Things are Lookin' Up!

Well, it's been almost four [knock on wood] days of "normal" Bentley. Almost as mysteriously as his panosteitis came about, it has slowed down. I don't want to say "gone away" because I'm sure it's still there or may spark up at any time. The doctor said he could have it for months or years. But at the very least, his pain and anti-inflammatory meds have done their job.

We've had to restrict him a bit on his playtime, which he doesn't seem to be a fan of based on the whining he does while sitting by the backdoor. I at least try to keep him from not somersaulting in the backyard like he usually does. (yes, he somersaults.) He will actually run to the top of our slightly slanted yard, stand for a moment (as if a gymnast waving their arms so uselessly before they run diagonally across the floor mat), and then sprint full force down through the yard before ducking his head and tumbling. He loves it.

When we're inside, we try to gate off one room at a time so he has room to play and have fun, but not so much room that he can spontaneously take off, circle the kitchen table, run back to the bedroom, back out the hallway, and back to the living room. Now, he can just circle the coffee table 16 times. Small steps, people, small steps. :) We have a pet sitter coming to let him out this week and next until our Messiah students get settled. She said she absolutely adores him and couldn't wait until today to come back and see him again.

Allie visited this past weekend. She didn't exactly get to see the lively puppy I've mentioned so much. She probably thought I was crazy when I told her he runs around like crazy and is super hyper, because he was pretty dreary while she was here. Seth and I took shifts so I could go with Allie to Pizza Hut, our must-do when we have our weekend visits. Because, you know, no visit is complete without such a high class restaurant.

Plus, Seth just doesn't enjoy the finer things in life like Pizza Hut and funfetti cupcakes like Allie does. He practically throws up when I mention the hut, so it's nice to have someone who so willingly wants to go and order dinner for two. And (GASP) he hates sprinkles on his cupcakes, so funfetti in our house made the real way is a sin!

But regardless of Bentley's condition over the weekend, we had lots of fun and it was great to see her! And the cuddling with Bentley while watching an all-day marathon of Friends wasn't too shabby!

Some really good news: the breeder has offered to give us a full refund for Bentley while still getting to keep him, because the mere thought of not having him makes me super sad. He was beyond apologetic and very helpful. In fact, he even called back last night to tell me that he made some calls and did some reasearch to come up with a list of things that might help Bentley get better faster.

Tonight, the Stones come to our house. Mary Kate moves into Messiah tomorrow so they are staying at our house a mile from Messiah to beat the crowd (smart, huh?)! We're excited to have them stay with us!

That's all for now! :)

Bentley's Diagnosis

We saw a veterinary orthopaedic specialist today outside of Philadelphia. In true Bentley fashion, he was crazy excited this morning and acting totally fine. As mentioned yesterday, why wouldn't he be?! He's going to the specialist of course. He thought he'd mix it up a bit and throw us for a loop (or maybe he was playing one of those games where he acts like he's fine so he doesn't have to go to the "v" place again).

Nonetheless, we went anyway. Before the doctor came in, he was running around the exam room, playing with his toys, barking at anything and everything--just plain old "like normal," which practically made me cry tears of joy. It was hard to see him so down this past week. So two days of normalcy was a welcomed sight!!

The doc took some more X-rays and confirmed what the vet on Thursday told us--he has a condition called panosteitis. Basically, it is swelling of the bones in his legs, or "growing pains." Doesn't sound so bad, except that he got this about 3 months before puppies typically even start getting it, so the vet said we could be in for the long haul. Let's pray that he can beat the odds on that front as well.

There isn't much we can do except keep him comfortable and fairly pain free. He seemed fine without his meds this morning, so maybe the pain isn't too bad. But, he's going to stay on his low-protein diet, "rest" as much as a boxer puppy can (including keeping him on a leash to go to the bathroom so he doesn't take off across the yard!, confining him to one room while he plays so he can't just take off through the house), and no treats. You heard right: the doctor said no commercially available treats. Unless, of course, they are carrots, celery, or plain rice cakes--yum. Poor thing! I've heard lots of people tell me their dog loves carrots though, so let's hope Bentley is one of them! I'm sure he'll love the rice cakes though!!

