Time sure fly's by, as Emma will be 4 next month. She is such a beautiful dog. She and her brother from a different mother, Bailey have such fun together. Baily will be 3 in June. These two Golden's frolick, run, and play the day away. It must be great to be a dog. So much to see, so much to smell. To run as fast as you can and then flop down and take a nap. Maybe if I am lucky, I will come back as a dog in my next life. Of course it would be my luck to have an owner than kept me chained and alone. No, I would not want that. My dogs are very spoiled. They are members of the family. Whoever gets to the couch first gets the best seat. We share almost everything except the items that are not good for dogs. They sleep right beside us on the bad and go with us everywhere in the car. We certainly have a special relationship with our dogs.
The woods of North Carolina are a great place to be in the Winter. Now that the leaves have fallen and the brush has died back it is heaven for a dog to run at his or her heart's content. We have lots of deer and every once in a while they chase after one but they never really get close. We took Emma to a Christmas Parade in December and she meet her first horses. I don't think she knew what to make of the giant creatures.
Today is a beautiful cool sunny day and they are outside enjoying every moment.
Friday, January 27, 2012
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Big Change
About a year ago I was forced to retire early due to health issues. I was about 3 years earlier than my planned retirement. We had always planned on retiring to the mountains of North Carolina. Earlier this year we started looking. I felt like I was getting too old and in poor health to continue to take care of a home, so we decided to rent. It is a big load off of your mind when you don't have to worry about the A/C going out, the roof leaking, plumbing backing up, etc. We looked at several places and finally decided on a cabin in the mountains. We are in a gated community which limits access to the public. The subdivision is 83 acres with over 3 miles of gravel roads. There is a pond, a creek, lots of deer, wild turkeys, squirrels, rabbits, birds, and even a black bear (though I have not seen her yet). We have a big wrap around porch that is covered in the front. There are no street lights so at night it is really dark and the crickets and tree frogs are deafening and in the quite of the morning you can hear a pin drop. It is much cooler up here (one advantage to getting away from all the asphalt and concrete). There are only 9 homes in the subdivision with 6 being occupied full time. We have great neighbors who genuinely care about each other.
Now Emma and Bailey are in heaven with their new home. They leave and go off exploring for hours at a time and come back home, usually wet, and their tongues hanging out. They always seem to find water somewhere to romp in. I don't have to worry about traffic. They seem content to track the various animals that inhabit the area. They are getting a lot of exercise that they did not get at our garden home. You know the old saying that a happy dog is one who has run to his hearts content.
I still worry about the snakes and animals higher up on the food chain but seeing them so happy gives me a sense of security. I am sure that they will limit their explorations once it becomes second nature. I have always lived in an area where they had to be contained by a fence or on a leash. Their only free time was at the dog parks where they could run and play. There is another dog that lives over the hill and they have to go down and say hello several times a day.
I am looking forward to fall and even winter (actually having four seasons again). They had several good snows last year so hopefully this year will again bless us with the white stuff. October is the color season in the mountains and I look forward to the pallet of mother nature's colors.
It is pretty nice now that I am retired and can enjoy being with my dogs and doing things on my own time. I like to call it retired time, when I want to not when I have to. Don't get me wrong I miss having health insurance and a big pay check but I will be 65 next year and will be eligible for Medicare and my lovely spouse will be eligible for her early social security. I must say this past year has been one of the best and least stressful.
So here's to a new chapter in our lives and the lives of Emma and Bailey as we explore our new home and all of the beauty of nature.
Now Emma and Bailey are in heaven with their new home. They leave and go off exploring for hours at a time and come back home, usually wet, and their tongues hanging out. They always seem to find water somewhere to romp in. I don't have to worry about traffic. They seem content to track the various animals that inhabit the area. They are getting a lot of exercise that they did not get at our garden home. You know the old saying that a happy dog is one who has run to his hearts content.
I still worry about the snakes and animals higher up on the food chain but seeing them so happy gives me a sense of security. I am sure that they will limit their explorations once it becomes second nature. I have always lived in an area where they had to be contained by a fence or on a leash. Their only free time was at the dog parks where they could run and play. There is another dog that lives over the hill and they have to go down and say hello several times a day.
I am looking forward to fall and even winter (actually having four seasons again). They had several good snows last year so hopefully this year will again bless us with the white stuff. October is the color season in the mountains and I look forward to the pallet of mother nature's colors.
It is pretty nice now that I am retired and can enjoy being with my dogs and doing things on my own time. I like to call it retired time, when I want to not when I have to. Don't get me wrong I miss having health insurance and a big pay check but I will be 65 next year and will be eligible for Medicare and my lovely spouse will be eligible for her early social security. I must say this past year has been one of the best and least stressful.
