Cooper Phillips Hess

Some of you may know about the Hess twins, Carson and Cooper, that were born prematurely. They have both been fighting in the NICU for over a month . . . and their parents, Lauren and Andrew, have shown such strength, grace and devotion.

Cooper, who was the worse off (physically) of the two since birth, passed away last night. His intestines were basically a dead mass that would never grow and allow him to receive nourishment. They did not know this until they attempted surgery yesterday to remove what they thought was just a blockage. The doctors were amazed he hung on this long.

While we never were able to personally meet Cooper, he has left a profound impact on so many. He showed courage, will to survive, and unconditional love no matter how many times he was poked and prodded or how terrible he felt. A special prayer goes out to Andrew, Lauren and Carson as they try to figure out what the next steps are and how to best survive the road ahead.

Happy 7th Birthday, Savannah!

Today is the day she gets her two favorite treats . . . peanut butter and bacon

Ode to Higgins

Last weekend we said farewell for now to our beloved Higgins. Deirdre's second dog, pictured on the far left (old picture), laying down, fought a very brave fight with cancer. Deirdre brought him to Auburn and buried him on the ponderosa. Her thoughts and little things she did for him that day will never be forgotten and will always be touching. He was a true dog and his own brave soul, but adored by his mother. He was the King. We will miss you Bellagio.

Happy Birthday Nance

After City Fest, we all went to dinner for Nancy's birthday. They guys came too but didn't want to be photographed.

Peyton, Virginia, Emilie, Nancy, Summer and Tricia
Congrats to Emilie on her engagement!

Mutt Strutt and City Fest

The last weekend in April was the Mutt Strutt 5k at Keisel Park, followed by City Fest. We took Shelby and Bricks with us. It was a really nice day - good turn out for the run, proceeds went to support the shelter here. City Fest is a big carnival of sorts-lots of craft vendors, live music all day (there was a pretty good bluegrass band too), lots of arts/crafts/children's activities.

Shelby looks so pretty in this pic
And Bricks . . . he never has a bad day. All smiles all the time.

One, two, no, three years and counting . . .

Yep, that's right. Three years of marriage. Towards the end of April we went camping out at the Ponderosa for our anniversary. We took our three dogs and Chaucer. It was gorgeous weather and a great time. We had some folks stop by and join us for a drink and some S'mores.

Chaucer looking dashing
Shelby's fur around her neck (or beard as we call it) and Savannah's ears are quite amusing in the above picture
Savannah drug this LOG out of the pond. It was floating out there in the middle and she thought it would be fun to bring it back to the bank and chew on it.
Tricia and Brett have started building their home across the levee . . . it is going up quickly! They aim to be done by Thanksgiving of this year. It will be beautiful.

Briggs

Over a month ago I brought home another foster dog . . . a five year old named Briggs. Owner surrender, extremely heartworm positive, coat was a terrible mess. It didn't take much to get him looking handsome! He is a really nice dog and so happy and full of life. He has since been sent to rescue to begin his heartworm treatment-this was a little over a week or so ago. He is doing well and already has several applications on him for adoption.