Sick

I just finished a post late last week about my amazing dog and how important she is to me.

And then she got sick.

It was very out of character for her. She never gets sick. She threw up Saturday and we chalked it up as something not agreeing with her. She woke us up as much as a newborn to let her diarrhea out that night. It continued all Sunday. But the scary part was when the diarrhea turned to blood Sunday afternoon.

Very scary. And very unusual for my healthy dog!

My mom went with me to take my sickly Pearl to the emergency vet. They poked and prodded and x-rayed my fur baby. It could have been a variety of things, blockage or torn lining or bacterial infection. All signs pointed to bacterial infection when the x-ray came back clear. She was given three shots, one of an antibiotic, one of an anti-nausea and one of fluids. They said most people would opt to leave the dog overnight, but due to Pearls separation anxiety seizures and her being "skittish" in the back during x-rays, they figured it was best for her to be managed on an outpatient basis.

Honestly, best for her AND my pocketbook. ;)

After we got the okay to go and paid the small fortune in fees, we happily headed home.

Pearl is still on the mend but increasingly better now that she has some medicine in her system. Hopefully her diarrhea will be gone by tomorrow and the antibiotic will get rid of the bacteria.

It may have cost me an arm and a leg, but for my firstborn it was SO worth it.

Pearl-y Girl-y

We seriously have the best dog. She is so patient. She plays great with Camden. She is loving, and SO obedient. I think it comes from being a rescue dog. One of her favorite things? Playing in the water in the summer. She LOVES the swimming pool and I think she also has self-diagnosed S.A.D. like her momma. She loves summertime! 

I took these shots the other day while we were outside mowing and watering. She was drenched by the time we came inside, but she wouldn't have it any other way. I made sure she got her daily joint pill, because even though she looks like a puppy in these pictures? Homegirl is somewhere around ten. She plays so hard then gimps and sleeps for 2-3 days after. She loves it though! 

We love you Pearl! I'm entering this last photo in The Paper Mama's photo challenge.  I love her sweet, expressive and trusting eyes here. I love that she fully trusts us after being rescued from an abusive home. It goes to show that you can find a happily ever after!! 

What a lucky dog. :)

Linking up with The Paper Mama.

Buh-buhls

It's no secret that Camden's favorite thing is Bubbles. He asks for them when he wakes up, he asks for them before bed, he asks for them when Chris comes home. As soon as he sees Chris' car pulling up in the drive, He says "Da-da" and then repeats "Buh-buhls", over and over until we finally get the point.

This is a video of bubbles. Please excuse Pearl as one of her favorite things happens to be bubbles. You can see her chasing them in the video. You will also notice that Camden can successfully blow his own bubbles. I suppose teaching him how to blow a whistle toy paid off - he can also blow his nose! Also he says "Buh-Buhl" right off the bat - so you'll have to catch it rather quickly!

A Boy and His Dog.

C can officially climb onto the couch on his own now. Apparently 17 months to the day meant he was going to be tall enough to hike a leg to get up on the sofa. This means that he can use the back of the couch cushions to climb on top of Pearl's platform. (Yes, our dog is spoiled, and likes to look out the window so we made her a platform so she wouldn't ruin the couch. No judgies!)

He loves to climb up here and pet Pearl, as well as pull the blinds and slap his hands on the platform like a gorilla beating his chest announcing he's the boss. I guess it's his way of exerting his 'dominance'. ;)

Anyhow, these two are so cute together.

Pearl and Camden

This is what the poor dog deals with on a daily basis. She's so patient! She is just relaxing and chewing on her lion and the ball of fury known as the Toddler has a different idea!



She's such a good dog. I'll have to take a picture of them playing together, cause they are adorable!

White

To some, white is just a color. But in my experience, it is a friend. A companion. A faithful and lovable dog.

I had friends in college that affectionately referred to her as "white dog". Of course, she'd come tail wagging to whoever was talking to her, no matter what they called her.

Pearl is my first 'baby'. She is getting older now, and it is starting to show. She's a little slower, sleeps a little more, and creaks more when she moves. But if you bust out some bubbles she'll jump and chase them like a puppy. You take her to a swimming pool and you'd never know her age.

Here's to my sweet Pearl, who has been the best "fur baby" one could ever ask for!

Linking up with the Paper Mama, for her photo challenge!

It's too cold...

I miss this weather. Is it spring yet?

(Random factoid: these pics were taken like the day before i went into labor and I juuuust got them off the camera)






Doesn't that look refreshing? It looks SO much better than the current snowy weather we are having.

Come on APRIL! I need me some flowers and greenery, I don't do winter.

deprived.

Pearl wanted her own photo shoot.

Last Day of Work...

Today is my last day of work before maternity leave. I am so excited to have the next three days off before baby comes! I feel like I have so much to do, but all I want to do is sit and do nothing. Too bad that isn't really an option. Although, I have been doing really well at it so far, I haven't even packed a hospital bag yet!

