The Crazies

“Getting the crazies” is a term we use to describe the out-of-control behaviour our dogs often get that usually ends when the dog finally runs out of steam. But on occasion, they break something before they run out of steam, which effectively ends the crazies. Unfortunately Tess decided to get the crazies inside the other night.

 

We’re staying with family just out of Sydney, in their massive garage. There’s a glass sliding door leading to the backyard at one end of the garage, and a solid wooden door on the other side, where the stairs leading to the main area are. One of the boys was playing with his skateboard in the garage, when we sent Tess back inside from the yard and shut the glass door. According to witnesses, Tess got excited by the skateboard and ran to the stairs, turned around, and raced full speed towards the closed glass door. Let’s just say she didn’t realize it was closed!

I wasn’t fast enough to get any photos of the door before our uncle taped it up, but you can still see the cracks. Amazingly Tess is fine, although she sulked most of the night! I imagine she had some bruises the next morning! :)

 

At night, just before lights out, when we’re all just randomly spread out around the garage, I can’t help thinking how it looks like an emergency refuge centre – you know, like where people stayed when Toowoomba and surrounding areas flooded in 2011. It’s a heap of fun! But it’s a good thing we’re used to sleeping so close together, because Chantel and Jessica decided to put their beds along the wall next to mine. Chana’s bed is at the foot of ours, and the rest of the family is across the garage by the table. The dogs sleep on their own beds, except for Lassie, because Asta’s using hers. One of my favourite things about staying here is the TV upstairs – Animal Planet, here we come!

 

We’re all enjoying the swimming pool, which is just about bigger than the only patch of grass in the backyard. It’s freezing though!

 

We’ve had a few storms in the few short days we’ve been here – one the first night that I didn’t even hear, and one yesterday afternoon that continued into the night. Loving it, and the big veranda at the front of the house is the perfect place to get some photos as the storm rolls in!

It’s gotten a bit cloudy again now, after a beautifully clear and cool morning (perfect for taking Sparkie for a walk!), so we might get another storm later.

New South Wales again

First of all, we went to Redcliffe to meet up with a family we first met in Beenleigh a few months ago after being “Facebook friends” for ages. We went to the pool and had a nice swim and had lunch. The only downside of the afternoon was that it was “no dogs” area so we couldn’t bring the team in and show off their tricks. A thunder storm came over after a few hours and the lifeguards told everyone the pool was closed until further notice “due to the approaching electrical storm.” We sat at the tables under a shelter and chatted for a bit, until the wind picked up and it started to rain. It’s amazing how fast the whole carpark emptied and even the street was quiet!

 

 

When the storm blew over and went to dump its rain in the sea somewhere, I took Sparkie out for a walk to the playground where we did our first public performance in September 2010. It hadn’t changed a bit, and I was considering doing some training there just for old times sake, but it was getting dark and we needed to get to camp.

 

 

 

While I was out walking, Gabrielle and Jireh played on the rocks by the beach, then rode their scooter and skateboard through the puddles in the deserted carpark.

 

We hit the NSW border around 1:30pm on Saturday after a crazy few days of busy roads. School holidays, I guess!

 

I did a session of trick training with Sparkie the other day and she’s so happy to be back on the job! We’re going for big on-lead walks most days as well as working on her tricks and occasionally she’ll get a game of fetch or a romp with the other dogs.

 

A quick look at what driving on the highway looks like:

Gabrielle and Suzanna crack jokes that only they get while me and Jessica get some footage of the traffic.

Chantel and Chana play on their Nintendo’s and share information with each other while Daddy concentrates on driving. Mummy is a navigator, telling Daddy what roads to take next (she also takes a lot of the photos, which is why she’s not in this section!).

The tunnel was probably the highlight of the day!

Recovery

In the craziness of the last week – has it really been a whole week ago since Sparkie got sick?! – I forgot to mention we’re out of Townsville and are heading south again.

