Beware the quiet

So... I was thinking... things were pretty quiet around here. Not a lot going on. Things are progressing with the business. All's quiet on the home front. FedEx hasn't ticked me off in at least a month. We're rolling along pretty well.

I should learn not to think.

First of all, we did have a relatively uneventful Memorial Day weekend. Had a bit of a "staycation" where Richard was determined that we have fun, dangitall, if it was the last thing we ever did. To that end, we went to see Iron Man 2 (I'm totally convinced Robert Downey Jr isn't acting) and went to the needlepoint store in Buckhead where, of course, I spent too much money. Found a couple of cute canvases and got the threads to match.

On Sunday we took Penny to the dog park that we discovered near our house. Rollicking good time, right? Uh, Penny didn't get the memo.
Maybe it was the fact that there were no other small dogs in that section of the dog park. Maybe it was foreshadowing of things to come. At any rate, the Pennster was Not. Happy. with the situation. For awhile she wouldn't even move. When we got her to take a few steps, she'd stop and stare at us until we finally relented and brought her home to her comfy sofa.

We spent the rest of the holiday watching a "Hoarders" marathon, cleaning house, and trying to convince ourselves that our house really wasn't that messy...

Oh yeah... the quiet part. On Tuesday night, Penny was unusually quiet while the ladies from stitch group invaded the house. Their presence, particularly in open-toed shoes and flip-flops, would usually mean an evening of "No, Penny. No Toes." and chasing her down to retrieve the shoes she'd filched from underneath the dining table. She made off with a flip-flop, but her heart wasn't in it; she spent most of the time in Richard's lap. After everyone left... we found out why as she started throwing up. The third time, when I saw traces of blood, it was off to the Emergency Vet.

Her Packed Cell Volume was high -- like HGE high -- so Penny ended up spending the night in the hospital getting fluids and medicines to quiet her tummy. As it turns out, we got her there just in time -- she threw up 4 more times with even more blood. No diarrhea as is often seen in HGE. We left the ER around 2 and I was back at 7:30 to get her and take her directly to our vet for more fluids and medicine. Dr. Weaver wasn't in (drat!!), but Dr. Nunn did a good job taking care of Penny and keeping me well informed as to what was going on. They took x-rays of her tummy as a precaution to make sure she hadn't chowed down on a foreign object (I didn't think so, but I was willing to go along with it to rule things out). She got to come home late that afternoon, and DF Andy was gracious enough to come puppy sit for us last night so we could go to handbell and choir practice. (We have a music program at church on Sunday, and it was essential that we be at rehearsal.)

This is Penny's second round of HGE. They don't know for sure what causes it. Dachshunds seem prone to it, and Oscar had it several times during his lifetime. It's fatal if untreated, and catching it early is best. I know the receptionist at the Emergency Vet thought I was nuts for bringing my dog in for throwing up three times, but I'm familiar with the symptoms and I knew she needed treatment pronto. The vet there was very nice; turns out she grew up with a wirehaired dachshund and currently does German Shorthaired Pointer rescue.

So, Penny's now resting at home on a diet of roasted chicken. Tough life.

During all this event with Penny, my friends on Ravelry, Facebook and Twitter were a lifeline. My friend Jen posted updates to Ravelry after I'd tweeted, and so many people tweeted their encouragement and prayers. I hadn't realized how much I'd come to depend on my extended cyber family for support during trying times. I know some folks don't "get" Twitter... but it's times when you're really looking for some comfort and support that you can throw something out there and get immediate response and can see that you've got folks who have your back. :)

Today my friend and client Vicki Tag came over to bring some paperwork for the business, and she brought her little girl, Melia, with her. Penny recovered from death's door to have a vigorous play date with Melia! There was much stealing of flip-flops... much gentle nibbling of toes... and much squealing and puppy kisses all around.

Sometimes a visit from a little girl is the best medicine of all. :)