Good-Bye, Sweet Samul

I’m sad to announce that, last Tuesday evening (6/18/13), Justin and I had to say good-bye to our sweet Sam.  She had thrown up a few times over the previous week, but it was intermittent, and she still continued to eat, drink, and use the bathroom normally, so we decided to just keep an eye on her.  Then, last Monday evening, she threw up a very large amount of mucous, and she seemed a little weaker than usual, so I decided I would call the vet in the morning to make her an appointment.  That night, Sam pushed down the baby gate and came upstairs to sleep in our bedroom with us, which is typical of her, but she did not even try to get in our bed, which isn’t as typical.  She just slept in the floor. 

In the morning, I noticed that her breathing looked a little labored, and she didn’t come downstairs to go outside or eat breakfast with Luke and Margot.  However, it wasn’t unusual for Sam to stay in bed and skip the whole morning routine, so I tried not to let it upset me.  She was also still very responsive whenever I pet her, so I hoped that she was just being lazy that morning.  Still, as soon as I got to work, I called and made her a vet appointment for Friday at 9:45 AM because both Justin and I had Friday off that week.

Later that afternoon, Kristy texted to ask if Sam was at the vet already because Sam wasn’t downstairs when Kristy came over to get Frank during her lunch break.  This worried me because it was not like Sam to stay upstairs all day.  So, I began frantically texting Justin, knowing that he would be home soon for his lunch break, and asked for an update about Sam.  He finally texted back, but it wasn’t good news.  In fact, he told me to call the vet back immediately and try to bump up Sam’s appointment because something was definitely wrong.  He had managed to coax her downstairs when he got home for lunch, and she even went out into the yard to use the bathroom, but she was so weak that she could barely make it up the four steps of our deck, and she basically collapsed as soon as she made it back inside the house.  Justin brought her water, which she gladly drank, but then she threw it all up just a minute later.  She also turned her nose up at food, which is definitely not like Sam.

Upon hearing all of this, I knew in my heart that Sam would probably not be coming home from her vet appointment.  Regardless, I called the vet back, told the receptionist how Sam’s health had rapidly declined since that morning, and she said that we should bring her in at 4:30 pm that day.

In a nutshell, an X-ray showed that the large lump that has been visible on Sam’s left side for quite some time was actually a large tumor that was attached to the base of her heart.  It was growing inside her ribcage, whereas all of her other previously removed tumors had been just under the skin.  The tumor was pressing on Sam’s heart and lungs, causing her to have breathing problems, weakness, and even anemia (her gums were very pale).  I was afraid to ask, but I had to know if I could have prevented this outcome if I had brought Sam to the vet as soon as I noticed that large lump on her side.  The vet assured me that there was nothing I could have done.  Since the tumor was attached to Sam’s heart and was actually growing inside her chest, by the time it had grown large enough to be visible, it was already too late to have it removed.  This brought me some relief, as my biggest fear has been whether or not I made the right decision by choosing not to have Sam’s lumps checked out or removed. 

So, knowing that there was nothing that could be done at that point, and especially considering the fact that Sam was no longer able to walk, eat, or drink, Justin and I knew that Sam’s time had come.  The vet and the technicians were all extremely kind to us and allowed us ample time to say our good-byes.  When it was time to give her the first injection of anesthesia, I asked if Justin could cradle her in his arms because that was Sam’s favorite thing in the world.  I also wanted Justin to hold her so that I could look Sam directly in the eyes and be near her face, the same way I had done with Lexie and Jocie when they passed.

Even though Justin and I were both very tearful, I smiled at Sam the whole time as she gazed into my eyes.  Then, Sam gave me the most incredible gift.  As we looked into each other’s eyes, mine dripping with tears, she moved her paw so that it touched my arm.  She was trying to comfort me in the exact same way that she always had whenever I was upset. 

The best example of this is another moment that I’ll never forget.  After my husband (Sam’s father), Chris, had committed suicide in 2009, I had taken my three girls (Sam, Jocie, and Lexie) to live with me at my father’s house for a few weeks while I tried to decide whether or not I should continue living in that house or find another place to live.  Sam was so upset by the whole ordeal that her fur had fallen out in large clumps along her back.  She looked awful, and I knew that the best thing for her would be to take her back home because that’s where she is the most comfortable.  That was actually a big part of the reason why I ultimately decided to move back into the house.

