Parental Decisions...

When Adam and I decided to add another member to our family I knew that hard decisions would present themselves from time to time. 

We knew that Nala's separation anxiety was bad but at what point do step in and take action. Ever since Nala joined our family she has been left home alone for hours and overtime her anxiety has gotten so severe. Nala is a very stubborn and very bright doggy. She has gotten through every contraption we have ever bought/built for her. She has even injured her self trying to get to where ever she thinks we are. If you have been following our journey you will know that she cut her paws on some metal platting that we had put up in the kennel because she had gotten out of the chain link fence. 

It was at that point where I couldn't do it anymore. When she once again broke through something I just lost it. I was so upset with the fact that she was hurting. I did not know how to figure out what was causing her so much anxiety. I held her and cried. I hate the fact that I am almost fully responsible for her acting this way. I can not ask her what's wrong and I can't understand why she is doing this to herself. Thinking of how panicked she gets when we are not there and I am not around to comfort her just breaks my heart. I could not bare the thought of something happening to her because of her being so upset. I felt such guilt for not being able to do anything for her. We talked and decided to take her to the vet. I told the vet about what she was doing and how she was acting. I told her that I have tried everything and nothing works. She is so determined that no matter what distraction she has it is never enough. I told her that I wanted to try the medicine and see if it works. They drew Nala's blood to see if she was safe to be on it and she was so we started it that night and tomorrow will be one month. The vet told me it would take 30 days to build up in her system and to not get discouraged if I didn't notice a difference right away. I haven't really noticed any difference she still does whatever it takes to get to where she thinks she can find us..including this.

I am planning on taking her back to the vet soon and maybe have her increase the dose. The vet did tell me that it can make some dogs more anxious and I don't feel like it is making her worse since I know she would climb over the fence whether she was on Prozac or not. I just wish she could tell me what she needs and what would make her feel better. 

I have had people tell me to get rid her and Jett since they cause so much drama but I would never just abandon them to someone else just because the road gets rough. The thought of that just makes my stomach turn inside out. Although being a parent to a dog is not easy I would not trade it for the world. They are my world so to get rid of them would be like throwing a piece of myself away. Making decisions that are going to be best for her is not always easy and sometimes the answers are not what I want but I always try and make decisions that will benefit all of us. 

We always knew we wanted two dogs so they would always have each other. Jett joined our family in 2011 and he has definitely made Nala happier!! 

They have the sweetest bond, always there for each other. In the back of our minds we were hoping that giving her a brother she would be too busy playing with him that her anxiety would lessen. I am sad to say that although they are so cute together and love each other more than I probably comprehend it hasn't really helped. I hope that we can increase her dose so that she can get the relief she needs!! I love my Na