Frantic furballs fearlessly face fourteen fuzzy foragers

As of right now, there are no less than fourteen squirrels creeping about my back lawn, doing whatever it is that squirrels do this time of year.

I have two very indignant Yorkies who feel it is their obligation to run these tiny furry beasts off.

I had to call them in and close the doggie door, so they would stop barking and ruining my relationship with the neighborhood.

This did NOT stop the barking.

Pass the cotton balls, please.

Zaccheus video

Thankful

I knew I shouldn't do it. Shawn even questioned my decision. But I let both of our Yorkies outside in the front with me while I pulled weeds out of the flower bed. I was keeping an eye on them (mostly).

They were running around chasing butterflies and hummingbirds and having a jolly time. But after a while, I got distracted and didn't notice that Zaccheus was no longer near me.

I looked up just in time to see Cricket jump to full alert and run around the house. That's when I registered what I was hearing. I could hear a small dog screaming for it's life, and Zacchie was no where to be seen.

By the time I got around to the back, my husband was in a full out run towards the heart-stopping sound. Then the sound stopped. The silence was worse that the screaming, because then we couldn't find where it had come from, and Zacchie didn't answer when we called. Not even a jingle of his collar.

Frantic now, Shawn jumped the fence into the neighbor's wooded back yard, and went around calling his name, begging him to answer.

No sound.

I ran around the back of their fence all the way around the block to check the next couple of neighbors away. They have many big dogs, and I just knew that if Zaccheus had gotten close enough to their teeth, they would have pulled him into the fence and eaten him alive.

Still no sign of him.

Crying now, and desperate to hear his voice, even if it was a wimper, I stopped to listen carefully. Cricket had come with me, and she gave no sign of recognition.

I walked the rest of the way home, occasionally calling out his name. By the time I got back round to our house, I knew it. Zacchie was gone. To neighbor dogs or a passing hawk, I didn't know, but gone just the same.

Cricket was waiting by the door for me to let her in, panting, and in need of a drink. I opened the door and was met by a beautiful sight.

Zaccheus.

Safe and sound, waiting for me to play with him.

Sum, Sum, Summertime

Well, the summer's finally getting into swing around here. It feels like I've been on overdrive for a few weeks. I'm not sure where the exhaustion is coming from. I feel like I could sleep for a week.



Thanks to an adequate disbursement from our friendly insurance company, we are slowly replacing all things stolen from the cars. I received my shiny new red GPS today, and should get my new Zune in the next week, or so. Of course, I had to order it online, to get the best deal, but I can be patient... It is also red. Any guesses what my favorite color is?




We are frantically working on our patriotic-type Fourth of July musical program we do every year at church. It's only a week and a half away, so we don't have much time left. But I'm certain that it will be as great as it always has been. We fill the house to overflowing every year. The year before last, our group sang the National Anthem at the Memphis Redbirds stadium, and last year we sang a couple of songs on our local news morning show to promote the program. This year we haven't done anything special, but with the pastor's retirement a few weeks ago, and VBS last week, we were all pretty busy.

You can't see me, because I'm obscured by the really tall dude with his back to you. I was standing next to the blonde lady. But here's proof that I was actually there that evening...


Just before the picture was shot, Rocky said something funny, and I was laughing. That's why my eyes look all squinty.


Zaccheus is recovering from his leg surgery, which he had on Tuesday. He is in quite a bit of pain, but once he's better, he should go on to lead a fairly normal life. (That is, as normal as he can have with a cleft palate, a rectum that was once sewn shut, and a piece of bone missing from his femur that fits into his hip socket.) I'm thinking of changing his name to Lucky.



Shawn and the kids ship off to camp on Monday. I would have gone too, but it always falls on the week before our program, and we have crunch practices. So I'll have the house to myself. You'd think I'd spend the time sleeping in and lounging by the pool, but NOooooo, I've signed up to help decorate and set the stage for said program. What was I thinking? I could so use a day at the spa or something!

A bit ago, a question on my friend's Grilling Goodness meme was anwered thusly:

1. If you had 10 hours at home alone, what would you do?
Laundry, facebook, nap, facebook, catch up on stuff on the DVR, facebook...

I was wrong. Apparently, given time alone, I will schedule myself to donate every. waking. hour. to prepare for upcoming events...



**sigh**

Poor Zacchie!

Well, cr@p! It looks like Zaccheus has Legg-Calve-Perthes Disease. It is in the very early stages, and we will be managing it for a while with anti-inflamatory drugs and joint support suppliments.

