Friday, October 28, 2011

Animal Invasion! - TTT

*Disclaimer* 
This is wordy and has happy/sad topics but I feel the need to write about them. If you aren't in the mood for an emotional roller coaster and just wanna skip to the bottom, I have an exciting linky party idea/announcement that I'd love for you to check out! I'll be linking this to Rebecca Lynne's Thursday Think Tank (go check out the other "thinker" posts!) and I added a quilty pic down at the bottom to end on a light, happy note :D

It's been a busy week since my last post because friends, family and mammals have been taking up all my free time! My sewing machine is collecting dust, but I'd like to share some of the good and bad that's happened over the last seven days.


We were out in the boonies celebrating Halloween and my friend's 26th birthday last Saturday night with a bonfire, costumes, bathtub full of beer etc, when this emaciated dog ran in and interrupted. I'd never seen a dog so skinny! Maybe it was the booze but I was immediately attached. My friend already has four dogs so I took him home with me.


I called him starvin' Marvin and vowed to find him a good home, or at the very least get him into Wayside Waifs in KC, a huge no-kill shelter from which we adopted our family dog, Sydney, seven years ago. They had no room for him and neither did anywhere else, so as per usual my parents' 24 acres out in the country seemed like the best temporary option (evil laugh!) since he's a big hunting dog that needs space. Good thing my dad was out of town for work all week so my mom could nurse poor Marvin back to health in secrecy, LOL. I took him to the vet and got him all checked out and fixed up with shots, dewormer, etc. 

My mom, loving on Starvin' Marvin
My mom was hard at work all week trying to find him someplace else to go. It seemed hopeless and she was considering having him put down since he was a lot to handle and wasn't getting along with our llama, sheep, sheep dogs... the list goes on!

I was debating bringing him back to my tiny house with no yard when a lovely veterinarian in the town where I went to high school decided to adopt him!!! YAY! He has three school age daughters for Marvin to play with and the means to give him the very best care, so we are really very grateful and excited and I can't wait to go visit him in a few weeks to see how much better he looks. All was well in the world!

Lucy on a giant doggy bed
Here's where it gets really heavy. Last night Lucy and I were snuggling on the couch when I got up to take her outside before bed. She didn't move. I called her name and she just stared at me. I went to grab her and she was stiff in her neck and body, not able to move. I panicked. I lost my shit. LOST it. The only signs she was still alive were her faint heart beat, shallow breathing and glassy, confused eyes giving me a look that broke my heart. She made no noise as I frantically tried to make her better, feeling quite certain she would soon be dying in my arms. Worst 20 minutes of my life

my mom with Lucy and Scooter
Don't worry, she didn't die. It's pretty serious though. The emergency vet visit at 11:30pm was pricey but I was prepared to pay much more after losing my Scooter boo (on the right in above photo) just two weeks ago. He disappeared and we have no idea what happened to him, but he's gone. That was hard and I'm still not over it, so losing Lucy was just not an option. The lovely veterinarian who met me at the clinic was looking just as tired and disheveled as I was. 

Diagnosis? a herniated disc in her neck, probably caused by my big fat ass squishing her tiny body when I carelessly hopped up off the couch. After a shot of prednisone and some muscle relaxers she began to regain function. Strict crate rest for the next four weeks and she may heal up. There is a surgical option which I'll get more info on this afternoon when I take her back for a checkup, but the cost is incredible. If she does get better I will still have to keep her from jumping up or off of things and be really careful with her, so no more snuggling in bed at night because it would be too risky. I'm having a hard time with guilt after treating my delicate doggy like a rag doll, but I'm feeling lucky that she is still here because I truly thought for a half hour that she wouldn't be. 

Hank and Scooter all up in my bidniss
Apologies if you made it through all this text and now you're feeling gloomy, that wasn't my intention! But I wanna share an idea I had. I know lots of you love animals and they keep us company while sewing, so I was thinking about hosting an "Animal Invasion" linky party for anyone with photos of their beloved pets in their blog posts! 