 

Some more information on Sparkie’s sickness: the vet said it could have been something she ate or some sort of virus she picked up from somewhere or maybe some sort of infection. We went to the beach in Pallarenda on Monday afternoon, and that night she got sick, so who knows? I didn’t see her eat anything, but we did walk quite a distance up the beach, without the other dogs, which could explain why she got sick and the others didn’t. Anyway, she’s recovering nicely, finished her course of antibiotics last night, and is constantly hungry! She was on small meals of chicken and rice for a few days, and now is getting bigger meals of regular dog food, and tonight I’m planning on giving her the usual amount because she’s just so hungry! The fur on her neck and leg is growing back pretty fast, so she won’t be needing her fluffy collar for much longer.

^^ Sparkie’s shaved patches on Thursday morning ^^

^^ Sparkie’s shaved patches today ^^

The collar could have been better if I did it properly, but I made it on Wednesday evening in a rush and my brain wasn’t working too good! LOL! But it does its job and Sparkie likes it, so it’s not too bad.

Sparkie turns four years old on the 1st of October, and I already have a present organized for her – a custom-made collar from a friend in New Zealand. It’s still in the process of being made, though. And I reckon it needs to be a fairly big celebration, because she nearly wasn’t around for it. Her first birthday was probably the worst, though – we were in Redcliffe and Mummy was pregnant with Jireh. She went for her appointment that morning and came home in tears after the doctor told her the baby would be born very sick. Of course it put a shadow on the whole day when she was rushed to Brisbane without us. We’d been planning on a decent party for Sparkie, with pies and sausages and presents, but it didn’t work out so well. Turns out the doctor was wrong, she’d read something wrong on the blood test or something like that, and Mummy came home at 5pm while we were running the dogs in the field. Jireh was born healthy nine days later. Sparkie’s second birthday was on the farm in Gympie, when I brought her a $30 bed and she chose to sleep on the concrete floor instead. Crazy dog! Her third birthday was in Goomeri and I had no money to buy her anything nice, so I tied a knot in the end of an old tea towel and that was her present. I’ve been wanting a nice collar for Sparkie for a few months now – the last collar she got was a cheap one from Crazy Clark’s last Christmas. So things are so far looking good!

Back at home

The vet rang around 5pm with the results of the blood test – Sparkie was dehydrated, but her organs were ok and she doesn’t have parvo. After a mostly sleepless night, the news was mostly good. Sparkie ate her breakfast and hadn’t vomited, but she was still bleeding.

 

Mid-morning, we went to see Sparkie at the vet. She was lying in her cage with the side of her neck shaved and her leg shaved and bandaged. She's still on the drip, but she wagged her tail and sat up when we came in. Her chart says she's still holding down her breakfast. The bleeding doesn't seem as bad as it was yesterday. We sat beside the cage and rubbed her tummy and her chest and talked to her and fiddled with her ears and patted her shoulders and rubbed her unbandaged leg, for nearly an hour. We would have stayed longer, but the vet said we had to leave. Visiting hours were over.

 

Last night was probably the hardest night ever. If she's goes, my confidence goes, my motivation goes, my whole reason to get out of bed in the morning goes. We were at the big truck stop last night. Before now, every morning when we were here I'd take Sparkie for a walk past Bunnings. The staff recognize us and always say hello. And suddenly I was alone. I couldn't handle eating dinner on my bed last night. Sparkie always lies her head on my knee when I'm eating there. So I sat up on the seats, but still I found myself looking down, expecting her to be sitting there with her eyes bright and tail wagging as she waited for me to toss her some food. For the first time since I brought her home, we were apart at night. Not ever have I slept without knowing exactly how she's doing, where she is. For the first time since 12 March last year, I scrambled for the internet, begging for prayers on Facebook, my blog, everywhere I could think of. I was terrified I was gonna lose her.

 

Sparkie helps me face each challenge head on, and I owe it to her to give everything to help her survive this. She got me through 12 March 2011 and the horrible weeks that followed, and everyday she's right there if I need her. I guess that's why I kept subconsciously reaching for her, expecting her to be at my side when I'm helping cook dinner, expecting her to be behind me when I head for the door, expecting her to be waiting eagerly for my "get up!" before she leaps on the back bed, expecting her to be dozing at the foot of my bed. I kept catching myself about to whistle for her, call her.

