Flying My Fur Baby

I think one of the most stressful parts of planning this move, is Koda. Well, not only has it postponed the move due to having issues finding a rental that will allow him, but I was not quite prepared for the cost of flying him. Pets flying internationally HAVE to go cargo. Even if he was a 3lb terrier who could fit under the seat, he still must fly in cargo. I expected to pay alot, I was estimating the cost to be around the same as my ticket or less. Definitely not more. I've done loads of research to make sure I have all my ducks in a row, and to make sure he get the best of care, because let's face it, he IS my baby, and this isn't his choice, it's mine, so I want to make it as smooth and comfortable for him as possible. After loads of reading i've decided to fly him on British Airways, they have a good reputation in the pet transportation dept and they are so helpful when I call with my endless questions. His ticket for flying in May is $2064. Yes. I know. I nearly fell outta my chair too. Its had some time to sink in, that was weeks ago, so it doesn't sting quite as much as it did at first, it's just something I have to budget for. If he has the best experience he can during this, and they take good care of him, then i'm happy to pay it. He will not have to be quarantined, he will travel under the pets scheme with a pets passport. Cute huh?! He will need a new 15 digit ISO microchip (the one he has now is only a 10 digit and not internationally recognized), and his vet paperwork in order with a certificate of health. That will be the easy part. The hardest part (besides cost) is his kennel! Dakota is an escape artist! He IS crate trained, but his crate is a HUGE wire one so its pretty open, and he's not in it alot. The kennels approved for flying are the plastic kind that he absolutely hates. He can push the gate open, bending the wires, and let himself out (he's done it). But after more research I found we can get zip ties to help secure the door and that made me feel much better. I ordered him a Sky Kennel Ultra with 4 point locking door (I figure he needs all the security he can get since he'll have alot of time to figure out how to escape lol). This one has good reviews and i'm hopeful it will be fairly escape proof. They are pricey, for his size (XL) it was $149 with free shipping. The first kennel they sent I had to return, it looked used (?) and did not come with the live animal stickers it was supposed to have. It also had a part where the door slides into that was coming loose. The company was so nice, they sent me a new one the next day and I returned the old one with no problems. I was worried the new one might have problems like the previous, but it didn't, it was brand new, came with everything it was supposed to, and had no weak spots. I really think the other one they sent me was very old or something, it didnt really look much like this one. So I put it together and left the door off the first few days to let Koda get used to it being around without fear of being shut in. Even with the door off he would watch me to make sure I was far away from it before he would go in and inspect. I am trying to make him LOVE this kennel. He doesn't mind his other one, but he doesn't love it either. I want him to feel happy and relaxed in this one so his trip will be more comfortable for him so i've been tossing lots of treats inside and feeding him in it sometimes, and then I did put the door back on and he actually took a nap in it on sunday YAY! I'm so relieved and I feel so much better about it now. I will continue to research ways to make him more relaxed for his trip, he's a rescue dog so he gets really upset and nervous in strange situations. Maybe a thunder shirt, it's an anti-anxiety vest that has mixed reviews but mostly good. I will ask his vet what she thinks about it. When I was googling ways to make your pet's flight more comfortable it brings up the good, the bad, and the ugly. I know it doesn't always go smoothly and I know, tragically, death happens, but I did not want to read about it just from searching, but of course I did and then I was crying so hard. In my heart I feel like Koda will be fine, I wouldn't risk taking him if I thought otherwise, but reading some of those things upset me to the point where I had to pray really hard and think deep about what was best for him. When I left work that day I had to go to walmart and I was walking around the store and still crying my eyes out lol! oh well, its walmart, who cares! After I had a good cry I came home and did more research. I felt much better, there are many more rules and regulations now than in past years and pet deaths during flight are actually pretty rare. The kennels were a big part of why there were accidents and escapes and I think the new regulations have really helped that. I dont want to dwell on this too much because I have to stay positive and know that he will be fine. I just wanted to update everyone :)

and because he's so cute.......

Happy New Year!