Here's what I found when I googled it:

"Avascular necrosis of the femoral head, aseptic femoral head necrosis, or Legg-Calve-Perthes disease is a disorder of the blood supply to the femoral head, the "ball" of the hip joint. It usually occurs in miniature and toy breeds of dogs between the ages of four months and a year of age in its classic form but sometimes occurs as a traumatic problem in older dogs or bigger breeds. It causes death of the bone which leads to arthritis of the hip."
"Femoral head necrosis is a painful process and may be a cause of subtle lameness to total lameness affecting one or both rear legs. Some dogs are able to recover on their own with just rest and pain relief but many dogs require surgical removal of the femoral head (femoral head ostectomy) for good long term pain relief. This can be done on both sides, if necessary, in the small dogs who have this problem."

Unfortunately, surgery is not an option for us financially right now, but Doc says he wouldn't even recommend it today if we could. He's got at least a year, maybe two or three before he will be advanced enough to need it. By then, hopefully we can be ready.

Zucchini part deux

Took Cricket on a couple errands, leaving the Z-Meister in the playroom again. I looked through the door before we left to see that the dog door was, indeed, closed. It was, although not quite all the way. It actually locks in place, and it wasn't locked. But I didn't mess with it. He couldn't possibly get out of it, right?

W.R.O.N.G!

Instead, he shimmied the door up enough to get outside, but it slid back down after he was through the door, effectively locking himself outside in the 45 degree temperature. (I'm glad it wasn't raining) Fortunately, he stayed inside the fence today, and I will be putting him inside his crate, inside a closet, inside a locked room the next time I go anywhere.

Or, at least I'll make sure the doggie door is locked.

Whichever.

Stuff and Nonsense

I have been tagged by Kelli at The Land of Boys. She tagged me with a photo tag. The rules are pretty simple. Go to your picture files. Click on folder number four. Click on the fourth picture. Post it. It's as simple as that.

Like Kelli, I was worried that it wouldn't be good, but here's a shot of Caleb going up for a shot.

Yesterday will not go down in history as my finest day. After hearing the news that my pastor is retiring, and trying to process the info, I heard some other devastating news. I ended up texting my sister, who was sick at home, something flippant about both pieces of info. Turns out she didn't know the second. I'm SUCH an idiot.

Then I got home, and we found Zaccheus running free in the house. We had put him in the playroom behind the gate before we left, so we figured he had somehow climbed over it or through it, or under it. Apparrently, he is quite the Houdini, which makes him, I suppose, the Zucchini. But then we realized that I had left the dog door open, and we already know he can get out of the fence. (the little brat!) So, either he climbed over the gate, and into the kitchen, or he got out of the fence, let himself inside, and closed the door behind himself, or he got out, a neighbor found him, and put him in our unlocked house while we were gone. I hope if the last one is true, which is the most likely, that they didn't do anything yucky while they were here.

Grilling Goodness #3

1. What is your least favorite aspect of Election Year?

Having to vote for someone I don't really like, just so the other guy, who I can't imagine anyone being stupid enough to pick, won't win.

2. What is something your spouse could do to make you feel special?

Send me away on a 'girls only weekend' to be pampered. Oh, wait, he did that once. Maybe he'll do it again.

3. Do you complain at restaurants or do you just tip less?

If the problem is the food, I let my server know, and don't hold it against them. They don't cook the food. I still tip them generously. But if the service stinks, I reflect it in the tip. I have only left without tipping once or twice in my life. Shawn used to be a really bad tipper, and it was so embarrassing. But I educated him on the art, and now he does a good job of it.

4. If you had it to do over again, would you choose the same wedding date you had?

Yes, the only holiday around my anniversary is Valentine's Day, and I kind of boycott it anyway. I do encourage my husband to do something for his daughter, however. He always buys her a rose.

5. What kind of car do you drive?

I drive a Dodge Grand Caravan, and I love it. It is not without its problems, and it costs a lot to fill the gas tank, but I love the room, the stereo, the DVD player, the little computer that tells me how many miles I can go before I run out of gas, and how it tells me what the temperature is outside.

6. If you have siblings, are you close to them?

I am very close with my older sister, but not with my half-brother, my twin half-sisters, my two step brothers, and my two step sisters.

7. Do you spend the same amount of money on each child at Christmas or just buy a certain number of gifts?

I try to keep it pretty close on both accounts. We don't spend much on gifts at all, because they get so many presents from their grandparents, that I don't want them to lose focus on what's really important about Christmas.

8. What phrase do you find yourself saying all the time?

Zaccheus, NO! NO, ZACCHEUS! ZACCHEUS, YOU COME HERE! OOOOOO, ZACCHIE, YOU BETTER NOT MAKE ME CHASE YOU! And other related exclamations.

