Olivia at Camp

Griffin spent the last 2 weeks of camp at home with Nate and my mom (while Nate was away on a business trip for a few days). Home was cleaner, calmer, cooler and more controlled than camp and he's making a great recovery.

While Grif was away, Olivia had a FABULOUS time at camp by herself. Because Griffin is more prone to running in front of cars, falling int he lake, eating something he shouldn't and any number of other risk factors, the camp dogs don't get the sort of freedom they would like. But with Grif at home, Olivia was basically able to roam free and she spent about 12 hours a day hanging out with me, the kids, and the staff. She was in heaven! It was a great way to end the summer for her!

Olivia getting painted

Olivia at the dance party- happy to be in the middle of the action!

Riding around with the lead staff on the golf cart

Chillin with campers 

Olivia was directly under the tie dye table and ended up getting pretty colorful herself

Always in the middle of things

chillin with the campers

All camp game would not be complete with the camp dog!

Olivia almost lost her mind when she came out for all camp dodgeball and found all of these balls! 

Exhausted after playing with all the balls she could ever imagine 

The balls were still on the field and ready to be put away when 10 minutes after the game ended, we heard 3 loud pops in a row as balls popped- I looked out the office door to see a lot of movement and realized Olivia had gone back to the field and had gotten herself into the bag of balls!

Not happy to be home after a very fun summer!

How Much Money Would You Spend?

How much is your dog worth to you? Priceless? Yeah, that's what everyone says, but when you have to actually put a price on him, what is your limit?

Last week, Grif started to look a little under the weather. He didn't want to eat or come out with us to play. By the end of the week, he wasn't eating or moving much at all. His timing was good since we already had a weekend trip planned, so I figured we'd swing into the vet, get some antibiotics and snap him out of it. 4 hours and $700 later, the vet had done a CT scan, an ultrasound, x-rays and multiple blood tests and she still didn't know what was wrong with him. She prescribed a steroid and antibiotic, which would treat a variety of possible issues, she mentioned a lot of scary potentials that it could be and we planned a follow up visit for Tuesday.

Yesterday, we got to the vet and his red blood cell count had dropped, he wasn't any better and after several vets looked at his ultrasounds, she was concerned that he might have a splenic torsion, but she couldn't be sure. So she sent me across town to a different vet- a specialist that you can only see by referral. "The Mayo Clinic of vets". They agreed that it looked like a splenic torsion and worried it could be a few other scary things too. A splenic torsion is when the spleen gets twisted around itself, cutting off blood supply. You can live without your spleen, especially dogs.

A splenic torsion is very rare and after about 50 pages of google, I can't find a cause for it. It can just flip. That's what the vet said too, but I hate that answer. It's so random and illogical. There has to be a REASON.

So once again, Grif was whisked off to emergency surgery to have his spleen removed. They thought he might need a blood transfusion too, and they were going to poke around and make sure everything else looked okay while they were in there. Price tag- $5000. Gulp. A new record, even for my special needs dog.

My options were take him home and let him die a slow death (not in a million years), euthanize him or give them $5000 to do surgery. All terrible options. But you would have had to sedate me and drag me out of that vet at gun point before I could approve euthanasia on my baby. There's just no way. $5000 is crazy, and every time I type it, I feel a little sick to my stomach. But I guess I don't have a price tag on him.

Last night he came out of surgery not having needed a blood transfusion and they didn't find anything else out of the ordinary. He is recovering nicely and will get out of the hospital tonight or tomorrow morning.

I had to go back to camp. I've had several breakdowns over the past 24 hours at the thought of going back to camp without him. I am starting to think our co-dependence issue is more of me needing Grif with me, than the other way around. I was paralyzed all morning, unable to leave home to drive back to camp.

Nate is going to pick him up and work from home on Thursday. My mom is coming over Friday. Nate is going to be home all weekend. And then he might bring him to me at camp on Sunday. Camp is dirty and there is a lot going on, so I know being at home where it is quiet and nice and cool and he can rest and recover is the best place for him. But being separated is KILLING me. I am so incredibly tense and anxious and I feel like part of me is missing. I have one more week of camp before the end of the summer, so it is possible he will just stay home until then, depending on how recovery goes. I HATE the thought of it. But I am incredibly thankful for Nate and my mom for taking care of him while I am away. I'm thankful for my exceptional staff who ran camp without me and especially Abby who took amazing care of Olivia, so I could be at home. I'm thankful I had the means to save my baby, even if it is more money than I wanted to spend. I know I'm lucky (and so is Grif), but I am still stressed out.

