No words needed – just a sound… “duuuuhhhhh”

Monkey started swim lessons last week, and I have to say I think this class is a repeater.  She likes it, and has fun, but won’t do a few key things they would like her to do – like put her face in the water.  I don’t really understand that, because in the bathtub she will go completely under, but I suppose she’s just being a crazy kid.  Then, last night, she would not jump in the water.  She’d done it before in class – even in that class, but for some reason she refused.

After lessons, I was pretty upset because I assumed her regression is related to the lack of time I have spent working with her.  We don’t swim as often as I would like, and lately it’s been not at all.

Honestly, I think the whole family has changed since this bed rest mayhem started.  Daddy has been so busy just trying to keep up, and I am cranky because there is so much to do and no energy to do it with.  Monkey has been feeling it too.  To me, the swim lessons are telling.  She also has had a few potty accidents, and well… just seems bored and starved for attention.

Come to think of it, the only family member who has not shown any signs of suffering is Stinky Magoo.  He still licks his bowl dry and looks pathetic as he begs for more.  He still barks for no reason and occasionally poops or pees on himself just to remind us he can do whatever he wants.  He still humps his bed for hours on end, and he still snores loud enough to wake me up – even when he’s downstairs in his kennel.  Good old, reliable Stinky Magoo.

This whole time I thought his silly behavior and questioning looks were because he couldn’t connect two brain cells together to form a complete thought.  I believed his lack of training was because all he could think about was food and because he had the attention span of a fly.

Speaking of flies, the other day we had one in the house and our dog is so slow that he couldn’t even come close to catching it.  The fly playfully landed on Stinky Magoo’s nose several times and by the time Stinky Magoo would snap his jaws together, the fly was already tickling his hind quarters, laughing a very sinister laugh. (Okay, maybe that was me laughing)

Regardless, this whole time I thought Stinky Magoo had a lot to learn.  His carefree attitude and unconditional puppy love has shown me perhaps he’s not so dumb after all. Perhaps he’s the wisest one in the family.

But, he is still stinky.

At 3am.

With the sudden reality check that Caterpillar will be here in three months. That’s just three more paychecks before the little one is here, and we’ve yet to do anything. We haven’t started his room, haven’t bought any clothes or a car seat. Haven’t done anything. I guess my thought was to strap the naked baby on the top of the car for the ride home and pray for the best. Procrastination at its finest.

Well, that’s not entirely true. For the last month or two, we have had to tighten our financial belts a little. We had some unexpected medical things arise and as a result things we have been, for the first time since I started staying home, challenging. While we realize how blessed we are since I have been home for a year and seven months and pretty much did whatever we wanted financially (within reason) and I had forgotten for a while what it’s like to not come and go as I please.

I am sure it’s just the raging hormones, and the ‘nesting instinct’ has surely kicked in, along with the panic. So, I wake up Daddy and ask him if he knew Caterpillar would be here in a mere 90 days. I pointed out with Monkey I had a large shower and received a lot of high ticket items from friends and family. I explained we now had to purchase everything by ourselves on top of Monkeys expenses. He says he knows and isn’t worried because God always provides, and because he has a lot of invoices through our side business due before then, and after a little chit chat goes back to sleep.

I laid awake for another hour questioning why I didn’t share his confidence.

What I came to realize today, as I was panting and struggling with my belly in order to scrub the poop off of Stinky Magoo, is the last couple of months have been kind of fun. We haven’t had a bunch of things to go buy, and a bunch of errands to run. I’ve taken the time to virtual window shop and I feel I have selected the best quality and best valued products for Caterpillar. When the time comes to make the purchase, I will feel confident in my choices.

And, I do know God will provide. Every time I have taken a leap of faith he has caught me. I am reminded of my decision to stay home in the first place. For those of you who don’t know, I’ll catch you up:

It was my dream to stay home. We had hoped and prayed for it for a long time, but it was always something we said we could do ‘someday’. We were not financially ready, or really preparing for it. Daddy and I together made over six figures, yet we had nothing in savings. Our actions did not support our desires.

