TammyB

We decided to take advantage of the nice weather and took the kids to the park, plus today is the last day that we are pet sitting for our previous foster dog so we wanted to treat him to a fun day in the sun. Here are a few shots.

Congrats, you look so beautiful and happy. Great review and can't wait to see more pictures.

I got my flowers from Maye our WC she knew someone in San Jose. I had roses and Orchid (see picture in slideshow) I paid $165.00 for my bouquet and that was a year ago so I wouldn't be surprised of those prices now. Flowers are really expensive in Cabo.

Very adorable, Congrats to you and Kevin

Thanks girls.. I read in one of our dog books that it take 7 months to actually get to the stage of having worms (it starts with eggs and goes from there) and knowing how bad he was after seeing the x-ray, he had to have had it for at least a year. Cain is handling it the hardest right now, because he picked him up and from then really bonded with him. I think I'll make him some cookies tonight to cheer him up. Just sucks that we couldn't have gotten to him sooner, I'm sure he would have made someone very happy, he was very loving..

So true, heartworm is so easy to prevent, and to have worms as bad as he did.... Well he was suffering for a long time and to be put to rest at FIVE years old.. That is just sick..

We have had many dogs come through our house in the two years we have been fostering. Yesterday night Cain picked up our newest foster boy, he was 5 years old and was found as a stray and the lady that found him contacted the rescue. Cain got home after midnight with him, he was an adorable brindle boy but had a horrible cough type noise he made. We went to bed shortly after Cain got home, Mickey (that's what we decided to call him) was up several times making that loud noise, waking us up each time. At around 7 am, we got up, took all the kids outside and after just watching Mickey we noticed something just wasn't right, and that anytime he made that loud noise he would stop and sit, we thought it was a bad heart murmor so we called the vet and made an appointment for him for 10 am. Well they ended up doing x-rays on Mickey and found out his heart was infested with heartworms, so bad that they said he was only getting 7-10 % air when he breathed in, they said to treat heartworms at that stage it would be a very LONG battle with a very low success rate. On top of that he only had one testicle desend and they said the one that didn't was the size of a golf ball and said more think likely it was testical cancer. So with all the odds against him, it was advised to put him at rest, and allow him to sleep pain free. I'm still an awe that he is gone, this is why fostering can be really hard at times, we just can't save them all..

Quote: Originally Posted by DanielleNDerek Wow and fi thinks i'm crazy for wanting a 3rd dog. You both have such big hearts to take all these dogs in. Poor special needs dog, was he/she abused or in a puppy mill? Not sure about them incoming dog, Just know he's in poor health, only had one testicle desend and now has a tumor there as a result, and I guess he has some kind of infection and is timid around people. We don't know too much on him yet. Here is Ozzy & Sassy.. I took these pictures yesterday and it started to rain so I had like one chance with each dog to get a picture. So nevertheless they aren't good. Sassy Ozzy

Quote: Originally Posted by Maura the other thing i couldnt live without is my blackberry. it makes my life infinitely easier. I'm trying to tell DH that I "need" a blackberry, but he thinks it's an excuse to search the web more.. :-) D@mn he knows me too well.

Quote: Originally Posted by Sarah As much as you want to help Tammy, sometimes I think you just have to put your foot down, you know? They might not be trying as hard to find another place because they know you and Cain will always come to their rescue. Is there a way you can back out of that other one? They surely would have to understand that you are only allowed so many dogs at your condo and that you're risking getting in trouble... Yeah I told Cain that I think we need to back out of the other dog coming in tomorrow, until they find a home for the brother and sister. However no one is returning our calls or emails. Maybe they are just busy, just odd that no one is speaking up right now. I'm feeling good, thanks for asking. I'm nauseated all the time, but I guess that's to be expected so I'm fine with it. I've lost 2 lbs because I feel to sick to eat, quite often. But, since I'm too scared to get excited at this point, I guess those are all good things, right? Are you 6 or 7 weeks now? Yeah I would say feeling nauseated is totally expected.. Lets just hope that your feeling better when you are in Cabo. I'm sooo excited about Cabo. We leave in 10 days- I have so much to do it's just crazy I still wish we were going to Cabo.. Hmm in your condition I think you should just give Cain and I your tickets and room, I mean your not feeling well right now so I'm sure you just want to rest in your nice comfy bed.. I'd be willing to do that for you Sarah... :-) OH, BTW. Just talked to Cain, we have a foster home for the brother and sister, were dropping them off tomorrow. YEAH, I feel so much better now.

