My Life with Leia

I would like to repeat the thanks that Swanny issued to our blog readers, friends and family whom have all reached out to us at this challenging time. We appreciate your love, well wishes and fond memories of our furry baby. It's been a week since our Leia left us and although the tears are slowing, her absence is felt every day.

As I type this, I am gazing at a beautiful picture of our big sweetie on our mantle, adorned with her collar and flanked by her favorite tennis ball and I'm fondly recalling how she would chase a tennis ball all over the yard and even try to get it as it rolled under the fence.

I'm recalling the first Christmas when we brought Leia home to live with us, how she curled up in my lap on the car on the ride home and how she slept in my lap when Bubba and Gayle came over to play Euchre. I'm remembering how she loved to chase bubbles, how she'd jump after a handful of fall leaves tossed into the air, and how she'd heel to Peanut's stroller instead of us when we'd take doggy and baby for walks. I'm remembering her big hugs (which were really kisses with her paws on your shoulders).

I'm remembering how she never really begged people food (as she was never given much of it), but just couldn't help herself but to take the last half of a grilled cheese sandwich off of my plate when I got up to answer the phone when I was 8 months pregnant with Peanut. I'm remembering how Leia raced through our house when we first bought it-- so excited that 5 of 7 rooms were carpeted and she had traction! I'm remembering when Peanut was a baby and I took her up to lay her in her crib for a nap, I returned to the living room to find Leia curled up in Peanut's Boppy pillow.

I'm remembering how Leia loved Swanny Jr. despite his tendency to grab her collar and not let go.

Leia was so energetic, full of life and fun. My memories of her are sweet and happy and are helping me find some comfort despite how very much I miss her.

In her memory, I give thanks. I give thanks that she came into our lives and we were able to provide a loving home for her. I give thanks that she was a loyal companion and a loving, cuddly pup who always wanted to snuggle. I give thanks that she was there for me to pet when I was sad and lonely. I give thanks that she was there to play with, there to walk with and there to share my life with for a short while. For her love and friendship, I will always be grateful and her being a part of our family, I will always treasure.

Thanks

Jen and I just wanted to let everyone know how much we appreciate the outpouring of support at this difficult time in our life. Leia was (and will continue to be) a huge part of our family. As will happen though, we didn't know what we had 'till it was gone. It's hardest for me when I'm walking in the door, listening to Maggie barking because we're home. I go to quiet Mags down and immediately look to make eye contact with Leia, who's not there. But I'll always remember how she would look at me as if to say, "Seriously? This is what I deal with every day. Why is she so loud about everything?"

For Jen, the toughest time is when she's getting the kids ready for naps or bedtime. Leia would follow Jen into Peanut's and Swanny Jr's rooms and lay down beside mother and child until Jen was ready to leave the room.

The house is a lot quieter now without Leia's jingling collar ringing throughout, and our bed's not as warm without that fifty pound space heater wedging herself between us. It's still hard to accept that she's not going to come strolling into the room with a tennis ball in her mouth and a crazed, playful look in her eyes. It's sad to know that she can't play chase with Peanut.

We all miss her terribly and will for some time. Even Maggie, who's always taken her cues from Leia, seems a bit lost without the big girl around. Maggie will rebound nicely though, I think. She's already started trying to fill the void that Leia has left, appearing to be much more sociable than she usually is, much more willing to play.

If Maggie can begin to move on, then so can we. Eventually. I'll always love Leia and she will be the dog by which all other dogs in our house will be measured. We'll all move past this in our own ways and time. With the support of friends and readers like you, hopefully that process will be made that much easier.

Thank you all so much for keeping us and Leia in your thoughts. It makes me smile to know that she touched so many people in so many ways.

Give me a couple more days and we'll tie up some loose ends like cars, head staples, and birthdays. For now, though, I just want to reflect on my life with on particular dog.

What a time we had...

LEIA

To everyone who has known and loved Leia with us, I have some sad news to share.

Today at about 3 pm, Leia passed away. She has as many of you know been fighting illness since this summer. She has been undergoing treatment for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (the canine equivalent of Crohn's Disease) for about 5 weeks and for the first 3 showed good response to treatment. The vet did warn us with the diagnosis that we couldn't fully rule out lymphoma, and as it turns out the lymphoma reared its ugly head.

She was not eating well again starting about a week and a half ago. She really started showing signs she was not at all feeling well on Wednesday and was admitted to the ICU at the animal hospital in Aurora yesterday.

