Reality....

Has a funny way of hitting home. Mine came in the form of the Advon Party leaving this morning for Afghanistan. Its real now. It hit me at about 4 am when Brian came home from driving the bus of Troops to the Airport. I couldnt sleep the rest of the morning. From what we now know....deployment is about 3 weeks away. Part of me cant wait because I HATE the build up to deployment, but part of me is heartbroken over facing another year in agony never really knowing whats going on or if hes ok. The dogs help. Keeping busy helps. I have a LOT to do around the house while he is gone, and hopefully that will help keep me occupied so the time will pass quickly.

Rio Grande Kennel Club Shows and New Mexico Trip Update

Let me just say this off the bat: I will NEVER help someone move AND do a dog show in the same weekend!! Talk about DRAMA!!

It all started out ok, but got progressivly worse as it went along. Brian and Zack got the UHaul all loaded up and ready to go by Thursday night. Brian only worked a half day on Friday, so was home early taking care of a few last minute things around the house. I got off a little early, and Brian helped me take the dogs that werent entered into the show over to my good friend Patricias house (THANK YOU again, Patricia, for watching them for me!!). After that, I bathed 3 dogs (OUCH! Hard feat given my circumstances!!) and loaded up the van and off we went. Wait, I forgot to mention that my younger Brother, Zack, and his girlfriend are with us (and now living with us while they get back on thier feet down here). So we have 3 dogs and 3 people in the van, and Brian is driving the 26 foot UHaul. Now, as we get started down I-25, we realize that this UHaul not only can not drive over 60, but it can barely make it up a hill!! And mind you, we are leaving Colorado, which is ALL HILLS!! So our 5.5 hour drive turned into a 7 hour drive. We finally pulled into my Parents new home around midnight. Brian and Zack quickly set out unloading the UHaul, and since Brian forgot to bring our air mattress, and I refuse to sleep on the floor, my Mom and I left for Wal-Mart to buy a new one, and pick up some food as we were all starving! LOL....well, Wal-Mart was open, thankfully, but coming from a city where everything is open 24 hours, to a small town where everything closes by 6 was...well...weird!! To say the least!! We drove around looking for food and finally decided to go pick up some premade sandwiches at Walmart and just bring those home. So an hour later, we finally get back. The boys had made short work of the UHaul, and everything was stacked in the garage. The dogs got a late dinner and another quick walk, and we all collapsed in bed at about 2 am. Thankfully, Onofrio gave us late ringtimes!!!!!!!
More drama followed in the morning when I finally did get up around 8 and walked the dogs. Louie tends to bark if hes not let out first, so I took him out first (I can really only walk one at a time right now or I'd have taken all 3 out at once.....and since my Parents house is brand new, they dont have landscaping yet, much less a fence, so it was one at a time walking on lead...which the puppies hate) I walked up one side of the driveway while Louie sniffed around, and when I stepped forward, I felt something spiney sink into the side of my calf. I was wearing my pajama bottoms, which are kinda like capris, but have really thick knitted cuffs...and I got a piece of giant dead dried thorny cactus stuck IN my leg, through the cuff of my pants!! I tried to get it out to no avail, and no one in the house could hear me screaming....so I walked to the front door, with this cactus thorn digging deeper into my leg with every step I took. Thankfully my Mom was able to pull it out quickly when she answered the door...Brian just laughed at me and finished walking the dogs while I took care of the wound on my leg. (You'd be suprised at how hard it is to do simple things that require bending over at this point in time!!) So cactus drama over, dogs walked, and everything settled down and ok, I went to take a shower. Well, my Parents had opted for the fancy new "hot water on demand" instead of a normal hot water heater. LOL...the builders hadnt programed it at all. There was no hot water. We thought we got it all figured out, I got in the shower, and as soon as I got all soaped up, ice cold water again! LOL...figures. Brian fixed it, and I quickly finished my shower. (Builders of course didnt leave the book for the darn thing either!!)
Off to the dog show in the early afternoon, with Louie, Gibbs, and Prada. The parking attendants sent us out to park in the middle of timbucktoo (I guess they thought we were going to the graduation??) which was about a 2 mile walk to the actual show building. Brian, my lifesaver, found a MUCH closer parking spot while we were walking to the building. I got to meet some new Pointer people (Again, Brian, awesome meeting you, and hope to see you and your dogs at more shows in the future!!) and some new Pointers. Under Paula Hartinger, Louie went Winners Dog for a 3 point major from the 6-9 Puppy class, and his sire, Gibbs, went Reserve Winners Dog from Bred-By. Prada was a goof, and I didnt think she would be Paulas cup of tea since she is sooooo immature still, but she held her stacks and actually rocked up over her front!! I'm so proud of how well she has come along in that regard. Anyway, Prada went Reserve. The Winners Bitch (Owned by Brian Dofford-Johnson - Envy & Takaras Whirlaway) also went Best of Winners and Best of Opposite to Josh, and picked up a 3 point major as well!! Congrats!!
The rest of Saturday was fairly uneventful besides me Dad and Brother fighting, but that always happens.
Sunday was crazy. The hot water kept cutting out while I was taking a shower, again. No cactus attacks while I was walking the dogs, thankfully!! We loaded up the van and left a little early so we could grab some breakfast. We got a flat tire right outside the show grounds. Flat tires on Sundays are NEVER a good thing!! The hole was right on the edge, so was unrepairable anyways. We managed to find an open tire shop, and thankfully they were NOT busy at all, and they had a new tire put on the rim and back on the van in less than 15 minutes!! I was soooo impressed!! Not impressed with having to pay for a brand new tire though!!!!! LOL...back to the show grounds, actually got a close parking spot this time without being redirected to timbucktoo!! Walked the dogs in on normal leads instead of show leads which helped save our fingers! Under Roger Hartinger (we had a Judge change from Ann Savory Bolus to Mr Hartinger) Louie went WD again for his second 3 point major!!!! YAY!!!! I'm sooooooo excited about that!! Gibbs got dumped in Winners, although the Judge gave him every opportunity to do well, he just wanted to be a goof!! Prada went Reserve again, although she behaved much better than she had the day before. The drive home was LONG, although much quicker than the drive down!! Felt good to sleep in my own bed again!! All the dogs were glad to be home again.


