Welcome Slinkey, You couldn't have come to a better place to hang out. It would be hard to find a more caring and dish crazy bunch than everyone here. We love to see pictures of your great finds or tablesettings. Thanks everyone for your welcome home greetings. Cat scan today showed the pockets of infection have shrunk so we know the antibiotics are working. Now I will say goodby so I can catch up with everyone else's posts. Betty

Great question. I think you may be confused on some things, so I am going to lay out some detailed info. First some background. Adding a gas furnace sounds like a given. Be sure to have your ductwork evaluated and make any changes to size or do any sealing of any leaky ducts. That is "step one" and with a minimal investment will get you heat in colder months, and also the possibility of "fan only" mode in warmer months to at least assist in circulating the air. This would be your most affordable option right now. The furnace would be in the basement. With your preferences for having the system on/off per your schedule, please add a programable thermostat. If you are into tech, look at the ecobee wi fi stat that you can operate from your phone or any web connection. This gives not only the ability to use your phone as a remote control for your system (why get out of bed if you get chilly in the middle of the night...just grab your phone and adjust), you can also be on your way home and adjust the temperature to be as you want it when you arrive home. If you would never use these features, then a standard programmable stat would allow a 7 day schedule to have the pre-set temperatures you wish to be programmed to occur automatically. Now, to add cooling to the home is a second step. You very well could do step one first, and do step 2 later if budget dictates this. To add cooling to an older home such as yours, a couple of things will need to be addressed. First, is your ductwork set up for enough return air for cooling? If not, then things like undercutting the bottom of the doors by 1/2 to and inch can be done to increase air circulation. If your current heat system is forced air then your home is most likely already configured properly for adding air conditioning. The second and more expensive question is do you have enough electrical power available for running AC? Depending on your electrical system, and how much renovations have been done on your home, you may need to upgrade your panel. You should have this evaluated if you are doing renovations, even if you decide to add the AC later, or want to be able to add it later. This would be a good selling feature even if you yourself don't ever add the AC. Then the third consideration on adding cooling is should you do straight AC for the outdoor unit, or an outdoor unit that is a heat pump. A standard direct expansion air to air heat pump is no different than straight AC in how it cools. (I am not discussing ground source heat pump systems, only basic DX, or direct expansion systems that use refrigerant. A ground source system would cost 3-4 times as much as a DX system, and is very extensive requiring wells or a water loop in a pond or well.) Based on cost of the equipment alone, a heat pump will be only slightly more costly than AC-- likely around $800 more would be a good estimate. What is the difference? An AC only condensing unit with the compressor is the outdoor part of the system. It will be hooked up via pressurized"freon" lines (although it is now called R410A refrigerant, not technically freon which is also known as R-22) to a evaporator coil that sits on top of the furnace in your basement. The fan from your furnace blows air from your home across the evaporator coil with the cold freon circulating in its tubes, and the heat from your home warms the freon, the freon circulates back outside in its piping system (the line set), and the fan out side blow the heat into the outside atmosphere. Then the compressor starts the process over. This is basically how AC works. So to add in AC you will need to add a coil on the furnace, the line sets between the indoor furnace and coil and the outdoor unit, and add the outdoor condensing unit. A heat pump is basically a AC condensing unit that has a reversing valve to switch the direction of the refrigerant flow. In cooling mode, it cools exactly the same way as the AC system. When the system is operating in HP mode, that is for heating the home. It is actually warming the refrigerant from the heat in the outside air and then the refrigerant flows to your home, and the coil and fan on the furnace are transferring the heat into your home's inside atmosphere. Remember the refrigerant is compressed, so it is pressurized and really cold, so 45 degree outside air really offers a good amount of heat to be transferred to the system. The advantage of a HP is that the amount of heat you get out for the amount of KW used is efficient. So that is the "big deal" But this is only important if your electric rates are very low compared to your natural gas rates, OR if you cannot do a gas furnace and your only other heat option would be electric heat. If you compare HP energy use to other all electric heat -either electric baseboard heat, or a heat strip in an air handler (sometimes called an electric furnace), then the HP may be the better buy. If you will primarily heat with natural gas, and have a mild climate (as you do), then it will most likely not be the best use of your money. Additionally, a mechanically simper AC only system would be preferred over the more complex piping and valves on a HP would require. So, I suggest checking out the duct work and adding in gas furnace. Get a good programmable stat. At the time of your remodel add in the electric to add in AC. Put in the AC if you would use it. Probably not worth the extra money to get the heat pump. Hope this has helped you with this. Here is a link that might be useful: Ecobee Home Model Smart SI

I adopted a Shepard/Hound at four months old. She was traumatized by her experiences before I came along at this early age. Anxiety takes many forms, you should research it on Google to educate yourself. It can be a very difficult, frustrating experience, as you and your dog are a testament to. I agree with most of what was already posted. I do think it very important that you come up with a battle plan to slowly, patiently deal with this, and stick with it, assuming it is working. If the plan is not working, be prepared to alter it until positive results start to show. This theory will give you a way to deal with this, document what is going on, and build on success. At this stage of the game, you have what I would term a serious situation, one that requires a serious way of dealing with it. This means you need to take the upper hand with this. For some reason, your vet is not getting what is going on here. This also needs to be addressed. If you have told him/her the full story, then you have an incompetent vet, and need to find another one. If you have not fully explained what is going on, similar to what you posted here, you need to call the vet today, and do this. Demand that you get something to help your dog, today. If nothing comes of this, start looking for another vet. If you do not take this approach, your dog could injure himself. Medication in the form of a sedative for short term relief, and Doxipin for long term relief MAY be in order. You simply must do something to get things under control, and this seems the most immediate way to go. A "competent" (key word here), vet should be able to bring temporary immediate relief, the long term situation may take someone who knows the dogs wiring, along with medication use. You have a real mess on your hands that is completely out of control. You need to take a patience pill (even if you have tons of it) and consider how you got where you and your dog are, and take serious steps to correct it. I spent about 8 months giving my dog medication for anxiety (not separation). My experience taught me that it can have a long lasting effect on other behaviors, some that I am still dealing with over two years later. Good luck! SG

That was some day you had, Jamie and I think you are VERY brave for doing this so soon. I hope tomorrow's meeting with the trooper will be helpful and not as difficult. A huge hug to you!!