Shackleton is good to go! Yesterday we got the results back from his Addison’s test and his doctor has told us that everything came back negative. She has forwarded the results to his neurologist but everything should be fine. I have a check in with his neurologist on Friday so will follow up. I’m still curious as to what caused the whole menegioencephalitis to begin with… Perhaps we will never know. He has to stay on the W\D for awhile longer though. I was a bit concerned about this as he is only seven months old and I believe should still get puppy food. However, our regular vet contacted Hill’s and was told that as long as the puppy is over six months, feeding them prescription food is fine. He has tapered off on his growing which is also a concern to me. We all know how much I love big dogs. Right now Shackleton is weighing in at 50.6 lbs. I don’t think he looks it though. Doug and several of our neighbors think Shackleton is the perfect size as he is. After the all clear yesterday, I took him to the dog park for the first time in almost two months! At first, he was a little bit nervous. His hackles went up and for a little while, he was actually shaking. Then, play instinct kicked in and pretty soon he was giving as good as he got. We didn’t stay too long as I didn’t want to blow it on our first time out.

Lilliputian is doing well also. She is definitely liking the fact that Shackleton is now back to sleeping in his crate in the kitchen instead of out in the open or in his crate but in our bedroom. It gives her more freedom to play without having to worry about a large black fur ball pouncing on her. She will be a year old in April which is pretty soon. Hard to believe it! We will have to switch her over from kitten food to grown cat food. Should be interesting because she is very particular about what she eats. We have tried all different kinds of cat treats but the only thing she will eat is her kitten kibble (she won’t even try wet food!) and she likes to lick butter and the cheese from Bob Evan’s mac n cheese! Go figure.

Our weekends have been full. This past weekend we had some company with a friend of mine coming to visit. We met in Camp Pendleton when I first got there. She was the very first person to ring me after I drove cross country and welcome me to the area and to the Marine Corps! I will forever be grateful to her for her kindness and help. Anyways, Bonnie came to visit during spring break with her youngest son. They stayed in the area for a night and then headed down to visit her eldest son at Virginia Tech. It was great spending the day with Bonnie and catching up on stuff. The only bummer was that Shackleton was a little whiny butt! It was right as we were re adjusting him to life in the crate (while he was sick, we were worried about seizures and so kept him out in the open at all times instead of making him sleep in his crate as we had been doing) and he was NOT happy about it.

After Bonnie left Friday morning, we some of the people Doug works with over for chili and margaritas! I made four (thank goodness for my friends letting me borrow their crock pots) different types of chili and Doug of course was in charge of the margaritas. I got a little over confident during the day and got a late start at setting things up at the house. I also got confused over the start time. My calendar showed 7:00PM but apparently I wrote 6:30 on the invitations. So, when the first people showed up I was still in my sweats and had yet to take a shower! Yikes. All in all, it wasn’t one of my better events but we survived.

Saturday morning I interviewed various dog walkers looking for the right person to check in on Shackleton during the day while I’m at work. Originally we wanted to have him go to play group but until he gets neutered (which got side tracked when he got sick and now he has a case of demodectic mange so he can not go under anesthesia until that clears up – most likely it will be another two months before we can have him neutered), they will not take him. So – we are going the dog walker route. I think I found a very good dog walker through doggiewalkers.com – Her name is Kathi and she used to work in an architectural firm but was recently laid off. This has caused her to rethink about what she really wants to do in life. We seemed to click and the only thing I wasn’t to sure about is that she does not have a dog herself. Supposedly this is because of pet restrictions at her condo.

After we got the interviews out of the way and Doug came home from work, we took off to The Dubliner in DC. We met Doug’s friend Ian there. Not only was it St. Patrick’s Day but it was also Ian’s birthday. Doug and I met up with Andy and we all metro’d in. Originally, we were only going to have a few beers but we were having so much fun, we lost track of time and so it was quite late by the time we got home. It was a very interesting day to say the least and the point about this being a small world was really hammered home. Ian and Doug were in the bathroom and a gentleman noticed their high & tights and asked if they knew a certain Marine. It turned out that Ian did and then they chatted some more. At the same time (now out of the bathroom), Doug noticed someone else with a high&tight and started talking. I was then talking to the girlfriend and it turns out that we grew up very close to each other back in Wisconsin. Not only that but she now works for Fannie Mae (I used too) AND she has a boxodor just like us!!! It was a great evening all around.

Great until we got home anyways. When we walked in the door at home, it was freezing inside. Turns out that our furnace went out on us! Thankfully, I had purchased a service contract with a company and they sent someone out on Sunday to take a look. He had one of two parts needed so he installed the one part he had and then Monday another technician came and installed the second part. All in all, if we hadn’t had the service contract, the total would have come to like $1500! We will have to replace the furnace within the year but I’m very thankful for the service contract that we had.

So, Sunday I spent mostly huddled under the covers trying to stay warm while Doug went running with his friend Andy.

Last night, Doug joined Shackleton and I at the dog park. It was his first time back in almost two months. I think he had a blast. After that we came home and as we pulled into the drive way, one of our neighbors invited us over for dinner. It turns out that yesterday was the celebration of the Persian New Year. We had a blast. The food was awesome and the company delightful. We got to learn a little bit of the Persian New Year customs. It did however make for a very late night for Doug and I.

That’s about all for now. Hopefully I will write more this weekend and Doug will upload some more recent photos!