"Dogs Got Past Away" by Addison

While going through Addison's school papers one day, I came across this little homemade "book" by Addison and her friend, Kendal. She still misses Bentley so much, evidenced by these sweet little things she draws and makes. My sister's dog, Lexi, is the other dog featured in the book. Lexi died a few weeks before Bentley. :(

The loss of our best friend

January 25 is a day that I wish I wouldn't have to write about. After 10.5 years, we said goodbye to our best pal. Bentley came into our lives in 2008 on a hot summer day. We had picked him out of the litter just two weeks before, claiming him as ours. We always joked over those 10.5 years how funny it was that we picked him because that sweet boy had quite a few random medical problems. But oh, what a perfect boy he was for us; we never regretted picking him for even one second! We knew he was ours from the second the breeder brought him out and he quickly ran to Seth and clung to his leg while all the other puppies huddled together with each other. Bentley sort of picked us! And LOOK AT THAT SWEET PUPPY!

 

He was honestly just the most perfect dog - we can't believe how lucky we got. Aside from the occasionally eating of crayons, he never had accidents inside, didn't chew anything and was so obedient. And PATIENT. Oh, was he patient. We saw that big time when we had kids. He was never super playful with the kids but was always exactly where they/we were, being as tolerant as ever while we dressed him, made him dance, wrestled him, kissed him, put crowns on him, and more. 

He also loved himself a good nap. His favorite spot was on the couch, right on top of my pretty throw pillows. What a sweet stinker! He loved the car, playing with the laser light or flashlight in the hallway, chasing (and sometimes killing) bunnies, and going for walks and car rides.

He also LOVED Christmas because he loved to open presents. He would go nuts when we told him it was his turn to open something! We had a feeling that Christmas 2018 may be his last Christmas. I'm so glad we spoiled him like we did. He HATED the vet and would get so nervous his knees would be wobbly whenever we had to go. So it is a bit of a cruel irony that the precious pup would be plagued with so many tumors and bumps in his life. We always took them off, and did so as recently as November 2018. He was doing so well after that surgery which is why we began to get confused when he started refusing the food he'd been eating for over 10 years. It began gradually but then got to the point where we were trying a new food each week. We naively thought he was just being picky because when I started making him homemade food (with beef, chicken, veggies, vitamins, etc.) he would gobble it down.

But even after two weeks of that, he started to refuse. The vet had told me that she suspected he had cancer or some sort of gastro tumor. The barium swallow test for it was super expensive so we had originally declined, but when he continued to lose weight and throw up, we decided to go for it. The vet called me within 30 minutes of dropping him off, so I knew it wasn't good. She advised us that he had a very large abdominal mass and that there is nothing to be done for him at this age and with the tumor at that size. She could tell it was also aggressive in its nature because it was not on his November 2018 scans. :( She told us in her professional opinion, she would put him down that weekend (we found out on Friday). So as not to delay it or make him suffer any longer, we decided it would be best and most humane to put him down that evening.

We spoiled him that day...big time. We got that stud a cheeseburger, a sundae, took him on two walks, played lots of flashlight chase, and more. We told him how much we loved him and how much joy be brought us. Seth and I were with him when he passed away. 

What a heartbreaking, gut-wrenching experience for our family. Bentley was the epitome of loyal, patient, loving, and the all-around best dog a family could ask for. Life isn't quite the same without him. It's quiet and weird and it's going to take some time to adjust. It'll take some time for us to know if another dog is in our future. I think yes, but that pain was deep and raw and it's hard to imagine loving a dog that much and losing him again. So, we wait and we let our hearts heal. 

The kids asked a lot of we'd seem him in heaven, and I don't know the answer to that. But I do know that when God created the animals he said it was good and I think heaven will be FULL of those magnificent things. God gives good gifts to His children, and He gave us the perfect one in this dog, and we're so thankful we found him in July 2008 and for all the joy he brought to us, our neighbors, our family and friends in 10.5 years. We love you, Bentley! (aka Bubba, Bubs, Snoop Dog, Muffin, baby doggy, and all the other ridiculous names we called him)

Bentley "Maximus" Ran
June 7, 2008 - January 25, 2019

When it rains, it pours

I swear, this time of year is always frustrating in terms of financial things that come up. You know the drill, I'm sure. Annual car insurance due. Need new tires. Both cars need their "big" regular maintenance. Christmas shopping. New home needs. All in one or two months. Stressful and frustrating.

And--on top of it all--Bentley has a little tumor of some sort (been there awhile; thankfully doesn't seem to be growing) on his shoulder and his ear hematoma is back. He gets blood-filled ear flaps from excessive shaking of his head. In the past, they've gone away naturally, but the one he's got now is kind of bad and worse than he's ever had. And...I'm sort of over it. WHY does this happen every year with excessive expenses? Sigh...