Craig's visit came and went. It was bliss and I must say i'm getting better at the 'after a visit blues'. I cried buckets, but I feel ok. The next time we see each other will be when one of us moves. We have a few more weeks to look for a place in Stroud that will allow us to have a dog, and if we don't find anything then Craig will be applying for his visa to come to the US. We cant keep waiting on it. So that's the plan. I want to go there but it might have to wait a bit, at least this way we'll be together and he will be here to help with the move. And if we get a place then..well..i'll manage on my own lol I have to say the big move scares me! Not the new country part, but the packing and paperwork etc. but it will all be worth it!

I cannot tell you how happy Dakota was to see Craig! for the first several days he was here Koda and I were vying for position to sit by him LOL it was really funny. I told Craig he's going to be worn out by the end of his visit, having to cater to both me and Koda! I'm serious when I say Dakota did not leave that man's side the entire visit! Well..when we were home at least!  Here is a picture of Koda the day Craig got here:

So he came in on the 22nd, a Thursday. I had to work on Friday but only till 3pm so I went home at lunch and got Craig and brought him up to work with me to meet everyone. Saturday we had to do some last minute shopping and then Sunday was Christmas at my brother's house which included my mom, sister Rene, her 3 kids, my brother Robert (of course), his 2 kids, and his ex wife Tammy. The following week I worked Tues-Friday but I was off the second week of Craig's visit. For NYE we put Koda in the doggie hotel at petsmart and went to my other parent's house. My dad is gone, most of you know, but my step mom Charlotte is married to Don so they are my other parents. It was a great visit, we stayed the night and played games and had Charlotte's yummy cooking! Then on Sunday my sister Cathy came over with her husband and we visited with them for a while before having to head back to Dallas. It was a great visit, I dont see them often enough. Craig really enjoyed meeting everyone he's heard so much about.

So more about Christmas...Craig and I were trying to figure out what kind of tradition we wanted to set for Christmas, since this was our first one being together physically. We opted for 'if it's midnight, it's technically Christmas' LOL so we did!! We opened our presents to each other and the ones from Craig's family around Midnight Christmas morning. Poor Koda had to wait until a few hours later (we are such mean parents) but he had a present to open from his Auntie Clair and his stocking I bought him that had I think 5 toys in it. Craig bought him lots of treats and presents too but we didn't wrap those, we just gave them to him. He was soooo cute, he was so excited and he opened them all by himself! Here is a pic of him chewing on his favorite present, the bone from Aunt Clair!

 So Monday we rested lol we were tired from the travel and getting home late. Tuesday we went to see Sherlock Holmes part 2, it was GREAT! and we saw it at the movie grill which I love! and they don't have those where Craig lives so it was a treat for us both! Wednesday I took him to the Fort Worth Zoo. I went on and on about how great this zoo was, and only half the animals were even out! it was still a fun day but I was a bit disappointed. Then, in spite of my staying awake as long as possible-so Thursday wouldn't come, it came and it was time for Craig to pack and us say goodbye. boo!

I think that's all I have to tell for now. Happy New Year everyone!!! I'll keep you posted on our plans!

It's been a while!

I'm so sorry my blog friends, it's been a while since I last posted. I could give you any number of excuses but I wont bore you : )

I can hardly believe it's nearly Christmas, and that Craig and I will have been married 3 months come January 1st! How time flies! I'm very happy to report that he's coming for Christmas, he'll be here Thursday and I get to keep him for a whole 2 weeks!!! My heart is over the moon happy! So just a few short days to go!!

I've got the money to apply for my UK visa now, but we are STILL looking for a place to rent that will allow us to have our dog. Its gotten to be a bit ridiculous to be honest. We even told the many estate agents we've talked to that we are willing to pay an extra deposit if need be (that's how it's done in America anyway) but so far nothing. I just don't understand it. I could understand maybe if Koda was a puppy, still in a destructive-chewing everything-stage, but he'll be 5yrs old in January and while he's got a wild streak, he's not destructive and is completely house trained. I know what you are probably thinking...why don't I just find another home for him and not bring him. That's really not an option for me. I adopted him from the animal shelter and when I did, it was for life. I'm not giving up on my puppy just because i'm having trouble finding a place to live in England. I just wont. So in the mean time, i'm praying hard that something will come up in these next few months so that Craig and I will finally be able to be together.

