Happy New Year

We wish you the very best in 2009! Happy New Year to you and your four legged family.

Secret Lives of Pretty In Pink Dogs

Merry Christmas

We wish you a Merry Christmas, from our family to yours.

Secret Lives of Pretty In Pink Dogs

Photo of Josie, 2004.

Doggies setting up the Christmas Tree Video

Someone sent us a link to this YouTube video of a bunch of doggies setting up a Christmas Tree; we didn't notice the email until today and it was a nice surprise to watch.

I love the poodle runing around in it and the black dog jumping over the white dog. This video was so cute and funny. The Swiss Mountain Dog had some pretty good parts - running around with all the decortations!

This Christmas Season isn’t Really the Same...

This Christmas season isn’t really the same for here for us, the Pretty in Pink team. We haven’t put up the Christmas tree, no Christmas lights, no festive candles, and no Christmas baking.

We have no plan to do anything festive this year, nor does anyone seem to be in the mood for anything festive.

We did get a couple of Christmas toys for the dogs, I have asked for nothing. I don’t want anything since just about everyone knows eactly what I want and I know fully well I won’t ever get my Hyacinth back.

Things have been getting better since November but Christmas has a lot of meaning for me in regards to my dogs.

I pleaded to my husband for Josie and made a deal with him. Every wife wanting a dog or cat knows exactly what I am talking about. I have since found out comparing my deal to other deals made by other wives that I didn’t make a very good deal. One friend cut a deal with her husband to have two Golden Retrievers for herself and a big screen TV for her husband, and her deal didn’t stretch to other Christmas seasons.

Josie was my Christmas present for the next two years many years ago and my husband got a digital camera for Christmas in exchanged. For Josie, it was still a great deal.

Caillee was a Christmas present too; I can’t remember how many Christmases she was suppose to be. Worth every Christmas season just the same!

Yes, you guest it, Hyacinth was a Christmas present too and for at least two Christmases.

Mine you; I have never actually received a dog on Christmas day. Christmas for me has always been a time to celebrate what wonderful Christmas presents I have, that keep giving and giving all year long.

So you see, this Christmas doesn’t feel the same, nor very festive.

Secret Lives of Pretty In Pink Dogs

P.S. Photo as seen here was taken last year by Todd Van Buren, www.agilityphotos.com, at the Best West Pet Foods store on St. James, in Winnipeg. This photo represents Hyacinth's first and only Chirstmas. It is a photo I will forever treasurer.

41 days and counting...

Forty-one days today and counting, still no sign of Hyacinth’s ashes. I am hearing from everyone else but Norm himself.

What conclusions am I suppose to draw at this point?

All I can think of right now is how it is affecting me emotionally and how all this feels. It feels ugly.

Secret Lives of Pretty In Pink Dogs

Thoughtful Gift

Laurel Skuba held a Christmas party just for her clients that I attended last night. She is my girls’ usual dog show handler when I cannot show myself. The party was at a Chinese restaurant and the food kept coming and coming; and by the time all was said and done, we were all very stuffed.

At the party, I was very touched by everyone there. They had all contributed and thought up of the idea to have an original art work done of my Hyacinth Bucket made by Connie Krohn.

The hand-made one of a kind acrylic portrait based on an image taken from this website. The photo taken was of Hyacinth looking out the big floor to ceiling window at the Renaissance hotel near the Toronto airport.

We were attending the Havanese Fanciers of Canada national specialty with the Trillium Dog Fanciers. It was the last weekend I spent with Hyacinth before I handed her to Norm, a professional dog show hander, who was to show her in American dog shows so Hyacinth could earn some points towards her American championship title.

In the handmade portrait, the outside image of the parking lot was removed and replace with a suggested reflection of Hyacinth in the glass looking at the night stars. It is so beautiful and so touching. I couldn’t stop myself from crying when I saw it. The portrait is so wonderful and I miss her so much; I am still crying as I compose this.

They all signed a card and include a gift certificate to Michaels so I can frame the portrait later; they explained that they ran out of time to frame it. Oh my goodness, the whole thing was so generous of them, so thoughtful, and loving of them – I thank each one of them sincerely - from the bottom of my heart.

Secret Lives of Pretty In Pink Dogs

Josie Blogging

It is very important for everyone to take a moment to say a few words, even for Josie. I understand that Josie is most eager to contribute more often to this Pretty in Pink Dogs’ website.


Here is a photo of Josie working hard at pouring out her thoughts she wishes to share with everyone.

Josie might be suffering from writer’s block at this point.

Josie has decided that it might be best to sleep on the matter for now.

Secret Lives of Pretty In Pink Dogs

Christmas Cards!

Caillee helped me this year to send out Christmas cards.

Caillwas was very insistent that she be on my lap.

Later the cat put his stamp of approval on them before we sent them out.

Secret Lives of Pretty In Pink Dogs

Red Bone-Shaped Squeakies

I bought all sorts of things from the dollar store the other day. Everything was for dog related things.

Caillee seems to really like a red squeaky bone-shaped toy these days which she immediately broke the squeak in the squeaky toy and the fabric is a bit torn and ripped.

I went back to the dollar store to buy them out of red bone-shaped squeaky toys. They didn’t have much left and that was the reason I “bought them out”.

While I was there I saw some really cute Christmas-ie collars. For some reason, I purchased three collars for the family collection. I know I only have two dogs right now but perhaps when I am ready and that may be a while, I may have three dogs again and when I do, I will have three matching festive collars.

I also purchased some extra collars, perhaps we will donate them to next year’s Havanese Fanciers Rescue Benefit Auction.

