Before heading to Albany the week before Christmas, I always do all my wrapping. Not the easiest thing with a seven month old!
And because Bailey was only seven months old, I brought her to my Mom and Dad's with me while the older two stayed home with their Daddy. Thank God for Pet Lodge! Without them I don't think Mom and I would have been able to transform her home into a Christmas wonderland. But because of them and their twelve blissful hours of puppy play, Bailey came home at night exhausted and we could continue to weave our elfin magic until the wee hours of the morning...
Two weeks after we were all settled back in Buffalo, Chica had her teeth cleaned and I asked Dr. DiMayo to look at one of her toes. I'd noticed something there off and on over the last few months. I thought it was some sort of callous or something because it would come and go. It turned out to be a mass cell tumor, the most common form of skin cancer in dogs. At almost 11 years old she was facing a likely toe amputation. In hopes of avoiding that, he referred us to Dr. Van Ee. Surgery was February 26th and he was able to get it all without taking her toe.
The bandage stayed on for two weeks and was then changed before being removed for good in mid-March. We'd had a relatively mild winter until she had her surgery. Then it snowed or rained constantly for the next month, starting on the way home from surgery. About 27 hours into her recovery, she came down with colitis. A dog with diarrhea is not fun...a dog with diarrhea who's paw you have to put a newspaper bag over and who has a little sister shadow is extra special not fun! It lasted 5 days until we figured out what it was. First we thought it was a reaction to the meds so Dr. Van Ee had us stop those, then try small meals, then try a bland diet, then try anti-diarrhea meds. By the 5th day, Monday, we'd all had enough and I took her back to Dr. DiMayo. He gave her a shot of penicillin and nothing came out of that dog's butt until Friday! I thought we were going to have to go back for an enema. In one week, I went through 30 chicken breasts, 24 oz of yogurt, and a chunk of peanut butter. We tried and failed: noodles, potatoes and cottage cheese. I have never had grocery bills like that in my life!
A few weeks after Chica got the all-clear in late March, the bed bug sniffing Beagles made a return visit to our apartment building. And the apartment above us had them...of course! To prevent the spread, they treated all the surrounding apartments as well. So, every other Tuesday, we would have to vacate our apartment for four hours and come home at 7:00 at night to three loads of laundry because they treat your bedding and couch covers, then put them in yellow bags to be washed at high heat and dried at high heat for at least one hour. They do three treatments so for five weeks my apartment was trashed. You have to take everything out from under the bed and dressers and get rid of any clutter. The days they were coming, the dog beds and toys went in yard bags and the bowls in the fridge. Our valuables and my unmentionables went in my trunk because they go through your drawers. Since I wasn't going to keep taking all that stuff out and putting it back, I took down Bailey's crate (huge step for her!) and piled it all in the den.
Two of the three Tuesdays we took the kids to Emery Park. Two of the three kids love it there. Chica doesn't like anywhere but home.
That last Tuesday was the day before I left for a conference in Burlington, VT. It was a very much needed mental health break for Mom! Like most Moms, I'm pretty much the sole care-giver for my family and only those who have a husband and multiple dogs know just how much work they are, so after six weeks of illness and six weeks of bugs, and all those weeks as a one car family after Alex traded his car in in late March, Mom was the one in need of a little TLC. I think I would have cracked long ago if it weren't for my love of photography. Over the last 8 weeks or so, I've taken little outings to Forest Lawn Cemetery...
Tifft Nature Preserve...
Panama Rocks...
And, of course, Burlington, VT...
And today I'm off to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. Santa brought me a macro lens for Christmas and I've finally been able to spend some time playing with it, so I'm going to head over to the Butterfly Conservatory and Botanical Gardens and whatever else I feel like spending the day capturing...
That's about all the news from here and since it's already 10:00 I better get in the shower so that I can head out when Alex drops off the car.
