Goofy's road to recovery

When we got home from the camp out we quickly unloaded the camping gear, took Mason's friend home and took Goofy to the animal hospital. After assessing Goofy's injuries the Vet had an $800+ list of recommended treatment for Goofy that included suturing, medicating and x-raying him. After speaking to the vet in detail we decided to opt out of the x-ray (partly because it was an additional $300) but also because the vet explained that the x-ray would only indicate any small fractures Goofy might have acquired during the attack. Small fractures in the vertebrae would only be treated with limited movement and nothing else. Since we had to keep him on restricted activity anyways we decided to not do the x-ray and see how he does after his wounds heal.  

 At about 5:45pm they took Goofy back to start his surgery and finished at 7:10pm. When we brought Goofy home Saturday evening he was very lethargic and shaking. Poor little dog had been through a lot. He didn't move very much and blood was dripping from his drain. (The drain was to prevent infection and minimize swelling.) Anytime he laid down you could tell he was uncomfortable. I woke up a few times in the middle of the night and went to check on Goofy. A couple times I could tell he was awake just laying there with his head up. With his wounds located all around his neck I'm sure he had a hard time finding a comfortable position to lay his head down. Poor Goofy. For the next 2 days he didn't eat much (I feel like his crunchy food was probably a little painful for him to chew.) He slept A LOT and moved very gingerly. I was mostly worried that his fun personality would change because of this horrific incident. Goofy has always been very sweet and excited to meet new people and dogs. For those first few days he wouldn't come out to be with the family and hardly drank a thing. I noticed every time we brought him out around the family he would start shaking heavily whenever April was anywhere near him. I totally understand how he felt, he was injured and she was a potential threat. 


Monday morning when it was time to take the kids to school I was pleasantly surprised when Goofy walked out of Callie's bedroom (aka his hiding place in the corner) I could tell he wanted to come with. He still wasn't wagging his tail or anything but this made me really happy. Goofy has always loved going for car rides and coming anywhere we go. On the drive home he slowly hoped off the back seat to the floor (only about an 8in drop or so) and yelped in pain. Ouch!

The entire 1st week after his attack he would start to shake his head but stopped immediately, more than likely because pain was shooting down his neck.

We gave Goofy antibiotics via syringe in the mouth for the week following and hid pain meds in cheese or meat to give to him as needed. These first few days were very difficult for us all. The whole family was obviously shaken by the whole experience and I needed to stay close to home to monitor Goofy. In an effort to minimize scratching I made Goofy a make-shift scratch-guard. He HATED it. LOL


On Tuesday (3 days post surgery) I took him in to get his drain removed. Poor dog was so sad his tail was tucked down between his legs and he was shaking violently. He obviously recognized the place. He was really good for me and the assistant but just scared and shaking the whole time we waited in that waiting room.

Wednesday evening I almost took him back to the pet hospital. I had just told Mason that we needed to go (he had scouts that night) and as I walked into our family room I could see Goofy behaving/walking/hoping in a very peculiar manner. His right front leg was straight as a board and sticking out away from his body about 45 degrees. He hobbled towards me (probably because he heard me say the magic word "go"). He "hobbled-bounced" for about 5 steps and it freaked me out. He almost looked as if he was seizing or had lost control of that right front leg. I don't know if he hopped down from something or it just randomly happened but it terrified me all the same. Almost as if he was seizing. Thankfully he hasn't appeared to have had any other similar behavior. He does spend a little more than normal time licking his right front leg so I hope that leg wasn't injured. He appears to be walking normal for now.

Goofy is slowly returning to his normal habits and routine. I'm hopeful he will revert back to being our perfect mellow sweet Goofy. I guess time will tell, I really just hope that Goofy isn't so traumatized from this that he has PTSD or a personality change or anything. His scabs are starting to flake in some areas, I'm surprised at the amount of scabs popping up everywhere along his neck. I have an appointment with a regular vet office to have Goofy checked out and evaluated after the sutures come out tomorrow.

KBP Ward Campout

Our ward camp out was last weekend and for the most part we enjoyed some time away out of the heat and in good company. We stayed at our usual spot Pivot Rock and actually arrived at camp before it was dark! That in and of itself was a miracle! Ron grilled some really yummy hamburgers for dinner, I'm still drooling over them. Of course I didn't get as many pictures as I would have liked but we did have a lot of fun. On the drive up we even spotted a large deer (pictured below) and a mommy Elk with her 3 babies. Super cute and definitely earned a couple U-turns on the highway for a better look. Mason got to bring a friend on this camping trip. They were so proud of the shelter they created and slept in! (Of course I didn't get a picture of that either!) Xavier is a good friend of Mason's and we were happy to have him along. Mason even got to pass off some scouting stuff because his scout leaders were both there. Our ward has a small primary but a surplus of girls! All the girls were so cute and played really well on this camp out. 

Ron and I did our usual hang out by the campfire until about 1:30am. That's probably my favorite part of camping.

