Raven

Those of you who have a doggy baby will completely understand the craziness that has been our past two months. It all started with our Greyhound Blade. He had a toe nail fall off and it turns out he had a tumor in his paw. After having the toe amputated he had a very difficult time recovering. It was believed that the tumor may have been cancerous and unfortunately spread. We were thrilled when pathology said he was cancer free and just a crazy greyhound. A few weeks ago he starting having episodes of extreme pain. After a trip to the neurologist and lots and lots of blood work, we found out he is hypothyroid. Having an under active thyroid can cause a LOT of problems in dogs. Luckily its an easy fix. Two pills twice a day and he is doing great.

Obviously at this point we were hoping our dog medical issues were behind us. Then one afternoon Raven was innocently running in the back yard when she fell and tore her ACL. We gave it a few weeks to heal but then got referred to an orthopedic surgeon. Turns out the ACL's in both hind legs are torn. Urgh. Apparently 60% of dogs that tear one... tear the other shortly after. Of course this means surgery. Major surgery. Two different surgeries because they can't do both legs at once. It will take her a total of 6 months to recover, although she will be seemingly better before that. The hardest part will be that she has to be taken outside on a leash for at least 8 weeks per surgery. This is not the easiest thing with two small kids, but we can make it work! Also she can't go upstairs for 8-12 weeks. This presents a problem because she sleeps with us. Great Danes will very rarely sleep in a separate room from their human parents. Obviously we can't leave her alone downstairs, she would not only bark/cry and wake the kids but also she would be so sad! So John and I will be sharing the pull out sofa from July until seriously almost Thanksgiving. Awesome.

The fact is that we love our dog babies and would do anything we can for them. The stressful recovery period and pain that Raven has to go through will all be worth it when she is able to run and play again next Spring. Her first surgery is July 14th.

Right now its time to think about fun! Very busy week....getting ready for Ethan's 3rd birthday party on Saturday and leaving for Bar Harbor for vacation one week from today! Lot's of exciting posts to come!