The Tale of Our Boo

Warning:  If you knew our Amber, this will make you cry.  I'm finally ready to share my memories of her.  Finally.

Amber Lynn Svec                       9-12-99 – 11-8-2008

Lover of:

• Frisbees,
• Beer cans (preferably Keystone Light),
• Shadows (bird or hand),
• Dirty socks,

Yes, that is not a pair of dirty socks

• Tom’s fresh off the vine,
• Laser pointers (isn’t there one attached to every set of keys? And BTW, she knew your keys were in your pocket),
• Ice cubes,
• Fireplaces and camp fires (she loved to be next to the warmth),
• Flash lights (she knew where every one of them was located in the house),
• Water out of a garden hose,
• Swimming (off of a boat, from the shore, or into the pool),
• Snow, 

December 2005
Mission, KS

 

February 2008
The meadows, Lake Tahoe, NV

• Harmonica playing,
• And her daddy & her momma.  She loved us so much.

Fast Facts:

• Alpha to our Nellie and Roscoe; Beta to our Abbytail and Keystone. 
• She had short ears.
• She had a long nose that had a spot on the end which was more noticeable when her nose was pinker.  Her nose changed colors—pink to dark brown. 
• Graduate of puppy class, advanced puppy class, dog class, and advanced dog class.
• When she was a puppy, she had a sleek coat that was fluffy like all puppies.  She had a curl at the very end of her tail.  As she grew, the curl crept up her tail, along her back, and finally all the way to the top of her head.  She had been amazingly curly and we love the uniqueness it gave her.
• Her tongue was amazingly long.

Young Amber's looooong tongue

Fall 2006 on a road trip to PA

 

Amazing Stories:

She learned to roll over and let us rub her belly after she nursed her puppies for a month.  Her puppies had been scratching her up and we used Udder Balm to soothe her raw underside.  Prior to that, she would never roll over.

She stepped into a lily pad pond at a Victorian B&B in Wilmington, SC when we took her & Roscoe on a 2-week, cross-country, road trip vacation to see the ocean.

After wave crashing in the ocean with Daddy in October, 2002, Amber took in a lot of salt water. 

She nearly spewed directly on the hand of a nice lady who had graciously taken our family picture when she reached out to pet Amber. That was the first Ramada Inn we graced with our presence and what a great time we had.

Family picture (October 2002)
Front to back: Roscoe, Amber, Todd and obviously me on the right.
Taken by a surprised but gracious volunteer!

 

She was Boomer’s first love.  She made him drool.  Incessantly.

Boomer and Amber (October 2002)

            

When she was tiny, we used to roll her onto her belly on our lap, and let her ears flop over and rubbed her belly until she would growl up a frenzy.  She actually scared us with how aggressive her growl could be.  She looked like the cutest little bat with her head upside down and ears flopped over like that.

She was born 9-12-99, 3 days after we were married.

She loved visits from Tyler and Trenton who came across the street to visit.

When going for a ride in the car, she loved to bark at motor cycles.  It curiously resembles a wobbly flash light…


There was no motorcycle right then,
but she loved to go for a ride in the car

She had an exciting New Year’s Eve (12/31/02) with Banjo. 

Banjo & Amber, sittin' in a tree...

She had 11 puppies on February 25, 2003.  She woke her daddy up and told him it was time the morning she gave birth.  Todd had the whelping box completed the day before.  Just. In. Time.

Amber, February 24, 2003
the day before she delivered 11 puppies

Amber with her 11 puppies
February 25, 2003

Kevin and Suzie came over to witness the amazing event, and we celebrated by cooking breakfast.  Sausage links & eggs.  Todd cracked his first beer at 11a.m. 

About a week after her puppies were born, she wandered the house looking for Roscoe.  (Roscoe passed away 2-12-2003.)

Amber could crawl.