No Sarah I think you were right the first time I'm "crazy". The only part that ticks me off is that the rescue group said they could get the brother and sister into a foster home quick, yeah well IMO I don't think Cain and I should take on the new dog tomorrow until they find a home for the other two. I have a feeling were going to be stuck with all these dogs for a few weeks and I'm sorry I just can't. Plus we have emailed them so many times and NO ONE is emailing us back. I think it's because they know they don't have a place for them and they don't want to tell us that. I don't mind helping in a pinch but at least they should keep to what they promised. Sarah, how have you been feeling? Are you excited about leaving for Cabo soon?

Quote: Originally Posted by Kat81 The Dyson Animal Vacuum. I swear that thing will suck up an elephant if it were on my carpet. I love it. Having four dogs it really really helps. I use it almost every day. When I use it people come over and ask if we just got our carpets cleaned... It makes the carpets stand up and look brand new. I purchased a Kirby Vacuum a couple months ago, and like you said it picks up EVERYTHING. It's amazing how much better our floors look now, plus it has helped with my allergies. I remember the first time I vacuumed my bed with the Kirby, it was the first night I woke up with no stuffy nose in the morning.

Christine I was hoping to paint our master bedroom this weekend but I have a feeling I just won't have two seconds free to do it.

Yeah DH and I want to do hardwood as well, but were going to wait a couple years because we don't want the dogs running around to scratch the floors, so we'll wait until were close to putting the home on the market.

Ok so a previous post made me think of this. What is the best purchase you have ever made. I'm not talking about a house or anything like that, but something you purchased and it ended up being something that either helped a ton, made your life easier or whatever. Mine, hands down is our carpet cleaner. We purchased it the same weekend we moved into our new townhome. Our puppy (he was 6 months old when we moved) got an upset stomach with the move and puked all over the carpets within a couple hours of moving in. We went out that day and got this carpet cleaner. Fast forward to 2 1/2 years later and many different foster dogs and it's seriously been a life savor. I can't tell you how many times my carpet has been peed, puked, sh*t on or got dirty for being outside. I must use the carpet cleaner at least once a week to clean up a mess.

lol "Animal house" yeah that pretty much sums it up. Plus I just got done cleaning our carpets again and wouldn't you believe that they have already been peed on? It never ends, Best purchase I have ever made is our carpet cleaner.

Quote: Originally Posted by ethrondson You sure do have a house full. How long do you have the old foster dog for? They will be by on Tuesday to pick up the old foster, plus if we board the brother and sister for the weekend It would help alot. The foster we are picking up tomorrow is in pretty bad shape from what we were told, so I'm guessing he'll require alot of attention. Oh and lets not forget our cat Morris. :-) We are blessed that he is such a good cat, he just sniffs them once and he goes about his business. We lucked out when we adopted him.

OMG someone kill me now. Seriously.... Anyone? So we told a family that we adopted out our last senior Boston that we would watch him since they are going out of town, we got him yesterday. well we also get a call about an owner surrender and they needed the dogs picked up "now" Oh did you catch that I said "dogs"? It's a brother and sister, their actually really good, but they have never been on a leash before (owners had a fenced in yard) and well we live in a townhome and it's been so hard getting them to walk and use the bathroom. Then, get this..... We had already set up to take a dog that needs some special attention, we had been planning it for over a week now, well it ends up DH has to meet them tomorrow night at 11:30 pm to pick him up. So if your following along that will be 6 dogs, that's right SIX dogs in my house. My two boys, the sister and brother we picked up yesterday, the old foster dog, and now this special needs boston. Umm we are only allowed two dogs.... We actually might pay to have the brother and sister boarded for the weekend since they will have off leash play time and they would do fine, so that would leave us 4 which I "think" I can handle. Sorry, I would post pictures of the brother and sister, but I can't get into photobucket at work. Maybe I'll post tonight if I'm not hiding in the closet from them all.. :-)

Jackie looks like you had an awesome time. I can't begin to tell you how excited I' am for you and your wedding. YEAH..

Great slide show Heidi, you really are beaming with joy in your pictures.

Thanks again ladies, your awesome.. :-)

Quote: Originally Posted by Monique let me find out which bus you can take...what hotel are you staying at? We are staying at "The Avenue" it was previously the Radison I believe.

Thanks Maura.

Where would the Metra pick up at? I was looking at that earlier but I couldn't figure it out.

Maura, is there a trolly or something that can get us there? We are taking a train into Chicago (well From Michigan city into chicago) and are staying in a hotel about 2 blocks away from Navy Pier. We are only going to be in Chicago for a few days so I'm not sure if they have limited transportation on a weekday.