One Year

 

One year ago today, I lost my sweet Kya. There literally isn't a day that passes that I don't think of her. The kids regularly ask about her and it makes me cry every time. I waited so long for that dog and my time with her was cut drastically short. I miss you so much Kya. I love you!

 

 

On a side note, we are getting a puppy this weekend. I hope that he can bring some healing and closure to both the kids and me. There has been a huge hole in our hearts since Kya died, and I hope this little guy can return all of those laughs and memories in the form of puppy love.

R.I.P. Kya

If you had told me two months ago that I would be burying my two and a half year old dog, I would have laughed. Right around Christmas time, Kya stopped eating her regular food. We figured she was boycotting it because she didn't like it. We got a different food for her, and she seemed to take to that really well. Then she stopped eating that food as well. We would try giving her things like a ham bone, or turkey from Christmas, but she would always throw it right back up. I finally got her some canned dog food. She would scarf that down in seconds. She dropped a ton of weight, her bones were sticking out, and she was just so lethargic. She finally stopped eating the canned food and I knew something was up.

 

I took her to the vet yesterday and he immediately said something major was going on. He drew some blood and sent it out for testing, gave her a fluid injection, and sent me home with some special food for her. I literally had to force feed her that food. She had zero interest in it and would just lie there, not moving. The vet called me this morning with the lab results, and ultimately diagnosed her with kidney failure and some form of pancreatic cancer.  My mind is blown that this can happen to a dog who is less than three years old.

 

I waited on the vet to get some more conclusive lab results, but in the end, everything came back pointing to a very, very poor prognosis for Kya. I needed to take into account her quality of life.

 

The plan was to take her in tomorrow and have her put down. I didn't want her to suffer, and forcing food down her throat is not how I wanted her to spend her final time days or hours.

 

Tonight, I brought her in and brushed her so she would be pretty. Half way through, she started acting like she was going to throw up, so I put her outside. The vet made it clear that if she started vomiting, we needed to take her in right away. I knew there was no way I could take her and sit with her. I called Eric and had him bring the kids to me, and they said their goodbyes. Carter is absolutely devastated. I tried to explain to him that Kya was really sick, and that we needed to remember the good times with her. He is sure going to miss her. Eric took Kya to a 24 hour vet about an hour ago and just called me to say everything is done. I am still reeling from how quickly this all happened. I'm stunned that this could happen to a dog so young. I know there is nothing I could have done to prevent it, but her short life just hits me so hard. She was still very much a puppy, totally healthy and active months ago.

 

There is a huge hole in my heart. I hate that she's not in my house, and never will be again. I miss my friend so much.

 

 

Kya was such a good puppy. She really wasn't a wild, crazy puppy like most are. She was very chill, and very good with the kids. She LOVED chasing Carter around the yard.

 

 
Huskies aren't known for being the easiest dogs to train, but she seemed to do just fine with the basic commands. The big problem we had with her was running off. The second she was off leash, she would take off, and that dog could run like no other dog I have seen. And she jumped like a deer. There were several evenings of chasing her around the neighborhood, trying to find her.

 
Most of all, Kya was a gentle soul. She was never mean to other dogs, always wanted to play, and was content just lying there, being pet.

 
She was such a beautiful girl. We received compliments on her wherever we took her. Everyone wanted to pet her.

 
She only got to go on one camping trip with us, last fall. I was really unsure as to how she would do, considering her love for running off. I figured she would run off into the forest and never return....off on some grand adventure. But she surprised us all and stayed in camp the entire time. She explored quite a bit, taking in the new, mountain scents. I can tell she had a great time. And she sure loved the swimming hole!

 

I took these pictures with her tonight. I set the timer on my camera and we had some quiet moments, saying our goodbyes.

 

 

 

I don't know if you were in pain, sweet girl. If you were, you sure didn't show it. I know the pain is now over for you, but my heart is just broken.  I waited my whole life to have a husky and two and a half years just wasn't enough. I will miss you terribly! I love you, sweet girl.

 

Kendall's First Camping Trip

I finally decided to get away this weekend. Our trip for last weekend was rescheduled and I really needed some time to get into the fresh, mountain air to clear my head. It was time to introduce Kendall to camping! We also took Kya, and this was her first camping experience as well. The entire experience was not exactly what I had in mind.....first, we had heard there was some sort of burn ban, but didn't realize that it included all forms of fire. No campfires whatsoever. This makes for a lame camping trip once the sun goes down. Second, our main spot was turned into the headquarter camp for all of the fire crews battling the forest fires. So we had to scout around for a different spot. Fortunately, since we got up there Thursday, this wasn't an issue. We camped closer to the cabin, up Ten Mile. Kendall had been battling some sort of stomach bug the entire week, we were changing diapers pretty much hourly. Then, Friday night, she was up throwing up a few times. It was not exactly the best camping trip, but we still managed to have a good time.

