Today had better be better

Seriously.  If I was the kind of person to go postal, this week woulda pushed me there.  Several days ago perhaps.  Today absolutely HAS to be better.  HAS.....TO.

Let's recap, shall we?

Monday:  Not a horrendous day.  At least not for me.  D got to have a lot of uncomfortable dental work done, and I was concerned about him, but that was mangeable.

Tuesday:  D got home for dinner and we looked out and realized Hap was not feeling well.  Looked like her typical colicky symptoms, so we went and walked her and gave her some medications we use for these instances (she is a colicky-kinda gal) and by 7:00 p.m., she was better.  By 9:00, much better, and when I checked her at midnight, grouchy that I wasn't out there to feed her breakfast.  Whew!  Long, stressful day. 

Wednesday:  I went out to feed at 5:30 and Hap was down on the ground and in a lot of discomfort.  We paged the vet, got her on her feet finally and hauled her the 5 minutes down to our vet's office.  It was obvious when we got in there she was in a lot of discomfort, so Scott (our vet) gave her some muscle relaxants and pain medications, checked her hydration and ran some other tests, pronounced this a full-blown colic and said he'd need to keep her at the clinic so he could keep an eye on her and treat her over the course of the day.  He called to update us about every 2 hours, and as the day went on, it became more obvious that she wasn't getting any better, and was actually deteriorating.  So, by 8:30 when he called and D and I drove over to see her, it was pretty obvious that we needed to make the decision to have her euthanized, which we did.  This was a very very bad day.

Thursday:  We got up and were still mopey.  D was home in the morning as he is fighing off a sinus infection and still having jaw soreness from Monday's excitement.  Around lunchtime, I looked out and both Sydney and Rowan were gone.  G-O-N-E.  From inside a chainlink fence, where all the gates were still closed.  I then (with the help of some really good friends!) spent from about 1:30 until 7:00 driving around a 5-mile radius looking for the girls.  I had been out looking in the hills to the west of us, thinking they had gone out bird-stalking in the sagebrush, and ran home to check for messages.  Both the girls have collars with the house number on them, so I was hopeful.  YES!  A guy named Josh had found them down by the river, about 5 miles (and across a major 2-lane highway) from our house.   Oh... but... since I hadn't called him back within 5 minutes and he had "stuff to do", he just let them go.   (ETA:  Friday morning here.  I'm pretty sure Josh's ears are still buzzing from the level of noise and profanity that I unleashed into them when I called him back to "thank" him for his "help".)  Back out again I went for another hour or so, looking for them down at the river.  Ran back home to check messages, because as D said "I lost my horse this week, I don't think I could take losing my dog too.", and Hallelujah!  A nice (and much smarter than Josh) lady had found then chasing cats and had put them in her outdoor kennel and called the house. We finally got the girls home (muddy and bur-covered) around 8:00 last night and D and I collapsed around 9:30. 

In speaking with our neighbor across the street, apparently 3 times in the last 10 days, his yard gate has been opened.  They have a dog too, but he doesn't roam - just hangs out in the front yard or goes back to sleep in his dog house out back - even if the gate is open.  So we think perhaps that's how the girls got out.  And I would just like to mention that this "prankster" should hope that D gets to him first if we find out who it is, because I have a baseball bat with his name on it (and enough Sicilian heritage) that I would be happy to introduce him to.

Friday:  Today absolutely positive WILL be better.  HAS..... TO....... Doesn't it?

All for now......

Comments

[Stitch-n-Snitch]

Holy Crow. What a horrible week!! Do you need me to bring you dinner so you can regroup? I really, really hope today *is* better for you.

[margene]

Oh dear dog! At least they were found. I had no idea you were dealing with something more than the loss of Hap. The rest of the YEAR had better be better for you!

[PumpkinMama]

How awful. I'm so sorry to read about Hap. Today surely must be better.

[Margaret]

TGIF!

[Cathy]

I don't know why people have to be so stupid. If this is a neighborhood problem, a locked gate may be an answer. A ridiculous answer but...

[Rebecca]

I am so sorry to hear about Hap. My thoughts are with you.

[Marina]

Sorry to read about your awful week. Crossing my fingers that things start looking up for you.

