Holiday Daisy

I think Daisy deliberately waited until the holiday season to throw her disk out of whack so she wouldn’t be forced to:

• wear her reindeer antlers
• wear her candy cane jingle collar
• partake in tree decorating (aka being wrapped in garland and lights)
• or any of the other humiliating fun Christmas traditions she tolerates enjoys.

But in the spirit of the season, I’m going to post some pictures I never got a chance to put up last year of our Daisy stealing water originally destined for the Christmas tree. In Daisy’s mind, water in anything other than her bowl is “special water” and is irresistible!

What’s that over there with the water in it?

I’ll just keep it company…I’m not doing anything…

Just repositioning…nothing to worry about…tra lala…

This is looking pretty enticing…

Maybe just a sniff…

OOPS! Caught in the act!

You’re okay with me, buddy!

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all our blog friends who have been there for us all year, through the good, the bad, and the difficult!

Canine Disk Surgery Recovery Journal – Neurosurgeon Follow-up Visit (Day 16)

Let’s get right to it – the neurosurgeon was thrilled with Daisy’s progress so far! Especially considering that she was in such iffy condition when we brought her home coupled with the fact that the surgeon had said we should only expect to see small improvements weekly, specifically NOT daily. BUT as you saw in this recovery journal, Daisy did make progress daily, and our little girl surprised even a highly experienced neurosurgeon.

The surgeon asked, “Can she walk a little for me?” DD put Daisy on the floor, and she tore across the room to run and hide behind me! I walked a little so Daisy would walk, and I must say, she put on her best show! The neurosurgeon was impressed with all of her progress. Still, Daisy has to have four more weeks of strict crate rest – we still have to carry her down to the curb to go potty, and no extended walks yet. But those four more weeks are shorter than were expected – it was supposed to be eight weeks of strict crate rest; two weeks were shaved off. 🙂

Her left rear leg did react to testing, which it wasn’t doing before the surgery. And that’s only after two weeks, so it will probably get even stronger and better over time.

AND – no more sling! We can take her on her short walks without using the sling at all – at this point it wasn’t holding her up anyway, it was just there in case she needed it and to give her confidence. Walking her and carrying her in and out will be much easier now.

And we can bathe Daisy and groom her – thank goodness! She’s getting a bit…::ahem::…scented these days…and her hair has gone wild without a trim!

LOOK AT THAT CRAZY BEARD!!

That’s the good news – which is all the most important stuff anyway.

The medium news, which we can adjust to: no rough play, meaning no more tug-o-war, no more chasing toys, no more intense running – EVER. And while we can certainly eliminate those more high-powered activities, it’s going to be a battle getting Daisy to stop. Tug-o-war is her favorite game, and racing like a lunatic through the house is a favorite activity. We can ignore her prompts to play tug-o-war (though it’s hard not playing something with her that we know she loves, especially when she teases us with a toy), but how do we stop her from racing around? Maybe we’ll have to limit her to smaller areas of the house – lots of baby gates will be needed!

Also, though her incision is healing well, the surgeon said she seems to be having a bit of “suture reactivity”, meaning there are little bumps along the incision from the stitches under the skin (possibly an allergic reaction). It’s not bad, though, and we can put either Vitamin E or triple antibiotic cream on it to help it along. She said if we see little ends of stitches popping out through the incision anywhere, “just pull them out” – I think we’ll leave that to DH, he’s much better with icky stuff than we are! Hopefully we won’t have to deal with that anyway.

Peach fuzz is getting longer and softer, but doesn’t this remind you of a fire break in the woods? 🙂

The bad news: this could happen again. The surgeon said she’s seen dogs go through 2 or 3 disk surgeries in a lifetime, though it’s not common…but it can still happen. DD asked what we can do to prevent it, and the answer was “Nothing. If it happens again, it’s not your fault – this is a degenerative disk disease.” So while we will limit her activities, the surgeon said she could pop a disk just by stretching or walking off a curb. We’re praying it doesn’t happen again – mostly because we don’t want her going through that agony again, but also because our wallets can’t really handle any more expensive surgeries!

