Our silly girl, Hopper Spark, and the life of a desert dog.

This is our silly Hopper Spark.  She will be eleven any day now.  For anyone who knows Hopper, they know she came to us at around three or four months of age, after being hit by a car.  This was September 14th, 2011.  The broken front leg didn't heal quite straight, probably because she kept getting up to follow Bailey around the house.

In the end, Hopper, who bean as a temporary rescue, became a forever member of the house.  She contracted kennel cough at the fence from the neighbor dog, then Valley Fever.  She was o medication for Valley fever for four years.  Some dogs respond well to the medications, some don't she did well, but eventually she was well enough for long enough, that we chose to take her off so she would be more likely to respond again later if it came back.  The research is foggy as to the benefits and risks of leaving dogs like Hopper on it long term.

Hopper Spark is Wyatt's best friend in the world.  You seem many photos of her curled up in the floor with Wyatt.  During the long period when Wyatt didn't talk when he was younger, she just accepted him, and in the end he came around and would speak with her, reading to her and spending hours wandering around and playing pretend in the yard in their own little world.

Lately, Hopper has been a bit congested.  I was getting worried the Valley Fever was back, and we first tried some homeopathic things, as we thought we should rule out allergies before putting her through the stress of a vet visit.  Taking Remington to the vet over Christmas had been so stressful for her, and her didn't respond to treatment, and I don't to put them through that again.

The night before last, I awoke Charlie when I thought I heard her have a seizure.  It was a long night of stabilizing her, and evaluating her.  The only vet she knows doesn't have late night hours, and I will not got back where I took Remi.  They would not let me help her be calm, and stay with her to ease the stress of being off the farm.

She seemed to improve markedly, so I waited for the vet to open, and called to get her squeezed in.  Because we were an emergency add on to the day, she would need to wait a couple hours before they would sedate her for the procedure to check her tonsils and a couple other things, they would draw her blood then, too.  They let Wyatt and I sit in the waiting room with her until she was ready.  After her procedure, she rested at home for several hours, and didn't get up off her special pallet, under the watchful eye of the kids, until I got back from town and teaching the first day of the semester.

She is not quite herself today, but did begin eating.  She is on a few medications as we wait for the test results back, and think good thoughts for the silly girl who thinks Wyatt Clay can do no wrong.  When you say your prayers today, please think good thoughts for our girl. She has had a good life, despite her hard start and health trials, and we are glad to have her here with us, even if she does steal eggs and sneak up on the chickens from time to time!