I had the most remarkable experience this weekend. Please indulge me with a little background. My husband and I have been in the construction industry all of our lives. His last job was a Manager of Construction for a large telecom company. In earlier years he was a project manager, superintendent, foreman and initialy a journeyman carpenter. I am still a construction project manager. Over the years we did many projects together. Our last was the cabin at our hunting ranch, before he was diagnosed with cancer. My dad was a general contractor and did a lot of work for the Army in WWII on Fort Sam Houston. In the late forties they had thousands of wooden quanset huts they were trying to get rid of. He brought one here to the lake house. It was a playhouse for me, we turned it into a bedroom for our teenaged son and eventually it became a tool shed. It's a sad little building now, the roofing had blown off of it, door falling off etc. We discussed tearing it down, but Kim didn't have the strength and I couldn't do anything without making him feel worse. So it just sat there. About three weeks ago I decided to restore it. I have the tools (nail guns etc.) and the know-how from all of those projects we did together, and my Bachelor's degree was in Architecture although I never practiced. But I'm 60 years old and could never do as well as Kim. But Saturday I decided to get started. I went and bought my initial materials. My first priority was the roof, so I could stop the water from leaking in. All afternoon I could hear Kim's voice in my head. I couldn't find my 12 ounce hammer and I could hear "If you put it back where you got it every time, you wouldn't have to look for it". I was choking up on the hammer handle and I heard "If you're not going to use the whole handle, I'll cut it off for you".....and just silly stuff like that. My biggest problem is that I have wanted so badly to feel him around me. I sleep on his pillows, wear his shirts, put his toothpick in my mouth...everything I could think of, but nothing worked. My grief was crushing me. So Saturday night I fell into bed and I dreamed about him for the first time. We were at a dinner party and I looked at him and said "But Honey, you can't be here because you're dead". And he said, "But I am here". Then two men came up to me and said they were doctors and they had cured him. Then he disappeared from the dream, but I knew it was alright because he would be back. When I woke up Sunday morning I felt as though a thousand pound weight had been lifted from my chest. I was happy for the first time in months. I was raised very Catholic (Grade School, High School, College). My standing joke now is that my religious beliefs run from A to Z, Agnosticism to Zen. I believe in everything just in case one of them is right. I told God (if there is a God) "If you're going to rip the heart out of my chest, the least you could do is send me some salve or something. You're killing me here". Maybe the dream was my answer. Maybe my mind made it up because I needed it so badly. But I choose to believe that it was Kim, telling me that he is here with me. I still grieve. I miss him terribly and still cry every day. I have a long, painful road ahead of me. But that crushing weight is gone. I wish that for all of you. Anniebear

Oh, I just love it! Ha ha ha - good for Grandma! A "young soul" in an older body! May God bless and protect your Marine son - and if he is looking for other "unsatisfactory" places to rescue . . . :-) Blessings & Joy, this day, and everyday!

1) Part of the country I live in: Florida 2) One quirky/odd/interesting/funny thing about where I live: People leave five open car lengths between them and going through a green light. Two cars get through. Everyone shops out of the middle of the isle. Very few people are from here. We can’t wait until the vacationers leave so we can get into our locals. 3) Two or three quirky things you do NOT know about me: What’s not quirky about me? I don’t like touching door handles going into business, restaurants ect. If I have to I use the up side of my left hand. I do not like it if someone wants to taste my drink. All I can think of is if they flossed or not or what they may have had in their mouth that is now floating around in my drink. I think men who spit in public should need a public stoning. 4) Any weird or funny phobia? No real phobias but I don’t particularly like spiders. 5) Two interesting/funny/ quirky things about my family: Everything my husband is good at I am not. Everything I am good at husband is not. It’s easy to figure out who gets what job during remodels. My husband smells and sniffs everything he puts on. I have two dogs a Rottweiler and Maltese. The Rottweiler thinks he’s a Maltese and the Maltese thinks she is a Rottweiler. All the women in my family are extremely strong willed. 6) Item and age of the oldest piece of clothing I still wear: Nothing I can think of except I collect vintage pins. My DH/SO/Family HATES this item that I love and refuse to get rid of: In my quest for an all-cotton, knee length sleeveless nightgown I couldn’t find exactly what I wanted so bought a Ralph Lauren loud floral print gown. I look like a clown in it but it’s cozy. I can’t recall exactly what he said but it wasn’t nice. He hates my stored paint and wants me to use the same color in every room to cut down of cans in the garage. He hates the tufted headboard I got at a garage sale. 8)Favorite thing to do when I have an hour or so free at home and no one around to bother me and no work. Well I haven’t had time due to renovations but in a few months I’ll have my very own room to sit and paint in. 9) If I could somehow have another career with, miraculously, the college or training already behind me, I would: I’m not sure I could pick one. There is so much to know and learn about with so many things. I enjoy anything creative. 10) If I could live anywhere in the world for 3 months among the locals (other than the country I currently live in now) I would love to live: I love Italy and south west England but am always glad to get back to America. 11) One last quirky thing about me: I am more of a man’s girl than a girl’s girl. But, I am better at being a girl’s girl now that I am older and have had more time to figure out the complexities of women… even though I am one. I still don’t get vagueness. I’m a visual learner.

Did your vet not suggest you seek further help?? It's apparent he's not capable of treating the problem so call him and ask for a referral to a neurologist. If you don't have one in your area, find the nearest veterinary university and take him there. Your dog could have had back pain a year ago when he started biting. I would not be concerned about the biting but definitely worried about his mobility. The longer you wait to have the problem taken care of the less his chance of recovery. As mwoods said, he's probably in a lot of pain. Start making phone calls tomorrow until you can find a specialist and get him in ASAP. Try not to move him unless absolutely necessary and if he'll use it, fix up an area near his bed with some pee pads so he won't have to be taken outside.