My baby boy Jedi!

Just wanted to post an update about Jedi.

I just wanted to tell everyone how awesome it was to get all the support from you people.

Yes we were approached by NBC 5 and Fox 4 news, but we've decided to just let the situation go.
I'm trying to look at this through a different perspective in that the people at the city felt Jedi had a shot. Can I really blame them for that? No way. But what I am upset about is that they didn't inform us that they wanted to give him that chance. Actually they blatantly lied, explained to my husband something TOTALLY different and then put him on the website for adoption. If I would not have by chance gotten on that website for a totally different reason, I would not be sitting next to my dog right now on the couch.

My vet told me that he was in pain 24/7 and that he was beyond surgery, glucose shots, etc.

So back to getting Jedi. We left the end of the day on Thursday with them telling me there was no way I could get him back. Who knows what happened, but they called before the clinic even opening on Friday and said we could come pick him up!

When I picked him up they said they wanted me to take him to a vet in the next 24 hours and that I no matter what had to follow the vet's orders. Blah, blah. It's my dog people. I guess that is what has bothered me about the people at the city the ENTIRE time. It was like they were questioning my love for my dog. Like I wasn't putting his best interest at heart and like I wouldn't want to do what was best for him. Why would I have a dog for the past 9 years that I didn't love and care for?

Anyways, I took him to a new vet that had never seen him before. It's this cute old man who is really sweet with MUCH better bedside manners than my previous vet. I told him I by NO means wanted to put Jedi to sleep. I told him about the traumatic experience I had gone through and said I could not go through that again. Releasing him to put him down, going through that entire grieving process, just to find out he is still alive... I know it's just a dog people, but that was really hard on me. I've cried more this week than I ever can remember.
So, he examined him and though he agreed that his back hind leg was probably beyond surgery, he did not agree with the vet that Jedi was in constant pain. He felt that at one point Jedi was, but now the ligaments and muscles and such have formed that Jedi is probably only in major pain when he tries to jump up on stuff or when he goes up stairs. Basically that is because his knee socket is just always out of place and his body has adapted to that.
The other good thing is that Jedi's other hind leg is probably at a stage 2, not a stage 3 close to 4. From what our other vet said, Jedi would be basically not being able to move very good in the next 6 months. Which is why we had decided to put him to sleep now instead of when it got to that point. This information would have totally changed our minds and we would have never had him put to sleep if we would have been told this.
He did say that vets opinions on luxating patella's vary greatly, which is probably why they both gave me such different recommendations.
This new vet prescribed some anti-inflammatory medicine, and also this new food that has all these anti-oxidants and vitamins and stuff. I'm really excited to see how this all works.
In the end, nothing really can be done about one of his legs, but this new stuff may make his other hind leg healthy enough to last him the rest of his life. We're supposed to take him back in again in 6 months for another re-evaluation.

Obviously I am overjoyed at all of this news. When Jedi was gone those two days, my life seemed so vacant. He left a HUGE hole!

Cute little Jedi is home!

They called this morning and I was able to go and pick him up!!!

I know it's because of all the pressure!

I'll post a blog soon with details but I have a lot of work to do as I just now got here!!

Thanks everyoen for your support!!!!

-Des

This is a nightmare

The absolute worst situation has happened concerning Jedi.

I feel like this is a serious nightmare.

Well as you all know we left Jedi to be put to sleep on Tuesday with the Grand Prairie Animal Services. Jon signed all the papers, said that we did not want him adopted out but that he was in pain and under advice from our vet, we should put him to sleep.

They said ok, and that it would be taken care of that day. That was one of the hardest days of my adult life and I cried like someone who had lost a close friend.

Fast forward 2 days. The last few nights these stray cats in our neighborhood have been fighting, mating whatever. They are making a whole lot of noise in the middle of the night. So I decided to call the animal service to get them picked up so they would stop waking me up. I looked up the number on the website and while I was waiting on hold, I saw the adoptable pets section and clicked on it. After looking through a few pages, I thought, oh look, they have a yorkie. I click on the picture only to read that this Yorkie is MY DOG!

I immediately freak out. This is what I saw.



I call Jon who was just finishing up with work, and he goes up there.

Well apparently, when you come in and bring a dog in and say you want it to be euthanized immediately, it is a red flag. So they keep the dog for observation and let a local rescue group look at him and if they feel like surgery can help him, they do it and then adopt him out.

Well they decided to let the Rescue Group take a look at my dog. We do not know what the rescue group has decided, but basically he is still alive and I can not get him back. When Jon signed the euthenization papers, he signed away all rights to the dog. So Jedi is not technically my dog anymore, he belongs to the City of Grand Prairie.

Jon goes in there and flips his lid at them demanding the dog back. They say no way and that we obviously did not want the dog. He said that the dog was in pain, and they felt like he was not (Then why does he only use 3 legs when he walks and his legs are turned out). She said that if they decide Jedi should not be euthanized, it is their policy to not adopt him back to his original owners, because how do they know we will not just go ahead and have him put down again!

