"Did We Really Shout For Joy?"

Yesterday when I was talking to my sister on the phone about some family issues she said, "I can't believe that we really shouted for joy about coming here to earth." Being an LDS family we were taught that we lived in Heaven before this Earthy experience and when we die we will then return where we came from. Lately it seems like the sooner I can make that transition the better. Eight weeks ago we had a litter of puppies born to our dog, Pansy. Mindi and I have been trying to make a little business breeding these beautiful English Golden Retrievers. They are expensive dogs and I wouldn't be able to afford one, but obviously there are people who can. Anyway, we had ten puppies born and one of the little females got sick and passed away a few weeks ago. Last Friday we noticed that one of the males was not acting right and brought him in the house, took him to the vet where they gave us some medicine and an IV bag to keep him from dying. We spent all weekend tending to him and dealing with the mess he made. By yesterday he hadn't eaten in several days, so back to the vet we went where they tested him again for Parvo, which is a deadly virus that puppies can get. It makes them have vomiting and diarrhea and that's what we dealt with all weekend.  The vet could tell there was something wrong with his intestines so we decided to take the chance and operate on him. I hate being in this situation where the dog is going to die if you don't do something, but the dog could still pass away. In the afternoon we got a call from the clinic and he made it out of surgery but passed away while trying to come out of surgery, he was so weak and it was a long shot, we knew. We buried him next to his sister and hope and pray none of the others get it. We do have another one that is showing some symptoms but he's not as bad. I just don't seem to ever get a break. If it's not sick pets it's other problems. I hope someday I can truly know that I shouted for joy when I knew I would get a body and come experience all that life has, but some days I wonder.