Franklin

OK, so I was never a dog person growing up, I always just had cats. When I reached my early 20's I suddenly decided that I HAD to have a dog. The day after Grant and I closed on our first house, we got Franklin! I knew I wanted a male pug and was naming him Franklin. I was SO excited!!! He was so cute and tiny. The first thing I did when I got home was try to take him on a walk. This didn't work too well considering he was so small, I got him half a block :) Franklin was spoiled rotten! I took him everywhere w/ me! I got him happy meals! He had a stocking at Christmas and birthday cakes. When Parker was born, I swore that things wouldn't change, and for the most part they didn't. Then we had Tater Tot, and as much as I loved Franklin, he totally had to take the back seat. Now that we have 3 children, Franklin is still as loved as ever, but doesn't always get the same attention. There's not enough room on our fireplace mantle for his stocking anymore, I tend to forget his birthday, and I don't normally remember to get him a happy meal when I'm ordering.

Recently, while walking him at the lake, I noticed he was having some trouble going down the steps at our condo. I mentioned this to Grant, but he didn't think much, just that maybe he was tired from the all the swimming he'd been doing. When we got home, I continued to notice him moving very slow on steps and was concerned something was wrong with his hips, but kept saying he's only 7, so he seems too young. I then noticed him having trouble find treats I would throw to him. Then one day, I saw him run into the boys toy box and decided something was wrong with his vision. I went to google and searched cataracts, and was heartbroken when it seemed as though he had all the symptoms, so first thing next morning I called the vet and got us in that day.

When we got to the vet Franklin was frozen and afraid to move. He ran into the side of the building! The vet came in and explained what was going on and told her that I was hoping maybe he just had an infection from swimming in the lake. She looked in his eyes and said, "He's completely blind." My heart sunk! I started sobbing instantly. She said it's not cataracts and that the retna is still intact, so she thinks it's a good idea to see a specialist.

This all happened within 1 1/2 weeks.

I came home from the vet just numb. I cried and cried and cried. I held Franklin and rocked him. I cried to the point where I thought I couldn't cry anymore, and then cried again. Then that night I went to a friends and had a glass of wine and cried again. While I was talking to her I said that I was going to be the best seeing eye human there is and do all the reasearch I can to give him a wonderful life.

The next morning I got online and googled "caring for a blind dog". I spent hours and hours reading about ways to help my sweet Franklin. I am now walking around the house with a cat bell on my ankle, and it's helping him to find me. I've been working on teaching him commands like, "step up" "step down" "stop", and he's picking up very quickly.

I then had an epiphany; God truely has a plan in life, and he wouldn't give me anything I can't handle. Franklin and I can do this! I love being a Mommy so much and would love to have more children, but Grant has said he doesn't want anymore and this is my way of always having a baby to take care of. This is going to be a whole new realationship for Franklin and I, and I am really looking forward to it. Franklin and I are going to be just fine :)