Saige Scare

Saige gave us quite a scare last weekend. On Saturday morning, I (Krista) put the dogs out for a little while before breakfast; when I went to bring them in for breakfast, Saige ran up to me with a swollen face and blood on her neck. At first, I thought that Saige and Thor had gotten into a serious tussle, but Saige was also acting funny. She was clingy and kept blinking her eyes at me, which is always a sign that something is wrong. So I went in to wake Ken up, who was still sleeping. We called the vet and took Saige in for an emergency consultation. Apparently, she tussled with a Copperhead snake, which are less dangerous for dogs than Rattlesnakes. The vet gave her a benedryl shot and another shot to help with the swelling. The next three days, we could both tell that Saige wasn't feeling well. Her face was twice the size it normally is, she refused to go outside, she wouldn't play with Thor, and she slept a lot. However, she finally perked up by Wednesday night, bringing me her toys to throw so she could fetch them. When she started picking fights with Thor, we knew she was better!

Now, she's doing fine, and we're hoping that she has learned her lesson and will leave snakes alone in the future!

Tucson Trip

We are really glad that we made it to Tucson to visit Krista's dad. They moved him to hospice the third day we were there. He is still coherent, but his body is failing. He has trouble breathing and his stomach swells every time he eats or drinks. He knew we were there, and really seemed to enjoy our company. Ken wheeled Dad around the hospital in his wheelchair to get some fresh air. Dad knew exactly where he wanted to go, and gave Ken directions. Since it's a little hard to understand him, Ken kept going the wrong direction and Dad would get mad and start pointing where he wanted to go. It was pretty funny. Dad comes from a very stubborn family. We brought Grandma Sue, his mom, to the hospital to visit, and that was nice. Grandma can't drive, so she doesn't get out much and though she got tired easily, she was glad she went.


We had a chance to visit with Krista's brother, Eric and his wife, Jodi and their little boy, Jacob. Jacob's over a year now, and super cute! He's such a happy baby and he loves his mommy! Ken and Eric are great friends and enjoyed a bonding experience when they got Mom's new jeep stuck in Pantano Wash. Nacho had to help dig them out. Luckily, Mom wasn't too upset, though maybe she'll think twice about letting Eric drive in the future!! Everyone had a chance to drive the new Jeep, and we all think Mom did a fantastic job picking it out!! Ken, the computer guru, helped everyone with their laptops. Krista ordered Mom's from Dell Computers and everyone was impressed with its speed and quality. Mom bought the computer game, Lara Croft Tombraider, and she and Nacho are enjoying playing it and killing Lara off by jumping off cliffs and other such things.

Thor celebrated his 2nd birthday by getting to come home from the boarding kennel. He and Saige were sooo happy to be home! We'll have to start over on his manners-training, but its great to have them home. We sure missed them!

Please keep Krista's dad in your thoughts and prayers. We hate to see him in such pain.