Sweet Shirley

Wow, what a hard post to begin.  I never expected that we'd have to say goodbye to Shirley so soon.  She was only ten years old...we all thought we had at least a few more years with her.

On Saturday morning around 2am, Jarrod woke up and realized Shirley wasn't in our room with us where she always is.  He found her asleep in the corner of the dining room, and when he got her to go back into our room with him, she wouldn't lay down.  She just sat there on her bed for at least twenty or thirty minutes.  That morning, she didn't even come out to have breakfast or go out to pee so we knew something was going on.

Saturday was spent just laying around.  She didn't eat dinner, and just wanted to sleep.  I just had this gut feeling that something was going on, but of course I was trying to stay positive.  I laid with her on the floor while Jarrod was gone to workout and snapped some pictures of her.

 

Sunday she seemed to be doing better and we thought maybe she had just had a stomach bug.  She was eating and playing around with the kids.  But, Monday morning, she didn't eat again, just wasn't acting like herself again, and I noticed she was drooling a lot.  I decided it was time to call the vet.  They couldn't get her in until late that afternoon but they told me to bring her in and just drop her off so they could keep an eye on her and I cried all the way there.  Something inside told me this wasn't good.

They ended up keeping her overnight.  All the tests they ran showed everything was 'slightly' or 'mildly' elevated.  She was borderline anemic, but everything else seemed mild and so they did xrays to see if they could find a mass.  Well, they didn't find a mass, but found that her heart had almost doubled in size.  She didn't have an irregular heartbeat or a heart murmur, which are the things that they could treat, and after more bloodwork and xrays on Tuesday morning, it was determined that the antibiotics, diuretic, and anti-inflammatory meds they gave her on Monday to try to help hadn't done anything.   Aside from traveling a few hours to do some exploratory surgery that the vet didn't even think would be a good option, there just wasn't much we could do anymore.  At this point (Tuesday morning), she hadn't eaten since Sunday and was spitting up any water she tried to drink, which led him to think there was likely something going on with her diaphragm as well.

Jarrod decided to leave work around 10:30 on Tuesday and go see her, and my heart immediately broke when he called me in tears.  He said she just didn't even look well anymore and he knew it was time.  We decided to go pick up Gavin from school early and Jarrod was bringing Shirley home so we could say our goodbyes here.  I didn't want the kids to see her at the vet like that and be scared.  

Once we all got home, Jarrod told me that she had so much trouble getting up into the car that he didn't want to take her back to the vet and our wonderful veterinarian had offered to come to our home to euthanize her so we planned on that. We spent all day Tuesday taking turns laying with her. It was such a draining day. I've never seen Jarrod cry so much; it was so hard on him.

She literally laid on her dog bed and didn't move from the time they got home around 11 until 7:45 that night.  When Jarrod opened the closet, where her food is kept and she usually come running for, she didn't even lift her head.  

 

 Then it was time to have the kids say their goodbyes.  Riley, of course, doesn't quite get it, but she loved on her.  Gavin was hesitant; he patted her back but didn't want to hug her or kiss her and we didn't push it.  We took the kids into bed and I told Gavin that if he changed his mind, he could come out to hug her before the doctor came to pick her up and reminded him that she wouldn't be there in the morning.  Just a few minutes later, he came out crying and laid with her.

Jarrod and I had a little bit of time to just spend with her before Dr. Harper came over.  We cried together, Jarrod paced the floor some looking for the doctor, and we finalized our decision that we didn't need to receive her ashes.  

When the vet arrived, we briefly spoke about where we got Shirley and how we picked her name.  Jarrod wanted to know if we had done anything wrong, and he reassured us that this heart condition is genetic and really doesn't have a known cause.  He explained to us what he was going to do, and when he started to give her the anesthetic in her back leg, he noticed he couldn't even find her femoral pulse, which he said meant the blood wasn't even flowing to the back of her body anymore.  She was in bad shape.

He gave her an anesthetic and she immediately fell asleep, then he left the room to go get a blanket for her and gave us a few more minutes alone with her.  We both kissed her and whispered our goodbyes.  When he returned, we put her on the blanket, and he went ahead and shaved her front leg to administer the injection.  He hadn't even finished it before she stopped breathing.  It was very peaceful.  Jarrod helped carry her out to his truck and we thanked him for coming to us.  Then Jarrod and I just held each other and cried.  

It's going to be a long while before things get better around here.  Jarrod came home from work the next day and immediately broke down because she wasn't there to greet him at the door.  I still find myself walking by her bowl (which we haven't put away yet) thinking I need to add water to it or I'll see a shadow at the door and think it's her waiting to be let in.  The kids still run to close their doors before we leave the house and it hits me every time that we don't have to flip our cushions over for the first time in years to keep her off the couch when we leave.  We've actually had to start sweeping our floor after dinner; no more Shirley to clean up all the crumbs for us.  It's just really different to not have our furry friend here with us when she's been here for the last ten years of our lives.  The kids don't know life without her!

