It's been quite awhile since I've written on here. I wish I had time and felt up to doing it all on a regular basis but I don't. 2014 was rough to say the least. Even though I coaches water polo and swim season, my car situation made starting a new team impossible. Plus I had both lawsuit cases going and my health declining. Coming home from swim practice last spring in the rain, a lady hit me from behind going 80 and totalled my car. Both dogs were in the back seat asleep. Redley got up as we were spinning into the center area and started shaking and crying. Teeny hid on the floor in the back seat. Luckily, there was all my surf stuff in the trunk of the car which helped absorb the impact to the backseat and therefore the dogs. Since then, Redley has shown signs of having PTSD. While it may sound stupid, it's not. He is now very scared to go for a car ride. So even though he desperatley wants to go with me to the beach or to work, at the same time he freaks out in the car. He tries so hard not to panic but he does. Panting, shaking, crying, nudging me, etc. Not good when you drive a stick shift. The good news is that I don't think it's so bad that he will never bounce back, but it's gonna take a long time. Biggest issue is that I haven't had a reliable vehicle since the accident.
So I received no money or rental car from the accident until July. The accident was April 1st. The other party was 100% at fault and I got a lawyer and it still took 3 or 4 months to get a dime. Problem was that it meant I had no transportation to get to work which meant no income which meant no vehicle. I took what little they gave me and had to pay off some bills that were past due and put the rest into trying to get my truck running again. At least with the truck, I know how reliable it is. There was no way I had enough money to get any other vehicle that would run well for that cheap. But the truck hadn't run in almost 2 years. I had originally planned on fixing it and selling it down the road but it's hard on my body to drive which is why my dad had given my the car. Driving stick was killing my back, especially since my slave cylinder leaks and so sometimes the clutch goes out. So the dogs weren't even in a car for the better part of 3 months. From there, it has taken a ton of time to get the truck going. I owed my mechanic $600 for fixing the truck a 2 years earlier so I had to pay that off. Luckily, he knew what was happening and helped me anyway. Then, the truck wouldn't even start and all the hoses were cracked and wouldn't pass smog. Mom and I tag teamed with her car for the entire water polo season in the fall. It was crazy and ridiculous and time consuming and hard on both of us. My other lawsuit was finally settled in October which gave me enough to finally get the truck going but it's been on and off again and now it's February. I still need a new tire and for it to pass smog.
What does all this have to do with the dogs? Well, for awhile they were riding with me short distances every day. I found that that helped Redley not to go far. I also found that if I can get him to poop before we leave then he does better. Once we get to stop number 1 and I can walk him a bit and go potty, he settles down. Usually by the time we head back, he's much better. But with the crazy car schedule and problems, i have not had a chance to really work with him daily on it. Almost 3 weeks ago, the slave cylinder completely blew up and I've been without a vehicle again and started work this week. To replace it and the clutch is around $1000 if you're lucky. Usually it's more like $1500. I must have good karma on my side and mine did it for $750 which made it so I could get a rental car for work this week while he fixed it. Which he did in 3 days. Totally amazing. My mechanic is such an awesome guy. He said the slave cylinder had been leaking pretty badly for longer than we thought. There was like a whole cup of fluid in there just sitting which is really bad. We knew in 2011 it was leaking so it's been that way for probably 5 years!!!
Anyway, since before the accident money has been super tight. Once the accident happened it was even worse. I couldn't start my new business and I couldn't make extra money on the side like normal. I usually do swim and surf lessons on the side for extra cash. Can't do that without a car. Unemployment only pays a portion and it's certainly not enough to get a car AND pay bills. Going to the vet? pretty much impossible. Plus, had covered california not happened, I would probably be homeless because my medicine would be impossible to pay for. Redley has 2 bad knees, car anxiety, and a spot on his eye that wasn't there until this last year. My thought was something hit him in the eye during the accident. But I can't prove it. It's gotten a little bigger recently which worries me, and although it doesn't seem to bother him at all, I would like to get it checked ASAP. Obviously it's possible that it's a tumor but I don't think so and I REALLY REALLY hope not. But again, no way do I have the money for that. I haven't even paid off the work on the truck and I stil need to get a new tire and get it to pass smog like, YESTERDAY!!