Tests today supported suspicions that Lymphoma had really taken hold. We were told that even with treatment the prognosis was not good. Jen was able to bring her home today and get her resting comfortably. She died here at home, with Jen
by her side.

Thank you to all of you who have helped us in dealing with her health challenges this year and for all of you who have loved her with us. We'll miss her so much....

The five best words I've heard in a while...

"It's only Inflammatory Bowel Disease."

Yes, based on lab results of the biopsies that were removed from Leia's stomach, bowel, colon, and a lymph node, our big sweetie does not have lymphoma. We finally got the word from the vet this afternoon. Now we just wait to see what our course of treatment is. There was talk of a diet change and steroids. Should be interesting.

All we know is that we're thrilled that our girl should be with us for a good long while.

Thought you all should know. We'll keep you up to date on our progress. Photos of a Barry Bonds type dog may be right around the corner.

A thickened colon's hardly ever a good thing, right?

A thickened stomach, colon, and... bowel? Maybe? I'm not too sure on that last one, but either way, it doesn't sound great. Here's where I'd normally say something along the lines of how this was a description of a post-mexican meal-gone-wrong, and make some fart and shit jokes, but sadly, it's not the case.

After months of scratching our heads and consulting with the doctors to figure out what's going on with her, we finally took Leia in to the vet for some exploratory surgury. The opening sentence up there, is what the vet told us after the surgury was complete. Oh, but add in a slightly enlarged lymph node. The good news is that, despite the vets leaning towards lymphoma as a diagnosis, it wasn't clearly evident that that's what's going on inside our puppy.

Despite an unusually sober mood around the house the last couple of days, we're trying to keep Leia comfortable now that she's post-op. It's a great thing that all she needs is a tennis ball to put a smile on her face. Throw that ball into the other room, and she takes off after it like she's only 2 years old.

She's still our big sweetie. Now, we'll see what happens.

Random Updates

Not to over-shadow Swanny's sad phone situation below--our deepest condolences Swanny, but I thought I'd update our loyal readers on the random goings on around here.

We had a fun, laid-back 4th of July with Bubba, Gayle, and Baby Bubba (who is so darn cute and looking so grown up, we're going to have to officially change his blog name to Bubba Jr.--especially since I've dubbed their next heir--due end of October--Bubba Jr. Jr.).

The kids had fun in the pool at our place, since Bubba and Gayle currently find their home under construction--majorly. A second story is being added and it's plywood, piping and insulation galore! At least they have all of their walls and a roof again--despite new skylights in the downstairs ceilings hey didn't plan on. YIKES. Anyway, the kiddos also had a ton of fun with the sparklers (except Swanny Jr. who was already in bed when we busted out the combustibles).


Peanut was less thrilled about the sparklers she held in her had than she was about the giant fountain fireworks that Bubba and Swanny pulled out next. Seriously, she snapped like 10 pictures of her own while seated with me viewing the sparkler display.





After we wrapped up the show at home, we walked to the bridge to view Ottawa's firework spectacle. Meh. It was ok.

My Dad had called earlier in the week prior to the holiday and invited us to his house to have a cookout that weekend, so we headed to his place the next day. Fun was had by all as Swanny and Dad enjoyed target shooting with the B.B. guns




while Peanut threw and kicked a ball nearly as big as she was and enjoyed a rather large sucker.



She also enjoyed picking fresh raspberries with Grandpa and Grandma.




The next morning, she insisted we have them on pancakes...mommy was quite tired and insisted that she would make pancakes for dinner the next night if we let the folks at the HiWay cook pancakes for us that morning.


Peanut enjoyed carrying around a flag for a few days after the holiday, even though we didn't really talk about what the holiday was about or meant. That was made obvious when she was waving it in the house saying, "I'm the Queen!"

She then went on to dub Swanny Jr. the King and Swanny and I prince and princess respectively....I guess she's unclear on the pecking order in the house....or perhaps it's me who is unclear....

We made a trip to the QC midweek to have haircuts and visit with Grammie La and Grammies Pam and Maru. Peanut has now started calling Grammie Maru, Maria. Yeah, it's her real name, but it feels like the equivalent of her calling me "Jen" instead of Mommy. It was awfully nice to visit. (I of course forgot the camera--sorry no pic for this trip.)

We've done lots of playing outside lately. Check out these shots, the first of which is Peanut on her slide last summer, about this time when we first put up her swing set. The next was taken yesterday.