Cheeeeeese!

No longer a wee little man...

It has been a while since I updated on Zaccheus, so I thought I'd fill you in. He is right at three pounds, and I don't expect him to get much bigger. He will be five months old next week. He couldn't be a bigger (albeit little) brat if he tried.
Shawn is quite attached to the little booger, and Zaccheus doesn't even know I exist if Daddy's home. So Hubby will be lost tonight when he gets home and there's no Zacchie jumping up for some love.
Z went in today to see Dr. Tim and have his manhood removed. He will be staying overnight. I had a hard time leaving him when they came to get him from me.
I was going to wait until he was a year old and has his mouth fixed to have him neutered, but we reached a problem that had to be fixed (no pun intended) right away.
Roxy went into heat. I didn't want to risk him getting her pregnant. I wasn't even sure if he could, but when Dr. Tim said it was possible, I made a snap decision. Actually, it was more for the fact that I didn't want him going through puberty and starting to mark his territory. And apparently, a male dog goes through that at 6-7 months, but although Z is a little young yet, Dr. Tim told me it was possible that being around a female in heat could stimulate him to start early.

Wordless Wednesday

I think he might be a mite spoiled!

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Like a champ

So we went camping, and Chris joined in for a couple of days. She brought her three dogs, so there were six in all. You would think that would not be fun, but they are actually all pretty well behaved.
But the great thing was....

Drumroll, please....

Zaccheus learned how to drink out of a bowl!
Schatzi showed him how, like a good sister, and now he can do it. Actually, I came home mid-week to perform on TV, and he came home with me. I put him in his box in the living room, and when I came back, he was drinking a few laps from the bowl, tipping his head back to swallow, and licking the water bottle while his head was tipped. He would alternate between the two. I just stood in the doorway watching in amazement.
Might have teared up a bit.
My baby is growing up.

Not-So-Wordless Friday

I know it's not Wednesday, so I'll not make this wordless.

Zaccheus at eight weeks.

He just hit one pound!

Stop the madness!

I know, I know. I've been gone a while. I have been busy trying to spring clean my house, inventory and pack the camper, pack the ten year old for camp, and prepare for overnight houseguests. Too much, you say? Duh!

How do I get myself into these scrapes?



Meanwhile, I am trying some new things with Zaccheus. He has reached the magical age of getting off soft food. I am still soaking his hard food in water to soften it, but we're getting there. But why, oh, why will he not drink water? I am still having to administer it through the tube. I told myself that I was going to wean him from the finger and only give him water with the tube down his throat, but now he fights it so hard it can't be good. He still seems to need to "nurse" for a bit to calm down. I did find a website that had a ton of information about how to raise a cleft puppy. And also a site about a cleft Yorkie named Joker. It seems that, although I have been stumbling through this journey blindly, and it has all been trial and error, I have basically done everything they said to do. It was nice to get confirmation for my efforts. Not sure why I waited until Zaccheus is nearly eight weeks old to search the web for answers. I guess I thought I was on my own in this adventure. One thing I learned is that they drink better from a water bottle, (which Z still won't do) but should learn to use a bowl as well, because if they get lost and someone tries to give them water, the humans won't know the dog has a special need. I think I'm going to have his collar tag specify that he has a cleft palate. Which means he will always have to wear it.

Who You Callin' Fat?

Last week Chris had an appointment to take Zac's litter-mates in for their six week shots. I decided to piggy-back on her slot and take Z along for his shots, too. While she was there, Chris had her older Yorkies get caught up on their vet needs. Now, you all know that Zoe is the mom of all the sweet little puppies, but you might not know that Truly, her other Yorkie is Cricket's sister. That is, she is from the first litter. Her full name is Truly Scrumptious. As in the female character from Chitty-Chitty Bang Bang. I guess Truly thinks her food is scrumptious, because she is a bit pudgy. Okay, she is a LOT pudgy. And timid. She is quite the little Eeyore. She walks around with her head and tail down. Truly doesn't get excited about much, unless you happen to have a ball. Then she runs all over the place.
But while we were there, Dr. Sandy was asking Chris about Zoe's diet. Zoe is kind of scrawny, on account of just having a litter of puppies, and nursing them. But she still has a ton of milk. So Chris is trying to explain that she will be restricting their food to put Truly on a diet. It wasn't what she said, so much. It was what Dr. Sandy heard her say that cracked us up.
"You see that fatso over there?" Pointing under my chair where Truly was cowering.
Collective gasp from Dr. Sandy and her technician...
Suddenly Chris and I realized they thought she was talking about me.
I'm still laughing!
Okay, so I AM really the fatso in the room, but she and I don't see me that way. And she would NEVER refer to me that way.

