Adventures of Titan and Choctaw

When I started this blog in 2019, it was about Titan and Choctaw and the unique friendship and love they developed for each other.  Now that Titan has passed away, I’ve decided to not make any more post out of respect for Titan.  I truly believe if Choctaw could talk, she would tell me the same thing.  She would probably say, “this is a two doggie show not a one doggie show.”  Although I won’t be posting anymore, this blog will still be available.

Thank you to those of you have followed this blog from the beginning either through Google, Pinterest, or YouTube.  You guys are awesome!!  If you ever get the chance to donate to law enforcement or military K9 service dogs, please do.  The proceeds go to providing for those K9 service dogs, especially during their retirement years.

To all my brothers and sisters in blue, and to all my four legged brothers and sisters in blue, hold that line.  You are that thin blue line which keeps society from descending into violent chaos!!! God speed and stay safe.

The above photograph was taken of Titan and Choctaw on July 4, 2022.  Just 21 days before Titan’s death.

It’s been a little over two months since Titan’s death.  Choctaw has had good and bad days while dealing with the fact that Titan is no longer with us. I’m really not sure if she truly understands what happen to him, she just knows he’s not here anymore.  The mornings are really hard for her because she and Titan use to play every morning to the point that they would wear themselves out.

When we got Titan’s ashes back from the vet’s office, we placed the box that contains his ashes on one of the tables in our den area.  I will frequently get the box and show it to Choctaw and say Titan’s name.  I want her to know that Titan is home but just not in the bodily form that she was use to.  I honestly don’t know if it helps her or not to understand, but the more I do this, the more she relates to the box as being Titan.  One particular morning Choctaw was crying so I got in the floor with her with Titan’s box in my hands.  Choctaw and I sat and talked about Titan and she placed her paw on the box.  I took a photograph as quickly as I could before she moved her paw.  It absolutely broke my heart!! Choctaw will continue to grieve but she will get through it just like my wife and I are doing.  We miss Titan and that will never end.

 

Next up, my final post.

It is with a heavy, heavy heart to announce that Titan passed away on Monday, July 25, 2022, at 0735 hours. Titan’s passing was very peaceful and he was surrounded by his family.

In March, Titan was diagnosed with an enlarged heart.  We had just moved to the NW part of our state when Titan became ill.  Apparently, Titan had had this condition for some time and we did not know about it.  From March until July, Titan’s condition seemed to level out.  He always wanted to play and loved going on continual walks on the trails where we lived.

But his condition started to change in mid July. Titan started to have projectile diarrhea again and he was not eating like he had been. We again contacted the vet to see what options we had.  The vet prescribed an anti-biotic to help with the diarrhea. Several days  later on Friday, July 22, 2022, my wife and I awoke late in the evening to Titan standing up in his bed and breathing heavy like he couldn’t get his breath.  Titan started coughing and gagging like he was trying to get something out of his throat. My wife tried to get Titan to lay back down, but he kept standing back up.  At some point during the earlier morning hours into the next day, my wife was able to get Titan to relax and go back to sleep.  As soon as the vet’s office opened, my wife took Titan back to their office. During the vet’s examine and through various tests,  she told my wife that Titan’s lungs were filling up with fluid and he was basically drowning.  The vet prescribed Lasix to help with the fluid. The vet also talked to my wife about making a decision about Titan’s quality of life and our quality of life. The vet went onto to say if Titan was a human he would be on a heart transplant list. That really hit home to the gravity of how sick Titan was.  When my wife arrived home, she told me what the vet had told her.  After a lot of soul searching, we both agreed it was time to euthanize Titan.  Since it was Saturday, we called the vet and told her we wanted to spend the rest of the weekend loving Titan and allow Choctaw to do the same. We made an appointment for 0715 hours on Monday morning to euthanize Titan.  The rest of the weekend was spent loving Titan.  Despite the fact that Titan was so sick, he wanted to play and love his family.  I honestly think Titan knew how sick he was and he wanted to make every minute count.

When Monday morning arrived, my wife and I were so heart broken.  Before we left for the vet, Titan and Choctaw played like they always did in the mornings. My wife and I both started to cry as we walked out to the Jeep to load Titan in his crate.  My wife sat in the back seat so she could be close to Titan on the drive.  As we started to drive, Titan started barking like he always did when my wife would load him into the patrol vehicle to go to work.  When we arrived at the vet, the time had come to say goodbye. I will not go into the details of Titan’s last minutes, but I will say it was very peaceful with our arms around him.

Below I have put together a photo gallery of Titan’s life at work and at home.  Titan was such an incredible dog who gave his life to serve.  Rest easy my four legged brother in blue!!!

Next up, how Choctaw is dealing with Titan’s death.

Over the last year, I have not published a lot of content on Titan and Choctaw’s blog.  My wife and I started a small Private Investigators business so we’ve been busy getting that off the ground.  I recently published “Choctaw Goes to Florida” which took me awhile to put the post together.  It seems like since my wife and I started our business, I just haven’t had time to do the blog.  I missed it so here I am back at it.

My wife and I recently sold our house and moved to the northwest part of our state so we’ve had a lot of changes going on.  Titan and Choctaw have adjusted very well to the change but we’ve gone from living in a 2,550 square foot home to a 900 square foot apartment. We are in the process of building a new home but it won’t be completed until late Summer of 2022 so we have a “tiny home” for now.  Unfortunately, Titan’s health started to deteriorate after the move. We noticed Titan was panting a lot and drinking a lot of water.  At times, it appeared Titan was in distress and could not get comfortable.  Since we are new to the city we are living in, we called several vets before one of them could actually see Titan. After the visit with the vet, it was determined that Titan would no longer take Rimadyl which acts as an anti-inflammatory.  The vet also stated that Titan might have an “angry liver” due to the Rimadyl. The vet also suggested we change Titan’s food which we did. My wife asked the vet to do an X-ray to make sure something else wasn’t going on.  The vet stated that she “didn’t want to ring up our bill” so no X-ray was done. After what happened to Bady in 2016, my wife wanted to make sure Titan wasn’t in pain (refer to the “First Post!” concerning Bady). While my wife appreciated the fact that the vet didn’t want to ring up our bill, my wife did not feel like the vet wanted to listen to her about the fact that something wasn’t right with Titan’s demeanor.

After the visit to the vet, my wife and I were up for three consecutive nights with Titan due to the panting and him being in distress again. My wife again made contact with the vet’s office but talked to a different vet. My wife took Titan back to the same clinic and saw the vet she talked to on the phone.  This vet listened to my wife and an X-ray was done. The X-ray showed that Titan had a “very” enlarged heart.  The vet told my wife that due to the size of Titan’s heart it’s a possibility he could go into congestive heart failure.  The vet explained to my wife she would prescribe a medication for Titan which would help the blood flow to his heart.  The vet also stated the prescription is very expensive which would cost us about $100 a month. My wife and I didn’t care about the price, we just wanted Titan to be comfortable and not in pain.  The bottom line is Titan will eventually die from this and there is nothing that we can do to prevent it.  What we can do is give him medicine to help his heart function better and hopefully give him a good quality of life until that day comes. The hardest part about all of this is how will Choctaw react when Titan is no longer with us.

