Princess Peyton... you changed my life forever.

I've saved my most memorable foster for last. 

We had just adopted Stella to her '1st' home on a Thursday in November 2010.  On Sunday, we were having a lazy day of watching football when I received a text from the foster coordinator.  There was a puppy in foster that was not being accepted by the large resident dog.  She had an injured hind leg.  I picked her up within 2 hours of the text.  She was a TINY 6 week old, black pit puppy that was brought into Chicago Animal Care & Control with a very swollen rear leg.  The shelter is overwhelmed with owner give ups & strays on a daily basis.  Extremely sick dogs are humanely euthanized.  Injured ones are given the basics & sit with their injury & pain until a rescue takes them into foster & provides medical treatment.  This puppy fit in the palm of my hand & a third of her size was taken up by a bandage that wrapped her leg from hip socket to her toes.  She hadn't been given a name yet.  When we got home, she just wanted to snooze in my arms & her head would perk up during certain parts of the football game.  The Indianapolis Colts were playing & Petyon Manning happens to be my favorite player... & so Princess Peyton got her name.

I have always said I wanted a 'special needs' dog... deaf, blind, heart condition, wheelchair, etc.  A dog that needed extra special love.  Little did I know this was going to be my first opportunity that I was not at all prepared for.

Since it was Sunday, the vets were closed, so I got the first available appointment on Monday.  We were supposed to keep her calm so she wouldn't hurt her leg further, but try telling a 6 week old puppy that!  She wanted to run & roll in the grass & play with the beagles. She loved to run & just dragged her little injured leg behind her as if it got in the way.  She slept in bed with us for the first of many sleepless nights.  The vet x-rayed her leg & the report was not good.  He referred us to see an orthopaedic vet & said she would probably need surgery.

In rescue, there are certain vets that extend their services at a deep discount.  The orthopaedic vet was in Fox Lake, about an hour away.  I made the first available appointment for the next day.  One of my favorite things with Peyton was when we'd go somewhere, I didn't have the heart to crate her & banish her to the back of the car.  She was so tiny & well behaved, that she was always transported in a blanket covered laundry basket!!! Filled with a plush bed & plenty of toys.  She fell asleep within minutes everytime.   

The orthopaedic vet plainly stated, he could not save the leg.  If the injury was within 3 days, he could have.  The break caused the bones to float into a parallel position & fuse together.  Trying to take them apart would cause further trauma & her tiny body would not survive the surgery altogether.  I contacted the foster coordinator & found the decision was mine to make.  My stomach rolled with nausea at the thought of amputation.  Just thinking about leaving her there overnight caused me to cry openly.  This poor baby had been injured, dumped & was in a shelter in her short, first 5 weeks & I was going to break her heart by leaving her at the vet's office which would result in her having only 3 legs.  I cried the entire way home... part from physical exhaustion & part from emotional exhaustion. 

My husband picked her up very early the next morning.  To our surprise, she didn't have to stay at the vet's any longer than the anesthesia wearing off!  All I could think was 'are you kidding me'???  The vet staff fell in love with her & she was held & snuggled for most of the time she was there.  When I came home from work, I expected to find a pitiful, depressed little girl.  I was completely wrong.  Peyton was just fine.  She was ready to play & live her life, glad that the lifeless limb that was holding her back was now gone.  She learned to go up our 6 steep basement stairs within a week or two.  And on her first leashed walk, that little 3-legged stinker was FAST!  She didn't want to walk, she wanted to run!  For all the time I had felt sorry for Peyton, she remained unchanged.  Her fortitude & happy-go-lucky personality left a paw print on my heart forever.

Peyton was quickly adopted by an amazing family.  She went to a home with a human mom & dad, a human brother, sister & 2 canine siblings, as well.  She was renamed Roxy & learned that she absolutely loved to play in the snow.  She is such a smart little girl & would go straight to the floor heat vent & lay on it to warm up.  She loves to snuggle with her brother, Maddix the boxer & to play with her other brother, Sancho the chihuahua. 

I look forward to updates about Roxy as she grows up & has a fulfilling, loving & happy life.

'Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.'   

Igor found his furever home!

Last night, I took Igor to his new home.  He is going to live with a human mom & dad,  & 3 human siblings- a 5 year old girl & 3 & 1 year old boys.  Plus 2 feline friends!  Igor has a huge yard to play in & 5 pairs of hands to lavish him with the attention & love he deserves.  Igor was such a special boy in our home... we knew he needed a home with either a canine companion and/or children.  When it came down to the wire, Igor appeared to be most happy with children in his company.  He probably missed out on so much in his unknown past.  Igor was so intrigued to watch one of his new siblings swinging on a playset in the yard & watching another climb a climbing wall & slide down a huge slide.  Igor thoroughly enjoyed riding shotgun on the way to his new home! 
Buddy (our beagle) is somber today.  He is familiar with 'losing' friends when fosters are here for a short time, then go to their forever home.  Stella (our other foster) is still looking for her friend Igor at times.  It is much quieter & calm in our house with 3 dogs rather than 4, but it's still early on a Sunday morning, I won't hold my breath!  Now we can focus on finding the perfect home for Stella.  She so very much deserves it.

 Yesterday, Stella had a playdate with my 16 month old niece.  We had been told she was good with kids, but I had to see it for myself.  Stella is always excited to meet new people & go to new places.  So much so, her entire body wiggles & her tail is like a whip!  After the initial excitement wore off after about 15 minutes, Stella followed my niece around, played with her toys & snuck in a kiss anytime she got the chance.  Stella would love a family with kids & that is what we will try & find for her, too! 



