out of order updates

HAPPY PIT BULL AWARENESS MONTH!!!!

Along side with Matt and I officially deciding to adopt Charlotte -- no one seems surprised?!? ;) -- we have had ourselves a busy few weeks.

As most of you know, Mr. Pappy almost gave us a heart attack earlier this week when he decided to eat my inhaler. Monday morning, around 7 AM, I laid in bed boycotting waking up. All of a sudden, I heard an explosion (right near my ear), and woke up to Pappy jolting out of the room. I looked around and found my inhaler, near my pillow, chewed to pieces. Pappy...........!!!! I thought.

I walked into the other room where I found Pappy with the most guilty look on his face, ears back, and whining from what just happened. I told Matt about the inhaler, we both rolled our eyes, and continued getting ready for the day.

Right before leaving, Matt took the dogs out, and when coming inside, Pappy spit up right near the door. I figured the surprise or remnants of the inhaler had just upset his stomach and immediately felt uneasy about putting him in his crate all day. I texted by boss to ask if I could just stay home and keep an eye on him, he approved, and after crating all the dogs  - we left for Madison - I would take Matt to work and pick up my things from my desk then come back home.

About ten minutes away from work, I googled "dogs and albuterol"  That's when everything changed. The results were terrifying. "Albuterol overdose"  "Heart failure"  "toxic in dogs"  "death"

I freaked out. Told Matt. And before you knew it, we had pulled a u-turn on I-90 and drove about 90 MPH back to Edgerton (20 min away). When we arrived home, we both ran inside and found Pappy laying his crate. We let all three dogs out, and they all seemed to be doing just fine. In my google search, I read that dogs who have albuterol overdose have extremely high heart rates as one of their first symptoms. I felt Wally's chest, as a gauge, then placed my hand on Pappy's chest.

It was SO fast. Like five times faster than Wally's. We crated Wally and Charlotte - and rushed to the vet. I called them on the way there, found out that Dr. Gerbig was at another location - and asked if it was possible to get seen immediately from any of the vets available.

The appointment went by pretty quickly. They checked his blood pressure and heart rate - and explained that they needed to call poison control, suggested an all day long IV to flush potassium, and warned us that he may need to be admitted overnight in Madison. His heart rate was around 220. A normal dog's is 60-90.

They estimated the cost for his day long stay alone - and said it could run around $1000.  Knowing that he may need to be admitted overnight in Madison, we decided to monitor him from home - and recheck his bloodwork at the end of the day.

We kept Pappy at the vet while I drove Matt to work, then I came back to pick him up. His potassium levels were at 3. And if it dropped below 2.5 - he would need to be hospitalized. The vet taught me how to check his heart rate, gave him some meds to slow it down, and recommended that I check around every hour. I took Pappy home, he laid on his recliner, and I held my hand or rested my ear on his heart counting the beats for the rest of the day.

Honestly - every.single.minute.

Around 4 oclock, we went back to the vet. By this time, his heart rate had slowed to 130. They checked his potassium levels, and we were thrilled to see that it was back up to 4.3!!!! (Normal is 4-4.5)

The next morning his heart rate was back to 90 - and he was good as new - back to his menacing ways.

Pappy is now grounded for life, and I now store my inhaler in the bathroom drawer.

***I have to mention that I was completely surprised by the support, well wishes, and concern I received on Facebook and at work. Throughout the entire week, I was asked on updates and given well wishes. It meant so much! So Thank you!!

Also, they need to add albuterol inhalers to this chart. :)

 

In addition to Pappy going to the vet, Charlotte was also able to meet Dr. Gerbig! She received a clean bill of health and Dr. Gerbig guessed Charlotte around 3-4 years old. WOWZERS!

On Friday night, Matt and I went to the Cubs game in Milwaukee. We bought the tickets way in the beginning of the season, and I swear until five minutes before leaving, we weren't even certain if we really wanted to go. WHAT HAVE THESE PUPPIES DONE TO US?!

Anywho, we went. And they won!

Last week, we watched the super blood moon eclipse. Honestly, we sat out there for about five minutes before going inside. But it was cool to experience, at the least.

Here is an awesome photo I found on Facebook. Almost as good as my iphone pic above. ^^

Before announcing Charlotte's adoption, I got in touch with her foster mom from NC. I wanted to see if she had any pics of her from when she was first found. Unfortunately, all of Charlotte's first pics - along with pictures of her puppies before they passed away, and another litter of puppies that Charlotte helped raised were on a previously broken phone.

Winnie (Charlotte's foster mom) told me to "just imagine Charlotte about fifteen pounds lighter (she is skin and bone already!!!) and really, really, really, really scared." My heart breaks at the thought.

After talking with her, I realized that maybe it's good we don't have pictures from her previous life. Now, all we can do is focus on her bright and love filled future.