The first night that we were back in our house, Sam was the most relaxed I had seen her since before Chris died.  She curled right up on the couch and immediately fell asleep.  I, on the other hand, was feeling rather uneasy about being back in that house again, especially alone.  So, I tried to distract myself by surfing the Internet on my laptop, but eventually I started crying.  As soon as I did, Sam got up from where she had been laying comfortably, walked down to my end of the couch, sat beside me, and simply put her paw on my shoulder.  I turned my head to look at her, and she just looked right back at me with those deeply soulful eyes without moving a muscle.  I knew at that moment that I had made the right decision by moving back into our house, and I knew that Sam would help me get through the difficult readjustment period, which she did.

Sam was always the biggest comfort to me during the most difficult times in my life, and she provided that same comfort to me last Tuesday evening at the vet’s office when she touched my arm with her paw.  It was as if she knew what was happening and wanted to help me get through it, just as she had helped me get through that first night back in the house.  It was a moment that I will never forget for as long as I live.  Sam was the most amazing, compassionate dog, and I already miss her so much.

Margot has also been missing her big sister, which has been difficult for me to watch.  The day after Sam passed, my brother told me about an article he’d read that said whenever a dog passes away in a multi-dog family, it’s actually good for the other dogs to smell the dog that has passed away.  This will supposedly help give the other dogs closure so that they won’t worry about where their brother or sister has gone.  Upon hearing this, I texted Justin and asked him to get our clothes that we had worn the previous day at the vet’s office, which were covered in Sam’s fur, and make a pile for Margot to smell.  He did, and about 30 minutes later he texted me a photo of Margot curled up in that pile of clothes, sound asleep.  It broke my heart.

For the most part, Margot has been behaving normally during the day.  She plays with Luke and Frank, gets excited to go for a walk or to the dog park, and she’s been eating and drinking just fine.  However, as soon as she starts to settle down and wants to fall asleep, Margot starts acting very sad.  Sometimes, she acts like she just can’t get comfortable.  She re-positions herself a lot, and sometimes she even gets up and starts whining.  Other times, she becomes super cuddly with me or Justin.  Typically, Margot just curls into a ball right up against us or lays her head in our laps whenever she wants to cuddle.  Ever since Sam died, though, Margot has wanted to actually lay across our chests with her head close to our faces.  It reminds me of how she used to lay on my chest when she was a tiny puppy.  It’s as though she just misses that feeling of being super close to another warm body while she sleeps.  It’s such a shame that Luke isn’t much of a dog cuddler, or else I doubt Margot would be as depressed as she has been this past week.

Well, I’m sure you can probably guess where this is going – Justin has already started campaigning for us to adopt a new cuddle buddy for Margot.  It’s not that I’m against owning three dogs (Lord knows that I’m used to that by now), I’m just hesitant about adopting another dog because there’s no guarantee that the dog we choose will want to cuddle with Margot, either.  With that said, I will admit that it does feel strange not having an older, calmer dog in the house anymore.  I miss Sam’s laid-back energy.  I also loved the fact that there was an older dog in the house to whom my puppies showed respect (Margot more so than Luke, but only because Margot was raised with Sam since she was 6 weeks-old).  Therefore, if we do adopt another dog, I will definitely be looking for one that is at least 2-4 years-old, but preferably no older than 5, one who has a lower energy level, and ideally one who is a known dog cuddler.   All I can say is we’ll see, but one thing is for sure, no dog will ever replace my sweet, sweet Samul.  :(

Speed Bumps and Learning Curves

Well, not only did the shelter initially get Luke’s sex wrong, but their prediction that he was approximately 3 years-old turned out to be way off, too.  According to Dr. Ellis at Animal Care Clinic, Luke is actually only around 11 months-old!  Yes, ladies and gentleman, it appears that Justin and I have ourselves another puppy (not that we’re complaining).  The vet said that he’s very healthy, and he’s scheduled to receive more vaccinations, as well as be neutered, in about three weeks. 

While Luke’s lack of appetite worried me for the first few days, we’re learning that he just doesn’t like to inhale his entire bowl of food in one sitting like his sisters.  He prefers to eat his food a little bit at a time, although we do have to make sure that Margot doesn’t sneak and finish off his bowl of food in between sittings.   I’m just happy that he is finally eating better, and I’m sure he’s going to fatten up a little in no time. 

Overall, Luke is a very good boy, although there are a couple of issues that we’re trying to address with him.  The first issue is the fact that he jumps up to greet people.  Chad, who is a vet tech at the Animal Care Clinic and also teaches obedience training there, told us during Luke’s check-up that the best thing to do for that is raise our knee and hold up our hands whenever Luke jumps, and of course reward him if he sits instead of jumping.  We’ve been doing that, but our little Luke just doesn’t seem to be getting it.  He is definitely a smart dog, but he does seem to be a little bit slower to pick up on things than we’re used to.  So, Justin and I are just going to have to be a little more patient when trying to train him, that’s all.

