6/10/2000: Well Moochie is now a resident of Vermont. My Grandmother moved in with my sister at the end of May which gave me the time to do some serious apartment hunting. I looked and looked in New Hampshire but found nothing. On the internet I found a paper called the Caldonian Record that had loads of CHEAP apartments. I thought it was a paper for New Hampshire but it turned out to be mainly a paper for Vermont (with some NH listings). No matter, I wasn't looking to move to a particular state; I wanted fresh air, mountains, streams, rivers, snow, and MOOSE!!! Vermont has all those as well. I pulled off I-91 into a town called St. Johnsbury and loved what I saw. I called the 13 listed apartments but only 3 were available.
The first was out in the middle of no where...LITERALLY!! I loved the apartment but it was in someones house, totally seperate and private, but no neighbors for miles--Not my cup of tea. Besides, they didn't have cable and I can't live without my cable modem!!!
The next apartment I saw was in an OLD apartment building....but I loved it. A HUGE 2 room apartment with a huge kitchen, huge livingroom, and huge closet. Best of all......only $250 a month!!!!! I needed a place and I wasn't taking any chances that this place would be taken while I looked at the third, so I took the place that very day. That was really great because I had the rest of the weekend to look around and enjoy my new found paradise.
Moochie was an angel during both the 6 HOUR drives: there and back. My diabetes was acting up so I had to stop every hour or so to pee, this gave Mooch a chance to do the same. I'm very worried about the move as far as Moochie is concerned. I hope she doesn't get too disoriented. Also, I forgot to ask the landlord about pets.....I'll just die if I can't keep the Mooch. I don't even want to think about that. I'll deal with that issue once I've moved in.(Moving day is the 19th!!!!)
5/2000: Wow, the shit hits the fan again. Instead of the reverse mortgage, my Grandmother will be moving in with my sister and my brother will be selling the house. That means I need to find a new place to live, 2 moves in 8 months, I hope Moochie can handle it. Ever since I had to leave her in my apartment alone when I was in the hospital Moochie has been Sooooooooo clingy. Where ever I go she goes. I mean it's gotten to the point where she follows me from room to room! I love it but I worry about her.
Anyway, in the last few months the housing market has dried up and gotten TOO expensive. I was paying $540 for my studio and now i can't find a studio for under $650!!! I've started looking in New Hampshire again but the pickings there are slim as well. I've started looking in Vermont and I am shocked at the price difference. A 2 bedroom apartment for $300...I'm there!!!!! Anyway, I'll keep you all posted as to where fate will toss Moochie and I next.
4/2000: It's been a while, hope you are all doing well. My life is a living HELL!!!!!! Caring for an Alzheimer patient is ROUGH!!!!! Some good things have happened in the past 2 months though. Mooch and my Grandmother and getting along well. Also, my Grandmother has started going to a day program which gives my some time to wind down and her meds are really helping with her fears and paranoia. Both have removed a great deal of stress for me. However, with all my budgeting, my Grandma is still running out of money. I'm trying to get her a reverse mortgage so she can stay in her home for at least a few more years.
Seeing that this IS Moochie's page, I think I should at least give her a few sentences. Mooch got groomed for the first time in March. She was scared shitless but she was a trooper. They clipped her nails, combed her out (she was half the size when she came home), shampooed & dried her, and finally gave her a final brushing. Mooch had to be muzzled for part of the treatment (mainly because she was so frightened) but she was really great about it. The part that really got to her was being put in a kennel to dry. I think she thought I was leaving her there. POOR MOOCHIE!!! Anytime I was out of here sight she started barking uncontrolably. Moochie definitely has abandonment issues!!
2/2000: Another hectic month caring for my Grandmother. She turned 85 on the 2nd, Groundhogs Day. Unfortunately, Moochie bit her on her birthday. I don't really know what happened because my Grandmother isn't an accurate source for info. According to her, Moochie came over to her and put her head in my Grandmother's lap. When my Grandmother went to pet Moochie, she got bit. Now knowing Moochie, she NEVER bites if she comes to you. The only time she has nipped at anyone it was because they disturbed her. So I feel my Grandmother saw Moochie laying there and went over to pet her (something I reminded her a million times not to do, but with the Alzheimer's she doesn't retain anything). I was in the shower on the second floor so I have no idea of what really happened. But from then on I took Moochie upstairs with me.
One really F***ed up aspect of this incident was that I found out from her Doctor. She had an appointment that afternoon and told him. This total prick (for far to many reasons to list, and just FYI, he isn't her Dr. any longer) calls the Health Dept. without even telling us that he was going to. I had to quarantine Mooch for 14 days and then had to prove to them that Moochie wasn't rabid.
