Panama City Beach

Well after a last minute decision to not stay Friday night (due to missing my babies and feeling bad that Pepper went through surgery and hasn't been with us since) we came home and we back in TN by 4am this morning. Here is a quick summary of the trip.

Our view was beautiful...air mattress sleeping...not so much.

Some of us rode (or were pulled) the boogy board.

Some searched for seashellsOthers found crabs...dead and alive!Some were forced to watch hours and hours of Scooby Doo...Train rides took place for the young and young at heart...We saw beautiful sunsets!We played in the sand and made sand castles...endless funAnd numerous cute pictures were taken...no where near enough room to fit them all here!The trip was wonderful! Time to get back to real life. I go back to work Sunday and Ben returns on Monday. Pepper is doing well but we will blog about that next!

Beach Day 1

We're having fun at the beach! Here is a picture. I'll write more later.

Day of Surgery

We met with the Surgeon today. He said Pepper was straight forward. She held every sign of it being torn. He also told us something we already knew...Pepper is overweight...thank you...shocker. He wants Pepper on a diet food. Unfortunately, even though Pepper doesn't eat a lot of food...she packs on the weight. We will have to get her on a diet because she probably just doesn't have the metabolism to keep the weight off. This will be a pain with two other dogs who don't need a diet food. Great!

The surgery went well. There were no complications and Pepper was in 'recovery'. The doc said otherwise Pepper is very healthy and should bounce back just fine. This can be a 12 week long progress of recovery. The doc said he breaks it down in the first 3 weeks and after 3 weeks. The first 3 are supposed to be very quiet for Pepper. So this means, little to no activity, resting and restriction from as much stairs as possible and restriction from the other dogs as they may jump on her and try to get her to play. After 3 weeks she will then have restricted activity such as some walking in the yard on a lease, some going upstairs, basically everything in moderation and at her own recovery pace. He really put us at ease that she might heal much quicker than we thought. Some heal quicker than others. Pepper is so young that I really think she is going to bounce back quickly but we will have to be vigilant to make sure she doesn't try to bounce back quicker than she should because she is SOOOO playful. I will try to take some post surgery pictures tomorrow when we pick her up from the surgeon. Then we are off to Florida while she recoups at the Vet's. I kinda hate to leave her but we need this vacation and she needs rest.

Here you go Ash

So Ashley told me the other night that I need to update some pictures. So here are some new pictures of Mitzi, Pepper and Sammy. First here is some video of Pepper and her gimpy leg.


This video shows Pepper insisting on playing even though she needs to be off her leg.


Here are some updated photos.

Well that's us...3 days before surgery...

Cruciate Ligament

It looks like it is official. Pepper has ruptured/torn/injured her cruciate ligament in her right knee. This injury is unfortunately requiring surgery. There is probably no way around it. Without it, she would develop arthritis and never have the mobility she needs. As an 80 lbs dog, I NEED her to be mobile. My needs at this point are of no concern. Some people may not see it the same way as we do, but for myself and for Ben, our pets are our babies. Pepper is like my first child. It's crazy I know but we love her so much and would do anything for her. I hate to see her in pain. Both of us are distraught over this news but it is fixable and we will take care of it immediately. Pepper is such a great companion and truly makes me feel safe when Ben isn't home. That to me is reason enough to take care of my baby so she can be right by my side in no time to protect our home and be my warning of any danger.

We have an appointment monday with the orthopedic surgeon on Nashville who specializes in this injury. He will do a consultation and determine the best course of action. If surgery is needed, she will be prepped and taken in same day. She will stay over night for observation and we will pick her up Tuesday. Then we have 12 long weeks of slow agonizing recovery for her and for us! For her because she can be as active as a 2 yr old lab WANTS to be and for us because she's big and she has to be isolated downstairs so she doesn't hurt herself after surgery. Dang our 2 story home! Stairs will probably be out of the option for a few weeks unless she is assisted getting up them.

This whole drama has unfortunately altered our Florida vacation plans. I have been looking forward to this for so long and Ben has worked so hard. We are both in need of a vacation. We both thought this would ruin the chances of going at all. Luckily we will be able to board pepper at the vet after her surgery and will pick her up saturday when we return home. So we hope to enjoy Florida from Tuesday evening through Saturday morning! I can't say my heart wont be with her some though.

We are going to go Thursday down to Winchester with pepper and get a second opinion with Ben's family's vet. They have known this man for years and he has bred Labradors for years. He will be a good opinion to get. I think it will relieve any doubt Ben has on the diagnosis. I can't say I'm holding out hope for a different diagnosis. I think she has truly injured herself. Oh well..

So aside from a bad day yesterday and a lot of logistical nightmares and future medical bills...we are so looking forward to sunny florida and a speedy recovery for our dear Pepper. In true Lab nature, even with an injured knee, she runs around on 3 legs wanting to play in the yard. It will be so hard to contain her. I will post pictures of her ordeal...heck I may even scrapbook it...They are the only kids we have right now so why not scrapbook them.

Poor Pepper!!

The last few weeks I have noticed a slight limp in Pepper. She would only do it on occasion so I thought it was a leg falling asleep on her. Well yesterday when I brought them back in from the back yard, Pepper came in holding her right hind leg in the air. I knew something was wrong at that point. I took her to the vet today and got the shocking news that it could be a torn Crucia Ligament. This is similar to an ACL that athletes tear a lot. If this is what it is, Pepper will need surgery. Otherwise, she could potentially not heal properly, develop arthritis in her knee and never walk right ever again. Pepper is too young for us to be irresponsible pet owners. She's like a child to us. So tomorrow Ben will take her for xrays to see how bad she is damaged. Then we will find out how bad it will damage the pocket book!! EEK!

48 hours...

Ok so this is the first time I've been 48 hours away from Ben since we moved to Smyrna. I can't say that its a horrible experience because I am still lucky enough to see him when he is at the fire hall. The only thing that has made this 48 hours miserable without him is that I have felt absolutely HORRIBLE! Curse this infection! I have progressively gotten worse and worse since Monday night at work. I knew it would turn into this. Today I broke down and went to the ECHO clinic the city provides for their employees. The Nurse Practitioner gave me some meds and hopefully I will be better soon. Until then I feel like my throat is being cut open every time I swallow. Now I won't even mention the excrutiating pain of sneezing...Let's just act like I didn't even MENTION that...oww.

Ben is really kicking it in hire gear pulling all these hours. He is a great husband! This is next week's schedule: Work Sunday (FF), Monday (Ambulance), off Tuesday, work Wednesday (FF), Thursday (Ambulance), off Friday, work Saturday (FF) - Sunday LEAVE FOR PANAMA CITY!!! Woo Hoo! Hopefully by then everyone in the family will be feeling better...no more sore throats and crazy mouth ulcers...oww Shannon...can't imagine your pain right now! Let's pray for no hurricanes and no illnesses! I want a fun family vacation.