Good news on the work front....when I told my boss I would likely be moving to England, he jokingly said 'well then you'll just have to do your job from there'. He really was joking, but it got my wheels spinning! We have two ladies that work at my company that have gone on to become 'contract' employees, doing their same positions but from home, one being because she moved out of state. Now I know England is a bit further from Texas than Indiana, BUT the more I thought about it, the more I could not find a reason why it wouldn't work. So I put together a formal proposal, stating all the reasons why it would work and why it would be a good idea for the company to keep me on in this manner. My boss LOVED my proposal and he backs me 100% (yay) of course it's not only up to him, so he took it to his boss, who also is a fan. From there he took it to HR to make sure it is doable and that's where it's been the past few weeks since I turned it in. Sigh. What's taking so long? I will have to know one way or the other when I go to fill out my visa paperwork so hopefully I will hear back soon. The only real question they had for me, understandably, was the time difference. I told them I would work on Texas time, it's really not a big deal. I would work 3-11pm. Craig works overnights 7pm-7am so it would work out just fine since we wouldn't be on a normal schedule anyway. So keep your fingers crossed for me guys!! and prayers are even more appreciated!

So what else is new? Craig's visits are always very busy, and this one will be no exception. Christmas we will be spent at my brother's house with my mom, sis, bro and their children then the next weekend for New Years Eve we are going to my step parents house in East Texas. That should be fun. I've made Koda a reservation at the Petsmart doggie hotel so he'll have doggie daycare and will stay overnight. He loves it there so he'll be very happy and we will all get a good nights sleep so we will be happy as well! When I took Koda with me to their house for Thanksgiving, he howled the entire time we were there. My poor baby, he just gets all out of sorts if he's in an unfamiliar place.

Speaking of Thanksgiving...I think my step mom is going to make a traditional dinner when we are there so Craig can taste a little bit of thanksgiving food! YUMMY! and he's never had catfish so on sunday we are going to have yummy southern fried catfish!! I never make it so it's a treat for us both (hopefully he'll love it!!). So before my trip down there for Thanksgiving I was gassing up the car and had a bit of a clumsy accident (anyone that knows me well is not surprised by this news lol) but I was stepping over the gas hose and thought I had cleared but the next thing I knew I was on the ground and everything hurt. It took me a minute to be able to get up. I fell on both knee caps and my left arm and right hand. I was black and blue for a few days and walking was really painful, but here we are a month later and my right knee is still hurting and I can feel a little crack across the knee cap that I dont feel in the much more healed knee. So I think I might need to go in and get an x-ray. I hate going to the doctor, though, so let's not hold our breaths lol!

Well i'm going to close for now and If I dont blog again before Christmas, I hope you all have a great holiday!!

~C

Toothgate and Wedding update!

Dakota's dental surgery went perfect. He's loving the meaty canned food he's been eating for nearly 2 weeks now (my pocket book isn't as happy, he's 70 lbs and needs 4-5 cans per day). I am predicting a hunger strike when he goes back to dry food tomorrow. It sounds dramatic, but i'm only half way kidding! On Tuesday morning the electricity was out on my street and it took them about 2 hrs to get it back up and running, and you would have thought Dakota was starving to DEATHHHH! He kept going into the kitchen and jumping up to look at where his canned food was - then barking at me - then throwing himself on the floor. I swear my dog is a 2 yr old human in fur. I did explain as best I could that we don't have a manual can opener and he would just have to wait. He was not appeased. Now...I know you are wondering why I don't just mix the canned food with the dry food tomorrow. I'll tell you why...because Mr. Koda will lick all the meaty food off the kibble and leave the dry. So there isn't much point in trying, and Science Diet is tooo expensive to be wasting. So back to my story..where was I....OH so the doggie dentist gave me his extracted tooth. Yes. and yes, it was quite gross lol but they did clean it up. I had no idea his tooth would be THAT big. I didn't really look at it until I got home, but when I did, I was NOT pleased! I'm no expert, but where his tooth cracked and pulp exposed, is on the BACK of the tooth, and to my untrained eyes, it looks like tool marks. As if..oh I dont know...maybe when the other vet cleaned his teeth, she damaged the tooth! Then it all fell into place for me, why the tooth didn't ever bother him until AFTER he had them cleaned, and why she felt the need to call me twice to make SURE I was taking him to the dentist. and not only that, but you can see it with your naked eye, and before the cleaning, there was no crack to be seen. He has a check up next saturday to make sure it healed properly so I'm going to take the tooth with me and ask her honest opinion about how that tooth could have been damaged like that.