Over the last month or so, Titan has done a lot better. He started having issues with throwing up and projectile diarrhea, so we’ve had to address both of those issues and we’ve gotten that under control.  We also asked the vet to perform an ultra-sound on him to clarify whether or not he has a tumor in his stomach like Bady did in 2016.   The ultra-sound revealed that nothing was wrong with Titan’s stomach and no tumors were detected which was great news.

For now, we are going to enjoy Titan, love him, and let him live the retired life that he deserves to live!! Stay tuned for more updates.

In October of 2020, my wife and I made a trip to Navarre, Florida.  My wife has family that lives there so we decided to load up the RV and make the trip.  Titan did not go on the trip with us, but Choctaw did.  Due to Titan’s age and the fact he doesn’t relax when we are traveling in the RV, it’s just easier for him to stay at “Uncle Pete’s” house instead of him making the trip.  On the other hand, Choctaw LOVES the RV and will go anywhere.

On October 19, 2020, we started our journey to Navarre, Florida.  We drove for about five hours and stopped in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.  We stayed at the Okatoma Resort and RV Park.  It was a nice place to stay over night and close the the highway which was a plus. We got there late in the afternoon, so we didn’t have a lot of time to walk around.  I can tell you that the ducks love to hang out at the RV campsites.

The next morning, October 20, 2020, Choctaw and I got up pretty early and went for a run. The way the property was laid out, we found a really nice running route around a lake on the property.  As usual, Choctaw found a few squirrels to harass which made her very happy.  After our run, we were walking back to the RV when we noticed a family of ducks standing at the door to the RV.  Choctaw was very curious about the ducks and pulled my arms out of socket trying to get a better look.  The ducks didn’t need a better look at Choctaw so they waddled over to the next available RV in the hopes that someone would feed them breakfast.  Breakfast didn’t sound like a bad idea either.  Choctaw and I went inside the RV and joined my wife for breakfast.  After breakfast, we packed up and headed for Florida.

We arrived in Florida around 2pm and headed straight for Santa Rosa RV Resort where we were staying.  When we arrived at the Resort, we were in awe at the beauty. This place was absolutely gorgeous!!! Our RV slip wasn’t on the water, but we might as well have been because we were that close.  The first order of business was to take Choctaw on a needed bathroom break.  She travels so well and she was just as excited as we were about our accommodations.  The second order of business was to set up camp and get settled.  We had to meet my wife’s family at a restaurant around 6pm so we didn’t have a lot of time to mess around.  Choctaw travels in her kennel so I wanted her to be out of the kennel for a good period of time before we headed to dinner.

We met my wife’s family for dinner at some hole in the wall Mexican restaurant.  Usually hole in the wall restaurants are pretty good, but this restaurant was anything but that. The only word to describe this restaurant is “nasty.”  It was a nasty restaurant with nasty drinks and nasty food.  Don’t know who’s ideas this one was, but my wife and I agreed it would not happen again. LOL  When we got back to the RV, we took photographs of the RV resort from a long bridge stretching out from the campground and took a photograph of the sunset.  It was absolutely gorgeous!!!

The next morning, Choctaw and I went for our morning run.  During our run, Choctaw and I went over the bridge to the side where the ocean hits Navarre Beach.  It took us a while to adjust to the sand and wind, but we did it.  After returning to the RV resort, Choctaw and I located a pet beach that was connected to our resort.  Choctaw has never been to the beach so this was going to be a treat for her and us. My wife and I walked down to the pet beach and Choctaw had a blast.  She was in awe with the water washing up on the beach and she kept wanting to drink the water. Since it’s salt water, I didn’t want her drinking a lot of it but of course it didn’t stop her. LOL

As the week went on, Choctaw and I started to do our morning runs inside the RV resort because it was big enough to act like a very large running track.  Running along the beach got extremely tiring due to the sand and wind coming off the water. Choctaw also had a wonderful time in the mornings at the dog beach after our runs. She ran along the beach trying to say “hello” to every bird that flew above her head. Choctaw has such a kind soul and wants to make friends with every animal and/or person she comes into contact with.  We also spent a lot of time with my wife’s family having cookouts, sack races, which is a lot harder than it looked, and soccer games. Life was good!!

The week went by way to fast and before we knew it it was time for us to start back home. It was a long trip but one we decided to make in one day instead of splitting it up.  As usual, Choctaw did outstanding. She rode in her kennel and took everything in as we traveled down the road.  When we finally got home, I told Choctaw that we would pick up Titan in the morning from “Uncle Pete’s” house.  She got so excited when she heard his name.  It was good to be home!!!

After my surgery in June, I wanted to reschedule our trip to the Cincinnati Zoo to meet Fiona the Hippo.  My wife and I had originally thought about going in May around both of our birthdays, but that did not happen because of the virus. With the lockdowns and so much uncertainty, my wife and I decided to reschedule the trip.

In the event you haven’t heard about Fiona the Hippo, let me enlighten you. Fiona was born six weeks premature on January 24, 2017, and only weighed 29 pounds.  When a hippo is born, they generally weigh between 55-120 pounds.  Because Fiona was so small when she was born, the zoo keepers at the Cincinnati Zoo had to intervene to help Fiona survive.  The YouTube videos below will help you understand just how small Fiona was and her will to survive.

If you watched the first three episodes above, you understand Fiona only survived because of the Cincinnati Zoo caretakers and the Children’s Hospital staff. Without that combination of those people working together, Fiona would not have survived.  Because of her willingness to survive, Fiona has become an internet sensation worldwide.  I remember the first time I saw her online, I was like “wow” this is an incredible story.  I started following Fiona and could not get enough of her and I had so much respect for this little hippo. For me, it was a feel good story that continues today.

After the quarantine started to be lifted across the country, I told my wife I wanted to go to Cincinnati to meet Fiona. I purchased tickets online for the end of July.  My wife and I made plans to drive the RV and stay at an RV park near the zoo.  Titan and Choctaw did not go on the trip with us because of the amount of time that we would be away from the RV.  I don’t like leaving them alone in the RV for an extended period of time.  So, Titan stayed at Uncle Pete’s house and Choctaw stayed at the pet resort.

On July 28, 2020, my wife and I started the 9.5 hour drive to Cincinnati.  Since we were driving the RV, we stopped in Nashville for the night and stayed at a waterpark that was also an RV park.  I am not going to mention the name of the park because it was horrible.  I can tell you I will never stay there again.

The next day, July 29, 2020, we drove the rest of the way to Cincinnati and arrived about 1pm.  The RV park was small but very nice. We got set up and talked to some of the people staying around us.  Those same people looked at my wife and I like we were crazy when we told them we drove 9.5 hours to see a hippo. Once I enlightened them on the story behind Fiona and how I started following her, they too became very intrigued with her.

