The End and a New Beginning

With the end of 2012 brings bittersweet sadness and relief. What a year it's been, and it's one that I hope to never repeat again.

January began with a furnace fire, where, thankfully, none of the animals were injured or killed. Me, the 2 large dogs, and the 2 indoor cats were out of the house for 7 weeks and staying in the back room of an office trailer. Cramped doesn't begin to describe it.

I spent most of February and March cleaning and replacing most of my possessions. March and April also brought atypical warm weather and with it the bears woke up, so work picked up earlier than usual.

March through May I worked on trying to qualify Holly for NADAC Nationals, which she did. But also in March, Holly began to have back spasms for unknown reasons. They would come and go and while chiro and acupuncture helped release them, they kept coming back.

In May, Casey, who was close to turning 14 yrs old, had to have a tooth removed as it broke and was beginning to abscess.

In late June, I finally got a referral to a canine Physical Therapist that Holly saw for her shoulder injury in 2011, and she was diagnosed with an iliopsoas strain and was looking at 12 weeks of rest and rehabilitation...and another summer ruined.

In the end of June, Casey wasn't feeling quite herself, but her bloodwork looked okay so we couldn't pinpoint anything specific.

June through August brought challenges with juggling work, an injured dog, and an elderly dog that wasn't quite herself and getting worse. After several frustrating weeks of trying to figure out what was wrong with Casey, she was finally diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Just 2 weeks after being diagnosed, I lost her on September 12, 2012 at 14 years old. Losing her has rocked my world like it's never been rocked before.

By the end of October, Holly started having trouble with lameness, and was diagnosed in November with a partial ACL tear. On December 4th she underwent TTA surgery to repair the knee.


Even with all the bad that happened in 2012, there was some good...the furnace fire forced to me 'clean house' and get rid of things I no longer needed. I also got to buy some new things that I otherwise would not have purchased. I sold my Taurus wagon in March, and with that money I was able to put a down payment on a 2011 RAV4 to replace it.

My parents came for a visit in July and I feel fortunate that they were able to see Casey one last time...even if Casey wasn't feeling her best during their visit.

In early October, Holly and I traveled to Utah for the 2012 NADAC National competition. We had an awesome time competing, cheering on friends, and visiting with friends I haven't seen in over 2 years.

I am looking forward to new beginnings for 2013 and the shed some of the baggage that 2012 held.