So here's to a new chapter in our lives and the lives of Emma and Bailey as we explore our new home and all of the beauty of nature.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Bailey has been with us a year today.
It was one year ago today that we adopted Bailey. He was about eight months old when he came to live with us. He will be two on June 1. He is growing into a beautiful dog and will probably start to fill out and get his adult coat this year. He has so much energy and I say that he is like a Mexican Jumping Bean. He is very fast and can outrun Emma. They are a perfect pair and would be lost without each other.
We are glad that Bailey came into our lives.
We are glad that Bailey came into our lives.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Stuck
I was setting at the computer about lunch time and heard this crying sound. I didn't do anything until I heard the second cry. I went outside and I could see Bailey but could not see Emma. I could hear the crying coming from over by the fence and when I got there I found Emma under the deck stuck and crying for help. She could only get her muzzle out. She had gone under down where the yard slopes down and now she was up where the ground almost meets the deck. Now Emma is a pretty big girl and weighs in somewhere in the high seventys and is very tall for a Golden.
What to do; tear up the deck, get a shovel, call the Fire Department? I finally convenced Emma to back up and turn around and head back down the under the deck to where the yard is farther away from the wood. She was still stuck but after a few minutes of dog power she was able to pull herself out. She was not hurt and just a little dirty from the bare earth under the deck. I don't know if she chased something under or what. I put a big rock to block her from attempting the feat in the future.
What to do; tear up the deck, get a shovel, call the Fire Department? I finally convenced Emma to back up and turn around and head back down the under the deck to where the yard is farther away from the wood. She was still stuck but after a few minutes of dog power she was able to pull herself out. She was not hurt and just a little dirty from the bare earth under the deck. I don't know if she chased something under or what. I put a big rock to block her from attempting the feat in the future.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
October update
October is the month that Megan and Jordan were born. They were our second and third golden's respectfully. They were very special to us and we miss them a lot. Now we have Emma and Bailey to carry on the tradition. Golden's are such special dogs, always eager to please, and are a member of the family. While there lives are shorter than we would like, we have to love each and cherish the time that they are with us. The next time you are snuzzeled be happy for the opportunity.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
1 Week Today
Emma's new Kitty has been with us now for one week. She has gained 5 ounces and starting to eat solid kitty food. She is very energetic and into everything.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Look what the Dog drug in!
Emma found a kitten in the back yard this morning. He or she weighs in at 10 ounces. We feel like it must be about 3 to 5 weeks old. So far no luck in finding it's mom. Emma is being a really good stepmom.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Your Dog.
He is your friend, your partner, your defender,your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Barkley's Christmas Greeting
Barkley is Emma's 10 1/2 year old step brother. He belongs to my daughter and son-in-law. He was one of Megan and Jordan's ten pups.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Friday, October 30, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
Sunday afternoon at the Dog Park
Birmingham, AL has opened a new dog park at Greensprings Park. It is 3 acres fenced for dogs and their owners to run free and be off the leash. Three Cheers for Mayor Larry Langford and the city council for finally making this a reality. There are 2 acres for large dogs and 1 acre for small dogs. You enter through a double gate system. There must have been over a 100 dogs and their owners and everyone got along great. Lots of socializing, sniffing, and running but no fighting. It was clean and no poop was visible anywhere in the park. This is a big plus for responsible dog owners. Now if the other cities in our state would get off their duffs and create more wonderful places for dogs.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Close to Death
Hi everyone, I guess by now you have noticed that I have been missing for about a two months. On Aug 20 I had surgery to remove the hardware in my back that was put in a year earlier, but when they got inside nothing had healed properly. They had to replace the hardware with more (bigger and stronger) and start the fusion process all over again. They added some bone growth protein and put me back together. I lost a lot of blood and they had trouble getting my blood pressure to come up and get my kidney’s working properly.
On September 10th I woke up to 102.6 degree fever, sweats, body aches and immediately went to my doctor. They thought I probably had a virus. On September 15th I went to my Spine Surgeon and he ran an MRI to look for infection. Nothing showed up definitely on the MRI so they sent me back home.
