Claimed, gathered and sent

Abby had x-rays at the vet yesterday. Her arthritis was not as severe as anticipated. She does have some in her hips, hip dysplasia, and some muscle loss. Considering her age of 13 1/2 years, we all decided it was best to just try to get her comfortable. When she came home, she was feeling no pain. She had been put out for the x-rays and was still woozy, which was great. She didn't hurt! Tramadol has been added to what she's already taking for pain and though it's early, we already see an improvement. She was wiggly, outgoing, and wagging her tail today like she used to. She even bounded over to me from the bedroom to the living room! At least for now, Abby is much more her old self. She isn't huffing and puffing, looking at me with pain in her eyes, and unable to settle down anywhere. At the moment she's resting comfortably next to my chair. She may make it to internship after all. Thank you all for your prayers. The hard and sad thing is that when dogs start...

Abby, Ray's retired Seeing Eye Dog, has been ageing rapidly the past few months. Several times her back end has given out on her. She is very Stoic and doesn't let on how much pain she is in. We took her to the vet today and as she was being examined, her pain level was obvious, even though she did not bark or yelp. She is spending the day at the vet for x-rays. We wonder if she will be able to make it till internship in August. We are conflicted. We don't want her to be in pain and we don't want to have her put down simply because it would be convenient. She is 13 1/2 years old. Some days she doesn't even wag her tail--which is something that was in perpetual motion. Please pray for us that we will do the right thing for her when the time comes. In the meantime, the issue is to get/keep her comfortable.

We had a great visit this weekend to Petersburg, WV. That is where I'll be doing internship for a year starting in August. Here are some pictures of the area around the motel we stayed at, the church, and the parsonage. It's going to be a good year.