Our luck of the draw... with Dogs

Someday I will share our tragic story about our beloved first dog Mauer, whom died 3 months ago at just over a year old. But to give you a brief synopsis, we were in and out of the vets office with multiple health issues with our poor pup from day 1, spent thousands of dollars searching for answers as to why he wouldn't gain weight, why he was so anxious, etc... we ended our search with answers thanks to the U of M vet (expensive, but well worth their expertise). Mauer died from a liver shunt on Feb. 22, 2010. :( One of the saddest days Adam and I have ever experienced together.

Since Mauer had passed, we didn't wait long before adding a new pup to our home. I was gone for a girls weekend, (less than 2 weeks after Mauer had passed) came home on Sun. to a Mauer look-a-like sitting in my living room next to my guilty looking husband. I ran out of the room crying. Let's just say I wasn't expecting that. Long story short, Adam had agreed to "foster" (whom he had already renamed "Milly") for All Dog Rescue (an amazing animal rescue, where we got both our pups... www.alldogmn.org). After a few short days she won my heart and we officially adopted 6 month old boxer-lab mix Milly a week later. I called her my therapy girl...turned our sad depressed days from losing Mauer, into days full of joy and laughter again. :)

Anyways, the whole point of this post, is that Milly too has health issues that we are trying to narrow down. We sure pick out the cutest pups, but ones that need some extra loving attention, apparently. We have already been to the vet 5 times since we've had her (3 months), mostly due to skin/allergy type infections... but trying to figure out what the underlying issue is. She also struggles with big time separation anxiety and we have tried a lot! From diet changes, to personal dog training, doggy daycare days, behavior modification, and vet visits... we are running out of options here! But we won't stop until we find some answers... just hoping this time it's an easy fix. :)

Seriously, these dogs are more work than having infants! I think we will be ready for the baby come December. :) and 100% worth it... right?!