Poor Puppy

We have actually survived our first week with Liberty...or should I say she has survived us! Well, barely. Between Gavin (aka the wrecking ball), poisonous toads, and almost falling through the banister we are lucky to have her with us. Yes, this is a picture of her wearing a cast. Last Friday, I left her alone with the "wrecking ball" while I ran down stairs to get a towel. When I came back she seemed fine just laying on the floor. I got in the shower and then heard her start to whimper as she hobbled toward me. I thought that Gavin had somehow broken her leg. I hurried and got out, then rushed her to the animal hospital. $500 later, they told us that she had a fracture in her foot...

Yesterday I took her to my vet's office for her shots and asked him to check on her foot. He looked at the x-rays and determined that she does NOT have a fracture after all. So, he removed the cast which makes us all very happy. She still is limping a little bit, I guess it may take some time for the sprain to heal. I am thinking I may have to fight to get my $160 back from the animal hospital that they charged for the cast. I just hope that it won't get ugly enough that I have to play the "my husband is an attorney card." ;0)

So, now you may be wondering about the toad. I had already heard about poisonous Colorado River Toads from my hair dresser. He told me about how he almost lost his golden retriever to one of them. I also have been noticing an unusual amount of frogs around our house lately (and trust me, so has Jake) which is probably why I wasn't too surprised to actually see one in front of my garage door as I pulled up Sunday evening. I told the kids to stay in the car while I got out and grabbed a bucket to catch the giant toad. I put it an old mop bucket and then surrounded it with plastic wrap. I waited until Justin got home, and asked him to take care of it. He took it out to the desert to release it. I asked him to take my camera with him and take a picture of it. FYI, these toads are illegal to own because idiots actually lick them to hallucinate (learned that from a google search) Gross huh?

And as far as the banister incident goes...well, at least it was just the first level with only two steps up. I heard her whimpering as I was standing in the kitchen. I rushed around to see what was wrong and I found her dangling with her hips caught in the railing...poor thing. I didn't think she knew how to climb stairs, let alone fit her body through like that. Man, I can't even remember having this many close calls with my children in all the 8 years I have been a mom. What next?! With my luck she will probably get sprayed by a skunk! Been seeing a lot of those around lately too.