Introducing Our New Addition, Sasha!

We always said that we would get another dog right away if something would happen to either Charlie or Aspen.  We just didn't know it would happen so soon and when I was 5 months pregnant.  I thought it was crazy when pregnant people got puppies.  Your lives are already going to be turned upside down with a new baby, why would you want to add a puppy to the mix?  Lesson learned that you never know what you will do until you are in the same situation.  Watching how lost and depressed Charlie was, we knew he needed a playmate.  He is only 2 years old so is still young and loves to run and play with other dogs.  Jason and I were also very sad and needed a distraction from thinking about Aspen.

We started looking for another dog right away.  I have never wanted to buy a puppy from a breeder because there are so many loving animals stuck in shelters that need homes.  Charlie was a shelter dog we rescued 2 years ago,  hence why we have no idea what breed(s) he is.  Jason isn't completely against buying from breeders because he is pretty particular on what kind of dog he wants. We started looking online at shelters and craigslist.  We found a ad on craigslist for lab/Newfoundland mix puppies (we are not small/medium size dog people).  They looked really cute so we decided to make the hour drive out to the middle of nowhere.  We actually were looking at getting one of the tan colored puppies but once we got there we both feel in love with an all black puppy.  The lady who had the puppies was not a breeder but just had a lot of farm dogs that had just had pups.  We got to meet he mom and dad who were both very sweet dogs.  We already knew we were going to name her Sasha.

First car ride home

The first night in her new home

We had made a vet appointment for the next day which we were very thankful for.  We already knew she was covered in fleas and ticks and wanted the vet to check for worms.  She had a pretty intense day at the vet getting rid of all the ticks and fleas.  We also found out she had both roundworms and hookworms.  The vet said Sasha was very lucky we rescued her.

Sasha is doing much better now and is getting use to our life. Charlie and her play all the time together and she is growing everyday.  We tried to kennel train her at night and during the day but we quickly found out that was NOT going to happen.  She is much better now that we let her just sleep on a dog bed in our room and baby gate her in the kitchen when we leave.  I still miss Aspen everyday but look forward to our new life with Sasha.

Aspen: 8/15/2008 - 6/4/2014

If you know anything about Jason and I you know that our dogs are very important to us.  They are not just pets, they are family.  We love taking our dogs on hikes and they always come with us when we visit both our our parents.  We hate leaving them with strangers so we have only boarded them once.

Jason had Aspen for almost 2 years before meeting me.  It was one of the things that attracted me to Jason.  I loved dogs and finding someone who loves dogs as much as me was a plus.  I had also wanted to get a dog for awhile so I was happy to "adopt" Aspen as my own.  She was a very high strung dog when she was young but when we got Charlie, she became a completely different dog.  She was a great big sister and really taught Charlie the ropes.  She stopped crying when we left the house and just became more calm and relaxed.  Even though he never gave up, she never let Charlie cuddle with her.  That was just her personality but you could tell she loved Charlie and couldn't live without him.

We always knew that when one of them would pass away, we would have to get another dog because they loved being a pair.  They loved playing and going on adventures together.  We just didn't think that day would come as soon as it did.

After Memorial Day weekend, Jason was set to be out of town from Wednesday-Friday.  It was also my first week of summer vacation so I would get to be home with the dogs every day.  Both dogs and I started going on walks every morning and everything seemed fine.  But there were a few things that were somewhat out of the ordinary.  At the beginning of the week, Aspen wan't eating very much.  I wasn't too concerned at first for a couple reasons.  We had just come off the holiday weekend where I knew the dogs had eaten a lot of people food.  Aspen only eats when she is hungry so having so much people food could have filled her up for a few days.  Also when Jason is out of town, it sometimes takes her a few days to eat normally.  She still didn't like when either one of us wasn't there.  They other thing that was concerning me was the fact that she was throwing up at least once a day.  Aspen often threw up because she cleans herself like a cat and gets hairballs, had eaten a lot of people food the weekend before, and we had been outside more where it was hot and she was still getting rid of her winter coat.  I really started to get concerned as the week progressed and it seemed to get worse.  She stopped eating all together, even when Jason came home and was still throwing up every day.

