Gone Way Too Soon :(

It is with heartache beyond imagination, that I close this chapter of our Golden Embers blog ... I held my dear sweet Lyric in my arms as she took that final journey over the "Rainbow Bridge" yesterday afternoon in a hospital near snowy Stowe Vermont, and the deapest void has been left in her wake ... Sutter and I must now find a way together to pick up and move on without our "best" friend ... everything around Golden Embers reminds us of the excitement, the promise and the hope that we shared together and I am heartbroken, as tears drop on to these keys :-(

"In our lives but for a moment and etched in our hearts forever"

Adventures Aren't Without Challenges!

• Saturday ... successful surgical AI ... sent home on "Rimadyl" non-steroidal that controls pain/swelling but has known side effects of appetite loss/loose stool!
• Sunday day #1: ate normal breakfast, anxious to go out on "leash walk"... temp is normal but refused supper ... naturally walking tenderly and needs to be helped up over the step into the house
• Monday day #2: successful vaginal AI ...incision looks great ... temp normal ... slight heat/swelling around right rear nipple ... "Rimadyl" stopped due to lack of appetite and sent home on profolactic antibiotic once a day, Pepcid twice a day for her stomach and ice to nipple!
• Photo left above is with ice to belly
• Tuesday day #3: still refuses food but eats fom my hand, still wants to go out and is drinking/peeing/pooping fine ... incision looks great but "belly" swelling involves 3 nipples now ... ice to belly continues ... Dr Cindy in touch morning and night ;)
• Tuesday 4pm temp 103 so we're off to see our vet to get blood work (whew, it all is normal) and he gives Lyric an injection of "Rimadyl" and says to continue with her good home care :-)
• Tuesday night temp is down to 100.2, heat is applied to belly and I'm up every 2 hours thru the night to take her out to "pee" and take her temp (down to 99.5 ... normal up to 102 in dogs)
• Photo right above is with heat to belly
• Wednesday day #4 ... her glance at me is brighter, she voluntarily ate some tuna this morning (cooking her some eggs/cheese/bacon for lunch), she led the walk around the driveway and carefully stepped up into the house by herself ... her rear breast swelling has decreased but now seems to be moving up to the forward nipples between both front legs?

As I type, Lyric is asleep by the woodstove with her hot pack (as in the right photo above), Dr Cindy has called for her morning phone report and the plan is to continue the present course ... lots of loving and "tincture of time"
So what has caused all this: well, no infection (labs normal), lack of appetite probably due to heat/swelling and not "Rimadyl" ... just a "surgical incision associated swelling" response (every dog reacts differently) and it's not felt that the "treasured" eggs & sperm should be affected, so we're still looking forward to puppies ... Wheeeeew!!!!!

Natural question: Do I question my decision to persue this dream ... well, I'll let others just ponder that ... my love for my girl is foremost in my heart & mind and I'm working hard to look forward and think positively, as I can't undo what's behind us! (to right is Lyric just moments ago on our noontime walk)  ;-)

Update just before posting: Lyric ate 2 scrambled eggs and 3 strips of bacon and now she's back on her soft bed sound asleep with her "heat buddy" to her belly .... YIPEEEEEEE!!!!!!!! Hamburg & rice for supper!

Exciting Countdown to March 24th !

Getting technical medical stuff out of the way, as I understand it:

• LH positive on Wednesday 1/20/10
• Progesterone 6.4 on Friday 1/22/10 (probable ovulation day & 2 days from LH peak 1/20)
• Eggs ripen over 48 hrs for fertilization and live 4-5 days
• Unfortunately, Lyric's ideal insemenation day probably during the weekend
• FedEx overnight shipment/delivery of semen from Tennessee doesn't happen on Sundays, so we'll have to be happy with a Friday and Saturday shipments
• Good quality/quantity chilled/shipped sperm live about 12 hours after instilled in the uterus
• Mr DJ's semen on arrival Saturday 85-90% moving ... Monday 75-80% moving after spending 2 days in route ... and that's good!
• That's why the planned surgical AI was on Saturday 1/23/10 and follow-up vaginal AI on Monday 1/25/10

As I type, the lil' fellas are traveling and searching for their own mature egg in the oviducts (connects overies to the uterus) and then those fertilized eggs make their way next week to burrow into their own special spot in the uterus wall to divide and grow ... and we're off!!!!

Sutter is really missing her playmate and while Lyric is on "mandatory" leash walk, she does "play bow" and "woofs" to try and engage Lyric in usual play time ... 1:1 playtime with Mom just isn't quite the same  but it will have to do ... BUT then there is always squirrel chasing !!!!!

