Done with the wedding, back to regularly scheduled life

The wedding was wonderful. I just noticed that I only have two October posts and both are picture posts, obviously a lot of my time was taking up by wedding things to make sure everything would go as smooth as possible. People kept asking me in the several days before if I was nervous or stressed, and the truth is that I wasn't. My method of planning events (and since it used to be my job to do trade shows and then conventions for several hundred high school students, I've had some experience) is plan, plan, plan, hold the reins as tight as possible, and then when you get to the days immediately before the event, let go, roll with the punches and have a good time. Everything went smoothly except that it ended up raining--luckily we rented a tent the day before-- and we maybe missed a few cues (sorry, DJ!) but I think everyone enjoyed themselves.

I really enjoyed putting the wedding together and thinking of things that would make it special for all of our guests. I especially enjoyed going on an expedition with just Carlos and my photographer--who I've known since junior high-- in the rain to get some (hopefully) awesome pictures. I can't wait to see how they turned out. It was so nice to spend one on one time with my groom and I didn't even think about being cold and wet until we got back, had some warm soup and I realized it was even more delicious because I was cold and wet.

The best part, above all, was spending not just the wedding day but time before and after the wedding with friends and family, most of whom traveled to Northern California from as far away as Ecuador. I wish I could express how deeply thankful I am to each and every person who came because it was all of our closest friends and family in one room. I felt so much love having everyone there. I'm glad our wedding was relatively small (about 75 people) of just our nearest and dearest so we could spend a little bit of time with everyone.

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A little Boo update since the last time I mentioned her was Sept. 15th. Since the bladder problems and the walking problem, things have progressed. We ended up getting the doggy door installed and that has helped. While she was having regular accidents, she started sleeping in the garage because she has access to the back yard when she needs to go potty, but lately the accidents have decreased and she's sleeping indoors again for about half the night and then one of us has to get up to let her outside where she spends the other half of the night.

Unpredictably, while a few weeks ago she would drink water until she threw it back up, she has started drinking normal amounts again. In the past two or three weeks, though, she has also stopped eating as much. This is the dog that would eat anything you put in front of her and we got an automatic feeder for because she had to eat regularly or she'd get sick. First she stopped eating her regular kibble. Then she would eat it with the dog food gravy stuff, then she stopped eating that. Then we got her smaller kibble and she ate some of that until she stopped eating that. We started using wet food and special potato/chicken dog food mix. Both worked for a while then she stopped eating the potato/chicken mix (she sucked it down ravenously when we first started it) and as of yesterday she isn't really eating the wet food very well anymore. So now that she's drinking less and eating less, I'm worried.

To add to my worry, over the past few weeks her hind legs have been getting weaker. Last week I got home when it was still light out and decided to take her for a walk with the assumption that the last time I tried, she was injured and this time she would be better. Boo's usual behavior is utter excitement for walks and when she gets excited she likes to hold her leash in her mouth. I put the leash on her as usual-- she had a little less energy which made it easier to hook her up-- and she grabbed the leash in her mouth as we headed out. Right away, instead of leading me, she was walking behind me. I thought we could maybe make it around the block. We got maybe 4 or 5 houses away and she was going slow, well behind me, and I could hear her back legs having problems and her nails were dragging. I still thought we could make it around the block... until we crossed the street and she was going as slow as molasses.

I looked at her, she looked at me, and I could tell that going around the block wasn't going to happen. We turned around and I started trying to encourage her along so we could walk back home. She took a few more steps and sat down. Uh-oh. It hit me that I would have to carry her home. The dog who loathes being picked up and always makes a fuss about it would have to be carried. But there was no other choice. I gently picked her up and she was as docile as a bunny. No yelp, no fighting me, it was like she was relieved. In fact, she looked up and me and licked my face.

Since our walk, she's had increased problems with her hind legs. Standing up on our hardwood floors is next to impossible, getting up in the mornings is hard for her and the 3 stairs in and out of the house are creating more problems. Usually she can get pretty close but needs her rump picked up to get all the way up. In the last day, we've been carrying her in and out of the house more often then not.

Compound my already great concern with Boo's health with the fact we're going away on our honeymoon soon. Originally we thought the doggy door plus automatic feeder plus huge water bowl and a few neighbor visits would be fine. Then we thought the neighbor might have to visit twice a day for feedings. Last night it became very apparent that the only way she is going to be okay is having her boarded at her vet's office. She has major problems walking, isn't eating or drinking much and may be on her last legs (no pun intended). The last thing I want is our neighbor finding her passed on or her being alone when it happens. If anything, I want her at the vet's so that they can take good care of her if she takes a turn for the worse. I just hope she makes it until our return. It's weird to have a dog for only a year and a half and now be worried about how much longer she will be with us. That's life.