No nature photos this week, because we've been entirely occupied inside with...a new puppy!  

She's a 13 week old Australian shepherd/dachshund mix...we think!  I had no illusions about puppyhood and was fully prepared to hate this phase, ready to get through to the more relaxed, self-sufficient phase of doghood as quickly as possible.  I'm surprised at how much I've enjoyed some parts of it, though! 

She's not really like a typical puppy in all the ways that count.  She doesn't bite.  She sleeps all night in her crate with NO accidents.  She likes to play a little...

...but she really likes to crawl into our laps for a snuggle.  She doesn't bark at the cats and has shown us that she's likely going to be a gentle, sweet dog.

Still, she has to go outside every 30 minutes...has to be fed, exercised, trained, entertained, and watched very closely.  We're in the middle of an insane heat wave, with 95 degree daily temps, and the pup does NOT like to be outside for very long.  Exercising her with long romps has to be put on hold, and we're trying to do more in the house.  In the midst of all of this newness and chaos, Claudia had a medical emergency.

We've noticed her seeming stiff and withdrawn all week.  We checked her for wounds but didn't see anything until Saturday, when Todd discovered a massive weeping sore on her side.  He rushed her to the emergency vet.  They found an infected cat bite.  The infection was initially subcutaneous, which is why we didn't see anything at first.

They had to excise a big pocket of necrotic flesh and she had a 3 1/2" line of stitches.  It was pretty serious.  By Monday, the stitches were infected and weeping blood and pus, so she had to be rushed back to the vet.  She was on IV fluids and antibiotics overnight...but she's better today.

Still, Todd says that she looks like Frankenstein.  She has a drainage tube in her stitches, a cone, and she can't go outside for maybe six weeks.  It's going to be a long recovery, but the vet seems confident that she'll pull through and have a good quality of life moving forward.  Todd is babying her in the barn, administering medicine and treats and cleaning her drainage tube and stitches, while I work with the new pup in the house.  It's a stressful time, but we love Claudia and are willing to do what it takes to get her back to normal again!  Like Todd says:  "I'm not ready to give up on her yet."

Hopefully we'll have a more positive update soon!