In my view, the good news far outweighs the bad news and the bad part may never happen anyway. So we’re happy, she’s happy, the surgeon is happy – our Christmas will be jolly! 😀

I got a good report from my surgeon – I’m a happy pup again! 😀

Canine Disk Surgery Recovery Journal – Day 13

Yet more progress today – Daisy tried to scratch her ear with her left back paw! She actually picked up the paw and made an attempt, but it wasn’t strong enough yet to do the job. So after a few slow, cautious swipes that either didn’t connect or were just too weak, she gave up. DD went over and gave her a good scratching, and did Daisy ever love it! Now I’m more sure than ever that her back leg will regain its strength and ability, and even if it ends up not being quite what it was, it will be enough for her to get around and use it. But hey, only two weeks ago she had NO use of it at all! 😀

And now when one of us comes home and goes straight to Daisy’s crate to pet and calm her, when we open the door she’s actually trying to come out! More good progress.

Cuddling with one of her favorite soft toys

We go back to see the neurosurgeon on Monday, and I’m anxious to hear what she says. Daisy does want to walk more, so I hope she says we can do that. I know she’ll still be confined to her crate for another 4-6 weeks, but she’s very interested in her twice daily walks and is trying to walk faster (we’re not letting her do that until we get the okay from the doctor). DD only uses the sling as a precaution now, she doesn’t actually hold Daisy up with it. This little pup is doing it all on her own. 😀 😀

She also did a full shake-off today, and her tail is up again. Always a good sign!

Her favorite crate position – always with her head on her little pillow. 🙂

My wonderful holistic doctor, who has four big super-healthy dogs of his own and has done extensive studies on the dog version of holistic medicine, has given us a lot of good advice along with turmeric and probiotics to put in her food. So I feel like she’s getting the best care from every medical direction. 🙂

And on a lighter note, some peach fuzz is starting to grow in on her shaved back. 🙂 Meanwhile, the rest of her hair is growing out of control! Just wait til that first bath and grooming… 😉

Canine Disk Surgery Recovery Journal – Day 10

Things are going along well – Daisy peed outside twice again today, and she went back to her normal habit of peeing in several different spots rather than just going once. She’s pooping normally again too – WHEW! I never thought I’d spend so much time focused on a dog’s bathroom habits!

Daisy actually seems to focus on figuring out how to work her now only partially lame leg. Sometimes in her crate, she’ll drag her back half around, then stop and stare at the leg – she seems to be thinking about what to do. Usually she’ll make an attempt at standing in a different way; a couple of times she’s fallen over, and it’s so hard to keep myself from rushing over to help and to stop myself from gasping. But I know I can’t or else she’d become dependent on help and sense my emotions. In the end, she doesn’t seem to get hurt and she always figures out how to work that leg. It’s like watching a little 15-pound miracle. I so admire the instinct and determination in dogs.

She’s back to being Crazy Daisy again – she gets super excited when one of us comes into the house, so now DD has to get down on the floor, open the crate door and try to hold Daisy semi-still while the other of us who just came in hurries to reach in and pet her/calm her. This will be our biggest challenge – trying to keep her from re-injuring herself by getting overly excited to see us. It’s great that she has that joy back, but it’s also dangerous, both now and once she’s out of the crate. We’ve tried many ways in the past to get her to calm down a bit when we come home – she jumps with all four paws off the floor and sometimes spins around; a couple of times she landed in scary ways, though she never yiped. But that has to stop now, I wouldn’t be surprised if all that contributed to her disk problem.

So now that we’re in a relatively calm period (though we still take notice of and celebrate every tiny new improvement), I’d like to post a few pics of us passing your POTP and kindnesses on to Daisy – I know you all helped her healing along…and you still are.

Good morning, our little sunshine! 😀

Passing your POTP lovies on to Daisy; she’s sending lovies back to you all with a big lick.

Irresistible!

Canine Disk Surgery Recovery Journal – Days 8 and 9

TUESDAY SPECIAL PEE-MAIL EDITION!!!!

YES! You read that right – Daisy peed on her own this morning and tonight, and they were good long ones in a normal squatting position! Shout it from the rooftops – Houston, we have pee-off! 😀 😀 😀

This is the best Christmas present we could ever get; it’s truly an answer to our prayers. I can’t tell you how ecstatic we are! All your prayers, POTP and positive thoughts helped so much; and now our dear friend Easy can at long last uncross his tightly crossed POTP paws that were praying for Daisy’s “yellow river” to arrive – what a relief for him! 🙂

Minutes before the momentous occasion – have you ever seen so much human support surrounding one tiny pup? LOL

AND – as if that’s not enough – Daisy most definitely used her left leg today, both to balance and to walk! Up until now that left leg was hanging at frighteningly awkward angles when she stood or lying like a limp, broken noodle underneath her, sometimes dangling in front of her right leg and tripping her when she tried walking, which is why we had to hold her back end up with the sling so that only her toes touched the ground. But today, look at this stance!

