Notre Dame Spring Game, Ballet Recital, Summer Fun!

Hello!  Well, after the terrible news in my last post, I thought I'd start by talking a little about what I miss most about Ralph (other than what I already mentioned)...it's the little things.  When we moved to this neighborhood, one of the reasons we fell in love was because it seemed like there were always people (our age) out walking...with babies, kids, dogs, etc.  Recently, I've just dreaded getting in the car.  And every time I read to Holtz, Ralph would come downstairs and sit at my feet.  The most noticeable thing, though, was the amount of food that accumulated under the kitchen table.  I remember the day after we euthanized Ralph, Holtz dropped a piece of chicken on the floor and I had to ask him to pick it up- was so upsetting.  Finally, Evan had his 'guys night' last Friday and I'll tell you, after I put the kids to bed I was LONELY!  Even though I feel safe in my house, I didn't feel as safe as I used to with Ralph here.  All of these little things just kept pointing out the fact that he was no longer here because I was so used to him being here.  

When Nick passed away, I think we were a little better prepared (considering he was almost 14 years old) and we had two other dogs and a new baby to keep us occupied.  Yes, I felt sad but I still had my other dogs to fill that 'dog need'.  With Ralph gone though, it not only left me with a heavy heart but also there seemed to be an empty hole.   I've had a dog my entire life and not having one was just miserable.  So, that's that.  We still miss our Mr. Ralph.

On a brighter note, on April 21st, Evan, Holtz and I drove to South Bend, IN and attended the Notre Dame Blue- Gold Spring Game with my almost 96 year old Grandad, all three of my brothers (Phil, Dave and Mike), Phil's daughter, Lillian, and my Mom at Notre Dame Stadium.  Grace went to the American Girl Doll store in Chicago with Evan's folks.  It was such a rare treat to have Grandad fly in from Arizona, Dave fly in from California, Mike fly in from Atlanta, Mom drive in from Shelbyville, IN, us drive up from Lexington and Phil drive in from northern Chicago.  We felt privileged to be a part of this memory.

For those of you who don't know, my Grandad is 'el numero uno' Notre Dame football fan.  He went to his first game by train in 1933 with his sister Boots.  His high school was in need of a coach and they got Pat Conway who went to Notre Dame.  Grandad was so impressed with this Mr. Conway that he had to check out Notre Dame for himself.  Later on, Grandad recruited Joe Picaro who was a linebacker for coach Dan Devine.  Grandad wrote Dan Devine a letter saying he was going to bring Picaro to meet him. They met a a hotel and had breakfast.  Grandad is such an inspiration and his legacy continues in all of us!

Have to mention also that while Lou Holtz was head coach, Grandad used to write him a letter after every game telling him what he did right and what he did wrong.  Now, this seems far fetched but Lou came to speak at my high school and afterwards I asked him about this.  He looked at me and said, "Is his name James Sell."  I about fell over dead right there.

The attendance of nearly 32,000 people was the fifth highest in Notre Dame Blue- Gold game history!

Holtz playing near the Basilica after the game.

Our neighbors bought a water slide so the kiddos have had a fun spring so far!  Can't wait for Grace's last day of school- this week (Thursday)!!  (I'm going to note some fun things since my last "good" post.  

Holtz says sh for s so Grace is Grashe- so cute.  He likes to say he has a fickle on his arm (freckle) and says he wants logurt (yogurt) too.  He has gotten into the phase where he is showing his independence.  For example, when I lay him down for his nap, I put his babies (stuffed animals) in his arms like always but now, he switches the arm that they are on and says, "they go this way."  Doesn't matter which way I put them!  He also is starting to talk back a bit.  If I say, "Holtz, please put your shoes on the steps," he will reply, "you put them on the steps."  (Not good Mr. H...not good at all).  He also has started telling Grace that she is a bad girl- which of course makes Grace burst out in tears.

Grace had her 6 year appointment recently.  She was 37.6 lbs (9th percentile) and 44 in. tall (26th percentile).  She's just a pip-squeak!