The one pic I found of Charlotte on Winnie's Facebook was absolutely perfect. Mostly because I thought only our dogs did this - and I guess, that's still the case, as Charlotte is now our dog, too.

It's the old "dog on a table" trick!!!

She fits in perfectly.

On September 26th - we celebrated our first year in the new house!!!! AND Pappy's and Wally's gotcha day!!

I met Kevin Durant at work a couple weeks ago. He is really tall. 

In fact, I was on my tippy toes in this pic, and I kept falling into his hip bone trying to catch my balance. Oops.

AmFam's new ad. Yay!

In the past two months, I've bought about six new phone chargers because Ernie has a recent  fascination with chewing wires.

Christmas should be fun. 

So far, Charlotte has done really well transitioning into her new home. They say it typically takes about a month or so, and luckily, we haven't had many issues.

Other than being a little protective with her food and getting used to the cold wet morning grass (along with going potty while on a leash), she's been an absolute angel. 

The pups don't get crated at night anymore, which makes it a litttttttlllleee easier to crate and leave them during the day. Not really, though.

But it DOES get a little cramped in bed at night. 

And lastly, I am going to vent for a couple minutes. Bear with me.

While I receive a lot of love and support from several of you (THANK YOU!), I'm also fairly certain that some people (who read this blog and don't comment) may think that Matt and I are a tad nuts.

I mean, let's be real. A hipster/hippy wanna-be, PETA and ASPCA supporting, SeaWorld and Michael Vick bashing, bohemian chic clothing wearing, essential oil using, vegan/vegetarian who believes herself to be the legit mom of three dogs. I can only imagine your thoughts. 

(At least I fit in, amirite?)

The other day, someone said to Matt and I: "Can I just---- Can I just ask WHY you chose to get ANOTHER dog?? I mean, I know how your other two are..."

To which, I rant.

Yes, we have a lot of animals. And to some, it may seem completely barbaric, unnecessary, and ridiculous. But in my defense -  to others, having more than two children could seem the exact same way.

It is ALL based on your wants. Your needs. and your love as a family.

In my complaint email (of course, Mama Bear stuck up for her babes and wrote a complaint email) - I said:

...I am appalled.

...We have never, ever had an issue with ... paying our bills, feeding our animals, making sure they're well socialized and behaved, and/or keeping our dogs and cats healthy, vaccinated, and well cared for.

On top of that, insinuating that Pappy and Wally are....what??? Horribly behaved? Too-hyper??

 ......

I like to think that Lulu, Ernie, Wally, Pappy, and Charlotte (who were all previously homeless and rescued) have a pretty nice life. They are beyond spoiled, eat healthy food, receive top care, are so deeply loved by not only us - but our family as well.

Knowing the pit bull euthanasia stats in shelters, frequent dog fighting that goes on in the south (where all three came from) and people's uneducated and discriminating beliefs on pit bulls as a whole - I can fully say that rescuing my BABIES has been BY FAR one of the most rewarding and important things we have ever done. I take immense pride in my family - but I am now feeling as though we are judged by a place that we were so previously thankful for.

Now, I received a beautiful and heartfelt response from this email (just how I expected this wonderful person would respond), but I felt as though I should share the above with the rest of you as well.

Along side that, highlighting the part "I know how your other two are".....

I think it goes without saying that Pappy and Wally have "cashed in" on their naughty puppy stage. And because of this blog, you all were able to have a front row view on their mishaps, menacing behaviors, and chewed up everything (couch cushions, drywall, inhalers, poisonous mushrooms, etc). But let me make myself clear when I say that they are good dogs. 

"Don't judge my pit bulls and I won't judge your kids."

No. They don't "REALLY" need to be trained. They are puppies (Dogs are considered puppies until two years of age), and while yes, a training class would be beneficial, we will enroll them when we are ready. More importantly, they will only need to learn at the speed they are comfortable with (car rides suck! remember??)

 

With that being said, if someone else thinks they could have done better job, I challenge them to raise two, high-energy, pit bull puppies from the same litter who were weaned from their mother on the day they were born, who encourage and feed off each other's energy, and then write every single detail about all their wrongdoings and "oopsies" in a blog for everyone to read and judge -- then see how much criticism your poor pups receive and how many "Cesar Millans" come out of the woodwork.     These are the times I consider quitting blogging altogether.

My flying monkeys - 2015

My flying monkey - 2009

Like I said in my email, I take immense pride in my family. And just like a mother would stand up for her human child -- I, as a dog mommy, will stand up for mine.

I am so proud of how far the puppies have come in the past year, and I am shocked at how calm and sweet-natured Charlotte is, especially after going through only Lord knows what.

But above all, three pitties are ALWAYS better than two. 

With that said, I will eat more Reeses and sip more wine.