Hello My Friends

In case anyone is wondering, yes, I'm still alive! I have been very busy the past 2 months. I had a second surgery on February 14th for my broken shoulder. Any of you that does not know the details, you can read it in my previous posts here and here.

I spend a couple hours 3-4 days a week at Physical therapy. I have a CPM (continuous passive motion) therapy chair here at the house. It helps my range of motion. Per the doctor I need to sit in it for 1 hour, 4 times a day. I have several exercises I need to do at home, every hour of the day that I am awake. My life revolves around physical therapy, I should be getting paid for this!

I have improved quite a bit since the last time I posted. My hand is still numb and tingly all the time, but I have gotten use to the feeling. I am getting plenty of my independence back, and am able to do most things on my own again. I can only lift my arm a bit higher then my waist. I still have days that I get a bit discouraged, wondering if I will ever be able to do things that take two hands to do. I know with the significant nerve damage and all the breaks I encountered, it is just taking time. A slow process. But I will get there, I just have to remind myself these things take time. It has been 3 months since I fell, and the Doctor and Therapist both say I am not even at the half way point of my recovery. I can not wait to be able to do my hair with both hands!

The dogs and cats are all good. We have been busy with all of them, taking advantage of the cool weather. Annie is enjoying agility and obedience. We are going to be introducing her to some sheep in a couple of weeks and hope to start herding lessons with her soon after. That should be fun.

I hope everyone has had a healthy and safe winter, and are enjoying the beginning of Spring.

Some recent photos for all of you to enjoy!

March 12th, we celebrated Annie's first birthday.

She enjoyed her cake, and especially liked the icing.

I made dozens and dozens of healthy, all natural treats for her many canine friends for her birthday party. Carrot & Oatmeal, Peanut Butter & Banana, and Apple Cinnamon & Oatmeal. They were all a huge hit!

Sitting in my Physical Therapy chair. Think she's trying to tell me something?

Waiting for her agility class to start.

Surgery Update and Thoughts

It has been a week and a half since my surgery. All went well with that, but thought I should come here and update how things have progressed, or not, since the surgery.

When I broke my shoulder, it was two breaks, but those two pieces were shattered and broken into several pieces. Technically speaking, I had eight breaks. The Doctor had to basically sew all the pieces together like a jigsaw puzzle. One of the pieces looks to have popped out of the stitches. When the Doctor manipulated my arm, we can hear the grinding of the bone (very painful too).
He will need to do another surgery to fix that. We are waiting until the other bones have a chance to heal some, before the next surgery though. Physical Therapy can only be done from my elbow down for now, because the Doctor does not want my shoulder moved for a month. So all physical therapy exercises are being done at home until after the first week of February, if the Doctor gives the okey for my shoulder to be moved, to resume Physical Therapy.

I still have very little feeling in my hand and arm. Alot of numbness and alot of tingling. My hand is cold all the time, freezing cold where it aches. I started keeping a glove on that hand to try and help with that. The pain meds have been making me very sick. I've been on a couple different meds, to help with the nausea, but they have only made things worse. So, I decided to quit taking all prescription pain meds, being sick and not able to eat or drink for the past 2 weeks wasn't worth it. I discussed this with the doctor,( at that time I was off the meds for 23 hours). and told him the pain wasn't anything I couldn't handle.
I may have rushed that just a little. I am now feeling pain I didn't feel before, and some very sharp burning pains in the back of my shoulder, I think that is nerve pain. If it gets worse I may rethink the pain meds, but going to give that another day or two.

I have to admit when I first got hurt, I didn't realize this was going to be such a long recovery. But realizing now, the type of breaks and how many I had, plus the nerve damage, it will be many months of healing, a long, slow process.

I will be lying if I said I don’t get discouraged sometimes. I have my moments. Something very simple that I could have done 2 weeks ago, I can no longer do. Those are the times I start to crash, and think about some of the independence that I have lost. Those moments are few and far between though. I know this is temporary.

Yesterday hubby let me in the cat room for awhile. My friends know that my cat room is my little slice of Heaven, full of living miracles. Oscer just grabbed my face like he does with both paws, and kissed my nose, cuddled in my lap, then all seven cats took their turns with me. Those are the moments that remind me to keep positive, I will get through this, I have to get through this and get better, I have lots of little lives relying on me.