And...OMGOMGOMGOMGOM wedding! 2 weeks and 2 days! I could die of happiness right now! I get to see my gorgeous sweet amazing husband to be in exactly 2 weeks and i'm full of butterflies with the anticipation!! My dress is all altered, the seamstress is doing the bustle right now and I have my final fitting and will pick it up on saturday. My bouquet FINALLY came in and it's gorgeous! It was a headache to deal with the lady who made it, but now it's here and i'm in love! Craig got his ring and I awoke to a picture on my phone he sent me of it on his hand and I cried. Yes, i'm a sap, I know. So that's pretty much it...I'm ready!

Koda and the News

Yesterday when I got home from work I was walking Dakota and the local news truck kept driving past, they were very obviously lost. Easy to do because my complex has alot of tiny streets and some are missing the street signs. So I finally asked them what street they were looking for, and it turns out it was mine. Hmmmm. It was the next building. So we finish our walk and I go inside. About an hour later Koda needed to go out again (he drinks copious amounts of water when we come in for a walk) this would be a short one, take him to this favorite tree and done lol so I walk him out and the news truck is still there. Hmmmm. (I PROMISE I was not being nosy. I was curious, of course, but not nosy) So Koda wouldn't use the bathroom, it was all a ruse to go outside (maybe HE wanted to be nosy haha) so we are walking back towards my building and the news people are coming out and down the sidewalk. I said Yay you found it :) and the man said "yeah, thanks. are ya'll still walking?" (as in, from before. in this heat? is he crazy? heavens no!) I said no but he likes to go out alot. In the mean time, they are getting closer and Koda sees the opportunity to make new friends. And that's where it all went wrong. I was trying to get Koda up on the steps and towards my door before they were beside us on the side walk, in my mind i'm seeing him trying to say hello in the form of jumping on the man carrying the VERY expensive news camera, so while i'm trying to pull him my way, he throws himself down on the sidewalk like a 2yr old! oh Koda...not now....and he would not get up lol the reporter had to step over him! I was so embarrassed because I know they think we have been creeping, being nosey, and now I can't get my dog up off the sidewalk because he's having a tantrum. sighhhhhhhhhh

In other Koda news...he had his teeth cleaned last week and upon closer inspection of his broken tooth, they saw that the pulp is exposed (the pulp is what holds the blood vessels and nerves) and the tooth has to come out. My poor baby. It's always something. So he's having dental surgery on friday. Oh yes, it's not as simple has them just pulling a tooth, they have to cut into his poor gums and cut it out and then pack the jaw bone with some sort of material, I forgot what she called it. Can nothing be simple? or inexpensive? no. But alas it has to be done, I cant have my baby in pain. I pray that this will be IT for a very long time because it seems like it's been one thing after another this year for him. My poor furry monster.

Alterations, wedding updates, and Koda's boarding!

