Layla

     It was a taxing week even minus the 15th. We navigated rains, got mom to doctors and Minka to vets...We got flower beds weeded and new trees on site before setting our own sights on new projects ahead, namely: new cookbook and new garden.
     After several weeks of online searches and pulling over to grab numbers off tractors, my farm worker Pat, found for me the perfect "first tractor" ~ a 135 Massey Ferguson, restored to its former glory~
     With 2 more lavender rows to go (the rains taking their toll, leaving seedlings now doubled in their little plastic containers) I began mapping the plan for my 2015 garden, complete with a wildflower patch (separate and apart from the food garden) all to welcome our newest addition: namely, bees! (I will not be doing this alone, mind you, but will be bringing hives on the land in exchange for honey and extra pollination. )
     But the bees aren't the only new guest at the farm.
     As my Facebook pics will attest, I have a temporary house guest, going through a bit of a rough patch. Here is Layla's story.
     Daughter of TJ, niece to Rosey...first cousins with Hix and Rosebud, Layla was born 11 months ago to a lovely Pyr named Lilly, who's person had plans to move to the country and live on his family's farm. Sadly Layla didn't get that far...Recently losing a sister in a scuffle over food, more recently (as in three days ago) Layla broke her leg (in an accident I'm still unclear about).

     While her person loves her very much, it should come as no surprise that Pyrs are not the most economical breed of dog to raise. Food bills alone run quite high around here, and vets we keep on speed dial. (Minsky has one doctor; my Pyrs and pygmies have another who makes farm visits. Boo has another yet.)
     When I heard Layla's leg was broken my heart broke with it. The thought of an innocent pup in excruciating pain was more than I could handle. Since her person (on fixed income) did not have the funds readily available, I took Layla into my own care until a solution could be reached and options thoroughly researched. (Suffice it to say, there are no good answers here.)
     Juggling to keep a Nashville appointment, I routed friend to vet to get the process going and to get Layla out of pain. By afternoon with tears streaming down my face, I'm staring at one nasty x-ray and two very expensive alternatives... one involving specialists, (and metal plates and pins)...the other involving amputation.
     It has long been my philosophy that money should not dictate decisions involving life as I would scrub dishes or wait tables to see my babies properly cared for. If it were simply a matter of collecting funds, I'd be asking for them now, but there is more to it than this.
     Given the severity of the break, first estimates on a specialist (using metal plates and pins) are ball parked at $5000. Amputation I'm told could run $1200 -- $1500. Pricey numbers in anyone's book, but the tougher decision has to do with her recovery period and rehab as the commitment is huge for a primary caretaker (a role I cannot assume, given my dogs are so much larger and livelier and cannot be near her through the process, save for Rosey who has become extremely maternal here of late).  In short, it is a commitment one must think through thoroughly. The challenge comes with the recovery, which, given her weak bones and her frail skeletal structure, is no guarantee.

     Meanwhile, Layla who'd had no vaccinations until 3 days ago, is malnourished. Her bones are weak, she's unusually small for a Pyr her age; she's extremely frail. The good news: she's adorable; she loves to eat and one look at her innocent face will have you doing whatever it takes to help the girl.
     I brought her home with me Thursday evening and with the help of friends, situated her comfortably in her own space. Taking turns on the floor beside her to keep her from moving, we took shifts (friends, then me, then Rosey...friends, then me, then Rosey) keeping pain meds and anti-inflammatories on schedule and calls and emails ongoing to determine just what needs to happen from here.
     For a girl who was raised to "be a decision maker" I'm failing miserably at the job right now, for in truth, there are no good decisions, and if I make one, I cannot commit someone else to its execution...Yet doing anything less for Layla would be unjust. At times like these, all I know to do is pray, asking God to make the next decisions clear for me. For I do not like the choices that lie ahead.