November Gratitude #21

November 21: Yesterday I was thankful for my dog. It's dark early now, and coming home in the dark, to a dark house... well, it can be depressing sometimes. But the best thing ever is coming home to that cute little silver ball of fur who is always glad to see me. Avery is such a good dog. :)

Poor Puppy

I had a very emotional week this week with my poor little puppy, Avery. He just really didn't seem himself after I got back from the Fair. He was lethargic, he didn't want to eat or drink, and the worst sign was that he didn't want to play! If you've met Avery, you know he could play fetch with his toys 23 hours a day, just taking an hour break for eating, peeing, and napping. I knew something was really wrong. Avery's ears and tail were down, and he was just looking at me with the saddest pleading expression. Wednesday, I took him to the vet. His white count was very low, and he was running a fever. The vet decided to do an x-ray the next day. A "density" was discovered in the area of his pancreas. My vet said it could be an acute infection that had so far not responded to antibiotics (he'd been on them for 24 hours at this point), or... !!! Let's just say that if it were pancreatic cancer, that diagnosis is just as bad in the dog world as in the human world.

Thursday, he was no better. They gave him IV nutrition and antibiotics. I took him home because I couldn't bear the thought of him spending the night there. I was facing some scary decisions. I had some options of going to Cedar Rapids and trying an ultrasound and more extensive testing. Not fun.

Friday morning, my vet came in on his day off and gave Avery more IV antibiotic and fluids. He also fed him some critical care canned dog food which was the first food Avery had really eaten since Sunday. I went to work preparing for the worst...

Friday afternoon, I picked Avery up from the vet, and he had his ears up, and his tail was wagging. He jumped excitedly when he saw me... a spark of life!!! My vet and I decided to watch him over the weekend to see how he does before we make any more decisions. On Friday night, he brought his toy for Andrew and me to throw. Hallelujah! The weekend has shown steady improvement. He's been eating (even a little dry dog food in addition to the canned), drinking, and playing. He's still pretty tired, but he has his old happy expression back. I am guardedly optimistic that it was just a pancreatic infection, and it's getting under control. Thank you, Dr. Wiegert, for being the best vet ever and helping Avery (and me) through this scary time. We may not be out of the woods yet, but I'm just so glad he's feeling better!

Busy Spring

Wow. I haven't posted since my pathetic Suzanne post. A lot has happened since then. Here are some of the highlights:

* The 6th grade GOAL kids went to Nauvoo. It was a blast, and we had a beautiful day. They geocached for the first time, and it was so exciting when they found their first cache. I can't wait to geocache in Europe when I go this summer.

* I had my birthday! 39 years young. It was a low-key day which was a teeny bit depressing at the time, but Andrew gave me flowers and a very nice card. The best birthday present, however, is that he's putting a new roof on my house. It might not sound romantic to everyone, but let me tell you, I think it's awesome. I love him so.

* The 8th grade GOAL kids went on their overnight to Des Moines. We did a lot of cool things like the Des Moines Art Center, the State Historical Museum, a tour of Drake campus... but... the CoOlEsT thing was the Body Worlds exhibit at the Science Center of Iowa. Wowzaaaaaaaaa! I was in complete awe. I don't even have the words except to say that you must get to Des Moines to see this exhibit before it leaves. We also saw the Hubble IMAX movie which ranked a close second... best IMAX ever. Mind-boggling, in fact. The kids were good, we learned a lot, and we had a good time. What more can you ask?

* Avery needs his teeth cleaned again. $350 bucks. I know it's important, but HE'S A DOG. I have a hard time with this part of having a dog. Does anyone else think that's ridiculous, or am I the one being ridiculous?

* I got a very nice award. I was honored as the Business and Professional Women's School Employee of the Year. I went to a nice ceremony and received a certificate. There were several different categories of women honored, and I was proud to be there with them. Thank you, BPW! I know my dear Helen was smiling down on me. She just lived for BPW.

* I've been riding my bike to school a lot. I look like such a dork, but it's felt to good to be moving and not have to get in my car to go those tiny few blocks to school. As long as the weather is nice, my cute bike and lame-but-necessary bike helmet will be seen on the roads.

* Andrew's Holly is home from her year in Japan. I'm glad she made it safely. The world is her oyster right now. It will be interesting to see where she ends up and what she'll be doing.

* I'm headed to Emma's ball game in a bit. I'm going to pick her and Jack up and spend the evening with them while Suzanne is at rehearsal. I need to cherish times like this!

Whew! Guess that catches things up a bit. Now, everyone hum the Miss Gulch theme song and imagine the following image with a chubbier girl and a silver bike helmet instead of the hat. I'm ready to hop on and head home! :)