Into hiding will go his Pup-peronies, Milk Bones, and beef flavored bones. Hopefully we can break them out again in a few weeks. We're told that this can last up until they are full grown, sometimes less, with bouts of being fine and bouts of hurting.

For now though, we'll follow the doctors instructions to a "t" and will try to keep him somewhat calm while playing. He'll stay on his pain meds for about 4 more weeks. After that, we need to monitor them closely so it doesn't turn into kidney or liver problems, much like a human could get.

Let's all pray that he'll have a good quality of life (everything I read said that once it's "gone," there are no long-term side effects so that's great), that he'll be pain free, the swelling will go down (and STAY down!), that he won't go lame again, and that he'll have fun playing low-key! HA! Low key!

We'll keep you posted--for now, he's at home resting!

Bentley update

It's been a stressful week to say the least. New hours at work and a sick puppy. It absolutely broke my heart to see him so miserable and not able to play. He so badly wanted to run around, go to the bathroom by himself, eat without being hand fed, etc.

After seeing 3 different vets, no one can seem to pinpoint what is wrong with him. Vet 1 said "it's a sprain." I knew he was nuts from the second I met him, so I didn't buy it. He was so rude to us, and I fully intend on writing a letter to the company. The next day--and Vet 2--said he had a condition called panosteitis. Also odd, we thought, since pano typically doesn't hit until 6 months or more. But what do we know??

He started to walk a tiny bit on Friday afternoon, but we soon started seeing he might have signs of a UTI. By Saturday morning, he was at the worst we've seen him. He couldn't walk at all, and his left legs looked like a full-grown boxer they were so swollen. He hardly lifted his head for the vet. This vet was dead honest with us and said that he hasn't seen anything so unusual in such a small puppy, and referred us to an orthopaedic specialist near Philadelphia. He gave him some meds for his UTI (we were right) and some new pain meds.

I freaked momentarily about the cost, but realized I'd pick up a 2nd job for the little guy :)

This is what his chest/leg swells looked like on Saturday morning:

Thank God, the pain meds kicked in pretty well right away, and he jumped up all of a sudden and started playing.

Our appt at the specialist is scheduled for tomorrow morning. Thankfully, my mom is riding along with me since it's Seth's first day of school and he can't miss it. All day today, Bentley has been seemingly fine. Of course he is. Why would he be at his worst when we see the specialist that will prevent me from buying a new piece of clothing for months?!?! That's how it always works, right? :) But we still want to take him to make sure he doesn't have a chronic condition. For all we know, the pain meds are just that good.

You can check out our dropshots to see happier pictures/videos of him playing and hanging out at Carlisle prepping Seth's classroom!

Bentley

Bentley is having some growing pain issues in his legs, and it is making if very hard for him to stand/walk. We know he desperately wants to run around and play, but the pain is just too bad. He is on meds, some new food with less protein, and bed rest--which is certainly not fun for a boxer. Fortunately, my boss is amazing and completely understood that I'd need to be home with him today on short notice.

VAC Syndrome

Remember a few weeks ago when I told you I think I have a smidge of OCD? :) Well, it's back. Sort of. Actually, I think it's more like VAC (Visitors Are Coming!!!) Syndrome. Because, on a general basis, our house is fairly cleaned up and in order.

But yet it always seems like there are always those one or two fourteen projects that are just sitting there, waiting to be done. We have company coming this weekend, and a few times over the next month or so. Plus, I had a stressful day at work yesterday. Rumor has it that there is no time like the present, so I walked in the door on a mission.

I donned my ugliest outfit, and I painted. Oh, I painted to my little heart's desire.

