Fun in the Snow

We had the best time earlier today.  It was the first real snow of the year and we played and played.  The kids couldn't wait to get on their snow clothes and make a snowman.  Even though we didn't make much of a frosty friend, we had a great time rolling and packing the snow.

Kai even got into the mix as our little doggy couldn't get enough of the white stuff.  He chased balls, dug little patches, and ran around like it was the greatest thing ever.  It was awesome to see how excited Kai was to play in the snow.

After a fun day of play we headed inside to get warm, build our first fire of the year, and watch a video.  What a fun snow day....

Just a little lift

A few weeks ago we noticed that Kai was waking each morning with discharge coming from his left eye. No big deal we thought, maybe he is allergic to something. I know I have been sneezing a lot lately.

Then last weekend, while we were out camping, his eye got worse. It was swollen and basically shut for much of the day. Kai was pawing at his eye and you could tell he was miserable. I assumed he had "pink eye", due to the amount of mucus coming from his eye.

Tara took Kai to the vet on Tuesday and the diagnosis was shocking. Kai has a problem with his eyelid rolling back towards his eye and causing the irritation. There were no drops, no ointments that would solve the problem - this would require surgery. The vet gave us a lot of medical terms dealing with Kai's surgery, but it basically comes down to the fact that my dog needed an eye lift. Can you believe it? Our family pet needs cosmetic surgery.

  Friday Kai had the procedure and now he is recovering for a week. He looks a little funny, with the fur around his eyes being shaved and he is forced to wear the "Cone of Shame". Everything looks good though. Kai seems to be dealing with the collar fine and his eyes both look a lot better. Who would have guessed the only person in our family to need a little nip or tuck would be our dog. I'm sure he'll be the envy of the other canines in the neighborhood!

Meet Kai

For the past year the kids have begged for a dog.  Tara and I both grew up with dogs in our homes, but we haven't had one since being together.  We were a little hesitant with small kids - especially Dylan.  Still, the kids persisted and this week we finally relented.

Monday night we went to the Humane Society and spent a hour looking at a Australian Cattle Dog.  It seemed like the perfect dog.  Not too big, fairly calm around our kids, and somewhat obedient to basic commands.  So we went up to the desk to adopt her.

"Sorry, but the chart says the dog is a growler."

I don't know the protocol, but I could tell that was the end of the story.  The staff was insistent that the dog wouldn't be a good fit and that was that.  The kids were heart broken, but we felt it was a good first step towards dog ownership.

The next day Tara called and told me about a dog she found on KSL.com.  He was a part Australian Shepherd and part Husky.  We loaded up the car and drove out to Tooele to meet Kai.  His former owner said he loved the dog and hated to give him up, but work wasn't giving him the chance to give Kai enough attention.

The kids immediately loved Kai.  He was active, loved to get attention, and met Alex's one requirement for a dog - he played fetch.  So, we took the plunge and brought Kai home.

It's been a bit of an adjustment.  Kai was pretty quiet the first night, as he was getting used to his new surroundings.  Yesterday, he found his voice when he started to meet the neighborhood dogs.  We'll have to see how it all goes, but the kids love having a dog.  Tara and I are getting used to being dog owners.  I think it's going to be fun, let's just hope we can figure out what we're doing!