The next morning, July 30, 2020, it was cloudy and rain was in the area.  Apparently, a front had moved in overnight and it was suppose to rain all day.  I thought to myself, of all the days it could rain it would be on the day I am suppose to meet Fiona for the first time. I wasn’t happy, but I wasn’t going to let it ruin my day.  Our tickets were reserved for the 10:00-10:30am entry time. So, we headed to the zoo and waited to go in.  Once inside, I asked for directions to the hippo exhibit.  As my wife and I started our walk toward meeting Fiona, it started to rain.  As we approached the entry to the hippo exhibit, I observed a glass window which allowed you to see into Fiona’s pool area. As I got closer to the window, I could see Fiona’s head resting against the window and could see she asleep. Fiona’s Mama, Bibi, was laying on the back of her.  I know this sounds crazy, but I actually got tears in my eyes.  I had followed Fiona online for 3.5 years and the only thing separating us was a glass window.  The video below was filmed by my wife as I met Fiona for the first time.

One of the staff members told us the best time to see Fiona and Bibi was in the afternoon between 3pm-5pm.  The staff member explained to us that hippos are nocturnal and Fiona sleeps in the morning but becomes very active in the afternoons.  With the rain coming down really hard, my wife and I decided to call it a day and head back to the RV where it was dry. Tomorrow is another day.

The next day, July 31, 2020, it was a gorgeous day!! No rain and the sun was shining. My wife and I headed back to the zoo. We had the same entry time as we did the day before.  Once inside, we headed back to the hippo exhibit. Fiona and Bibi were laying on the glass and they were sleeping.  It was still a little too early for them to be up, so we decided to walk the zoo and see the other exhibits. As we walked around the zoo, we were amazed at the beauty of the zoo.  In all the years I’ve been on this earth, I’ve never been to a zoo like the Cincinnati Zoo.  I see why it was voted one of the top zoos in this country.

After we had lunch and walked around the entire zoo, we headed back to the hippo exhibit.  I told my wife I wasn’t leaving until I got to see Fiona awake and playing.  Within about 30 minutes of arriving at the exhibit, Fiona started to wake up. After waking up, Fiona and Bibi put on quiet a show for their guests.

Fiona was so personable to everyone when they walked up to the glass.  The one thing I noticed about her is she loves kids!! Anytime a kid would step close to the glass, Fiona came to each and every one of them.  I was speechless at how personable she was and she how much she wanted to entertain all of her guests.  There was one brief moment when everyone had cleared out of the exhibit.  I stepped up to the glass to see if Fiona would come to me.  Fiona came straight for me.  OMG in that moment, I felt everything just stop.  Fiona raised up on her back legs and pushed herself against the glass toward me.  I put my hand out like I was touching her and we made eye contact. I noticed Fiona’s eyes were blue and I honestly think she would have given me a kiss on the cheek had she been able to.  What an incredible moment and one that will stay with me the rest of my life.

As we left the zoo, I thanked my wife for coming with me to Cincinnati.  She knew how much it meant for me to meet Fiona and I was truly grateful she shared that moment with me.

Next up, Choctaw goes to Florida!!!

 

As the quarantine continued, I had to make an unexpected trip to the doctor because I had not been feeling well.  I’ve had an abnormal pain around my left ovary since October of 2019, that wouldn’t go away.  I went for my normal check up in January of 2020, and everything appeared to be normal.

On April 6, 2020, Choctaw and I were doing our morning run when an “unbearable” pain started in my left ovary area that brought me to my knees on the running trail.  When I went down to the ground, Choctaw immediately ran back toward me trying to comfort me because I was in a tremendous amount of pain.  It took me several minutes to be able to stand back up and continue my run.  When I say “continue my run,” it was more like hobble home because the pain was so bad.  Choctaw never left my side and the look of her face told me all I needed to know.  If Choctaw had not been with me, I honestly don’t know how long it would have taken me to get home.  When Choctaw and I got home, I called my doctor’s office and told the nurse what had happened.  She made an appointment for me for the following Monday to have a pelvic ultrasound.

On April 12, 2020, I arrived at my doctor’s office and was immediately stopped at the front entrance by a nurse.  The nurse asked me a lot of questions and took my temperature before I could enter.  I had to wear a mask and had to distance myself from other patients.  Shortly after arriving, I was escorted back to a room where a pelvic ultrasound was done.  I was doing good until the specialist placed the pelvic instrument in the area of my left ovary.  The pain was so bad I came off the table.  She asked me to hold on so that she could get a good picture.  She would not say what she located and wanted the doctor’s nurse to talk to me. Shortly after the ultrasound, the doctor’s nurse called me back to a room to go over the results. The nurse told me I had a very large mass over my left ovary. The nurse told me she did not know if the mass was cancerous but she did state the mass around my ovary looked contained so that was a plus.  Meaning, the mass was not “forking” off in different directions.  Since my doctor was not available while I was at her office, I decided to go home and wait for the doctor to call me. I do not remember the drive home and I did not want to call my wife on the phone.  I wanted to tell her in person. When I got home, my wife was waiting for me when I walked in the door.  She told me she knew something was wrong because I had not called her. I filled her in on what was going on and told her what the nurse had stated about the mass not “forking” off.  My wife knew what that term meant because she had breast cancer in 2009.

I did not hear from my doctor until the following day.  She had looked at my chart and was very optimistic about the mass being contained and not “forking” off like the nurse had previously stated.  My doctor and I talked about an OBGYN Oncologist performing the surgery.  My first thought was “why” an Oncologist because my doctor was a surgeon.  My doctor explained to me that she is not a cancer doctor and should the mass be cancer, she would want an Oncologist performing my surgery so the cancer can be dealt with right then.  Over the next week or so, my wife and I did a lot of research on OBGYN Oncologist in our area.  We finally decided on one and made an appointment to meet the doctor.

On April 27, 2020, I meet with the OBGYN Oncologist.  After our visit, my surgery was scheduled for June 11, 2020, at 9am. I left there feeling a little more optimistic.

Now that I had some down time until my surgery, my wife and I decided to take Titan and Choctaw on an RV trip to Hot Springs.  A place we go to often to get away and relax.  We had been quarantined so it was time to get away from the house.  And as always, Titan and Choctaw had a blast.

On June 11, 2020, I had surgery to remove the mass around my left ovary.  When I woke up in recovery, the first question I asked the nurse was “do I have cancer?”  She smiled and said “NO” you don’t have cancer.  She went on to tell me that the mass was a very large tumor that was really stubborn.  The OBGYN Oncologist had allotted an hour and a half to perform the surgery.  Apparently, it took the Oncologist almost three hours to remove the tumor because it was wrapped around various areas. I was very grateful to the Oncologist and the entire team that performed my surgery.  Many many prayers had been answered!!!

The day after my surgery, I took a photograph of my poor belly button.  The Oncologist performed the surgery arthroscopy so that it was less invasive and less down time.  My belly button looked like a war zone and it felt like a war zone too.  My stomach was still bloated from the air that the surgery team blew into me in order to take out the mass. From what I was told in recovery, it would take a while for the air to come out of my stomach.  Despite all this, I was very happy I was only dealing with a war zone belly button and bloated stomach.

Next up, I finally get to meet FIONA, the little hippo at the Cincinnati Zoo!!!

After the trip to Hot Springs, I started to hear more and more about a virus that had started in China that was being referred to as the coronavirus, also know as COVID-19.