Yesterday was Dear Husband's birthday. He was so indecisive about what he wanted to do, he finally ended up deciding on eating some barbeque for dinner, and we had some fro yo for dessert. We got to hang out and talk just the two of us, it was nice. I will miss that, but am looking forward to the new changes that will come.

Funny story, DH (Dear Husband) was rubbing my feet for me last night and I noticed a cut on the underside of my right pinkie toe. So now, when I walk not only do I waddle, but there is a slight limp invovled. I am sure I look rather hilarious when moving, especially wearing the stripes I am wearing today. I am queen of the waddlers that's for sure!

I sent off some paperwork this morning for refinancing our house, hopefully we got most of that taken care of BB. (before baby). I am excited we are doing it, we are knocking a few years off of our loan, and for some reason that makes me super excited.

Well, that's really all I have for now. I must be productive on this last day!



Blue toenails, ready for baby boy!




She was super excited about the box that was my 'push present' that I got a few weeks early...love it!





Yet she doesn't know how much her world is going to be rocked...

Sibling Rivalry

So, lately Pearl has been acting extra mopey around the house and towards me in particular. She greets me when I come home, but is always quick to return back to her bed. I noticed this change in her after I kept bringing home baby shower gifts. I would have gifts with tissue paper still wrapped and she would nose through them all, just hoping with all of her doggie heart that in just *one* of those sacks there would be a toy or a treat for her. Unfortunately, every singing or crinkly sounding baby toy she would find she would get told a firm "no" when attempting to play with it and it seemed to set her back even further. Finally, Husband and I had to resort to buying her a cheap little toy from Target the other day, wrapping it in a sack with tissue paper and allowing her to stick her head in and "find" it. She knew right away that this toy was for her, and proceeded to happily run off to play. She has even been bringing this toy to bed and falling asleep with it!! Little did I know, my poor dog is already dealing with sibling rivalry!


Inspecting diaper cakes...





Searching sacks...



She was SO sure that this adorable rug for baby C to lay on was a life size chew toy for her. It is so soft, I had to kick her off of it!


All of this 'neglect' is just tuckering her out!

Terrific Tuesday - courtesy Pearl

This is the baby gift from Missy. Chris practiced reading to Pearl, and she LOVED it!!




Sportin' her Canada wear..

Broken Dog..

Well, I told you all about Pearl's injuries at the beginning of June. C and I put her on "bedrest" and didn't let her go on any walks, and she had to take an entire weekend off from the pool. She was starting to do much better, so we took her swimming again this past weekend. She did fine on Saturday and listened to me when I told her it was time to get out of the pool. Since she did so good Saturday we figured a quick dip on Sunday couldn't hurt. Sunday she swam great, we got her to use a raft more than jumping into the pool to be nicer to her toenails. When it was time to get out and dry off Sadie and Pearl started playing tag. Next thing I know my dog is attempting to continue to chase Sadie but with her right front paw in the air. Pitiful! So we made her sit down to dry and hope she just stepped on it wrong.

Well, she gimped around all that night and all the next morning. She wasn't wanting to put ANY weight on it at all. So, we ended up taking her to the vet on Monday just to be sure. $300 dollars later the vet tells us she doesn't have any fractures from what they can tell, and give us some pain meds. The pain meds definitely make a difference and I am glad to know my little fur baby is feeling a little better! Her paw is still swollen and red, but she seems to be bearing a little bit more weight on it. Hopefully she will be back to better in no time!


Pearl's paw...all red and swollen


refusing to stand on her paw...


Pearl all doped up on Morphine...lol!

busy, busy...

Been a busy few days, which explains my absence. We had my Grandmother's viewing and funeral last Friday and Saturday in OKC. It was great to see family, but the circumstances weren't what anyone would wish for. It was a great celebration of her entrance to heaven and it has been amazing to see my Grandad's strength. He is keeping busy and finding new things to do, I am so proud of him.

We stayed in a hotel that had one of those A/C units that kicks on and off all night. Needless to say, I slept HORRIBLE. I was so glad to return home to my own bed.

While C and I were in OKC, Pearl stayed with C's parents. Hooboy did she have a blast. She spent most of Friday and Saturday swimming, playing in the sprinklers and playing with Sadie, C's parent's Boston Terrier. Boy, does Pearl love swimming. We got her home Saturday evening and she was so tired she barely got up to come see us and wouldn't jump on anything. Later on, we noticed something was terribly wrong. She would let out a pitiful cry every time she stood up from laying on the ground or if she had to jump up on something. Sometimes there were multiple cries. She did have a bunch of bloody toenails (which is can be a regular occurance for her during the summer) and some of the pads of her feet had been scraped off. We worried for the past few days that maybe she had torn a muscle or strained something, but after a few days she is starting to get around better, but is still hesitant to jump. Now she is so spoiled she gets lifted onto each piece of furniture!







It is SO hard to get her out of the pool...she acts like it is the worst punishment ever!!


Looking forward to this weekend. Husband and I are taking a quick little getaway vacation, the last before baby (I am now 29 weeks...only 77 more days!!). I definitely am needing it, and am hoping for semi-cool weather. Haha..yeah right!!