Molly Surgery

About 4 weeks ago Molly underwent surgery to check out her tumor that keeps coming back on her back right leg. This is her 3rd surgery. Each time he tries to get as much as he can, but it has come back faster this time. She moved around fine, but it was pretty massive. We talked about many options from not doing anything to taking her leg. The doctor said he wouldn't know until he was in how bad and if it would be an option. He called during the surgery to say that it's pretty bad and the best chance of it not coming back would be to just take her leg. I just hope to not deal with this once a year so I was fine with it. I knew she would be able to adjust to 3 legs. After her first surgery she barely used the leg for some reason (after the 2nd she seemed good to go so we were very surprised when it came back so fast).

This was definitely a hard recovery for all involved. It started out pretty well as she was bandaged up. We had it changed a few times and then they wanted it to air out so the cone stayed on nonstop for at least 2 weeks. She is NOT to be trusted even for 3 seconds.

Max was so sweet to her. He put stuffed animals in her cone and sat and played in the office. She was very whiny the first few days coming down from her anesthesia.

A few days in she was up and interested in people food and dishes so she was doing great. When we took off the bandage we started noticing a pocket of liquid and it was the drainage just forming a ball like swollen area. We took her in and the doctor said it ruptured with a slight touch. It needed to drain and they kept her there during the day a few days so we wouldn't have to deal with the mess while at work. Well, it leaked and leaked and leaked (think red, gooey, gross stuff) for a solid week. She sat and slept in her crate most the time because it truly was a mess. I have pictures if you want to see it, but I'll spare you.

FINALLY after those 2-3 weeks she was back to her spunky self. She goes up our stairs, jumps on our bed and down all the back steps to go potty. At night she needs a little help up on things as she's tired. I took this one morning. Her fur hasn't grown back and that's just her underneath side to show you her no leg area.

We are thankful to still have our Molly and hopeful that it won't ever come back!!

Happy Birthday Molly

It was our sweet girls 6th birthday this past Friday so we got her a special toy to celebrate.

 Molly loves stuffed animals, but she tears them to pieces making all the stuffing come out within seconds. She also has a fascination with squeakers and her mission is to find them and destroy them. While we were at Pet Smart we saw that Kong had a snake stuffed animal, but they said on the packaging that there was no stuffing. It also came with extra squeakers! In the snakes mouth is Velcro and it comes open and you can replace it. There is a squeaker in the tail part too, but you can't get to that one.

So far so good though. She loves her Jakey the Snakey (I named it). She just chews away. She hasn't fully destroyed the first squeaker yet and there has been no tears, Thanks Kong. I swear they must have a bunch of Molly's working there. Molly wants us to apply her for a job there.

Molly also wants to give a shout out to Jen S, whose real birthday is today!! Molly wishes her a happy b-day, but she says she can't take her toy. Happy Birthday Jen!

Reptile Hunters

We had a great weekend at Steeplechase and I promise to post on it tomorrow if you haven't already seen some pics on facebook. It was much better weather than last year, but it was still a bit cool and windy. Fun was had by all and I can't wait to show you the pics of everyone's outfits, but first I must show you what occurred yesterday in the yard. We went out to check on the garden (we have some sprouts already!) and Molly headed for the rose bush area on the left side of the yard. She kept running throughout there so I thought there might have been a dead bird or mouse or something. I called David to go see what she was doing and he couldn't tell and just let her be. We have an old dog house back there for just in case Molly ever got stuck outside she could take cover, but its pretty gross and she kept standing by it so I said just throw that thing away. So as he was pulling it out Molly went darting down the side of the yard. She kept backing up and going forward and backing out so I went in the house and sent David over there again.

He then ran for his machetti so I took cover. I knew it wasn't something small. Sorry for the bad pic, I was inside the house peeking out the door blinds. I didn't want Molly to get hurt so I was nervous. Turns out it was a snake! We think it was a garden snake and I know they are suppose to be good for your yard, but I can't have that with Molly there or me for that matter. We weren't sure if she got bit or anything like that because we saw Molly salivating and she wouldn't leave the area so David had to kill it. Warning, I am about to post a picture of the snake so its pretty gross and you can stop reading after this point. I'll keep the picture small, but for those who want to see it scroll down.

