The last several weeks have been a bit crazy around here. The business is growing like mad; 3 new corporate clients have signed with us in the last 2 weeks. These are major, well-known brands in technology and telecommunications and I am immensely proud of how Rob has managed these opportunities. It’s wonderful how we have been blessed the last 3 years in the business. There were times when we thought, right, we’re done with this but God has provided time and time again. I’m continually amazed.
The last week or so, Samson has been doing his best camel impression, guzzling water like crazy. He also started waking me up earlier and earlier to go out for his morning constitutional. Finally, on Thursday night I told Rob I was worried he was sick. He agreed Sam wasn’t quite himself and we’d call the vet in the morning. In the meantime, I consulted Google. DO NOT EVER DO THIS. All the horrible things I’d imagined came up. Renal failure was at the top of the list. I freaked, flashing back to when Mel and Tuck died. He didn’t seem that sick, how could he be in renal failure? Rob insisted I calm down, that he wasn’t that sick and if he had something serious, we’d caught it early.
Mom, you are so dramatic. I’m fine!
I called the vet and the doctor was out. We made an appointment at their partner clinic across town. We’d been there only once… 2 years ago when we rushed Tuck in for a quality of life check that ended in that awful decision to let him go. So going back to the same clinic made me nervous and jumpy. Rob kept insisting Sam was going to be fine. I kept steeling myself for hearing bad news.
The vet came in and checked him out. She asked us about how much he ate, did anyone tell us he needed to lose weight? Diabetes was a possibility, Cushings, kidney issues.. all the things I worried about but we would know more after blood work and a urinalysis. She told us to run a few errands and come back in 45 mins. We ran down to the office to check the mail and came back.
Pills, I swallow them.
The vet tech lead us back into the exam room and the doctor came in with 2 bottles of pills. She said, “I have good news and good news.” I fought back tears when she said Sam had a urinary infection that would require 2 weeks of antibiotics. Whew. The bigger issue was his thyroid. It’s basically non-functional at this point. His hormone level was so low it couldn’t even register on the test. So, he’ll need thyroid medication for the rest of his life. In the 48 hours since he’s been on the medication, he’s showing signs of how he was 3 or 4 years ago. I suspect his thyroid has been a problem for a while, as he’s put on weight without an increase in food, gets no treats or table scraps and has only lost minimal weight with exercise.
The vet was very nice and complimented us on how well behaved he was and what a sweet dog he is. We are very blessed and again, I am grateful beyond words.
And lastly, on Thursday, we are flying out to Kansas City to visit Rob’s grandmother, uncle and aunt. He hasn’t seen his grandmother and uncle since 1992 when they were there for a family funeral. I haven’t met any of them except over Facebook and on the phone. We are so excited to visit! It’s just a short visit this time but we both anticipate we will be making that trip more often. It’s wonderful to feel like we have this part of our family who really want to know us and spend time with us. They are kind and generous, supportive and so very nice. What a blessing to have these in-laws in my life, in our life!
Stay tuned for pictures of our visit!