Doggie Day Care

So, Charlie went to his first day of Doggie Day care today, and I don't know who was more nervous... Me or Charlie.  Just kidding.  I wasn't sure I liked the idea of him around a bunch of dogs I didn't know, but seeing as we're going to Yellowstone for a few days next week, we'll have to board him, so he'll need to get used to it.  

Mark got online and found a place called The Puppy Lounge, which he thought sounded great (he also liked Diggity Dog, but just for the name).

                                           

The Puppy Lounge is just for small dogs, they can't be over 15" high, or weigh more than 30 pounds.  Charlie is almost right at the 15", and only weighs 18.6 pounds (I stood on the scale with him the other day), so he was good to go.  They have all sorts of things for the dogs.  They even have a webcam so you can watch your dog during the day.

Mark took him to the vet this morning to get his last round of puppy shots and then dropped him off at The Puppy Lounge so they could evaluate him.  He was really impressed with the facility, and the staff, and got a tour of the different rooms.  And they were really impressed with how social he is and all the tricks he can do.  The only problem is the webcam is in the quiet room, so of course, Charlie was to busy socializing and I never saw him.

When Mark and I went to pick him up, the girl opened the gate and Charlie came running out. He started whining so I picked him up and he didn't stop crying until we left.  I'm not sure if he was upset that we were taking him away, or if he was upset that Mark left him there.  Mark says he was really happy playing with the other dogs when he left, so he doesn't know what his deal was.  I say it's because Mark took him 1) to the vet to get shots and have his temperature taken (which they can't just stick a thermometer in his mouth, so he wasn't happy), and then 2) left him in a strange place with strange people.

Either way, he's going to have to get used to it.  I think we will drop him off a couple more times before we go, so that when we do leave him there for more than a day, he knows we'll come back to get him.  Poor guy hasn't left my sight since we got home, until just now when Mark's parents walked in.  Now he's getting sympathy from Grandma.

Mark, Me, and Charlie makes 3...

It's been a while since I posted anything.  And I realized I haven't ever posted about Charlie (which would be part of the reason I haven't posted, he doesn't seem to like it when we spend time on the computer, and don't pay attention to him).

                         

On Valentine's morning while eating breakfast Mark's mom mentioned how his dad was a little dog hungry. And Mark had the brilliant idea to take them up to the pet store by their house to see this little beagle puppy that we saw a few weeks earlier.  Well, we got there and the beagle puppy was gone, but they had this little Cavalier King Charles Spaniel that was really cute.  To make a long story short, Mark did a little bargaining with the store owner and we ended up leaving with a puppy.  Mark's mom says that it was to keep Mark company after the surgery, which he did a great job of (he's the ultimate lap dog), but I think she wanted the dog as much as anyone.  He's been a lot of fun.  He's really smart and picks up on tricks quickly, and was house trained within a couple of weeks of bringing him home.  He hasn't been much of a chewer, which is a relief, and loves playing tug-of-war.  He's also gotten really good at fetch, and likes to chase after his pheasant and frisbee.  And if you're not careful, he'll sneak in to where you are and steal something that he thinks he's not supposed to have and run off with it. 

                                                            

But as I mentioned earlier he is the ultimate lap dog, and if you happen to find yourself sitting in Grandma's chair, he'll find some way to get up and sit with you.                                                     

                                                                                                                       

We have to make sure that he always has his tags on because if he doesn't then he sneaks up on you and usually gets stepped on.  

He has also taken a liking to running through the vines in the back yard and bringing back "treasures".

                                                                          

So far we have had a kids flip flop, and some red rubber thing that was really disgusting and dirty, and didn't make me to happy when he dropped it in my lap.                                                                                  

He loves shoes, especially Mark's, and it's pretty funny to watch him try to carry around a shoe as big as he is.

                                  

Charlie gets to start obedience school soon, and hopefully will get his "Good Canine Citizen" certificate so that we can turn him into a therapy dog, and he can make some money from sitting on laps all day (which would be his dream come true).  He's been a lot of fun, but can also get a little annoying when he doesn't get what he wants.  And I'm going to have to end there because he's wanting to play with his whiffle ball, and is getting mad at me for being on the computer.

Update

Here we go.  On February 20th we left for the hospital at 5:30a.m., where we spent the next two hours getting Mark admitted, ready for surgery, and sitting in Liz's (Mark's sister) room chatting.  The doctors, anesthesiologists, and nurse came in to get him ready, and to give me the rundown of what was going to happen.  