Through a series of unfortunate events, I came to realize how little trust I had in the company and people I worked for and with. I witnessed things that were not only disappointing, but were actually disturbing. The team of people I managed in an attempt to make themselves look better had sold out to lies and deceit. I felt like as their leader, I had failed.

At the church we were attending, we were in the middle of a head pastor change, therefore we were having a guest speaker named Scotty Priest. God used this man to send a very clear message. He spoke of ‘taking the plunge’ and taking the leap of faith in our lives instead of just talking about it. This man had never met us, nor did he know our situation, yet for some reason his eyes were uncomfortably drawn to ours as the sermon was delivered. So much so that I leaned back to Daddy and whispered ‘is he talking to us?’ The following Monday I gave my notice. By doing so, I was leaving a pretty substantial bonus out on the table and likely a pay increase for the following year, but I couldn’t wait the three months I would have had to in order to receive it. God was calling me to act now.

We were scared to say the least. We had no safety net and no plan.

What I learned is we did have a safety net. I just hadn’t needed HIM before. I thought I had, and I thought I knew His strength, but until we jumped we had no idea.

All along, in my head I knew Daddy was right. God will provide. He always has and always will. He will provide what we need – and that may not be the items on my registry. That may be the bare minimum.

And in my heart, I have finally reached the point where the bare minimum is more than enough.

I have so much to do before I leave, but my bags are packed (and so are everyone else’s) so I figure I’m doing alright. My camera is charged and my list for the store is complete. I have to run to Sams Club for the makings of the feast we indulge in while we are down there, and I have to give Stinky Magoo (aka. Bluto the stinkiest bulldog in the West) a bath AND wash out his kennel since he is the only dog I have ever owned that just doesn’t care about peeing on himself. I have a ton of laundry still, but the machine only runs so fast…. yet I sit here feeling off and just wanting to do nothing.

Monkey is playing so sweetly upstairs, and I know if I jump in the shower and she sees me go in, she will go wild. It’s as if the sound of the water somehow translates into crack pulsating through her veins, because I swear nothing gets broken until I am in the shower. Well, except the curtain she pulled out of the wall the other day, but that’s off topic and a whole other story…

With that, I am off… Off the computer and back on the to do list.  Off to the southern most part of the state known as the Spanish Peaks. Off to join the wild life, take lots of pictures and get lost in the silence.

However, lately when he is in his kennel at night he has been whining.  We got into the habit of letting him out before we went to bed, and if we ever forgot, we would find quite the mess in the kennel in the morning.  I always found this odd, since most dogs won’t go in the kennel, but read online Bulldogs will make a mess in their kennel when they are upset with their owners.

This was also confirmed by Melody of Lobopuppies.com who indicated she has a ‘diva dog’ who will relieve herself on the floor if Melody doesn’t throw her toy as soon as it is dropped at her feet!

However, cleaning the kennel and the dog is much easier since we now own a dog that is less than 7lbs, so I was happy to do it, blaming myself for not paying attention.

However, today, Travis let Bluto out for his morning duties and put him back into his kennel after since Monkey and I were not up yet.  I came downstairs less than 30 minutes later and found a urine soaked puppy and a very smelly living room.

I got everything cleaned up, the dog fed and medicated (the last of his second prescription of giardia meds) and started my morning routine.  I fed Monkey, cleaned the kitchen and living room and pulled out the vacuum.  I let Bluto outside to do his business again, and when I let him in he immediately hid under the couch because I started vacuuming the living room and he’s a big baby.

As I walked back from putting the vacuum away, I hear Monkey say “She peed on the carpet” (Monkey thinks everyone is a ‘she’).  I came around the corner and sure enough – not one, not two, but three different pee spots on the carpet!

Why?  We had a good morning, he was pampered and brushed and fed and even had a piece of cheese with his pill.  We had played and he was curled up by the fire just prior to this whole incident.

Could he be so bull headed that he was mad that I actually vacuumed even though he doesn’t like it?  If that is the case, what everyone has said is right.  My second baby is my problem child.

Travis and I research most things. We are very internet savvy, and we don’t purchase anything without a lot of studying and prayer. Typically due to our personalities, Travis more does more of the research, and I more of the prayer, but both of us try to do what we feel God is leading us to do.