Amber began what we call the “rib juice dance” one time after having “gravy” added to her dog food which was the juice from ribs that Todd had boiled.  She also taught her kids this special dance.  She would come into the living room after having eaten, and rub her face on the ground with her butt still up in the air and she would rub one way then the other and moan.  The better the meal = the longer & louder the dance.  We would then appropriately applaud her efforts.  This would often happen even when they had nothing special added to their chow.

When Amber was really little, we put a brick in front of the water crock so she could reach the water to get a drink.  We thought it might be risky, and sure enough, she fell right in.  That was her first swim.  We started putting a cutting board over the water when we were not right there.

Amber was even smaller than this when she took her first dunk

She had a great time at her puppy shower; so many friends came to see her.  She also enjoyed the pups 1 year birthday party (a.k.a. Mud Fest 2004), too.  She had a hard time relinquishing her Alpha status to Abbytail but after a year or two, she adapted and became her happy self again.

Right after the puppy shower late March 2003

Amber after the puppy shower

She loved to walk up to us and put her head between our knees and just wag her tail.  Her dog-dad acted the same way on our surprise visit for me to meet her parents one time when we were driving around KC.   Sometimes she was so excited that she would walk right through.  I think it was her way of hugging.

She enjoyed her first Dog-N-Jog which benefited the Humane Society of Greater KC with Roscoe the summer of 2000.  On the way there, the Cow Parade was in full swing; at an intersection there was a cow at which Amber barked herself silly.

She captured Nellie’s heart.  Soon thereafter Roscoe followed suit.  Peer pressure can be a beautiful thing!


 

Nellie and little Amber

 

Nellie, Amber, and Roscoe

Amber loved her big siblings

Roscoe, Nellie, and baby Amber

She naturally chased her tail; so it was very easy to associate a command with the action.  She would do a “Round-and-Round” for treats and to wipe off her paws.

Suzie taught her to enjoy opening presents that come wrapped in a gift bag.

Amber's 5th birthday, I believe

She can catch a 2’ Frisbee.

Amber loved her Frisbees

In Advanced Puppy class, she had no problems walking through a refrigerator cardboard box.  Many puppies were not successful.

She watched her big brother, Roscoe, find the Golden Egg prize at the Easter Begg Hunt, sponsored by Three Dog Bakery.  She enjoyed sharing the year supply of dog food!

Amber on left, Roscoe on right
Scariest damn rabbit I've ever seen

 

We had a newer dog bed in the corner of our bedroom near T’s side of the bed.  Almost every night, Keystone would try to claim that bed, but we’d make him get down off of it, so that Amber could have it.  She would walk into the room and just wait.  She knew we’d make him give it to her.  Then she’d curl up on it, and Keystone would usually curl up right beside that bed.

She was very protective of her Momma.  Especially when Daddy was picking on me.   If ever there would have been a burglar, Amber would have put them in their place.  This thought is supported by how she acted when Todd would pick on me.  Amber would grab the toy closest to her and shake the heck out of it and growl.  She took her aggression out on the toy, cause she knew she couldn’t bite Daddy.  I would have pitied the poor soul who ever thought of putting a hand on me.  Now I fear they would only be sat upon by Keystone…

Amber would prance around after she received a beer can from her Daddy.  She would wag her tail and have her head bent slightly downward & look up at you to make sure you saw that she had a prized possession.  This was after she sat down right in front of us and stared from the can to us and back at the can.

Amber loved laying on the cool tile.

In the summer, Amber loved to play with Mt. Tiki Soakee.  It was a water fountain that would sporadically send up spurts of water.  Amber would run up to it, and bite at the water, regardless of how much water was coming out fast and furiously.  She LOVED water.  She would take a water hose full force in the mouth too.  She thought it was great fun.

She loved howling w/her kids (and dad) at the tornado warning sirens on test day in KS.  Who knew, until Todd started staying home during the day?

 

Favorite Sayings/Games:

·         Boo, you’re two?

·         Boo, you’re two times two plus two?

·         Boo, you’re two times two times two?

