We left Indiana and drove straight through to Maryland. Our cockerpoo Scotch (short for Butterscotch) was limping very badly -- unable to put any weight on his right rear leg -- so we needed to get him to the vet. This last segment of our adventure was uneventful (except for coming perilously close to running out of gas!). We amused ourselves by continuing to take pictures of cool old barns -- trust me, not much else of interest on the Illinois-Ohio-Pennsylvania toll roads.
It was really nice getting home and giving my youngest a big hug, petting Scotch and our bichon Andy, and saying hi to the neighbors. Scotch was indeed limping very badly and Andy hadn't eaten his food that day -- both causes for concern. In the morning we realized that Andy was also not drinking his water and not urinating -- a BIG concern. My daughter and I took our two boys to the vet and then everything went downhill fast. While xrays showed that nothing was obviously wrong with Scotch, Andy was going to need emergency surgery to relieve a life-threatening bladder blockage. So the excruciating decision had to be made to let our beloved 15-year old Andy die peacefully in Charlie's arms, or put him through the pain of major surgery with an exceedingly poor prognosis. We chose the former, and as a family we said goodbye and cried and mourned our dear pet. Excruciating.So it's been nearly a week now; the camper is again spotless, the yard and garden are pruned and tended, our grandson has been hugged and kissed, and life is returning to normal. But the memories, oh the memories. Those we will hold close.
Now to plan the next trip ...and clean the bugs off the front of the SUV.
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