This is ridiculous!!! The only reason why we took him there was because we were told he was in pain, he was only going to get worse and we decided to put him out of his misery now instead of prolonging it. And now these people are questioning my love for a dog that I have had for NINE YEARS!!!

I called back and the lady was very rude, and only started being nicer when I broke down on the phone. She said I could call back tomorrow to see what the vet said and see if they were going to place him up for adoption or put him to sleep.

Jon called her boss and he said he would make some phone calls and see if the dog could be returned to us… II I am very doubtful of all of this.

Tiff called and talked to the director and they said they have been playing with him and they do not think he should be put down, but we should consider amputation, which I think is crueler than euthanizing him because then it would put all the pressure on his other knee, so then what, we amputate both legs??!! The director basically told Tiffani there was no way I could get him back, even if her boss tried to make it happen. Rude woman once again.

So now there is a very good chance my dog will be adopted out to some random family and I will never see him again.

This is a complete nightmare. I have been sobbing. How can this happen!!! They told Jon they would put him down that afternoon, and now he is still alive after 2 days.
My one thing was I did not want them to put him in a kennel, because he hates kennels and I did not want him to be scared before he was put to sleep. And now he has been in a kennel for 2 days with strange dogs, smells, people and I may never see him again.

I do not know what to do… I feel so helpless…

The bottom line is that they lied to us. They said they would put him down that afternoon and then they did not. Now he is possibly going to be adopted out to another family. I think we should all call up there and complain and say they need to give him back to me. If they feel like he should not be put to sleep, then by all means, I will be happy to keep him with me. I do not want him to die, I just thought based on a vets recommendation that i was doing the humane thing.
If you want to complain, email them at animaldispatch@gptx.org
You need to press 4 to actually speak with a live person.

I am so upset... I feel like this is a nightmare. My poor dog is sitting in some kennel a

Today is a new day

Well today is a new day.
I process things really differently.
I have an emotional break down and then the next morning I'm fine.
And boy did I have an emotional breakdown. I cried and cried and cried till my face was swollen and I had a pounding headache. I kept thinking that maybe I did the wrong thing. That we should have waited longer to do it.
But this morning I woke up feeling better. I walked into the kitchen to let Jedi out and realized he wasn't there, but I didn't feel overcome with emotions. It was just like, oh ya, he's gone.

That's just how I work. Once things have been processed over, I move on. It's like I realize life goes on and I need to keep trecking. He was a great dog that I loved unconditionally. Like Tiff said in a comment, he was just part of who I was. But now he's gone and though I feel strange in my house without hearing his nails clicking on the wood floors or him barking when I come in the house... I know that what we did was for the best. Prolonging his pain because I didn't want to part with him was very selfish. Putting him down was the loving thing to do. He knew he was loved.

Even if you look at the picture. You can tell which ones are recent because his eyes look glassy. He just was not feeling well and was in pain.

Here is one of my fave pics where Lyric looks like she is strangling him! :)


SO yes, today is a new day!

We had a really great meeting last night and I feel really encouraged.

Okay, I think that is it. I need to get back to work.

My dog Jedi

I really loved that dog.

I got him right before my 16th birthday as a birthday present from my parents. My dad said they picked him because he was climbing all over his brothers and sisters trying to be seen.

From the get go we loved eachother so much. I never had to have a leash on him because he was always content just to follow where I was going. So much so that one time my dad used him as an illustration at church, and when he put him on the stage, he pooped! :) It was so funny!

I took him everywhere with me. In my purse, in his little doggie purse (which he LOVED). He just liked to be with me. We moved from apartment to apartment, then I came back home. Then he moved with me again when I got married. I had him in my first house, when I was pregnant.

He was with me through hard break ups, being in love, trips, good times, bad times... I mean 9 years is a long time to have a dog. It feels like he was just always there. That one constant over time... He was a really good dog, yes he had some issues just like every other dog, but he was a really good dog. Sweet and loving. Not yappy. Never nipped. He was just a great dog.

And now he's not here.

Jon took him today because I knew I couldn't do it. When I found out he was on his way, I cried so hard I left work. I know, totally embarassing, but this dog was like a member of our family. A smelly more hairy member, but I really loved that dog.

Jon let him run around the park before he took him and was actually nice to him, go figure (jon and Jedi have never been chums). He even cried. The only thing is they wouldn't let him go back there, as they said people freak out and cry too much. The lady was really nice and Jedi liked her Jon said. He was comfortable and wagging his little tiny tail.

He had a luxating patella in both his back legs. He has been hobbling around on just 3 legs for almost a year now. He is getting less and less mobile and just spends most of the time sitting on the couch because it hurts him to move too much. He couldn't go on walks anymore, he couldn't run and play. He even gave up chasing cats out the backyard. His leg that was at a stage 3 was getting worse, which would mean he was about to not really be able to use either one of his back legs. His deterioration was beyond surgery or even glucose shots.... I know that he was in pain and it was going to get worse, which is why we decided to put him down now. Before he got to the point where he couldn't even hobble over to his food bowl.

But I already miss him so much...

It makes me never want to get another animal again because it hurts so much when they are gone.

