This girl is 16

It’s time for a Chelsea update. At 16, she’s officially the oldest Bunny Hill employee, and as I sit here watching her, I can’t believe she’s been with me for almost as long as I’ve been designing. I started my business 20 years ago, and I’m surprised I could even design before I got her! She’s been my daily partner while I work; she gives me advice, helps me pick out colors, and helps run my giveaways. Her view of the world is one I live by;

Be friendly to everyone.

Start every day with a walk around the park.

Eat breakfast every day.

Take naps when you’re tired and even if you’re not.

Be sure and smell the rose bushes.

Make time for playtime every day.

Don’t worry about the little things, like when people say, “oh, I can tell she eats well,” or, “she’s an old one, isn’t she?”

End every day with a good dinner, a bedtime treat, and a soft, comfy blanket.

Yes, she’s slowly turning white, and compared to her baby photos, she looks like a different dog. But that being said, when I compare my baby photos to my current ones, I look like a different person. LOL.

You might remember when she got in trouble as a puppy and had to have “booking photos” taken? Oh my, she was a dickens!

Here she’s checking my first fabric line for Moda, telling me she thinks it’s a “go.” She has such a color sense!

When I need help choosing colors, she always has an opinion. So here she is selecting a blue for me.

She likes to dress up for the seasons and is a good sport!

She gets along with all the senior dogs I’ve brought home and loves the kitties too! Unfortunately, we’ve had to say goodbye to my beloved Tinkerbell (below left), but we still have Rosie (next to Chelsea) and Gracie (bottom right).

Four or five months ago, Chelsea got a scratch on her eye that never healed. Months of eye drops, including blood serum, haven’t helped, and the scratch has become an eye ulcer. You can see it in the photo below. It looks like a bubble on top of her eye.

Yesterday I was trying to clean under her eye, and somehow the ulcer ruptured. It’s very painful, and after an emergency trip to our vet, the only real solution seems to be to remove the eye. We’ve put it off for months because of her age and health, but I take her in on Tuesday for surgery. They will simply stitch the eyelid shut after they remove the eye, and she should feel much better after it heals. She’s blind in that eye already because of the ulcer.

Because of her age, surgery is risky. Because of her health, surgery is risky (she has heart problems and seizures). The only good news is that she’s lost all her weight and she’s a healthy 7 1/2 lbs.   I hate this surgery thing so much!

I’ll update you on this post right here after she has her surgery. Please say a prayer.

If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you’ve already seen my posts on Blueberry Delight, my new fabric line for Moda. I’ll be back to tell you about it very soon! It’s a pretty blue & cream line!

Chelsea Update 3/28

Our vet did a chest x-ray on Chelsea today and decided to postpone her surgery.  Her lungs weren’t clear, and her heart was larger now than on her last x-ray.  So, she’s increased her heart meds; hopefully, this will help.  Her eye will get rechecked next week.  At this point, she isn’t in pain, and her eye ulcer looks exactly like last week. She’s happy to be home and has no idea she has a heart problem.

I’ve had other dogs with congestive heart failure (Bitsy Button and Milkshake), and our vet gave them several more years of a good life with heart medications.  Chelsea has an eye ulcer on top of the heart problem, but she’s as happy as can be.  Thank you to every one of you who said a prayer for her.