For now, I'll be praying (really hard) that his ear issue resolves itself ASAP. The tumor removal estimate was $1000 so we obviously opted to not do that right now. I'm sure the ear surgery would be just as much so I'd love to avoid that at all costs. 

When it rains, it pours.

Update on Bentley

I took Bentley to the regular vet today for his annual check-up and had a chance to ask him about the "bump" in his mouth before our specialist appointment next week. Thank GOD, the bump is not a bump at all, but an actual part of a dog's anatomy called the incisive papilla. Who knew??? The vet said that most people never notice it on their dogs (it's on the roof of the mouth, directly behind the front two teeth), but when they do, they always freak. :) I'm just thankful that ends the worry! Phew!

Prayers for B.

When it rains, it pours, right? Aside from Addison being sick, lumps being found (and okay'd), car issues needing to be fixed, all the yearly bills due, and general fun of work, Seth noticed yesterday that Bentley has another tumor-like growth in his mouth.

I was literally nauseous after he told me, and Bentley is now scheduled with the specialist the Thursday after Thanksgiving.

Please pray incredibly hard with us that this is just a random cyst that means nothing, and not another round of the epuli. Unfortunately, I think we've hit our medical spending limit on him, and we're just not sure we can put another $4K+ into this again. We'll update when we know more.

Another Bentley Update

The surgeon just called and said they got Bentley's second set of biopsy results back and the margins are clear. Thank God!!!

You know what else she said? That there were no tumor cells at all in this biopsy (which means we wouldn't have had to do the surgery the second time...). Ugh. There's no way we would've known without doing the surgery as a "just to be safe" but MAN, I wish she wouldn't have told me that!

Here's to hoping the cone officially comes off on Thursday. I need to touch up the paint throughout my WHOLE HOUSE because of that thing. :)

Bentley Update - Surgery, Part 2

Bentley is doing pretty well. In fact, yesterday, he seemed significantly more lively than he did after his first surgery and this one was more serious/invasive. He did his business and ate within an hour or two of being home which were the things they told us to watch for.

Overnight and this morning, he's been a bit whiny and unsettled. He's on a Fentanyl patch for pain, but I had no idea of the side effects. When I called the surgeon to schedule his 2-week follow up this morning, I asked those questions. They said that this patch makes dogs very anxious so it's completely normal. She said today and tomorrow morning will probably be the worst.

Of course, he's sort of refusing food now, but she said to get anything in him we can so that we don't have to remove the patch (if he won't eat by this afternoon, we have to remove it which just equals more pain). I told her human food should NOT be an issue, and I was right. I gave him a scrambled egg with cheese and he destroyed it. She said to try a hot dog at lunch. I think we may have a happy dog at that point. :)

Anyway, he lost another baby tooth in the front and the canine tooth on the bottom right, looking at him. He is back in the cone for two more weeks and she told us to keep him leashed when outside for two weeks. I have one thing to say to that: hahahahahahaha. Again I say....three-year-old, male boxer. Hard to "keep him down."

Thanks for prayers for the little guy. Keep 'em coming, especially that this biopsy comes back completely clear. The one surgeon told us yesterday that Bentley is the first dog she's ever seen that has needed to have this surgery repeated. OF COURSE, though I'm not surprised. He's our medical marvel. :)

Quick Bentley Update

I am at a loss for words at the things that continue to happen to our family in the past three weeks. Between Bentley's tumor,/surgery, the garage door, me rear-ending someone, and every other thing under the sun you can think of, I'm about to have a nervous breakdown.

I know a few of you were waiting on an update, so I'll make this short. Bentley's biopsy results came back today. The cysts in the back were normal, and the tumor in the front is not cancer though it is a benign tumor that acts as cancer and is incredibly aggressive. The margins around the tumor that was removed are not clear, which would necessitate another surgery to be sure he is cured. Adopting a "wait and see" approach will likely mean it's only a matter of time until it returns and we do it all over again.

I'm so upset about this--not only because we love our dog to death but because this is certainly not how I envisioned spending thousands of dollars before our second child arrived.

Prayers would be appreciated. We are a grumpy, sad, tired  mess right now and it just seems like the hits keep on coming. His surgery is next Thursday.

Updated: We met with the surgeon this morning; his surgery is next Thursday. They will go back in, remove additional jawbone, the canine tooth beside the tumor location, and another small incisor in the front. We'll go back to blending his food and him wearing a cone. They did say his pain will be worse this next time so he'll wear a pain patch on the back of a leg to deliver a continuous dose of medication. Poor thing.

Update on Bentley

Our muffin came through surgery just fine, though I'm certain we'll be eating ramen noodles until Jesus returns.