In fact, his inability to “get it” is the other issue we’re having with Luke.  No many how many times I give him a quick touch to try to correct him, he immediately comes right back and repeats his bad behavior again.  The worst is when he tries to run out onto the porch as soon as we open the front door.  Despite his short stature, Luke is a pretty powerful little dog and will just keep trying to barrel through our attempts to keep him back and away from the door.  He will even lower himself all the way to the floor and stick a paw or his nose in the doorway so that we can’t shut it.  I know that sounds kind of funny, and I do at least have enough of a sense of humor to appreciate Luke’s sneaky tactics, but it’s also very dangerous for Luke and quite annoying for us when we’re trying to leave. 

This morning, I decided to practice more of Cesar Millan’s methods by trying to wait until Luke achieved a fully calm-submissive state before I even opened the front door.  Unfortunately, I can tell that it will take quite a long time for Luke to achieve that state of mind, and I only had a few minutes before I had to be at work.  Regardless, instead of just opening the door and fighting Luke off so that I could shut it behind me, I first walked to the front door and just put my hand on the doorknob.  As soon as Luke came into my space, I turned around, gave him a quick touch, and told him, “No.”  When he immediately moved forward again, I repeated the correction.  After I did this several times, he did finally stop moving forward.  So, I took a step toward him to further claim my space around the front door.  He looked me right in the eyes and backed up a step, which was good.  Then, I stood there and waited, and Luke finally sat.  However, his attention was still clearly focused on the door.  If I had had more time this morning, I would have continued standing there and claiming my space (not allowing him to move closer to the front door) until he finally laid down and relaxed.  Then, it would have been okay for me to walk out the front door. 

However, due to lack of time, after Luke sat and I stood there for a moment, I decided to go ahead and reach back for the door knob.  As soon as I did, Luke lunged forward towards the door again.  I was able to correct him enough so that I was able to get out the front door, but in order to shut the door I had to physically push Luke away with my foot, which made me feel awful.   So, I’m definitely going to work on this problem with Luke more when I have plenty of time to practice patience with him, as well.

While I’m on the subject of behaviors that need correcting, Miss Margot has developed a new behavior that is very disappointing.  She’s begun pulling on her leash during walks, which she never used to do before, and this has only developed over this past winter.  (Luke is a dream to walk on his leash, by the way.  He stays right by your side, and if he starts to pull even a little bit, he corrects himself.)  I’ve tried correcting Margot by giving her leash a quick jerk and making the “anh!” sound, but all she does is spin around for a brief second, and then continue to pull.  I’ve also tried stopping dead in my tracks as soon as she pulls and making her stand there with me for a few seconds before walking again.  The problem is that, even though we’ve stopped walking, she is still in a very high-alert state of mind.  Justin and I have both attempted to snap her out of it by trying to get Margot to look us in the eye and even sit during these pauses on our walks, but she absolutely will not pay attention to us.  In fact, she acts like we’re just in her way if we try to look her in the eye, and she’ll keep moving her head around to see what’s behind us.  I’ve also tried doing that thing that Cesar does, where he kind of taps the dog on their hindquarters with his foot while they’re walking to surprise the dog and snap her out of their anxious state of mind, but when I do this with Margot, it just ends up looking like I’m kicking my dog, and it doesn’t even work anyway.   So, now I’m considering buying one of those leashes that Cesar recommends that fits right up under the dog’s chin.   Something has got to work because it’s getting to the point where I don’t even want to walk Margot, even though I know I have to.  So, it’s starting to feel more like a chore to take her for a walk rather than an enjoyable experience for both of us, and I don’t want that.

Justin and I decided to take all three dogs out for a couple of walks this past weekend, which went fairly well.  The first walk was better than the second walk, though, and I cut the second walk short out of frustration.  During their first walk together, I started out walking both Sam and Margot and let Justin walk Luke because Sam and Margot are the two “pullers,” and I feel like they respect me as an authority figure more than they do Justin (no offense to Justin, but he’s just too tender-hearted and gentle to really demand their respect the way that I do).  However, Sam was actually being very well behaved and not pulling on her leash at all, and because Margot was turning into quite the handful, Justin offered to walk Sam with Luke.  That turned out to be a much better arrangement, because Luke and Sam were excellent walkers together.

