Not much of a lazy snow day

Everything started out well... we woke up, made coffee, ate waffles and bacon... general family merriment.

We decided to tackle shoveling the mounting snow... even though it was still coming down pretty hard.


Adam jumped off the porch on the side of the house and was promptly swallowed by the snow.


You can get a pretty good visual of the snow drifts along the side of the house. Had we put Chase out there we may have lost him for a good few minutes.


Chase is thoroughly uninterested with having traditional fun in the snow... he doesn't want to be on a sled, he doesn't want the snow touching his hands (or gloves) and God help the individual that places him directly in a large pile of snow. What he does love...


shoveling. He proudly stands with his shovel (aka the windshield scraper).

Pretty much every night we talk about all the fun things we will do the next day and I kid you now, the night before, he added shoveling the driveway to his list. I hope this keeps up!

So we come back in and peel off the layers of cold wet clothes... lunch and nap are next on our agenda.

As we were sitting in the living room Riley attempts to stand up and walk off his bed... immediately something isn't right. His hind legs aren't cooperating and he is stumbling. I call for Adam and we watch in horror for the next 3 minutes as Riley gets worse and worse. He is quickly getting to the point were he cannot stand at all and his body is shivering (presumably from pain).

Adam and I corral him into my lap and wrap a blanket around him while I am frantically calling our vet. They aren't in but they put me in contact with a local emergency vet... who I call in tears.

At this point I was convinced we were watching Riley die... I have never seen him act like this before.

After I unload my terror on the vet he suggests we come in... this doesn't sound like something that can or should wait.

So at 12:30 in the afternoon Adam and I load up a hungry soon to be cranky 2 year old, a shivering scared beagle and ourselves in the Jeep and set off in a snow storm for the vet. Does my dog have timing or what?

Truth be told the roads were not that bad. I wouldn't have driven them if I didn't absolutely need to but given the circumstances... they were fine.

By the time we get to the vet Riley has calmed down and seems to be doing a bit better... still not great but not near death like I thought earlier. The vet said he could be reacting to adrenaline at this point and he is probably still masking some pain.

We give him the history and he runs a thorough exam on Riley... checking glands, his back, his teeth, his reflexes... seriously, Cumberland Valley Clinic, especially Shawn... you guys are awesome.


At this point Riley is exhibiting classic signs of degenerative disc disease which we have seen before... at least 3 times. Together with the doctor, we decide that this is most likely the problem and we will start with treatment... if it gets worse or the meds don't seem to help, call back and we will re-evaluate.

So off we go with 3 meds for Riley... back in the Jeep... headed for the comfort of our own home.

Riley laying down in a car of his own volition is an unheard of act... no doubt he is sick.

BTW - my blanket was sacrificed to the greater good of the beagle. He now owns it and is happily snuggling with it as I type.

On the way home I was finally able to relax and breathe... which also meant I was able to take in some sights.

We were actually driving on this road... hard to believe there is a road under all that but I swear there is.


Again... we are driving on a road here but it's so covered with packed down snow that you can't make out the lanes or blacktop.

The day ended on several good notes.

• Riley has his pain meds which means a very happy tired dog. He hasn't moved from his bed but to go outside momentarily and to take a drink of water... poor thing is exhausted.

• Also, in all the insanity that this day provided, Chase did not once have an accident. In our panic to get Riley to a vet we did put a diaper back on Chase, just to be on the safe side but he didn't use it! In fact the only time he didn't use potty was just the tiniest bit during nap and really, who can fault him for that! He added 4 new pee pee stickers to his potty chart!

• And in the biggest news in our world, Chase earned himself 2 stickers for going #2 in the potty! He came to us no less than 6 times in the span of an hour saying he needed to go poo poo. He would sit, he wouldn't go so he would get up... and repeat. And finally, he did it! He was definitely a little freaked out but Adam and I just made the biggest deal about it... praising him and high fiving him... and soon he got how awesome it was. At several points I was on the verge of tears from the happiness I felt. He is growing up so fast. I couldn't be more proud of him.

So how do you end a day like that? Picnic of meatloaf and mashed potatoes at the coffee table while watching America's Funnies Home Videos of course. It's good to be me.