Surgery

Surgery

Millie's surgery, that is.  Oh, she is so loved this dog!  She is young at just over five years, and otherwise healthy, even though she has Lyme Disease.  And so, we have (another) large - this time very large - vet bill.

Millie is often sore on her left hind leg.  It comes and goes, a typical Lyme Disease symptom.  This time however it did not get better and she was dubbed - by me - the three legged dog.  She was in pain, too, although she continued to do her best coyote patrolling at night.  And so off to the vet we went.

The diagnosis required sedation and x-rays which confirmed the vet's suspicions.  The ligament of the knee was torn or out of place.  This is equivalent to the human tearing of the ACL.  In dogs the ligament is replaced and this involves drilling into each bone of the joint to tie into place the new ligament.  It is a long surgery and the recovery involves twelve weeks of rest and rehabilitation.

The surgery was December 9th and Millie is doing well.  Recently when I mentioned at work that my dog had surgery the response was, "You're not getting any presents for Christmas".  This is the reality.  This year hubby and I are exchanging the gift of Millie's good health.


Christmas is Coming...?

And I do not feel ready at all.  It is hard to feel Christmas is coming as there is not even a sprinkling of snow.  The weather has been amazingly mild.  So, I keep doing outside chores, readying for winter that never seems to arrive.

I'm not complaining, just explaining....

For the first time since Christmas 2007 it looks like my siblings and  I will all be together for Christmas dinner.  That is much to celebrate.  Even though I am struggling with what gift I might give each one, the best gift really will be that we are together.

Son will be here too.  And he will stay on after Christmas day to visit with his sister and her husband who arrive about the 28th.

Work

It continues.  It's okay, fulfilling my goals of some social time with humans and a bit of cash.  Yet, the days are long, the hours are more than I wanted, and my feet are not happy.  As seems to happen with work, it gets in the way of my life!

The structure of work has been beneficial in that my off hours are more productive; I have no choice in some regard.  I really have to prioritise each day's tasks into what must be done.  It is frustrating however in that I do not get much advance notice of the schedule and it does change.

It will continue... work, that is.

Dog & Cat

Recall an earlier blog about the rescue adoption agency unhappy with the big white dogs playing chase games with Humphrey kitty and that this would not do.  As a result a second cat did not come from that agency.  We found another rescue happy to give us a Marjie.

This was all refreshed in my mind the other day when Ruby white dog and Humphrey kitty were cuddling nose to nose.  There is no fear there at all.  There are occasional chase games and Humphrey confidently holds his own.  He still spends a lot of time in the rafters but a lot more time on the ground.  I have seen him in the other barn and we have photos of him from the hunt cameras set up in the deepest part of the bush.  He gets around!

And so this rescued kitty is the happiest and most settled threatened cat I ever met!

The View

We are surrounded by excellent views here.  Below is a photo "out the back door".  Rainbows are common here.   Hubby had actually spied two and when he returned with the camera this is what remained - an enjoyable view nonetheless.