So, yesterday, when we decided to walk all three of them again, Justin took Sam and Luke and I took Margot.  I want to preface this by adding that I had just come back from a four-hour photo shoot, which was fun, but a bit nerve-racking for various reasons.  So, my nerves were already a bit frazzled when we decided to go for a walk, which probably didn’t help make Sam and Margot feel any more relaxed.   However, the main problem was that there were a lot more people and dogs out at the park yesterday, so Margot and Sam were both at higher states of excitement and energy than the day before.  (Notice I’m not mentioning Luke because he remained a calm, happy dog during both pack walks.)   I tried to pause several times during the walk, taking deep breaths each time to try to release my own anxious energy, but as soon as we’d start walking again, it would come right back.   

Sam’s energy was more of a nervous/scared/anxious energy, which is very typical for her, whereas Margot seemed to have more of a high level of alertness and excitement in general, as in, “What’s that?  Who’s that over there?  Where is he going?  Why is she running?  What are those people doing?”  Whenever Sam and Margot would come close to another dog, however, they would both lunge and pull to get to the dog, but for different very reasons.  I believe that Margot is truly just very excited and simply wants to meet the other dog to see if he/she is friendly and wants to play, but Sam barks out of fear and actually wants to make the dog go away.   So, the owners of the dog in question don’t really know what to think or how to react to our dogs, and the whole time Justin and I are trying to yell over all the barking to explain to the other owners that Margot really is just trying to be friendly, and Sam really isn’t being aggressive towards their dog; she’s just nervous and barking because she’s scared.   In other words, every time Sam and Margot encounter an unfamiliar dog, it always ends up being just this huge, loud, chaotic, embarrassing mess, and it always ends with Justin and me having to pull Sam and Margot away from the other dog in order to restore the peace.  It really bothers me because not only is it physically exhausting and embarrassing, but I feel like it makes Sam and Margot look like they’re both aggressive towards other dogs, which couldn’t be farther from the truth. 

The thing is, Justin and I both feel that if Sam and Margot were to encounter an unfamiliar dog by themselves, without her sister there, those two encounters would be much different.  Margot would still get excited and want to meet the other dog, but without Sam constantly barking behind her and making the other dog nervous and unsure about what’s going on, that other dog would probably just let Margot sniff him/her and reciprocate.  In turn, if Sam were to encounter another dog without Margot there being all excited and anxious to meet the other dog, Sam would probably just keep her mouth shut and go out of her way to avoid the dog all together.   

So, unfortunately, it seems like the solution is pretty clear:  Margot and Sam shouldn’t go on walks together; at least, not in heavily dog-populated areas, like the park.   However, if we decide to walk Sam and Margot at separate times, I do think that it might be a good idea to still include Luke on both of those walks because I think he sets a good example for both girls.  Luke’s main focus during walks is following me and/or Justin.  He truly sees us as his leaders, and he behaves accordingly.  As I said before, he walks right by our sides, and we’re able to keep his leash loose and relaxed the whole time.  Occasionally, Luke will walk ahead a little bit, especially if he’s trying to keep up with his sisters, but as soon as he feels tension on his leash, he automatically slows his pace and/or returns to our side.  Justin and I both suspect that Luke would probably be able to walk with us without a leash, but it’s definitely too soon to test that theory.  I wouldn’t want to try walking him without a leash until he’s undergone some formal training and I feel confident that he’ll come when he’s called.

Anyway, despite everything that I just mentioned above, which are all correctable behaviors, Justin and I are really happy that we decided to adopt Luke.  Not only do he and Margot get along very well, but Sam has finally relaxed around him and doesn’t get as upset anymore whenever Luke and Margot start rough-housing.  Also, just as I had hoped, Margot now prefers to pick on Luke instead of Sam because she knows that Luke will be happy to play with her.  Besides wrestling, Luke and Margot’s favorite games are Keep-Away and Tug-O-War. 

My favorite is when they start chasing each other around the living room, kitchen, and dining room, which are all open and connected rooms, so it’s kind of like they’re running around a track.  They’ll run in that circle a few times, and then one of them will stop and wait for the other one to catch up.  However, if Luke hears Margot stop, for example, then he’ll stop, too, and then they will both slowly sneak around and peek into the next room, hoping to catch the other by surprise.  When one of them finally does surprise the other, then they get all excited and start chasing each other again.  It’s really fun and heartwarming to watch, because that’s the type of high-energy playing that I know Sam just can’t (and doesn’t want to) do anymore. 

