Life's Random Moments: September 2011

In June of 1997 we got our first dog, a little black and white puppy with a spot on her back. My family named her Patches.

Patches was a great dog. She didn't bite, never ruined the sofa, and didn't bark in the middle of the night. She would do anything for a treat and loved to play fetch.

As she got older, she slowed down as would be expected. She played less, slept more, but was always the same dog.

About 2 weeks ago though, we noticed she wasn't herself at all. Her back legs kept going out, even when she tried to go down the ramp we had built her in the back yard when the vet had said she couldn't use stairs anymore. Her front legs seemed to be sliding out from under her. Her tail had stopped it's constant wagging and her eyes had lost their friendly sparkle. Slowly she got worse and worse, to the point when she stopped accepting treats and didn't even whine when we picked her up (she always hated being picked up). We took her to the vet again and again and they said it was pancreatitis. So we got medicine for her, left her overnight at an animal hospital, spoon fed and watered her, and carried her outside.

But the medicine wasn't doing anything for her. She stopped eating altogether, only drank when we made her, and was completely listless.

So we went back to the vet. That's when they told us her heart was failing, and we could either put her on medication (which would help her heart, but her pancreas and kidneys would be in danger, plus her legs would still be going out) or put her to sleep. The latter was chosen.

So here's to a best friend for 14 fabulous years. Patches may be gone, but she will never be forgotten. She was the best dog I ever could have asked for.

It all started with an earthquake.

Well, that's what I'm going to blame it on at least.

But to catch you up-
I'm sure you all know that the weather has been crazy this last month or so. First a 5.9 magnitude earthquake rattled (no pun intended) (okay, maybe a small one) the East Coast. Then Hurricane Irene came sweeping through. And now, Hurricane Lee is breezing all over the place. We've had significant rainfall here for the past few days, causing flooding and car accidents and other rain-induced issues. And we're still having aftershocks.

Now, you might be wondering why I'm blaming the earthquake. I'm not blaming it for the weather that followed. Or for the possibly impending end of the world. (I still think the Mayans just ran out of paper...) Nope, I'm going to shift the blame on the earthquake (see what I did there?) for something that is probably totally irrelevant. But I'm going to pretend it's not.

The earthquake happened on August 23rd. I know because the opening of school the next day was postponed (something good DID come out of it!) and because it was a Wednesday and I had a horseback riding lesson.

When the earth started quaking, I was home alone and freaking out in all kinds of ways. First I thought it might be our washer being a little overzealous, or a big truck passing down the street. But then I saw that the windows were shaking. And so was the chandelier. And I heard a few thumps and crashes as I clung to the door I was standing by. My mom called me just before the phone lines went out to check on me, and I wandered around the house noticing broken Easter bunnies and photos laying on the ground and crooked paintings on the walls. The big thump I had heard was my television falling off my shelf and severing the cords to the DVD player.

I walked into the kitchen and... my dog was sleeping. Naturally. After a few moments I saw her eyes open, she stood, stretched, and settled back into bed.

My cat was another story. She was a nutcase, hiding under the bed and refusing to come out until I bribed her with her favorite treats. Even then she crawled right back under. Not that I could blame her, I was still shaken up (no pun, really!) too.

So I didn't know if I would still have my riding lesson that night. What if the horses had reacted like my cat? What if there was damage to the barn? But with no call from my instructor canceling, my dad and I headed to the barn just like normal.

The lesson went on as usual. The only difference was I was riding a different saddle than I was used to. And here's why I think that was important.

http://www.bitandbridleshop.com/

These are like the stirrups on the saddle I was riding that night.

http://www.equestriancollections.com/

This is closer to the type of stirrup I'm used to on my favorite saddle.

The first stirrups are deeper, and I couldn't get my feet to stay in them. This might have been totally my fault, but I'm going to pretend it was the saddle's. Or the earthquake's. Plus the stirrup leathers on the new saddle were too long for me, even on the shortest setting. What can I say, I'm not that tall.

Anyhow, the lesson was going decently, besides the fact that my right ankle was seizing up like it tends to when I ride, until we started to lope. That's when it went downhill. Grace, the horse, was moving pretty well, but I just could not stay in the saddle. First my left foot came out of the stirrup. I grabbed at the saddle horn and tried to jab it back in, and I did for a moment, but then it came flying out again, and my right foot followed. As we rounded a corner of the arena next to the metal fence, I slipped out of the saddle and thumped on the ground, the back of my head whacking into the bottom rung of the fence.

And this, kids, is why we wear helmets.

My head was slightly tingly and my backside was rather sore, but my instructor helped me get back on Grace and and walk, jog, and lope once more. For about 3 strides. Then I was done.

By the time I got home, my head was ringing. It was the worst headache I've ever had. I sat in the relative darkness of the family room and covered my eyes with a cool towel, the television on low. I can't stand total silence, but any noise too loud sent shooting pain through my noggin. I also had some homework I had to finish, but the computer was far too bright for me to use at the moment. I finally went to bed and when I woke up, I'm happy to say, my headache was gone. But my shoulders were killing me.

Not that you want to hear about all my pain. Let's just say it took a few days for my head to stop pounding whenever I saw a bright light or a loud sound. And my shoulders to stop aching. And my back. And then I started thinking that I maybe want to buy a new helmet, because I don't know how damaged the inside of mine is. I've only fallen twice, but better safe than sorry. Plus, that last one felt like a doozy. If my head hurt that bad, I wonder what my helmet looks like inside.