Of course, we can't help but feel guilty for the times we were annoyed with her.  It all seems so silly now; she was such a good dog, even if she did eat her poop and roll around until she was covered in our annoying grass through the winter, making her look like a yellow lab instead of a black one.  All dogs get into things; looking back, her getting wrappers out of the trash while we were gone really wasn't a big deal after all.  It definitely puts things in perspective.  And I can't help but feel sad that I didn't give her as much attention after I became a mom.  Before the kids were born, she was my baby.  After, I definitely neglected to give her the same attention and I feel so bad about that now.  Luckily, Jarrod never changed the way he treated her so I know she always felt loved.  She was such a lucky dog.  And we were so lucky that she was our first family pet; definitely not the normal puppy!

Thank you all for the kinds words over the last few days.  We never imagined how hard this day would be; the quickness of it all definitely didn't make it any easier.  Shirley will always be a part of our family.  Riley has already seen her in her dreams!  I know that her memory will always live on around here as we remember all the fun times we had with her.

Shirley, 2004-2014.

 

Wordless Wednesday

Look, Mom! I Painting!

Those were the words I heard from Gavin....of course, I was confused.

Me: "You're painting?"

Gavin: "Yeah!"

Me: "Where did you paint?"

Gavin: "On the wall."

Uh oh....what was he talking about?  I hadn't left paint out.  Did he find a crayon?  A pen?  I was beginning to panic a bit.

Me: "Show me where you painted, honey."

A beautiful, hand-painted masterpiece....on the wall with Shirley's water.  He was quite proud!

How we spent Father's Day

Gavin woke us up around 6, as usual, on Father's Day. I went in to get him and got the gifts that had been hiding under Gavin's bed for the past couple weeks. He carried one into Jarrod and said, "Here you go, Daddy." I told him to tell Jarrod "Happy Father's Day," but he ended up spending the day saying, "Birthday to you, Daddy."

I made breakfast for Jarrod - biscuits and gravy with sausage and coffee. Then we headed to Walmart for some groceries and spent the rest of the day at the house.

It's HOT here in NW Arkansas - temperatures have been in the 90s and are expected to continue to be around 95 for the next 10 days with little chance of rain. So, after Gavin woke up from his nap, we headed out to keep cool in the new pool Mimi and Beepa bought for Gavin.

Shirley has her own pool so her claws don't puncture the inflatable one. :)

After the pool, we grilled out steaks, baked potatoes and corn on the cob and spent some more time playing in the front yard. Gavin and Daddy golfed while I read my book. Then, it was ice cream sandwich time and into the tub for Gavin.

I think we had a great day, and I hope Jarrod thinks so, too. :) Happy Father's Day!

How much fun can a closet be?

Gavin's job is to feed Shirley her dinner. Since he figured out the doorknobs, I had to put a child-proof handle on the closet because he was feeding her two and three times each evening and sometimes adding a scoop of food to her water bowl! Last week, as he was feeding her, I was trying to get some pictures of him doing his 'chore.' The pictures from after feeding her turned out to be the cutest...

Putting the cup back in her tub of food Bye!
Are you still snapping pictures?

After he'd completely closed himself in there and didn't open the door back up, I opened it to find him on top of her food tub! The kid is crazy....

Let the videos begin

Well - we're going to be without internet for a little while now. Yesterday I was downloading pictures and videos and realized there were quite a few cute videos I hadn't shared, so I'm going to schedule some to post through the next week or so while we're in the process of moving. By April 1 we should be back online from our new home in Bentonville!

On Thursday, Shirley had her teeth cleaning and had to get a tooth removed. That evening, we went to pick her up and Gavin was very excited to see that the PetsHotel was having a playtime with all the dogs. He had so much fun watching! There was a black lab mix in there that he was convinced was Shirley. Now, the only time he ever says Shirley's name is if he's in trouble and has to say 'Sorry, Shirley.' Other than that, he says 'Dogger.' But, when he saw this dog, he repeatedly waved and said, 'Hi, Shirley!' It was so cute. I kept telling him that Shirley was in the doctor's and that it wasn't Shirley, but he didn't believe me! :)

More snow in New York

Remember when we had our first big snow here in New York and I wrote that at least I only had to deal with Shirley begging to go out and play in it? Gavin didn't seem to care.....he didn't know what the snow was all about. Well, that changed. We got a lot of snow Thursday night and Friday; like 16 inches. Jarrod was off, which was really nice, but every time he went out to let Shirley out or to shovel, Gavin cried to go out. He hasn't been feeling the greatest, so going out to play in the snow probably wasn't the best idea, but twice we gave in.