I took my dress to the seamstress on Saturday, I think I picked a great one, we really clicked. She's a one woman alterations business that runs out of a tiny house. I feel like she will give more personal attention and her reviews online were terrific, so I'm in good hands. 2 things happened that made me go huh?...the first is she said 'You are wearing a bra or you want me to sew in cups?' ummmm *chews lip* well...I don't know! Sew in cups? hmmm. I had actually planned to get a long line bra, but while I was there in the dress - it's lower in the back than I remembered so I think sewing in cups is a must, just in case the low line bra isn't low enough. Let me clarify, my back isn't completely open, the dress just hits lower than I remember. So I asked my friend Kim about this cup business...b/c she had hers sewn in. I asked her how they do it and she said they set them in place and then pin them so they know where to sew them. At my look of horror she said Yes Christy, she will prob touch your boob. Oh deary me....maybe the bra doesn't sound so bad after all? hahah! jk, I'll do cups. But I have to go get them at the sewing store in my cup size (apparently Martha doesn't keeps cups laying around) so that should be interesting, gonna go do that tomorrow so I can take them with me for my appt with her on Saturday. She's taking some of the crinoline from the bottom so it wont be bulky, not going for princess skirt! So once we get that set then she'll alter the length. I've decided to leave the train, mostly b/c my mom said NO! to cutting it off. It really is pretty with it anyway. The second huh? moment was when I was standing there while she went to talk to a customer who had just walked in and I felt something crawling on my leg! ACK! so I raise my leg and nope, wasn't a creepy crawly...was sweat! EWWWW! My poor legs were smothering under the dress! I didn't feel hot but my legs were I guess lol soooo....ummm...what the heck am I gonna do about that??? shorten the dress enough to let air get under it? Where a southern style hoop? help!!

So I ordered my bouquet a while back. She said she would mail it on Aug 10th, but that date came and went and here I sit with no bouquet. After my second email she responded and said she will mail it tomorrow and send me the tracking numbers. I'm skeptical but hopeful. Her reviews are 99% positive, but the 1% that are negative are complaints about her time management and of her saying she would mail them and didn't. So that made me nervous. But i'll just keep contacting her until I get it.

The reception is a go. Mostly because the hotel wouldn't let me cancel. Well, they wouldn't give me my deposit back I should say. They would happily cancel, but keep my $500. Fine. Whatever. They really should put that policy on their paperwork when you do the booking. I'm having a bit of a problem getting her to contact me so I can finalize everything for dinner. Don't you worry, I will call every day If I have to. Just wish it wasn't such a pain, why can't vendors just be friendly and get back with you? Not a great way to run a business in my opinion. On the other side, the wedding coordinator at the chapel has been amazing!

and lastly....boarding Koda. :(   When I went to London my friend Brooke kept Koda for me, the sweet girl that she is. This time around I will need to board him but i'm torn between boarding at his vet clinic's office, where he would be taken care of, but be bored out of his mind, Orrrrrrr at Petsmart where he will be able to play at doggie daycare all day each day. He loves it there but it's twice the price and i'm not sure I have the money for him to go there. Might have to work some overtime so he can go there. It's going to break my heart to take him anywhere because I want him with me lol too bad he cant come to Vegas! oh gosh...if he did that place would never be the same *cringing at the thought*

Bath Time With Koda (cringe)

