FML

Spectre in happier times


Spectre's wounds abscessed and started erupting sometime late Wednesday night, leading to major complications. By Thursday morning I knew she needed medical attention. We decided she would be stable enough until Friday morning when she could see our regular vet. I anxiously took her in at 8 am sharp when the clinic opened. She was put under this morning for a procedure to irrigate the wounds and pack them. She gets new packs daily for 3-5 days, then they will close the wounds and insert a drain. I imagine her final appointment will be to remove the drain. I feel horrible; this whole thing makes me sick. There was no way to know that the abscesses would occur. I'm not sure how long this process will take or how much it will cost. I hope she will have a swift recovery from here on out. :(

A Cute Picture to Make it Better

Baby Clara!

One of Those Days

Yesterday was "one of those days". Early in the morning I put all the dogs out, then brought them back inside and went to bed. When I woke up for good later, there were accidents everywhere.

Then I noticed there was a dead rat in the backyard. I didn't want the dogs fighting over it or bringing it inside, so I knew I had to dispose of it. I literally went out there four or five times over the course of two hours, and it freaked me out too much. I finally asked the neighbor to come get it. He quickly marched over behind me, scooped it up, and took it away in a bag. Thank goodness.

The afternoon brought the biggest upset. About six dogs were in the kitchen close together and a fight broke out. It was horrible. Freddie got a hold of Spectre and wouldn't let go. She was so frightened there was pee and poop flying everywhere - along with fur, saliva, and blood. Awful. I got bit when I was trying to help her. I had to separate all the dogs and then get things cleaned up while I let them calm down. They're going to have to be separated for awhile now. Sigh. From two shifts in the pup shuffle to four - all because of a fight. Grrr.

And now I think little Eddie is a little bit sick. :( He has a touch of a cough and coughed up a little phlegm/bile in his crate today. Hopefully it's nothing. I would love not to have sick and injured dogs at some point in this six months.

It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas!

And I love it! Somewhere in the last few years, Christmas has become this mega-inflated supersize holiday - that's ok with me! I love having the feeling of holiday merriment for well over two months. For me the holidays are about the spirit and the feeling of togetherness, not the stuff.

This first week with my husband gone went just fine. Suzy stayed at the vet's for three days; she is now good as new. Katie is just about done with her antibiotics for her gash from the ghost dog fight I never heard or saw. Our two dogs that went with my husband are also adjusting to apartment living. They were a little lethargic and lacking appetites, but seem to be back to normal this weekend.

This week we had two big events at work; they went off without a hitch. Smashingly, in fact. This coming week is a short work week - just three days. WOOHOO!

Last night I spent some time just window-shopping at the mall with a good friend. Clara, Monkey, and I attended an adoption even today at the farmer's market. As always, it is a good experience in socialization for them, but neither had a lot of serious interest. Sigh. I got a haircut after the event then went and got a replacement fleece for the one Clara tore this week; I also picked up a few groceries for the week and the items I volunteered to bring for Thanksgiving dinner. Not that I think anyone has interest in these mundane details - I'm keeping this blog as a journal for myself, really. But anyone reading is welcome to read!

I'm ready to spend Thanksgiving with good friends and eating good food in just a few short days. Friends are the family you choose for yourself. Aww.

Overwhelmed.

It's been just over 36 hours now since I've been holding down the fort solo. Not that I'm counting or anything. :P I was getting stressed towards the end of my day, because I will have a few days this week that I can't get home early ie the time my husband normally got home for the dogs. I don't think the dogs can tell the difference though; it's just one more hour of napping for them.

Between being tired and hungry myself, knowing the dogs need to be taken care of immediately, and having tons of housework to do I was a little overwhelmed tonight. I took care of the dogs, made a quick dinner for myself, and then relaxed for an hour before cleaning for an hour. The house looked like a tornado went through here after the whirlwind of packing this weekend. Tonight I picked everything up and put it where it belongs - clothes, dog stuff, trash, papers, mail, etc. Now the house is ready for me to dust, sweep, and mop tomorrow. My goal is to clean and organize for an hour every day, and see where it gets me at the end of six months!

My immediate response to feeling overwhelmed is thinking that I wouldn't be in this situation if it weren't for all the dogs. If we had a normal amount of dogs things wouldn't be like this. After feeling like this for a bit, I think about how I let continuous feelings of being overwhelmed get in the way of doing anything at all about it. I have a feeling that if I'm able to build small daily habits and try a little more - at the same time working our way down to a few less dogs - that we will be able to strike a balance in our home.

I really have enjoyed cleaning/organizing/decorating blogs lately. It is inspiring me and motivating me to create my own cozy little home where we can relax and enjoy ourselves. Watching "Hoarders" - as I am right this second - makes me feel a little more hopeful, too. At least I don't have that much clutter!

And He's Gone...

He left yesterday at 6:30 am. We had a very fun going-away for him Friday night with all his (work) friends, and Saturday we worked together all day getting the U-Haul and car situated, getting everything packed, etc. He was very calm and organized, which was great. It made for a stress-free day for both of us.

After he left I got the dogs all taken care of then I went to my favorite place for lunch. Then I ran to Petsmart and Walmart to pick up a few things, and after I washed my car and gassed it up before my work week began.

Unfortunately Suzy fell ill late Saturday night; she is currently at the vet's in-home clinic getting treatment. We should find out today what is going on with her. I also must have had a ghost dog fight at the house; I never heard one, but Katie has a nasty gash on her side. So I have one sick dog and one injured dog. Thank goodness I have extremely easy access to the best vet care available. I'm so grateful for the support system I have here.

I feel positive about this situation. Last time we were apart because of the military, I didn't know anyone here. Now we have lots of friends that we are lucky enough to consider as family. We were newly married and new home-owners. Now that we've been married for four years we have experience of dealing with things under our belt, and I'm confident that I can handle any crisis that could come up. Plus, it's not like a deployment; he's safe, access to communication is not an issue, and he's even in the same time zone! This is a wonderful opportunity to advance his career. This six-month training will yield years of possibilities for him.

While he's gone I plan to: take care of myself, take care of the dogs, get the house in order, and spend time with my friends. This will be a period of growth for us as individuals and as a couple. I'm ready.

I'm Gonna be a Single Mom

Camilla, March 2010


My husband got orders to move to Florida for a six-month military training, so as of this Sunday I will be holding down the fort by myself. I can't go along with him because I have a career here, we own a home, and we have all the dogs. So with two weeks' notice we are getting ready to send him off.

He is taking two of our own dogs with him, so that will help me out some. A good friend is taking over foster care for Camilla and possibly Eddie at a later date. Hank's mom will be home from Afghanistan in December, and then hopefully throughout the six months I will be able to adopt out any remaining fosters.

Upon the completion of his training my husband will either be stationed back here or out in the Baltimore/DC area. Hoping he gets Texas so we don't have to sell the house and move all the dogs. We'll see. This will be an interesting six months for sure.

Happy Howl-o-ween!

We had a great holiday here - did lots of things to celebrate. On Saturday we took a few of our fosters to the Howl-o-ween bash over at Park North plaza. SNIPSA was the featured rescue group and adoption event. I got free sweet tea from Bill Miller's, a sammy from the Quizno's table, custard from Freddy's and a free massage from...? Not sure where. :-/ None of our fosters got adopted, but several other SNIPSA dogs found their forever homes that day.