Paint, Puppies and Puke...A True Story

As some of you may know, the past ten days have been a source of anguish and joy. As our friends Matt and Stacy welcomed baby boy JD into the world last Wednesday afternoon, Axel was happily destroying a rubber hamburger. Axel ate a good portion of the burger, which he attempted to compensate for by ingesting an equally large portion of grass. The rest is history. After several telephone calls and visits to the vet, and sleepless nights forcing water into our listless hound only to have it promptly "ejected," Axel returned to the vet for emergency care on Saturday the 22nd. His entire gastro-intestinal system had shut down. Axel couldn't keep the barium solution down for the vet to determine what or where any potential problem was, so the only choice left was to operate. After two and a half tenuous days, Axel was able to return home, about seven pounds lighter and with some staples to show for it. The vets at Kind Vet Clinic were absolutely wonderful and took excellent care of Axel. Despite the fact that it was a weekend, we received regular updates on Axel's status. We feel very fortunate to have Axel back with us, and that he had such attentive care.

So what did Mike and I do you wonder (besides worry) while Axel was in the ICU? Well, what any couple would do. We painted the office. At that point, we figured we'd be miserable regardless, so why not paint. Here are the photos of the new green room as we call it. We are pretty pleased with the result, and Mike says his productivity has increased ten fold. Now we only have the guest room and bathroom to go.

Now that Axel has returned home, his adult teeth are getting a workout. He is chewing with a fervor we haven't seen. We've thrown away any toy he had with signs of damage. Other toys that had survived for months as Axel's companions, such as his beloved snake and chicken have been laid to rest. We don't let him out of our sight right now, much to his chagrin.

What does the rest of the summer hold? Celebrations, jury trials and perhaps another camping trip or two. Hope the summer allows you all to spend time doing things you enjoy with friends and family.

GO TWINS!