He did, in fact, have an epulis, which is a tumor most common in boxers.

He had the tumor removed, and a tooth on each side of the tumor and 1 cm of bone below was removed as well. While the doctor was examining him yesterday morning, he also noticed in counting his teeth that he was missing two other teeth (the ones right behind the fangs on the bottom), and said they'd do X-rays to check if they were just impacted (and if they were, remove them too). Well, they were impacted, so they came out as well. On one of the teeth (sorry, I thought it was both, which I mentioned to some of you) there was a cyst, which the doctor said is good we caught now because that would have also become problematic.

I had a work event last night, but Seth and Carter went to Maryland to pick him up. Seth said he was out of it from anesthesia, but did well on the ride home. He had a pretty good night overnight though sighed and whined a lot of it. We're sure he was in pain, but he refused his pills last night so there wasn't much we could do.

I made him homemade food, and this morning, he was starving and tanked it! We also put his pills in peanut butter and he lapped that right up as well. He's super annoyed with his cone (photos coming soon) and Carter is terrified of him with it on, but oh well. Two weeks of cone and soft foods and a re-check by the surgeon and hopefully we'll be good as new.

Pray that the biopsies come back that it isn't cancer and this would be the end of this mess. We love grandpa gums too much! :) We did joke though that he still has more teeth than his Uncle Carmelo (Michelle and Jason's boxer, who knocked some out in an accident a few years ago when he ran into the shed). Haha, we love you Carm!

Bentley Update

Tonight, we have an appointment with our regular vet for one last visit before we visit the oral surgeon specialist for what I'm now fully assuming is a tumor. The ten-day course of antibiotics did nothing so we know it wasn't just a bacterial infection, and it is actually slightly bigger and moving one of his teeth, so we're moving along on the treatment.

We were referred to a surgeon who sees "patients" at a facility about 35 minutes away but wouldn't you know, he isn't back in this office until sometime in April. I don't think we can wait that long, so we'll be traveling to Towson, MD for a 7:30 a.m. appointment this Friday. If the specialist feels that it is, in fact, a tumor or something that needs to be removed, they can do it same day for ease (though we'd have no idea what exact time on that day; just when they have an opening in the schedule. Most people choose to return for their pets end of day, but it's too far to do that for us, so we'll be finding some wi-fi and a McDonald's playplace, if need be).

We have a mess of scheduling conflicts on Friday (on top of Seth having to work, Carter has no daycare because it is "in service" so I could be in MD by myself with a toddler and a dog in need of surgery), so I'm praying it all works out and I can make it back for my event at 4 p.m. without any hitches.

We'll post more when we know more.

Clearance Puppy

I think in Marley and Me, they call Marley their "clearance puppy." Well, sometimes I think Bentley is ours. :)

The poor dog has had some of the most random medical issues since we got him - panosteitis (a bone condition) when he was a puppy that is thankfully resolved; a scar on his leg from his mom at birth that just adds character; some...um, undescended parts which cost us more for a neuter. It's almost become a joke that we had pick of the litter and this is what we got. It's all in jest though - we love that dog more than we ever imagined!

Well, let's add something else to that list. The poor dog...

A week or so ago, we noticed a spot on his gums that was puffy and red/bleeding. We sort of just thought he hurt it somehow and have been watching it. Well, it seems to have gotten worse so I took him to the vet this morning. Basically, the vet said it is likely an epulis, which is a gum tumor extremely common in boxers. While typically benign, it is not always. He said it could also be something called gingival hyperplasia, which is some bacterial condition, and also very common in boxers. Or, it could be caused from some random "trauma" like eating a sharp rock, etc.

The first way we'll know is to put him on antibiotics...he is now on a 10-day course. If it clears up in 10 days, we know it isn't a tumor. If it doesn't, we'll be referred to a specialist to take a look. He said if it is either of the other two conditions (besides trauma), it will probably need to be removed...under anesthesia. Cha-ching.

But, we love the dog like a child, so I'm praying it's just nothing at all and our little furry baby will be just fine. I know it's just a dog, but please pray that this goes away in the next 10 days and we'll be good to go with our precious pup. Love him so much! :)

Show us your life: Our Boxer, Bentley

Today, Kelly's Korner is doing a Show Us Your Life and the topic is pets. Well, we love our Boxer, Bentley, like he's a human, so it's only fitting that he have a place on the blog, too! :)

We got Bentley in the summer of 2008 - we had pick of the litter, and we sometimes joke that we picked the "special puppy." He's had his share of ailments when he was a baby and can be a stinker sometimes, but for the most part, he is a wonderful, sweet, and protective dog. I know I could not imagine my life without him! He's SO GOOD with Carter too, so that helps!!

Here he is when we got him.

And here's our handsome boy now. Our big, 70-pound furry love.

