I don't really remember exactly what we were doing but I remember looking at Sterling and saying "what was that?!?!" It sounded like someone dumped a 10 gallon bucket of water in our floor. We looked around and saw that Tikka, our lab had thrown up. Now, Im 45 about to be 46 years old, and I can't count how many dogs Ive had in my life, well yes I can, its been quite a few, and horses, and goats and rabbits and chickens oh my! So I hate to tell you but if you have dogs you know, that it happens lol. So I really didn't worry until I saw it. And be warned, this post is graphic: it was pure water and LOTS of it. Normally when dogs vomit its whatever they just ate. There was no food, just water and a litte grass. Again, I didn't worry. I mean hey, Ive had tons of animals, she just ate something that didn't agree with her. Well, when she was still throwing up 24 hours later all I could think was PARVO. Been there done that its not pretty. So we took her into see the vet (we've been seeing the same one for 20 years) and he said she looked fine, temperature normal, she wasn't showing signs of anything so he gave her a shot that was supposed to stop the vomiting and gave us some special food and sent us home. He said if she threw up again to bring her back. Well just when we thought we were home free, you guessed it, the next afternoon, of course it was a FRIDAY...she threw up again. So off to the vet we went. After doing some testing it was determined that she had either a foreign object blocking her intestine or her intestine was twisted and either way: SURGERY...on a Saturday. And...Greg was gone. He had just left that morning for Las Vegas for the furniture market which he has to go to twice a year.
The vet called when the surgery was finished and told us that it was a peach pit...stuck in her small intestine! He said she came through fine and should recover over the next couple of days. WELL...we went to see her as soon as we could which was Monday. We expected her to feel so much better but...she wasn't herself. She was pitiful. They said she wasn't eating...which was a little unusual for a dog who LOVES to eat and hasn't eaten in 5 days...and she hadn't pooped which was also unusual for a dog that had been through that surgery. She was lethargic and skittish which was so so so uncharacteristic of Tikka. Well, I immediately messaged my friends and got them praying.
In the meantime, our A/C decided to go on the fritz. Did I mention its August, in Alabama???? Gregs best friend from high school works in the AC business and we called him to come check it out. He was able to refill our freon and get old Betsy up and running for the time being, but our unit is 15 years old and on her last leg. There is a slim chance we could find a coil to replace that might buy us some time...but otherwise...we have to buy a new unit. (Insert emoji with big eyes!) And did I mention Greg was in Las Vegas???
Back to our Tikka saga. Tuesday. Ive been thinking over and over about Tikka. Almost feeling silly for praying for our dog when there are so many people with real trouble. We had just found out about a dear friends 13 year old cousin who had some sort of infection in his brain. Many complications and many days in the hospital. What if that was my child??? How must they feel??? I mean this was just a dog!!! But to the kids...well...Im not sure there is much difference in their young naive minds. So as I am praying and pondering over it all this one song keeps coming to my mind..."your love oh Lord, reaches to the heavens...Your faithfulness, stretches to the skies...your righteousness is like the mighty mountain...your justice flows like the oceans tide..." Im pretty sure its Third Day that sings it. Cant get it out of my head so I google it. Psalm 36 comes up. So the song is actually a Bible verse, and here is what it says:
"Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
Your righteousness is like the mountains of God;
your judgments are like the great deep;
man and beast you save, O LORD."
your faithfulness to the clouds.
Your righteousness is like the mountains of God;
your judgments are like the great deep;
man and beast you save, O LORD."
Psalm 36: 5-6
Did you see that? "Man and beast you save, O LORD". Man AND Beast. Now why would that be in there? Man AND Beast you save. Here we are praying for man, a 13 year old boy that we don't know but that is fighting for his life, and beast, our sweet Tikka who is too.
So its Tuesday. Gregs been gone since Saturday morning, and we are all anxiously, nervously, waiting to hear how Tikka is after the weekend...and that calls for a trip to the thrift store to take the kids shopping, right? Right. Well thats all good until Ryder (2 years old and potty training) decides to TT in the floor at the thrift store...so we have to leave our basket and make a B Line to the van. So now what? Sterling says... lets go to the pet store. Being the totally rational mom that I am, I said sure! So as I am being talked into a new fish tank and some fish...the vet calls...its not good. We leave our cart...for the second time...and head to the van to take the call. The kids and I both start crying, we know what he is going to say. The incision where he had done surgery was leaking...and he was going to have to open her back up to see why. Sterling began to weep. She was unconsolable. We all gathered together, in the van, in the parking lot of PetSmart and prayed. I told the kids, not to give up until God told us to give up. We prayed and I said that we would praise Him no matter what happened. We would praise Him if she lived and we would praise Him if she died...but if she lived...we would always tell the story of His mercy. Why would He give me that verse? Man and Beast you save O LORD?