Grace is the perfect example of big things come in small packages.  We just got her end of year state test scores.  She is in the top 97th percentile for her age/ grade in Mathematics and is in the 99th percentile for Reading in our district.  We are so proud of how hard she has worked this year in school- can't believe she's almost in the 1st grade!

This boy, literally jumping down the slide, can't eat his own boogers right?  Wrong!  I saw him pick his nose and put his finger in his mouth last week.  I asked him what he was putting in his mouth and after looking at me for a second, he replied, "germs."

Check out the new sandbox...it's huge!  8 feet x 4 feet!

Savannah and Grace having a tea party in the back yard.

Chris and Savarooni :)

If anybody says that kids losing teeth is cute, well, they are totally fibbing.  Look at her bottom tooth just kind-of hanging there.  The picture really doesn't do it justice either...hello heebie jeebies!  

The day after taking the above picture, we were on our way to school and Grace just pulled her tooth out. Just like that!  Yes, the tooth fairy came again and gave her $1!  Wow!

Oh yes, Holtz has big boy underwear.  He has a pack of Cars and a pack of Thomas the Train (below).  Sometimes he wants to wear them and sometimes not- no rush to potty train him on this end.  

Grace's ballet spring program was the Sorcerer's Apprentice and other tales (Peter and The Wolf and Mother Goose Adventures) on May 3rd.  Can you tell what nursery rhyme she's dancing to below?  

Rain Rain go Away silly!  It was darling!

Well... back to Ralph.  I just could not live without a dog anymore.  I didn't want to get another dog to replace Ralph.  It certainly felt too soon to think about getting another dog considering Ralph just passed 5 days earlier but I needed a dog around to fill that void and to help lesson the constant reminders of our lost pooch.  We saw a labradoodle about 3 years ago at a Panera Bread and we said that when we get another dog, it will be just that.  Yesterday, we drove to Jasper, IN to meet with a breeder named Hill Top Pups.  We didn't know what to expect and definitely didn't know how it would make us feel.  We also didn't know if we were going to be able to get a dog that day or if we would be added to a waiting list for later this year or next year.   Well, we fell in love with a 4.7 lb. 7 1/2 week old F1b Mini American Goldendoodle born on March 27th, 2012.  A goldendoodle is a hybrid breed that is a cross between a pure bred golden retriever and a pure bred standard poodle (this would be 1st generation or F1).  In our case, we decided to get an F1b which means that his mother is a 45 lb. F1 goldendoodle and his father is a 38 lb.  pure bred moyen standard poodle (different blood line).  What all of this means is that our little guy will be about 30-40 lbs (probably closer to 40) and is considered hypoallergenic.  We'll get to enjoy all of his fluffy hair and he will shed about as much as a human- or less.  Crazy huh?  His parents have been DNA tested for all of the major genetic defects that are common in their breeds (i.e. hip displaysia, premature blindness, cardiac, elbows, etc) so we know that we have one healthy pooch on our hands.  Finally, they say with these hybrid dogs that they inherit the best qualities from both parents.  All of the pups have been put through the bio sensor program also- you'll have to google this...very cool!

We've been dwelling over a name for the past several days and have had lists but just didn't find the perfect name.  This is what we knew of our new addition.  He is very flexible (lays on his stomach with his legs straight out behind him), he loves to pick on and chase other dogs (playfully), loves to tug and chew on toys, is very clever, super duper curious and extremely lovable.   We have decided to name him Yogi.  We think he looks like a little stuffed teddy bear so thought of the cartoon character Yogi Bear who was a very pesky yet lovable teddy bear who is famous for his schemes to swindle campers out of their pic-in-ic baskets (ha- remember that?).  Yogi means proficient in yoga also (hence the super flexible side of him).  ...what do you think?

Yogi hasn't made me miss Ralph less but he has been a wonderful distraction that just brings so much joy to our kids and family.  Can't wait for everybody to meet him!  Hope to see everybody soon!