 

Here is Kendall, chilling out while we set up camp.

 

 

My cuties

 

Making dinner....the first night, we needed something simple and easy. The kids voted on chili dogs.

 

We noticed Kya was chasing something around so Eric went to investigate - a toad!  Carter named him Jimmy. We put him in the river so Kya would leave him alone.

 

 

 

 

I fully expected to come home without a dog. Kya is a runner and is notorious for running off at home the second she gets out front. So I honestly figured she would run off into the mountains and never return. I was wrong! She stayed closed to camp the entire time, venturing away to explore from time to time. But she always came right back when we called her. I think the unknown of the mountains kind of humbled her and she stayed close to us.

 

Making breakfast Friday morning.

 

 

It was definitely chilly overnight and first thing in the mornings!

 

 

Shooting his BB gun.

 

 

Eric and Carter went to Stanley all day Friday, so Kendall and I had a girls day around camp. We set up the shade "tent" because the main tent was so hot in the sun. We had a good lunch, and then I took her and Kya down to the swimming hole.

 

 

 

We took a nap in the shade tent as well - it was nice and cool in there, with the breeze coming in from time to time.

 

 Since Eric had his truck, Kya had to run along behind the 4 wheeler to get to the swimming hole - maybe about 3/4 of a mile total. When we got there, she jumped right into the river and stayed there for quite some time.

 

Kendall must have felt a calling in her blood because the first thing she did was pick up rocks to throw into the water. The water at the swimming hole was actually really low.

 

 

 We stayed at the swimming hole for about an hour (the only reason we left was because Kendall had yet another dirty diaper).

 Once the guys got back from fishing, Carter and I played some baseball. He actually broke his bat!

 

 

We also went up to the cabin to get the dirt bike. My cousins, Matt and Brian, were also up to the mountains this weekend, with their own group of campers. We ran into Brian at the cabin and Matt came down to see us a little bit later.

 

 

 

Of course Carter had to take a ride on his 4 wheeler as well.

 

 

Since there was a burn ban, our only light after dark was the lantern. We didn't want to risk a campfire at this spot because the highway is across the river and you can actually see our camp. Didn't want to risk a ticket from Forest Service.

 

 

Packing it up Saturday morning.

 

 Hey, they do get along!

 

 

All in all, despite Kendall's stomach issues, it was an okay trip. She was very concerned about the amount of dirt in her shoes, but I kept telling her over and over that DIRT is a major component of camping and she needed to get used to it. I don't think she ever did, but she will get there someday.

A Weekend Recap

So this week was a bear. I went back to work Wednesday but only worked part of the day. I hit a wall and literally couldn't stay awake. I don't know if this was due to the pain meds, or my body still trying to recover from the two surgeries.....either way, I could not stay awake another minute that day. I came home and slept for 3.5 hours and it was GLORIOUS. I decided that I needed to cut out the pain meds because they just make me feel so disconnected and that's not something I can do at work. Thursday evening, it caught up to me. I was literally on the kitchen floor, bawling from the pain. So I again had to analyze the pain meds situation. I knew I needed them, but I had to find a way to use them AND still function in life and at work. I found something that works and I'm pleased. However, the week took a lot out of me, so I warned Eric ahead of time that this weekend was going to be about relaxing.

 

For some reason, the kids are seriously into sleeping in. I'm not sure what happened, but I'm not complaining! Before, Carter would always be up at 7:00 or 7:30, even on the weekends. During the week, this doesn't bug me because I'm already up and getting ready for work. But on the weekends, come on. That's just too early. Since we got back from Disneyland, he has suddenly been sleeping until 8:30 or 9:00. So this weekend, that was heaven for me. I set my alarm for 9:00 and would go wake Kendall up and our day would commence.  Yesterday, I took it easy. I did some light cleaning, did some reading, got in a nap while Eric cleaned our cars, and later in the afternoon, we all headed down to Bown Crossing to play in the river. I love this spot because it is far less populated than the main portion of the Boise greenbelt. I think we saw 9 people total. I was so nice. We sat around on a little beach, threw rocks, watched the dogs play in the water, snapped some pictures (naturally), and visited with the other people walking by. It was so peaceful. We came home and ate dinner on the patio, I watched some baseball, and then did some more reading before going to bed. It was the perfect day.

 

I tried to recreate that today and pretty much succeeded. More reading, light cleaning, website work, sitting on the patio while the kids played in the water, and watched more baseball. Relaxation definitely happened for me this weekend, which makes me so happy.