Mom was telling me there are groups that will help pay vet bills for people who want to take care of their pets and do the right thing. My family has been through so much with animals it's kind of insane. Our friends always say they want to be a pet in our family because they have the best lives. Makes me feel good to hear that yet we always seem to go through some of the most awful hardships too. I'm hoping I can figure out how to get life back on track and get Redley and Teeny's health back right along with it. Teeny recently had a huge abcess in his mouth that we went through 2 rounds of antibiotics with and found that he has a high protein count in his kidneys so had to put him on meds for that. If he doesn't get a lower protein count after a month then we can't do dental surgery to fix his teeth and will have to work on it with other measures. The vet said he will be fine either way though. Thank goodness.
Oh, did I mention we have a family of skunks living under the house?
So I received no money or rental car from the accident until July. The accident was April 1st. The other party was 100% at fault and I got a lawyer and it still took 3 or 4 months to get a dime. Problem was that it meant I had no transportation to get to work which meant no income which meant no vehicle. I took what little they gave me and had to pay off some bills that were past due and put the rest into trying to get my truck running again. At least with the truck, I know how reliable it is. There was no way I had enough money to get any other vehicle that would run well for that cheap. But the truck hadn't run in almost 2 years. I had originally planned on fixing it and selling it down the road but it's hard on my body to drive which is why my dad had given my the car. Driving stick was killing my back, especially since my slave cylinder leaks and so sometimes the clutch goes out. So the dogs weren't even in a car for the better part of 3 months. From there, it has taken a ton of time to get the truck going. I owed my mechanic $600 for fixing the truck a 2 years earlier so I had to pay that off. Luckily, he knew what was happening and helped me anyway. Then, the truck wouldn't even start and all the hoses were cracked and wouldn't pass smog. Mom and I tag teamed with her car for the entire water polo season in the fall. It was crazy and ridiculous and time consuming and hard on both of us. My other lawsuit was finally settled in October which gave me enough to finally get the truck going but it's been on and off again and now it's February. I still need a new tire and for it to pass smog.
What does all this have to do with the dogs? Well, for awhile they were riding with me short distances every day. I found that that helped Redley not to go far. I also found that if I can get him to poop before we leave then he does better. Once we get to stop number 1 and I can walk him a bit and go potty, he settles down. Usually by the time we head back, he's much better. But with the crazy car schedule and problems, i have not had a chance to really work with him daily on it. Almost 3 weeks ago, the slave cylinder completely blew up and I've been without a vehicle again and started work this week. To replace it and the clutch is around $1000 if you're lucky. Usually it's more like $1500. I must have good karma on my side and mine did it for $750 which made it so I could get a rental car for work this week while he fixed it. Which he did in 3 days. Totally amazing. My mechanic is such an awesome guy. He said the slave cylinder had been leaking pretty badly for longer than we thought. There was like a whole cup of fluid in there just sitting which is really bad. We knew in 2011 it was leaking so it's been that way for probably 5 years!!!
Anyway, since before the accident money has been super tight. Once the accident happened it was even worse. I couldn't start my new business and I couldn't make extra money on the side like normal. I usually do swim and surf lessons on the side for extra cash. Can't do that without a car. Unemployment only pays a portion and it's certainly not enough to get a car AND pay bills. Going to the vet? pretty much impossible. Plus, had covered california not happened, I would probably be homeless because my medicine would be impossible to pay for. Redley has 2 bad knees, car anxiety, and a spot on his eye that wasn't there until this last year. My thought was something hit him in the eye during the accident. But I can't prove it. It's gotten a little bigger recently which worries me, and although it doesn't seem to bother him at all, I would like to get it checked ASAP. Obviously it's possible that it's a tumor but I don't think so and I REALLY REALLY hope not. But again, no way do I have the money for that. I haven't even paid off the work on the truck and I stil need to get a new tire and get it to pass smog like, YESTERDAY!!
Mom was telling me there are groups that will help pay vet bills for people who want to take care of their pets and do the right thing. My family has been through so much with animals it's kind of insane. Our friends always say they want to be a pet in our family because they have the best lives. Makes me feel good to hear that yet we always seem to go through some of the most awful hardships too. I'm hoping I can figure out how to get life back on track and get Redley and Teeny's health back right along with it. Teeny recently had a huge abcess in his mouth that we went through 2 rounds of antibiotics with and found that he has a high protein count in his kidneys so had to put him on meds for that. If he doesn't get a lower protein count after a month then we can't do dental surgery to fix his teeth and will have to work on it with other measures. The vet said he will be fine either way though. Thank goodness.
Oh, did I mention we have a family of skunks living under the house?
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