Some of you may know me in the flesh, some of you may not.
If you follow me in my personal life, you may have heard that our new dog, Harlow, the chocolate lab/pit bull cross that we rescued in May, had become suddenly and mysteriously ill. She’d come with some problems in her back hocks that we were told may be congenital arthritis, but then suddenly she had a swollen lump on her belly and it started getting bigger and streaked with red. An emergency visit to the vet told us that she needed a lot of different tests to figure out what was wrong with her.
Contrary to popular belief, blogging is not a huge money maker. Yes, I write and photograph for a local magazine as well, but that magazine is a free mag and also does not pay huge bucks. We are a single income family mostly, with a little bit extra coming from me every now and then…Randomly huge vet bills are not factored into our monthly budget (which is tight). We were faced with some seriously hard decisions.
Harlow is under two years old, is a most fantastic specimen of “man’s best friend” and I had become very attached to her, as had the kiddos. The initial diagnosis was that she may have been bitten by a tick at some point and was now suffering some sort of inflammation in her body. Only further testing would better our understanding of her condition. The swelling in her hocks might be a factor and she would require tapping and analysis of the fluid. This required anesthetization, shaving, etc. For all the procedures the vet wanted to do, the bill was around $1500. I don’t know about everybody else, but we live on a fine line of expenses vs. income. We’re also a butt load in the hole with little to no credit left. Paying this bill might have pushed us right over the edge…
So we left the vet with the minimum we could afford that would help her. A week’s worth of antibiotics and some anti-tick medication. I immediately went onto Facebook and put out a heartfelt plea to my friends and family: help us save this dog. If the medications didn’t work, Harlow would have to be put out to foster families who could afford to help her and she would no longer be ours…there was just no way she was going to be put down. Too many people see the good in this little face.
There’s nothing like having to ask your friends and family for money to bring you down to earth. I try not to ask for help at all unless it’s life and death, and you know, this was that situation you always think will never come.
Our friends and family and people I’ve never even met came through in ridiculous time. Our plea was answered and the vet bills were paid. We’ve been able to see some improvement in Harlow’s abdomen and she seems to be getting better. We hope that further testing won’t be necessary, as we didn’t raise nearly enough for that, but she seems to be out of the danger zone for now.
I sincerely want to thank every single person who gave us support either financially or emotionally. Every single comment and dollar is appreciated beyond words, I am just so thankful for all of you out there. My kids say thank you for their “best friend” and that she lives to chase another ball. So thank you thank you thank you.
Oh yeah and I made these awesome pancakes too. These are pretty much what the kids eat every single day for breakfast. We actually had to get four more chickens to keep up with our egg consumption, but they are falling behind. So despite the fact that we now have 11 chickens, we still have to buy a dozen or two eggs a week!
In any case, eat up people and thank every day that you are here and that you have awesome friends, family and Twitter strangers to keep you going!
One year ago: Kwagala Project – Beans and Posho
Two years ago: Warm Lentil Salad
Three years ago: Caramel Apple Cream Cheese Tart
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup nut butter (pecan, hazelnut, roasted almond, doesn't matter)
- 1/3 cup unsweetened apple sauce
- 3 pastured eggs
- 3 tbsp liquid (I've used coconut milk, water, whey drained from yogurt, whatever...)
- 2 tsp pure unsweetened vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 3 tbsp dark chocolate mini chips (I use Enjoy Life), optional
- 4 tsp golden flax meal, optional
- 1 tbsp hemp hearts, optional
- 3 tbsp coconut flour (use one extra tbsp if you don't use the flax or hemp)
- ghee or clarified butter for cooking
Instructions
- Mix the nut butter and apple sauce in a bowl until a smooth consistency is achieved.
- Mix in the eggs one at a time. Add in remaining ingredients as listed.
- Heat a non stick frying pan on medium heat. When preheated, add in a tsp or two of the ghee and let that get hot.
- Spoon out a couple of tablespoons of batter at a time into round pancake shapes (or squares, Mickey Mouse, whatever).
- Let the pancakes cook for 1-2 minutes, then flip and repeat.
- Remove from pan and serve however you want!
Also check out ridiculously cute Chef Katelyn for more great Paleo Pancake ideas! Who doesn’t love a pancake pre WOD?!
THANK YOU!!!
So glad to hear the doggie is doing better. Also: cutest photos…and yummy looking pancakes 🙂
Thank you everyone for all your support.
I am so happy that Harlow seems to be getting better!!
This makes me really sad – I hope you will consider getting pet insurance.
Elizabeth: I’m so glad you had the courage and good sense to ask for help with Harlow’s vet bills. So many people would just put the dog down or turn it out. Please, please, please consider looking at pet insurance. We have spent thousands on our 10 year old Wheaten Terrier (allegies and skin problems) and recently rescued a pit bull. With two dogs, I knew I had to get pet insurance. The cost for the Wheaten is a little high because of his age and previous ailments. But the cost for the young pit bull is minimal and the peace of mind is worth it. We went with Petplan Insurance and so far, they have been great. Harlow is beautiful and so lucky to have your family!!
We have actually had pet insurance before and found it not worth the deductions…but there is a new kind of veterinarian credit card that we are looking into. It’s basically the same as any other credit card, they pay the vet and you pay them + an 18% interest rate….
I am so sorry about your puppy but glad that you were able to get the resources to care for her. I hope Harlow continues to improve.
So happy your doggy’s getting better 🙂 I had a couple of situations with one of my dogs back in high school and they were the scariest (and most expensive) times for my family. My love to you!
And girl. Great minds think alike. It’s all about the pancakes, isn’t it? 😉 xo!
i’m glad your doggie got help! she’s really beautiful.
It’s amazing how animals become part of the family. Glad your pup is doing better. And these pancakes look delicious!
OMG so sad about your dog, i don’t know what i would do if my dog got sick. I am so happy that so many people supported you and your doggie is better now.
What a great story! I hope that Harlow recovers well and doesn’t need any more testing.
I’m glad your dog is getting better. We almost lost our beloved George last year. There was an emergency situation and then later a cancer scare. The bills were so high that I had to go back to work on a contract position. For us it was totally worth the sacrifice because we just couldn’t bear the thought of putting him down because we couldn’t afford it. There may come a time where we will have to put him down because he is suffering, but thankfully we aren’t there yet.
Christina Austin (@buffyandgeorge) recently posted..Honey Mustard and Rosemary Pork Chops
With the many things going on in your life, I’m glad that you can still pull it through. Maybe, it’s partly because of the Paleo meal that’s giving you that zest and energy. Is there a book or recipe book on this?
Loads of great Paleo books out there, but I would start with Robb Wolf and Mark Sisson.
I didn’t have the hemp hearts & was nearly a tbs short on coconut flour. I found the balance in supplementing the missing w the flax I had. Also am out of chocolate chips so we did w/o. Still was deeelish!! Thanks so much for the recipe! Just Eat Real Food had perfect timing in posting this one for me this morning. We enjoyed it for my son’s Kinder grad breakfast & he was really pleased. Said I have to start making it all the time now. Glad your doggy is getting better & nice to see how awesome people came together & helped out. Inspiring. Have a great day & thanks again!
So glad I could help out with that one, it’s so tough sometimes to get the kids on board with the Paleo food you know? But once they’ve tried most of it, they love it!
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