How much more?

Today was Chewie's appointment with neurosurgery.  Which was fine because I highly admire this doctor and if we have to do anything with neurosurgery--he is the only one touching my kid!  Anyways, there because of the chiari malformation.  Now here I am thinking he is going to tell me--this in minor, don't worry about it, check back in a year.  Yeah right.  A pediatric nurse should never think about stuff with her kids.  We can judge accurately.  I knew his ventricles were slightly enlarged--but didn't really give it a second thought.  Apparently, I should have--he is concerned.  And he also wants to check for a cyst in Chewie's spinal column.  Excuse my English--but FUCKING A!!!  What the hell else???  Son of a bitch. Can the other shoe stop dropping now???  I think I must have looked like a deer in the headlights.  What this means is another MRI under sedation.  And along with that--24 hours minimum of intra cranial pressure monitoring on Chewie's brain.  Which is the PICU--a place I have worked, but not overly fond of.   Lisa, a friend of mine, is also the nurse working there and sat down and explained alot of this to me.  Thank God--again I was the deer in the headlights going "huh?"  So, Chewie is starting to get this look on his face and I'm thinking--what the hell am I going to say to my new manager--who doesn't really know my situation except I'm the freak that freaked out when her dog died 2 weeks ago (and had alot of shit this past year--yeah--my available time off is next to nil)?  Shit shit shit!!!  So, after I'm done--and told they will call with a date and time for all of this--upstairs I head to talk to my new manager.  Who, thank goodness, is incredibly understanding and wonders why I am concerned about telling her about this?  Then, heading home, Chewie bursts into tears and is scared of the "big machine" (MRI).  Lovely.  So, he is supposed to see the psychiatrist in January.  Guess what--as soon as I know the timing for the MRI--I'm calling and making the appointment for just before that.
And to add to the fun times in my life--our supposedly neutered puppy isn't neutered.  The rescue group was told that the clinic neutered him--but the clinic didn't because he has one testicle that is hiding and they were waiting for it to drop.  Only in the Pritchard family does this crap seem to happen.
Where the hell is my Korbel again???

A New Chapter

We are not a household that can go very long without 2 dogs.  Belle was lonely, I keep looking for Loki--and what the heck?  If we don't have something crazy going on around here--its not the Pritchards.  Please welcome Charlie--a 12 week old Lab.  We believe his is fully lab, not a mix--but its unknown.  Who cares?  He's keeping  us (including "momma" Belle)  jumping.  We start puppy school next week.

Sadness

I lost one of my best friends this week.  10 years ago for my birthday (actually just before), Loki joined our family.  Loki was an approximately 7 month old male Norwegian elkhound who came to us via the rescue.   I got home from work and there he was, barking up a storm in the backyard.  Loki was mine--without any thought or question.  Callie put him into place right away--he knew she was alpha.  I started training with him right away--with Ted as our faithful sidekick.  Won a few awards--and then the infertility shit started.  Would I have made it without my furbabies?  I don't know.  I spent many many days with them at the dogpark--getting exercise and getting my head straight.  Apparently I came out of the pelvic infection surgery crying about how I missed my dogs--little did I know that Loki had apparently lifted his leg and peed on the furance!  I left the hospital and spent the next couple of weeks giving myself IV antibiotics and curled up next to Loki on my bed or on the couch.  Then we left for Russia.  On trip 2 we returned with this little tiny spitfire peanut.  Julia was sitting on my lap when Loki came in and skidded to a stop in front of me wondering what the hell is that thing sitting on mom's lap?  Then that little thing reached out and smacked him right across the face!  Love--true love.  Loki became Julia's love slave from that day on until the day he died--of course it didn't hurt that the object of his affection would throw him food from her high chair.  Men and stomach love!  Callie just rolled her eyes and left the room.
And so it continued through the addition of 2 more human babies--Loki there through it all.  We lost Callie prior to Chewie coming home.  A few months later Belle came home.  He accepted her too.
This is not to say he was without fault.  Our bedroom furniture is situated so he couldn't jump up and scratch the window.  He barked--at the lawn mower, at the snowblower, at people/children outside our fence, when a leaf blowed.  Loki was passive aggressive--he would get pissed--and would literally piss and/or poop on my carpet in the basement.  I am the proud owner of a carpet cleaner because of this.
But, as with anything--we all have faults and that makes us who we are.  Loki never left my side.  And he will never leave my heart.  We will have another puppy to keep Belle company--since elkies are pack animals.  But it won't be an elkhound.  I love elkhounds and someday we will have another.  But not now.  God willing, Belle will be with us another 10 years or more--then we'll consider it.
RIP LOKI
2000-2010