So, overall, I believe that everyone is much happier now that Luke has joined the family.  Sure, we’ve got a few wrinkles to iron out, but that was to be expected, and honestly, it could have been a lot worse!

Margot's First Play Date

I have so much to talk about this past weekend!  It started when Margot had a vet appointment on Saturday.  The office was packed that morning, so we ended up having to wait for about an hour.  While we were waiting, I think Margot made her first boyfriend, a little Jack Russell mix named Max.  Max’s owner and I were sitting directly across from each other in the waiting room, and Margot and Max kept meeting in the middle to sniff each other .  Margot really didn’t know what to think if Max at first because she was so much bigger than him, and he kept trying to play with her the same way she usually plays with Sam.  Once she got over the size difference, though, and started playing with him, it was neat to watch how gentle she was with this smaller dog.  Since Sam is so much bigger than her, Margot is used to full-on romping on top of Sam and playing with all her might.  With Max, however, Margot made sure not to swat him too hard whenever she’d paw at him, and she never even tried to romp on him.  Unfortunately, Max started to “fall in love” with Margot a little bit, if you catch my drift, and his owner and I decided that Margot and Max should take a little break from playtime. 



12 wks Vs. 15 wks.



As for Margot’s appointment, she weighed a whopping 28 lbs this week, and she received her last set of booster shots (the ones that make her immune to the Parvovirus).  The real news, though, is that Dr. Ellis said we could go ahead and have Margot spayed in three weeks, so we set up her appointment for October 23.  My poor puppy is going under the knife!  No, I’m actually totally okay with it.  I told Dr. Ellis during Margot’s very first check-up that I wanted to have her spayed as soon as she was old enough to do so because I didn’t want to make the same mistake with Margot as I did with Lexie. 

Lexie was around 8 years-old before she was finally spayed, but it wasn’t an elective surgery.  Lexie had developed pyometra as a result of having never been spayed (my late husband and I had considered breeding her just one time before we had her spayed, but after we finally decided we weren’t going to breed her, we just kept forgetting to have her spayed).  Lexie required life-saving, emergency surgery to remove her uterus, which ended up weighing 4 lbs. because it was full of blood and pus from the infection!  I felt like the WORST mother ever, and that day I vowed to NEVER put off spaying another dog.  Not only that, but I was later told that Lexie’s mammary cancer probably had a lot to do with the fact that she wasn’t spayed at a much earlier age.  So, YOU HEAR ME OUT THERE?!?!?  SPAY YOUR FEMALE DOGS ASAP!!!!!

Anyway, as I was saying, Margot is going to be spayed in three weeks, then, when she goes back ten days later to have her stitches removed, she’ll receive her rabies vaccination, and then that will be the end of her vaccination visits.  I guess my little girl officially isn’t a baby anymore.  :’-(



Yesterday, Justin and I decided to take Margot to Petco to buy her a new Nylabone.  She always loves going to Petco because she usually receives a lot of attention from the staff and other customers, and yesterday was no different.  The girl who checked us out gave Margot a free dog biscuit, and then after she talked to us for a little while about Dobermans and other dog-related things, she ended up giving Margot another biscuit before we left.  

As soon as we walked out of the store, Justin said, “I think you should call Brett and Courtney and see if Elsea wants to play.”  Brett and Courtney are friends of ours who own a 2-1/2 year-old, red Doberman named Elsea.  We’ve all been so anxious for Elsea and Margot to meet each other that we’ve literally been counting down the weeks until Margot was fully vaccinated and cleared to play with other dogs.  Even though Margot won’t be 16 weeks-old until Wednesday, Justin and I both decided that it was probably okay for her to go ahead and meet Elsea, as long as we didn’t take them to the park or anything.  So, I texted Brett and Courtney and set up their play date.

Meanwhile, Justin and I stopped at Walgreens so I could pick up a few things before we headed over to Brett and Courtney’s apartment.  While I was shopping, Justin walked Margot around the parking lot.  When I came out, Justin told me that Margot had just had two bouts of diarrhea.  We knew immediately that it had to have been from the free biscuits from Petco because Margot has experienced diarrhea in the past whenever she ate something other than her regular dog food and Iams puppy biscuits.  She must have a sensitive tummy.  I wasn’t too worried about it, but a few minutes after we got back in the car and started driving, Margot threw up.  Luckily, I had a sheet covering the back seat so I was able to quickly wrap up the mess, but several minutes later, she threw up again.  I felt so sorry for her!  She looked pitiful.  We considered postponing her play date, but we decided to go ahead and take her to Brett and Courtney’s and just play it by ear. 



