Long post warning!
To the good news first...
My little girl is growing like crazy and is well on her way to catching up with the size of her big dog feet. She's now over 14 pounds! She's happy, content and couldn't be sweeter. She's so smart, she just blows my mind. She knows as much as I love her, I don't care for puppy kisses or dog licks -- so she boink boink boinks me on the nose with hers. It's all kisses for her dad, though! Her potty training is going great. She sits pretty for her cookies, in fact, she sits pretty for everything she wants now. It's the cutest thing ever! However, if one even tries to go near her food bowl at meal time, look out! This is something I'm working with her on daily and am beginning to see improvement. There's no doubt in my mind she remembers when she was starving, which understandably makes her very protective of "her" food. In a way, I'm kind of glad of it. Her foster mom had shared with me that she wasn't overly interested in her food, well... that's changed now! She'd eat 10 meals a day if I'd allow it.
She adores her puppy toys, but not nearly as much as she does Chance's cherished American Kennel Club grown up doggie plush squeaky toys collection. Some he's had for years and were still in perfect condition. All of a sudden, with a little help from Sydney they've become frayed, but the generous big brother he is... he's been more than happy to share his toys with her. In doing so, it's spared him much physical wear and tear from her needle-like baby teeth. Smart guy! So far his list for Santa this Christmas includes a replacement Canadian Goose, a Mallard duck, a big Squirrel, a Hedgehog, a Crane with rope legs, a Moose, and... and... and...
Sydney knows how to have fun on her own, too and keep herself occupied. I believe she has dreams of becoming an Olympic gymnast or figure skater. You should see the way she cuts flips in the air, springs and tumbles as she runs around the house. She lands places and clearly has no idea how she got there!
We've recently discovered that one of her favorite things in the whole world to do is play with an ice cube. If she hears the ice maker in the fridge door run, she comes flying as fast as her paws will take her on a hardwood floor. When she slides in, she sits pretty, with her head cocked looking directly at the ice maker wiggle waggling in anticipation. When she gets her cube she'll plant a front paw on it, then literally skates from room to room. Once the cube begins to melt, she'll bat it around to make it ricochet off the cabinets and/or furniture, then dive for it and do it all over again. When the cube becomes a puddle trail, she'll come back to the fridge and sit pretty staring at the door to ask for another. She's too darn cute, not to give into her!
The not so happy news is that we had her to the vets last Friday and again on Monday. She's now had all of her vaccinations, however, we're battling Demodex. At first we thought she had an eye infection, which prompted her visit to the vet a few days earlier than originally scheduled. He said it was either an infection, which he's seeing a lot of right now due to the high volume of "biting" gnats we have in our area. Or, a Demodex break through. He wanted to spare her from a skin scraping if at all possible, and a bad "vet" experience, so he gave us some antibiotic eye drops to try first. He said to give it about a week. But, there was no improvement whatsoever over the weekend. In fact, it worsened. They were able to work us in on Monday and unfortunately, Demodex it is. (This is something I do know much about. Given Sydney's rough start in life, I'm seriously concerned about her immune system and have been... I know it's deficient. She wasn't allowed enough time with her mom to receive those vital "maternal" antibodies to keep her well and healthy. So, this coming Tuesday, we'll be consulting with a DVM specialist we take our "special needs" cats to, to help us boost her immune system alternativelyand treat the Demodex condition without any further toxic dips.)
We also had a bizarre thing happen at the vet's office. One which could have proven to be a nightmare. Sydney's dad certainly was in the right place at the right time. Without a doubt! It was one of those times when I was really thankful that I don't go anywhere much on my own these days. And, those are rare, I tell ya! The office was packed out. Sydney was a little scared, but she was sitting quietly in my arms. We kept hearing a splitting/cracking sound that we thought was coming from an office on the other side of the waiting room wall. My seat happened to be under the television that's been hanging on the wall for years. It's one of the old heavy 20" portable console TVs. Well, you know what's coming next, don't you? There was a crashing sound as the TV began to pull out of the wall. Sydney's dad instinctively knew what was happening and quickly told me to tuck back, while he literally pushed the TV away from me in the air as it was falling, just as it was about to tumble on top of us! There was no doubt in the minds of anyone in the office that it would have crushed my skull and Sydney's, too. As Sydney and I sat there kind of in shock and frozen, everyone else was thanking God that we'd not been hurt and calling Sydney's dad everything from Superman to a guardian angel. The whole thing happened in a second or two, but he said to him it felt as if it was in slow motion -- as if time had slowed just enough for him to react. The only injury was a cut to the palm of his hand from the sharp metal bracket that had given way. That TV was so heavy it took two vet techs to pick it up to cart away! God, in deed, was looking out for us in the person of Sydney's dad...
My little girl has had a lot going on the past few days and hasn't felt well at all. She's been lethargic, very timid... needy... and has wanted to be either in my lap or beside me every moment. So, I've not done much but be with her. She's not had her typical puppy energy to play as she normally does, which has been worrying to Chance. In his own way he's tried to help her. He's patted her with his paw -- woofed at her to initiate play, and he's let her stretch out beside him on the sofa. That's huge -- he shares his spot on the sofa with no one!
But, I'm relieved to share that she's finally getting a little spunk back. Yesterday we spent some quality time outside birdwatching, checking out what remains of my summer flowers, walking in the woods beside my house and taking pictures. We were in the yard when her dad came home from work, she was so happy to see him that she crawled into his patrol car. Glad I had my camera in hand... as if she didn't already look pitiful..
We just came in from a potty break moments ago, and Sydney has initiated some playtime with Chance... they've been running loops around my bedroom and have now taken it downstairs. I hear puppy giggles and big brother woofings! Yep! I do believe she's just about "back" to herself! Yay! What a relief!!!
(It's heavy to ponder, but I'm at the point I believe her tummy was never full from the time she was born, until after she was rescued. For she and her little sibling that didn't make it to be so carelessly and cruelly thrown away at only 3 weeks of age, un-weaned... was her momma dog still alive? Is she still alive? What happened to her other siblings? Is Sydney the only survivor? Neglect is torture, in my book. Was she and her litter mates so neglected, was her original "owner" or "breeder"... so convicted he/she just couldn't do the right thing? Or, were they THAT ignorant? Was this their first shot at breeding? If it was, they surely failed, didn't they? Will they try it again? I hope and pray our good Samaritan keeps an eye out for that spot on the road.
As I've mentioned before... I'll always wonder. As she's grown the scars and bald spots she bears from the insect bites, sores and wounds have gotten larger, too. They've become much more noticeable. The worst are on the top of her head, yet, we're seeing more now, in other places. To me... they reflect her strength of spirit, courage, and will to survive. To me... they help to share her story... which leads to Chance's and Maggie's stories, too... and my kittie's stories... about animal rescue... about how wonderful rescued pets are -- how thankful they are to be loved and become a part of a forever family... about how wonderful Springers are... And!!!... about the mission and incredible work the English Springer Rescue America organization does. Over 1,000 volunteers in 40 states with 8,500+ Springers rescued since March, 1998 to date. Thank the Lord above, my little Sydney was one of them.)
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