Update on Ellie

I've had a lot of people asking me how our little pup is doing. 

Well I am grateful to say that through the kind people over at CavalierTalk.com we were able to learn that Ellie has a mild case of Curly Coat Syndrome.

 I know there isn't a lot of information out there about this syndrome since it is so rare. So for those of you who have come across my blog I'll do my best to help. I know I have a lot of international followers who have many questions. 

 Here are some of her symptoms:

-Rough hair along her spine (she is soft everywhere else)

-Pigment that developed on the center of both her eyes

-The whites of her eyes were cloudy and dark

-Brittle nails and dry/calloused pads

-Itchy dry skin

Unfortunately, no vet we went to had any information for us. We found an ophthalmologist in Boise who wanted to charge us $100 just to come in and talk with her. Since I am a Google queen I was able to find some helpful/inexpensive remedies and got the approval from our local vet here in Twin Falls. 

For her Rough hair we feed her one Melatonin 3mg a day. She loves it because we cover it in peanut butter. Ellie is only 10 lbs right now and our vet actually recommended we give her 2 but we stick with 1. My sweet Mother-in-Law noticed she acted different on 2 when she was puppy sitting. 

For her eyes we use Refresh Liquigel eye drops and try to administer those as often as we can remember. Our vet prescribed Ellie Cyclosporin 1% and she gets one drop per eye every night. When we are gone for long periods of time we put Genteal in each eye. Since we have been doing this the whites in her eyes have brightened and the pigment has been slowly diminishing. Hooray!

For her Pads we put on Fura-Zone. It is sort of like Neosporin for animals. It's been working well when Ellie doesn't lick it off! We bought some baby socks to cover each foot and she hates us when we put them on.

For her Itchy skin we feed her a fish oil capsule every once in awhile. She loves these and loves oil in general. We also purchased Yumega Plus online from a UK company. 

Anyway, I hope this helps some of you who may be going through this same situation. I found all of my information through people sharing their stories on the internet so it is important that I give back and share ours.

Ellie is doing tremendous and we are grateful to know she will be and is a healthy puppy:)

If you want any further information go to www.cavaliertalk.com 

Until next time.... 

The Lloyd's

The Yard Project

I have meant to post this for months now. I am lame. So let's get started....
A few of our friends and family have seen the house since we finished our yard project. But here is an update for those who haven't. 
Derek and I moved into this house in February. The yard had been covered in snow and everything was mostly dead. So we had no idea what we were in for!

Here is a before picture:

Once spring came around we realized that every single one of our rose bushes was dead and wild looking. 

We decided they had to go! So we had Derek's parents come over and help us pull out these suckers. We got a little shovel happy and decided to dig out all of the ugly.

 Here it is cleaned out.

Then we took a shopping trip to the local gardening center.

I forgot to mention that the area near the cement was filled with rocks. It was a huge project cleaning that out. We wanted to use bark instead because we liked that look WAY better!

Here is our finished front yard:

 We also painted our front door white. The purple had to go! I think next year we will plant more flowers. Our yard project ended up being more expensive than we had planned. Plus, the flowers we chose died very quickly because they were getting too much sun exposure. Owning a house is hard work!

I am going to try and post some updated pictures of the inside of our house soon. So stay tuned:)

Until next time... The Lloyd's

Happy Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary to my best friend! 

This year has flown by. I can't believe that Derek and I got married a year ago. September 10th, 2011 Derek and I were sealed for time and all eternity. The day was perfect besides a few hiccups like dodging a rain storm and Derek forgetting his temple recommend but we couldn't have asked for a more beautiful wedding day!

Here is to many many more anniversaries.

 I love you Derek. You are the most amazing man I have ever met. You inspire me each and every day to be a better person. I am lucky to be able to call myself your wife.

Until next time.....Mrs. Lloyd

P.S. Our amazing pictures were done by Mikki Platt Photography. She is the absolute best!