Let me preface this by saying Koda really is a very good dog, and he doesn't MIND a bath..but he doesn't love it either. He's 70lbs and too big to fit in the bathtub so I take him to the dog wash, it's a self-service place with all the grooming tools and tubs and you do the work. But they do the toenails yay! So Saturday morning I woke up feeling energetic and decided to take him for a bath. I said a little prayer (yes I really did) bc it doesn't always go very smoothly and last time we went the man working got onto me about all the dog hair. He wasn't nice about it, I had to complain to the owner who said 'that's why you bring them here, so we deal with the mess' but I was still worried that man might be working there that day. To my great relief he wasn't. I did brush Koda alot before we went, but given that he's a husky, he sheds alot anyway even if you think you've brushed every stray hair. So we go in and I pick the very last tub, so that we aren't around anyone else in case we make a mess (we always do). There was only 1 other customer in at the time who kept trying to talk to me from 4 tubs away, with us both using the water lol I think I must have said 'huh?' a thousand times. Koda was content because he could watch her dog. He's happier when he can watch other dogs or people, he doesn't get so restless. So I am bathing him and 2 more customers come in, one of them selects the tub right in front of ours. Sigh. It was fine except that every time Koda shook, the soap and water got all over the man's back. Then there was the unfortunate time I accidentally sprayed him with the water hose while I was rinsing Koda (oopsie). Well I sprayed myself too but i'm not sure that was any consolation lol no really, the man was a good sport, but I was still mortified. So we're almost done with our bath and the girl who works there came over and was messing with the drain. I looked at the end of the tub and we had clogged the drain and water was flowing onto the floor (oopsie again) I apologized and she said it's ok, it always happens with huskies. So I finished bathing him, toes all done yay! I was as wet as he was but that's ok. I did start to dry him but it blows the excess hair everywhere so it looked like it snowed a little. To my credit, and the worker's relief, I didn't dry him completely (mostly because there really was a large amount of hair blowing everywhere!) So we're done yes? I put his collar on and we walk towards the front, Koda pulling me and me trying not to slip in all the water we got on the floor. At the counter (whew we made it! Success!) I am starting to apologize to the lady about the mess we made while i'm digging in my purse for my wallet, at the same time Koda smells something yummy on the counter. He jumped up, knocking over an entire bowl of treats - all over the floor! I was overwhelmed at this point, I was trying to pull him back so he wouldn't eat them all while thinking what do I do? Pick them up and put them in the bowl? Is that even sanitary? How am I gonna get them up and keep him from eating them at the same time? All the while he's still eating them. I gave up and let him. Problem solved lol So then I'm apologizing for the mess he's made at the counter and grabbing my keys and another customer reminds me that I still have the apron on LOL I forgot to take it off after I bathed him. That must have looked cute. But all in all, not a bad day and now my furry monster is soft and smelling pretty!

another silly thing from today...coming in from our walk I noticed a leaf stuck to his back leg. I bend down to pull it off and it really is stuck! it seems Koda stepped in gum. Never a dull moment!!

Thank heavens for pet health insurance, they covered his 4th of July incident almost in full. What a blessing that is, If you dont have health insurance for your pet I highly recommend PetFirst, they are fantastic.

Photofacial, Repeats, and Shedding

Today I got a photofacial! My first. I was so nervous!! Would my face stay red for weeks after? Will I be one of the unlucky few that have a bad reaction? Would I look like leatherface at my wedding? Will it hurt? Well.......it was great!!! It didn't hurt at all! I'm not red at all! My skin is dry but that's to be expected. Why did I have it done? Well I have broken capillaries on my cheeks so I look like i'm blushing all the time. I go to great pains to cover them with makeup lol so the photofacial is the only laser treatment that fixes broken capillaries, and since it was on sale and I really wanted it done, why not! It also corrects sun damage and fine lines. So over the next 2 weeks I will slough off my old skin and my new skin will shine through! I should put here that it takes more than one treatment, up to 6, but I will keep getting them as long as they are on sale hehe. Maybe I did hope I would look in the mirror and find that my skin had miraculously morphed into Nicole Kidman's porcelein complexion after only one treatment :)

Last night I was reading my old posts. Usually when I post I don't read through them again, I just type my thoughts and post it. But I was so embarrassed to see how often I repeat myself!! Sorry y'all! You can def see what's always on my mind, that's for sure! But I will try to get better about not always repeating things I've said before.

Dakota is shedding. Badly! I'm positive it feels sooooooooooooo much better to him to get rid of his winter coat but heaven alive! there's hair everywhere, no matter how much I brush him. No exaggeration, I nearly fill up a walmart shopping sack each time I brush him (every few days). and my poor vacuum lol but he's worth it. He's my 3rd husky so this is not my first rodeo, but it does always amaze me how much fur comes out when they blow their coat. I really hate when people shave them in the summer, the fur that is left after they are finished shedding actually serves to keep them cooler and protect their skin from the sun. I will try to remember to take a picture the next time I brush him to post. If I collected all the fur he shed in one year I think it would be enough to knit blankets for all of Alaska!