We are off to WY for the shows over Memorial Day weekend. I have the only Pointer entries, so hopefully we can add some singles to the points counts ......we shall see if the judges cross Prada over since there are no specials.

Pyros Win Pics And A General Update

Things are moving along around here. We finally got a window for Brians deployment! YAY! Ugh...now if I could just get a FIRM date, we'll be good to go and plans can be made!!!!

My recovery is still moving along well. Pain was subsiding, but I had to go back to work, which made it peak again. Oh well. I know it will go away once I get used to moving around a lot more again. I cant tell you how much I've missed my dogs. Being in the same house but still seperated from them has been hard on me and them! I spent pretty much the entire afternoon and evening yesterday playing with them, and I think we are all happier for it.

I got Pyros win pics in the mail the other day from his WD placements at Terry All a few weeks ago. I dont like the pic from Saturday much...Pyro just looks, well, blah, in it. I do like the pic from Sunday, quite a bit in fact. Just wish his head was turned a little more toward the photographer. But, otherwise I think its a pretty good picture!!

We are off to NM with the Pointers next weekend for the Rio Grande KC shows. We managed to build majors in dogs, so hopefully one of the kids will come home with a major for the effort! lol. Wish us luck :)

Recovery...

Is DEFINATLY NOT EASY!! Oh wow...I never imagined I would be this sore! The best way to describe it is that I feel like my entire upper body was used as a punching bag. I've never seen bruises this nasty (but, all to be expected, so its ok) and my arms, neck, abs, even my JAW hurts! LOL. I've been trying to get up and moving around quite a bit, and I think the compensating to keep pressure off my chest is making me sore everywhere else. Showering this evening was increadibly strange. I feel like a child again, since I cant even wash my own hair!!

BUT, I'm loving the new size already!! Dr Heinz took 3.5 pounds from one side, and 4 pounds from the other. Its CRAZY just the noticable difference already. OMG...my shirts actually FIT ME CORRECTLY!! I love it, even if I am hurt and sore!! I cant wait to be all healed up again :)
Thank you to everyone for your kind wishes, prayers, and thoughts for me during all of this. It means more than you know just to know that everyone is out there thinking about me during this time and hoping the recovery goes well. Its also nice to be able to talk and text and email to break the monotony.

My poor boys dont know what to do without thier Momma...Pyro and Broker wont eat...Louie is making himself sick...Tony keeps frantically looking for me. We let them out one at a time this afternoon so they would stay calm and get to see me again. Hopefully it will help them all relax a little. The house is a little tense right now since Brians in "protection" mode over me...I make a weird noise, he freaks out! Poor guy. He was so worried during the procedure too. 2 seconds to me was 3 hours for him...sitting in the waiting room staring at a wall. I loved my doctors, nurses, and the entire procedure was wonderful. They made sure I was comfortable the entire time, even if the bloodpressure cuff nearly killed me!!
Maybe tomorrow if I'm feeling ok and able to stand up straight (I've found hunched forward is a little more comfortable) we can take a picture and post the before and after shots...you'll be amazed at just the amount of sheer MASS that was removed...the first thing I said when I was coherant and looked down was "Where did they go??"