The same theory applied when we purchased a puppy from lobopuppies. However, this was something I had done most of the research on, and I felt like I convinced Travis to follow my lead. Then the dog was sick. Nothing life threatening, and nothing that makes us love him any less, but sick nonetheless. The following day I found the online articles about epuppypro and lobopuppies. I kept trying to tell myself there are always two sides to every story, and to focus on my situation. But, I was embarrassed since I pretty much told Travis ‘don’t worry, I’ve got this one’. I felt like I had let the family down, and I felt I trusted a stranger after just a few phone calls to do the right thing, and in my perspective that trust was misplaced.

After several conversations it occurred to me that Melody at lobopuppies was doing the right thing in her eyes. She had shipped the dog the day after we purchased him, and had followed the contract with regard to what she would and would not cover as far as the health guarantee. She has been running ragged due to the holiday season, and she has a family member who is very ill and in the hospital. Once she realized how I viewed the situation, she did offer to pay for our vet bills and she did order the pedigree with no charge to us. As I mentioned in a previous post, the money for the vet bills are not important to us. We just want the dog to be healthy, and care and upkeep of any pet is to be expected. We are not going to send her the bills, but it restored my faith that she offered, and it instantly changed my view of the situation.

As I look at my two year old who is peacefully sleeping, I admire her. I love that God has blessed her with innocence and purity. She keeps things simple. As long as she has love, food on the table and a roof over her head, she is truly happy. She doesn’t judge the messy house or the burned dinner. She doesn’t notice when daddy’s late from work because of traffic, or the fact that mom usually buys everything on sale.

Even though I know my knowledge and experiences are a gift from God, I believe being naive is also a gift. I pray this Christmas, even for just a moment, God gives me the clarity needed to see the Christmas tree and our new puppy the way she does; in a totally different perspective.

Therefore we have paid over $100 in vet care for a dog we have had less than 72 hours (and that was after the vet gave us a free sample of the first prescribed medication)… so it begins.

Melody at lobopuppies did email me back after the prior post and indicated she has been very busy. She agreed to accept our vet records even though they were not faxed within 24 hours since we were waiting for a complete set of tests. So, that is good news.

However, as most of you know my spiritual gift of discernment is sometimes a gift, and sometimes a curse. In this case I really have started to feel as though all of the information available was not provided to us. I really want things to work out, but in my heart I still feel as though something is not right.

I did email Melody again and explained what the vet found. I told her I was very disappointed by the fact that we may not have the option to breed him, and the fact that the dog we paid a lot for now has a disease that can be spread to my two year old daughter.

I still can’t help but sit here and wonder why she wouldn’t release all of the information she could to us. It is possible she didn’t have all of the information. Perhaps the vet provided lousy care and didn’t test for these things. Perhaps he didn’t notice the dog didn’t have testicles. There are a million things that could justify these issues, however the fact remains that lobopuppies belongs to Melody. She is responsible as the business owner. If she selected a poor vet, I feel as though that is her problem and she should do the responsible thing and pay us back for the vet care at the very least.

That may sound harsh because the reality of the situation is she is trying to sell these dogs as fast as she can, and by doing so, she assumes some additional liability. And to protect her business, I feel she should do what she needs to do to make us happy. We had considered buying a second pup in the future, and most likely at this point we will be looking for another seller. My sister in law is thinking about buying a pup – again a lost sale for lobopuppies. This blog which has a pretty good following by this point, and others on the internet hurt her business. Already if you google lobopuppies.com or epuppypro.com the first page includes complaints. She has an opportunity here to make sure we aren’t added to that list. Those things hurt a business more than a business owner can ever know.

But, if she doesn’t I suppose it is between her and God and I have to let it go, focus on Bluto, and continue to pray for his healing.

There was also a claim against lobopuppies.com, indicating the claimant was upset the dog was tattooed (which was a surprise for us too when he arrived) and the dog had worms and parvo. Since these are not life threatening, no guarantee was honored.

As I said pretty clearly, these are claims made online, therefore I have no way of knowing how valid the claims are, nor do I know what both sides of the story is. The owner of epuppypro.com was questioned by the local news and said she had no way of knowing the dog was sick, and the guarantee was not honored because the family did not have a vet complete the paperwork indicating the dog was sick within 72 hours, as stated in the contract.