The nurse said they would call me from the operating room when they started the surgery, and then again about halfway through to let me know how things were going. They wheeled him off at about 7:30 (it was supposed to be 7:00, but they were running late), and I didn't get a call until after 9:00. She said they had started at 8:23, and everything was going really well. By that time Mark's parents, his nephew, and my mom were there waiting with me.  Pat, the transplant coordinator, came down while we were waiting.  I think she was trying to reassure me that everything was going to be fine, but when she left Mark's dad just looked at me and laughed, I wasn't sure what to think.  Next thing I know it's 10:30 and the surgeon comes out to say it's all done, everything went well, and he was headed to recovery.  About an hour later the lady at the surgery desk comes over and says that Mark is still in recovery and is fine, but they are having trouble controlling his pain, so he will stay there until they get it under control.  I must have looked panicked because she reassured me he was fine, that I should go eat, and by the time I get back he'll be in a room.  I told my mom she could leave, because she had better things to do than sit at the hospital, and the rest of us went to the restaurant at the Huntsman Cancer Institute.  While we were there Liz's husband got a call saying she was done, the kidney was working, and she was doing well.  By the time we were done, Mark had a room on the 6th floor, and that's where I spent the rest of the weekend playing DS and reading.  

They took his left kidney so they were able to do a laparoscopic procedure, so he doesn't have the huge scar from his navel to his back like they used to, he just has two 1 inch scars on his side where they put the scopes, one 4 inch scar on his belly button, and 2 little round scars where they put the tubes that were hooked to his continuous pain medicine ball.

Mark recovered quickly and impressed the nurses and aides with how fast he was able to get up and walk, especially the aide from the first day who had a crush on him, and came in every 5 minutes.  On Sunday Mark walked down to see Liz in the SICU.  We took a wheelchair just in case, but he was able to walk all the way down there, and I wheeled him back up.  I went to work on Monday, and he called and said they were going to release him after he ate his lunch, so I needed to go get him.  We stopped by to see Liz on the way out and then headed home.  Liz stayed in the hospital until that Thursday, and then was able to come home.

Both Mark and Liz are doing well.  Mark's kidney is working really well (a little too well if you ask Liz who heads to the bathroom every 15-20 minutes), and everything else seems to be going good.  Mark went back to work and school this week, and can do pretty much everything he used to, except lift things over 20 pounds (so I get to load his speaker cabinets into the truck when he goes to practice with the band).  I'm glad that it's over, and grateful that everything went as smoothly as it did, I don't think that it could have been better.

Why I haven't updated the blog...

So, for those of you who don't know....  Last November Mark and I decided the best thing for us right now, and in the future, would be for him to go back to school and get a degree in something other than communications.  Not that there is anything wrong with a degree in communications, but finding a job in that "field" was proving to be difficult.  One night he came home and told me that he could see himself doing something with forensics and not getting bored with it (which is the first time he's ever said that he would like to do anything for an extended period of time).  He did some research found out he could change his major to criminal justice and only have to go to school for 2 semesters.  So we decided that, at the end of the year, Mark would keep teaching at the School of Rock (and the Park City Conservatory, which is somehow associated with the School of Rock), and quit Associated Foods.

We also found out, after several blood tests and a couple of 24 hour urine tests, that Mark is a match to his sister who needs a kidney.  The surgery would take him out of commission for 4-8 weeks and I began to have some anxiety over the financial part of things.  After many hours of careful consideration, we decided that the only way for him to go to school and donate his kidney, would be for us to move in with the parents.

Mark talked to his parents just before Thanksgiving, and on the 27th of December we moved.  

It's been smooth sailing since then.  I'm still unpacking boxes, but we had lived in our apartment for a year and still had boxes that I hadn't unpacked, but am shooting to have everything unpacked and de-junked by the middle of February (keeping it real).  

Mark registered for classes and started school.  His class is full of police officers and on the first day of class his teacher (he has the same one for his classes at the school) said that he understands that there will be times they will miss class for training etc. and to just let him know.  A few people raised their hands saying they would be out for training in February, so Mark raised his hand and said that he would be out to donate his kidney in February as well, the teacher just looked at him and said he'd heard weirder, and to let him know when he'd be out and they'd work it out.

And just today, he got a call from his caseworker at the U, saying that they were all set for surgery on February 20th, so it looks like we'll be doing that. 

And that's why I haven't updated the blog.

Yes, we are still alive...

It's been a while, but with all the holiday gatherings and moving, there hasn't been much time to blog.  I'll post another blog when I have more time, but for now, I'm off to unpack more boxes so I don't have to run around in the mornings looking for the box that has whatever it is I need.