Hopefully the next few weeks go smoothly.....will definatly keep everyone posted!!

And Away We Go!

Its been crazy around here lately. Getting everything prepared for my surgery hasnt been easy, although I am looking forward to the break from the insane!

We attended the Terry All Kennel Clubs shows this last weekend in Brighton, Colorado. Overall, it was a great weekend :) I handled Pyro to back-to-back WD placements, which added 2 points to his total. This will be his last show for a bit due to my surgery/recovery time, and that he is just soooo much dog! We will probably be sending him out with a handler later this summer to try to pick up some majors and hopefully get our silly redhead finished!! Melissa and Maui won thier Juniors class back-to-back as well, which added to thier points, and as far as we know, makes them the #1 Pointer Junior Handler team in the US at present! YAY!!! Go Girls!! Louie behaved beautifully for me on Saturday, but wasnt the Judges cup of tea, so got Reserve, and he behaved well for Melissa on Sunday, but acted his age in Winners and again got Reserve. LOL. Gotta love puppies!!!! We brought Broker along for some experience on the show buildings and general getting out and about, and he adjusted well. Not as fast as I would have liked, but he was walking through the building wagging his tail just fine by Sunday. He is absolutly adorable, and was loved on by everyone, so I think he had a good time, got lots of love and lots of cookies, and had no problem getting back in the van Sunday morning to do it all over again ;) Hopefully he has a nice little show career ahead of him!!

Maui cut her foot open last week and so we made a run to the E-vet...not cheap, but she'll be fine. 3 stitches in between her toes that will come out in a week or so. And Louie got kicked in the nose by one of the other Pointers running up the back porch steps and had quite the bloody nose going on for a bit. All is well now, and I HOPE it STAYS that way!!

On to the people drama! After spending most of the night in the ER with a good friend, getting home and getting 4 hours of sleep before heading off to work...lunch finally came around and I went and picked up Brian and his friend Tony, and we headed off to grab some food...and got rear ended. The back end of my Cadillac is destroyed, including my backup sensors and entire exhaust system. I'm just glad though that the airbags didnt deploy. My neck is aching pretty good, and despite denying EMS at the scene, I have a feeling I'm going to end up in the hospital later on this evening. YAY!! Just what I need a week before my surgery! Oh well. At least the Cadi can go into the shop while I'm recovering. I feel bad for the Soldier that hit us...he was driving a leased vehicle and he was going to turn it back in this evening!! Poor guy.

I'll post Pyros pictures when I get them....

Health Testing and CHIC

I think we have a few EXPENSIVE months ahead of us here. Its getting to be health testing time!! YAY!

Actually, health tests make me insanely nervous! I sit on pins and needles until I get the results back!

Maui, Tony, and Gibbs are going to get thier eyes CERFd next month. After that will be a Cardio exam for Pyro. Provided he passes that, we'll do his eyes as well. In June, Tony, Gibbs, and Cosmo will be going in to have their hips and elbows done for OFA. And then probably in June or July, I'll have Maui, Tony, Gibbs and Pyros thyroid pulled as well. So, hopefully, by July, we will have met all the requirements for our "of age" Pointers to be included in not only the OFA database, but to aquire a CHIC number as well. Pyro will take much longer! lol.

The CHIC program is a strange thing...its in place to encourage broad spectrum health testing and reporting of ALL results, and is NOT an idicator that a dog actually passed, only that they were tested. BUT, if its there, and recommended, I'll test for it. Why not. At least I'll know my dogs (and those I bred!) are healthy :)

Onward to surgery and health testing!! (One for me, one for the dogs! Can you tell I'm excited?? lol)

Quite The Adventure!