Wow. Is that the same kid?? Where does the time go!?

Peanut's been doing lots of swimming, bike riding and watering of her flowers.

Her gardening endeavors are turning out much better than my own this summer...the only thing I'm successfully helping to grow is Swanny Jr.

I'll take that though.

Swanny Jr. has been along for the ride. Playing, napping, eating, pooping, then repeat.

We're enjoying the "lazy days of summer" for sure. The best was today. Swanny Jr., Peanut and I all enjoyed a nap together. I woke up before both of them and just had to snap this one...I know it won't be long before neither of them will be napping, let alone with mom, or with each other...

(Sorry it's so dark, but a flash might have woken them both up!!)

blessings....the kids and the nap! :) And don't worry, Rikki, Swanny Jr won't be getting so used to napping with mom in her bed that he won't be able to nap for you when he joins the Crew.

And, since this is "My Life With Dogs", this is what our other girls have been up to.

Hope you all are enjoying your summer too!!

Boxers and e-collars don't mix

I felt bad for Leia because she was obviously freaked out.






But not so bad that I couldn't take a few pictures.

The good news is, she was able to calm down and tolerated the e-collar for a while. That is, until this afternoon. When Jen and Peanut got home, they found that Leia had managed to get the collar off and decided to chew on it a bit.

At least she seems to be feeling like her old self.

Rub some dirt on it and get back in the game.

When you own a Boxer, you do so with the understanding that there are requirements that come with the breed. For example, Boxers are not what you'd call "low-energy" dogs. They need lots of exercise, play time, and of course, lots of room in your bed.

The other thing you accept is that they are right there with Golden Retrievers when it comes to developing cancer. When you have a boxer you understand that, while little lumps or bumps probably are just that, if those lumps or bumps get bigger, it may mean something nasty is coming your way.

That being said; a couple of weeks ago, I took Leia to th vet for her rabies shot and pointed out a couple of lumps that we were concerned about to the doctor. Dr. Clayton is a great vet and always lays it on the line. He told me that he didn't like the look of the lumps, and that he wanted to take them very seriously. He gave us the choice of either having them removed and biopsied, or leave them be and see what happens down the line.


(in the picture, the lump on her leg is barely visible about 3 inches below my thumb. there's another on her other leg.)


We opted not to wait.




Looks brutal, right? Try being in the same room with her. Leia's a very healthy dog, so it's unusual to see her moving a little slower than usual. She's also sleeping quite a bit, but who can blame her? After the kind of day she's had, I'd be zonked too.

We have to keep her from chewing on the stitches (not a problem so far), so an e-collar may come into play, but otherwise she should bounce back pretty quick. I know she'll feel a lot better once she can eat again tomorrow morning.

Stayed tuned for more updates this weekend, as we find out her test results.

Christmas with the Swanny's

A very different holiday for us it was indeed. The first ever Christmas holiday IN MY ENTIRE LIFE where I did not have to travel any further than church on Christmas Eve. In the end, very relaxing and enjoyable. We are very much looking forward to spending next weekend with our families to share the Christmas joy with them. I think this is a good way to do it....after all, Christmas technically lasts until January 6th!
It was hard to determine who in our house enjoyed their Christmas goodies more.
Peanut:




Leia:



or Maggie:



I think it's a close call between Peanut's reaction to her pink guitar that Santa left her and Maggie, who stock-piled all of her gifts in the corner of the couch seen above. She lay there all Christmas Eve and most of Christmas day playing with the different toys and then finally falling asleep curled up around the toys. It was a sight to see!

Peanut has taken to playing her guitar for various random occasions (to sing along with something on TV, to sing her dolls to sleep in their new doll bed, or because she sees mom and dad playing Guitar Hero).

It was a very Merry Christmas at the Swanny house. We certainly reflected on how blessed our family is and how very fortunate we are. We counted our blessings as we relaxed and rejoiced, mainly over ham, sugar cookies and fudge! Merry Christmas all!

Leia's Gotcha Day

Roughly five years ago, on either December 15th or 16th (I can't remember if it was a Sunday or Monday), we brought home our first little bundle of joy. She whined the whole way home, pooped a stream the first time she went on the newspapers, and cried when we tried to make her sleep in her kennel that first night.



Five years later, we have a dog who hogs the bed (only missing a handful of nights), whines only when she wants to play, and poops outside. Usually.