Hey all,

Please forgive me writing this, but I think it's my way of dealing with the grief. It's been a hard two weeks. Last night, we had to say good bye to our precious little girl. She would have turned 5 on New Years this year. It's far too short of a time. And the whole thing just doesn't seem fair.

We did our best to keep the little one healthy and happy. Vet check-ups, tooth brushing, exercise and a good diet. She was at a good weight with no issues.…

The little mudbutt started limping this morning and not putting much weight on her left foot. Since it has continued into the evening (after being cooped up all day), tomorrow we visit the vet.

Here's hoping the groomer cut her nails too short or she sprained a muscle at daycare yesterday.

Last night I had difficulty sleeping, so I went to the living room to see if a change of venue would help. Kaylee sleeps in our bedroom, but I didn't bother to move her since she and my husband were sleeping soundly.

This morning Kaylee wakes up and sits near the bed where I am normally. She is whining to my husband that something is wrong and one of her cows is missing. (My husband and I refer to ourselves as Kaylee's cows.) Of course, when he finally convinces her to check in the…

As I mentioned a little while ago, my husband and I planned a trip to visit his family in Houston by car, so we could bring Kaylee along with us and hopefully spend a bit less on transportation and boarding. We live in Blacksburg, VA so flying requires at least one layover plus 3 hrs by car for a one-way trip and would likely take a full day anyways. Needless to say the layover and winter temperatures would preclude Kaylee from joining us on a trip by air anyways. So on the road it…

Today there was a beer festival in our town. It is kinda on the small side, only filling up a few parking lots, but fun and conveniently located. We brought Kaylee with us and she was wonderful.She allowed dozens of people to pet her without a problem at all and met a few other friendly dogs as well. She did pull some in the excitement, which we need to work on, but mostly she just acted like a happy puppy surrounded by probably good distracting things.

Many people asked what…

We live in an apartment complex on the second floor. The people below us like to garden (in pots) and I sincerely believe that they were not aware of the danger coffee grounds, sometimes used in gardening, pose to puppies. 

This past weekend Kaylee woke us up and, while drowsy, we took her out to the back of out building. Kaylee rooted a bit and then looked like she was chewing something. My husband and I quickly tried to get whatever it was out of her mouth. It was a bunch of coffee…

We came back from a two night trip today and picked up our little girl at the vet (for boarding only). We gave her several toys, blankets and a travel crate to hide/sleep in at night. She seemed happy to see us today, but has vomited twice already and had a loose #2. I figure it's just stress right now. Perhaps cooked rice is the way to go, just in case.

Kaylee had her second full day at a daycare facility today. So far they've been great for both grooming (fluffies need some extra care) and giving her a place to hang with other dogs. It's hard to be sure about what would have happened if we hadn't walked her so often on campus to meet people or taken puppy kindergarten, but she has blossomed into an extremely social and energetic 9 month old. From what the people there say she both an unusual cardigan and a bit "crazy" (in a good way).…