Still Sick.....

Puppy Pictures

 Callie playing with her humidifier.  When she was sick, we were advised to give her a humidifier to help her breathe.

 Being a puppy is very tiring....good thing Grandpa needed a nap too.

Meeting Uncle Jason for the first time

Feb 24th, 2013

 While being babysat by her grandparents, Callie crawled into the laundry basket.  It seemed like a perfect place to nap.  But an even better place to nap?  On Grandma's shoulder.

Car Ride - Feb 23rd, 2013

Thanks for the bed Grandma!!

Sick Callie - Feb 20th, 2013

We adopted Callie on Feb 16th, 2013.

On Feb 17th, Callie started coughing.

We walked out of the Humane Society doors with a very snuggly puppy.  Just as with our cats, I was amazed they let us out the door without some sort of parenting test.  We walked out with the puppy, a crate and a leash.

We had a great first night with her.  She was tired, and didn't bounce around a lot, but it had been a long time since I had a puppy and I thought maybe she was just tired from her big adoption day.  She had just been spayed a few days before, it make sense all she wanted to do was snuggle and sleep.

The next day, my Dad came over to help do some work on our new house.  When my Dad met Callie, it was love at first sight.  Since their first meeting, Callie and Grandpa have been inseparable.

We took Callie out into the backyard, and all of a sudden, Callie started coughing.  It was worse than coughing, it was gagging.  We thought she had a stick caught in her throat, she had been nawing on a stick in the backyard.  My Dad took her in his arms and started to pat her back, reassuring her it would be ok.

I called around and found an emergency vet and warned them we were coming, Callie just kept coughing/gagging/chocking; this little 8 pound puppy was so miserable and couldn't breathe.

We rushed her to the emergency vet.  I held her as Andrew drove, it was the worst 20 minutes of my life driving to that vet's office.  This little thing was so dependent on us, and we had just met her less than 24 hours ago.

After we were rushed into a room, the vet came to see us right away.  He checked her over, and said she had kennel cough.  Kennel cough is very similar to Whooping cough in humans...and whopping cough in an infant....it was not ideal.  We quickly put her on antibiotics and cough medicine and called the shelter to warn them for the other dog's safety.

Poor Callie took several weeks to recover.  We had to increase her antibiotics a few times before she finally started getting better.  She would just lay in her crate looking at us with that sad face, she was too tired and sick to get up and play for the longest time.  The cough medicine was not strong enough, so we had to put her on Robitussin.  Poor little dog, she was so hopped up on meds she could barley lift her head.

We really thought she was going to die, she was sick for so long, just laying in her crate giving us those sad eyes.

But then, one day, she turned around.  It was slow, but she started to be interested in toys and then she was awake for more then 2 hours a day.  She has been a very spoiled dog ever since.

Good bye sandal - Feb 19th, 2013

Tired Puppy - Feb 19th, 2013

When Callie was a puppy, she wouldn't go to sleep until she brought all of her toys into her bed with her.

Feb 17th - Meeting Grandma and Grandpa

After 6 years of marriage, Andrew and I finally brought gave my mother a grandchild.  She tells me a grandpuppy is not the same as a grandchild, but I am pretty sure it is.

First Time Exploring Her Yard

Feb 16th - What's in a name?

It took us a few hours to name her.

We were not planning on getting a puppy, we didn't have any names in mind.  The name she came with, Jelly, just wouldn't do.

We was born on Christmas, so my front runner was Noelle.  When I asked the puppy what she thought....she coughed up what sounded like a hair ball.  Obviously she didn't like that name.  We thought of Lucy, but it just didn't fit.

We started suggesting names from our favorite TV shows.  After a few more tries, one of us said Callie and she picked up her head (she was sleeping in my arms).  Callie is the name of a cartoon character on the sadly short lived TV show Ugly Americans.

Callie has since lived up to her name sake....she is very much a little demon at times.

Adoption Day - Feb 16th, 2013

Feb 16th, 2013 : Callie's Adoption Day!

I can't help but share Callie's adoption story!  