On January 31, 2020, The Washington Post reported that The Trump administration escalated its response to the fast-spreading coronavirus epidemic by announcing quarantines and major travel restrictions that officials said were meant to limit contagion.  The Washington Post also reported that The White House declared a “public health emergency” and — beginning on Sunday (February 2nd) at 5 p.m. — will bar non-U.S. citizens who recently visited China from entering the United States, subject to a few exemptions. Shortly after the White House announced the new restrictions and said there were six confirmed U.S. cases, a seventh case was confirmed in Santa Clara County, Calif. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar also said the Trump administration would quarantine any Americans who had visited China’s Hubei province, where the disease originated, within the past 14 days. The government will also require screening and self-quarantines for all other Americans who recently visited any other parts of China. Officials said the self-quarantine rules would require individuals to stay in their homes for a certain length of time, monitor themselves for certain symptoms such as coughing, and check their temperatures and report them to local health officials.

After hearing about the travel ban, I started doing a little research on the coronavirus. I got online and read numerous articles that were coming out as the facts of the virus unfolded.  One of the first articles that I read came from WebMD.  In that article published by WebMD, it states that the first coronavirus was discovered in 1965 and it caused a common cold. Later that decade, researchers found a group of similar human and animal viruses and named them after their crown-like appearance. The article also states that scientists have divided coronaviruses into four sub-groupings, called alpha, beta, gamma, and delta. Seven of these viruses can infect people:

• 229E (alpha)
• NL63 (alpha)
• OC43 (beta)
• HKU1 (beta
• MERS-CoV, a beta virus that causes Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)
• SARS-CoV, a beta virus that causes severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)
• SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19

Where Did COVID-19 Come From That Caused The Pandemic in 2020?

The above question is probably the most asked question of 2020.  Where did COVID-19 Come From?  From the research I have read online, no one knows for sure where COVID-19 started.  According to an unpublicized report from the Chinese government, the first case can be traced back to November 17, 2019.  That person was a 55-year old citizen in the Hubei province. There were four men and five women reported to be infected in November. According to the World Health Organization, China reported a cluster of cases of pneumonia in Wuhan, Hubei Province on December 31, 2019.  As I type this blog, many researchers and investigators around the world are trying to figure this out.  I honestly don’t know if we will ever really know where COVID-19 started. Everyone has their theories and I have mine as well, but factual evidence is what we need.

First Report Of COVID-19 In United States?

According to Wikipedia, on January 7, 2020, Ohio claims to have had the first COVID-19 patient.

When Was COVID-19 Pandemic Declared?

On March 11, 2020, COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization.

On March 13, 2020, a national emergency was declared in the United States concerning the COVID-19 Outbreak.

After the national emergency was declared, the weeks to follow would involve stay at home orders across the country. Businesses, schools, universities, gyms, hair salons, restaurants, etc. were all closed. And just like that, our country took a timeout, along with the rest of the world.  I’ve been alive 57 years and I’ve never experienced anything like this in my lifetime.

Next up, an unexpected surgery and that damn virus!!!

As we said goodbye to 2019 and said hello to 2020, it’s a natural feeling to wonder what the new year will bring.

The RV was winterized for now, but my wife and I had an upcoming trip planned to meet friends and family members in Hot Springs for opening day at Oaklawn Park on January 23rd. Oaklawn is a horse racing establishment and a place I’ve been going to since 1977.  And for the last 20 years, we’ve been meeting the same friends there every January for opening day. Titan and Choctaw will not be with us on this trip because of the length of time that we would be away from the RV.  I honestly don’t like leaving them alone for an extended period of time inside the RV.  I’m probably over paranoid, but so many things can go wrong with an RV and my biggest fear is something will happen and we won’t be there to protect them.  So, Choctaw is staying at the pet resort and Titan will bond with “Uncle” Pete.

The day before we left for Hot Springs, I noticed two small streams of water on the floor inside the RV.  I couldn’t determine where the water was coming from, but my best guess was the large slide.  When I felt underneath the recliners, I could feel moisture on the metal directly underneath.  The water wasn’t standing on the floor, but dripping down from the metal.  I immediately called the RV dealership and told them what the problem was and made an appointment to bring it in the following Monday.  I also noticed that the water had damaged the lower part of our kitchen because the wood was rotting out.  Apparently, this had been going on for quiet sometime and I didn’t know it. Needless to say, it wasn’t going to ruin our trip.

On Thursday, January 23rd, we loaded up and headed to Hot Springs. We had reservations at Catherine’s Landing which is the first place we stayed after purchasing the RV in April of 2019.  When we arrived, only one other couple had arrived before us.  I had to de-winterize the RV which took about an hour to do. Once that was done, it was time for an adult beverage and some relaxation.  As the day went on, the other couples starting arriving including our family from Texas.  After everyone had arrived, we all decided to have dinner at a the Colorado Grill which is a poplar restaurant in downtown Hot Springs.  The food is fabulous and the margaritas are to die for.

The next morning, Friday, January 24th,  I got up to do my morning run.  Catherine’s Landing has hiking/running trails on the back side of the campground so I went for a 40-45 minute run in the cool air.  It was a beautiful morning.  When I got back to the RV, everyone was starting to stir so having coffee outside was a must.  It was about 40 degrees and the air was so crisp. After coffee, we all got dressed and headed to Oaklawn.  As the day went on, some of us stayed in the box we had rented betting the horses and some decided to hit the casino downstairs.  I am not much of a casino person, so I stayed with the horses.  After the races, we all went to have dinner at the Ohio Club in downtown Hot Springs.  The Ohio Club is the oldest bar in Hot Springs.  It opened in 1905 and was a place where gangsters and Major League Ball players use to hang out.  Al Capone, Bugsy Segel, Bugs Moran, and Lucky Luciano were few of the gangsters that hung out at the club.  Since baseball players had spring training in Hot Springs in the early 1900’s, Babe Ruth was the most famous player to visit the club.  The food was fabulous and the atmosphere was very festive. After dinner, we headed back to the campground to sit around a campfire.

The next morning, Saturday, January 25th, we all got cleaned up and headed back to Oaklawn Park for another day of horse racing and festivities. Later in the afternoon, I had decided I had lost enough money so several of us walked across the street to a pizza place known as Rocky’s Corner.  It’s the best pizza that I’ve ever tasted and I’m not a big pizza fan so that says a lot for how good the pizza really is, not to mention the cold beer!!  As the afternoon winded down, everyone eventually met back at the campground for our last night together.  We again sat around a campfire and laughed until it was time to turn in for the evening.

On Sunday morning, January 26th, we slowly started breaking down our campsites for the journey home. It had been a great weekend with a lot of laughter and great memories were made.  Each year, opening weekend at Oaklawn was such a fun time!! When my wife and I got home, we unloaded what we needed to in order to take the RV to the dealership the following morning.

On Monday morning, January 27th, I drove the RV to the dealership and dropped it off around 9am. Hopefully, they can figure out where all the water is coming from. I have a strange feeling that whatever it is, it is not going to be good!!

Next up, the pandemic!!!

