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Two disclaimers before I start out this post (which is probably going to be a book by the time I'm done). 1. I know that it is Memorial Day & even though I am incredibily lucky to not have any loved ones in the military, my heart goes out to those who have lost loved ones or who have loved ones fighting for us right now. 2. I almost never post here anymore so I apologize for dropping my cruddy weekend details on all of you.

I was looking forward to this 3 day weekend since we haven't had one since Christmas but it has turned out to be a pretty crappy one. We have 3 dogs (Beau, Noey, & BJ) & 1 cat (Pepper). Saturday morning we took Beau in for annual vaccinaations & for the vet to look at his leg b/c he has been limping for a few days. I know Beau is getting old (he's 12) but it is so hard to see him struggle & in pain. He has messed up his leg (they think it will heal if he rests), he has sight problems, & now he has lost 21 pounds in the last year. They told us that he needs to gain about 8 lbs. All in all he is doing okay but I can't get the nagging thought out of my head that his day is coming.

Sunday morning we took the other 2 dogs for a walk & Noey, who is a terrier and has the killer instinct when it comes to small animals, jumped on & killed a baby rabbit right in front of me. I have such a soft spot for animals that I couldn't get the sight of that dead rabbit out of my head. Noey is our princess and a very loving dog. It's probably my own fault it happened b/c we let her kill snakes & mice outside so how can she know the difference between what she can kill & what she can't?!

Sunday afternoon bad storms & tornadoes swept through the area and destroyed almost an entire local town and killed 8 people. Again, I do not know any of them personally, but my heart goes out to them.

Also on Sunday morning Pepper (our cat who lives in our garage but is able to go outside any time she wants) came home looking like she had just given birth. We thought it was weird because she had been so skinny up until then so we didn't know how she could have been pregnant. Her butt and hind legs were all bloody and she was walking funny. We figured it was just after-birth so we let her leave again after she got something to eat & drink. This morning she came up to the fence around the yard but didn't have it in her to jump over and come home. DH went out and got her and brought her into the yard. He looked at her closer and could see that she had not given birth like we thought. She must have been attacked by another animal because she has 2 holes, 1 just bigger than a quarter size in her right back leg and another about the size of an egg in her left back leg. You can see muscle through the one and her guts through the other. I can't bring myself to look at it closely but DH is pretty sure she has an infection in there.

We talked about our options which include rushing her to the animal hospital since it is a holiday & our vets office is not open, putting her down at home, or waiting until tomorrow morning and then taking her in if she's still alive. We decided not to rush her to he hospital b/c we know it would cost a lot of money and we really don't think she's going to make it anyway and neither of us have it in us for DH to shoot her even though she is obviously in a lot of pain. If she makes it through the night we're going to take her to the vet in the morning and have her put down. I have cried for about the last 2-3 hours wondering if we are making the right decision. Even though we've only had her for 3 months and she's pretty much an outdoor cat we love her. Since we have struggled to get pregnant with no luck, our animal kids have become even more precious to us.

Okay, I've rambled enough and once again I'm sorry for burdening everyone. I just had to get my feelings out. I hope everyone else has had a better weekend than we have. Go hug your loved ones & your pets.

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IBS-A, with bloating and gas as my predominant symptoms

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