I do know that we were surprised to see the tattoo upon arrival, as that was not disclosed to us prior to purchasing. But what is more disturbing is the vet told us yesterday he cannot feel his testicles. The vet said it could be an indication the dog is younger than listed on his paperwork, or he may not have any. Additionally, his paperwork claims he had shots at six weeks, which our vet stated is too young for shots therefore they are not effective and will need to be repeated in about a month. This is now a cost I have to incur. The dog also has loose stools, which could be a result of the changes he has gone through – or it may not be.

Prior to going to the vet, I emailed Melody at lobopuppies and requested the vet contact information (name, address, phone) in case our vet had questions. We had also been emailing about his registration, however she charges $200 to register the dog to us and stated the paperwork can take a very long time to come in. I asked her to forward me the paperwork since we are still undecided about registration and if we decide to do it, we can send in the papers and fees.

I have had no response from the email.

I did however have a response from an online campaign against the two companies. I asked if they had video of lobopuppies responding to the claims, or if the only response was from epuppypro.com. The response indicated the two companies are the same, and when epuppypro.com received complaints they changed the name to lobopuppies.com.

I emailed Melody again today with the same questions and now I am worried that since his paperwork will not be complete within 72 hours due to the pending fecal exam, she will void the one year health guarantee – which is one of the reasons we chose to purchase through her. Travis also called and left a voice message explaining we were concerned about the deadlines and had questions regarding the paperwork.

At this point we are praying the dog is healthy, and his testicles were just too small to feel. I pray his fecal results come back clean, and he does grow up to be a part of our family. We are praying Melody at lobopuppies.com just forgot to mention the tattoo, and she is living in Gods light as she alluded to before. We pray she has an honest heart and will do the right thing if Bluto is not in the condition that would be expected on a $2600 puppy. We pray she will have grace regarding the deadlines, seeing we are trying to do the best thing for the puppy by having complete and conclusive paperwork. But most of all, I pray God calms my heart and eases my worry. I pray I won’t have to explain to the two year old as she cries big ol’ puppy dog tears, that Bluto has gone to heaven. We pray these things in His name.

I will keep everyone posted on the progress, and please leave any suggestions you may have.

We did it.

For Christmas, Travis bought me a puppy online from Lobo Puppies and we received our little baby today. We just purchased him yesterday, so we were very happy with the quick turn around. As I was standing in line at the airport behind all of the grumpy people who had lost luggage, I noticed a small kennel with his name on it, but the door was open and there was no puppy inside.

I pointed the kennel out to Travis, and the lady behind the counter heard me and asked if I was there to pick up a puppy. I said I was, and she said she could help me so I wouldn’t have to stand in line. She asked who I was there for, and I told her Stewart – a bulldog. She said ‘ahhh… the little whining baby… we have him back here.’ I followed her to a small room where the tables had been pushed together to make a little pen. She picked him up and said ‘here’s your mommy!’ and I almost cried. He is so perfect.

I have to admit we were skeptical buying something like this online (you wouldn’t believe what I have seen Travis do in Photoshop) but Melody at LoBo Puppies was a pleasure to work with and the photos of the dogs are very accurate.

We decided to name him Bluto. For those of you who aren’t sure where that name came from, Bluto is Popeye’s original nemesis. In 1957 Blutos name was changed to Brutus because the studio thought there was a copywright issue with the name Bluto. However in 1960 the studio realized there was no issue, and changed his name back to Bluto.

Bluto slept all of the way to PetSmart and awoke to a store full of cooing employees. Everyone thought he was so cute and the groomer said he was one of the most beautiful bullies she has ever seen, and even commented that he had a very nicely cropped tail.

He came home and was a ball of energy… for about ten minutes. He rolled around on the floor, climbed all over Monkey and threw his bone to show how tough he was. He snarfed some food, then he fell asleep – standing up! I moved him to his bed, in which he slept for a little while. He then rolled out of his bed, scooted up to the fire place and fell back asleep.

Yep, he’s a Chillemi already.