 

 

 

 

 

When we got back from Gulpha Gorge, my wife took Titan to the vet to have his left ear checked.  The vet sedated Titan and drained a lot of blood from the hematoma in the ear.  After the procedure was done, Titan was a little goofy so they loaded him up in the SUV and headed home. When they got home, Titan just wanted to lay down and sleep.  I noticed that his left ear was starting to fold over.  My wife told me the vet told her Titan’s ear appeared to have ligament damage and if that was the case, Titan’s ear would not stand up again.

As the week went on, Titan’s ear wasn’t getting better so my wife took him back to the vet. On this visit, the vet sedated Titan again and performed a minor surgery due to an infection in the ear.  After the surgery was over, the vet told my wife that he still didn’t know if Titan’s ear would ever stand back up. When my wife and Titan got home, I felt so bad for him.  He was goofy from the sedation and he just wanted to sleep.  To make things worse for him, he had a large cone on his head and that was driving him nuts. My wife and I again talked about the fact that Titan’s ear wasn’t going to stand back up and that broke our hearts. Titan’s ears have always been such a large part of his personality such as the “go big or go home” mentality.  The photographs below tell you how much personality those ears had.

When I let Choctaw outside to see Titan, she wanted to play and she didn’t understand why I wouldn’t let her play with him.  These two dogs play so hard all the time so Choctaw was a bit confused.  She was even more confused when she saw this large “thing” around Titan’s neck.  She looked at me like, “what is that?” When the sedation wore off and Titan seemed more alert, we took the cone off his head because it was stressing him out.  He kept running into everything and we could tell it was frustrating him.  We had to really watch Choctaw because she wanted to play so bad.

It was a long week trying to keep Titan from playing.  And, to make matters worse, Choctaw wasn’t helping either.  It was like having two toddlers on crack!!  (LOL)  As the week rolled on, Titan started to act like himself.  His ear was healing nicely, but the ligament had been damaged to much to hold the ear.  Titan now has one fully erect ear and one floppy ear.

Over the last eight months since Titan had the incident with his ear, he’s never missed a beat. This boy loves to play and as you can see, he loves his balls on a string. (LOL)

Next up, we say goodbye to 2019 and hello 2020!!

After we got back from Colorado in August, my wife and I decided we were going to stay close to home and travel around Arkansas. Of course, Titan and Choctaw are always ready to go.

On Thursday, October 17, 2019, we took a trip in the RV to the Gulpha Gorge Campground in Hot Springs, Arkansas.  Hot Springs is a beautiful part of the state.  Since my wife and I are from Arkansas, we can tell you from experience that we live in a beautiful state that has so much to offer to anyone who loves nature, hiking, biking, water sports, horse racing, waterfalls, and the list goes on.  In fact, a lot of the state parks in Arkansas are usually booked from Memorial Day Weekend through Labor Day by out of state travelers who flock to the state for the amenities that I listed above.  Gulpha Gorge didn’t take reservations so it’s a first come first serve park.  Fortunately, there were several spots available when we got there.

On Friday morning, we all got up and went for a walk.  After the walk, we came back to the RV to have coffee.  As I was getting the coffee ready, I noticed that Titan kept shaking his head and he whimpered.  I told my wife about it and we looked at his ear.  My wife felt a large hematoma in the middle of  Titan’s left ear so she called the vet and to make an appointment to bring him in. She told the vet we were out of town and would be back Sunday afternoon, so the appointment was set for Monday morning.  My wife and I kept checking Titan’s ear throughout the weekend to make sure the hematoma hadn’t grown and hadn’t ruptured. After making the vet appointment and having coffee, we went on a long hike up the mountain that was directly behind our RV. Titan and Choctaw were so excited and couldn’t wait to get going.  I packed a backpack full of water then we all headed out.  It was a beautiful hike and the dogs were enjoying themselves. When we reached the top of the mountain, I took a great photograph of my wife and Titan having some bonding time in a small pavilion that was right off the hiking trail. As we were getting ready to leave and start the hike back down the mountain, an unknown female approached us and she was very curious about Titan.  She apparently got a little to close for Titan’s comfort because he started barking at her and she quickly turned to vacate the area. Titan is a retired police dog so he lets you know when you get to close to his family, especially if you are to close to my wife. Of course, we apologized and went on our merry way, but Titan didn’t apologize (LOL).

After the hike, we were all exhausted. We went back to the RV and relaxed for the rest of the day.  I know my wife and I were tired, but Titan and Choctaw were completely worn out.  The below photographs of Titan and Choctaw were taken after we got back from our hike.  You can tell from the photographs they were tired. If you click on the close up photograph of Titan, you can actually see the large hematoma that’s in his left ear. Bless his heart he’s such a trooper.  He only whimpered that one time over the whole weekend, but looking at that photograph makes my heart hurt because he was probably in pain.

The next morning (Saturday), my wife and I made a trip to downtown Hot Springs to eat lunch at Superior Bath House which is one of our favorite places to go.  They’ve got incredible food and their brewed beer is spectacular.  After eating lunch, we strolled around downtown then headed back to the RV to watch College Football.  The RV is equipped with an exterior TV so watching the games outside was so relaxing.  We grilled out and talked with the neighbors that were camping around us and just had a great afternoon!!

On Sunday, we packed up to start heading home. We really enjoyed our weekend at Gulpha Gorge and we will be back. There is a lot of trails that we didn’t hike so we will have to come back to explore those.  The campground has a lot of great camping sites and we would like to have a larger site next time.  All and all, it was a wonderful weekend!!

Next up, Titan’s trip to the vet!!

 

 

In August of 2019, my wife and I decided to take a trip to Colorado to see my son.  This was our first long trip with Titan and Choctaw on board in the RV.  We didn’t feel the long trip would be a problem for Titan and Choctaw because they loved being in the RV and loved being with us. Titan was use to traveling in a vehicle for lengthy periods of time so we knew he wouldn’t have any issues.  Choctaw is adaptable to just about anything so we didn’t feel like the long trip would bother her either.

We started the trip on a Tuesday morning and decided to take a couple of days to get to Colorado.  On the first day, we drove to Oklahoma City and stayed at the Twin Fountains RV Resort.  I would highly recommend this RV resort to anyone who is traveling through Oklahoma.  We didn’t get to check out all the accommodations that the resort had to offer because we were passing through, but I would definitely stay there again.  On the second day, we drove to Wakeeney, Kansas and stayed at the KOA Campground that was right off  I-70.  It was actually a nice little campground to stop for the night.  However, the mosquitoes the next morning were as big as the RV and they were in mass quantity.  We couldn’t even open the door to get in and out of the RV without them flying inside. It was horrible!!  Needless to say, I won’t be staying at this campground ever again.

After we left the KOA, we drove the rest of the way to Golden, Colorado.  We arrived at the Dakota Ridge RV Resort early that afternoon and were escorted to our site. It took us a little while to set up but once we got everything done, we took Titan and Choctaw for a walk around the resort to get familiar with the layout. As my wife and I walked around, several people stopped us to look at Titan.  One particular man was very curious about Titan and asked if he was a protection dog.  My wife told the man she and Titan had recently retired from law enforcement which made him even more curious about Titan.  As my wife bonded with the man, Choctaw and I kept walking around to find the most important areas which was the pee and poop zones. After we got familiar with that, we walked back to the RV to call my son. I wanted to let him know that we had arrived and the location of the RV resort.  My son drove about 20-30 minutes from Boulder to meet us.  We all had dinner and talked about the festivities over the next several days.  After we settled in for the evening, we talked about how amazed we were with how Titan and Choctaw handled the trip. They did absolutely amazing during the two day adventure to Colorado.