·         It can be a hat….  (while placing a frisbee on your head)

Nicknames:

·         Amber Boo,

·         Boo,

·         Amber Bamber Boo,

·         Curly Boo,

·         Miss Poopy Pants  (somehow this one made the last few weeks easier to handle).
 

Amber was a hippy Halloween 2003

The last day we were blessed to have her in our lives, she wagged her tail that morning (she hadn't been able to move anything below mid-back); also it rained, and there was a rainbow.

 

 

Lucky 13

Today is our Anniversary!  After 13 wonderful years, he is still full of surprises.  (In a good way.)

We actually celebrated Friday night with a wonderful dinner out at our favorite local restaurant.  We decided going out to eat on Friday nights is fun....  Maybe we'll do it again.

We didn't have anything specifically planned for today, so when he unexpectedly wanted to go pick up a pinball machine, I simply didn't have an excuse NOT to.  We ended up having a good day, and now he is preparing what will undoubtedly be an exciting dinner at home.

I took pictures of our wedding pictures today, because somewhere along the way, I've lost the negatives.  I remember that perfect day, and relived it going through the pictures.

Back on 9/9 of '99, we got married at 9am.  I joke that it lasted about 9 minutes, but seriously, it was that short.  We eloped to a secluded little secret park in the suburb in which we lived.  We made sure there was no scheduled maintenance going on--can you imagine them mowing or spraying when we wanted to get hitched?!? 

We were required to have 2 witnesses, which actually caused a dilemma.  We wanted to e-l-o-p-e.  As in, we go do it, and it's done.  If we got into inviting friends, then we had to invite family, and if you invite family, you have to invite ALL the family.  So we just decided to keep it as simple as possible.  We asked 2 non-standard-working folks we had just met down the street to be our witnesses.  We didn't really know them, and they jokingly offered at a neighborhood block party where we had just met them.  Little did they know we'd take them up on their offer.  And little did we all know that we'd become good friends.  Kind of funny how that worked out.  I feel bad for not having other friends there and family, but we just had to keep it simple.  I just wanted it to happen.  And it did.  Perfectly.

I wanted pictures to remember the day.  I found a photographer who sold the negatives, so I could always get reprints of whatever I wanted.  Well that didn't really work out the way I intended since I've seriously misplaced them.  CD's were not common way back then.  So I just took pics of my pics, and they turned out pretty good.

 

Here are a couple of my favorites.  Enjoy!

Just got hitched!

 

So excited about the beautiful day.

 

 

Our family, with Roscoe and Nellie

About a month later (after our 2 week honeymoon to New England), we had a Marriage Celebration, where we had all of our friends and family join us for a party. That took some planning and preparation. It was a lot of work. And fun.  I'll try to dig up those pictures and share a few.  They are around here somewhere...

My Kids

From November, 1999.  What a sweet family we had!

Roscoe, Nellie, and Amber (2 mos)

2 If By Sea

Road Trip!  We took a family road trip Fall of 2002.  It ranks as one of the best vacations we've ever taken.  We had a goal to take our pups to see the ocean.  Roscoe had fought a battle with cancer, and we were thankful to still have him.  We made his last year count.

We took two weeks and drove to the East coast.  I charted our course and planned to stay at either B&B's that would accept two big dogs, or with relatives. 

We drove to PA and connected with Todd's uncle and aunt, who at the time I had not met.  We had been married 3 years at that point, and Todd had lost touch with them.  We were going to be in their area, so why not stop by and see them?  It was the best thing we ever did, to connect with them.  They are dog lovers, so we were welcome to stay with them.  We ended up rearranging our plans and staying one extra night with them because we just couldn't stand the thought of leaving so soon.  We just found them!

It's one of those things that happens when you find another couple that you connect with so closely and comfortably.  It's always like that with them--we have a close bond no matter how many years pass between visits now.  I remember the warm fireplace and rum & coke filled evenings of staying up until 3am telling stories.  I can still taste the sloppy Joe's our aunt made too.

LOVE this family!

Although I'm not really a fan, it was worth taking this picture as we drove by:

Wow, that's a BIG basket!