When we were first married, Andrew and I moved from Grand Rapids, Michigan to Indianapolis, Indiana.  We were having a hard time finding work in Grand Rapids, and thought Indianapolis would have some better opportunities for us.

When we first moved, Andrew took the first job he could get...a manager at McDonalds working 3rd shift.  This unfortunate situation left me home alone all night and alone during the day while Andrew slept in a new town where we didn't know anyone.  We lived in an apartment, and although I wanted a dog to keep me company, I didn't feel it would be fair to a dog to keep them cooped up in an apartment all day.  

Being an animal lover, Andrew convinced me that we should get a cat to keep me company.  Less maintenance than a dog and perfect for apartment life.

 After years of renting, we moved back to Michigan and purchased our our first house in October of 2012.....and I immediately starting thinking about getting a dog.  It took a few months, but Andrew finally started to come around to the idea. 

I started looking at dogs on Petfinder, and found one adorable dog.  I was not looking for adopt a puppy, but an older dog who needed a home.  Andrew however was not quite ready, and after leaving for work on Saturday, made me promise I wouldn't go to the adoption event at Petco to go meet the dog I found on Petfinder.  I said yeah yeah.....and promptly drove to Petco to go see the dog.  Well, when I got there, the dog had already been adopted.  I looked at the clock, I still had 4 hours before Andrew got off of work....and the phrase "in for a penny in for a pound" went though my head...so I might as well go across the street to the conveniently located Humane Society right? 

Concluding that the people who run the Humane Society hate me,  I go into the Humane Society and ask to see their older dogs.  I am sure it is a conspiracy, because they keep putting their locations in easy to find places near where I live.  

Walking in, I ask to see their older dogs.  They give me a quick tour and let me go look around.  Sadly, I didn't make a connection with any of the dogs.  On the way out, I looked at the puppy kennels.  There were 8 puppies, 4 in each kennel.  7 of them ran up to the front of the kennel to greet me.  Tails wagging, jumping up on the cage door, and doing their adorable puppy barks.  But one stayed back in the blankets and barley lifted her head to say hi.  That really stuck out to me, I felt bad for her, in the cage with all those rambunctious puppies and she was just so sad.    

I looked at the clock....still had a few hours before I needed to pick Andrew up from work....so I headed to the next county over's Humane Society, in yet another convenient location that was way to easy to find.  Again, I didn't make any connections with any of the dogs.  The staff assured me that they were getting in more dogs later that week from another shelter in Indiana and I might want to check back then.  

I went to go pick up Andrew, firm that I wouldn't tell him of my escapades that day with going to see dogs.  But while I was waiting for him to finish his shift, I started thinking about that sad little puppy in the back of her kennel.  She looked so depressed, I couldn't stop thinking about how horrible it must be for her in that kennel when everyone was coming to see all the other puppies and no one was looking at her.  Andrew got in the car, and asked me what was wrong, he could see how upset I had gotten thinking about that little dog.

So, I told him what I had done.  I told him I met a dog, well, I looked at a dog, and I think she needs us.  I told Andrew it was up to him if he wanted to go meet her or not, I wasn't that attached yet.

Andrew just looked at me, rolled his eyes, and told me to drive.

We pull up to the Humane Society and Andrew starts cleaning out the back seat of the car.  I ask him what he is doing, and he just looks at me and says "Do you really think we are walking out of here with out a dog?".  Honestly, I thought we would.

We walk in and I point to the sad little puppy in the back of the kennel.  Andrew looks at me, says he refuses to leave that poor dog alone, and tells me to go fill out the paperwork while he stays with her.

They require we fill out pre-adoption paperwork before we get to meet the puppy.  As I am filling out the paperwork, the staff brings the puppy (named Jelly) into what I like to call, the sucker room.  It is a small room with some dog and cat toys so you can meet your potential new pet.  

Jelly promptly takes a huge poop on the floor of the sucker room.  She then grabbed a tennis ball (which was bigger than her head) and proceeds to preset it to Andrew.  We sat on the floor with her, and she proceeds to climb in my lap.  That is when we took the picture below.

The staff member walks back into the sucker room after about 10 min and asks if we would like to adopt her, Andrew said yes immediately.