Margot's first play date with Elsea!



Well, I’m glad we didn’t call off the play date because it ended up being so much fun!  It took Margot a good 20 minutes or so to warm up and probably shake off some of the car sickness, but after that she was perfectly fine.  Elsea kind of freaked her at first, though, because she’s so much bigger than Margot or even Sam, and Elsea kept running full-speed at Margot, causing her to hide behind me or Justin.  Like I said, though, once Margot warmed up to Elsea and realized that she wasn’t trying to hurt her, they got along really well.  They mostly just chased each other and explored the yard together, but they also had a brief wrestling match a little later on while they were lying on the porch.  Brett, Courtney, and I took pictures the WHOLE time, of course.  Haha!  What can I say?  We were some happy, proud parents watching our kids finally playing together and getting along so well. 



Brett with Elsea and Justin with Margot



As I’m sure you can imagine, Margot spent a large majority of the rest of the day napping, as she was pretty worn out from all of the excitement.  Before we left Brett and Courtney’s, though, we talked about going to the dog park together later this week, after Margot officially turns 16 weeks-old.  I would love to take Sam, too, but I may take Margot by herself the first time just to see how it goes.  Sam, believe it or not, is quite a handful to take out on her leash.  She just gets SO EXCITED that she pulls and barks constantly.  I know it’s probably just a matter of working with her in order to correct those bad behaviors, but that’s where I keep falling short because I simply dread taking her out.  (It’s that bad.)  I know that I need to, though, because it isn’t fair to leave Sam at home while Margot gets to go out for walks and play at the dog park.  So, maybe I’ll do that this evening when I get home.  In fact, maybe Justin and I will take Sam by HERSELF up to the dog park as sort of a trial run.  Yeah!  I like that idea a lot, actually.  :)

Preparing for Jocie's Diagnosis and Vacation Tomorrow (Fantastic Timing)

Waiting for the vet to open this morning.

I just dropped Jocie and Margot off at the vet, and then dropped off my car at the garage for a state inspection and oil change before we leave for Emerald Isle tomorrow morning.  I wish I could say I was more excited for our vacation, but this Jocie situation is completely stressing me out. 

Sometimes I look at her and think, “This is it…” and other times I look at her and think, “She doesn’t seem that bad…”  Yesterday afternoon, after coming home for lunch and finding that Jocie hadn’t eaten any of the food I had left her and it looked as though she may have even vomited at some point, I gave Zach and Kristy the heads up that “Jocie doesn’t look good.”  Justin even asked me if I was “prepared for what the vet might tell me tomorrow.”  I still felt less than hopeful after I got home from work and couldn’t get Jocie to eat a peanut butter sandwich.  However, when Justin got home about an hour later, he managed to get her to eat the sandwich by breaking it up into little pieces, and her mood even seemed a little better.  This morning when I asked Jocie if she wanted to go for a ride, she actually got excited and practically ran and jumped into the back seat of the car! 

So, I don’t really know what to think about Jocie’s current condition.  All I know is that she’s not eating, she’s vomiting occasionally, she’s using the bathroom in the house occasionally, she’s more lethargic than usual, there’s a growth/sty on her left eyelid, green mucous has started forming in her eye, and her eye appeared to be swollen yesterday.  The good news is that she is still drinking plenty of water, she moves around just fine, and she still gets excited at the prospect of taking a walk or going for a ride.  Needless to say, I’m extremely anxious for Dr. Ellis to call me after she’s examined Jocie.  (I forgot to mention that the reason I dropped Margot off at the vet this morning, too, is because she needs to be weighed and given a de-worming treatment.) 

We will be taking the girls over to Justin’s parents tonight and dropping them off for the week since we plan to leave for the beach super early tomorrow morning.  I am going to miss them so much, especially little Miss Margot.  I know it’s silly, but I just don’t want her to be scared and wonder where her Mommy and Daddy went.  I also hate to think about how much she’ll have grown by the time we get back.  Again, I know these things seem a little silly considering we’re only going to be gone for a week, but as you have read in Margot’s weekly progress reports on this blog, a LOT seems to happen with her from week to week.  I just don’t want to miss anything.      :(

Anyway, I’ll post an update as soon as Dr. Ellis calls, which I’m hoping will be before noon.  Is it weird that I’m hoping Jocie has diabetes???  (I mean, as opposed to other, more life-threatening illnesses, of course.)