Having five very active dogs and one being a very young Border Collie, helps keep me smiling and laughing, and they all give me more reasons to keep a positive attitude and take one day at a time.

Then I still have the eight plus feral cats outside in my shelter, that rely on me as their human to care for them. They need me to get back to normal, and I will.

Hubby has just been superb through this all. He doesn't think twice about all he has to do now. Clean house, dust, Vac, laundry, dishes, cooking, caring , feeding all 20 animals in this house. Plus the added care he has to do for me and help me with so many little tasks I can no longer do for myself, he even helped curl my hair yesterday. All of this, and he still puts in a 10-12 hour day everyday at work. He should be voted husband of the year.

I am very blessed and surrounded with all the love and support I have from Hubby, all of my wonderful dogs and cats, and from all of you, my special friends.

One day at a time, with a positive attitude, and determination.

PS. I have some very cute photos and videos of Annie, I will post soon.

It's Been a Long Time

I guess it is about time I stop by blog land and say hello to all my friends.

Unfortunately this is going to be a very short post. I am typing this with one finger on my left hand, and I am right handed, a very difficult and painful thing to do. More about that later.

The dogs are all doing alright, except for Jarie. I mentioned in my last post about the virus all the dogs here caught. Since then, Jarie has gone downhill a bit. She already had a compromised immune system, and we think the virus just set her whole system out of wack. We struggle with getting her to eat, to prevent the vomiting, to prevent the digestive upset, and last but not least, to prevent her from bleeding internally, since she has von Willebrands Disease. Many ear infections, eye infections and sores popping up all at once. The one blessing with all of this is Jarie continues to be the very happy dog she is. I hurt to see what she is going through, and we struggle for answers, to help her the best we can through the knowledgable vets we have and from all the support and help our friends have given us. She is worth fighting for, and we will continue the fight.

I know many of you are wondering about Annie. In our eyes, she is perfect. She is what our house needed. She is doing well in agility and obedience, and her manners are coming along nicely. She is a very confident girl, and to her, everyone, human and animal, are her friend. I will post photos another time.

Now, back to my one finger typing. I fell last week. I dislocated my right shoulder, but not only that, I also broke it in 2 different spots. Gave myself a very nice black eye, as a result of hitting the table when I fell. I have been in a lot of pain, and can't do much for myself. Luckily I have a wonderful husband who not only is doing his job, but caring for me, and taking care of the house chores and all the critters too. I'm scheduled to have surgery this Thursday, and start physical therapy on Friday. I have significant nerve damage in my right arm and hand. The Orthopedic surgeon said some of the feeling will return over several months time, but it won't be the same. As of right now, I have very little feeling in my right hand.

So, not a great update for being away so long, and probably not that pretty to read. I do apologize for the one finger, left handed sloppiness.

Hugs to all!

Work Frustrations, and Sick Puppies

I have been away longer then I intended to be. I thought while I have a minute I will write a quick explanation.

September has proven to be a horrible month. Work is keeping me quite busy. After having my licensed childcare/preschool business for 17 years, another jurisdiction is taking over all the childcare licenses in my county. What this means is instead of me just sending in my renewal licensing fee like I normally do, I have had to fill out stacks of paperwork, applications, more fees, and more classes to attend, in order to renew my license. Quite frustrating, as it feels more like I am applying all over again. All of this paperwork, and running around trying to get everything done in a timely manner, isn't something that can be done in a week.

The good news is, I finally finished it all, and it is now in the mail. Hopefully everything is correct with it all.

Now the bad news. All of my dogs have been sick and we can't figure out why. Some sort of virus we think. Annie was the first to get sick, but recovered after a couple of days. Next came Bandit and Jeni, they prefer to do everything together I guess. They are currently being treated with antibiotics, and much improved, but have lost a lot of weight in just a couple of days.

This morning Jarie was rushed to the vet with similar symptoms as the others. Of course with Jarie, having a compromised immune system, IBD, and von Willebrands Disease, an illness like this can affect her very seriously. She is still at the vets as I type this, and we are not sure yet, when she will be coming home.