We'll miss you Ralph

With a very heavy heart, I'm sad to say that we had to have Ralph euthanized today.

Friday morning, Ralph woke up with partial paralysis in both of his hind legs.  This was a complete surprise as it was an immediate injury with no warning.  After taking him to the vet, I was given two options.  I could take him to Louisville for emergency back surgery or confine him in a crate at home to prevent him from moving around a lot and let it heal on it's own (about 8 weeks) with the help of an anti-inflammatory and a pain pill.  With Evan out of the country for a wedding, I chose to try the crate route so brought him home.

Unfortunately late Saturday night when I took him out for the last time before bed to use the restroom he had lost all feeling in his back legs so was completely paralyzed.  I called the emergency clinic in town and they gave me a referral to head to Louisville to the surgery center.

After talking with the surgeon about possible surgery (and talking to Evan over the phone) we both decided it was best to not put Ralph through invasive back surgery.  I was told there were three stages of paralysis.  First to go is feeling, second is movement and lastly is pain response.  He had lost feeling and had no movement and they weren't sure if he had pain response because he was so anxious when he was back with them.  If he did not have pain response then the chance of recovery through surgery was grim.  If he did have pain response there would be a 70-80% chance that he would recover.  Unfortunately, recovery only means that there is a chance he will be able to walk again.  If he did gain the ability to walk again, he likely wouldn't be able to go up and down stairs, run or jump without the possibility of re-injuring his back.  Unfortunately the chances of us preventing him from chasing after that pesky rabbit or from jumping up on us when we get home is slim.  I asked them to please give him a short acting steroid shot to provide some relief and I added a muscle relaxer to his list of meds with the hope for a miracle.  I was told, though, because of his rapid decline, the chance of recovery through meds was very slim.

Sunday morning Ralph lost his ability to control his bladder and Sunday afternoon he lost his ability to wag is tail.  As damage to the spinal cord increases, there is a predictable path of deterioration.  It starts:
*  Pain caused by the tearing disc and the resulting inflammation in the spinal cord (Luckily he was never     in any pain.
*  Wobbly walking, legs cross
*  Nails scuffing floor
*  Paws knuckle
*  Legs do not work (paralysis, dog is down)
*  Bladder control is lost
*  Tail wagging with joy is lost
*  Deep pain sensation, the last neurological function, is lost

Evan returned home around midnight Sunday night and we both took him to the vet this morning. They tested his deep pain sensation (our last hope) and we were told that it was lost.  Unfortunately, this meant that he would not recover.  We left the vet and took him to the Arboretum to sit in the grass and get some fresh air for awhile and got him a big chunk of hamburger to enjoy.  Afterwards, we had to say goodbye. 

As devastated as I am, I still truly believe that everything happens for a reason.  I don't know yet why this all has happened to my young, in shape, happy and healthy dog.  As sad and frustrating as it can be at times, believing and knowing this helps get me through.  I am so thankful that he wasn't in any pain through any of this and am thankful it started and ended so quickly.  I'm also thankful that it didn't come to this until Evan was home.  It's comforting to know that I still truly feel that all of the decisions that were made throughout the past couple of days have been the correct decisions and have been what was best for Ralph.

Ralph-  I am going to miss you so much.  My heart is so heavy in my chest.  From the moment I saw your picture on petfinder.com, I knew you were meant to be with me.  The first time I saw and held you, I fell in love.  You have always treated the kids as if they were your own.  I'm going to miss hearing your feet crawl out from under the bed to run downstairs to greet me when I walk in the door.  You always were so happy to see me!  I am going to miss our frequent walks through the neighborhood and our trips to the dog park with the kids to find four leaf clovers on weekends.  I'm going to especially miss playing out in the backyard, getting you so excited you run around with a case of the crazies.  Thank you for coming into my life and for bringing me so much joy.

Ralph
(May 25th, 2004 to May 14th, 2012)