Get Your Cup of Coffee for This Post ;-)

Check list:
Van's been thru the carwash, been to the bank, girl's car blankets smell fresh from the dryer, Sutter & Lyric in the car, drinks in the cooler, briefcase packed and we're off at 10am (with Friday's progesterone happily at 6.4), picked up Kara (Lyric's breeder) in Charlestown at 11am and got on Rt 91N for beautiful Stowe Vermont area ... the day is sunny, the air crisp, the mountains are snow capped and excitement pervails ;-)

FedEx semen delivery got to Lamoille clinic 1/2 hour before we did   (YES!!!) Dr Cindy takes Lyric back for the pre-op check and sends Kara & I off for a bit of lunch (yummiest BLTs we ever had), my sister Diane check in by cell phone, as we're heading back to Lyric's side ... Kara & I got to watch through the viewing window (Dr Cindy is expecting her 1st baby March 21st, so wears a respirator to protect from any anesthesia vapors!)

The chilled semen arrived in good shape ... their quantity & quality is good and I got to see the "lil' fellas" under the microscope ... "bazillions" swimming frantically to find a cell to be their own!!! Dr Cindy finds Lyric's uterus/2 horns in excellent shape (a concern since her two 4/09 vaginal AIs didn't produce puppies) ... the lil' fellas are carefully instilled into each horn of her uterus, 1 1/2 " incision is closed and Lyric moves to the Recovery cage.

Dr Cindy suggests that we wait in the waiting room so as not to make Lyric more excited as she wakes ... we can hear her wimpering ... Kara makes cell phone calls and sends emails for me from her i-phone as we wait ... by 4:35pm, the car is warm and were heading home ... I jokingly asked Dr Cindy, as she was closing Lyric's incision, "How many puppies?" ... her reply from behind that really "outer space" respirator mask, "3 girls and 3 boys" and we all chuckle (Kara chimes in with 10-12 puppies!!!) I definately want to side with Dr Cindy's prediction  ;-)

Lyric's Post-op Instructions:
1) light supper
2) oral pain pill "Rimadyl" (pain/anti inflamitory) twice a day
3) leash walk 10 days (RIGHT!!!)
4) NO licking stitches (wear a t-shirt if needed)
5) remove stitches in 10-14 days (I'll do that),
6) follow up vaginal AI on Monday 1/25, so tomorrow the girls & I again head north (snow/sleet/freezing rain predicted), pick up the 2nd FedEx semen shipment at the Lebanon FedEx Center and head to the Lamoille clinic for a follow-up vaginal (insurance) insemenation!

7)Ultrasound in 3-4 weeks to confirm pregnancy

So all went really well and
PUPPIES DUE MARCH 24-26TH  ;-))

Click on:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=7828&id=100000341977450&l=4a4db1b39b
               to view day #1 post AI  photos, then place cursor over photo to read caption :- )                 

The Special Hour Draws Near ... Mom's Nerves are A'twitter!

Well tomorrow is the decided day !    1-23-10  after 7 days of 8:30am daily blood draws and we know every Vet tech in the office by name (love that jar of yummy treats!) Anxiously awaiting the next day results ... Thurs 0.2  Mon 0.5 (Tues LH Pos) Wed 2.4 WHAT!!! Thurs 3.4 ... Friday's results will come on Saturday am just before we leave! (Sutter & Kara are coming) "Ok everything looks good, get the semen on the FedEx truck and head north for Surgical AI on Saturday afternoon" OMG ... will it take this time sweet girl? OK, the car blankets are in the wash, drinks/snacks packed and the briefcase is by the door! Question is, will Dr Cindy let me watch the surgery ... will I remember all my questions and more importantly remember all the answers??? "Menopausal Adventure", "Puppy Dreams" ... it's ready to happen ... GOD BLESS!!!

We're Sooo Proud of Lyric's Handsome Brother!

Lyric's litter brother (AmCh) SunKissed Emerald City "Casa" became a Champion at the 4 day breed show in Fitchburg Ma on Friday ... I had just worked a 12 hour night shift Thursday, so couldn't be there with my "still" camera and "new" Canon camcorder to film and celebrate the exciting event, but we had immediate email contact with Kara ;-)
Casa & Lyric have all the wonderful temperment and structure of their Dad "Nova" & Mom "Shimmer" that SunKissed Goldens proudly produce in their puppies ;-)

CONGRATULATIONS to Lyric's handsome brother and their breeders:
Kara (Wetherby) & Jonathan Ferri at www.sunkissedgoldens.com
Duane & Jean Wetherby at www.landscapegoldens.com
(always beautifully presented by professional handler Diana Mason)