The next day we all decided to explore what Golden had to offer.  It’s a beautiful town with great outdoor adventure, great breweries, great restaurants, and the best margarita ever.  I grew up snow skiing in Colorado but I had never been to Golden.  The one thing that shocked me was the weather.  It was very warm and that’s not normal for Colorado.  It got up to 90 degrees on one of the days and that’s way to hot for Colorado. Nevertheless, we enjoyed the time we had with my son and we really enjoyed Golden.  We will be back!!

On the drive back home, we decided to go down I-25 toward New Mexico then cut over into Texas and take I-40 back to Arkansas.  The drive was long and instead of taking three days to get back, we drove it in two.  We stopped in Amarillo, Texas and stayed at the Oasis RV Resort.  It was right off I-40 and it was very nice.  We didn’t arrive until after they had closed but we knew the number of our RV site.  Once we got set up, we took Titan and Choctaw for some needed play time.  The next morning, we got up and hit the road to head home. Those two days were long but we made it.  And as usual, Titan and Choctaw did great!!

Next up, a trip in the RV with Titan and Choctaw to the Gulpha Gorge Campground in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

In mid to late June of 2019, my wife and I drove the RV to Florida.  My wife’s nephew is a Lt. Colonel in the Army and he was taking command of an Army Ranger Unit near Destin, Florida.  We made the trip without Titan and Choctaw because it was our first long trip in the RV, plus we were pulling the Jeep behind the RV for the first time.  Once we arrived in Florida, we were going to be gone a lot due to the festivities going on at the Army base.  We did not want to leave Titan and Choctaw in the RV for a lengthy period of time, so we decided to make the trip without them. Choctaw stayed at the pet resort that’s near our house and Titan stayed with a friend of ours who is also a K9 Law Enforcement Officer.

On the first day of the trip, we drove to Birmingham, Alabama and stayed at an RV park for the night.  On the second day of the trip, we got up that next morning and drove to Destin. We pulled into the RV resort on Miramar Beach around 2:00 PM.  We were a little late arriving due to a detour we had to take.  One of the bridges was being repaired so we had to drive about 45 minutes out of the way to another bridge so that we could cross over the water to get to Destin.  Needless to say, it was a long 45 minutes in traffic. When we finally arrived at Miramar Beach, we checked in at the RV park where we were staying.  Once we were escorted to our site, it took us a little while to set up and get organized.  After setting up, I looked like I had been in a shower because it as hotter than hell in Florida and the humanity was horrible. Needless to say, a shower was in order for me.

Since we had been driving most of the day, my wife and I decided to head to the beach and have dinner at one of the local restaurants.  The restaurant was right on the ocean and the view from our table was spectacular.  The restaurant was packed with family vacationers so the service was a little slow.  We didn’t mind because we were there to relax and take in that wonderful view.  When we finally decided to eat, the food was really good and we tried one of the locally brewed craft beers which was outstanding.

The next morning stated really early.  We meet my wife’s nephew at a location not far from the army base so that we could follow him to the ceremony.  It seemed like we drove forever before we actually saw another human being, but we finally arrived at the place where the ceremony was being held.  Like I said earlier, it was hotter than hell and a storm was brewing overhead.  My wife and I sat under a tent with the rest of the families and watched as my wife’s nephew took command of the Ranger Unit.  We took a lot of photographs and videos of the ceremony, but I didn’t want to include those in this post due to it being at a military facility. Needless to say, it was a wonderful ceremony and the storm held off.

We spent the next three days on the beach and doing a little souvenir shopping in between.  On Sunday, we started the long drive back to Arkansas.  My wife and I talked about stopping and spending the night somewhere, but decided to go ahead and drive home.  It was a LONG day and the weather was fine until we got to Arkansas. The storm from hell came rolling through and the winds were horrible.  I had to fight to keep the RV and the Jeep on the roadway. I can tell you that it wasn’t a fun experience, but it was “quality” learning experience.  I got us home safely and that’s all that mattered.

Next up, a trip to Colorado in the RV with my wife, Titan, and Choctaw!!!

On the day that my wife and I retired from law enforcement, we went on our first outing with Titan and Choctaw in the RV.  We made reservations at a campground right outside of Hot Springs, Arkansas, to meet my wife’s cousin and her husband who were traveling from Texas.  Choctaw rode in the RV with me and Titan rode in the Jeep with my wife.  When we arrived at our campground, we hooked up to the amenities and started to unload the dogs.  Since Titan and Choctaw had never been to an RV campground, we didn’t know what to expect.  It didn’t take long for them to adapt and they loved it.  When you are at a campground, your dogs have to be kept in a kennel or on a leash while they are outdoors.  We chose the long leashes because it gave them more freedom to roam.  We actually used our Jeep as a tie off point which worked really well.  Titan was accustomed to being on a long leash but Choctaw was not.  It took her a few times of running full speed to get the concept that she can only go so far.  After a few “zip line” falls, she figured it out.  The zip lining was usually due to the fact that another dog was nearby and she just wanted to play.

As the weekend went on, Choctaw started getting in the driver’s seat of the cab area because she figured out that she could see all the other dogs outside. Titan was usually standing between the two seats like he use to do in the patrol vehicle.  I don’t know if Titan thought he was at work or he was just Choctaw’s side kick.  Choctaw then got creative and started standing up in the seat and placing her front paws on the steering wheel. It was funny until she started laying on the horn as she barked at the other dogs walking by.  I finally had to switch her to the passenger seat so she would quit honking the horn.  It really was funny to watch!!

When we were all inside the RV together, it was quiet festive.  Titan and Choctaw played nonstop.  If you were standing outside while all this madness was going on inside, all you would hear is running, thumping, and growling noises.  I actually stood outside one morning with my coffee and just listened.  It made me smile!!

As the weekend came to a close, my wife and I were pleased with the way Titan and Choctaw responded to the RV.  They really seemed to enjoy the adventure and adjusted really well to the other dogs and people in the RV park.  The one thing Titan didn’t adjust well to was one guy that kept walking by our campsite.  This guy was really curious about Titan and got just a little to close to us one afternoon.  Titan pretty much set the ground rules for that guy and he never came close to us again.  Titan didn’t act like that to anyone else except this one guy which made me take note.  Despite that one incident, it was a great weekend.  Life was good!!

Next up, a trip to Florida in the RV.

In April of 2019, my wife and I purchased our first RV so that we could travel around our beautiful country.  Of course, we had to buy an RV that would accommodate two humans and two dogs.  To be honest, I don’t think any RV would be enough room for Titan and Choctaw because they play continually and the chasing of each other is endless.  Nevertheless, we bought a Class C that’s 32 feet long.  It accommodates us for now but who knows what the future holds.