Look at that balance!! Her back legs are actually spread and the left leg is solidly on the ground. 😀

The sling is relaxed – not holding her up at all and she’s holding her own – STILL STANDING!! 😀 😀

She’s very excited to come out of the crate to go outside twice a day, and she seems to want to stay outside for as long as we’ll let her. But we’re still under strict orders from the neurosurgeon not to let her walk much, so we’ll just stay with the program until our appointment with the neurosurgeon on Monday.

I missed posting yesterday because I spent hours out of the house, making up for the past week of doing nothing but helping DD take care of Daisy’s needs (DD is proving to be a super amazing pup-nurse!) – and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. But I’m behind in everything and yesterday was just a start at trying to catch up.

Day 8 (Backtracking, written late Monday night)
On Monday we saw yet another improvement in Daisy – she did a couple of big stretches in a sitting position, stretching her head straight up long and hard. We were thrilled! She’s also using her left back thigh muscle a little more when we take her outside. We’re hoping that will lead to her being able to squat soon because the vet now wants her to pee twice a day, not just once. We know that’s better for her, but all this time we’ve been told that once a day was all that was needed. Now he says she needs to pee every 8-12 hours, which would mean two trips down to the hospital. It’s 25 minutes each way, which doesn’t sound bad until you do it every single night and are then faced with doing it every morning plus every night – add it up and it’s almost 2 hours of travel time per day (without any traffic delays – we have to take two highways). And the morning run would be during work hours, which is impossible.

So getting her to go is now reaching a crisis point. The vet says that by just going once a day, she’s still facing a risk of infection AND a risk of having a distended bladder.

In better news though, she’s sitting up even more often – always to eat and sometimes to get lovies or just to say hello. 🙂

Canine Disk Surgery Recovery Journal – Day 7

Yep, it’s one solid week – 7 days – since we brought our sweet girl home from the hospital. In that time we’ve really seen marked improvement in many areas.

DD took Daisy outside for a little more time twice today and tried a couple more of her favorite sniffing areas, but still no results. I noticed from when Daisy was a puppy that she was stubborn, and she is – she doesn’t like doing things differently, so she’ll just put her little paw down and flatly refuse. And unfortunately peeing with a lame leg and a sling around her seems to be one of those “different” things that make her refused to pee. The only reason she poops at the vet’s is because she’s so upset at being there, it literally scares the crap right out of her (sorry for the crudeness!); however, today she did a small one after DD tried expressing her. Sometimes that seems to stimulate her bowels – either that or the sheer fear of being expressed produces one! Anyway, looks like we’ll be making yet another trip to the vet tonight. ::sigh:: I can’t even tell you how stressful this has become.

She did a mini half-shake today, which is another new improvement. Shaking was something Daisy had a hard time doing before her surgery, so the fact that she gave it a try and was able to do half a shake is positive. Isn’t it amazing how the little ordinary things become so extraordinary and noteworthy at times like these?

Almost a complete curl! And looking very much more normal. 🙂

Evening update: It was back to the vet for expressing, but we had another encouraging sign: when DD opened the crate door to lift Daisy out, she sat up, then started moving toward the open door on her own! She stood up on “all threes” – still not wanting to use that lame leg – but she’s never shown a desire to push herself up or walk out the door of the crate. We were so excited about that!

So really it’s the whole bathroom issue that remains, otherwise we’re on a good track. But two funny things – while waiting at the vet’s, a couple came in to pick up their cat…named Monster! What mischief that kitty must get up to! And also, when I went up to the receptionist when we got there, a vet tech passing by looked at me and said, “Daisy, right?” I didn’t know whether to laugh or blush!

