The Email

A few minutes ago, I opened an email from my puppy program manager.

In it, she formally announced the time and place of Novel's turn-in in August. Of course, two of my sisters happen to be downstairs playing heartrendingly sad and beautiful guitar music together. 

Novel's Matriculation date is officially set for August 16, 2013 at 2 o'clock at the Winter Garden Theater in Winter Garden, Florida. In reality, I've known this for over a year. (Ok, not the Winter Garden part, just the date) It's just the fact that I'm actually getting the email...now...it's already here. Novel will be heading out to college in just 7 short weeks.

As every puppy raiser knows, the question we get asked the most is "how on earth will you give him up?" Because Novel is my first puppy, I can honestly say "I don't know." I know that I am not. an overly emotional person, so I like to think that I will be able to handle Matriculation with at least some dignity, but at the same time, I know that I love Novel with all my heart and I will miss him deep down in my soul when he is gone. So who knows what will happen at turn-in. Like I've said to many people over the past 16 months: I plan on crossing that bridge when I come to it. 

But I have to say, this email, this moment, surprised me. All along, I expected to be quite depressed, and a little panicked when I got this email. But even with the sad guitar music, I don't feel depressed, or even panicked. I feel peace.

We have worked hard. 
We have done our best.
We are ready.
This is right.

Why did I include a blurry picture of me kissing a giant stuffed moose?
Eh. Just because I find it kinda fascinating.
Because it was the biggest stuffed animal I've ever seen.
And it was for sale.
In Canada.
For fifteen thousand dollars.

And because this post was getting a little too serious, and I'm not a very serious person at all

A Reflection in the Window OR The Little Damp Spots

Nearly every Tuesday, at just about 12:20pm, the reflection of a handsome black dog in a blue and yellow cape flashes into the first window of a little shop on a little street in a little town. The jingle of a collar can be heard, and if one listens very closely, the quiet padding of large paws and the slight scrape of toenails against the red brick sidewalk as well. Here and there, a drip a saliva slides from his tongue to the pavement, leaving a little damp spot.

We are downtown, but there are no stoplights. No angry people. No trash.
Flowers and green things burst from window boxes and planters at nearly every shop. Music floats from the open door of a toy shop, and a cafe down the road.
In the middle of it all stands a very old log cabin on a large lawn surrounded by very old trees.

The whole scene is almost too idyllic, as if it came straight out of a story book. And perhaps it did, for this is Historic Jonesborough, the storytelling capitol of the world.

Novel in front of the international storytelling center

I am terribly fond of downtown Jonesborough. It is by far one of the most friendly and inviting places you could ever visit. I work only a very short drive away, so every Tuesday, and sometimes on Thursday, and sometimes on Friday, Novel and I come here to walk during my lunch break. We walk the length of the single street. Sometimes we peek into old fashioned shops. Sometimes we explore the alleys between and behind the buildings. Sometimes we relax on benches, or in gardens and watch people pass by. We always work on a few commands.

Doing a "jump onto an impressively small....little...space...

But mostly we just enjoy each other's company.

                                                               "What's it say mom?"

We just enjoy "this part of the story." I have walked past the "International Storytelling Center" countless times, but ironically, I have never been inside. I have never heard a story told here...that is, except the one I am living. Novel has irrevocably and undeniably changed my life. His chapter in my life, however short, has become an essential twist in the plot. I have met people, made choices, and learned things I never would have without him. As August and Turn-in draws nearer, I anticipate that chapter ending, but who knows - it isn't actually over yet!

On Tuesday, at approximately 12:50pm, that reflection of the dog in the blue and yellow cape slides out of view in the first window of the little shop on the little street in the little town. The jingle of his collar dies down, and the little damp spots dry up in the sun. Everyone expects to see it all again next Tuesday because it is the same story every week.

But its not just a story. Behind that reflection is a real dog who is making a lasting impression on at least one person's life. My heart aches sometimes with the thought that Novel might not graduate, and then again at other times with the thought that he might. Deep down, I know that even though his reflection will shortly be sliding out of my window, that doesn't mean he is gone. He will simply be reflecting into another window. I know that. I've planned for that. The fact remains that he has unforgettably impacted my life. And whether or not he graduates as an assistance dog, that fact will remain, unlike the little damp spots that dried up.

It's minor, but it's not entirely trivial

For that past few months, we have been trying to deal with a certain rather mysterious problem that Novel has. I've mentioned it in passing, but I've never explained it in full. However, because we have not yet solved it, and turn in in August is rapidly approaching, and because it is quickly becoming a very likely hindrance to Novel's chances of graduation, I figure it's about time that I give a through explanation. 

Novel is a puker. 

Sometime around the beginning of this year, he began vomiting several times a month. The first time he did it, I thought he had simply eaten his food to fast. When he did it again the next day, we worried that he was sick, so I took him to the vet. He checked out perfectly normal, and we came home with some metoclopramide to help settle his stomach. 

For a while, I thought the medicine was helping...until one day he vomited again about 15 minutes after taking his pill. We kept him on the medicine until it became obvious that it was doing nothing to keep him from vomiting. Since then we have done bloodwork, xrays, and exams to try to find a medical reason for his vomiting, without any success.

In general, he does not vomit often, (no more than 2 or 3 times a month) but now and then he seems to have bad weeks. In April he had a full weekend of almost constant vomiting and diarrhea, although I have my suspicions that that episode was unrelated to his general tendencies to vomit. Last week also, (while I was gone in New York and he was staying with a puppy sitter) he seemed to have a pretty bad week vomit-wise. The only possible cause I have been able to discover is that he is more likely to vomit after drinking, although that is not a hard and fast rule. 

For the first month or two, we hoped that it would clear up on its own, but now I am not so hopeful. Our puppy program manager says she has never seen a dog released for vomiting, but then again, she has never seen a dog that vomits for no reason. Of course, if it doesn't clear up, and we can't figure it out, Novel has little chance of graduating. 

For now, I am soaking Novel's food in water, and carefully monitoring, recording, and even experimenting with all eating, drinking and vomiting in hopes of finding a cause or trigger for the vomiting. I am bracing myself for the very likely possibility that he will not make it long in AT. It is hard because he has such a great temperament. He is so smart and steady and willing to work and I really feel that he would have a good chance of graduating if it wasn't for this "little" problem.

But I am thankful that it is a "little" problem. Vomiting twice a month is really a very minor health problem compared to most, and seems to have no other side effects. If he does get released, at least it would not be a hard thing for me to live with ;)