Dakota and the Great Purse Incident

Let me start this post by saying Dakota is very high spirited and very mischievious, he is like a two year old that gets into everything. Why didn't I keep that in mind when I went outside for a few minutes on Friday afternoon and left him to his own devices? Well, there was nothing about that could cause him any trouble, afterall. Right? Oh how wrong I was. My purse was on the kitchen counter and I didn't think twice about it, that's the one thing Koda has never once shown any interest in whatsoever. None. I came in from being outside for a few minutes and my heart completely dropped. He had pulled my purse off the counter top and was consuming the contents of a pill bottle. It got worse. As I walked towards him I could see he had consumed an entire bottle of 1000mg Omega 3 fish oil tablets, my lip gloss (who cares), he had punctured my asthma inhaler and I had no idea whether he inhaled any or not, and he was chewing on an empty vitamin bottle. At the time I didn't know it was the empty one - I had bought a new one that was also in my purse and I guess I forgot to throw the old one away. Thank goodness, because he didn't touch the new one. He was so pleased with himself, and I was in hysterics. I called his vet and they looked up the toxicology of it all. All in all nothing in it was that bad, it's just the quantity. She told me signs to look out for, and to make sure he drinks alot of water. He did. I watched him all night and while he didn't ever vomit or poo (she said he would) you could see within 30 minutes of consumption that he did not feel good. It was a restless evening for us both. My neighbor came to check on him about 10:30 that night and we took him outside to see if he would use the bathroom. He had drank 2 bowls of water and still hadn't relieved himself so I was worried. He didn't use the bathroom but I noticed his walking was a little slow and labored. I chalked it up to him feeling really bad, but we loaded him in the car and took him to the emergency vet anyway as a precaution. 15min later we get him out of the car and he acts as if nothing is wrong. He's walking fine, he used the bathroom in the field - twice, and didn't stumble once. I took him inside and they checked his vitals and they were perfect, so I opted to take him home and keep a close eye on him just in case. I was optimistic that he was going to be fine.

Saturday morning came, 7:30am ish, he wanted to go outside. yay! right? sigh. At first he seemed fine. The further we walked he slower he got (and we didn't walk far). His legs started acting funny, his steps very clumsy and uncoordinated and his front legs stomping. I made him stop walking and he sat down but he was shaking. I started crying again and I don't think I stopped until yesterday. I didn't know what to do, he was laying down on the ground at this point and he weighs 70lbs. Then I saw a neighbor walking his dog and I asked him to help me. Dakota stood up when he came and he seemed steady for the moment so we walked very slowly to see how he would do. He didn't do good at all, the shaking got worse and so did his walking. He was exhausted and fell down. I gave the leash to my neighbor and ran to get the car. We loaded him in the car and I took him to the vet clinic. The trip there was horrible. Dakota couldn't catch his breath, it sounded like he was suffocating and I thought he was going to die. I honestly thought my furbaby was going to die in my car and I was physically sick from fear. Somehow I got him there safely and he was able to jump out of the car but collapsed just inside the door of the clinic. They immediately came and carried him to the back and started working on him. They ran every test imaginable, blood work, x rays, EKGs. and nothing. they found nothing. everything was normal. The vet suspected pancreatitis, he needed a 'snap' test. They can do it there but have to send it out and everywhere would be closed until Tuesday (today). She said she was going to send him to the emergency vet clinic, they can do the snap test and get results on site and he needed to be in ICU and monitored at least overnight. They were giving him IV fluids to flush out his system at this point so we waited about 2 hours before they let me take him. They carried him to the car and loaded him in and away we went to the emergency vet. They will have answers, they will fix it. I was trying to think positively. They looked over his paperwork and tests that had already been done. They did the snap test and it was negative for pancreatitis. They could find nothing wrong. They had not seen him collapse, or the weird way he walked. I told them to walk him so they could see what is going on. they did but not long enough. I walked him, and I showed them. So the vet said 'we cant find anything wrong but that's definitely not normal behavior so we need to keep him and watch him' really? ummm isn't that what his vet already said? GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR frustrating. So they kept him overnight. I called every 2 hours. No change. No change. No change. One thing the ER vet said was that it could be a toxin causing the neurological issues. It might work out of his system in a few days, or it might not. I picked him up early early sunday morning and brought him home. It's watch and wait. If he doesn't improve, he'll have to go to a neurologist. He was so happy to be with me, and be home. He slept almost the entire day. He was happy and more peppy (I knew when he was interested in a cat lol) but he still wasn't the same old Koda. I thought maybe it would take him a few days, he'd been through alot. One thing the ER vet on duty told me when I picked him up was that they hadn't taken him out very much - they didn't want to induce that reaction in him. This upset me slightly because how do you know there was no improvement if you didn't? And you've given him 3 bags of IV fluids - how can you 'flush' his system if you don't take him to relieve himself and get the toxins out? When I picked him up he was going crazy bc he had to use the bathroom so badly! He went for ages! poor thing!!!!!!!!!! and he kind of didnt stop. The only thing he woke up for on sunday was to go potty and then right back to sleep. I did notice an improvement, though. He was able to walk a little bit further each time. I didn't push him. He would pull me and we would go a few feet more each time. He's still very slow and the longer you walk the slower he gets - we still dont go far at all, but it IS an improvement. His personality and spark is back as well. In fact, today when I went home to check on him for lunch he barked for a bite of food! This might not sound like a big deal, but Koda is a talker, he is always voicing his opinion or letting you know what he wants - mostly through howling. (well, he is a husky afterall!) But He hasn't talked since the incident and I was really worried. I would try to get him to and it looked like he wanted to speak, but then he wouldn't. Or couldn't - that's what I was most worried about was whether he actually could or not. But once he barked today, he definitely found his voice again because then he didn't shut up lol and I didn't want him to, it's the sweetest sound i've ever heard. So while the walking is still not 100%, it is better so i'm praying he will make a full recovery from this. I'm so thankful for Craig and my friends who were worried about him as well and who came to see him or called/txt'd to check on him. It meant so much to me. I think all the prayers for him worked, I honestly do.