Canine Disk Surgery Recovery Journal – Day 6

We’re seeing yet more attentiveness and alertness from Daisy today, and she complained once because we were lying on the sofa without her – in this case, that’s a good thing! She hasn’t cared about that until now, and it’s normal for her to want to be on the sofa with us. As soon as we sat up, she was fine again. 🙂

DD thought she might get a pee out of Daisy today – she took her to her favorite bush and this time, Daisy actually did sniff it; up until now, she’d just stand there staring straight ahead (she reminded me of a cow in a pasture!). She slightly lowered her back end as if to pee, then quickly changed her mind. Hey, it’s a start; but meanwhile, it’s back down to the vet tonight for another expressing.

Daisy did walk a little further and seemed interested in the outdoors for the first time. 🙂

She’s off the Tramadol, but I’m sure it’ll take a couple days for it to completely leave her system, so we’ll see if it had any bearing on her not wanting to pee. We’re having unseasonably warm weather here – nearly 70 today and even warmer temps predicted for tomorrow – so that makes it easier to keep her outside for an extra few steps.

Looking even more like her old self!

Evening update: We took Daisy to be expressed tonight, and she put on quite a show for the folks in the waiting room. The vet tech hadn’t even touched her and she started screeching as if someone were sticking her with pins. I made a general explanation about how she does this “pre-emptive screeching”, and they seemed to understand.

Meanwhile, we’re getting to know some “regulars” at the hospital – one couple whose dog needs bandages changed every day are always there when we go, so we’ve gotten to know them. Tonight the husband said, “See you tomorrow!” and unfortunately he’s probably right!

Daisy’s appetite is soaring into full gear now. Tonight she started whining around 11 PM and it turned out she was ravenous! So the smaller rations we’ve been giving her aren’t enough, which is good. She’s quickly working her way back up to normal portions.

There seems to be no additional pain without the Tramadol, so that’s also good. The Prednisone is also done, so now Daisy is only on the antibiotic for the UTI.

We’re really happy with this progress; fingers crossed for the some pee-mail (as our dear friend Easy the silvermistygrey weimeraner calls it!) tomorrow!

Canine Disk Surgery Recovery Journal – Day 5

First of all I want to thank all you wonderful blogging friends who are sticking with us through this journey. It really helps to have your support and helpful comments; it makes us feel so much less isolated in our efforts to help Daisy. If Daisy could read, I know she’d send lickies to every single one of  you. 🙂

We started the day bright and early attacking the pee problem. DD and DH took Daisy out with the sling, all of us praying she would finally do what’s supposed to come naturally. But it was not to be. She doesn’t even sniff the ground, she just stands there like a statue. Nor did expressing help do anything but upset her.

However, we’re going to try a new approach around noon – we discovered that some dogs can be expressed while lying on their sides instead of standing up, so we’re going to try that. Maybe she’ll be more relaxed that way and her muscles won’t be so tight. The dog used in the video was a Havanese, which is half of what Daisy is, so maybe that’s not a coincidence!

The plan is to take her out to exercise her legs a little bit, which tends to tire her just a bit. Then we’ll bring her in and lie her down on a wee wee pad and put on the calming music we were using. We’ll pet her for a while and when she’s calm, we’ll try expressing, Maybe it’ll be less traumatic for her that way. Report to follow.

Daisy’s appetite is very good today, she’s now eating heartily on her own, we don’t have to feed her by hand one kibble at a time. Another good sign.

Hey, I remember this stuff! And with a dollop of pumpkin too – how gourmet!

Afternoon update: Well, trying to express Daisy while lying down didn’t help. BUT – whatever DD did helped to push a poop out of her LOL! So it’s back down to the vet tonight. I really hope this doesn’t continue through the holidays! I’ll be changing the song “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” to “Have Yourself a Merry Little Peemas”…please!!

Have you ever seen the Seinfeld episode where Elaine goes to the doctor for a rash and ends up with “Difficult” on her chart, and no doctor will see her in the entire city of New York? Well, we thought it was just a bit of TV fun, but now Daisy has “difficult” on her chart!! The vet we saw on Thursday night to express Daisy told us that “difficult to express” is on her chart AND she had SO much trouble finding Daisy’s bladder that she actually had to do an ultrasound to find it!! So even though we’re upset that we can’t help her, we don’t feel as bad as we did now that we know two experienced vets have also had a tough time!

Daisy went to the vet again tonight to be expressed again. I really hope this doesn’t last much longer; I certainly don’t want to be driving her there on Christmas or New Years Eve! But the vet thinks the Tramadol might be inhibiting her ability to pee and she really doesn’t seem to need it anymore, so he told us to stop giving it to her and see if that makes a difference. He said her motor functions are intact and there’s no physical or medical reason for her not to go. Tonight he expressed her outside to give her the idea that she needs to return to normal.

