Plans Don’t Always Work Out

I didn’t plan on having my previous post be the last one before completing the move into the new house.  I have a couple others half-finished that will be waiting a little bit longer.  The plan was to get at least one up before things got too hectic.

I didn’t plan to be away from the blog for so long.  The plan was to finish the move, get a few things organized and start right back up.  But.

I didn’t plan on ever writing what I’m about to write, either.

The plan that my wife and I have been looking forward to since she moved back to Chicago was that we save for a house and finally move to a place of our own so we could get a dog.  The apartment I was in for nearly 8 years only allowed cats, and even then only if they were de-clawed.  No dogs allowed, and that has been our dream.

Shortly after our house closed, we bought a Labradoodle puppy from a breeder.  The breeder would hold it for two weeks, then we send it to the trainer for two weeks, then we’ll take her once we’re fully moved in.  The perfect plan.

I even was planning the perfect post to introduce her to all my blogging friends.  I would title it “MBF-8 + MBF-10 =…”  I would take the Labrador & Poodle Man’s Best Friend minis from last year Ginter set to show off our new 4 month old baby Cheddar Biscuit.

Cheddar Biscuit with my wife

Being a little defiant

Tired Cheese

Plans don’t always work out.

We finished our move on Friday and got Cheddar Biscuit on Saturday.  By Wednesday she was feeling sluggish, which we thought was possibly due to the heat and dehydration.  Thursday, we had to take her to the vet.  We got medicine to treat what the doctor thought was a bacterial infection.  On Friday, we woke up to more trouble and the vet suggested we take her to the hospital.

The hospital discovered that Cheddar had contracted Parvovirus somewhere along the way.  We don’t know when, and we probably never will.  All we knew was that she had to stay under 24 hour surveillance with IV tubes and liquids and medicines constantly flowing through her small, weak body.

She was a strong little pup for a couple days, but on Monday morning things took a severe turn for the worst and we lost our little girl.

Now, we didn’t have her in our house for even a full week, but she was definitely a part of the family.  I can’t explain it in words here, but her mannerisms and attitude and really everything about her made us feel like she was meant to be our dog.  She was perfect for our lives.  I don’t know what it’s like to have a child, but we feel like we lost one.

It’s been a very trying time for us these past couple weeks.  My wife and I are closer than we’ve ever been (we “celebrated” our two year anniversary shortly after), but we both feel empty and lost.  Part of what makes it so hard is that Cheddar Biscuit is part of this house.  We started our lives here at the same time as we started our lives with her.  The house is great, but it feels tainted and parts of us don’t want to be here anymore already.

I don’t know.

Now comes the other hard part.  I didn’t plan to ever have to do this either, but here it is.  We tried to do all we could for her, but the constant monitoring and medicine ended up being more money than we can actually afford so early in our home ownership.  The grand total after adding it up was about $3,000.  That’s a large sum that we weren’t anticipating to need so soon.

I’ve started to look for freelance work on the side, since my job doesn’t make moonlighting very possible.  Still, I’m worried about meeting our financial obligations in the short term.  I really feel like a total jerk for even doing this, but I’ve set up a page on gofundme.com.  Here is the link.  If any of our readers would like to donate to the cause we would greatly appreciate it.

I don’t want anyone to feel any obligation by any means, and this will be the last time I bring it up.

Thank you everyone for being patient.  I plan to be back to normal (at least in terms of blogging) relatively soon and respond to emails from the past month or longer.  I really hope that’s a plan that I can accomplish.

6 comments to Plans Don’t Always Work Out

  • Sorry to hear about your loss. I’ve been there recently too. Condolences and I hope the monetary situation plays out for the best.

  • Stealing Home

    Condolences. Of course Cheddar Biscuit was part of your family. I have felt the same about my dogs all my life.
    Sending sympathy and the best wishes to you and your wife.

  • All of my condolences. I went through a really rough patch after losing my dog my junior year of high school, my grandfather, and piles and piles of teenage angst at the same time. Dogs make so much of a difference in our lives, and I too felt that same emptiness. So sorry to hear about this.

  • I’m sorry. I’ve dealt with losing a pet and it’s almost shocking how much it affects you.

    (As I write this I’m dealing with a dog that just threw up 3 times).

  • That is very sad news. My girlfriend and I bought a baby fish about a month or so ago and I still check to see if he is still alive every 20 minutes or so. I shudder to think about the emotion and responsibility that goes along with a pet that is also an essential family member. I don’t know if I can handle it.

  • Play at the Plate

    Jon, sorry to hear about your loss. I didn’t have pets as a kid, but married into them and it’s always tough to lose one, no matter how long you’ve had it.

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