The first time, Gavin was still in his PJs, throwing a fit while Jarrod went out to shovel and lay salt. So, I bundled him up and he walked with Jarrod to throw salt. Such a big helper.

But, he didn't want to come in....he stood here at the door until I picked him up and brought him in.

Then later in the day, Jarrod took Shirley out and again, Gavin wanted to join him. So, we bundled up again and went out for 10 minutes. There's a huge pile of snow from the parking lot that the plows made. When we first got Shirley back in '04 (man, that seems like a long time ago!) we had a big storm in Dayton and we had the same scenario - big pile of snow in our parking lot...Jarrod and Shirley climbed to the top and I took their picture. Jarrod decided to recreate that scene! Here they are climbing the pile.

Gavin wanted to join them....so I climbed up to hand him off and then of course, ran in to get my camera! :)

Thought this was cute of Shirley jumping through the snow to come in.

Hopefully the snow doesn't stay around for long....I'd love a clear parking lot to work in the garage and finish off the packing next week.

Gavin and Shirley = Best Pals

Earlier this week while I was cleaning, I heard Gavin talking to Shirley so peeked my head in to make sure he wasn't pulling her tail or anything along those lines (since that's his new favorite way to torture her). I loved what I saw! There he was, sitting right next to her on her bed, with a book in front of him. It looked like he was reading to Shirley! How sweet is he???

Wordless Wednesday

Such a big helper

I love how observant Gavin is. He is always watching us and trying to imitate us. I love how his little brain works, and that look in his eye when you can tell his gears are turning. With that being said, I thought this was adorable the first time he did it. I had to sprint out to the dining room to grab the camera so I could get it on video. When Jarrod got home, I couldn't wait to show him. He's so smart! He's such a big boy! We were so proud of him!!!

And then, the next day came, and he wanted to do it again....and again....and again. It wasn't so cute anymore. He throws a tantrum when I tell him no. I know he feels like he's doing something so important and he's proud of himself, but I try to tell him he's going to make Shirley sick if he keeps feeding her. He doesn't know how to unlatch the bin of dog food; he actually takes the whole lid off. So, I got packing tape out and put a piece on both sides. Ummm.....he figured it out and took the tape off. I'm afraid he's going to knock the whole bin over and there will be dog food all over our closet! The mug in the video has already been broken and replaced with a plastic cup. Oh, the joys of toddlerhood. :)

Wordless Wednesday

Today....

....is a gorgeous Sunday here in NY! I can't believe that it's November and the temperature is forecasted to get close to 70 for the next two days. Jarrod's off golfing...probably the last time for 2009. Gavin is napping in his room. I just finished a lot of Tastefully Simple work - emails, phone calls, setting up online parties, etc. After G wakes up and eats a little for lunch, we're going to head out to a park to enjoy the sunshine, and so I can play around my with new camera! I love it so much! Then, we're planning to grill some steaks and pretend like it's summer since the sun is shining so much!



Just wanted to post some pics you might enjoy. A bunch of random shots...

Always playing with pillows now Shirley kisses

Look at those eyes! (this is with my new camera)

After falling and busting his lip, he finally calmed down with some Mickey Mouse. It was his idea, though, to lay under a pillow in between the couch and ottoman. Not sure why...

Best pals now ~ well, at least Gavin thinks so!

Thankful Thursday

November is the month to give thanks! So, today I'm just going to ramble a bit. I have so many things, big and little, to be thankful for...

Thank you, Jarrod, for buying a new camera for us. I can't wait to learn how to use it and I promise I'll take amazing pictures to blow you away! Thank you, Megan, for being there to help Tyler and Briana with their homework. I know Mom and Dad appreciate it, and I am grateful you're there with them. Thank you, Jackie, for all the cute clothes you've sent us for Gavin. He's bound to stay warm this winter! Thank you, LL Bean, for the amazing flannel sheets we have on our bed. I've slept so well this week. :) Thank you, friends, for still calling, emailing, and sending me pictures even though I'm so far away from you now. I'm glad you're still keeping me "in the loop." I especially love hearing all the crazy stories from Shaw. Thank you, Gavin, for snuggling with me before bed. I love when you lay your head on my shoulder while I sing to you and how you give mommy and daddy lots of kisses before we lay you down. It's one of my favorite times of the day. Thank you, Shirley, for letting Gavin crawl all over you now. I know he bugs you, but he loves you so much. Thank you, Tastefully Simple, for the delicious Awesome Amaretto Cocoa mix. It makes me so happy to drink a mug in the morning. Thank you, Jillian Michaels and Exercise TV, for getting my butt in gear. I really needed it! Thank you, Erin, for watching Gavin for me tomorrow night. I'm really excited about this party and am glad you could help us out. Thank you, Strong Museum, for giving us a fun place to place on cold days like today....

Now, off to the museum. Happy Thursday, everyone!

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday