Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone!!! Have a very Happy New Year!!!

(Mom - can I take this off now....)

Nova at 4 months old - 3 weeks post bowel resection.

Nova's surgery

November 13th Nova had emergency surgery for an intussusception. He ended up having 10 inches of small bowel removed. Sam and I brought him home two days later, this is his first day back home. He had to stay essentially crate bound for 10 days - going out on leash every couple of hours followed by small bland meals. To this day we are not sure what caused his intussusception - the usual causes are 1. chronic diarrhea 2. Parasite infestation 3. Foreign body obstruction. I post this to help anyone else who finds themselves in a simialr postion. Intussusception in when the small "telescopes" on itself. Sometimes it will reduce on its own. If it doesn't and is left untreated - the bowel can lose its blood supply and die, which will kill the puppy. It happens to puppies usually less than a year old. (the same thing can happen to human children usually around 18-24 months).

This is Nova today!! He got his staples removed and is doing great. The vet is now allowing us to start adding his regular food to the bland diet. As noted in his weight chart - he has only gained 0.4 lbs in 2 weeks, but boy has he grown! Now that his bowel has healed sufficiently, time to eat!!

Nova 14 weeks....

14 weeks old and boy am I GROWING!!!! Of course if I lay here in the kitchen - they can't help but feed me - right?

Nova made his first big appearance at the Hartford Pet Expo Saturday October 25th. Sam and I brought Nova and Manny to work the booth. Manny is an old pro at this - he goes every year to help "Grandma Sheila" work the crowd and promote the breed.

Nova was a big hit!! He gave kisses to everyone who petted him, and EVERYONE was petting him!









Nova got to meet a new "Best Friend", Diane Lecoy's new pup Mosez.








What a big boy for 11.5 weeks!!

10 weeks old!!

Here I am at 10 weeks old. I went to the doctors yesterday for my 2nd round of shots. I weighted in at 21 HUGE pounds!! I'm growing soooo fast, and boy I LOVE to chew and chew and chew...........
Yes, my ears went down for now - my mouth is driving me CRAZY!!!








My sister Kallie tries to help me by bringing me small sticks. She takes VERY good care of me!











Mostly I find stuff to chew on EVERYWHERE!! (Poor momma doesn't get much rest these days!!!!)



Note from Momma: Thank goodness for crate training!!! Nova is doing great. He now knows "sit" and is already learning "paw". He LOVES to retrieve, he will bring the ball back (working on the release still), sits and waits for us to throw the ball again. He is quite the extrovert, loves everyone and everything he comes in contact with!

Nova turned 9 weeks old yesterday!

Here is Nova at 9 weeks old! He woke up this morning with both ears up!! He also slept through the night for the first time.
Nova went for his first visit to the vet's. He kissed up everyone in the office, even Dr. Dan during his exam! Nova weighed in at 17.2 lbs. Dr Dan said he was incredibly healthy with a great temperment - can't get better than that!

Nova got his first bath today and visited daddy at work

I have a new friend, Sheena, who works with Daddy at the Vermont State Police

I hung out with Daddy at his station

Working is EXHAUSTING!! I fell right asleep in Sheena's arms....

When I got home, Kallie wanted me to play with her

Can't pass up playing!!

Hi Manny!

Hi Momma!

Ooops - mom loaded this twice....

Nova's first full day in Vermont!

Me and my Dad

Checking out my backyard

Sharing Manny's bed

C'mon Aiko - let's PLAY!

Welcome home Nova!

Little Nova flew in from Washington state Thursday October 2, 2008 at about 11:40 P.M. Nova is a Show quality smooth male from Laura Kathryn's ISSR Solace Shilohs. What an amazing little man!! When we let him out of this crate at the Burlington International airport, he immediately ran up to both Sam and me and covered us with kisses.

He immediately also bonded with our 3 dogs at home, Kallie, Aiko and Manny. He is everything we could have wanted in a puppy and more.