That Saturday we decided to head to Smithville Lake to let the dogs go for a swim.  Aspen was so excited and loved going for a swim.  Looking back now, I am glad we had decided to go and have such a fun time with the dogs.  She slept most of the weekend but we just assumed it was from the all the swimming and heat. On Monday morning, Aspen woke me up at about 5:30 to go outside.  The earliest our dogs wake us up is around 6:30-7:00 unless they are not feeling well.  It had rained that night, so after I let them out I headed to the laundry room to grab a town to dry their paws off.  It was dark still so I didn't see the wet spot on the floor and stepped right in it.  At first I thought Aspen had thrown up but now I am confident it was actually pee because of the amount and how clear it was.  I called the vet at 7:00 and made an appointment for 11:00 to get her checked out.

Before leaving for the vet, I was a little concerned for Charlie.  He had never been left alone.  Even when we took Aspen to the vet, it was usually on a Saturday and either myself or Jason was still here.  Our vet is in Liberty so it takes us a good 20 minutes to get there.  The car ride was not good.  I didn't think Aspen would make it without throwing up.  She looked awful and was shaking.  I was so scared and couldn't drive fast enough.  Even when I put the window down she wouldn't stick her head out which was a sign to me that something wasn't right.

As soon as we got to the vet office, she was acting like herself and wanted to play with everyone.  At that point I thought I was crazy for bringing her in but I am glad I did.  The vet checked her over and she had no abdominal pain but when she looked at her eyes the whites were very yellow which is a clear indicator of liver problems.  At this point I began crying.  In my gut, I knew something was wrong but I just kept hoping it was nothing.  The vet took her back for blood tests.  The blood tests clearly showed something was going on with the liver.  They vet thought it was probably something she ate so they wanted to admit her for X-rays, a  ultrasound, and to start her on a fluid and medication regime to flush her system out of any toxins.  It was hard to leave her there but I was confident she would get better.

The next day, Jason and I went to visit her and it was one of the hardest things to see.  She was hooked up to IVs and was very out of it from all the drugs she was on.  She seemed to know who we were and just went to sleep once we were there.  We we left, we didn't know it would be the last time we would see her. We got a call the next morning and the vet was concerned.  She wasn't getting any better.  She hadn't eaten and had thrown up the water she had just drank along with a pill they had given her the day before.  She was also showing signs of abdominal discomfort.  The vet wanted to do another X-ray with dies to see if there was something blocking her GI system.  A short time later the vet called us back and said that Aspen had quickly gotten worse and now she wanted to do exploratory surgery and take a liver biopsy.  The vet was quick to say that she was not ready to give up and was determined to find the problem.

We waited all day for the results.  We finally got a call that evening around 6:30 with an update.  The surgery showed nothing was blocking her GI system but her liver looked pretty bad.  The vet thought it was some form of hepatitis but wouldn't know for sure until the biopsy results came back.  She prepared us for what to expect when we came to visit Aspen the next day.  She said she was very out of it and also was very bloody from the surgery.

A couple hours later we got another call from the vet to say that Aspen had not made it.  She had died in her sleep.  Both Jason and I were devastated.  We just kept racking our brains on what she could have gotten into.  To this day it is very hard to believe she is gone.  She was was so young and such a huge part of our life.  We loved her so much and just couldn't imagine our lives without her.  Charlie was actually handling it better than I thought he would.  He would just search the house for her and stuck pretty close to either myself or Jason.  He seemed lost without her and didn't really know what to do when I let him outside.

We didn't get the biopsy results until the following Tuesday (almost a week after Aspen passed) that her liver was covered with cancer cells.  We were happy to have closure and know what the cause was.  It also helped to know that it was nothing we did or could have prevented.  We just don't know how long she had been sick.  We read so much about liver problems in dogs and we learned that dogs don't really show signs of liver failure until it is too late. We have an amazing vet who truly cared for Aspen and was just as devastated as us.  We know she did everything she could.

We miss Aspen everyday.  I was so excited to see how she would be with our baby.  I thought she would become a little mama protector and bond with the baby.  I have pretty much cried the entire time writing this post.  I know that I will eventually be able to talk about Aspen without crying but will never forget her.

