The Newest Cutshall

Grant and I went to the Lake this weekend w/ a friend while my parents stayed home with the kids. Saturday night, around 11 pm, we were up at my Aunt and Uncle's when we hear some strange bird like noises. Grant and James went to go and check it out and discovered a puppy tied up to a car! I immediately ran out and took her off the car and walked around trying to find the owner of the car. After about an hour, I finally found security who said to take her w/ my but leave a note w/ my number.

The next morning we finally got a phone call at 10 am! 11 hours later! She explained that she was a college student from Columbia who found the dog and couldn't find the owners. She couldn't bring it in w/ her, so she tied her to a car for 11 hours! She explained that she was heading back to Columbia to look for the owners again, otherwise she was taking her to a shelter. I told her that if she couldn't find the owners, to call me and I would keep her. That nite we named her Lila...

We spent the day on the boat and when we got back I had a few calls from her. She hadn't found the owners yet and said that if we wanted her, she was ours. We ran up to Wal-Mart for a few supplies and planned to meet her around 9 pm. When we got her we asked if she knew what kind of dog she was and she said that someone told her a Dingo...We thought for a bit, and decided that if she was, we'd call her Sydney.

When we got home we did some research on Dingo's and decided that we really didn't think she was, and if so, not full, but stuck with the name Sydney b/c we figured she was an Aussie in some way...

From there everyone that saw me walking her had some input as to what kind of dog she was. With it being the holiday weekend, we couldn't get her in anywhere, so we decided we would take her back with us to have her scanned for a chip.

When we got home the boys were THRILLED about the new puppy, but had so much trouble pronouncing her name! The next morning when I woke up I thought more and more about it and decided I wanted to call her Carrie Bradshaw (Carrie for short). Grant was not diggin this name at all...

We took her to the vet, semi-unnamed and all the assistants put their guesses into what kind of dog she was. Everyone did agree that no matter what she was, she was adorable and very sweet!

When the vet came in, he was a bit puzzled as to what she might be, and then a light bulb went off and he grabbed a book. We are thinking she is a mixed breed, but mainly Sheba Inu (a Japanese dog). Her personality is awesome and she shouldn't be too big!

We got in the car, still no name and they boys and I talked. Finally, we got it! Princess Leah Cutshall, or Leah for short!

She is doing great w/ the boys, and especially Franklin. He seems to really enjoy the company. We even may train her to assist Franklin in some things! Parker especially loves her and isn't afraid at all. Tater Tot and Drewbie go back and fourth a bit, mainly b/c she tried to take a bite out of Drewbie's diaper and Tater's pull up, while they were wearing them, lol!

We are very excited about our new life w/ our new family!!!

big life change

Ok, so this is a little personal, more personal than I like to get, but I guess I just need to get it out...



So, I had my laperoscopy back in Nov, and things haven't been much better. About 3 weeks ago, I had an emergency dnc, which also didn't help much, so I had to spend a weekend on bedrest (a weekend that I was supposed to be working w/ the charity I work w/, The Gifted Wedding). I went in to my wonderful Dr. the following Monday and was given a very big shot in the "hip" that would put me in to a mock menopause.



I am now 3o y/o w/ 3 children and experiencing daily hot flashes, massive mood swings, and arthritis in my hips. I have decided that I am not going to continue w/ these shots for the sake of myself and those close to me.



I was going to try to go in and try one more option, but nature struck last weekend while packing food for the homeless at STL food bank and now that is no longer an option. I will be going into my Dr. on Thurs for a full fertility work up to find out what the chances are of me having more children, and if they are low, I will have a partial hysterectomy this summer.



I am all over the place about this decision. There are many times that I am thrilled! I can't imagine one more day of the pain and exhaustion that my "friend" has caused me all these years, but I also can't imagine never being pregnant again. I am not ready to get rid of baby clothes, I always think of baby names, and when I see a baby, I just melt.



I know that I am EXTREMELY lucky to have been blessed with 3 beautiful and healthy boys. Most women in my situation are no where near as lucky. I do not take my good fortune for granite at all, but just do not know if this is a chapter I am ready to close in my life at 30...

And Another Franklin Post

Well, 8 months have gone by and Franklin has adjusted well to being blind. Winter was hard for us because of the lack of interaction and stimulation. A few weeks ago it was beautiful out though, so we spent the day at the dog park and then did a 5 mile hike! The hike was a bit on the difficult side for him, so I think we will stick with paved trails until he adjusts to hiking blind.

About two weeks ago, Franklin had an accident in the house which is NOT like him. Then, a few days later, he had another one. Grant thought that maybe we weren't letting him out enough, but we hadn't changed anything. It slowly got to the point where he was having an accident a day. I called the vet, and because they are so wonderful, they got us in that day.

This visit was much different from our last one. He didn't bump into much at all (and I was there with all 3 boys as well). He followed all my commands perfectly! They took him outside to get a urine sample and he even followed her perfectly.

We were then sent into an exam room to wait, and when the vet came in, she very sweetly said that there was glucose in his urine. Again, I burst into tears, again. Drew was running around clueless, Tater Tot looked at me and said, "Mommy, why are you sad?" And Parker just put his arms around me and held me. I quickly remembered that I was a mother to all 4 of my boys, and had to be strong for all of them and pulled myself together.

She took Franklin back to the lab to do blood work on him and find out exactly what his levels were and what type we are dealing with. She came back in and informed me that it is type 1 insulin dependant and his levels were over 400. This means Rx dog food, NO table scraps from the kids, and 2 shots a day (after his measured out food and exactly 12 hrs apart from each other). We've explained to the boys the have to be extremely careful as to not leave any food sitting out that Franklin can get to, but Drewbie doesn't quite understand, lol.

Strangely enough, the two (blind and diabetes) are not connected. If he had become diabetic, and then went blind, it would make sense, but it is just a medical coincidence.

As I was taking all of this in, the Vet looked at me and said, "Elisabeth, we told you Franklin was blind, you cried and cried, went home, mourned, dealt with it, and then did all the research you could to be the best blind dog owner you can be, and you are. Now you are going to do the same to be the best diabetic dog owner you can be." This seriously made me handle it so much better!

I woke up today still sad, but I know I've handled this so much better. We got his meds and when I gave him the first shot, it didn't even phase him. Our amazing vet even called today to check in on both of us.

I am selfishly very sad because I know this will shorten my time with Franklin, but I know he can still have a very normal life with this.

I am now going to pour myself a glass of Spanish red wine and cheers to my blind diabetic dog who I love very very much!