Secret Lives of Pretty In Pink Dogs

I have the right to feel a multitude of emotions

Someone handed me the other day “The Mourner’s Bill of Right” by Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D where you can learn more about it at Centerforloss.com. The first three “rights” really resonate with me lately.

1. I have the right to experience my own unique grief.
2. I have the right to talk about my grief.
3. I have the right to feel a multitude of emotions.

My emotions surrounding Hyacinth Bucket’s death have been varied and mixed from one moment to the next, and on many different aspects around her death. As of late, my emotions have been of anger:

I am angry that it has been 33 days today since Hyacinth’s untimely demise and I still haven’t received Hyacinth Bucket’s ashes. Everyone I talk to keeps telling me that it is an important step towards finding some closure in this mess.

I have not heard from the handler since the day he called to inform me of her death.

A friend of mine had such stopped by for a quick visit and was telling me how she had been talking to her veterinarian about the events surrounding the death of my Hyacinth. She was telling me what her veterinarian’s opinion was on my situation. According to her veterinarian, his veterinarian should have been communicating with me every step of the way with the cremation of Hyacinth Bucket.

I had explained to my friend my understanding of Hyacinth’s cremation: I heard from a third party, the mutual friend of mine and the handler that Hyacinth was not taken to his veterinarian but to her veterinarian - something about her veterinarian being closer.

Others have said that I should also receive a certificate from the veterinarian for Hyacinth’s cremation.

Right now, the only thing I truly know is that Hyacinth is gone and I don’t have her remains yet and at 33 days, I can't see too many excuses that can explain this.

Secret Lives of Pretty In Pink Dogs

Caillee and I had a really fun day today.

Caillee and I had a really fun day today. The day started off with a late morning class of Rally-O that Caillee and I attend; where I also assist the class by setting up the Rally-O course, tear it down at the end of class, and anything else as needed. Caillee just has to watch me while I do this. Then we both had an obedience class together right afterwards. I do believe the reason we were having so much fun at class is because I was being much freer with the treats. Not crying “at a drop of a hat” might also help.

Both Josie and Hyacinth have/had toys they really liked that I used in training and treats too of course. I have such trouble finding Caillee’s button without food, food seems to be her button. I kept feeling I was doing something wrong if my only button was food. Caillee really likes squeaky toys but she destroys them in one day – the fabric and squeaky part. There is this red bone caillee seems to like these days that I purchased form the dollar store so I went back and bought them out of the red bone squeaky toys.

After talking to a friend of mine who does a lot of agility, she assured me that it is ok that Caillee is completely food driven. So I was freer with the treats today.

After a fun class of Rally-O followed by a fun class of Obedience, the fun doesn’t end there today. To kill some time, Caillee and I whipped by MacDonald’s drive through. Caillee seemed very excited, when I do this I share my fries with Caillee. Her eyes scream “Yummy”!

Caillee says "oh.. all the fries are gone...."

Secret Lives of Pretty In Pink Dogs

Aren't snacks left on the desk free for the taking?

Mom walked away from her studies and left some mini-jam sandwiches on the desk that's behind the sofa, which makes it so easy for me to jump up on and sniff around. She just left them there.

I took them. Well, not all at once. It was just one at first and I dragged the mini-jam sandwich to the sofa. Mom still wasn't around, so I went back and got another one. And before you knew it, all the sandwiches were all gone.

Here is me looking all sorry for what I did. I tried different posses and practiced what I was going to say.

I gave up, she will know it was me anyway.

This is me, Josie, confessing.

Secret Lives of Pretty In Pink Dogs

HFC's HAV NEWS and VIEWS arrived.

The Havanese Fanciers' HAV NEWS and VIEWS, issue 35, Winter 2008, arrived today; I saw it as soon as I got home and it was a most difficult issue for me to read.

I was very touched to see Hyacinth's photos on the front cover; they used my most favourite photo of her, as seen here.

Inside there was two more photos of her: one that was taken for the FROM NOSE TO TAIL grooming book but was never used; and another that was taken and I think was used for the HFC's christmas cards last year when she was just a wee puppy.

The Chief Editorial Comments area included a heart-felt condolence.

There was also a most wonderful poem from a special person wrote this poem just for Hyacinth and it was titled " A Very Special Flower". So very touching, to say it brought tears to my eyes would be an understatement. It was so very, very touching and sweet; and it reminds me so much of how much I miss my Hyacinth.

Sad and Secret Lives of Pretty In Pink Dogs

Its all about the fallen potato chip!

Hubby and I were all over the sofa watching TV while eating potato chips and drinking sodas. Caillee was on the sofa with us and was ever so diligent to cleaning the dropped chips from my lap but wasn’t so diligent about cleaning the dropped chips from hubby’s lap even after point out each fallen chipped. It was so funny trying to get Caillee to clean up the fallen chips. Not that potato chips are good for dogs, one or two once in a blue moon seems so harmless. Well, we were having so much fun watching Caillee clean up all the fallen chips.

Where was Josie? Keeping the cat, Seraiah, away from the sofa. Today I guess she felt it her duty to do so. But the cat did make it pass Josie’s perimeter to rest on top of the sofa head rest, it helped that Josie was distracted by the mere possibility of getting her very own potato chip that we may or may not have been waving around in the air.

Secret Lives of Pretty In Pink Dogs

Interesting Photo of Hyacinth

When you have a dog with long hair, it just begs to be played with. I like making the bug antennas. They are fun to watch on my dogs and fun to create. I still do them on Caillee once in a while. Hyacinth never minded me playing with her hair. This is one thing of many I will miss.

I have no idea where hubby had these photos..... I am glad he found them and shared them with me.

Secret Lives of Pretty In Pink Dogs