Introducing Pepper!!

Baron

Our beloved dog Baron passed away sometime during the night last night.  Yesterday afternoon, Mike got off work early.  We went together to pick up the kids from school and take them to Mom's.  She watched them while we went to the vet to see Baron.  Dr. Chandler said he wasn't responding to them but hoped we would recognize us.  We loved on him, cried, scratched his belly and chest, rubbed his nose and spend some wonderful time with him.  At first, he didn't respond, but after a little bit, he seemed to know who we were.  A couple of times he raised his head up when Mike would talk to him.  He also made a sound when he wanted us to rub on him.  Dr. Chandler let us spend about an hour with him.  After talking to an Internal Specialist earlier in the day, they both came to the conclusion that Baron had a stroke sometime after the surgery.  His breathing was abnormal, like with a Pulmonary Embolism.  He also wasn't moving or responding like normal, which lead us and the doctors to believe he also had a stroke to the brain.  He also wasn't wagging his tail (which he ALWAYS did) and he didn't "nose *" us when he wanted rubbed (which he also did when he whimpered).
*Nosed is when he would take his nose and use it to bump your hand to get your attention.

He will be greatly missed.  Baron was the end of an era.  Mike and I got him and Gracy for each other as wedding gifts.  They were with us our entire married life.  We got home from our honeymoon on Saturday and picked them up on Sunday.  Now that they both are gone, I don't know what I will do with myself during the day.  I expect Baron to meet us at the backdoor when we come home.  He loved to go outside with the kids and I expect him to come running from the back when the backdoor opens.  I look for him in the kitchen lying under the windows on the linoleum.  I go to ask the kids to feed him and get him fresh water when we eat then realize he's not there.  Tomorrow after church, I will want to rush home to let him outside.  I know I will eventually stop thinking these things but, for now, it hurts. 

God, please take care of my babies.  Let them know they are sorely missed and that they will ALWAYS be in our hearts.  Hug and kiss them for me.  We love you Baron and Gracy!!!

Baron eating a rawhide bone 1/2010

Baron enjoying the snow 1/2010

Baron's surgery

The last two months have been really hard.  It seems like we are getting hit from all sides.  We've had problems with our air conditioner, the van, deaths in the family, and now our dog Baron.  For those who aren't familiar with our pet, Baron is our black Lab.  When Mike and I got married, we gave each other Labs as wedding presents: Gracy was mine; Baron was Mike's.  We lost Gracy last year to cancer.  Before Gracy's cancer diagnosis, we noticed a lump on Baron's side.  The vet said it looked like a fatty tumor.  It should come off but was fine to leave for a while.  Last week, I took Baron in to have some bloodwork done and had a small lump on his chest looked at.  The lump had adnormal cells so I took him in yesterday to have it removed as well as the lump on his side (over time, it had grown quite large).  The doctor was able to remove the small lump quickly but the large lump proved to be more difficult.  It had started taking on a life of it's own, with veins all over it.  Dr. Hooker said the veins were close to rupturing.  If they had ruptured, Baron would have died. 

A few hours after surgery, Dr. Hooker said Baron was doing great.  He was walking around and did very well while in surgery.  Last night, around 8:30, Dr. Hooker called and said that Baron was having some problems and wasn't doing so well.  He was having trouble breathing so she gave him some more pain medication to help him sleep.  She thought he would have a 50-50 chance of making it through the night.  As you can expect, I didn't take the news so well.  I cried and prayed all night long, trusting God to take care of him.  Mike called this morning around 7 and was told Baron made it through the night and seemed to be okay.  The other vet who helped with the surgery, Dr. Chandler, is suppose to call Mike in a little bit to let us know what it going on.  I do not like to wait, especially in cases like this.

Meet the Teachers, Hair Cuts and Paw Prints

Thursday night we got to meet Hannah and Will's teachers. Hannah's teacher is Mrs. Browning. She seems really nice. Hannah saw one girl, Alexa, that she knew in her class. Hopefully she will know more when she goes to class on Monday. Mrs. Browning is also pregnant. She is due in October but said she will be here during the first nine weeks and testing. The paperwork has been filed for her sub but she doesn't know who it will be yet. Mrs. Browning said she will only be out about eight weeks. That would put her back just before Christmas break.

Will has Mrs. Scanlon as his first grade teacher and Mrs. Padgitt as his Teacher's Assistant. Mrs. Scanlon was Hannah's first grade teacher. When Hannah went up to her, Mrs. Scanlon was really excited to see her again. I like Mrs. Scanlon and I hope Will does too. She is a little strict but I think she and Will should get along great.

This afternoon everyone got their hair cut. Mike got his usual high and tight fade. Will got the same cut for the second time. It looks cute on him. Andrew just got a trim because he wouldn't sit still there towards the end. Hannah got her hair cut off at her chin and stacked in the back. It looks great. I had mine cut off to my shoulders with small layers. I like it so far.

Mike and I got something special from our vet in the mail last Saturday. Dr. Hooker sent us a framed paw print of Gracy's and a sweet card. We put it on the shelf with the kids' handprints. It is nice having something to remember Gracy by.

Memories

Tonight, while getting our videos out to put in our new cabinet, I ran across one from many years ago. My step-father, Bob, was always setting up his video camera to record our family events. This tape has my mom's 40th birthday party and some video of our dogs. Watching it brought back some great memories. There were only a few people and our dogs Brandy and Pappy at the party. We all had fun cutting up and laughing. Brandy and Pappy have been gone a long time now, but the memories of them are still strong. I love to tell Hannah and Will stories about them and the silly things they use to do. Brandy LOVED to ride motorcycles. Pappy had a very unusual bark. They loved to play tug-of-war with some blue jean legs. Mom cut off a pair of jeans and tied a knot in the legs. The dogs loved to play with it over the rope toys we bought them at store. While Pappy and Brandy would play tug, Pappy would start barking at Brandy without letting go of the blue jeans. Brandy would just growl at him. It was hilarious!!!