I feel like a blubbering idiot, but unless you've had an animal for a long period of time that you really loved, you'll never understand. I've literally been crying almost all day. I didn't really have a moment with him to say bye. I just held him for awhile when he came over to me this morning. I sat there petting him and telling him what a good dog he has been and that I love him...

So anyways, my dog Jedi is gone. He was put to sleep this afternoon.
He lived a really great life and was very loved.

Home today!

Well Lyric's sitter, Christina Smith, is sick today. She has a 101 fever and also has the sniffles. Well since my mom is at the hospital with Abby and Court still has sick kids and Jon is out of town... there was no one left to keep Lyric, so ya. Mom duty calls and I took the day off. As you can tell, I'm really crying about having to spend the whole day with my daughter and getting a long weekend out of it! :) However, if I had the choice, I would have gone in, because I want to save my vacation time, but what do you do? We've already had a delightful day. We've played together, and taken a bath and now she is down for a nap. Here are a few pictures from the last few days. I went and took Jedi to the groomers because he was stinky and beyond dirty. I was trying to grow his hair out, but then realized that I don't have the time and energy to keep him looking and smelling pretty. Here he is before: and the after: Here is my niece Ashlyn with straight hair And Maddy, but she always has straight hair Kady and Lily We tried to take a "girls" picture, but Lyric wouldn't cooperate. Silly Face Leap Frog Lyric would not cooperate for picture taking that evening Then last night we had a girls night at Terreli's in Dallas off of Greenville. It was so much fun just to hang out and talk and drink martinis. It was definitely needed! Thanks to Liz, Marian, Tiff, Christina and Court for making the night oh so fun! (I swear I'm not this fat, it's just a bad pic) So I have the day off, and I don't know what to do with myself! Maybe I'll go to the mall or something. I wish I could go to the hospital, but Lyric now has a runny nose and since she's been around so many sick kids, I don't want to risk anyone else getting sick. I would feel horrible if we passed on the flu. But hopefully, I can at least go up there and see Sophie from afar! :) Okay, well I should probably take this opportunity of Lyric sleeping to fold some laundry. I'm out!

PS. I love you Jonathan

Writing...

So I've started writing my first novel. I'm determined to finish it.
I'm in the outline stage and the part where I am constantly bouncing ideas off Jonathan. He's pretty good at helping me clarify the craziness in my head. I've come up with the basic story line (obviously, that's the first step). It's more in the genre of books Iike to read, fantasy that is. Not to the extreme that I read, but more like on the level of "this could possible happen, maybe..." It's really interesting, or at least to me.
Anyways, just thought I should put that out there. At least I'll be held accountable now because I said it outloud. I am going to start and finish a novel. not for anyone else, but just for me. Just so I can say I finally did it!! (que the Rocky Theme).

Well, that is about it. I sang on worship team, but sounded awful because my voice kept going out. Which isn't good when you are trying to sing something. I left early because I have too much to do around the house... and guess what??? I still have not done CRAP! I have no drive to get up and get done what needs to get done. But Jon said he'll help... I would rather him just do it all himself :)

Oh and Jedi STINKS!

On to my fave subject, Lyric. We are trying to start introducing the sippy cup on a prevelant basis. She is 10 1/2 months old. That's tminus 1 1/2 months till she is OFF the bottle! I'm nervous about it for some reason. Not that she won't do good, she'll be fine. She prefers the sippy cup, I think she feels bigger, but that i won't feed her enough! I know. Silly huh. But when I'm home, I eat so iratically. Sometimes dinner is at 6 sometimes it is at 8. It doesn't really matter for her, because she has a bottle or baby food, but once we move her on up... she'll need to eat! What if she gets extra hungry during the day?? I guess that is when snack time comes in handy... but she only has 2 teeth, so it's hard to say we are just going to move her on to food when it's hard for her to chew things.

I guess it's good that we have 1 1/2 months to come up with a system.

I swear. She is seriously the most adorable baby on earth!

I Don't Know What to Do

Ok, I've been putting off taking Jedi to the vet, one because Jon freaks out when I spend money on animals and 2, I just didn't want to hear what they had to say about his leg.
We knew he had arthritis, but in the last 6 months it has gotten worse.

I took him in and He has a luxating patella on both of his hind legs. The doc looked at him and there is a scale on how bad the legs are.
One they stay in socket, but you can manually push it out easy.
Two, it stays in socket, but comes out on its own
Three, stays out of socket mostly, but will go back in sometimes
Four, stays out all the time

One of his back legs is a 4 and the other is a 3.

He said he is too far gone for surgery and realistically too far gone for even the glucose medicine. He said basically just make him comfortable. I asked if he suggested putting him down, but he said no.

Here's where my problem lies. My dog is in pain. And basically he was just telling me to give him some baby asprin if he seems to be having an unusually bad day...

I just don't know what kind of quality of life that is... don't get me wrong I DO NOT WANT TO PUT MY DOG TO SLEEP. But I also don't want him in pain all the time.

Right now he walks around on 3 legs, so what happens when his other back leg gets to a 4?

I don't know. I'm confused and a little emotional about it.

Advice from anyone??

You can read about his problem HERE