The vet called back. The surgery, the same surgery he has done many many times over the course of 25 years, had a complication. When he went back in, the sutures he had used to sew her intestines back together, had come out. Her entire small intestine had come open and emptied into her belly. He said in 25 years, he had never had that happen and never seen a dog that infected and it was awful. He said he didn't know how she had survived and how she was standing up that Monday when we went to see her. We knew she wasn't herself...but we had no idea. He told me to prepare the kids for the worst. He basically told me that he "should" have put her down on the operating table. He said he really didn't think she would make it and to prepare the kids. So I did...but we prayed.
She survived the night but struggled for a few days, not eating, not pooping and we continued to pray. I really think the kids gave up. I mean they would pray with me, but I think they believed she wasn't coming home. And in the meantime, I came down with strep, and Greg had to travel again. Just normal crazy at our house you know. And with still no word on that AC part, we began to wonder and pray and worry about the looming vet bill and our AC going out and how we were going to pay for it all. We just paid off some credit cards and made a commitment to the Lord to really be better stewards of His money. I just didn't feel like He would want us to get right back into credit card debt. But over a week at the vet and two surgeries wasn't going to be cheap and we all know what a new 4 ton AC unit will cost.
We kept praying. We share certain things with our kids that some people might not. We like to ask them to pray for us when we have struggles so they can see how God provides...and He always does! Its not always in the way we might think...but He provides. So we all prayed for Tikka and for our friends cousin who ended up having to have another surgery with complications as well and we prayed for our AC. After two whole weeks the vet called and told us that Tikka was doing well and to his surprise and ours, going to be able to come home. He went on to tell me how he truly believed Tikka was a miracle. He said he would never forget this. She should not have survived, she should not have recovered. But God.
When we went to pick up Tikka, I was holding my breath to see the bill. As we left I checked with the front desk and I was amazed at what God had done. Our bill which could have easily been $2000 or more, wasn't near that, not even close and I truly believe it was all God. The miracle that God had performed there must have touched that man very deeply. I know it did all of us.
And the ending to this little story is looking brighter and brighter. My dad, who lives with us, is going to help us buy the new AC unit, so that mountain is looking a lot smaller. Not all problems go away when you follow Christ, far from it. In fact the scripture says that actually you will have lots of trouble in this life as a follower of Christ. And not all stories end this well...but this one did and I promised the LORD and a few other people that I would keep telling this story whenever I had the chance! And I will keep telling about His wonderful deeds.
This was my reading this morning and of course, its so fitting:
"I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart;
I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
2 I will be glad and rejoice in you;
I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High."
Psalm 9:1-2
She survived the night but struggled for a few days, not eating, not pooping and we continued to pray. I really think the kids gave up. I mean they would pray with me, but I think they believed she wasn't coming home. And in the meantime, I came down with strep, and Greg had to travel again. Just normal crazy at our house you know. And with still no word on that AC part, we began to wonder and pray and worry about the looming vet bill and our AC going out and how we were going to pay for it all. We just paid off some credit cards and made a commitment to the Lord to really be better stewards of His money. I just didn't feel like He would want us to get right back into credit card debt. But over a week at the vet and two surgeries wasn't going to be cheap and we all know what a new 4 ton AC unit will cost.
We kept praying. We share certain things with our kids that some people might not. We like to ask them to pray for us when we have struggles so they can see how God provides...and He always does! Its not always in the way we might think...but He provides. So we all prayed for Tikka and for our friends cousin who ended up having to have another surgery with complications as well and we prayed for our AC. After two whole weeks the vet called and told us that Tikka was doing well and to his surprise and ours, going to be able to come home. He went on to tell me how he truly believed Tikka was a miracle. He said he would never forget this. She should not have survived, she should not have recovered. But God.
When we went to pick up Tikka, I was holding my breath to see the bill. As we left I checked with the front desk and I was amazed at what God had done. Our bill which could have easily been $2000 or more, wasn't near that, not even close and I truly believe it was all God. The miracle that God had performed there must have touched that man very deeply. I know it did all of us.
And the ending to this little story is looking brighter and brighter. My dad, who lives with us, is going to help us buy the new AC unit, so that mountain is looking a lot smaller. Not all problems go away when you follow Christ, far from it. In fact the scripture says that actually you will have lots of trouble in this life as a follower of Christ. And not all stories end this well...but this one did and I promised the LORD and a few other people that I would keep telling this story whenever I had the chance! And I will keep telling about His wonderful deeds.
This was my reading this morning and of course, its so fitting:
"I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart;
I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
2 I will be glad and rejoice in you;
I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High."
Psalm 9:1-2
Thank you for sharing. This is a wonderful story of God's mercy
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