March 29, 2013

White Dog kissed me on the cheek and jumped down to tell the rest of the White Dog Army. "Momma, says that just because Nuka is sick doesn't mean our Easter tradition is cancelled! She says we are just going to have an awesome picnic HERE and Dragon and Sen-ge and Daisy and Maple and their humans are all going to come here and then we can all go to the Park together for running and fun...and momma and Nuka will enjoy a nice cuddle while we are gone!" A howl of excitement went up from everypup, including Nuka, who feared being left out or worse, being the cause of the Army's disappointment.

"You better get moving, then," White Dog pushed handing me a blank piece of paper to start a shopping list. "Put a list together, run to the grocery and let's get started! Don't forget to put down the ingredients for the new cheese pastries you promised to try." A short while later, with the help of the WDA, we had a menu and a list...and were ushered out of the door to go shopping.

We hurried, not wanting to be gone too long but DID take a few extra minutes to stop by our favorite pet shop to pick up special Easter biscuit treats for a VERY deserving bunch of pups. At home, Quinn led the supervisory team as Steve unpacked and got the fresh turkey into the oven. Later it will become sandwiches and Curried Turkey Salad. We put a dozen eggs on to hard boil and dug out the food coloring. Nuka lay in the middle of the action, happily watching everyone scurry with tasks.

It was a day of much improvement for Another White Dog. She is managing to keep herself hydrated at the dog bowls and is going outside regularly under her own power. She "ate" a syringe of liquid food about every three hours (a total of five across the day). And we transitioned from Ensure to the vet/canine version without incident. She still is not interested in eating on her own or even off of a spoon, however. Each time we feed her, the entire WDA surrounds us to encourage AWD's efforts; it is a heartwarming show of support.

Later, when I was packaging the Easter treats for baskets (under the intense supervision of the Army) samples were being freely doled out. Nuka was right there in line with the others and accepted not one but two of the little cookies, a vanilla one and a turkey one! I was surprised but paused when she asked for a third not wanting her to overdo things. We decided that her asking meant she had an appetite which was a good thing and we should encourage her instincts so I gave her another...she ate half and let Puff eat the rest. She did not have any interest in the mint cookies but we were thrilled anyway. Later, she ate one night-night treat then turned away and in an unusual move, settled to sleep near Steve's dresser...all of us together as a pack was a wonderful end to our Friday-Is-Saturday (usually Nuka sleeps in the office and is joined there as the night wears on by Quinn, Puff and sometimes Oso).

Your prayers and thoughts are helping to pull our little girl back to health, please continue to keep her in your thoughts as you begin what we hope is a weekend of joy, hope and renewal. Thank you so much.