NOT IN THE CARDS

KK and I have been on an agility hiatus since we came back from Shreveport in April. I was honestly a little tired of agility and I had been pushing KK so hard, that I decided to let her just be a puppy for awhile. Plus it gave me time to regroup and decide on some training goals for her.

I started her on the treadmill at a brisk pace everyday for 10 minutes. Marley does a leisurely walk for about 10 minutes. I'm trying to keep Marley active and thin for her hips. KK is carrying a little bit of weight and I'm trying to trim her down some.

We ventured out to the agility field last night and I actually got out the weaves and the chute. We did some short sequences and she was happy to be working again...the tuna brownies helped too! I let Marley do some short sequences too minus the weave poles. She was so happy.

Tonight I worked on layering with KK and trying to speed up her contacts. Once again she was a little worker. I need to write out a daily training plan for her and implement it. I know I need to be consistent with her training and her criteria. I did enter her in an AKC trial at the end of June, so we will see how that goes.

Marley wanted to play again tonight. She was so happy and wanting to work. I let her do the chute and lowered AFrame and DW. Some low jumps. No weaves. She will never weave again. I couldn't help but wonder what if. What if she didn't have hip dysplasia? What if I could have kept her healthy? What if I could have done something different when she was a puppy. What if?? But it just wasn't in the cards for us.

Marley is back on daily Rimadyl. She's having some hip popping and taking short steps. She's also slow to get up. I don't want to have to make medical decisions about her. I'm not ready to make those decisions. I don't want her to have to take daily pain meds. I don't want her to be in pain. I want her to be healthy. But is just wasn't meant to be.

FIRST BITE OF THE YEAR

Last Sunday night Molly came in after her evening out on patrol with obvious swelling to her neck and face. Great. A snake bite on a Sunday night at 9:30. I got some Benadryl in her but I was worried about the swelling and her age. She then became unsteady on her feet so I loaded her up and drove her 30 min to the local dog ER. That was a waste of time. The vet refused to give her a steroid shot b/c Molly takes a low dose NSAID for her arthritis. I tried explaining that if she didn't get the steroid shot, then we would have to go to our vet in the morning. She did give her a pain shot and some more Benadryl. That vet visit was a complete waste of my time and I wasted $158.

I checked on her all night long and she was very sleepy. In the morning I found her sleeping by the water bowl and she was difficult to wake up. So I had to take her into the vet where she received a steroid shot and some Carafate for her stomach. It took her until Thursday to start feeling like Molly.

I'm so frustrated that the ER vet wouldn't listen to me. This isn't our first snake bite and I'm sure it won't be our last....she should have listened to me and Molly could have been saved from days of pain.

ROUGH WEEK

Ever since my mom died, I dread all the holidays. They just aren't the same. May in particular is extremely hard for me. First I have to get through Mother's Day and I'm sorry that's hell for those of us that have lost our mother. I couldn't even stand to look at Facebook yesterday and see everyone with their mothers smiling knowing I will never have that opportunity again. It hurts, I can't lie. I cried off and on all day.

Tomorrow is my mom's birthday. I dread it. I know I will go to her Facebook page and post something sappy but it will make me feel better. If I could just stay in bed all day under the covers, I would. But I have work requirements. It is also the day we dedicate my friend Jeanette's Chapel Chair and I have to speak. I'm just praying I can get through it.

I try to put on a brave face and try so hard to hide my emotions, but I know I may not be able to keep it all together tomorrow. My soul dog Marley must feel my anxiety because she just came over and laid down under my feet.