Lost... finger?

Dear Sophia,

You know, Daddy has a way of scaring me which is not very fun. Yesterday, while he was working, some film got caught in one of the machines. He reached in to free it, and it pulled his hand in. Now, Daddy has a large, blue medical tape-covered finger in the ring finger spot. According to the people who were fixing him up, if the cut had been even a centimeter deeper, he might have cut into the bone. Thankfully, he's okay. Thankfully again, he was wearing the plain silver band I got him for Father's Day instead of the stainless steel spinner we got for our marriage. The band didn't get caught, but if it had been the spinner, he would have lost the whole finger instead of just some blood. I was so grateful that he had been wearing a ring which could be safely cut if need be. Although I love Daddy unconditionally, whether he has all of his fingers or not, I appreciate the fact that he didn't lose one yesterday.

So, I don't know if I mentioned it or not, but I've been emailing back and forth with a lady from Alexandra's House. They have offered us a 3D/4D sonogram at no charge so we can spend time time enjoying your little features before you arrive. Isn't that great? Daddy was a little hesitant at first, and for good reason, but he came around in the end. I hope we have the opportunity to take advantage of this remarkable gift. It'd be nice to see those little hands and feet that punch and kick me all day!

** The next several paragraphs might get a teensie bit graphic at times. I'll mark when they're done. **

On a different note, Daddy had a tough day on Friday. The puppies had gotten out again, and Grandma and I had gone to pick them up from the pound. We got them home fine, put them on a couple ties so they wouldn't get out again and went about our day. Because I wanted to make sure they hadn't gotten out again, I was checking on them periodically. I checked a lot right at first, while Aunt Kym and I were watching a movie she'd brought upstairs, then went back to sleep for a while. Around 2:30pm, realizing I hadn't checked in a while, I looked outside and Duke, the younger puppy, was laying still on the ground. I opened a window and called his name, to no avail.

Worried, I called Grandma and asked her for advice. She said she'd come and check him after work, and I went downstairs to make sure the other puppy, Rox, had enough food and water (because the last thing we needed was for something to happen to him for some reason.) Now, I've never been one for dead bodies. I am great at finding them, unfortunately, but I'm just not comfortable with handling them. While I was down in the yard, I walked around Duke, who was definitely dead, to see if I could tell what had happened. I saw no marks, and I knew his collar hadn't been too tight because I'd put it on that morning and made sure he had plenty of room to breathe. I also knew he couldn't have been severely dehydrated because he'd promptly urinated (and not just for a couple seconds) when we got him into the yard that morning. Additionally, I had seen the shelter's facilities before and knew they provided each dog with their own water bowl and food.

I was dumbfounded. At first, I felt guilty. Was there something I had done? No, I had done everything I could to make sure they were comfortable and safe. So I waited for Grandma to come and see if she could find anything. Sure enough, when she got there, she flipped him over and there was a hole in his hip area where his intestines had been punctured and stuff was coming out. Long story short, we ended up going to the police where they had us meet with the Animal Control officer. She was dumbfounded too - she couldn't find an explanation for what might have happened to him. If it had been another animal, she said, his face would have been attacked too. The only other things were if someone had reached over the fence and shot him, or our other dog and he had been rough playing and he'd accidentally gotten him just right.

I was beside myself. Rox is one of the sweetest dogs you'll ever meet (in fact, out of the dogs my husband had, he was my favorite because he was so gentle and calm most of the time. Sure, he'd get excited, but he didn't jump up or even bark most of the time.) Additionally, how would Rox have gotten a hold on Duke's hip in such a way that he would puncture it down into the intestines? Yeah, I didn't think so either. Then, the possibility that someone might have shot Duke was crazy. It was bad enough that he'd been killed, but because of where he'd been injured he would not have died quickly. Really, that was a terrible way to go.

We ended up giving Rox back to his previous owners so he would be safe from a similar fate. I mainly felt bad for Daddy. As he'd pointed out, they were his way of dealing with everything that's going on and now one was dead and one wasn't ours anymore. Ultimately, it was Grandma who came to the rescue. She knew what they had meant to Daddy, and, although the puppy we'd given her was practically her baby, she offered her to him. Both reluctantly (because he wasn't totally okay with taking her puppy) and excitedly (because she is small enough to be safe with us in the house) we took her home with us. I'm happy to report that, even though we have a cat who obviously doesn't appreciate having a dog in the house, things have been going well and Daddy is happy again.

** End potentially gross stuff. **

On another note, I'm making something with your name on it! For a long time, I've had this purple material with faint white stars. A month or two ago, Grandma gave me some cross-stitching circle-things, and I've been collecting my different threads and needles since forever. A couple days ago, I decided I'd make something out of them for you. It will say "Miss Sophia Grace" and have your birth date on it underneath. The letters are little x's with lines between them so it looks like a constellation on top of the purple fabric with stars. So far, I love how it's turning out. It's a little light, but I don't mind. It is certainly a labor of love.

Sincerely,
Mommy.