Next stop was DC.  Got to meet another uncle & aunt of Todd's and his uncle showed us around all of the must-see sites.  Went to the National Mall and Arlington.  Saw many things I always wanted to see!

Korean War Memorial: unexpectedly haunting and emotionally moving.
I had no idea how moving this is, at least for me it was.

3 year old Boo (aka Amber)
The pups loved travelling.  They got used to loading up in the morning and hitting the road.

Next stop was the Outer Banks of NC.  Finally--we got to see the ocean!  We stayed at a Ramada Inn, RIGHT ON THE OCEAN.  And they ALLOWED DOGS bigger than purse pups!  Can you believe that?  I still can't.  Those poor maids, with all that sand to clean up.  It was actually a decent room.

Roscoe ended up not liking the water so much.  Todd, determined to have fun despite the COLD TEMP, ran back and forth with Amber into the waves and back out.  She had so much fun with her dad.  They were thoroughly soaked and every cranny was filled with sand, but totally worth it.

Amber, Roscoe, Todd in the ocean

Family picture taken by a very gracious volunteer. (Roscoe laying, Amber sitting)
After she gave the camera back, she reached out to pat Amber on the head.
Amber ended up projectile vomiting salt water all over the place--that poor lady!



Had to take the kids through the Brew Thru.
Why doesn't EVERY state have these???

Body Island Light House stairwell from the top looking down--awesome!

Next stop was a lovely Victorian B&B in Wilmington, VA.  They had a nicely landscaped yard all around the house.  On the side, there was a beautiful bathtub buried in the ground full of lilly pads.  I was watching Amber with a keen eye because I knew she had no idea what she was seeing--she had never experienced lilly pads (or any kind of small pond).  Amber thought it looked so inviting, she stepped right in before I knew it, and I yanked her out so fast it's amazing she got wet.  Whoops!  Thankfully no harm, no foul (and they didn't see it happen!).


Yes, that's Todd!

We left the dogs in the room that night while we went to dinner.  I remember walking to and dining at a restaurant on the water, and LOVING their seafood bisque.  They had pewter glasses for water, and it kept the water bone chillingly cold.  Loved that.  We saw a "palmetto bug", and they comped the whole meal including the bottle of wine.  We did not expect that (the food was SO GOOD it didn't even bother us) so we went back the next day and got a tub of seafood bisque frozen to go. 

That night for dessert, we went to a different restaurant and had the most amazing chocolate mousse served in an espresso cup.  It was the most rich and decadent dessert I've ever had.  The butter content had to be amazingly high. 

We walked back to the room & found total destruction & mayhem (not):

Good dogs!

We picked up a pinball cocktail machine in Wilmington, so the dogs were a bit cramped.  But they didn't really mind.  The next stop we made was to see my brother & sis-in-law in VA for a first time visit.  It was such a gorgeous area on the edge of the smokey mountains.  The pups enjoyed playing on the edge of the river.  My brother had them in it before I even knew there was a river there.

So that was our trip.  We loved every minute of it.  Roscoe passed away the following February, and I will always be so thankful we made the time to take that trip.  We made memories I still hold dear.

Blast From The Past

Some of you probably only vaguely remember Roscoe (maybe), and probably not his mom, Nellie.  Nellie forever changed me. I'll blog about that some day. I'm almost ready. Almost.

For now, here's the sweetest picture of Nellie, Amber, and Roscoe.  They still live in my heart.  All 3 of them.  My babies forever.



 

Late 1999

 

Survivors

Happy Saturday to you!  For having had a pretty crappy week, I'm in a great mood.  That is probably because my baby girl is doing really well.  Or I put extra sugar in my coffee.  You know how I am about my sweets.

