Saturday, May 21, 2011

Measuring Mercy

My last two dogs have been named Grace and Mercy because you just can't have too much of that stuff in your home. Sadly, Grace died earlier, in the fall. Mercy, who almost died several times when she was a wee puppy with immune deficiency problems, is now alive and well and BIG. So, I took her to school today to do some measuring with the kidlets.
Mercy has always been more settled than Grace ever was even at 7 years old. It never crossed my mind to take Grace to school...she would have knocked them down and licked them, one right after the other. Mercy has been to visit the past two years. I think getting her certified as a therapy dog might be something I look into after I retire...she's that mellow.

But she looks big and impressive. She is a Shiloh Shepherd (plush).
I had the kids sit backs against something, wall or bookcase, in a semi circle and Mercy got to go to them. She sniffed a few and kissed a few and they were all good about keeping the noise down and their backs back.

She loved on a few of the adults, too.

Mrs. Bayles, comrade in arms!

Mercy wasn't all that keen on getting measured, but we got it done and did the same measurements on one of my tiny ones...Mercy was bigger on all counts, but Alexis was much easier to measure!  We measured ears, legs, tail (we measured Alexis' ponytail for this one), height, nose and compared tongues without actually measuring.






Then, we took some photos with the kidlets.   I think it is something they will remember...

(That's Alexis in the white shirt in the photo on the right.)


Mercy is my big, cuddly, 90 pound provider of unconditional love! No matter how my day went, Mercy is there to greet me with all the doggy love she can share for as long as I need it to be shared.
Love that!

(Thanks for the photos, Connie!)

8 comments:

  1. Lydia LOVED seeing Mercy! She went on and on about her, describing every little detail. I do believe she will need a farm to house all of the animals she will have one day. :)

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  2. Mercy is adorable! She sounds like such a good dog. What fun measuring practice for the children, a great way to bring learning to life

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  3. Mercy is a 90 pound lapdog, really. Just wants to be with her people.

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  4. My Gin has a long haired Shepherd. They bought him from a woman in St. Louis and had to drive across the street to get him. He was a mess - sick, with intestinal parasites - what was the woman thinking? And his name? Satan. For that beautiful, sweet-hearted animal. It was the gold eyes, I'm thinking. So they renamed him Sultan - close enough not to confuse, took him home, loved him, cured him, and now he is the love of all our lives. How wonderful to call, "Mercy!" and have it come to you on four swift feet. We lost our Piper last week. I finally made the decision to put him down - he was still alive behind his eyes, but so arthritic and his eyes had been dry for over a year. But the final decision was made when I realized he'd started using the house as a sand box - not without control. He just had decided it was easier than going outside. His inner ears had long since stopped working - and it was hard for him to get around. But my heart is broken. Just broken. I remember his eyes - still interested and alive. And I can hardly bear it. Without the pups - it would be a sad house. We can't even tell Murphy. He's already so homesick and sad as it is.

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  5. Kristen, I can compeletely feel your heart break. Do you know the poem, The Rainbow Bridge?
    It is a gift we have to be able to end their suffering, but the hole they leave is there for such a long time.
    Love to you, my friend.

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  6. Hello Donna! Mercy is so beautiful and even the colours change a little bit, she looks so much like my Nero! What a great big friends we have!
    Your countdown has really began ... I wish you wonderful time - free time!
    Thank you for your visits and comments!
    xxx Teje & Nero

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  7. Hi Teje and Nero, I'm sure our big dogs must be related somewhere in the line...they look the same and seem to have the same temperament. Hope Nero feels better soon. I'm so happy you got to see more photos of my Mercy girl.

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  8. Thank you, dear girl. I know you understand. I know you do.

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