Dottie update

I'm happy to report that Dottie is home with us and looking and feeling much better. Early yesterday morning John dropped her off at the vet; but it wasn't until almost 5:00 that I learned of her fate. When I talked to the vet on the phone in the afternoon, he said he wanted to talk to me and that made me take one big gulp. I was very worried that because of the need for a talk, the news wouldn't be good. BUT I'm so happy to report that wasn't the case. When Caitlin and I arrived, the receptionist said Dottie had been through the ringer but was looking much better. And when they brought her to us, she was all wrapped up with a bandage around her tummy but was VERY glad to see us. She's so tired because she's been really uncomfortable for many days and she's not quite finished at the vet; but she's on the road to recovery in Jesus' name. She has the bandage because she had to have a procedure to remove a lot of fluid from her tummy and I won't gross everyone out with the not so gory details, but she got some much needed relief from it. So now she gets to lay around and eat all she wants and not exercise and get waited on hand and foot and spend the next few weeks recovering. This is Dottie exhausted but resting comfortably.

The vet, who we love by the way and is the nicest guy, is still not sure what has happened to Dottie. He ran lots of tests that all came up negative, which is good, but there's still no definitive answer for why she almost died. She was in such bad shape last Thursday that he said she may not have made it through the weekend without medicine and special care. There have been big names thrown around like Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia and Lupus, which I had no idea dogs could have, but we're refusing to accept any of those diseases. We're all believing she's healed and is only going to get better. I told Joel, our vet, that there were about 50 people waiting to hear how she was doing since our family had been praying for her as well as the people on our church pet prayer list. Then he told me he had to put his own dog down last September and it was very hard for him.....which I can imagine. And there's just another job I'm glad someone else wants to do but I could never ever consider. So please remember him and his sad heart in your prayers.

Now Dottie still needs for her body to make more red blood cells and she needs to gain weight....JEALOUS.....and get strong and back to her fighting weight as soon as possible. But I'm just grateful to God that He's healing Dottie and He brought her back to us. I told my kids the other night that no matter whether anyone agrees or not, for some reason, Dottie was meant to be our dog and as hard as it was and as bad as it looked we had to believe God was going to take care of her. But still, even knowing that and doing my best to trust God every minute, the waiting game yesterday was brutal...majorly brutal.

And I know this for sure, it really does matter to God how we treat other people as well as animals. There's no doubt in my mind that Dottie matters to God. I know that yesterday as we were hanging on for dear life waiting for the phone call, God was with us and expecting us to trust Him and keep believing no matter how hard it was. I know that He cares about the broken hearted. I know that the broken hearts of people that no longer have their pets to love matter to God. I know He's faithful to heal broken hearts when we give Him the chance to do it. But, we have to give Him our hearts. No matter how difficult it is, we have to trust that He will do the work but understand that it takes time when your heart has been smashed to pieces. Thank you Lord for healing hearts as well as pups. Thank you for your faithfulness to care about the big and the small.