I didn't tell you, Internet, but Abby had surgery yesterday and she is doing better than I ever expected!  Todd noticed a hard wart-like bump Friday before last.  Much different than any other bump she has.  So we chose a vet and got her in right away.  One week after seeing it, we had it removed.  Actually noticed a skin tag around her eye getting really big too, and we don't want her vision impaired.  Poor girl has cataracts, she doesn't need anything else impacting her vision.  I wasn't nervous about the surgery until after lunch time, and I realized I had not physically heard "all is good".  So Todd called, then I called.  Still in surgery.  WTF?  So a little after 2pm (picking her up at 4!), we heard the all-is-clear message.  Whew.  That's our baby girl I am talking about.  The spring in Todd's step.  The sass in our house!

I giggled to myself a little when I called the vet.  "Yes, this is Abby's mom, calling to check on her"--like all the other moms I hear making calls from their desk phones.  Of course, they know I'm talking about my dog.  ;-)

See?  You can barely tell.  She looks FABULOUS!  They are testing the large mass they took off her snout, we'll see what the results are.  I'm sure it's benign and all is well.  There is a little stitch at the outer corner of her eye, and about 4 or 5 stitches on her snout:

Tullybird just went through the same thing with her baby girl, so I was confident mine would be just fine too.  I hate putting furry loved ones under anesthesia.

Speaking of Tullybird:  SHE'S COMING TO SEE ME!  I'm so excited I could pee my pants.  When I left NV, I told her "you know you are going to have to come see me, cause I'm never coming back here".  To which she replied that she realized that.  So now, she's coming to see me!  Our close bond is surviving the challenge of distance.

I'm making a list of the bead shops and cooking stores we will hit.  We must visit my friends, Ray & Becky, at  Mission Fresh Fashion (and she will love the store), and take her to meet Kevin & Suzie and girls.  We have to eat Z-man sandwiches at Oklahoma Joe's.  What else is KC... I will have to ponder this agenda.  We have 5 days in May to goof off.  Oh the joy!  Pics of Booze-N-Beads will surely be posted.

Other visitors I am super excited about--SamsMom is going to be in the area Memorial Day weekend and I will go see her tons!  Can't wait to see her family & watch her talented son play baseball.  I'm going to sneak her away from the ball field to take her on her virgin voyage to LUSH.  WAHOO!  Talk about a friendship surviving decades.  DECADES!!

Speaking of a friendship surviving decades, I believe Jus is back home (or in transit, I'm not sure) from Afghanistan and wants to come up and see me!  I remember talking to her on the phone before she deployed, and I told her my goal was to be back in the mid-west before she got back.  Viola, I'm here!  Can't wait to hear all about her adventures in person.  She's a real survivor, that one.  To just up and go into the military and go off and serve like she has.  Wow. 

I am so excited to connect with so many awesome women! 

 
Spring has sprung, and I want to share my special flower with ya'll.  This is a bulb that was planted at our house back in KC before our Great-Migration-West.  I took this puppy with me*.  It actually multiplied in NV sand, amazingly--talk about "surviving".  Any plant that made it the 4.5 years we were there was a true survivor.  When we left, I dug it up and MAILED IT TO MY MOTHER.  So it's been to Oklahoma too.  I planted it last fall.  Now it has a happy home in Missouri:

So you may be saying to yourself, "Self?  That just looks like an ordinary hyacinth.  What's so special that she'd dig it up and plant it in 3 different states?".  Well, let me tell you what this specific bulb symbolizes to me.  *This was Roscoe's flower. 

Amber was not our first golden.  We had two wonderful dogs before Amber.  Todd's first son was Roscoe.  When Roscoe passed away in February of 2003, our Uncle Frank and Aunt Judy, who we are super close to and who actually knew Roscoe, sent us a condolence blooming bulb arrangement.  It was the sweetest thing ever.  I planted those bulbs, and the lone survivor of that assortment, is this very hyacinth.

I'll tell you some day about Roscoe.  And about his mom.  But not quite yet.  I still choke up every time I think of them.  Probably always will.

Anyway, one last pic of a few true survivors.  You might have thought I was a little crazy last fall when I tried to plant a garden so late in the season.  Guess what?  I may not have gotten anything to grow much last fall.  But now?  I have volunteer RADISHES!