Goodbye my beautiful princess.

We are Pregnant!

I am almost 23 weeks pregnant but am finally getting around to blogging again.  I have been writing this blog post since we found out.  I don't enjoy writing that much but know I will appreciate all the documentation of our life later on.

So far I have had a pretty easy pregnancy.  I did not have any morning sickness or any other problems.  The worst party was how tired I was during my 1st trimester.  I didn't think you could ever be that tired or sleep that much.  The biggest issue I have had is lower back problems.  Jason got me the Snoogle pregnancy pillow and that helped a TON! Now that I am on summer vacation, not being on my feet all day has also helped.  I am thankful that I have had a pretty easy pregnancy but what does this mean for my labor?  

Finding Out and Telling Jason
After the 1st of the year, Jason and I stopped "preventing" a possible pregnancy. We were convinced it would take some time to get pregnant based on our age and all the struggles with pregnancy we have heard from friends. So we were a little shocked when we found out I was pregnant after the first month.  We were not counting days, taking ovulation tests, or anything else like that.  It just happened naturally.  Who would have thought?

I waited a week after my missed period which happen to be Valentine's Day.  I had the day off so I took a pregnancy test and it turned to 2 lines instantly!  I didn't even have to wait 30 seconds!  I took another one just to be sure and it was the same result.  I had bought Jason a plant and card for Valentine's Day so I decided to tell him in the card. After he read it, he was a little unsure if I was kidding or not.  His first remark was "We'll that didn't take long."  (He is so sentimental).

1st Doctors Appointment: 6 weeks

I had my first doctors appointment during my 6th week.  Since we haven't told anyone yet, I made up an excuse of why I was taking the morning off work.  The appointment was pretty uneventful just a lot of information to take in.  The cost part is freaking us out but we will make it work.  We always do.  I have my next appointment at 10 1/2 weeks where we will hopefully get to hear the heart beat. I am still convinced something  bad is going to happen between now and then but I am trying to stay positive.

2nd Doctors Appointment: 10 1/2 weeks

I had been looking forward to this appointment since I knew we would be hearing the heartbeat for the first time.  The second I heard the heartbeat, I started crying.  It was a mix of relief that everything was okay and it made this pregnancy even more real. They were definitely tears of joy.   I had recently told our parents and a few friends but was still waiting to make an announcement to everyone.  We had our 1st trimester genetic testing appointment coming up and I wanted to get the results of that before we told any more people.

1st Trimester Testing: 12 weeks

We decided to go ahead and do the 1st trimester genetic testing just so we knew if there was anything we needed to prepare for.  The best part about this is that you get to have an ultrasound.  Seeing baby for the 1st time was unreal.  It was one of the most amazing things I have ever experienced.  It was crazy how after such a short amount of time the baby looked so human like. We got our first pictures of the baby and the great news that the chances of having a baby with a major genetic disorder was very low.

Gender Revel: 19 1/2 weeks

I had to wait almost 6 weeks since are 14 week appointment to hear/see baby.  I was very anxious to see that everything was okay.   I also had my last round of blood work to test for genetic disorders and again everything turned out great.  Jason accidentally scheduled a work trip on the day of our appointment so we planned to have the results of the gender sealed until he got home later that day.  Baby looked great and there was nothing to be concerned about.  It was amazing to see how much baby had changed and grown since our last ultrasound.

Jason and I planned to go to dinner and open the results of the gender together.  We went to an early dinner because we just couldn't wait anymore.  From the minute I found out I was pregnant, I thought I was having a boy.  At the time, Jason kept saying that he didn't have any idea.  We had agreed on a girl name but could not agree on a boy name, so that is another reason I thought we were having a boy. My parents thought we were having a girl from the beginning.  Jason was afraid I was going to cry at the restaurant but I was able to keep it together.  We opened the results and found out we were having a....BOY!! I guess my instincts were spot on but I did have 50/50 chance of being correct. Jason then told me he was only thinking about having a girl and hadn't really thought we would have a boy.   I guess my life of fishing, sports, and trucks will begin very soon.   We are super excited and can't wait to meet baby boy Betts!