Another positive thing: when DH came home tonight, Daisy got excited to see him and excitedly maneuvered herself around in her crate to face the door so he could pet her – so quickly that we were afraid she was going to hurt herself. This is an improvement too, because up until now when he’d come home, she’d just look at him and wag her tail, sometimes just the tip. Tonight was a full-on greeting!

And finally – she’s becoming very alert to sounds and recognizing what they are. When she heard DD preparing her food, she perked her head up and held it there; she also sat up!

What’s that? Do I hear dinner being served?

Sitting up for about thirty seconds was more than she’s done since her surgery.

Let’s see what the weekend brings!

Canine Disk Surgery Recovery Journal – Day 4

We had a very aromatic evening – Daisy had her first poop at the very end of Day 3! We didn’t even know until the smell hit because she just remained lying there as it slid out (sorry to be so descriptive), but she panted like she was giving birth! We’re very relieved and hope things will start “moving” at a normal pace from now on, at least every other day. (I only wish it wasn’t so cold out so we could open windows when these aromatic treasures arrive at night!)

No calming music needed again today. The small, flattish pillow we put in the crate seems to be making a big difference in Daisy’s comfort level. She puts her head on it and her spine is level all the way through her neck. She appears to be very comfortable and almost always uses it; in fact, she’s starting to try new positions and we saw a little curl in her position today, both of which are very positive.

A bit of a more normal curl here. Before this she kept her whole self straight.

This morning she started to get a bit restless and whiny (but not the pained whining of two days ago), as well as shifting positions in the crate frequently. This always makes me nervous because of that lame back leg – I’m always afraid it will get caught in a crate opening (that happened yesterday) or she will twist it in just the wrong way and create another issue. I guess all that rest and sleep yesterday gave her more energy today!

Daisy licked us for the first time! She also perked her head and ears up when she heard the dishwasher beep – until now she wasn’t interested in anything, including a couple of loud noises from outdoors. AND – we heard the first little “bfffff” today! It was quiet, but it was there. 🙂

I saw Daisy move her left leg from the thigh this morning. We gave her a little thigh massage and manipulated the joints gently in that leg last night; after a few movements, she let us know it was enough. It’s so interesting to see the difference in her signals – when she wants the vet to stop doing something, she turns her head fast as if warning that a nip is imminent. With us, she either licks our hand in a particular way or gives us a soft look while pulling her leg away gently. Dogs are amazing communicators and I’m fascinated at how they treat those they know and trust differently from those they’re not very fond of.

Daisy, contemplating the meaning of the universe. She has much more time now to work out the deeper things in life. 🙂

Anyway, we’re going to continue the massage and movement a few times a day to see if that helps. This morning she was trying to rearrange herself in her crate, but her left leg was stuck way far out. She looked at it, seemed to think about it, and then I saw her pull it toward her with one quick movement. Very encouraging. I believe the thigh muscle will improve over time – what seems not to be working is from the joint down to her toes – the bottom half of the leg. I can’t tell if she has feeling in that section, but I’m sure we’ll find out more when we visit the neurosurgeon on the 21st.

Of course, there has to be a negative – the pee problem is back – we went way past the 24 hour mark with no new pee today, but we didn’t panic because she hadn’t drunk all that much water. But by night time, we had to try to make her go. We put her on the wee wee pad and tried to express her – all we got was crying. We took her out back with the sling, hoping her natural and usual pee environment would stimulate her – nothing. As a desperate final resort, DD carried her to her favorite fire hydrant, hoping the smells there would stir her – still nothing. Back down to the hospital at 10 PM, because 36 hours without peeing always seems to panic vets…which panics us.

And it wasn’t good – Daisy has the early signs of a UTI because she’s holding her pee too long. Yesterday’s big pee wasn’t a breakthrough after all, it was just that she had so much pee that she couldn’t hold it in, which wasn’t good. The vet couldn’t express her tonight either, she had to take a sonogram to find her bladder! She said Daisy’s resisting (her medical chart actually says “difficult to express”), and then when we take her to the vet she gets nervous, which tightens her muscles even further. It took effort for the vet to express her – they didn’t even get home until 11:30 PM. She said Daisy should be peeing twice a day, and if not, we have to bring her there to be expressed, even if it’s twice a day. Well, we can’t – we work. So night is the only time we can do it, which also isn’t good.

