Ick

Germs and nasty weather! Yick! I was always an easily grossed out person but now...I'm extremely paranoid. I'd be happy to spend the rest of the winter in the house. Stephen and Avery may go crazy doing this but I'd be absolutely fine. I cannot hear anything but sick people coughing and all I see when I look around me at the store are germs. I'm pretty sure I would be fine with people pointing and laughing if I started wearing a mask and a HAZMAT suit. I don't care.

Poor little Avy finally has a real cold and it has been a humdinger. Seriously- it is now day 29 of the nasty little thing. Well, technically she's had one cold after another but they blend together after a while. Now she has the croup cough to go with all that. Luckily she is still a really happy baby. I don't know how we grew to be so fortunate but she still giggles (and then chokes and rubs snot everywhere) all day long.

Check out Avy's Kloakedoke. I'm obsessed with this awesome thing! We put it on a 4 year-old too and it still fit. It was so cute too!

Clearly a Goofball!

Babies change so fast! Everyone knows that. For the first 6 months of their lives they are pretty much impossible to figure out. One minute you know EXACTLY what they need, how to read them and when to do whatever they want you to do....and you do it perfectly for a day. Then in the middle of the night they change and you have no clue anymore. This is frustrating but time flies so fast you don't remember the past few days...instead you focus on the moment.

Well, right now I feel like things have slowed a little bit. Avery has been the "same" for about 3 weeks now. She gets up before the sun (this varies between 3:30-6:30am), plays for a few hours and MAYBE takes a nap once a day. She goes to sleep between 7 and 7:30pm. This isn't an absolutely concrete schedule...but it is the closest to perfect that she has ever created for me. Man- when you aren't spending time figuring out what to do for your baby- you get to know their personality so much more. Avery is an absolute goofball! She does things on purpose to be funny...I didn't even think at 8 months a baby had that type of intelligence. She sure does! When you tell her "no" or try to stop her from doing something (usually very dangerous stuff she is attempting) she lifts her chin really high, raises her eyebrows and goes "huh?" I swear in her head she is saying "what are you doing to do about it?" Then she laughs at you and stops. My favorite thing is when the neighbors dog barks (which it does CONSTANTLY). Avery crawls to the front door and looks out. She usually says "uhh" whenever the dog pauses. She squeals like a maniac on our walks when she sees a dog (and she can see a dog coming before I can).

I hope these type of days last....I know eventually she will start some new phase and the "slowness" will be gone. For now I'm recording every second of it on film, paper and photos. This is the start of her personality...I feel as if I am learning all about this new little human every day. It is absolutely amazing to watch a baby develop literally over night!

Brock, B-Rock, Brock-lee, BuhBuh, Brotha Brock

I haven't hurt like this since my Grandma passed away 3 years ago. And it is "just" a dog! I feel so many things right now. I'm angry at myself for buying a dog from Petland- when I knew it was a bad idea. The damn cute puppy face sucked me in. Why did I think Brock would be different from all the stories you hear about Petland? DUMB!

I'm so mad at Petland's new owners and the old owners. I don't understand how it is legal to sell an animal with a "Petland Warranty" but then deny someone the warranty because of "new ownership". My warranty only says "Petland Warranty" NOT "Petland Owned by Tim Mohrfeld warranty". {Oh and by the way, the former Assistant Manager, then General Manager is NOW the "new" owner of Petland. So guess what? He's just as guilty as the previous owner and management team. Remember The Holocaust? Stanley Milgram's study on obedience...especially when it conflicts with your morals? Yeah- just because you weren't the owner before...you still dod the deed when you were the Asst. Manager and General Manger. Also, by the way, I have your card where you crossed off "Asst. Manager" and wrote "General Manager". The best part...when I first came into the store in tears because my dog was extremely ill 5 days after taking him home- the Asst. Manager is the person that sent me home stating nothing can be done about my dog being sick. Now when I went into the store the guy doesn't even recognize me and acts as if he spied on Tim Mohrfeld and helped put him away. Yeah- I don't believe you!}

