Our Four-Legged Boy

Riley has always been an enthusiastic eater - dog food, treats, pizza crusts, paper towels from the trash can, pine needles in the yard, a cookie you weren't holding tight enough or high enough - so when he stopped eating his dog food, we were concerned.  After a first trip to the vet did not solve the problem, we took him in so she could check his teeth.  Perhaps the problem was dental.  The pre-anesthesia blood work, however, revealed a much larger problem.  Riley's kidneys are not functioning at all as they should.

We were shocked. He was eating, just not his food.  He seemed happy.  He was energetic.  He certainly didn't seem sick. He stayed two days on IV fluids before blood was checked again.  His numbers were slightly better, but no where near normal.  We picked him up and brought him home, anxiously watching our happy, sometimes wild, puppy for signs of distress.  He took a quick liking to the canned kidney diet food, eating each of his four daily meals in record speed, while we watched anxiously.  He was spoiled with new toys and treats, and the company of his grandparents while we were at work.

A week later, back to the vet for more blood work.  We were hoping that his numbers would have gotten much closer to the normal range.  Again, a small improvement, but not huge. That wasn't great news, but the vet noted his usual exuberance and said he seems to feel well. So, armed with more kidney diet food, we headed home.

He isn't well, but no one has told him and he certainly doesn't seem sick.  We'll manage his kidney failure with food and medication for as long as he is happy and feels well. We're hopeful that will be a long time.  In the meantime, we'll continue to spoil him.  There will be new toys, lots of snuggles, trips to the lake, and car rides.  So far he doesn't seem to mind the extra attention.

Nothing Quite Like Texas

This past weekend, we made a quick trip to Texas to visit David's mom's family, including a cousin visiting from Alaska.  On the way, we made a couple of fun stops.  First, to my cousin's new antique store in Anna.  Sadly, I didn't take any pictures, but it was in a neat new-but-looks-old building and she had everything fixed up and displayed so cute!

After that stop, we headed on down the road and stopped again in Waco at Magnolia Market at the Silos.  We were there about an hour and a half before closing time, so we thought the crowds might be gone.  We were wrong - the store was still very busy and the line for the bakery was long.  

It was plenty of time for us to look around at the store, the garden and seed store, and see what the food trucks had to offer.  

We think we were the only people who left without a big bag of purchases. ;) 

 David spotted an empty swing, so I got to practice one of my favorite childhood pastimes.  Pumping your legs to swing higher must be like riding a bike.  I hadn't forgotten how, but I don't remember it being quite so much work as a kid! ;)

 Once we arrived in Salado, we enjoyed a delicious dinner at The Shed.  Then next morning we were up and at 'em early(ish) to get sausage kolaches at Creamy Donut.  Just as good as I remembered from last year!  Good thing I got all that exercise on the swing!

After some time poking around Salado and exploring the stores and flea markets, we headed out to David's grandparent's farm, which is now owned by one of his cousins.

 We enjoyed visiting with his family and looking at his grandfather's old truck.  We even met the neighbor who had purchased the truck from David's grandfather before later selling it to the cousin who has the farm.

 We had every grilled meat you can imagine for supper, and lots of it!  My favorite table was the salad and sides table - cole slaw, broccoli salad, pasta salads, deviled eggs...

The next morning, we decided that it would be a shame to be only about 45 minutes from our favorite donuts and not take a small detour to have some.  So we headed off to Round Rock Bakery before turning north and heading home.

Riley spent the weekend in the company and care of his grandparents at the lake.  He reports that he had a great time and didn't really even miss us!

We enjoyed the photo updates of his activities! :)