The Recovery

After what seemed like an endless day without our four legged family member, Charlie came home and boy oh boy, were we happy to have him back.  The vet's suspicions about a foxtail in his ear proved to be correct and after sedating him they were able to extract it.  Turns out he also has some yeast infection in there too (probably due to the water being trapped in his floppy ears) so for the next week Charlie is strictly a landlubber while we treat him with some very expensive ear drops.  

The reunion was as expected:  an extremely jumpy/leapy/licky/happy dog and a giggling/smiling/snuggling boy.  Tim presented Charlie with his recovery toy (ironically, a water toy but we'll enjoy some dry play for the next week) and Charlie happily accepted. 

So it seems that things are back to normal now.  Thanks to all for your warm wishes - rest assured, Chuck is on the mend!

QUICK UPDATE:  I've had lots of folks asking about foxtails.  They're nasty little weed seeds that embed in the coats of unsuspecting doggies causing great pain and in some extreme cases, fatalities.  Read a great blog about them here.

Spring Break & The Reunion

We're finally back and settled in a bit after a sorely needed and fully enjoyed break from our daily routines.  We're lucky to have family in Florida who are gracious enough to host us during the peak season and we all really enjoy our visits there.

Tim got lots of time with Grandma & Grandpa and I seem to recall more than one giant ice cream cone.

And, thanks to Grandma, Tim got to meet the easter bunny by the pool!

Grandma & Grandpa also arranged for a little private egg hunt in their yard and Tim discovered the thrill of the hunt (and the joy of the jelly beans!)

At the end of our trip we were able to squeeze one day in at Disney's Blizzard Beach.

If you've not been there, I strongly recommend it.  Tim absolutely loves it and comes home absolutely worn out.  Plus, being a Disney park, it's very clean, very safe, and very, very family friendly.

This year Tim was big enough to ride some of the bigger water slides and took his Dad for several trips down the runaway rapids.

Of course, what's a trip to Disney without a million dollar popsicle!

Oh, and did I mention the countless photo opportunities they have at Disney?  I had a heyday with my new camera!

We made one quick visit to the HUMONGOUS Lego store at Downtown Disney and visited the Lego Dogs.  Tim promptly renamed them Charlie - each one of them.

  

Our break wasn't all about travel experiences.  Look what happened on the last day of our break:

All these wonderful fun things aside, the most heartwarming had to be the reunion between Tim and Charlie.   Our flight left Florida at the unGodly hour of 6:55 am which meant leaving our hotel room at about 5:00 am.  Throughout the 6 hour flight Tim constantly talked about picking up Charlie so when we landed at SFO by 9:30 am, I dialed up Wendy the Trainer (and part-time dog hotelier ... can't ask for a better place to send your mutt than to Camp Wendy ... still not entirely sure that Charlie wanted to come home!) and we arranged for the collection of our beloved Chuck.

The reunion was sugary, syrupy sweet!  Both Tim and Charlie seemed to be running in circles around each other and all sorts of noises were emanating from each of them.  When we loaded into the car with Charlie in the "way back" and Tim in the back, Tim kept calling to Charlie and throwing his arms over the seat reaching for his pal.  When we finally got home, all suffering the effects of full blown jet lag, Tim and Charlie curled up together on the floor and just snuggled for a while.  It's good to be home.