
I didn't want to mention in the previous, happy post that our sweet little Ringo had an accident over the holiday. We aren't sure what happened because Nicholas and I were eating breakfast at the time and Ringo was outside with my parents' dogs, but the diagnosis was a torn foot pad and a broken meta-carpal bone in his front left paw. This happened on the 23rd. Needless to say, Ringo had a very bad Christmas. He ended up staying for two nights in the emergency hospital in Louisville where they put a firm splint on his leg (that resembles a cast) and sedated him. He stayed two nights because he is going to have to be crated for the next eight weeks to give his bone time to heal. (We didn't bring his crate because we NEVER use it. He hates it.) He's been a brave little pup.
When we got home tonight, Ringo was very upset to be in his crate. We're sure he was looking forward to some freedom after being cooped up in a small run for the past two days. Ringo howled and cried and whined and cried. Perhaps obviously, I cried. Actually, I bawled. Nicholas had to give me a pep talk. We are all going to make it through this...and be better for it. We'll let this be a lesson to us...that parenting is hard. I just wish that I could explain to him that we are doing this for his own good.
We eventually got everyone calmed down, and I read from "Little House in the Big Woods" to the baby and to Ringo. Ringo fell asleep, and now I am going to go do the same.