Ugh. Special needs dog strikes again. He's KILLING me.

A few bulldog pictures from the past few weeks-

My little snuggler

Riding back to camp, Olivia uses Grif as a pillow

Snuggling

Olivia hanging out with her camp friends

Grif at the vet before surgery

Swim Time With Bulldogs

Last week, I was the lifeguard for one period of swimming and I happened to have a really small group (just 10 campers) during that hour.

On Thursday, it rained in the morning and by the afternoon, it was still pretty chilly for swimming. So we decided that swim times could have a camp fire on the beach and make some s'mores. My swim group also had some guests- the camp dogs.

Olivia and Griffin had to wear their lifejackets, which they weren't thrilled about, but since bulldogs sink like rocks, it wasn't a choice for them.

Olivia ate about 5 marshmallows while supervising the fire. It was quite an afternoon for the bullies!

Olivia giving a camper the evil eye
because she wants a bite of his s'more

Livin' the Bulldog Dream

For the two most social, surprisingly active little bulldogs, camp is paradise. We've been here 3 weeks and life is one continuous playtime for Olivia and Griffin.

Grif hanging out with his friends- Olivia playing in the background

Grif wanted to play volleyball so badly!

After they all left he was pretty sad he didn't get the chance to play!

Sunning themselves 

Riding in style

 Exhausted after lots of playing!

 

And a few videos of happy puppies-

Grif really wanted to play volleyball. He eventually had to be lured back home because he was adamant he was going to be on the field. 

At Camp!!

We're here! We've been here since Thursday and the bullies are back to loving their lives in the woods. They are exuberant- absolutely joy-filled. I want to follow them around and take their pictures all day every day. Bulldogs aren't really known for being outdoorsy or active, but these two love being at camp.

Here are a few shots from the past few days.

At the gas station, ready to head to camp

We got stuck in a traffic jam for the first 10 minutes.

Within 5 minutes of arriving at camp!

Soaking in the sun and snuggles.

Playing....

Playing...

SO happy to be at camp!

This is how Griffin spends a lot of his time while Olivia plays on the field.

Sleepy baby is satisfied after a long day of playing,
relaxing in the sun and exploring the woods. 

Packing With Bulldogs- play by play

Scene- me with a heavy (overfilled) box precariously balanced in my arms.

step, step, *crash* step, step, *crash* "Olivia!" 

This dog won't let me out of her sight and is following me closely wherever I walk but she's not actually paying attention to where I am because every time I stop, she crashes into the back of my legs. Although it might also be that she wants me to know that she is there (annoying either way).

Once she gets yelled at to go lay down, a few minutes later I hear, 

*thunk* "woof" which is the sound of Olivia jumping on Griffin and knocking him to the ground while she humps him in the head out of boredom. 

"Olivia!" 

As I get near the gate with the heavy box still in my arms, the sound of the running of the bulls thuds through the backyard, followed by *crash* *crunch* *slam* as we all fight to be the first one out of the gate, them pushing and shoving as if they are going to miss their ride. Olivia barks and jumps (forgetting she is a bulldog!) and Grif looks excited, confused, a little nervous and desperate not to miss out on anything. 

I get the box in the car and usher two bulldogs back inside the fence, telling Olivia to go lay down and relax. 

*Glare* as in actual side eye from said bulldog (if looks could kill). I swear I saw her lift her little paw and give me a puppy middle finger.

5 minutes later, I'm carrying the next overfilled heavy box...

step, step, *crash* step, step, *crash* "Olivia!" 

*thunk* "woof" 

"Olivia!"

So we're on warning number 5. I'd like to think if she was a real child I would have followed through with my threats, but she's a dog, so we are just on repeat. 

Right now we're taking a break and I am gulping down wine, which is clearly going to make the moving boxes thing go way better as the night goes on. Olivia isn't thrilled with the sitting or the wine, and maybe I've already had too much to drink, but I swear she just lifted up her wrist as if to look at her watch and gave me a dirty look about the speed at which I am moving. 

She's might lose her mind when I leave her at home to go to my office in the morning. I'm hoping to sneak out really early before she notices. 

Less than 24 hours to camp...