Anyway this is about Brock...not Petland really. He didn't choose to be in any of the situations he is in. I didn't choose to have an amazing dog that is too sick for me to care for. I now feel as if I am one of "those" irresponsible owners that give their dog up after realizing how much time and money it takes to care for the pet. I really did expect to spend some money on him...but thousands...and I literally mean THOUSANDS in 15 months is more than any person can expect. With a pedigree touting "champions" in the bloodline and reputable, small breeder, one would never expect to have a dog with so many health problems from birth. A bit of allergies may be expected in this breed- but Brock has yet to be normal as long as I have known him.

I miss him to death already. I know he wont be eating for a few days out of stress and sadness. He always mopes around the house after we board him. My living room looks funny without his stuff in it. It seems strange not to hear his snorting and crazy loud breathing. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with myself without him.

I know one thing for sure- I will be joining the ranks of many people coming after Petland and their poor policies. Thanks for offering me a free dog to get me off your back...but that isn't going to take away the pain of losing my companion. I worked hard to get him to be a lifelong pet...and for what? A great deal of regret because I spent as much on him as normal people spend paying on a really nice car in one year? The feeling that I should never be allowed a pet again because I gave one up? Extreme sadness for abandoning my dog...and knowing that he is going to be sad?

I just hope he can get better and will be put into a home that loves him as much as we love him.

Poor Brock

Hello,

It is so sad for me to write this but it truly is time for Brock, our French Bulldog, to hopefully find a new home. After many many nights and days of pondering, arguing and stressing we have decided that we really cannot keep him with us. As many of you know, he has severe allergies. The good shelters are full and I honestly can't bear to just drop him off. Please let me know if you know of anyone that understands Brock's cost and is interested in taking him in. We do not know what else to do at this point. He is as healthy as he is ever going to get. With a new baby and plans for another one in the future he is not getting the care he deserves and in the past two months we have spent a total of $1000. While these were one time charges to help get him fixed up we just can't have a dog that requires so much special treatment while our daughter is beginning to get around the house on her own. Even though the past 3 months have been complete hell for our family in trying to give him medication and deal with all of the symptoms of his allergies, he is doing extremely well. We have been tempted to keep him but we feel we have decided as a family that if he were to incur more costs in the future that we could not justify them with a new baby to provide for as well. We do realize we are one of "those" selfish dog owners that got themselves into a mess. We have tried to go after Petland for forging Brock's pedigree but we have not gotten anywhere with that. He most likely is the result of inbreeding and may have future health problems that no one can predict.

His allergy medicine is $98 per 30 days
His food is $57 for about 3-5 weeks depending
Shampoo for minimizing his bacteria/yeast from itching is $37 every 3 months or so...

He also has folliculitis right now and requires antibiotics and a steroid (these are about $25 for the dosage).
At his next birthday he can have an allergy test done ($250) to determine exactly (hopefully) what he is allergic to.
His allergies may be under control with Atopica/$98 med but we can't tell due to the folliculitis.
There may be cheaper medications to try that will help but we were just trying to get him stabilized before switching medications again.

I know this is a total shot in the dark because of his cost and problems. I can happily report that the only true signs he has now are constant scratching and he is losing quite a bit of hair every day....but he doesn't have any bald patches anymore. He is able to eat the prescription diet now and hasn't had any problems with it. He is an extremely social dog that gets along with all sizes of kids and animals. He does need a refresher course in obedience as he has gotten a little more rambunctious these days.

He is an INDOOR dog, neutered and has a great relationship with the Jordan Creek Animal Hospital vet, Pam Erdman. Here are a few photos below.
I'm sorry for rambling. I have wanted to stop writing and delete the email so many times but his expense and time requirements are causing too much conflict in our home. Thank you for your time,


The Harding Family

Its About Time

I feel so dumb! I know "time flies" and all that but I spent today in a real funk all about time. I swear a bazillion new projects fall into my lap...literally FALL into my lap all at the same time. I've learned to turn a bunch down over time. I'm a lot less busy than I once was but I'm still TOO busy.