If anyone has any prayers to spare, Jarie sure could use them.

Hello, and Annie

A big HELLO to all my blog friends! I must apologize for not writing sooner. Many of you must think the puppy is keeping me busy, but in all honesty, Annie is in a nice routine right along with the rest of my pack and fits right in.

My childcare is keeping me very busy and just a little overwhelmed. Business is going strong, and I have extended my hours, which keeps me away from the computer. With a house full of 2 and 3 year olds, by the end of the day, I just can't concentrate enough to write something worth reading on my blog. Of course my evenings are devoted to the dogs and cats, and lets not forget hubby!

I am trying to rush through this blog post just to get some photos up for all of you that are wanting to watch Annie grow. Blogger took way too much of my time (time I don't have to spare) trying to upload these photos.

We have been getting Annie out every weekend, to different places, so she can meet different people, dogs, and cats, and familiar with new sights, sounds, and smells. She is a very well rounded puppy, and a very confident one.

Please enjoy the photos, and I will try, and this time I will only say "try" to give an update sooner, with all the happenings with the rest of my pack.

We will be puppy sitting a friends 4 and half month old Chocolate Lab for a few weeks, starting tomorrow, hopefully I can find a few minutes during his time with us to post about that experience! Yikes!!

Happy New Year

2009 has gone by so fast, I try to look back and think of all I have accomplished. It had been a trying and difficult year. 2008 and 2007 wasn't any better, I am thinking, three times is quite enough, so 2010 should be a good year!

I have had some heartbreaking losses, pet and human alike. I have made new friends, stayed in touch with old friends, surrounded myself with more positive people, and kept myself away from the negative ones.

I have made great friends here in blog land, and appreciate the kind comments you leave, the friendly emails, and the phone conversations. Many of you here have become extended family. I thank each one of you for such kindness, and putting up with some of my many rants.

I thought I would end the year with everyone in my household healthy and happy. Wishful thinking on my part. Hubby is sick with a bad head cold, so lots of resting for him this weekend.

Lacee is having some trouble with her throat. We knew this would happen as she grew, as the shoelace she was hung with had done some damage, so keeping a close eye on her eating and swallowing ability is a must right now, then we will determine what the next step will be.

Oscar is doing well. He is losing weight, not a good sign, but he is happy and content, and that is all I want. As long as he is happy and pain free, then so am I.

Bandit has injured his leg, and we are waiting for an appointment with his vet to determine if he has an ACL tear. He is on strict rest in his crate, and only potty breaks on leash. He must remain quiet and calm, which means we also need to keep all the dogs quiet and calm, not always an easy task.

I don't make New Year resolutions, I never have, as I feel they are too easy to break. I will leave you all with just a few words.

Don't compare your life to others, you have no idea what kind of journey they have or had to get where they are today, or how their journey continues.
Don't have negative thoughts. Invest your energy in the positive moments of every day.
Smile and laugh more. Remember, smiling and laughing is contagious, so pass it around. Try to make someone smile everyday.
Dream more while you are awake, and always believe those dreams are a possibility.
You are in charge of your own happiness, so Be Happy.

Best wishes to everyone and Happy New Year!
Always Dream and Always Believe.

Merry Christmas

I posted this photo last Christmas, but since I am such a sentimental fool, and Jake and Princess are no longer with us, I thought, why not, they still deserve their blog time, even if it is just in a photo.

I have contemplated on what to write about for weeks, and have had many instances where I would tell myself "I have to remember to write about this", but, the correct words just are not there.

Christmas time is such an emotional time for me, and most likely for many reading this blog. I hope many find the true spirit of Christmas, within your hearts. Christmas is about generosity, but not so much of giving of material things, but giving of your time. Please find the time to spend with family, friends, and those near and dear to you. We often get caught up in our own hectic lives, and tend to forget or take the time to be with those we care most about.

We don't know what tomorrow will bring, we don't know if this will be our last Christmas with family and friends. Don't wait until it is too late. Pick up the phone and call that special friend or family member, and let them know you were thinking of them today.

Try to see the goodness in others, even in a perfect stranger. Lend out a helping hand this holiday season. Find forgiveness, offer a warm embrace, a gentle smile, and a little of your time.

