Tomorrow
So, we got this puppy from a friend of ours. Our friend breeds and sells registered German Shepherds and wasn't going to be able to sale the runt. Poor little guy had his tail broken off by his litter-mates! Yes...literally! He is now a stub-tail German Shepherd by de-fault; anyway, so our friend called us and asked us if we would like to have him for the kids. Well, of course we said yes, so now we are one-dog richer...I hope...
We got the little guy yesterday and the kids have LOVED on him! He is tiny. Today, I started noticing he wasn't playing or acting very puppyish and then I started noticing he wasn't eating and then I saw the diarrhea and throw-up..yep, I'm pretty sure he has parvo...ucky stuff indeed! So after about two hours of sobbing on the kid's parts and an hour of calling around on mine, we decided if we could keep him hydrated enough he might have a chance of making it. So we agreed we would syringe-feed him Pedialite and Gatorade through the night and do what we could to give the poor guy a chance. So, I have my alarm set for every hour from 11:00 PM until 6 AM. The kids are all camped out on a pallet on the living room floor with the puppy between them and I am on the couch. The idea is that they will each take an hour shift of watching the puppy, feeding the puppy, taking the puppy out for a potty break and then wake the next one up at the hour mark for their turn. I warned them that if the puppy messes on the floor during their shift they are also responsible for clean-up duty (this was supposed to be the incentive to help them get the puppy outside on time!) They will rotate throughout the night and I will "supervise" from my spot on the couch. Hmmmmmm......I just came downstairs from taking a shower...everyone is crashed out already!
The other thing that is going on is...this is also the week I am supposed to be weaning Boden from my bed into his own bed. He has done pretty well so far, only waking about three times last night, nursing briefly then going back to his own bed just fine.
So, I am calling this a week of "night school!" (Ryan is on night-shift right now too so he is working from 11:00PM until 9AM) Actually, it is probably totally out of my character to allow the kids to be up all night taking care of a dog but hopefully I have learned some things too in the past few years:
1. THIS IS the important stuff...the three R's they can learn anytime from anyone, certain things they will only be able to learn from Ryan and I as the opportunities present themselves.
2. How often do you get the opportunity to stay up all night nursing one of God's creations back to health?
3. Encourage their servant's hearts whenever I have the opportunity.
4. Do I believe God will provide all I need (including joy after a sleepless night?)
5. What better way to allow them to express love, dedication, perseverance and a shared responsibility for something that matters?
By the way, they decided to name the puppy, "Tomorrow".
We got the little guy yesterday and the kids have LOVED on him! He is tiny. Today, I started noticing he wasn't playing or acting very puppyish and then I started noticing he wasn't eating and then I saw the diarrhea and throw-up..yep, I'm pretty sure he has parvo...ucky stuff indeed! So after about two hours of sobbing on the kid's parts and an hour of calling around on mine, we decided if we could keep him hydrated enough he might have a chance of making it. So we agreed we would syringe-feed him Pedialite and Gatorade through the night and do what we could to give the poor guy a chance. So, I have my alarm set for every hour from 11:00 PM until 6 AM. The kids are all camped out on a pallet on the living room floor with the puppy between them and I am on the couch. The idea is that they will each take an hour shift of watching the puppy, feeding the puppy, taking the puppy out for a potty break and then wake the next one up at the hour mark for their turn. I warned them that if the puppy messes on the floor during their shift they are also responsible for clean-up duty (this was supposed to be the incentive to help them get the puppy outside on time!) They will rotate throughout the night and I will "supervise" from my spot on the couch. Hmmmmmm......I just came downstairs from taking a shower...everyone is crashed out already!
The other thing that is going on is...this is also the week I am supposed to be weaning Boden from my bed into his own bed. He has done pretty well so far, only waking about three times last night, nursing briefly then going back to his own bed just fine.
So, I am calling this a week of "night school!" (Ryan is on night-shift right now too so he is working from 11:00PM until 9AM) Actually, it is probably totally out of my character to allow the kids to be up all night taking care of a dog but hopefully I have learned some things too in the past few years:
1. THIS IS the important stuff...the three R's they can learn anytime from anyone, certain things they will only be able to learn from Ryan and I as the opportunities present themselves.
2. How often do you get the opportunity to stay up all night nursing one of God's creations back to health?
3. Encourage their servant's hearts whenever I have the opportunity.
4. Do I believe God will provide all I need (including joy after a sleepless night?)
5. What better way to allow them to express love, dedication, perseverance and a shared responsibility for something that matters?
By the way, they decided to name the puppy, "Tomorrow".
Labels: children
posted by As For Me and My House | 8:17 PM
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