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SICK

Molly "Tails"

I am so glad that I haven't started planting in my garden yet because Molly thinks its her own personal outdoor dog bed.

 When I work out, Molly usually heads outside and tries to steal dog toys from the neighbor dogs, but during one of my water breaks I peeked out the window and saw her here. I went out and she still didn't move. Shes looking at me like, thanks this is a nice cool spot. We will be getting some chicken wire or some sort of fencing around the garden very soon. It's almost planting time!

We have been having crazy thunderstorms and weather around here lately. Molly decided she all the sudden hates them. At night she crawls either way under the covers or lately shes been climbing on top of my head by the pillows. Insert my head right by her stomach and that's how I was sleeping. Even after I showered she stayed there and I went to take a picture and caught her with her tongue out. I think it was either perfect timing or she really was sticking her tongue out at me.

Molly is a Model

Did we mention that we love borrowing Darrin and Stacey's Nikon D50 camera? I think I've talked about it every day this week. Take a look at some pics David took of Molly this weekend.

Shes so cute!

Trying to Stay Warm

It's been so cold everywhere even the animals are trying to stay warm. Photos for your weekend of my cute fur nieces.

 Here is the precious Miss. Maddie all curled up with her favorite toy.

Princess Bella is loving the new bed and sheets. Her flannel sheets are also from Target (I love them and wish I would have gotten these ones now).

And Molly trying to stay warm in David's hat.

My Lovey Bunny

I call Molly my Honey Bunny or just Bunny for short. She loves to cuddle with her Daddy more so than me (I think it's because he plays rough with her). This is what happens when I try to steal her love for David. Shes so cute.

Magic Tree of Doggie Toys

The past couple of months Molly keeps coming through her doggie door with new dog toys that I've never seen before. It would be great if we had a magic tree that grew doggie toys, but I knew that wasn't the case.

 Do you see how she is already claiming it as her own by putting her paw on it. We already have a rope toy which she doesn't touch.

 This is her favorite toy which she has found that she loves.

 Here is toy #3. So on the weekend when it was light enough (because its dark now when I get home) I went to explore what was going on.

 Behind our rose bushes and trees is a path that Molly has made along the back fence where she runs back and forth chasing the dog on the other side of the fence. I don't know if you can see the hole that's to the right of Molly. That is a small one compared to the others we found. Now, I don't think Molly is fully to blame, the hole looks like it was started on the other side of the fence. They have a beautiful Siberian Husky and a few times I've seen his/her pretty blue eyes and face come through the hole. I'd like to think that the dog next door is giving Molly some toys so they can play together.

 David got some rocks and put a nice barricade along the fence where the holes are (we've tried to fill them with dirt but it happens again and again).

Finished product. I have given back almost all the toys. I have thrown them back over the fence at night when I know that no one is outside over there. Don't judge.

It's hard to give them back when Molly looks like this after I tell her they have to go back. I did let her keep one of the small red ones. She loves it so much that I haven't had the heart to give it back. It looks like the other dog has plenty of toys, right?

Molly says brrrrrrrr

These past couple mornings in Georgia have been pretty cold. The temps have been in the low 40's when we wake up. It is just cold enough to turn the heat on inside, but we've been holding out since it warms up into the 70's for the afternoon. There is someone in our house that is having an extremely hard time getting out of bed with this cooler weather.

It's Molly! Here she is on day 1. She insists on going under the covers so before I go to the shower I make sure she is all tucked in and when I come out I usually find her all nestled in.

 Day 2!

Day 3. Even though it looks like these are the same photos, these were all taken on separate mornings. Shes so cute and I'd rather be snuggling with her!

Where is Fall?

On the eve of the beginning of fall (some people say its today, but my calendar says tomorrow), we are still in mid summers heat. In Georgia the past week has been 95 degrees. The average for this time of year is 82. I'd love to see that. I have a feeling we are going to skip fall and go right to winter. On this hot tropical day, I thought I'd share some summer time photos of Molly and Maddie.

 This is what Molly would like to be doing probably right about now. She loves her little kiddie pool. She'll just plop down in the water and enjoy herself.

The next one is when her cousin Maddie came to visit this summer. Maddie is trying to run out of the pool, she didn't love it as much.