Merry Christmas!

Where Has The Time Gone

Oh my, where has the time gone? I have missed so much. Time just flies by when we are having fun, or not. I do need to take the time to catch up on all of the blogs I follow, but what is time? Time is something I just haven't had for myself lately.

I do want to thank all of you wonderful blog friends that took the time to email me and ask if I was okay. I apologize for not replying. I have been so very busy, I have not been logging into my email, and when I did, I was surprised at the dozens of emails waiting for my replies. Those of you who called, THANK YOU, I really needed that break, and our talk.

So what has been taking up so much of my time? Too much to list here for now, but I will say my childcare has been extremely busy. With the new school year came many people looking for childcare/preschool for their little ones. I have spent the past few weeks interviewing potential parents throughout the day and into the early evening hours. By the end of each day, I am too exhausted to do anything but sleep. I now have no more openings in my childcare, and am almost overwhelmed. I tend to take on children that may need a little extra help, and one of the 2 year old boys I took on has really been challenging, but just yesterday, we made a break through, and after 2 weeks, I am seeing some improvement with some challenging behavior.

By the time my children leave in the early evening, I still have to tend to all the dogs, cats, and cook dinner, (if hubby is lucky enough), then sit with him for a few minutes, and off to sleep I go, only to start all over the next morning.

Being so crazy busy means I have neglected a few things. I had 3 cats I was suppose to take to our spay/neuter clinic two weeks ago, and I forgot all about it, until a rescue friend of mine called and asked if I had the three cats trapped and ready for transport. OOPS! This time I marked it on the calender for this month so I don't forget.

I have been trying to help a friend find homes for a litter of kittens and their mama that were born outside, just a few houses down from me, Not easy. The economy has hit this town hard, and all of our rescues here are referring people to take their pets to the shelter. None of our fosters have any room. All we can do, is keep doing what we are doing. Try to save one animal at a time.

I have much more to update on about my crew, but not enough time (there's that word again). For now, here are a few photos I took a couple weeks ago. We had just bought this new bunk bed play toy for the cats, and they all really enjoy it. It is a big hit. Mama Cat loves this, and was the first to try it out. Lacee is the one inside it.











I hope to catch up on everyone's blogs this weekend, and will try and make another post next week, and fill you in on a few important topics that matter to me.

The Phone Call

It all started with a phone call. One I wish I never would have made. Two female German Shepherds needing to be re-homed, the family is moving out of state and won't be taking them along. The black and tan shepherd found a new family right away. That left Belle, a pretty white, almost 2 year old German Shepherd. People don't seem to want the white shepherds as much as they do the others. I know from experience if a home is not found in time, she will end up at our local high kill shelter. All of our rescues are full, as soon as dogs are pulled from the shelter, more are being dropped off.

After several nights listening to hubby ask me "where is my white German Shepherd?", I gave in, and made the call, the call I now regret making. The very nice lady that owns Belle, told me all about her. "She is a little timid and shy at first, but after a few seconds, she will warm up to strangers." She is missing her sister, the other Shepherd they re-homed. We spent a half an hour talking and she filled me in on everything there was to know about Belle. I told her I didn't want to see her go to the shelter, and if she fit in with my family, and no one else came to adopt her, then hubby and I would.

Two days later I get a call, asking me to please come meet Belle, and lets see how things go. Hubby believed we would be leaving her house with Belle that evening. I assured him, we would just be evaluating her. I must admit, we both had our hopes up. We didn't need another dog, and often times we tell each other we don't want another, but then we admit to ourselves that if by chance the right one came along, we would take that opportunity.

On the drive there, we were already discussing how she would be spending the weekends with hubby at work, and weekdays with me. As we approached the driveway, there she was, peaking out from behind her current owner. Long, tall, graceful, beautiful, white Belle, carrying a tennis ball in her mouth, very thin, as she has quit eating since her sister was adopted. She would drop her ball, and hubby and I would take turns throwing it. Never once, would she come close enough to either of us to allow us to pet her. She wouldn't retrieve her ball from our hands, if we didn't throw it. Instead, she would cower with her tail tucked under her, stretch as far as she could, then run and hide behind her owner. She let out a few growls every now and then. After awhile we finally went inside and sat down, hoping if we ignored her she would come to us. She clearly liked men better then women, and that is okay, as she did manage to sneak up to hubby and lick his arm and face very quickly; then just as quickly backed away with her tail tucked, and climbed across the sofa back to hide under her owners legs. This time a few feet away from me, with another low growl.

