Presque...

July 12, 2015 {193/365} Bastille Days

In the 1920s, Gertrude Stein famously stated, "America is my country. Paris is my hometown." How nice when the two combine!  I love that Milwaukee is the City of Festivals, celebrating the cultural diversity that makes up the fabric of this town. My favorite celebration is Bastille Days or obvious reasons. Although I long to return to Paris, its great to enjoy live music, the international marketplace, cooking and wine demos, French and Cajun cuisine, and of course the Eiffel Tower (albeit a 43-foot replica -- barely 4% the size of the one -- with an MSOE sign) right here at home. Vive la France à Milwaukee!

6 months old

July 9, 2015 {190/365} 6 months old

Miss Piper is six months old and 17.5 pounds today! She is such a sweet, pretty, little puppy, and we love her so much! She loves her family, being outside, peanut butter, her many toys, playing with Roxie and Lucky, and snuggling. She is very smart, social, and sassy!

This past month has been rough for our little girl. In June she had dental surgery to extract 4 retained canines and two more stubborn baby teeth (in this regard, she takes after Mommy). While she was under, she also had her laparoscopic spay. After her operations, we thought our trips to the vet were over for a while, but this week, Miss Piper hasn't been herself.  Over the past three days, she has endured a night in the emergency room, IV fluids and pain meds, and a spinal tap. We are so thankful that they have almost certainly ruled out meningitis, but she may still be facing further x-rays and blood work to try to determine why she hasn't been feeling well. We are doing everything we can to help her get better, but through it all she keeps wagging her tail and giving everyone kisses. Piper has been the cause of a lot of worry and a lot of expense lately, but she has brought so much joy and love into our lives. We love you, Miss Piper! Happy Half Birthday!

Love & Gratitude

July 8, 2015 {189/365}

To all our dear, sweet friends,

We have an update on Miss Piper: She's home! Her spinal tap today revealed no conclusive signs of meningitis, but the neurologist will take a closer look tomorrow. Her fever is down, she's eating, and wants to play. So rather than keep her in the hospital over night, we elected to take her home. Tomorrow we will have her monitored for the day at our vet's office and get a second opinion, but for now, we wait. We're just so relieved that she's feeling better and with us for the night. Thank you for all your prayers and wishes - keep them coming, they're working! 

Love, Melinda, Eric, and Piper ♥

Hope

Please keep our sweet little Piper in your thoughts tonight. She has been sleeping a lot and hardly eating. Tonight she was shaky and didn't want to play, so we took her to the emergency vet. Her symptoms of lethargy, fever, shaking, decreased appetite, neck and jaw sensitivity all point to Steroid Responsive Meningitis (SRM), also know as Beagle Pain Syndrome. She is receiving IV fluids and pain meds tonight and will undergo blood tests, a spinal tap, and possibly an MRI tomorrow to confirm the diagnosis. We are praying that she is diagnosed early and is responsive to the subsequent steroid treatment so that she can come home to us soon. We love her so much!

July 7, 2015 {188/365} Anchored in Hope

"We have this hope as an anchor for the soul. A hope both sure and steadfast." - Hebrews 6:19