the year to celebrate the Misfits…pancake breakfast and lots of presents!
Caring for Millie as she ages…
If you have followed me for a while you now my sweet little Millie is my sidekick…where I go she goes. For such a tiny dog and for her age Millie has always had a ton of energy and enthusiasm. Every day Millie walks a mile at a near by park with several of her siblings. A few weeks ago we noticed that she started slowing down considerably and was just generally not acting like her self. She had a quick check at the vet and we put her on an anti-inflammatory for suspected back pain. Yesterday she started to lose feeling in her back legs. Today’s xrays show severe disk arthritis and compression in her back which is likely causing numbness in her back legs. We have started her on a steroid for a spell and will be lasing her back several times a day. It is possible she will lose the use of her back legs at some point but we are going to assume the best for right now. We have our own veterinary laser at Misfit Manor that we have written about in the past if you are interested in looking in to one for your own dogs read our post on the laser. For now Millie seems content to bundle up in the stroller with Rosie on our walks. Hopefully we will be able to ease some of her discomfort.
What has happened to kindness…is it lost?
I think everyone feels it. There is a thickness in the air these days…it’s a social/emotional thickness and its very heavy. People seem to have such a short fuse…patience, manners and decency have been tossed out for fear, greed and self preservation at all costs. The lack of socialization and the community connection fed by it is deteriorating rapidly…the hidden cost of the handling of the pandemic. Humans aren’t made to be disconnected like this but when interactions with others are unpleasant…we retreat even more. Our own story is not different from most families right now…Bret and I are keeping to ourselves…it feels safer that way… not just from a COVID perspective but from a need to protect our energy. I don’t believe this is sustainable for us or our society for much longer though.
There are very few ideas that I believe are absolutes…unshakeable truths. But there definitely is one belief that I personally hold as an absolute…and that is that I don’t believe in the concept of “empty space”. There is no empty space in the universe…physically or spiritually. We can fill the space within our souls with good thoughts or bad thoughts…not both. One will always overtake the other…whichever one we focus on. If we focus on filling our soul space with kindness…gratitude…patience…compassion…there is no room for feelings like anger and fear or at the very last they can’t take hold of us for long. I know…it is a wonderful platitude…but not always an easy truth to execute in daily life…especially these days. I have to remind myself that I can choose at every moment how I will will my soul space. I can’t control much of what is going on around me…but I can always control my perspective and what I choose to fill my soul with. I have to start each day with a cup of coffee and my little gratitude journal….sometimes I have to go back to my journal a few times a day…but it remains my most powerful tool for filling my soul space with good thoughts that uplift me and help keep the darkness and negativity away.
Don’t forget about us this holiday season
Don’t forget to visit our shops this holiday season. We have a lot of great ideas for the dog lover in your life! We have both our own Misfit Manor Shop and a store on Etsy.
Blessings to you from all of us this holiday season.
ly can’t live with out.
The third product I can’t live without is my steam mop. Because I don’t want harsh chemicals on my floors that are dangerous to my dogs I don’t use any product on the floors but Angry Orange. But Angry Orange really isn’t, at least for me, sanitizing enough. I vacuum and steam mop my floors every morning. Let’s face it…dogs scooch their buts across the floor, they drool, they drag lord knows what in on their feet…the floors just have to be sanitary. I use a Shark Steamer. Its the only steamer I’ve tried so I don’t have any opinion on how it works relative to others. It does last quite a long time though and it does the job. I have a weeks worth of pads for it and toss them in the washer with hot water to get them clean. I do sprinkle Angry Orange on the pads when I use them.
The last tool I use is my diffuser. I buy the 
I love every minute of taking care of my misfits but that does not mean it is always easy. I knew when Rosie arrived here that I was going to be dealing with some new challenges…not just on a day to day basis to keep her healthy and happy but also in terms of being faced with difficult decisions.
Several months ago Rosie did a session with a psychic. Rosie was very clear that she needed everyone around her to be positive. She just wants to be happy. She doesn’t want to be treated like a handicap dog…she wants to shake it off and move forward. So that is what we will do.
There is no such thing as a dull moment at Misfit Manor. While so many of my days seem filled with routine…routine is pretty crucial to juggling a large family of dogs…nothing about life here is ever dull. 
She loves wagon riding! Initially she would just lay down in the wagon the whole time. Now she is stronger and she sits up or stands while she is in the stroller. I’m guessing she has covered more ground in the last few weeks than she has in her whole life.
nicely with her housemates. I am always grateful (and frankly fairly amazed) at how well all my Misfits do together…there is an energy level in this house that I do not understand…but am eternally grateful for. All of my Misfits come from difficult backgrounds…yet once they are here they are very gracious about welcoming new family and helping each other grow.
Rosie has been a lovely addition….Betty adores her (and so does Buster). Betty continues to amaze me…she remains so strong and determined yet she is the gentlest creature I have ever met. She shadows Rosie…wherever Rosie goes Betty follows.
But I’m in a different season of life and now I look forward to burrowing in for the winter. My work load on the property slows down considerably and I can allow myself more time for art, play, cooking and spiritual pursuits…perhaps even a vacation this year. I can’t wait to have this time to slow down and re-charge. The older I get the more clarity I have into the relevance of the cycles and spirals of all life; the agricultural seasons, the cycle of birth and death and the constant sprials of evolving as an older woman. I find the this latest cycle to be one of the most empowering times in my life.
Probably one of the most profound experiences we have had was with Snoopy. Post his let amputation Snoopy was in agony. Even with maximum pain medication Snoopy would wake from a deep sleep and scream (like really scream). He hadn’t moved or been bumped when these episodes happened and there was nothing we could do to comfort him. I posted on Facebook during one of his incidents about his crying and how my husband and I felt so helpless. A few minutes later, Snoopy sat up and his demeanor completely changed. I looked at my Facebook, one of the mediums we use regularly had read my post and communicated with Snoopy. She messaged me their conversation right away. Snoopy thought the pain was permanent and that he wouldn’t be able to walk again. He was very scared that this was it for him. She assured him the pain would go away and he would walk soon. Apparently he believed her because the screaming incidents never happened again after she spoke to him.