One Year...WOW

Today was the day...I sat around in a hotel room, nervous, scared, hoping, PRAYING that Dr. Canapp in Maryland would figure out what was wrong with Even. Klink and I went on a lot of walks that day. I remember that, and it was HOT. My friend Chris let us go with her (thank you Chris!!!) to drop in on a class with Rosanne D. And I found out the news while I was there :) Cartilage chip in elbow...will be removed and things can go forward from there...REALLY? Yep...

And she was fixed. July 20th, 2011 was the day that Even started on her path to a full recovery :)

Day 193: So worth it :)

You can't put a price on this face. I remember telling the husband how much it was going to cost and his response was, without batting an eye "We have to fix her, just go"...he's an amazing man, or completely insane...either way, I love him :)

And for Even...not a lame step since her recovery...and I don't regret one second of driving 28 hours. Or changing bandages, cleaning up barf/pee/whatever after her surgery, or rehab (which I drove 5 + hours round trip to do several times a week), or walking--LOTS OF WALKING, or stretching, or icing or heating.

Last year for the KK clinic she sat in a soft crate, in the a/c...in bandages, depressed and couldn't even walk...and I am sure in pain. I carried her everywhere, I had to help her potty, clean her up. It was tough for me to see her like that...but even tougher to know that she had spent a great deal of her life in an x-pen lame for reasons we couldn't figure out. And there were sheep right down the hill from the building that she would have LOVED to work.

This year, she's in the clinic :) Working sheep like she was bred to do. And boy does she love working sheep :)

This little dog has been through so much, and I'll admit, when she was back with the rest of the dogs, able to run around, it scared the living shit out of me! Would she break again? How much, how long, and BOY did she have like NO dog skills or manners!!! LOL The rest of the pack hated her, she was like Nell, that girl that lived in the woods or something. She would have given Jodi Foster a run for her money!! LOL She had NO off switch, acted like a 4 month old puppy, trying to eat everything, pestering dogs constantly, no manners...and her sister Lynn was like the perfect dog. We had to start from scratch :) But that has all went away (thank God)...and she is a great little dog with an AWESOME off switch :)

Another thing that has changed is, I used to stare at her CONSTANTLY...looking for that hitch, that little sign she was broken...for it to get worse...and it didn't. Just got better and better and better. Until there was no little hitch. I no longer stare at her all the time :) Maybe more 40/60?? LOL

I'm not sure I have ever met a dog that enjoys life and all it has to offer more than Even :) She runs as fast as she can, has hard as she can and as much as she can. She smiles, her tail is always wagging and she has those crazy eyes that scream COME ON WORLD!!!! I'M READY!! (or maybe, I just took a hit off the crack pipe? Both probably). But that energy is contagious...it just overwhelms me with joy. That's the only way I can explain it. Even is just joyful, in everything she does :)

Yet, she is probably my most devoted dog..she is always with me, if I'm sick she's there on the bed, she sleeps with me every night, right in between the husband and I. She's my tiny little shadow :)

Because of her, I have met some amazing people and gotten some amazing friends out of the deal. The generosity of people was overwhelming and I am grateful for that. In a way Even helped me see that the human race is pretty damn amazing :)

Thanks to all of you who read all the stuff we went through, offered words of encouragement and prayers...I am very thankful to all of you for that :) Funny how something like a blog to put up puppy pictures turns into so much more than that. I feel like all of you are my friends, you've see the ups and downs, you've been there. What a great thing if you think about it...I'm very lucky :)

It was a very emotional journey for me...and it's still emotional thinking about it. But she's making the most of everything, and I'm with her, just along for the ride :)

Now if you'll excuse me, she's begging to go swimming :)