And today? Yep, you guessed it! I came home and painted again.

I am now proud to say that the kitchen window is painted, the blinds are hung, and all the trim in the master bath is now painted--ready for our visitors!

Hallelujah. We've put that off way too long!

So, if you want to be a true friend, you'll plan a visit to Seth and I sometime soon. Perhaps that will push me to clean out the hall closet and reorganize the pantry. :)

Oh, the Encouragement.

So, our boss at work was feeling super generous and gave us the ability to work flex schedules--meaning that we can make our own schedules as long as it adds up to 40 hours a week. Of course, it needs to be consistent week to week, so we are being given a few weeks trial period to try out some different scenarios.

I could not possibly work 4 consistent 10-hour days for just one day off, so I am trying 4 9-hour days with a 1/2 day every Friday.

This week is trial week #1.

So, in true morning-bird fashion, my alarm went off. At 5:28 a.m. As in 32 minutes before the crack of dawn. And the "conversation" went something like this:

[Groggy Seth rolls over, squints, and looks at his alarm clock and turns to me] Seth: Is this your new get up time?

Me: Yep.

Seth: Oh wow. [Groggy Seth rolls back over and goes back to sleep]

Ah, the encouragement. :)

He doesn't make a peep until I'm ready to walk out the door. He decides to let Bentley out and put him back in his crate so he can get a little more sleep. I was asking him questions and he was responding with odd answers, so I decided I would just call him later from work to catch up about his trip.

(Disclaimer: Seth, I love you. But I have to share this funny story.)

When I did call him from work later in the morning, he was still clearly dead tired. Granted, he did drive 11 straight hours, deal with a lost birth certificate of one of the kid's at the border, etc. But Bentley has other ideas for when it appropriate to wake up for the day. I asked Seth if he fed the dog. He told me he did. And then it hit me--I never told him that I had switched Bentley's food, and to be safe, was mixing 1/2 of the old and 1/2 of the new food to ease him into it.

Well, sure enough, he gave him all new stuff. Oh well, no big deal. I read up on the food, looked healthy, and Bentley really seems to like it.

I told Seth that what I liked most was the little black beads of vitamins/dried fruit/veggies mixed sporadically throughout the food (Bentley thinks they are little treats!).

"Those little black things were vitamins?!," he said. "Oh, I thought they were burnt pieces of food and picked them out."

I laughed until it hurt.

Tomorrow, Bentley, you will get your antioxidants.

Hersheypark

Today is our team-building day at work. At noon, we are leaving for Hersheypark, where I fully intend to ride the new rollercoaster, Fahrenheit:

It will be a fun day...and a nice break from the craziness of work!

Why I Call it the "Death Hike"

Camping was lovely. We had beautiful weather--in the 50s for most of the time actually. It only rained one day off and on, and it really wasn't very long when it did. Our friends Mike and Sarah are a blast--hopefully we'll be able to camp with them again soon.

The first night was pretty much just set up, building a fire, and hanging out. But the second day, we kicked the camping trip into full gear. The men went on an all-out wood gathering mission. As in Sarah and I wondered if they walked to New York to get wood they were gone so long. No sooner had I strung up the laundry line to hang wet clothes, and I turn around and it's gone. Seems as though the boys took the line down, tied a rock to it, and were throwing it up over dead tree branches to get the best ones.

As Sarah and I got tired of sitting alone, we begged the boys to go on a hike. The perfect way to kick off a camping weekend, right? Since Ricketts Glen is known for their pretty waterfalls, we wanted to be sure to see some of them while the weather was nice. To cease the nagging, the boys stopped hunting/gathering and headed out for our "moderate" hike--a peasley little 3.8 mile hike through the Red Rock Mountain.

I know 3.8 miles doesn't sound like a big deal, but in hindsight, I think Mike and Seth knew that this particular hike would punish us for nagging because this was not just any 3.8 mile hike. Because I can handle a 3.8 mile hike. This hike was 2,500 feet straight down, walk, walk, walk and then 2,500 feet straight back up the narrowest, slippery trails ever.