Our first outing in the RV was the week after we purchased it.  We actually went on a retreat with the dealership that sold us the RV.  The dealership hosts four different outings through each calendar year at various campgrounds throughout the country and their first outing was at Catherine’s Landing in Hot Springs, Arkansas.  This was perfect for us because we had no idea how to hook up the RV so it was going to be a beneficial weekend to say the least. We decided to leave Titan and Choctaw at home so that we didn’t have the extra stress of taking care of them and learning about our new RV.  Choctaw stayed at a pet resort that she loves to go to and Titan stayed at another K9 Officer’s residence.  Due to Titan being a retired police dog, we can’t just take him anywhere to stay.

The following Friday after we purchased the RV, we left on our weekend outing.  When we arrived at Catherine’s Landing, we were very impressed with the campground.  It was absolutely gorgeous.  My wife and I looked at each other and both agreed that we could get use to this type of camping and traveling.  When we entered the gate area, an employee handed us some paperwork and another employee escorted us to our RV site.  Once we pulled into the site, we notified the dealership employees that we were there.  These guys were on the ball because we didn’t have to wait long for them to help us. While these guys were helping us with the hook up process and educating us on how the RV functions, we didn’t realize we were responsible for buying certain hook up items.  I honestly thought all those items came with the RV. The only thing that we had was an electrical cord which provided electricity to the RV.  We needed water hoses, TV cable, and RV hoses for the grey/black hookups.  My wife drove to a nearby store and purchased the items that we needed.  I guess you could say this was our first lesson to learn.  Once we were all hooked up, we stood back and admired our new RV and the campground surrounding us.  The campground was by a lake and it was so peaceful.  As you can tell by the photographs below, we were really roughing it on our camping trip. This weekend happened to be the weekend of the Kentucky Derby so my wife was wearing her little derby hat.

Needless to say, our first outing in the new RV was such a great experience.  Once we got through all the hookup issues in the beginning, it was a wonderful weekend.

In June of 2019, my wife and I retired from law enforcement.  Titan also retired and legally became our dog.  My wife had been a law enforcement officer for 25 years and I had been a law enforcement officer for almost 21 years.  We both enjoyed our careers so retiring was a hard choice for us.  The many years of service was starting to take a toll on both of us so we decided to start a new journey in our lives. At the time we retired, my wife and I had been together for 19 years and all we knew was law enforcement.  We wanted to experience life and we knew there was more to life than what we were doing.  And, the fact that Titan and Choctaw could come with us made the thought of the journey even better.  Life was good.

Next up, Titan and Choctaw’s first trip in the new RV!!

 

 

As the days, weeks, months, and years have gone by since my wife and I adopted Choctaw, we have often wondered what we did without her.  It’s amazing how something so tiny with four legs can make your life whole.  Choctaw has adjusted very well to her new home and her new man, Titan.  The amount of photographs and videos that we have of Titan and Choctaw are astronomical.  Titan has been such a gentlemen to Choctaw through the years. Now don’t get me wrong, he will tell her when he’s had enough but he does it in a gentle way instead of biting her in half.  The one thing I can certainly say about Choctaw is she DOESN’T back down.  She’s tough as nails and to be frankly honest, she rules the roost and Titan knows it.

Titan and Choctaw are just like having children and they are going to get into trouble just like children.  I can count on one hand how many times I’ve been mad at Choctaw.  The only time that comes to mind is when she dug so deep in the yard that she exposed the sprinkler pipe.  I honestly thought she had ruptured the pipe when I looked in the hole she had dug. I can tell you that on that morning I honestly thought I was going to loose my mind.

Choctaw and I had already gone for our morning run and I put her in the backyard with Titan. I could hear her running and gunning as Titan chased her around the yard which is an everyday occurrence. I went outside to get her and she was covered in dirt from the chest all the way down to her little tail.  And not the kind of dirt that you get from running and gunning, but the kind of dirt you get when you’ve dug to China and back. Choctaw had dug a huge hole in the backyard which happen to be right by a sprinkler head. When I looked in the hole, I could see the sprinkler pipe and I could see water.  I honestly thought the pipe and sprinkler head had been damaged.  Like I said earlier, “I LOST MY MIND.”  Choctaw knew she was in trouble the minute I looked at her.  I am sure the expression on my face told her everything that she needed to know, which I’m sure was along the lines of,  “MAMA IS MAD AS HELL SO I’M GOING TO RUN AND SHE WON’T CATCH ME.”  And that’s exactly what Choctaw did was run! I grabbed a towel and tried to convince Choctaw to come to me.  I knew if she came to me, I couldn’t scold her because she would never come to me again.  Finally, Choctaw SLOWLY walked toward me and rolled over on her back.  I tried wiping her off with the towel, but it wasn’t working.  The dirt had turned to mud.  When I could not wipe Choctaw off with the towel, I grabbed hold of her collar so she wouldn’t run from me and walked her down to Titan’s kennel to wash her off in his pool.  It was summer time so there was always a pool in Titan’s kennel to keep him cool.  Choctaw immediately jumped in the pool with her tail down because she knew that I was mad.  I pretty much told her that when I was washing her off.  I won’t repeat the colorful adjectives I used but you get the picture. Once all the mud was washed off of her, I again grabbed hold of Choctaw’s collar and walked her back up to the patio to dry her off.  Our next door neighbors must have heard and seen all the commotion going on because they came out onto their patio.  I was so mad that I didn’t even say good morning or make conversation which was not like us not to talk.  And, on top of Choctaw digging the huge hole, she had just had a bath the day before this happened.  It was like throwing money down the drain because I used a mobile dog washing service to come to the house to bath her.

Needless to say, as the day went on, I felt really bad I had gotten so mad at Choctaw. When I got home from work that afternoon, Choctaw immediately came to me and we made up.  Needless to say, we had a come to Jesus meeting about the digging.  It turned out that the sprinkler pipe and sprinkler head had not been damaged and that was a relief.  Choctaw still digs from time to time but nothing like what happened on this given day.

Next up, retiring and purchasing an RV.

 

About a month after my wife and I adopted Choctaw, we learned a very interesting “thing” about her.  Whenever my wife or I would go to the bathroom and close the door, two paws would immediately be under the door.  It didn’t matter if you were in there 30 seconds or 30 minutes, Choctaw’s paws were constantly under the door.

One day, I took a photograph of Choctaw when my wife had gone into the bathroom.  I know her coloring blends in with the tile on the floor, but this is what you would see if you were standing on the opposite side of the door.  You can click on the photograph to the left to get a better look.  It was the funniest thing I had ever seen.  We could not get away from this because it happened every time we went to the bathroom.  We started sticking our hands under the door which made Choctaw want to play.  At some point, she would just lay down and look under the door to see what was going on in there.  I must say, this made bathroom time a little interesting.

When I took Choctaw for her first visit to the vet, she did the same thing in the vet’s office that she did at the bathroom at home. We were waiting on the vet to come into the room and Choctaw was putting her paws under the door while she was laying on the floor.  She must of had a birds eye view of the waiting room outside because I could hear people laughing. I don’t know if she was looking for my wife or what she was doing but it was so funny.  At some point in all this madness, someone walked by and put their hands under the door which made Choctaw loose her mind.  Unfortunately, I had already stopped the video so I didn’t get that part recorded.

