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We had a bit of a crisis on Wednesday. Stoli hadn’t been feeling well all of Tuesday. She wasn’t going potty, eating, drinking, she was depressed and lethargic and all she wanted to do was sleep. So on Wednesday I took her to the vet to see what was going on. Unfortunately even though I called when they opened they couldn’t fit her in until 2:40. Initially we thought she was depressed and stressed by Dude but then we started thinking that maybe she had Parvo because her symptoms sounded similar and it’s common in puppies so we thought maybe Dude have given it to her.

We were at the vet for over 2 hours but finally they figured out what was wrong with her. She has a parasite that the vet thinks she got while we were in Virginia because it’s (the parasite) not common to Colorado. He thinks its been working its way through her system and has just now reached the large intestine (he saw it on the x-rays) and that’s why she’s feeling symptoms now. I don’t think the stomach is very hospitable for the larva to hatch. The vet said that the parasite being in her is similar to colitis in humans. He doesn’t know if it’s causing any blockage but he also saw gas pockets on her x-ray as well. They gave her subcutaneous (under the skin) fluids that have been slowly releasing fluids into her system. It’s not as fast as an IV but she would have had to stay at the vet overnight for that and I’m afraid we all would have been stressed out about that.

Now that Stoli’s home she’s on twice-daily antibiotics and once daily, Panacur, which is a powder, we have to hide in people food so she’ll take. We were originally given the liquid formula to put in dropper down her throat but she coughed most of that up so the powder is turning out to be the better option for her. The good news is she’s not vomiting or having diarrhea because those symptoms would indicate the parasite is causing more severe damage to her system. The vet wasn’t able to give an estimate as to how soon she’ll be feeling better but the Panacur she only gets for three days and the antibiotics for a week. She’s already feeling a little better. She still doesn’t want to eat or drink but is going just fine eating ham, turkey, and tuna and getting her water from the dropper that I squirt in her mouth. The vet recommended three cups a day and she went a little above that yesterday. As of right now, Stoli’s only had a cup of water, so I need to get some more fluids in her so she can flush that parasite out of her system faster.

I also posted more pictures in the gallery. They start on page 5.

Not only did I post the pics of Dude, I finally added the pics from John’s trip out here. The camera battery is charging again for the second time in 24 hours. Dude is having a love/hate relationship with the camera. He’s a ham but he’s tried to eat the camera. Night one went well with no accidents although there was a 5:30 wakeup call. Stoli was not happy at waking up four hours early and tried to eat Dude more than once. I feel so bad for Stoli but I’m hoping the adjustment phase won’t last too long. I foresee many more nights of fleeting sleep.

After a long wait, Dude has finally joined the family!!! We found a breeder here in the Springs who had four absolutely adorable male bullies that were ready to go this weekend. The Gazette sent out free issues on Wednesday to advertise the new Walmart opening in Falcon and I found the website for the breeder in the classified section. The breeder said that the puppies were getting a lot of interest and two of the girls (there were 7 in the litter) had sold already. We ended up going by to look at the puppies and the mom on Thursday night and putting a deposit down. We could take him till today because I guess by law breeders can’t release them till they’re 8 weeks, only one day shy at this point. I’m bummed I didn’t know about them before but the time is finally right and this is the first time they’ve approached marketing with a website which I’m thinking is going to be a success.

Dude will be 8 weeks old tomorrow which makes his birthday May 27th – the day after our anniversary. I was hoping it’d be on our anniversary since Stoli shares her birthday with Sara but this is close enough. We didn’t get Stoli until she was 4 months old so he seems so teeny tiny at 7 pounds. He loves to give kisses and nibbles on the nose and is a bit of ankle biter, a habit I want to break early.

We took the kids and met my parents at Petsmart this afternoon to pick up some needed supplies for the newest addition and of course to get Stoli some toys too. People mentioned two or three times that we were like the Petsmart commercial, well not quite but hopefully we’ll get there. Nana and Papa brought the kids their own quilts – pink flowers for Stoli and blue sports theme for Dude. So far they seem to like the other’s blanket better than their own but I guess that’s just how kids are. Since we got up so early this morning to prepare for Dude and the two are turning out to be a handful everyone’s asleep but me. I guess I should take a nap while I have the chance.

Pictures will be in the gallery soon….

We went to go see Harry Potter with my parents this afternoon. We were expecting long lines after seeing the lines last weekend but we just walked in and had our pick of the seats. It wasn’t even as full as Transformers was. Although I’m thinking that playing the movie on four screens probably thinned the crowds out somewhat. The movie was darker than some of the past ones but was very good although a little slow to start. I’m glad I didn’t pay the extra money to see it on the IMAX.

For dinner we tried out a new sushi place, AI. We were all starving after eating lightly all day and sitting through a long movie but then we had horrible service. We were in there for an hour and a half and people that were seated after us (multiple tables) were leaving before us. I’ll only return if I’m not starving before I go because the sushi was actually pretty good and they have a teppanyaki bar that I want to try out. I’m guessing the service has got to be better there. Still worthwhile and it’s so close that it’s worth a return trip. I can’t wait to try the sushi happy hour that Alison is raving about in Phoenix next!

First off, Happy Birthday to Mom (yesterday) and to Marla (today)! Last night we did an informal birthday dinner for Mom at the Elephant Bar and had a lot of fun. I do not recommend their new Southwest Shrimp (something something) salad. The dish is not coherent at all, there’s a broken fried corn tortilla on the plate, black beans, and jalapeños – the southwestern part stops there because then there’s feta and watermelon with a balsamic dressing. There’s too many other great things on the menu to waste your time with this salad.

My uncle John was here from July 7-16. We had a great time and am excited to say that he’s going to be moving here in September! Unfortunately for the majority of John’s stay, Casey was on call but we managed to still have a good time with most pages happening at bedtime. We bought a new stainless steel gas grill on Sunday so we had a couple of BBQs to break it in while John was here. I also had an interview last Monday in Castle Rock which was my first since becoming gainfully unemployed. It makes me thing my resume redesign was worthwhile. Anyways, we did a lot of shopping and eating out while he was here as well. Saturday night as another celebration of Mom’s birthday he and I each made our signature enchiladas and I also whipped up some homemade salsa (I miss my food processor). Sunday, we had brunch at the Egg & I before saying our goodbyes and taking John the airport. Afterwards Casey, Jim, and I all went to go see Transformers. We attempted to go to the 2:45 showing even though we showed up at 2:50 but apparently the movie is still playing to almost sold out theaters and we were told we would be in the first row if we tried it. We opted for the next showing at 3:30 which was also quite full. Before the movie started a lady and her (I’m guessing) 3 and 4 year old boys walked up and asked down teh aisle if the three seats next to Casey were open and we said yes, well she sends her boys down there to save their seats and she leaves to go buy popcorn. Um, seriously? I was pleasantly surprised at (a) how well behaved all the kids in the theater were and (b) that I actually enjoyed the movie. I got overruled by two boys wanting to see Transformers while I wanted to see Harry Potter – it’s a good thing we didn’t go see it cause the lines were ridicorous for opening weekend so the plan is to see it this weekend. While we were in the theater John was texting me letting me know that he had been bumped off his flight and wouldn’t be leaving till early the next morning. When the movie was over we walked over to Old Chicago’s where he and mom were waiting. Old C’s has their summer beer tour going right now and while we were hoping to actually finish a tour it doesn’t look like this is the one we will. Casey and I each only have 5 of the 11 beers and the tour ends in a week. Oh well, at least we all got one more meal in with John before he headed back to work.

I could keep going but don’t want to punish our readers because I’m bad at posting more regularly. That is all.