Faithful Friend...

Healthcare is a field that I've been privileged to work in since 2001. It's still hard for me to believe that it's been that long! I've always worked in an administrative capacity, whether it's as a receptionist, office manager, or "marketing chick;" I did have brief stint as a medical assistant, which I found fascinating. (My favorite stories always involve guys with tattoos who were terrified of shots. Hilarious!).
Anyways, my patients have always been able to talk back. That's actually a very cool thing, even when they're whiny (like me! I'm a TERRIBLE patient!). They can tell you when they hurt or when they feel better...they can tell you when something is seriously wrong, or when they truly need help.
Twice in my lifetime, I've had patients that were seriously in need, that couldn't tell me. One was my daughter--and yes, even though I know that what she had was completely unpreventable, as a mother, you always wonder what you could have done differently.
The second patient is my dog.
Please know that I'm not some "crazy dog lady." Okay, so there are pictures of her all over my desk.
And, I'm considering a pawprint tattoo (in a totally non-obvious place).
And, I just spent more money on her than our vehicles are worth.
Okay, I'm a crazy dog lady.
Seriously, though, I think that you have to appreciate Holly's faithfulness. We bought her in 2005, just a few months after we married. She was to be our "practice" for raising children. Holly has been the focal point of a few arguments in our marriage, starting with her very first day. I wanted a rescue dog; David wanted a pure-bred.
I maintain that my husband is a dog-snob.
As a person of questionable origin, I hope to own a grizzly ol' mutt at some point in my life; for now, though, my princess Holly is the perfect answer to our canine prayers, and I have to say that David picked a good one.
Holly came from a litter of 3, from what I believe to be a puppy mill (although believe me, we had no idea at the time. I'd still like to track down the seller to be sure). She threw up on her very first car ride home; from the second I saw her, I was in love. We got her after Thanksgiving, before Christmas, and her name came from the Mikasa store at St. Louis Mills. AKC registered as "Christmas' Holly Golightly," she has proven to be the perfect combination of snobbery and slobbery.
David decided that Cesar Milan, the "Dog Whisperer," provided the perfect model of dog training. If you know Holly, then you know she is the poster child for a submissive dog. She does tend to be a little bit nervous, especially when we leave. She listens to David when he's home; she is obedient to me when he's not. If a stranger approaches, and "Daddy" isn't around, Holly goes into protector mode. I have no doubt that the dog can handle her business!!!
When we found out we were pregnant, Holly was trained to know that the nursery is not her room. She'd lay her head on my ever-expanding belly, and when Hannah kicked, Holly would jump off of the couch. To finally bring the baby home, was a day of joy for all of us, Holly included. This small stranger was Mommy's to hold, but Holly's to protect.
During the grieving process, Holly never left my side. She was frequently the only joy in my day. During our move to Kentucky, Holly was my company in a state full of strangers. Lexington was a very forward-thinking, dog-friendly city, and St. Louis could stand to learn a lot from their dog parks and pet-catered events. We went everywhere together.
Coming back in 2009, Holly was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, which is regulated with medication (just like a human). Until November, 2011, all was well for our little family. At that point, during some family pictures, we noticed how much weight our dog had gained. We chalked it up to using Beneful (terrible choice of dog food--it's like candy). I had also been feeding her too much (because she was eating the food so fast!!!). Holly began showing a slight limp.
2 vets, and a specialist later, we found out that our dog had torn both ACLs in her hind legs. Thanks to Sherry LoRusso, we got a final opinion from Dr. Pat Tate at Webster Groves Animal Hospital. Yep--she definitely needed major surgery.
This began the hardest part of the decision. Would she ever be right again? Could she have a good quality of life? How in the world are we going to afford this? Should we let her go, or maybe even give her to a family that could afford the surgery? David and I cried...and prayed...and cried some more. This past Tuesday, Holly had bilateral TPLO surgery, which involves cutting the bones and reinforcing her knees with a lot of hardware. Turns out that my stoic little patient not only tore both ACLs; she also had 3 meniscal tears in her left knee.
Finding out that my dog was injured that badly was quite the blow. I'm still not convinced that I have the maternal instinct of a q-tip. I feel like I should have some kind of intuition, some sort of 6th sense that something is wrong, and I'd be lying if I didn't say that I feel terribly guilty that my dog was hurt so bad. She's going to have around 16 weeks of therapy before she's back to normal; the first few are, of course, critical. It's gross, but here's the picture of one of her incisions:

Holly is particular--she ignores most people, and will not eat in public. If you're watching, she will NOT go to the bathroom, and she never wears a "collar;" it's known as her "jewelry." She's not such a happy puppy right now...she's getting used to the Cone of Shame:

Our prayers for our little friend are that she have a speedy recovery. She's been such a faithful companion--we can't imagine our lives without her, even though I'm pretty sure that it will take selling a kidney to get this thing paid off! :) I'm joking, actually--Dr. Tate and Webster Groves Animal Hospital were able to do this surgery by a method that will not only allow for her faster recover; it was almost $2000 cheaper than our original estimate. It wasn't cheap, but that's not the most important part. It's the most important that we remain good stewards of a wonderful pet that God brought into our lives.
Holly is the only "child" we have right now. We had her before Hannah; we've had her after Hannah. She's given us a happy heart to come home to (and a wiggly butt) that makes us smile on our worst days. She's taught me lessons about love and faithfulness that I couldn't have learned from any where else, and I'm thankful to call her my girl.