No matter how long we stayed, she wasn't going to warm up to us. Needless to say, we were very disappointed when we drove away. I know with lots of time and patience, and the right experienced dog owner, she would come around, but sadly, our home and our schedule would not be right for her. She has all the makings of a fear biter. With running the childcare in my home, with me alone with her and the other dogs during the day, we have to admit, she would be too much of a risk here.

I don't know what will happen to her. I don't know what her future holds, or even if she has a future. I just wanted to hold her, and tell her everything was going to be okay, instead, as we drove away, I had this overwhelming feeling that we failed her. I can only hope the right family comes along for her.

Pilots N Paws Looking For Rescues

Pilots N Paws is trying to plan a 5,000 Animal Rescue Week to highlight security clearance requirements that may threaten air transport of animals.
The time chosen is roughly Sept. 12 to Sept. 20. THEY NEED RESCUES TO CONTACT THEM!!!!!! From all across the country!!! ASAP!!!

This is a dream for rescues! Let's help PILOTS n PAWS and get our animals to their new homes.

They ask that we choose trips of approximately 200 - 400 miles as that's about a one day trip for most pilots.

If you are a rescue and willing to participate, Please go to their blog and comment.

TO DATE, THEY HAVE HAD FEW RESPONSES FROM RESCUE GROUPS.

Air transport by volunteer pilots is so important. I think rescues would love this!!! The word is simply not getting to them. please pass this information on to rescue groups. CROSS POST like mad. We can't lose these pilots. They also need people to join as volunteer fosters.

They have a great interactive map showing volunteers and where pilots are located. Please help with this. Can you imagine 5,000 animals in the air in one week going to rescue or forever homes?!!!

Obviously, people can't hold dogs, but if enough can be located within a given distance of these airports, then whoever has an animal that needs to get somewhere that week, can participate.

Updates

It looks like summer has finally hit us really fast. Seems to always just sneak up on us here in the desert. The temperature soars from a nice 90 degrees, to a scorching hot 115, almost over night. Now only to get hotter over the next 2 months. We spend most days indoors, except in the late evenings and early mornings. It has wanted to rain the last few weeks, but we have gotten nothing. Not one drop. Normally I hate the rain, but we can really use some, just to cool down the ground for all the ferals that are trying to stay cool the best they can.

I have been a little under the weather lately, okay, I admit, not just lately, as many of you that have read my blog for awhile know I had been ill since last December. I thought finally I was getting better after seeing the doctor. Either I had a relapse, or I never really got better. Regardless, I had to revisit the doctor a couple weeks ago and have been on new antibiotics for the past two weeks. Oh my, I wasn't feeling good before the antibiotics, but these have had the worst side effects, and I have been miserable for the past couple weeks. Good news, today is my last day taking them. Bad news, I was told if I am not better I need to see a specialist, more tests. I'm not better. *sigh* I am so very tired, and just want to sleep, that is just not like me. I have been staying away from my computer trying to be more physically active trying to fight the lethargy I feel. I keep telling myself "I will get better, I will get better." And.....I know I will.

On to other news, Jeni is doing much better with her fear of hubby's cell phone. She still is not totally comfortable with it, but we are working with her and she is improving. She still wants to seek me out and climb on my back or in my lap, but not quite as panicky as she was.

Hubby attended our minor league baseball game here on Friday and Saturday evening. His company was a sponsor, and all the employees got to enjoy the game from the VIP Box. Hubby was also chosen to throw the first pitch of the game. the funny thing is, hubby and I are not really in to any sports, (well, except Nascar) and I asked him if he thought he should practice, afterall, the only ball throwing he has done over the years, is a tennis ball for the dogs, hahahahaha! I am pleased to say, with no practice, in front of thousands of spectators, he did very well, and he was honored to be chosen. He makes me Proud.