Soldier's Still Salute

 You might ask why this title???  Well let me explain.  

Years ago we adopted the neighbors Spanish speaking, 180 pound, German Bred Golden Retriever!  He was absolutely beautiful, his name was ILKO.  He spoke Catalan.  He was from Spain.  His owners could not take him back home with them, so we started to watch him then ended up adopting him.  

All of his general commands were in Catalan!  Which was hilarious since most of the neighbors around my house had no idea what we were telling him, and looked at us like we were crazy! We'd yell COTXE (he thought he could stop cars) Vine Aqui' (come here) and so on!!!  He was quite the sophisticated fellow. LOL!!!

Ilko loved to hump a large stuffed duck, he ate crayons, Tonka trucks, and most of all his favorite snack was tiny toy Soldiers.  We always knew what he ate because it showed up outside on the lawn!  I know it sounds terrible but we just could not control him sometimes, remember he was 180 pounds and when something went in his mouth you needed the jaws of life to remove it!  

Well being outside was mostly interesting because of his giant mounds of butt nuggets with interesting colors (crayons) or buried trucks!  He always ate the small ones, don't worry!  But the most interesting of all was how he managed to get those toy soldiers out.  My kids would run around the lawn saluting, at first I didn't understand, but then I saw the first one!  Every single soldier he ate came out standing straight up and still saluting the world!  We've had some very sweet interesting furry family members, but ILKO is one that we will never forget!!!

Here's the meaning of ILKO:  

What Does Name "Ilko" Mean

Your tendency is to finish whatever you start. (his soldier snacks). LOL. You are loving, compassionate, intuitive and humanitarian. Runs of luck, either good or bad, follow you. You are sympathetic, but at times might be touchy and oversensitive. You may have a gift for writing/eating.You are intuitive and might be interested in the arts, drama or science.

You are basically a peacemaker. You understand the law of harmony and desire to balance your life with those around you. You may feel incomplete without someone to share your love, ideals, or work. You can be very sensitive and could appear a bit shy and perceptive. You have developed intuition, patience and the ability to nurture others. You can achieve the state of happiness if you is willing to accept your needs in a complimentary relationship and go to create them. (this was my ILKO in a nutshell). He was all of this and more!!!!

Family Photos

Have you ever raised a puppy?  Most of us moms have, along with small children, we've probably run more times for pee pee and poo poo for puppies as we did toddlers.  I've raised a handful of pups that have graced our lives over the years and a ton of kids, taught them to sit, don't beg, don't "make" in the house, lie down!  I've taught the dogs this as well.....LOL

I think the worst part of raising a puppy is finding gifts all over the house.  Having to follow the smell, find the gift then pick it up and throw it out.  Many times I've reached for the nearest disposable item that I could scoop poop with....one day I smelled out a doozy!!!~~~this was the mother load of gifts!...I saw this piece of "mail" sitting on the counter so I picked it up and scooped the hound mound and tossed it out...OMG, to my dismay, the scooper was an old Christmas Card with my entire family on it...it was the cutest picture (now covered in doggy dung)!  There was no courage left in me to even try to save that card!

Over the years I've mopped up pee....scooped up poop...chased a toddler with a dog bone in his/her mouth....chased a puppy with the babies pacifier in his mouth...ran after a pup with a turd stuck to its butt....ran after a toddler with a turd sticking out of their diaper!  I feel like I've done it all, but I know there's more to come....BRING IT ONE WORLD!!  I'm ready!!!!!