 

Sparkie came home at 4:30pm tonight, not bleeding, not vomiting, not drooling, not shivering, etc, etc. She ate all her dinner and is alert enough to lay her head on my knee while I ate my own dinner. She's got to take some more medications over the next few days. She's tired and currently dozing on the bed beside me, but it's not semi-conscious drowsiness like yesterday. The next few days we'll both be taking it easy to recover from the craziness of the last two days.

 

 

 

“And where would I be without you?

I’d be packing my bags when I need to stay.

I’d be chasing every breeze that blows my way.

I’d be building my kingdom just to watch it fade away.

It’s true, that’s me without you.

That’s me without you.”

- Me Without You, a song by TobyMac

URGENT!!

Sparkie started vomiting late last night, had diarrhoea, was drooling and shivering and drinking lots of water. By midnight she had blood dripping from her rectum. We took her to the vet, who gave her antibiotics and something to stop the vomiting and then sent us home. She was better by the morning, but still bleeding. By 10am she was coughing up her water. By 2pm she was lethargic, refusing to eat, shallow breathing. We took her to the vet (a different one) around 3pm and they admitted her for the night. She was breathing shallowly, her bleeding was worse, and she actually lay down on the floor of the consultation room and fell asleep. The vet is going to run some tests, put her on a drip, and give her more antibiotics. We should hear back from them soon with the blood test results.

 

I’ll be honest here - Sparkie is very sick. The vet said there is a possibility she could die. Yes, the treatment and tests are expensive, but I’ll do whatever it takes to get her out of this alive. If she dies, I guess part of me will too. Prayers are very much appreciated. :(

Snakes, beaches, and Chana’s birthday

Chana’s birthday went quickly, with our tradition of opening presents on the family bed taking place before 9am. We spent the afternoon at Tyto Wetlands in Ingham, where we had cake and ice cream and fizzy drink, e.t.c. Our cousin Abigail called from Townsville to wish Chana a happy birthday.

 

We went to Rollingstone later that afternoon, north of Townsville, and took the dogs for a run down at the creek. Jessica crossed in the shallows and I stayed on the other side. “Hey, Jas, don’t you remember it being…” and then she suddenly stopped talking. “Being what?” I asked, still walking along the bank. She didn’t reply, instead calling to Tess and Asta, who were running ahead of her. “What is it?” I asked, “Jess, what is it? Did you see a snake?” And she yelled back, sounding exasperated, “Yes!” Apparently she nearly stood on it, and it flattened its neck and hissed at her, before slipping into the water.

 

We went to the beach a few days ago, picked up some more shells, didn’t see anything strange, and just generally had fun.

 

And here’s my photo of the blue moon last month:

September already?!

This time last year I was nearly going crazy waiting for the Kenilworth Show organizers to email back, and trying to get motivated to do some agility. We were in Goomeri with two dogs who weren’t getting enough exercise, one dog that was being overworked and so refused to work and a cat that we were trying to train to do tricks like a dog! Can’t believe the craziness of it all back then.

 

Yesterday Dixie went to her new home in Cairns, so now we finally have just one pup to train and she doesn’t seem to miss her sister much at all!

 

We had a bit of a scare yesterday evening, parked on the side of the road by the shopping mall in Cairns. It was about 6pm, and the road was crazy busy with everyone heading home. I was sitting on the seat on the passenger side with Sparkie and I’d just finished eating dinner. Suddenly her ears went up and she sat up and barked once. “Be quiet, Sparkie,” I said, and then I heard yelling and CRACK SPLAT!! something hit the side of bus. Some twits had thrown two perfectly good eggs at the bus – one hit the side behind the front wheel, and the other smashed just above the driver’s window. Dunno what they were hoping to achieve by doing that, unless they were trying to get them in the windows. If that’s the case then they have terrible aim! LOL! Anyway, we decided to pack up quick and get out of town in case that happened again and it was something worse that eggs. We do NOT want a repeat of January’s smashed windows!

 

Chana’s turning ten on the 5th, but I don’t know what we’re going to do for it yet. I don’t even know what I’m gonna buy her! :)