And so it begins...

I have to say I initially signed up to make a blog last week because I had accidentally come across Cheeky & Trig, a blog by a girl from Utah named Lindsey Fae. If you are a blog reader or a blogger or whatever they're called (I'm still new at this) then you should read hers. I love it.

So after deciding I wanted to do this I thought how do I decide what to write about? I asked my husband Tim his thoughts. He said to write about our pups...because we're going through some tough times with one of them right now and so they're on our mind more than they usually would be.

We have two chocolate labs. They're amazing. And so the story begins...

A few weeks ago we had taken Buddy to the vet for a routine check of his levels for his seizure meds. (Is it odd I'm calling checking on his levels for seizures routine? I think so.)

We received a phone call from our vet asking us to bring in a pee sample (and by us I mean ME since my husband is not exactly okay with the bodily functions of our pups he loves so much.) So...I took them outside with my little Tupperware cup in hand. Now I have to say that Buddy doesn't always lift his leg to pee. He generally walks and pees at the same time. THIS was one of those times. I stuck the little cup right under there trying to catch the pee and not let the pee catch me. He turned around and looked at me as if to say, "What the heck do you think you're doing?!?!" And of course, he stopped peeing and walked away. I stayed close and eventually he went again and I got my "specimen."

A day or so later I received an email so long and in depth from my vet, I could hardly believe it. And to tell you the truth, I wanted to pretend what it was really saying was not a big deal and just hope he had no idea what he was talking about. He told us that Buddy had protein and blood in his urine that meant he undoubtedly had PLN which is Protein Losing Nephropathy...which translates to - BAD NEWS. In that same email, he told me in a month, he'd be moving and our "case" would be given to another Dr.

Buddy is one of those dogs that can play and jump around and slobber kisses on your face in fits of joy. But he's also one of the best cuddlers I've ever seen. He's the best pillow when you're tired or not feeling well. And let me tell you...when your feet are cold, he's your pup.

As I was reading this email my face got hot, the tears started flowing. At this point, we were still unsure of the severity of the PLN and if his kidneys were in kidney failure or not. He was (and is) still acting and looking great so we had no idea anything was going on inside his furry brown body.

He's on about 5 different medicines. He's on special food. And we're really pulling for him because he's tough. And his little sister Slider needs her Buddy. Who the hell am I kidding? WE need our Buddy.

Since that first email...we've had quite a few vet appts. (with Slider in tow as his moral support.) His levels are all worse as of the last appt. He's in Stage 2 Kidney Failure. He's still our same "Big Buddy" and we're holding onto that as long as we can. When his antibiotics are done in a few weeks he goes back to have his levels checked again. Fingers crossed because we believe in miracles. Especially if miracles include big brown life changing pups. (And we think they do.)