All was fine and well until we got to the bottom and the skies opened up. Not exactly what I want when I know I have over 2 miles out on steep rocks. I think I hardly got the words "I am so over this hiking thing...I really just want to go ba-" when WHAM, my feet kick out from under me and I fall FACE DOWN onto a nice pile of rocks, hitting parts of a woman that should never be hit at that force. After 3 black and blue marks, 2 brushburned hands, 1 sore sternum, and 1 extremely sore back (on top of my minorly sore back), and 1 bruised ego, I was officially done with hiking.

It was the sign that it was time to head out.

Three hours and way too much personal turmoil later, we ended what was dubbed the "death hike" for the rest of the weekend.

The next day, we ended up doing another 3 mile hike, which was do-able. And I survived. And suffered no more bruising.

Honestly, it was a great time though. We look forward to doing it again soon.

Next time, though, I'll know to think twice when I hear the words "moderate hike." :)

Camping

Seth and I will be spending the next four days "roughing it" with our friends Mike and Sarah. We will be camping at Ricketts Glen State Park.

Seth's idea of "roughing it" (and, might I add, was his original idea) was backpack camping. For all those unseasoned campers, his and Mike's suggestion was that we pack all of our things into a teeny tiny little backpack and walk. Walk until we find a nice, cozy place to set up camp and eat baked beans out of a can until the next day when we wake up and do it all over again. I think he forgot who he married when he even considered mentioning that idea to me. Because I could think of no greater torture than that.

My idea of "roughing it" is to have electricity at our campsite and be within sight of the fully functional bathroom/shower area. I mean, seriously, if we don't have electricity, how, oh how, will we charge our cell phones?! Don't ask me...And personally, I think camping would be easier if I could load everything into the mini-fridge, drive it to Ricketts Glen, and plug it in. Voila! No ice needed!

But I lost that battle. We don't have electricity, and we are not within sight of the bathroom. I'm sure Seth will feel bad when I get eaten by a mountain lion on my way to the bathroom at 2:00 a.m.

I am very excited though! I do love camping and it's been awhile since we've seen Mike and Sarah. We'll do some hiking (Ricketts Glen has beautiful waterfalls, maybe rent boats, sit by the fire, play some games, etc!).

Bentley will be spending his weekend with Michelle and Jason. He'll probably be in his glory because they have 2 boxers. I'm sad to leave him--it's like sending a kid to summer camp! :( His bag is all packed and his crate will get disassembled when I get home. (sidenote: he slept through the night last night with no crying whatsoever!!!)

Next weekend he'll be spending the weekend in NJ meeting looots of new people. Even though Seth can't come, Bentley and I are excited to make the trip and see everyone!

Have a great weekend! We'll be back Sunday!

Wishful Thinking...

What we wish Bentley would do between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.

What Bentley does not do between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.

I am sleep deprived. Really, really sleep deprived. But, as a generous favor, Michelle and Jason offered to watch Bentley while we go camping with our friends, Mike and Sarah, this weekend.
Guess the joke's on them.

I think I will pay them 1000 american dollars if they can get him to sleep through the night. Or sleep for more than 2 hours at a time.

We love him though. Really, we do. :)

This Sums Up Last Night!

Ran's Dog Park

Tonight will be exciting. For the very first time ever, Seth and I will be hosting an outdoor extravaganza at our house with 5 (yes, I said 5) boxer dogs! My friend, Tricia, and her fiancee have 2 boxer puppies, and my sister and Jason have 2 boxers (one puppy, one grown), and they are all coming over for dinner and some puppy playtime tonight.

Please pray for my sanity. And Bentley. He has an upset stomach and I'm sure he won't want to miss the fun that arrives at 6:00 p.m. Many pictures to follow, I'm sure.

Enjoy your day!