I think it would be super fun to check out each others' critters invading our creative spaces, laying on our lovely quilts or just plain being there in our lives. It could be a weekly deal or a one time thing, but please leave me a comment if you'd be interested in participating and also any advice for figuring out this linkup technology as I've never tried it and tend to be computer illiterate at times :D

here's that quilt pic i promised! 
Thank you so so much if you read all of this, I know it was a LOT! Hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

15 comments:

  1. Oh. my. goodness, Krista, I am soooooo sorry!!! They really are a fragile breed---I'm on my third wienie furbaby...My forever Badger had disc surgery when he was 5. He lived to be 12. And yes, I coddled him for the rest of his life. My Dewey Darlin was his 'big' brother and he crossed Rainbow Bridge Feb. 2010. Now I have another one (after swearing, vowing and declaring! I was switching breeds!) who's a long-haired, copper colored (you can see all of my 'loves' on my blog (www.threadcatcher.blogspot.com) if you have the time or inclination. :D He has already been in surgery at 6 months for a defective 'ankle'. AND I have Marlee who is a rescued wienie mix. What do ya do? I ADORE wienie dogs--- Your baby is just GORGEous!!

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  2. It is amazing how much our animals add to the love in our lives. My Humphrey would love a little "fame" by being in my blog and meet other pups ( and others)!

    Wonderful story!

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  3. So glad Marvin found such a nice person to help him. He obviously knew what he was doing.

    I would be interested in linking up with pictures of my quilting companion! My sweetie thinks his cat needs more intertubes publicity.

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  4. we don't have any animals(much to the disgust of my daughters!) due to allergies, but we had cats and dogs when I was a girl. I see pics of peoples cats and dogs and would love a cat, but can't. So glad Lucy is ok. And I hope you're starting to feel better too, it was obviously a horrid shock for you

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  5. Oh Krista I'm so sorry about poor Lucy, I hope she makes a full recovery soon! What a horrible thing to go through. Big hugs to you :)
    I'm loving that quilty pic! xx
    I have a cat but she's hard to take pictures of because she's fluffy and black so she just looks like a big black furry ball sitting on some fabric!!

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  6. Awww poor Lucy! I hope she makes a full recovery!

    A pet link up would be fun! I have a cat and two dogs and a toddler if he counts ;)

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  7. Good luck with Lucy. I have two puppies (giant dogs) that aren't afraid to get in on a pic. I'd be there.

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  8. Much love to Lucy and Starvin' Marvin! And hugs to you honey for the stress!
    I would be up for a link up with Issabella (She loves getting her picture taken!)

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  9. Hope Lucy is feeling better! Have just had quite a traumatic (expensive) week with our cat so i can relate to how you are feeling. Would love to join in a linky group:)

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  10. I'm so happy that Lucy is going to be OK! You had me worried! I'm at work for crying out loud! I can't have big fat tears running down my face! I am a huge sucker when it comes to animals, or anything for that matter...

    I do know how it feels to lose a pet though... my mom just told me a few weeks ago that the cat my sister and I adopted in high school (she was abandoned by her mom at 3 weeks - very sad) just died :( I was on a train and cried the whole way home...

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  11. I hope Lucy continues to recover - I know what a worry it can be when they're unwell...take care x P.S. So glad Marvin found a good home, he looks like a lovely dog!

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  12. Oh gosh! I'm so sorry to hear about Lucy. I'll send good thoughts her way. I love the idea of an animal link-y party. I'm there.

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  13. Hugs to you and Lucy, and I'm happy to hear Starvin' Marvin has found a good home. I have 2 cats who love to ham it up for a photo. I think a link-up would be so much fun.

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  14. loving the idea of the animal invasion linky I really feel for you. Glad starvin marvin found a home, he looks cute. We have 2 cats and a kitten at the moment and kitty was little poorly last week. I kept having horror moments of the kids coming down to her limp on the couch but thankfully she perked up. Cats are quite resilient I am finding. I will def share photos of my varmints helping me quilt!!!! They love to supervise. xxxxxx

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