 

Saturday morning we decided to take the short cut to the cave hike so we drove to the top and parked the cars. The plan was to hike down to the cave (probably only about .3 mile to the cave at this point) then do some exploring and hike back out. When we arrived at the top or the "parking area" I noticed another truck there that I didn't recognize from our ward. The man at the truck was getting a large German Shepard dog out of the back. I didn't really think anything of it. One of our friends in the ward looked a little concerned and asked us if we had a leash for Goofy. I actually didn't but we fashioned a rope to him to use for the hike. As we got started on the hike I realized the man in the truck was a relative of one of our friends in the ward. Still not thinking much of it we started our decent. Our group was fairly large so we were spread out along the trail. During the hike at various times I was switching from helping with toddlers and holding Goofy. Little children LOVE walking Goofy so when they asked I of course said yes. At one point I had April on my shoulders and another toddler by the hand while chatting with my friends. Out of nowhere I heard a horrible wailing crying whining noise way in front of me. It was loud and lasted a long time and it was AWFUL! I had no idea what it was, for a second I thought it was kids being loud and obnoxious or maybe it was some weird animal on the trail ahead. It seemed to last quite a while and suddenly I panicked when I realized it was Goofy!!! I ran to the front and could see Ron walking towards me carrying Goofy (who was still wailing/crying). Ron looked calm but uneasy and had some blood smeared on his arms. As we started back towards the car my stomach lurched when I got a clear shot of Goofy's neck. He had a vertical gash that was oozing and swollen right under his chin measuring about 1.5 inches long. Ron later told me that he was worried he was going to have to put Goofy out of his misery, I worried the whole drive home that Goofy was going to die in our car and all my kids would witness it. We got back to the car wrapped Goofy's neck up and headed back to finish packing up camp and get home to help Goofy. The recap of the horendous incident:  Goofy was being led towards the front of the hiking group where the mean dog was. Usually Goofy is super friendly and playful with other dogs so in my mind I thought maybe the attack happened because Goofy approached the other dog and startled it. NOPE. Ron said that Goofy was walking behind the dog and when he was just with in reach the dog made a quick U-turn and latched on Goofy's neck and then proceeded to viciously whip him around like a rag doll. The owner of the mean dog tried to get his dog off (shocking him and pulling) but it wasn't fast enough. Poor Goofy had been badly hurt. Later I found out that this particular dog has a history of abuse towards other animals and has even killed another dog before (in his own home!)  I don't understand why someone would have a pet like this to begin with. Why would they also allow this type of uncontrolled violent anger around children and other pets? I was given no warning of this animals tendencies and the owner has made no attempt to contact me (they have my information) and didn't say a word to us when the incident occurred. I don't care about the money I have spent to help my super sweet dog. It's not about that. I really hope that this horrible troubled dog doesn't continue to hurt other animals. I have asked myself a dozen times this weekend "What would Christ do? How would he handle this?" I know we should let things go and forgive. But it's hard when I witness daily the pain my little sweet Goofy is in. 

He 's the most perfect dog in the world and I'm so thankful he seems to be healing well. Time will tell. For now he's all sutured up with a drain placed to help with inflammation and is sentenced to low activity for a couple weeks.

The hike:

Mason's First Job

Mason started his first job today. He was super excited to start working at my dental office. His duties include shredding paperwork, and scanning documents into patient files. He has to attach them to the correct patient file and label them accordingly,. I don't know why I was really nervous for him, he picked up on the sofware quickly and I was impressed with his work ethic. I only hovered and monitored him for a short time period and then I left him at work for a couple hours. When I came back around 5pm my office manager (Grace who is a sweetheart and super nice!) said he did great and asked if he could come back the following day. Mason of course is really excited to earn money and is already planning on what he will do with his new income and also begging me to pick him up early from school so he can get another hour of work in. This kid cracks me up. I'm very proud of him.

School Pictures

My children have always enjoyed school and I am very grateful for that. I never have to wake them  up or drag them out of bed, our mornings have very minimal nagging/urging them to get ready. Even when it comes to homework they are willing to get it done. I love their Elementary school and have been really happy with all they are learning and each of their teachers so far. Franklin East is a little strict about behavior and policies but I love the morals and patriotic code they follow. For example there is a strict dress code of no shorts and modest apparel. It's a little tricky during the hotter months but my kids very rarely complain. Noah cracks me up, He will wear basketball shorts under his pants and on the bus ride home he takes his pants off and puts them in his backpack. I'm fortunate enough to be able to go help in the classrooms and this allows me a closer look into the classroom and how the school is run. It's not a perfect school but I'm very happy with how successful they are.

School pictures... I just love how awkward they can be! :)

  

April's Dance Class

April started Dance this week. this little girl is so adorable. She loved dance class and told everyone we saw that day including strangers at the store that she went to dance. She is talking so much more now. She has a very sensitive spirit. She is very sensitive to contention of anykind. She doesn't like if anyone is yelling or angry. She also has a sensitive nose. She does not like anything that smells strong or different. Yesterday we were in the bathroom and she took a sniff and said "What's that smell!!! Ew! Get out of my nose!" She is easily everyone's favorite and not just in our family. Her 2 best friends are Charlotte (our neighborhood cutie) and Kendalyn her cousin.