Well, the title says it all. We had quite the adventure last weekend. And it started on Thursday. A Spring storm popped up and blanketed Colorado in snow and ice. Well, since we are in Southern Colorado, we got blanketed in ice! My 10 minute drive home from work took well over an hour, and we were even released 2 hours early because they shut down Fort Carson and sent all Soldiers and Civilians home! The roads really werent that bad, just the people who dont know how to drive in inclimate weather that were causing issues. CO DOT ended up shutting down I-25 due to multiple accidents, both south of Pueblo and north of Denver. So, going north or south out of Colorado was out of the question!! We woke up Friday morning to snow covered ice. The dogs had a ball playing in the snow in the yard, and since Fort Carson was closed, Brian and I both had the day off work. Only a few problems with that: 1) We were supposed to leave after work on Friday for Nebraska. 2) We needed to get dog food before we left or the second we got home on Sunday we would be running out to get more food. 3) I-25 was still closed.
With 5 dogs to bath before we left, we decided to just take our time, get the dogs and crates cleaned, get the van packed, and then figure out what to do from there. After bathing Miss Prada, I checked the CO DOT website again, and found out that we could take HWY 85 as the alternate route to I-25. It would add an hour to our drive, but at least it was passable. So, alternate plan in place, we started moving a little faster. After getting Louie, Maui, Gibbs, and Pyro bathed as well, the van mostly loaded, and everything ready to go, I checked CO DOT website one last time: I-25 was now open. We were on our way! I had already changed our hotel reservation to add Friday night as well. We said goodbye to Tony and Broker, who were being left home with my Parents for the weekend, and we left. We made it to Denver in good time with no problems...and got stopped dead in Denver traffic. 2 hours later, we finally made it through Denver and back up to highway speeds. It was a rather uneventful drive after that, flat and boring, as usual! We got checked into the hotel, had dinner with a friend, and then went back and settled in with the dogs. The Scottsbluff KC had pushed the show time back an hour to allow people more travel time due to the weather, so our 9 am ring time was moved back to 10, which was nice. Allowed us to take our time and get breakfast and everything else and get the dogs ready. Since Dobermans immediatly followed Pointers at 10 am, in the same ring, with the same Judge, we had to bring all 4 dogs into the building at once. Melissa was able to come and help me out with the Pointers. She handled Louie for me, since I had Gibbs in BBX. Louie won his class (only one) and Gibbs won his class(again, only one). Louie ended up going WD, and Gibbs went RWD, so Lou got his first point! YAY!! (Thanks Melissa!!) I took Prada in next, and she was the only bitch entered, and won her class and went WB. Going back in for BOB, the BOB winner was the gorgeous "Josh" - Ch Taharis Too Wild To Be Serious, and Prada won BOW/BOS, for another point, bringing her total to 5 points with one major. I ran out of the Pointer ring, grabbed Pyro out of his crate, and went straight back into the Dobe ring with him. He is not a dog you can do that with!! He galloped and bounced and was esentially just a wild puppy wanting to play, all the time he was in the ring. He ended up getting second out of 2 in his class. Oh well, valuable lesson learned!
We got to hang around the rest of the day waiting for Juniors. At least I got to change into regular clothes!! We watched Josh in the Sporting Group (he made the cut, should have got a piece of it, but the judge had other ideas) while we were hiding from Maui while her and Melissa were in Juniors. All the waiting was worth it, since Melissa won her class, giving her another win towards Euk and West, and as far as we are aware to this point, making her the #1 Pointer Junior handler in the country. (Shes #2 through the end of February)
Back to the hotel, where Pizza, movies, and just plain good old quiet time with the dogs and away from the house and "normal" life awaited.
Unfortunatly, someone left a yappy dog (ended up being a Shiba Inu) in the van that was parked under our window, so that, combined with our own dogs who decided they needed to fuss all night, and the kids running up and down the hall (loudly!) led to a long, sleepless, eventfull night!! Louie, Prada, and Pyro all ended up getting put out in the van at about 2 am because they just wouldnt shut up. Thankfully, the weather was warm enough that we had that option. 5 am came way too soon, so we snoozed the alarm until 6 and promised to pack quickly. Come 6 am, getting ready for the day, packing the room back up, getting the dogs walked, grabbing breakfast, checking out, and getting to the show was all done in record time. 8 am ring times are never any fun!! Lucky for us, Pointers were at 8, Dobes were at 9, and Juniors at 11, so we had plenty of time to relax between ringtimes today. Melissa was there to help with the Pointer kids again, so she took Louie back in the ring for me...winning thier class, and I took Gibbs into BBX, winning our class. Today, Gibbs took WD, and Louie took RWD. I handed Gibbs off to Melissa and took Prada into her class, again going WB since she was the only one. Back in for BOB, Josh again wins the breed, and Prada again goes BOW/BOS for another point, bringing her total to 5. Shes 1/3 of the way there ;) YAY. Pointers went back to the van, and we brought Pyro in to calm down in the building a bit. Going in the ring under Jon Cole, Pyro actually behaved for the most part, even if he did try to do the whole "I love you so much Mom, I have to look at you all the time!" act, and won his class and continued on to get RWD. So exciting :) We hung out and got to talk with friends for a bit while waiting for Juniors. Hiding from Maui is becoming easier...I dont think she looks for us as much anymore, and we can get a little closer and still be able to watch a bit. Melissa ended up getting third in her class, and we said goodbye to everyone and hit the road! It always feels good to start driving home after a long weekend.

5 hours later, we pulled in the driveway and unloaded. It always quicker unloading than loading, anyone else noticed that? Sure felt good to be home, thats for sure! Tony and Broker were happy to see us :)
We ended up having to run out and buy dog food as soon as we got home :( Oh well.
We had a good weekend......but I'm so happy the next show is a lot closer to home!!!!