I was sick for the next 3 weeks and finally I called my doctor on September 29th and told here something was very, very wrong. I went to the doctor the next morning on September 30th. We also noticed that morning that 3 sores had appeared under the back incision. I got to the doctor and was still running a fever and my blood pressure had dropped to half of normal 60/40. The doctor looked at the sores and said they needed to be cultured. She told me to go immediately to the hospital and they sent us to UAB Highlands. I got into a room and my blood pressure had dropped even more. After my evaluation by the UAB doctors they said that I was being transferred to ICU. I was very dehydrated and they ended up giving me 15 liters of saline. For all of you guys they had to put a catheter in and boy did it hurt. My kidneys were in stage 4 failure and hardly putting out anything. My white count was so low they said that my body had used up all of the white blood cells and my bone marrow could not keep up with the production. I did a lot of praying that night and by some miracle I made it through the night. I was diagnosed with Sepsis and I learned later that very few people survive sepsis. My doctors actually did not think that I would make it through Wed night but fortunately I did not find that out until late Friday evening. I stayed in ICU for 3 days on massive IV antibiotics and then moved to a step down room for the next 5 days. I think I was taking five different antibiotics at one time. On Friday they did a biopsy on the sores and started growing a culture. On Sunday it came back as Pseudomonas. Pseudomonas is second only to staff as a bug that you can pick up in the hospital. They put a PICC line in the subclavian vein in my left arm and the tubing runs up to the vena cava right above the heart. They were also giving me Potassium, Magnesium, and other items that my body had used all up in fighting the bacteria. I began to get better on Saturday and my blood pressure was returning to a more realistic number. They finally sent me home on Wednesday, 8 days later for home IV antibiotics. They had a home health nurse come out and show us how to setup the IV, which I have to take every 12 hours. It takes about an hour to infuse. The nurse also comes out once a week to change my bandage and do blood test. I am feeling much better, no fever, and good blood pressure. I am down to 188 pounds from my original 215 (27 pounds lost) but my appetite is back and I am eating well. This is about as close as I have ever come to dieing and it has given me a new prospective on what is important and to take each day as a present and not to waste it. I feel like God still has something for me t do before I leave this earth. Apparently this pseudomonas got into my system through the back surgery site and no one picked up on it until it was ready to do me in.
Well, what can I say? I kept telling my doctors that something was wrong but no one seemed to take me seriously. The doctors ending up running 3 MRI's, a CT Scan, an ultrasound, an echocardiogram, and many, many blood cultures and blood test. They checked everything from urine to stool trying to find the source. I was stuck like a pincushion until I got the PICC and then they began taking the blood out of one of the ports. I think I had close to 6 doctors working on me at different times. We have to clean and flush the ports daily and they sent me home with all of the supplies. I can setup or lie down and go back and forth to the bathroom. Hopefully this is behind me now and it will clear up over the next three weeks. Then more test and they will decide if I need another round of 3 weeks IV antibiotics. What can I say, I feel better, I am alive and life is good. I just wished someone had taken me more seriously when I kept telling them that something was wrong. They said that if I had waited one more day that I would not be here now. That is pretty scary! They said this bacteria is microscopic can hide along the hardware and the blood does not get to the hardware so the antibiotic can't get to the exact spot where it is needed. Right now the plan is to just do nothing but the IV antibiotics and hope it gets rid of everything. Keep me in your prayers and hopefully I will beat this and get back to normal.
I had 3 doctors’ appointments last week I am getting stronger and better. My ports flush but they can't draw blood from them anymore, so now I have to get stuck every Monday for me blood test. I can only set for a short while and then I have to lie down or walk. I am constantly changing positions. We are really getting good at the IV and so far have not had any reaction to the antibiotics. I get one IV at 8 AM and another at 8 PM.
Hopefully I will be back to posting soon with more stories of Emma who I might add has stayed by my side and watched over me except for the 8 days I was in the hospital and my sweet daughter stepped up and shared her home with Emma. My lovely wife took on all the responsibilities and wore several hats. Please keep me in your prayers that this bug is killed and I don’t have any further problems.
Bob
On September 10th I woke up to 102.6 degree fever, sweats, body aches and immediately went to my doctor. They thought I probably had a virus. On September 15th I went to my Spine Surgeon and he ran an MRI to look for infection. Nothing showed up definitely on the MRI so they sent me back home.