[danielle]

Oh. My. Goodness. I'm so sorry to hear about Hap. No matter who, how, when, or why, it's so hard to lose a loved one. But I am glad the girls are back. I know the terror that goes with missing "kids." We found a dog once, called the people, and left it in our garage while we ran errands. When we came back, the garage door was open, dog gone. It had managed to hit the opener. We called back to explain, but I would never, ever, ever consider letting a found dog go. At the VERY LEAST, I would try to take it to a shelter if I couldn't keep it.

It will get better. Take care.

[Kit]

Man, you've had it rough! I hope things improve for you, I really do. *hugs*

And what kind of asshat just lets found dogs go because he has "things to do"? Seriously. And who opens gates? It must be someone who knows your dogs are friendly enough to not attack the person trespassing and opening gates. :/

[Teri S.]

I'm so sorry to hear about Hap. Was that Digger's mom? It's good that you got the dogs back. I can't believe that someone would let them go. Maybe a cell phone number (if you can get cell service) on their tags would be better, since you'd get the call that they were found while you were out looking for them.

I hope you have a better weekend. Take care of yourself.

[Karen]

I'm so sorry about Hap. It's heartbreaking that it happened so quickly. I'm glad the dogs made it safely back home. I hope you have a much better weekend.

[Pam]

I am SO sorry to hear about your troubles, especially concerning Hap. I had a mare who was extremely colickly; she had been abandoned by her previous owners when they couldn't pay the vet or the boarding facility. When I first saw her, she hadn't been out of her paddock for a year, was a three year old and not broken, and thin and bony. She was easily 300 lbs. underweight. I bought her, began working with her (putting a halter on her and lunging her on a line, taking her for long walks, getting her used to being touched), and graining her daily. When she went into colic, I had the owner of the stable call me immediately (I had left instructions for the owners of the place to keep an eye on her since they lived right there). The vet, whom I had been using for 15 years with other horses, told me how pleased he was to see that she had someone who loved her and was caring for her. He had worked with the previous owners and didn't think a whole lot of them. Anyway, I would walk her for hours until it passed. She turned out to be a very loving, very good trail horse. She never balked or bucked the first time we put a saddle on her and climbed aboard. I finally had to sell her back to the owners of the boarding facility because my grandpa got ill and I had to take care of him, leaving me no time to ride. She's now a beautiful, happy lady, all 16.3 hands of her, with a baby who grew up to be just as gorgeous as her. I hated to do it, but it was better that she got plenty of attention and love instead of being left alone again.

Anyway, that was a very long way to say how sorry I am for your baby. I'm also sorry that you went through hell to get your dogs back. Some people should be subjected to the things they do to animals. They're not fit to walk the earth in my opinion.

[keri]

Oh my goodness what a crappy week! I'm hoping things look up for you soon and whoever did that to your dogs gets what's coming to 'em ;)

[DebbieB]

Anne, my heart hurts for you.

[Mary]

I am so sorry about your horse. It is such a hard thing to lose our animals. They give us so much joy. I am glad to hear that your dogs are home. It's a terrible feeling when they are missing.

[Laurie]

I'm so sorry. That could only have been a heart wrenching decision, inevitable though it may have been. I hope life improves for you.

[Miriam]

*hug* If you want a break on Sunday or Saturday evening to sit in a coffee shop and bitch or chat or get your mind off stuff, you know where to find me.

[Rachel H]

Oh Anne. I really hope today has been better for you. It's a rough stretch you've had this week.

[Cheryl S.]

I'm so sorry about your awful week, and losing your dear Hap.

[Suzanne]

I am so sorry about all that you had to go through this week.

[mary lou]

Oh so sad -- my thoughts are with you losing Hap. Glad the girls made it back, though. I have been whining about my week but now I realize I ain't got nuthin...

[Sheepish Annie]

I am just so very, very sorry to hear about Hap. What a heartbreaking loss. The whole week sounds just horrible. My heart goes out to you. ::hugs::

[Norma]

Oh, Anne. I'm sooooo sad about Hap and can only imagine maybe a teeny fraction of the heartache and stress of the week and worrying about the two dogs and what it might do to YOUR health. Love.XO

[cyndy]

Oh Anne, so sorry to read about Hap. It is heart breaking to have to make a decision like you did. I hope you will keep many happy memories of your times together, may they brings you some comfort in the midst of loss.

[Charleen]

I'm so sorry to hear about Hap. My thoughts are with you and D.