Anyway- I thought I found a few things that would really make a difference in my schedule. Things that would allow me to spend more time with my family. Then I realized I would have to leave my daughter with someone other than myself. This could be a caregiver or it could be her dad. Regardless, I was sad. So sad I cried off and on at just the thought of it. Maybe this is normal but it lead to something else that made me more upset. Our wedding anniversary is coming up soon and we have spent more time apart than together.

This is not how I envisioned life as a family. No matter how many hours Avery is unconsolable, leaving her with someone else still seems unbearable. All I really want is to have my family home together for dinner. Even though Stephen is home in the morning until after lunch it isn't the same as coming home from work for dinner. The morning is a busy time with everyone getting ready for the day. It doesn't leave much time for just being together or even going off to play at the park.

I hope this time issue works itself out but for now I'm going to work on holding onto mine!

Too Hard to Resist....

That is what got me into this predicament to begin with...Brock, my French Bulldog, was too hard to resist. We only went to Petland to LOOK at puppies and then buy from a reputable breeder. Yeah right!! Once you see their puppy-dog eyes and smell their puppy-dog breath you are in deep doo-doo!

I've owned dogs before and I know better! Still...pregnant and living alone...I could not say no when my husband bought our little Frenchie to keep me company until the weekends. Aargh...just a year has passed and the vet bills and frustration has piled up. Our Brock has allergies beyond belief! The cost to maintain him at a manageable level of discomfort is more than $200 per month. I'm not sure I'm ready to give up frivolous spending to keep my dog somewhat happy. Maybe if he didn't smell from the yeast that wont leave his body or if he didn't scratch so much that he has no hair in a lot of places then I would consider growing my roots out and not picking up every cute dress/outfit in Avery's size at every store I walk into. I wish it wasn't so black and white. He's either unbearably sick or perfectly healthy. When he is perfectly healthy he is on medication that he can't be on long-term due to more side effects.

So we are faced with a few black and white decisions. Keep Brock-Don't Keep Brock, Give him to someone who will keep him medicated-Put him to sleep, Stop medication and live with it-Keep medicating him and hope he doesn't die from the side effects of the major meds he is on.

Then...when I went back to Petland to find out what they were going to do about his warranty I was told nothing could be done because the store owner was new. This makes sense in a tiny way but at the same time- Petland is still a corporation and they should uphold the warranty if the animal they sell is still alive.

Well today I was called and told that I could choose any replacement puppy I wanted. So I have to decide if I want another puppy to raise- and if so what kind? Do I want to stay with the Frenchie Breed or let my husband choose? I really only like Frenchies and Boston Terriers.... If we get a new pup will we really feel better about getting rid of Brock? Do we keep Brock and have the new pup as a back up in case Brock dies? There are too many scenarios and not enough guaranteed outcomes.

The biggest issue is that a replacement puppy is too hard to resist....OH MAN...there it is again...too hard to resist...

Time....

During pregnancy I was confused by the whole- 9 months but really it is 40 weeks-which is 10 months thing! That concept is nothing compared to me trying to figure out how old my daughter is. She was born 12/22 so on 6/22 that would be 6 months old. However, if you count the weeks she will be starting her 28th week of life tomorrow. So 28 weeks is 7 months. Ugh...I don't get it!

Today she was acting weird- she would be sitting totally happy with a toy and scream out in pain with tears. Well- Daddy stuck his finger in her mouth late in the day to see if she was teething and there was already a little tooth poking through! Wow! We can't believe it. I can't even imagine what she will look like with a little tooth in her smile. Awww...but she's changing so fast every day.

We are preparing for our first big trip away from home. We will be heading to Little Rock, AR (9 hours) and then to Keota, OK. I will be driving through the night so we don't change Avery's routine. YIKES! I'm normally not too afraid of crime or strangers but with Avery going to Little Rock I'm worried sick! We are staying near the River Market....

At least she got her tooth out of the way for now...