California/SeaWorld

The last weekend of the summer before the kids went back to school we took a much needed vacation to California. Heading to California meant we HAD to make plans with Jenessa. She moved to Califonia (LA area) earlier this year and I needed some Nessa time. We got to play with them at the beach Saturday and spend most of the day together Sunday. We hung out at the beach most of our trip and then spent a day at SeaWorld. I LOVE hanging out at the beach but not so much the process of actually getting there. Parking is always a fiasco and I'm sure we must look like a traveling circus with all our equipment and supplies. We must be pretty amusing to watch loading our kids up with toys, towels, food, umbrella and boogie boards. Once we picked a spot we just camped out and stayed for hours, only moving to avoid the incoming tide. 

April was not a huge fan of the Ocean, but she loved the beach. The crashing of the waves scared her and she was very aware of the incoming tide getting closer and closer to our towels and she made sure to let us know when we needed to move back. She kept herself occupied shoveling sand, playing with toys, and searching for sea shells... oh, and I can't forget making friends at the beach. At one point I was trying to take pictures of the boys and Callie on Boogie boards so I would take a pic and then glance back at April in her spot by our stuff. She always stayed in the same area so I didn't worry much about her wandering. One moment she was in her usual spot and the next I couldn't find her. I panicked for a second and scanned the crowded beach looking for her. I was relieved when I found her plopped down on a towel next to a 20 year old girl and what appeared to be a coloring book and crayons. The girl apolozied and explained that she had invited April over to color. As surprised as I was that April had accepted the invitation I couldn't help but smile. I think it's cute when people see how sweet April is and want her around.

Callie wasn't a huge fan of the water either. She did get in a few times and even wanted to try to ride the boogie board.  She caught a couple waves and actually liked it and admitted to having fun but I think the salt water taste wasn't worth the fun to her. She enjoyed playing in the sand with April, sea shell hunting and just hanging out.

Noah was the biggest surprise of all. That kid was fearless and LOVED the Boogie Boards. He scared me a few times because he would just disappear and take off with the board. I'm so happy that he really enjoyed the ocean this year. This was a complete difference from past years of apprehension around the ocean where we could barely talk him into getting in. 

We even found a Sea Slug. Sooooooo gross. I have never heard of one before it felt rubbery and squishy so creepy.

Mason was the same ole crazy Mason.  He and Noah spent most of the time together boogie boarding. The lifeguards had to tell him multiple times to not go out so far from shore. That kid has no fear and just lives to experience everything. I LOVE how he takes life on with out a care in the world. 

I really enjoyed watching Ron out in the water with the kids. Not only does he look really good with out his shirt on he's so good with the kids and kind of a kid himself. 

On Sunday we visited La Jolla Beach to check out all the Sea Lions. Mason and Noah even touched one of them (shhhhh you aren't suppsed to). 

   Then we went to the San Diego Temple and later visited the Mormon Battalion Historic Site. The Mormon Battalion was a really fun and engaging tour highlighting the history of the Mormon Battllion as told through the eyes of a few individual's life stories. All our kids were entertained and I was surprised by how much I really enjoyed it as well.

Sea World was... I'm not sure how to explain it. I would say Sea World was an experience. A hot, humid, grumpy, tiring, exhilerating, enlightening, rushed, crowded experience all bundled into one day. We arrived at Sea World right when it opened at 10am and didn't leave until it closed at 10pm. In hind sight there are a few things I would have done differently. For example. I wouldn't go in the month of August ever again. LOL Sea World has always been this magical place to me. A place that is entertaining and fun for all ages. Because there is a wide variety of things to do I don't feel like it's ever too crowded. Well... I've never been to Sea World in August before. It was a little more crowded and a million times warmer! Blah. Some of the highlights from Seaworld:

Callie riding Atlantis for the first time and LOVING every second of it. She wanted to ride it over and over. 

April LOVED the Shark Tank aka Fish tank

I had April at the Polar Bear exhibit while everyone else was riding a roller coaster. We got to see a walrus up close, feel the ice wall, and look at some beautiful Balooga Whales. As we were leaving the exhibit April turns to me and says "Mom. I want to go see the Unicorns now" She can be so cute sometimes... I just love this little peanut.  

    

 Sea World has a new ride called the Electric Eel. This ride can only be described as a bunch of loops with forward and backwards motion going 0 to 60mph in an instant. Noah refused to ride it which is fine, I wasn't going to make him. I have learned with Noah that he just has to think about things for a while, and in this case, he needed more than a day to decide to ride it. Unfotunately we only had one day at SeaWorld so he didn't get to experience it. On the ride home our family was discussing our favorite parts of the trip. Mason's was the Beach, Callie answered "Atlantis" and I laughed when Noah said something along the lines of "riding the new Electric Eel ride." When I pointed out that he didn't actually ride it he responded "I know. But I want to ride it the next time we come. I'm sure that would have been my favorite" Oh Noah.