Wordless Wednesday

2/3 of my Loves

Show Us Your Life - Pets

Today's Show Us Your Life at Kelly's Korner is all about pets. And you know I love me some of our baby (for now), Bentley! :)

We got Bentley in the summer of 2008, the day we got back from Florida. We picked him out the day before we left, and I talked about him the entire vacation. He's such a good dog -- super sweet, a little lot hyper, all kinds of adorable, and fairly obedient. We love him so much!! For now, he is hands down like a child to us. We spoil him just like he's a kid.

SO -- without further ado (adieu?), I present to you the cutest boxer in the whole world!!

That's our baby boy! :)

Bentley's 6th Sense

Bentley knows I'm pregnant. I can just tell and so can Seth. I've always wondered if dogs can tell and I think I have my answer.

Since pretty much the time I found out that I am pregnant, Bentley has been different around me. He just seemed to "know" something that I didn't. He's been super clingy to me, often times waking up from a dead sleep on the couch to follow me into the kitchen for a drink. When I'm cuddling with Seth, he'll push his way between us ("you did this to her, now get away!") and "fall asleep." When I go to the bathroom or take a bath, he'll lay outside the bathroom door. He'll jump up when Seth and I hug each other as if he's saying "hey, let me in on the hug, people!"

And more recently, when I lay (lie?) on the couch, he'll come up with me and rest his chin on my stomach. It is seriously the most darling thing I have ever seen. I wonder if he can hear the baby?? Dogs ears are incredibly good, afterall.

Hopefully he'll be this protective of his baby brother or sister too! :)

Happy Fall...

...from the cutest boxer pup in the world!

Disclaimer: 16-month-old boxers do not like to have bandanas put around their neck and have them put into the pumpkin patch for fall pictures when they'd rather be running around. Therefore, they will refuse to look at you for every single picture except maybe slyly out of the corner of their eyes.

Vacation Wrap-Up: The Short Version

Well, we're back from vacation, and like all vacations, it seemed to fly by too quickly! We had a lot of fun though.

The weather during the week was so-so--never really seemed to get a full day of sun any of the days. We were able to hit up the beach Sunday and Monday, and then again Wednesday I think, and one last time on Friday. The rest of the time was filled with outlet shopping and whatnot.

We had yummy food and took into account the many restaurant recommendations people gave to us--one night we ate at Big Fish Grill, Blue Contemporary Seafood, Dos Locos, and a few other places for lunch and whatnot. At Dos Locos, I got the filet steak on their famous stone grill. It comes out on the plate raw and you cook it to your liking. It was DELICIOUS! The rest of the time we ate dinner in and packed our lunches for the beach. And snacked...a lot. All in all, I think it's safe to say that we gained weight.

Our house was decent but not luxurious; it did everything we needed it too, which is all we asked. Lots of bathrooms and bedrooms and a nice, fully stocked kitchen. Oh, and a pool just a few steps away!

Other than hanging out and playing games, we went to the boardwalk, mini-golfed, went go-karting, mini-golf some more, outlet shopping, and ate ice cream.

Here are a few pictures:

We had lots of fun and are glad that we were able to vacation with Seth's brothers and their families.

We did miss this little guy though...seriously, I couldn't WAIT to see him!

Jamaica is next--the countdown is on!

Happy July 14th?!?

This was supposed to be our July 4th post, but my camera batteries died and this picture was on my parents camera for the better part of forever. ;)

They sent it to me today, so here is our cutie pie in all of his independence day glory:

Bentley also says "Happy Birthday, grandpa Ran!"

The Home Stretch...

Only a few more days of work before vacation!!! I'm praying for good weather at Rehoboth while we're there because my friend was there 2 weeks ago and it was only warm enough for the beach one day out of the week. NOT cool! ;)


So this week, the goal is to dig out of backed up laundry and make some type of list so I don't forget everything. Seth laughs at me for my planning and lists, but if it wasn't for his semi-neurotic wife, he would probably only have underwear and a swimming suit on any trip. I remember when we first got engaged there was a mention of him surprising me with the honeymoon and I would just know where we were going on our way there. Um, no thank you. I like a variety of clothing and sunscreen. And make copies of credit cards and passports. And something is telling me he wouldn't have thought of those things.


(Of course this trip is no big deal because it isn't very far, but when we went on our honeymoon, yes I totally made copies of our passports and put a copy in each suitcase...you know, in case a mugger holds us up and says "give me your passports!" I, the type-A planner, would totally have a backup, which I would take to the US Embassy to replace. HA!)


On Friday, I will take Bentley to my sister's house for her week 'o fun with many dogs and many babies. But how could anyone resist this cuteness that she'll get to spend so much quality time with? :) I bet she could resist.







Anyway, happy Monday!