And certainly not to my face!

I used to say that it didn't matter what color car I was driving because I am not looking at it from the outside. I am looking out from the inside. Sometimes being the fat person in the room slips my mind. I don't think of it, and most people don't treat me like it. I own my own space, and don't apologize for it.

I do, however, apologize for taking up some of your space too. Hee, hee!

A price worth paying?

Let me give a quick Zaccheus update because what I really wanted to blog about is more serious than usual, and I don't want to disrespect it by adding it on at the end.

He is doing very well. Smaller than his litter-mates, to be sure, but considerably more ferocious, as he needed to be to survive even this far.

I am currently weaning him onto soft puppy food, and trying to make sure he still gets all the nutrition he needs. Why I can't get him to drink water from a bowl or water bottle is beyond me, but I have stopped letting him suck on my fingers for comfort's sake. If he needs to suck, he will have to swallow the water I am drizzling into his mouth. He likes to play with his toys, and really wants to play with Roxy. Cricket is more interested in him these days, but I suspect it has more to do with the fact that she'd like to steal his puppy food, than any other reason. She still jumps back when he tries to play with her. In fact, he had her cornered the other day, and she jumped vertical to get away from him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have been reading a blog I found on another one I read often. It is written by Angie. Her husband, Todd sings with Selah, one of my favorite Christian groups.
Todd and Angie have been through some of the hardest times this year, and I have cried buckets reading every word she has written. You should go there and read it, too. But take a box of tissues with you. You're going to need it. And I recommend you start at the beginning of her story. It took me two days, but it was worth reading.
I have never been through anything remotely like what they've endured, but I am very close with someone who has. And I have to tell you, I have learned something by reading Angie's story. I should have already known it, maybe already did, in a way, but forgot. The ones who have the closest walk with the Lord are the ones who go through the hardest things. The unthinkable things which we are sure would break us. Those are the people who have to rely on God to actually help them remember to breathe. I told Shawn last night that as much as I'd like to have a walk that close with Him, I am ashamed to say that I'm not sure I'm willing to pay the price.
My mundane day to day living seems like a walk in the park to what some folks have gone through. I have never been face to face with such Earth-shattering pain. My sad little pathetic excuse for a life has been easy in comparison.
They say that you shouldn't pray for patience, because trials work patience, according to the Bible, and who wants to go through trials, anyway?
I have a friend who recently challenged the saying that God doesn't give us more than we could handle. She said that she thought maybe He does, to make us lean on Him more. And she wondered what my take on it was. My answer was that I agreed with both, to a certain extent. We really have no idea what we can bear, because God gives us grace in the time of need, not before. He told Paul that His grace was sufficient for him. We can worry and fret, or we can trust. We can cry and ask why or we can believe. We can fight and blame God or we can ask how "this" can glorify Him. We can do all these things, but it doesn't change who He is. It doesn't change the measure of His grace. It is sufficient, either way.

Sweet, sweet sleep!

They say that when you have a newborn baby that you should sleep when he sleeps. So, although I have no newborn baby, I have been trying to grab a catnap once or twice a day after I feed Zaccheus.

So yesterday I woke up from one of these little breaks to find Hailey sitting in the floor with her back to me. I just knew she had gotten that puppy out of his bed and was holding him. She is not supposed to do this, so I said, "Hailey, why are you holding him?"

She turned around, and then I saw...

"Mom, I thought you would like a break, so I decided to feed him for you."

*groan*

Before I had to go to tube feeding him, she would take the occasional meal to give me a break. But since then, I have done all the feedings. It is kind of a delicate procedure.

If he is swallowing well, I just let him suck on my finger and gently slide the tube in next to it. So he thinks my finger is his nipple. But if he is tired or swallowing weakly, or if I am in a situation where I need him to not get it in his nose, I slide the tube down his throat.

This is not a job for a ten-year-old.

But when I walked in on her feeding him, she was doing a great job! I sat down with her and let her finish what she was doing. She handled him very gently.

Later I asked her how she knew when to feed him, and with all the attitude, (but minus the word, "Duh!") she replied, "Mom, you fed him two hours ago!"

So this morning I let her take the 7:00 feeding so I could get two segments of sleep in a row. But she did me one better. She took the 9:00 feeding as well. I woke up at 9:30, and he was sweetly sleeping with a full belly.

Thank you, sweet girl!

I'm proud of my budding little veterinary!

Zaccheus pictures

A couple updated photos of Zaccheus.
Enjoy!