An Actual YouTube Surgical Insemenation

For those interested and who are comfortable watching an actual surgery, here is a video link of the process:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZFKHlPIDQE 
(Thanks Kara)
Lyric is in day #6 of her heat cycle today ... had her 1st vaginal cytology exam yesterday (cell swab on a slide to look at under the microscope) and her cells were 30% cornified (look like Cornflakes) ... when they are 50%, we start her daily LH** blood tests and Progesterone blood tests every other day till her level is over 5 (perhaps as high as 20) and she's near ready for the surgery to make PUPPIES!
**(LH or leutenizing hormone helps pin-point the best breeding/surgery day in a bitch like Lyric that didn't produce puppies last April with "ideal" Progesterone levels and 2 vaginal AIs using "fresh chilled" (microscope approved) semen shipped FedEx overnight  from Tennessee) ... with the surgical AI, the vet can actually examine her uterus for any unseen problems before instilling the valuable semen... I'm excitedly learning every step of the way ...the HOPE and the DREAM continue  ;)

GOLDEN Laugh Out Loud "Facebook Posts" (that I want to remember)!

"Kara Ferri (Lyric's breeder) is very excited for her friend Donna! Lyric (a Nova daughter) has finally come into "season" and will be bred to the ever handsome Mister DJ! ♥"

Kelli Calder, Laura Scullin, Heike Stroup, Ruth Woodward and 2 others like this.

Donna Proudfoot's Post:

"Excited, EXcited, EXCITED ... spotted 9:28pm ;)"

 Heike Stroup's (Mr DJ's owner) Post:

"Someone give Donna a fat Notebook. This litter will be thoroughly document! 9:28 ? ? I just love it!"

Kara Ferri's Post:

"You have no idea Heike!"

Charlene Devens' Post:

"YAY!!!! I know how she feels :)"

Kelli Calder's Post:
"YAY!!!!"

Donna Proudfoot's Reply Post:

"Ok you guys ... I'm just finding your posts and I'm laughting out loud (I mean out loud!!!) ... Lyric on the other hand is sound asleep beside me, half-in and half-out of Sutter's crate ... (wishing she'd get up and march around, so I'd see more confirming drops*) ... thanks for that "Golden" moment laugh ... Oh and that "Fat Notebook" - Hunter Green with gold lettering "Golden Embers Celebration Litter" on the cover please ;-D"
*(addendum: Friday 11am "soft tissue wipe" was confirming ... wheeeew!!!)

WAHOOOOOOOOO ... Tis' Her Season ;))

EXCITED ... Ya, I'd say the butterflies are fluttering! Lyric is in Heat!
Last night at 9:28pm Lyric went out to "pee" and her "feathers" (hairs) left a blood smudge on the snow ... ok, the books are coming out again!
So January 7th is Day #1 (first spotting) ... emailed her "Intented's" owner in Tennessee already and Lyric's excited breeder Kara Ferri ... in the morning, I need to call the Vet to schedule her 1st Vaginal smear that will tell us when to start her Progesterone blood testing ... those repeat every other day till her Progesterone level is greater than 5 (estimated sometime after Day #14) and it's close to the time to get the semen on the road with FedEx and head 3 hours north to the Reproduction Vet Clinic in Hyde Park Vermont for the surgical Artificial Insemenation ... then the whelping date can be figured from the Pregnancy chart (gestation is 63 days) ... and the day-by-day chart goes back on the refrigerator for daily reference (egg/sperm ... who's doing what and when) 
IT'S REALLY HAPPENING !!!!

Oh, What a Beautiful Day!

After 36 hours of continuous snowstorms and 7 1/2 hours of snowblowing, the girls and I enjoyed an afternoon of snowshoe hiking for the first time in 2010 ...the sky was sunny blue, the snow was deep and fluffy ... not a soul had tracked on it ... a truly picturesque winter wonderland and totally refreshing to the soul!

Where does the time go ... Happy 3rd Birthday Sweet Lyric!

The day you enriched our lives!

Welcome to your new forever home! Hope you feel the LOVE ;))





My dear sweet Lyric ... you certainly weren't planned to join our family 3 years ago, but 9 weeks later there was little question that you completed our family ... a little Agility, a little Conformation, many new like-minded friends, alot of Swimming/Retrieving, and now the excitement of planning for my 2010 "Puppy Dream"  ... Happy Birthday my Special girl  : )

Wonderful 2010 New Years Day

We zoomed on soft fresh snow...


 

                                         

We found a neat waterfall with sticks to retrieve ;)

                         

and Ooops, Mom spilled the treats ... bonus!!!



Hope you're New Year's day was as much fun as ours ;)