But the vet said she’s healing well otherwise and does have motor function in that left rear leg. We were given clearance to walk her a little bit outside to keep her muscles from atrophying and to get that left leg working again – and ultimately, of course, to get her to pee. Who’d have thought this would be our biggest challenge?!

One positive thing in all this pee madness – when DD and DH had her out back (everything is a two-person operation now), they encouraged her to walk forward and she did, using three legs and a little bit of her lame leg! A little bit is a start! Also, she was willing to walk forward instead of backward, like she did after the surgery, and she didn’t spin in circles either.

I never thought I’d be wishing for Santa to bring Pee Ability to Daisy for Christmas…

Canine Disk Surgery Recovery Journal – Day 3

Day 3 – the day of The Incident. Not anything bad for Daisy, just for us. You’ll read about it and see pics at the end of the journal.

There was a big positive change overnight – Daisy slept through the night – that’s a BIG difference! And today (Wednesday) during the day, we didn’t have to put on any of the music that calms her and makes her fall asleep. Yesterday and Monday we played that music almost endlessly because she was whining so much and seemed so uncomfortable. BIG forward movement!

And one more big positive thing – she peed on her own this morning! Granted, she peed all over herself and the crate bed while she was lying down, but who cares! We didn’t have to try to express her again, and that’s all that matters. She HATED that. We were about fifteen minutes from trying to express her when DD looked in her crate and saw darkness on the fleece blanket – hurrah! We removed the bedding and while DD cleaned Daisy up on a clean wee wee pad, I changed her bedding.

We got the idea of how to set up Daisy’s bedding from a wonderfully helpful site called Dodgerslist.com. He’s a vet who owns rescue dachshunds, so he’s very experienced with dogs’ back issues and surgeries. Daisy’s bedding consists of a piece of memory foam cut to the size of the crate floor – this is wrapped securely in a trash bag. On top of the trash bag is a wee wee pad, and wrapped around that is a doubled-over fleece blanket, firmly taped to the underside of the crate floor.

The fleece blanket had a nice little wet patch, but when I unwrapped it, I was thrilled to discover that the entire big wee wee pad was completely soaked and heavy! What a relief! We praised her like crazy so hopefully she’ll keep going on her own.

The left rear leg is still dragging. It’s really pathetic to watch her trying to shift herself around in the crate, dragging that leg that’s twisting underneath her. She manages, but it just breaks my heart. To see a formerly functional leg dragging like this is tough on a softie like me. I keep wanting to run over and help her, but the surgeon said definitively not to. ::sigh::

This was Daisy yesterday – you can see how much suffering was going on.

This is Daisy today. Just one day difference and she looks less pained and more comfortable.

Daisy’s appetite is still quite diminished, but that was to be expected. We don’t want to overfeed her because of her lack of activity and the peanut butter that she’s getting with her meds. The surgeon said the worst thing would be if she gained weight right now. And since she hadn’t been eating much in the hospital, we also didn’t want to shock her shrunken stomach with too much food or make her vomit; I imagine that would be extremely painful after spinal surgery. So we feed her 10-20 pieces of kibble 2-3 times a day, depending on what she’ll tolerate. We keep checking to make sure we can’t feel her ribs too prominently or any other signs of too much weight loss. So far so good.

We’re managing with the Tramadol through the method I talked about in Day 2, but we’re keeping all of your wonderful suggestions in our back pocket in case this eventually fails.

The incision is looking good.

So here’s the story of The Incident.

We have moved our computers into the family room on folding tables so we can be with Daisy while we work. Everything in the room has been shifted so her crate is in the middle with plenty of room for us to access it and soft ramps we built leading to her doors. (We couldn’t care less what a wreck it looks like, we’d do anything for our sweet girl!)

Now that you have the picture…

DD was maneuvering Daisy out of her crate after her heroic pee. Poor Daisy was afraid she was going to be expressed again and wasn’t making it easy. Once she got her limp leg clear of the crate, DD moved quickly backward in a crouched position and slammed into a folding table behind her – that just happened to have my full cup of coffee on it – very black coffee. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you the result:

Whatever next?!

What the heck, after all this is over, that carpet is getting shampooed anyway!