I was sick for the next 3 weeks and finally I called my doctor on September 29th and told here something was very, very wrong. I went to the doctor the next morning on September 30th. We also noticed that morning that 3 sores had appeared under the back incision. I got to the doctor and was still running a fever and my blood pressure had dropped to half of normal 60/40. The doctor looked at the sores and said they needed to be cultured. She told me to go immediately to the hospital and they sent us to UAB Highlands. I got into a room and my blood pressure had dropped even more. After my evaluation by the UAB doctors they said that I was being transferred to ICU. I was very dehydrated and they ended up giving me 15 liters of saline. For all of you guys they had to put a catheter in and boy did it hurt. My kidneys were in stage 4 failure and hardly putting out anything. My white count was so low they said that my body had used up all of the white blood cells and my bone marrow could not keep up with the production. I did a lot of praying that night and by some miracle I made it through the night. I was diagnosed with Sepsis and I learned later that very few people survive sepsis. My doctors actually did not think that I would make it through Wed night but fortunately I did not find that out until late Friday evening. I stayed in ICU for 3 days on massive IV antibiotics and then moved to a step down room for the next 5 days. I think I was taking five different antibiotics at one time. On Friday they did a biopsy on the sores and started growing a culture. On Sunday it came back as Pseudomonas. Pseudomonas is second only to staff as a bug that you can pick up in the hospital. They put a PICC line in the subclavian vein in my left arm and the tubing runs up to the vena cava right above the heart. They were also giving me Potassium, Magnesium, and other items that my body had used all up in fighting the bacteria. I began to get better on Saturday and my blood pressure was returning to a more realistic number. They finally sent me home on Wednesday, 8 days later for home IV antibiotics. They had a home health nurse come out and show us how to setup the IV, which I have to take every 12 hours. It takes about an hour to infuse. The nurse also comes out once a week to change my bandage and do blood test. I am feeling much better, no fever, and good blood pressure. I am down to 188 pounds from my original 215 (27 pounds lost) but my appetite is back and I am eating well. This is about as close as I have ever come to dieing and it has given me a new prospective on what is important and to take each day as a present and not to waste it. I feel like God still has something for me t do before I leave this earth. Apparently this pseudomonas got into my system through the back surgery site and no one picked up on it until it was ready to do me in.
Well, what can I say? I kept telling my doctors that something was wrong but no one seemed to take me seriously. The doctors ending up running 3 MRI's, a CT Scan, an ultrasound, an echocardiogram, and many, many blood cultures and blood test. They checked everything from urine to stool trying to find the source. I was stuck like a pincushion until I got the PICC and then they began taking the blood out of one of the ports. I think I had close to 6 doctors working on me at different times. We have to clean and flush the ports daily and they sent me home with all of the supplies. I can setup or lie down and go back and forth to the bathroom. Hopefully this is behind me now and it will clear up over the next three weeks. Then more test and they will decide if I need another round of 3 weeks IV antibiotics. What can I say, I feel better, I am alive and life is good. I just wished someone had taken me more seriously when I kept telling them that something was wrong. They said that if I had waited one more day that I would not be here now. That is pretty scary! They said this bacteria is microscopic can hide along the hardware and the blood does not get to the hardware so the antibiotic can't get to the exact spot where it is needed. Right now the plan is to just do nothing but the IV antibiotics and hope it gets rid of everything. Keep me in your prayers and hopefully I will beat this and get back to normal.
I had 3 doctors’ appointments last week I am getting stronger and better. My ports flush but they can't draw blood from them anymore, so now I have to get stuck every Monday for me blood test. I can only set for a short while and then I have to lie down or walk. I am constantly changing positions. We are really getting good at the IV and so far have not had any reaction to the antibiotics. I get one IV at 8 AM and another at 8 PM.
Hopefully I will be back to posting soon with more stories of Emma who I might add has stayed by my side and watched over me except for the 8 days I was in the hospital and my sweet daughter stepped up and shared her home with Emma. My lovely wife took on all the responsibilities and wore several hats. Please keep me in your prayers that this bug is killed and I don’t have any further problems.
Bob
Monday, September 7, 2009
A Trip to the Park
I had back surgery 17 days ago and on doctors orders I have to start walking. Well we took Emma to Orr Park in Montevallo. This is a great park with a creek running through it and concrete walking trails. There is also about 25 acres of lush green grass in the middle of the park surrounded by the walking trails. I walked out into the middle and turned Emma loose from her lead. (All dogs are to be kept on a leash at all times). She is such a free spirit. It made my heart fly just watching her run in loops and circles as fast as she could go. Then she would race back to me and start all over again. I wish I had a big farm where I could let her run every day but my little back yard is tiny. She did pretty good until she spotted other people and Emma loves everyone and she just has to go over and say hello. Well some people don't like the idea of a 75 pound Golden Retriever running at them at full speed even though she would not harm anyone. She ignores me and runs around her prey jumping and sniffing. Suddenly she is deaf to the sound of my voice and acts like she has never seen me before. Then after I finally get to her and get her back on the leash all is well. I am a responsible pet owner and pick up after my dog. I wish we had a dog park like they do in other states where you can go in and turn your dog loose and let them run. The only people inside the park are other pet lovers who eagerly welcome another dog as well as their own. I don't understand why our city and county leaders have not figured out that we need an area for dogs and people to interact. I just wish we had one dog park for at least every ten people parks. The City of Hoover is actually securing funding and starting to build a park for dogs. This will be the first park within a hundred miles of our area. I can only hope that more city and county leaders will see the light and start their own projects.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
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