'It is true that pitbulls grab & hold on. But what they most often grab & refuse to let go of is your heart, not your arm.'

if the 3rd time wasn't the charm... the 4th time must be April Fools!

If I had a dollar for everytime someone told me, 'it (pregnancy) will happen when you least expect it', I would be rich.  And they were certainly right.  Kind of. 
We took the past month off of fertility procedures to enjoy a quick ski trip & to 'rest' from the pressure.  Sure enough, it happened naturally.  As always, we proceeded with guarded optimism.
Today, I would be 5 weeks & 4 days pregnant.  We learned today that it is likely a tubal or ectopic pregnancy, as there is nothing in my uterus.  It's indescribable to go from seeing an empty sac in my ultrasound of prior pregnancies to seeing a whole lot of nothing at all in today's ultrasound.  My body sure fooled me this time.  There was a pregnancy, just not where it's supposed to be.  I can only pray that it isn't tubal, which if not corrected, can damage my reproductive organs.  I'm not done fighting yet, I still need those parts!

It is kind of sad that I have become quite numb to the disappointment.  It also doesn't help that I've been fighting a terrible chest & head cold for the past week (sans any cold medication because tylenol is the only 100% safe in pregnancy!).  Crying is not much of an option today.  I can't breath with these darn sinues as it is.

I am so grateful for my support system of my family & friends.  I don't know what I would do without you all.  With all that is going on in the world (especially Japan), I can only be thankful that a 4th failed pregnancy is my only heartbreak today.

On the foster front (because that is very much constant in our lives), we have had lots of interest in Igor, but no serious follow throughs.  I actually became annoyed with one interested party today.  He was so arrogant to believe he didn't need to fill out an application & could come meet Igor (without the rest of his family) with 15 minutes notice!  Excuse me Mr. Important Business dude... you're not worthy.  ;-)  And another lady asked if she could 'test him out' in her home for a week.  What are people thinking?  Of course, we want Igor & Stella to find their forever homes so we can save more dogs from the shelter, but we refuse to just give them to anyone that is interested.  We have had zero interest in poor Stella.  She did just get her professional pictures taken this weekend & a mass email was sent today to dog lovers in the Chicago area.  I am seriously considering renaming her 'Sammi Sweetheart'... yes, from the Jersey Shore.  'The sweetest bitch you'll ever meet' is her claim to fame.  Stella is still the sweetheart in our home.  She is thriving without any  problems in our home.

I can't believe I've forgotten to mention this is previous posts, but my husband & I have both finished reading The Lost Dogs, the story of the Michael Vick pit bulls.  I am borrowing it to ANYONE that is interested.  It is the most enlightening, heart breaking & heart warming book I have ever read.  These dogs have the heart & soul of what we humans should aspire to achieve in a single lifetime.  Their story solidifies our plight of saving & educating about this very precious breed.



'We give dogs time we can spare, space we can spare, and love we can spare.  And in return, dogs give us their all.'

Rosebud Returns...

It only took 2 days after the initial call that Stella (originally named Rosebud) was fighting with her adopted sibling, for her adopters to call & ask us to pick her up.

9pm on a Sunday night & we didn't even hesitate... drove an hour & picked her up immediately.  From what we were told, I was expecting a 'monster'.  In the 3 months she was in her new home, the 2 dogs had been clashing regularly.  We were angry that her adopters hadn't contacted us for help after the first or second time.  Friends would have sent out a trainer & either the 2 girls could have been managed properly or Stella may have determined to be placed as an only dog in a new home.  I feel that I failed her.  She was only 4 months when she was adopted, she was a puppy & able to molded with the right leader.  Stella also came back with quite a few scars on her face & head.  It breaks my heart.  Although she wants to be a dominant dog, I think she had to defend herself at times, too.

Luckily, she fell right back into our 'pack' at home.  4 dogs here now.  As I type this, she is snuggled over the paws of our stubborn beagle, Buddy.  Stella is a sweetheart. We monitor all dogs very closely.  We have learned Stella's triggers that cause her to potentially act out.  Picking up Bella, our small female beagle, is one of them.  Giving attention to another dog on an elevated surface (couch, ottoman or chair) is another one.  We avoid these actions once we realized they aggravated her & have had no incidents.  Unfortunately, she didn't fare well in doggie daycare while we went on our ski trip.  She has a very high prey drive & wanted to go after every small dog there... I can't express the gratitude to Canine Corral for allowing her to stay & altering their schedules to try & work with her.  Stella will never be a dog park or doggie daycare candidate, which will make her challenging to find a home for. 

Surprisingly, her presence here has also brought a different side of Igor out.  Igor has been antogonizing Stella to play constantly.  They are perfectly matched in size & Igor doesn't have a mean bone in his body.  Several times daily, they chase & wrestle outside & inside, whenever the mood strikes.  We can also leave out the deer antler bones & tug toys & all 4 dogs are appropriate.  If Stella wants a bone that someone else has, she will patiently wait & take it when the other dog walks away from it.

The night before we went out of town, Stella was the only dog home with us.  So she was allowed throughout the house with us, on the couch while we watched t.v. & in the bed at night.  She is a DOLL.  She is such a lover & not obtrusive at all.  We are going to work with a trainer to see if Stella's triggers can be rehabilitated or if she is destined to be a solo dog.  I am dedicated to finding her the perfect home this time around...she doesn't deserve to be shuffled from home to home.  She, of course, always has a home here with us.

'Dogs are lousy poker players.  When they get a good hand, they wag their tails'