1/2000: I am so busy caring for my grandmother that I really don't have time for a major update this month, sorry! All should know that Moochie is well, sleeping about 18 hrs. a day, and she is still loving here new surroundings. The holidays were rough on my Grandmother. She didn't understand why no one came to her party on New Year's Eve. She was thinking of when I was a kid and the house was always packed with relatives. Most of which have passed over the year's, incuding my Uncle Ronnie, her only son, whose birthday also falls on 12/31.
12/99: Not much to report. Moochie is LOVING her new digs. Where she was once limited to my one room studio apartment (two, if you count the bathroom as a room. The kitchen and livingroom were one big room) she now had the run of a two bedroom, 1 1/2 bath house with a big cellar. Also, Mooch has the run of a big backyard. She's in doggie heaven!!!
A note about my Grandmother: We took her to be evaluated and she was officially diagnosed with Alzheimer's. So my role as companion has quickly changed to that of Full-time Nurse. Luckily, in between all the excitement of last month I was able to finish a NEW site Dancing Presidential Candidates. Just in time for primary season. If you love Hampster dance you'll DIE for Dancing Presidential Candidates.
11/99: It was one HELL of a month and poor Moochie has been a trooper. It's times like these that make me truly feel that Moochie is the BEST DOG IN THE WORLD!!!!! First I'm having MAJOR troubles with my asshole landlord and I just can't stand living here any longer. So I say what the heck... I loved New Hampshire when me and Mooch went there on vacation...Why not move there? I hit the internet and find a place...GREAT! WRONG!!!!! I'm in the midst of packing and I start peeing like a fountain and drinking like a fish. I fear its diabetes and again hit the internet, I know its diabetes. But instead of going to the hospital I keep packing. Poor Mooch has now idea what's going on, she just keeps being a trooper eventhough the apartment is being turned upside down.
But that is still only the begining. During this time I talk to my brother about my moving and he kids around about me moving in with my Grandmother because she is lonely and running out of money. She's paying someone $100 a night to stay with her (Yes she was getting royally ripped off!!!) Anyway, I tell him that me moving in with her is actually a good idea because it will keep her out of the nursing home.....So I call my Grandmother and arrange to go visit her to talk about me moving in to help her (She lives in Mountainside, NJ).
Now comes the sad part for Moochie. The day before I am to visit with my Grandmother, I finally have to go to the hospital. I fill Moochie's food dish, fill her automatic water dish (it holds 3 liters), and let her do her business. In the Emergency room the do a sugar level and I'm nearly 600. I ask, "Is that high?" Little did I know that it was 6x "normal" and extremmely serious. This was at 10 pm on a Monday night. I was put in the hospital and despite my begging to be let out because I had a dog locked in my apartment, I was stuck in bed. I call my brother but he can't get to the apartment until THURSDAY. POOR MOOCHIE!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm released on Fri. afternoon and come home to find a VERY loving MUTE dog. My neighbors tell me Moochie was Fantastic....until Fri. morning. Then she started to yelp uncontrollably...giving herself larangitis!!!! POOR MOOCHIE!!!!!
The month still isn't over. I visit my Grandma and she says she'd love to have me move in with her, so, goodbye New Brunswick-so long New Hampshire.....Hello Mountainside. Me and Mooch move in on the 15th and spend the rest of the month getting settled. One last thing...after being in my Grandmother's house for only a few days I realized that she had Alzheimer's disease. But on a possitive note, Moochie took to my Grandmother royally!!! Moochie would beg and my Grandmother would give her treats and BOTH loved it!!!
10/20/99: It's been a while since I updated this page, SORRY! I've been busy starting a new Web Site called "Look Within", it is a site dedicated to Enlightenment, with sections on Buddha, Confucius, Taoism, Hinduism, and Zen. After reading about Moochie you can visit this new site by clicking HERE.
Alright, enough self promotion. Moochie is indeed getting OLD. Some days she is great. She is lively, and "happy", and playful. Other days she stays to herself, letting me pet her for a few seconds and then walking away. It is really rough for me on days like that. Also, she is definitely losing her hearing and her coordination.
But on the days she is her "old" self Moochie is still able to have some kick ass fun. It's the end of the gardening season here in lovely New Brunswick, NJ, and Moochie has been spending quite a bit of time outside while I clean up the garden. A new group of co-eds have moved into the house next door so Mooch has the opportunity to "harrass" a whole new group of students. She doesn't actually harrass them, she is just the royal Queen of my building and she requires every passer-by to pay their respect. Actually the neighbors love Mooch and love to play with her when she is outside.
Lastly, Moochie has been awarded with the Cool Dog Site of the Day. In her acceptance speach Mooch thanked the makers of Meaty Bone for providing a Superior dog biscuit. She also dedicated the award to her Mother and Father, where ever they may be!