Aren't they just so cute! We love when cousins come to visit (lets pretend that they made that bed a mess).

I am also getting excited about Halloween! Do you have your costume picked out yet? David and I have our costumes picked out, but its a secret until the reveal date (don't give it away if you already know it). I'd like to pre-thank Leah and Lacey for coming up with our costumes for this year. They just know us too well!

Silly Doggie & A Birthday Shout Out

I had to take Molly to the Vet to have her leg looked at again. She has been holding it up again which could be because while we were gone she was off playing with Lola a bit too hard. He gave me some anti-inflammatory meds to hopefully help, if not they may have to go back in. Anyways, so I got molly a pretty new leash at petsmart the other day and wanted to take a photo to show it off. Well I did it right before the vet appointment so she is looking and sitting all proper because she knows where I'm about to take her.

I just noticed that wire in the background. The roomba was getting stuck on something the other day, he must have been trying to eat up that cord and now its sprawled all over the floor.

I was getting ready to pour the new bag of dog food into the container and Molly was so excited about new food (even though its the same kind). She stuck her whole face in the bag and she would try to catch the food mid air as it was going in. So funny!

Also, Happy Birthday to my Dad! Hope you have a great birthday! While we were in NY we picked out (with the help of mom) and installed some new light fixtures for their kitchen/eating area for his birthday.

Before

After! Much better right? Except for the neighbors behind us thinking there is a red light special going on, but we like it!

Molly at the Lake & Recipe Pick from Michelle!

I'm sure you're sick of seeing our dog, Molly going swimming in the lake. She is just too cute not to show again. Since she tore her acl back in April she is still recovering and swimming helps her a lot.

She looks like a little seal.

So into her big log David is about to throw. Wait till you see how big it is.

Love her! 

I also wanted to share with you some bolognese sauce Michelle made. The recipe comes from Pioneer woman and Michelle rates it 2 thumbs up! She did say it takes a lot of time and patience. Her other comments were the sauce was a little watery, but full of flavor. So might be good for a Sunday meal. If you have a favorite recipe you'd like to share or pass on, let me know!

Wordless Wednesday- Sleepy Baby

Molly Loves to Swim!

Since it was 100 degrees this past weekend we decided to take Molly to lake Lanier to take a dip. She loves to swim and just runs right in the water. She looks like a little seal with big ears when she is swimming. She is still in the rehab (self guided by us) phase from her surgery in April. The swimming is definitely helping her use it more, we also take her on walks every night. At home, she still is gentle with it and holds it up like she has 3 legs.

We go to this one spot where you can bring dogs, but it was so crowded with people that we just found a little nook where she could walk in and run around. She chases after pine cones and sticks that we throw. She usually drops it half way and we have to find new items to throw each time. It looks a little muddy because its right off shore and there was a lot of dirt. The water is getting pretty warm though so that's exciting! Hopefully we'll get out on the lake a little more this summer. Here is a video of Molly in Action.


After we packed up and dried her off, we headed home. The poor dear was so tired she just curled right up in a little ball. The leg she has up is her surgery leg. You can kind of see a little scar on the top going down. She is so cute! We just love her.

Green with envy!

Here is little molly, I caught her with her tongue out! We were enjoying the weather this past weekend and she was cooling off in the shade. An update on Miss. Molly: She had her staples out yesterday (she took a few out herself, I guess she thought she would help the doctor out). Shes too active for her own good. Shes running and jumping probably more than she should, but still nurses it by using 3 legs to hop around. We still have to wait about 2 more weeks before we let her jump on the bed etc...

I also wanted to dedicate a portion of this post to my sister's brand new washer and dryer. When you see them you will agree that they deserve a shout-out. Yes, they might have been a stretch budget wise, but aren't they gorgeous? They are front loaders with chrome accents. They even have a steamer built in. I am not a laundry fan, but I think I might do my laundry more often if I had these. These are especially good for Michelle with James traveling for work, they will be reliable and under warranty for her. Her dryer has broken twice in the past few months and her neighbors dryer also went out. So if you need to do some laundry head on over to Texas!

As you can see from the photo below, it was a tight fit or as I like to say, a perfect fit!