Needless to say, nothing was the same after we adopted Choctaw.  She has a unique personality that fits right in with our family. She and Titan have such an admiration for each other that’s so hard to explain to someone unless you’ve experience it.

Next up, Choctaw is adjusting to her new home and her new man!!

When we first adopted Choctaw, the volunteers told us that Choctaw was “deathly” afraid of storms.  The volunteers told us they had no way of knowing how long Choctaw was living on the streets before they found her and having no shelter was probably a factor in why she was so afraid of storms. I wasn’t sure the extent of what that meant until I witnessed it first hand.

I had transferred back to my day shift schedule in September of 2016.  I came home from work one day and could not find Choctaw.  We had a bad storm during the day so I knew she was hiding.  I checked all over the house and found her in the our closet in the back part of the house.  I guess you could say, I saw the “debris line” before I ever saw Choctaw.  What I mean by “debris line”  is there was stuff thrown all over the closet.  Whatever my wife and I had laying along the walls in the closet was now in the center of the floor.  It looked like someone had broken into our house and ram sacked it.  I still could not find Choctaw.  Finally, I saw a tail hanging out that was barely wagging.  Choctaw had pushed herself as far back in the closet as possible and laying underneath some backpacks that I had laying on my side of the closet.  She was shaking so bad I honestly thought she was going to have a heart attack.  I felt so bad for her and I honestly didn’t know what to do.  As I tried to pull her out from underneath the backpacks, she jumped into my arms and literally wrapped herself around me.  I don’t know how long we stayed like that, but she did not want to let go.  I had never seen a dog react like this to a storm and I’ve had a lot of dogs.  Choctaw wouldn’t eat and she certainly wouldn’t go outside.  As that night went on, I finally got her to eat and go outside.

After this incident happened, I went to the pet store and purchased another bed for Choctaw to put in the closet where I found her.  I emptied out the area underneath my blue jeans and put her new bed there.  It seemed to work because when another storm rolled through, I knew exactly where to find her and that’s when I took this photograph.  The photograph to the left was taken the night a tornado was on the ground in our area and it was moving fast.  I was actually in the closet with Choctaw.  My wife and Titan had not made it home from work yet. I called her and told her not to come home until the storm passed. A tornado was on the ground across the river and I didn’t want her and Titan traveling into it’s path. This storm reminded me of the tornado that came close to our neighborhood on April 27, 2014.  That tornado skipped over the river and headed straight for us.  Our neighbor across the street actually recorded the below video standing on our street.  To give you a point of reference as to where our house was in the video, our mailbox is the white one on the left.  I did not know about the video until the next day.  When I saw it, it took my breath away looking at the size of the tornado.  Thank goodness the tornado turned before it reached our neighborhood.  However, two towns to the west of us were not so lucky and numerous people were killed.  It was a horrific day and I did not want a repeat.

Needless to say, I was scared to death because this tornado was taking the same path as it did in April of 2014.  It was on the ground and skipping over the river.  Fortunately, it came off the ground and broke apart.  We had once again been spared the path of a deadly tornado.  Unlike my neighbor, I didn’t stand in the middle of the street and take a video.  This was actually my first tornado experience with Choctaw and I was in her new bed with her.  I am just thankful that she did not know what a tornado was.  Can you imagine what Choctaw would have done had she known?

Next up, my wife and I quickly learned that going to the bathroom would never be the same with Choctaw around!!

The first month after we adopted Choctaw, someone was always home with her.  My wife and I were both law enforcement officers and worked in different areas of the police department.  My wife was assigned to the K9 Squad and I was assigned to the Violent Crimes Squad in the Detective Division. My schedule changed every August and I worked the 1500-2300 shift (3pm-11pm).  With the exception of August, my wife and I were both assigned to the day shift.  My wife had to be at work at 0530 hours in the morning and I had to be at work at 0900 hours in the morning. So, Choctaw was not alone at all during August of 2016. I was glad because she was getting acquainted with a new home and new family.

I started to notice that Choctaw was looking for Titan during the day.  She would look all over the back yard and she could not figure out where he was at.  She even looked in his kennel and his dog house. Usually when she was done searching, she would look at me like “where is he?”  I tried to explain to Choctaw that her new brother was a “bad ass” police officer.  One morning when my wife and Titan were loading up to leave the house, I let Choctaw watch Titan jump into the patrol vehicle.  As they drove away, Titan started barking at Choctaw and she started barking at him with her tail just a wagging.  I guess they were saying “goodbye or see you later.” If only I could have understood what they were saying.  After that, Choctaw did not look for Titan again.  It got to the point that when my wife and Titan returned home from work, I would let Choctaw outside in the back yard.  She would immediately run to the gate to welcome Titan home.  She was SO excited because she knew her man was home and it was time to play.  I even showed Choctaw a video of Titan in action at work.  She actually watched the video and twisted her head back and forth as she watched.  It cracked me up!!

After I showed the video of Titan to Choctaw, I asked her how come she did not have a job.  I told her everyone in the household had a job but her.  She looked at me like I had lost my mind.  In fact, the below photographs are what Choctaw likes to do on any given day.

Choctaw started running with me in the mornings.  It took a little while for her to figure out where to run so that she would not trip me.  I had to work with her on staying on my left side and it usually was not a problem for her to run a head of me.  She usually pulled my left arm out of socket trying to catch all the squirrels running around us which was just fine with me because it made me run faster.  I enjoyed Choctaw’s company on our morning runs.  It was our time together.

Next up, Choctaw shows us how much she does not like storms!!

 

 

 

 

The next morning (Sunday, August 14, 2016), Choctaw got up and had a little pep in her step.  She seemed so happy and was eager to say good morning to Titan.  It was raining outside so I worried about how Choctaw was going to handle that.  When Choctaw was adopted, the volunteers told us she was deathly afraid of storms and rain.  From what we had been told, Choctaw had been abandoned and lived on the streets for awhile until she was rescued. I guess living on the streets in storms would make me scared too.  It was going to be a learning process for us to figure out how to make Choctaw more secure during storms. But on this day, she seemed okay with the rain outside and she just wanted to see Titan. I let her outside and the fun began.

As you can see from the video above, the rain didn’t bother Choctaw at all. Titan seemed to enjoy Choctaw’s company just as much as she enjoyed his.  It was like these two had known each other a long time. One thing I will say is Choctaw is “fast.”  Titan had a hard time trying to turn his big body around to catch her.  In fact, I don’t believe he ever caught her.

As Titan and Choctaw continued to play, I started looking through Choctaw’s Journal.  I added Choctaw’s pink bandanna to the journal and noticed a great photograph of one of the inmates cuddling with her.  To me, it was a very powerful photograph.  I could tell that he adored Choctaw.

After reading all the notes in Choctaw’s Journal, my wife and I agreed to start making notations to track her daily progress. Choctaw seemed so relaxed and so happy which made my wife and I very happy.  We wanted to give the best home we could to Choctaw and we wanted her to feel secure.  It had only been 24 hours but we were going in the right direction and that made us smile.

Next up, Choctaw learns that Titan is a “bad ass” police officer!!