Nipper And His Party Hat

While I was working at Tres Dias a couple of weekends ago....Mr. Nipper broke one of his nails on his front foot. I tried really hard not to say anything about Sandy "breaking my dog" while I was gone.... No, not really I'm just kidding.

Sandy always takes good care of him...and it is a lot of work. Nipper takes several medications and so I have to leave pages of directions any time I am gone. Anyway, Nipper has always had bad nails and every now and then he breaks one.

This time he broke the nail all the way off the nail bed and couldn't put his foot down at all. Not to mention he was shaking the pain was so bad. So on Monday morning he and I made a trip to the vet. Our vet, Dr Moore, who I owe Nipper's life to on more than one occasion, said the nail broke off the nail bed...which for us would be like having our fingernail torn completely off....OUCH, OUCH, OUCH!!!

Dr. Moore and Nipper come to an understanding... the understanding is this...if Dr. Moore muzzles Nipper he can take the nail off and not lose his hand in the process.... (never said my boy was a saint did I?). So Dr. Moore takes Nipper in the next room (they have to take Nipper into another room to work on him...otherwise he thinks they are going to bother his momma and he turns into an army of one) and starts taking the nail off....piece by piece. I can hear the conversation between Nipper and Dr. Moore and I don't think either of them were having a good time...

When he finished taking the nail off...I poked my head in the door where they were and I asked if at all possible could they NOT put a bandage on Nipper's foot? My reasoning is that I knew that Nipper would not leave the bandage alone nor would he let me take it off of his hurt foot when it was time....but the main thing is that I figured Nipper would take the bandage off when I wasn't around and eat it. My thought in all that is this....my dog will eat ANYTHING!!! He has in his life eaten.... 3 socks, a washcloth, a dead mouse...swallowed him whole, a pair of cotton boxer shorts, flowers, green plants, dirt, sticks, paper towels, rope, and several bandages from his feet. (You do know what goes in....has to come out don't you....? )

Anyway, despite all my pleading Nipper had to get a bandage. Dr. Moore said...the bandage I put on his foot has stuff in it to make it taste bad so I think he will leave it alone. To which I said...have you met Nipper? No, I didn't really say that but I was thinking it. No sooner did they walk into the room with me than Nipper started chewing on the bandage...and the taste didn't bother him at all. I know my boy!! So they go back into the other room and Nipper gets muzzled again and they rub this supposedly nasty tasting stuff all over the bandage...and then they come back in the room with me again. Yes, you guessed it....right back to the bandage he goes and starts chewing away. I did say he will eat anything didn't I?

So that brings us to the reason for this post. The next option was that Nipper had to wear an e-collar....which looks like a lampshade turned upside down around his head for 4 days. This is a clear piece of plastic that is long and when they put their head down they cannot reach their feet...or their bandages. He looked so funny with this collar on. We called it his party hat. It also reminded us of a satellite dish and we kept asking him what stations he was getting. He was not amused. He kept running into the walls, the steps, he couldn't get on the bed, or eat from his bowl...and let me just say I got hit so many times with that party hat I couldn't wait for him to get it off either!!!

The whole point was this...I got some really cute pictures and you can see my dog looks good in anything. Check out Nipper in his pretty yellow bandage and his party hat.

Tammy

Isn't that the saddest face ever?

What channels does this thing get?

Space Doggy

Happily drugged and ready to party

P.S. I know all of you are waiting for a post about Dewey & Jo's last day and the Italy trip. That is coming soon. Right now my heart and head are just so full of thoughts about the significance of that day that I haven't been able to write it down. It really was a great day though wasn't it?

TEXAS OR BUST....AND A LITTLE HODGE PODGE

Did you miss me???

It has been a while since I've written. As my last post stated....I'm busy. The last few weeks have been crazy. However I'm finishing up some projects and am looking forward to slowing down and getting some rest.

This post is going to be what my Pastor calls...Hodge-Podge. That means you talk about one thing and then put a period there and change directions.

Hold on...here goes.

The 4th of July we were lazy. We slept late, went to the pool, and watched the fireworks sitting in the car on the by-pass.

On the 8th-10th of July, we went on a trip to Texas with 18 other people from our church. We went to a called conference to vote down a change in our EMC denomination. Our Southern District showed up in mass and our votes prevented the changes from being approved. Well...our votes and God's mighty help.

It took us 20 hours to get to Texas on a chartered bus (or coach as Lynn told us) and 18 hours to get back. We talked, laughed, played games, read, watched movies, ate and ate some more, slept (very little), plotted our attack, and whined (just a little). It was fun but also extremely tiring.....let me emphasize the word tiring. We spent two full nights on the bus.... We were mighty warriors for our church and our denomination and our Pastor. I felt really proud of us. Our votes prevented the changes to our denomination and they also provided the way for our Pastor Dewey to be appointed as our District Superintendent. In the end...it was worth all the effort. Just don't ever ask me to go on a bus ride to Texas again...next time I'm catching a plane....


Beth sleeping on the bus


Jo visiting with Jeanne


All smiles


Talking business


Our Leaders - Dewey and Laurens


Dewey and Jo snuggling


Talking Strategy


Leaving for the conference


Our Chariot


Arriving home after an all night bus ride




The 17th-20th of July, I worked at the women's Tres Dias weekend #30. It was an awesome weekend and I saw many lives get completely transformed. I got to work a job that involved prayer...one of my favorite things to do. It was a tiring weekend and I got very little sleep, however, I was humbled to get to be there and God blessed me greatly. Thank you God for once again showing me truth about your grace and the power of your love.

During this month, I've also been attending a bible study with some girls at my church. We are doing Kelly Minter's book "No Other Gods". It has been great. It is about all of the other things (or people) in our lives that we put before our time with God. It has really struck home with all of us. We did a video as part of a memorization tactic and we ended up getting posted on Beth Moores blog. Which was pretty cool. You can check us out at http://www.livingproofministries.blogspot.com/. Just look for the EMC siestas video. It's a riot!!! (Check the July 11th post to see us).

There is one other big thing to come this month. This Sunday, July 27th is our Pastor Dewey's last Sunday as our Pastor. It is not a day that I am looking forward to. However, I do believe God has big changes in store for all of us and I trust him with the future of our church and the future of Dewey and Jo. This is a season of change for all of us. Dewey and Jo have been our leaders for 16 years. Dewey has stepped down as our Pastor to take the District Superintendent job for our Southern District. More about all of later. For now, let me just say, Dewey and Jo....I love you both dearly. You both hold a huge place in my heart. May this Sunday bring you many pleasant memories and a overwhelming sense of how much we all love you.

Oh, one more thing....check out Nipper's new buzz cut.
Isn't he cute?

What did you say ?

They left his tail fluffy...

Now that's what you call a hodge-podge.

Tammy