My lil' dog, Max is back home!!  I had taken him to the vet on Friday, got supportive care, took him home, was okay saturday, sunday started showing signs of not being very well, and Monday morning was non responsive at all.  The only thing on his body that he could move was his eyes.  He was limp.  He spent two days and nights at the vets office, on IV and being treated with all the love a vet and their staff can provide.  He is not 100%, but over the hump.  He will make it.  Vet says he is at about 70% and the rest of it will be taken care of with simply getting sleep, laying around, being spoiled and loved on, and making sure he continues to eat and drink water.  He is trying to be very active, go out with my other two lil' dogs, chase my cats, etc... so I believe he'll make a full recovery.  The morning I took him into the vet he was dying.  He had pancreitis and a kidney was trying to shut down.  The kidney has rebound pretty much 100%, but the pancresis still has some infection that is being treated with meds.  His upper sinus infection is cleared, and his respritory system (lungs) seems to be cleared up for the most part.  He is still a little bit weak, in that he can't or won't stay on his legs for very long before laying back down, he has a skin irriation where they had the catherer, and a little "hot spot" on his back butt area, that he keeps trying to dig at with his mouth, so I have to keep his head in a funnel a few hours a day and treat it with a special oilment.  Let's all please just continue to pray that his recovery continues without any obstacles or setbacks.  Thank you so very much!

Now... my God story.

I broke down crying in the vets office Monday morning when I first heard just how bad Max's condition was.  I just let everything pour out.  Told him I'm broke, that I work but as soon as I get the work, or get it done this month, something would happen that took the money I was intending to pay bills with. first my pressure washer pump, then the truck fuel pump, then the snow resulting in my next scheduled job getting cancelled.  I swore I'd pay anything it cost if he would just do whatever it takes to keep my dog alive.  He looked at me and asked if I was a Christian.  I told him I wouldn't go as far as calling myself a Christian, but I do believe Christ is the Son of God.  He told me to go out into the parking lot and talk to Him for a few minutes and he was going to spend a few moments with Max alone, then we'd talk.  I went outside and just begged God to give him a new breath of life.  Some what selfish, but not for him, but more for me.  I love him soo much! I begged...that if I have to let him go, I will, but please help me and the vet to find a way to bring him around and help me find a way to pay for it so it is possible. I sat there and cried because it really didn't sound like he'd be coming home alive at that time.  he was soo soo sick.

I went back inside the vets office and into the room Max was in.  The vet's back was to the door.  He was on a knee, holding Max in his arms across the other knee and praying out loud.  I heard him ask God to "to guide and give me the knowledge and wisdom to save this dog, and let me be a good steward of the gift You have given me."   He got up, turned and saw me standing there.  He just came over and give me a little hug and then said, "okay, I'm going to get to work on him.  As long as he has the will to live, I have the will to do all I can to save him, with the Lords help.  As for the money..."if he makes it... you be willing to pressure wash my home, my mothers home, and a third home of your choice for someone that needs it and can't afford it, and we'll call it even."

When I went to see him Monday afternoon, he was still in pretty rough shape.  The vet told me to pray and to know that more was going to be about what God did with the dog, then he or I.  He also warned that dogs are like people, they tend to "rally" some and look like they are improving... just before passing. So, don't let his little bit of spark after only being there for 6 hours, get my hopes up too high.  He was still in very dangerous territory.  

Today, my dog is home, and doing relatively well.  I pressure washed the vet's house before picking Max up, and did the very best job with a few extra things thrown in.  He is very very pleased with it... within a few days, I will do his mothers home... and then start keeping my eyes and ears open for someone that needs their home done but can't afford it and just offer to do it for them as a "pay it forward".  It will be a complete stranger I do this for, just as I was to the vet... and they won't owe me anything.  

Now, that's a pretty great God story, but it continues.... 

Several people on MIP helped me over the past few weeks as well.  It doesn't matter if it was a 5.00, 20.00, 50.00 or whatever size donation, it all came together at exactly the right time, to keep my water from being turned off, and my auto insurance from being cancelled.  No insurance here, you lose your drivers licence and then once you can prove you have insurance again, its 100.00 to get the drivers license reinstated.  So, all the help I got was like right on time. However, I was still in despair over the other bills that had been rolling in while I was going through all this crap from the beginning.  Most of them were accompanied with termination notices! I was in very real stress, and financial dispair.  I had been seeing myself without running water, the electric off, no internet access, my cell phone not working, my drivers license pulled because of no insurance, my work truck getting repo'd because of 2 missed payments... etc. Things were really heading in that direction and very fast. Then God stepped in .

A member of MIP knew I could not afford what a vet would cost to treat my dog in house, and do all it takes to medically save his life.  They offered to pay for it.  "Whatever the cost".  I told them it was covered and what had happend between the vet and I.  They gave me the super surprise, and gifted me with a sizeable amount of money instead.  I won''t say who or how much, but it is enough for me to cover ALL my bills for both Feburary and March!! It will allow me to make it til the spring time work demand hits, which is always good and I don't have to spend every day wondering and worrying about when the next shoe is going to drop from that dark cloud that I felt was following me around.  Keep in mind, I had been trying to work and pay my bills since the beginning of the month, and every job I got, which is very slow this time of year, was matched with a piece of equipment breaking down or my work truck breaking down, or it doing what they call snow here (melts before it even hits the ground), and customer cancelling the scheduled job because of it.  Week after week, I would make the amount needed to pay the bills, and something would happen that swiped that money right out from under me.  I even asked God if I had done something so bad in life that this stuff was the karma from it, or did someone have some voodoo doll sh*t going on, with my name on it, and poking it with needles??".  What was happening seemed so unworldly to me.  How could one person be hit with some much bad luck, week after week, and all he ever does is work and try to help other people every day??  Today I think I got the message.  He is running the show, I am at His mercy and grace, and when I think I "have it going on"... he will knock me back down to size, deflat my ego, bring me to a place of utter humility with tears rolling down my face, begging for relief from Him and willing to seek help for myself... and then He brings his angels to my rescue... right on time.

Well, thats not the end of the God story...

While washing the vets house today I got 3 calls for estimates, I went and did them after picking up the dog and taking him home.  I got all 3 jobs, and they are scheduled for tomorrow, friday and saturday!!  Then tonight a man who saw my business web site called about getting some work done on his vacation property here (North Carolina) and some rental properties he has here.  He lives in California.  When we got off the phone, I had another 3 weeks of work ahead of me and half the cost of it being paid in advance!!

There is no bad karma, there is no voodoo doll action happening...

Just an awesome God that wants to demostate His love and power... and He might have to take us to our knees in order to do that from time to time.

I think I'm going to work on just staying on my knees... having to be knocked down to them isn't much fun.

As I have said before... God sometimes works in the 11th hour and will wait until 11:59 to show up, but he has never, at any time showed up late... at 12:01.

Thank all of YOU for being his angels to me as I went through this stuff.  I am surprised my keyboard still works, with all the tears that have hit it this week.  Many of them were tears that were the offspring of knowing that people in the world do care and that I have been blessed with some of the finest people, my family and friends from all over the world here at MIP.

Love ya'll bunches and bunches,

John

PS.  This is a before and after picture of my vets back deck... he was really impressed with it.