Jackie

I first met Jackie when Kara was living in Kansas City.  She was a tiny little thing and my heart skipped a beat when I saw her!  I can remember wondering if she would be missed if she happened to get into my suitcase when I went back to Idaho.  But she was Gracies constant companion and was a big help keeping the string of Kara's foster dogs in line when Kara was at work.  There was also "Sammy" back in Idaho.  And Sammy did not play well with others....ever.

Ron and I had the occasion to babysit the granddoghters when Kara would Road Trip.  Our house became a maze of baby gates and step stools and outside time schedules. Organized chaos.  There was terror when gates were compromised opening the way for the inevitable Sammy attacks, and yes, it was a given, they would come.

So when Kara called and said she was moving to California but she just didn't think she could manage to take BOTH Gracie and Jackie and could Jackie come spend the summer with us, Please? It was with excitement and some misgivings that I said, Of course she can!  So Ron and I took a trip to Kansas and came home with Jackie.  The gates went up and organized Chaos set in..... again.

For those of you who have been in the Fruitwood House imagine a baby gate everywhere there was a door way, and then step stools on either side so I could get over them, because very tall and very sturdy gates were needed with Sammy.  One night I put a gate up that contained Jackie in the TV room next to the kitchen so Sammy could have the run of the house for a bit.  Ron and I were talking in the kitchen with Sammy standing next to us when Jackie jumped up and over the couch and landed right next to Sammy.  My heart stopped....I FROZE!  But here is the amazing thing, Jackie looked up at Sammy and I swear she said "What are we looking at, Sammy?" and he looked down at her and replied "I don't really know" and that was that.  The gates came down and Sammy became the big brother.  And Megan, her life changed dramatically because Jackie ADORED her and showered her with morning kisses each and every day and Megan Loved Jackie, too.  That summer visit has stretched into years.......

February - 2013

I noticed that Jackie would favor a back leg on our walks.  She would limp on occasion, not always, and I really didn't see a pattern.  But eventually she began to favor that hind leg all the time and the limp turned into tri-poding.  She did not want to put any weight on her leg what so ever.  So I called the vet and had to wait for a week and a half before Dr. Carlson could see her.  I did not want to deal with Dr. Steve again.

March 22, 2013

Our appointment with Dr. Rena Carlson was in the afternoon.  X-rays were ordered and we discovered that - in lay-mans terms - Jackie had blown out a knee.  Only surgery can correct the damage.  While studying the xrays, Dr. Carlson called in Dr. Steve to confirm the diagnosis.  Then we went over options.  Fix it surgically, do nothing, which would be painful to Jackie and possibly put so much strain on the good leg that its' knee would fail as well,  or put her down.  Options two and three are not open for discussion.
Surgery is scheduled for Tuesday March 26, 2013.  Dr. Steve will be doing the surgery.  I am not pleased with this but I was told that he has assisted in 30 such surgeries and has preformed 40 himself.  This blog is, once again, a reference for me.  To help me keep straight all that Jackie and I will be experiencing over the next two months of recovery time.