Praying for Hannibal

Hannibal, our beloved Rottie, has been limping on his front right leg for several weeks now. Sometimes it's just a slight limp, and other times, he hobbles around, barely putting any weight on it. I was thinking he had just run too hard, for too long. After all, he is 10. However, he still acts like a puppy. My sister-in-law, who is a veterinarian, mentioned it a few weeks ago, and I acknowledged it, still thinking maybe he had been over doing it. It's summer time, with creeks to swim, balls to chase and a toddler to follow around. He's known to overdo it a bit! But this past weekend, it got progressively worse. I mentioned it to my friend, Frances, who is also a vet, and she said he needed to come into the clinic for X-rays. The sooner the better. She seemed quite grim while discussing him, and I pushed her to tell me what she was thinking. She said it could be bone cancer, as older, larger breed dogs are prone to getting it, and it progresses very quickly. I, of course, don't like this news and all day cry over the thought of losing my sweet Boonie. Yesterday morning, he was really limping, favoring it to the point of almost not putting any pressure on it. We then all took a much needed 3 hour nap, and when he woke up, he wasn't limping at all. When I told this to our other friend, Kay, also a vet, she said it sounded more like arthritis. Whew! Some hope! Needless to say, we've made an appointment at the clinic where Frances and Kay both work on Thursday where Shannon will drop him off for the day. He will be sedated and X-rayed, and we will know more from that point. Please pray it's only something as minor as arthritis!!! We (especially Pyper) adore this dog!

Hannibal and Pyper. Pyper was about 4 months old in this pic...

A common occurance around our house!

Playing dress up with Hannibal. He's such a good sport.

Pyper decided to have a tutu party and once again, Hannibal participated!

Growing up...

Shannon prepping the rows with fertilizer. We used an organic compost last year which greatly added to the soil conditions. We didn't add any this year, but plan on putting compost and putting the chickens on the garden in the fall to add Nitrogen and have them eat some good bugs and grubs.

Getting ready to plant. Pyper is our foreman, and is available for consults.

Shannon found 2 moles in the garden right after tilling it. Disappointed in the lack of effort from Hammish, our wonder hunter cat, Shannon killed both moles. I was amazed at how big its front paws were and the design made for digging up our garden is astounding!

Pyper watering her garden

Pyper selecting potatoes for the garden. We told her to pick sections with "eyes" on them, and she proceeded to point to her eyes. She is one smart cookie. Well, that's what I thought until she took a big bite out of this raw potato. She's Shannon's child...

Abby is growing more and more every day. She has just turned 1, and I can't believe she is almost as big as her momma, Anna. Anna stands at 15.3 hh. I have a feeling Abby will be a bit taller. Only time will tell.

The Dixie Chicks are growing sooooo fast! In fact, yesterday when I was doing a daily once over, I noticed little tail feathers growing.

Their wing feathers are growing in, and they are getting bigger, over all...

It might be all the night crawlers and meal worms we're feeding these girls.

They are growing so fast, in fact we had to put up 2 ft chicken wire around the brooder to keep them contained. While playing with them today, one chick escaped by hopping and flying over the side of the pool. Pyper thought it was great fun to chase it all around the coop. This fence, has worked. So far.

Speaking of things Pyper likes to chase, here is our sweet Hannibal. Vicious Rottweiler, extraordinaire. He loves to play fetch, and Pyper loves to throw the ball for him. He is her ever-present companion, and faithful friend.