Koda's visit to the vet

My furry monster is going to be fine. The angry looking growth on his neck is a skin tag. They cleaned it up and gave me some ointment to put on it, she said he had likely scratched it and cut it with his toenail and that's why it was black in the first place, from the dried blood. Gross, I know, but i'm so relieved that's all it is. He has to go in a few months time to get his teeth cleaned so she's going to cut it off then. She did say he has broken one of his canine teeth :(  it's not bothering him and it's not sensitive so it didn't break into the pulp thank heaven, but it IS noticeably shorter than the other :(  my poor snaggle toothed baby. But all in all he's very healthy and we all know he's happy so I guess I wont worry about the tooth overmuch. True to Dakota form, he was the center of attention in the office, howling at people who didn't come love on him lol, he steals hearts everywhere he goes. He's just so precious and he knows it! He even said 'I love you' to the vet tech when she offered him a treat :)

Dakota going to the doctor

So the other night i'm petting koda....and i feel something on his neck. so i sort through all the fur and see a black spot. It looked like it might be a tick to me. I went and got my neighbor, Chris, who said she has experience pulling them out etc. Ok..good. I really didn't think I could do it. At All! So she tried a few things to get it to come out on it's own and nothing worked. Then she got the tweezers *cringe*. She tried and tried to pull it out and the only thing that happened was it started bleeding badly. Ok...it's a tick...she squeezed it and it's bleeding. and it looked much smaller after. good yes? not so much. It turns out this is not a tick afterall, it's a growth. a black one. I cried and cried and cried. My poor baby. He's going to the vet on saturday so we'll see what they say. I feel like a horrible mommy for having put him through that and it wasn't a tick at all. Granted, he was a trooper, layed there and trusted us completely and it didn't seem like it bothered him much so at least I know it's not hurting him. But wtf is it? :(

My funny sleeper

So if you know Koda, he's VERY hyper when he's awake, but he LOOOOOOOOOVES his sleep. He's not a morning dog. He prefers sleeping on his back, leaned up against something. It's really cute but when you add the fact that #1 he snores louder than most grown up humans and #2 he has allergies so he sneezes alot well, he tends to wake us both up because that's just not condusive to back sleeping (makes it way worse) anyway..here are a few pics of his funny sleeping positions. Last night he preferred his feet propped up on some books :)