Staying thin isn't always a good thing

When 2015 started I saw a lot of posts about goals and new year resolutions. Tori self posted a particularly moving entry about her theme for the year, which got me thinking that a theme is something much easier to keep on track. So my theme for this year is HEALING. I have plenty of things that need healing, especially with my two girls. Sam has mental healing to do, and Rosey has physical healing. My goal is that 2015 will help us heal and be stronger than 2014.

I've been on a trek for the past year and a half to try and figure out why Rosey can't gain weight.

When I explain to agility folks that I'm frustrated confused as to why she is so thin, they feel her ribs and tell me she's at an ideal weight for agility. I know this, and I'm very happy that she's not trying to lug around any extra weight as she's jumping and having fun in the agility ring. The problem is, her weight is independent to what she's eating and what type of exercise she's doing.

I've increased her food to almost double the recommended calories and she's been on crate rest for the past month (more on that later, still trying to figure out where I stand on that). I've managed to get her to 60.2 lbs; she was 58 lbs in December and had a high of 62 lbs in January. Her ideal weight (granted, it's mostly muscle) is 65 lbs.

Just heard back from the Vet and she's clear of internal parasites, blood work (complete panel) is great, her liver levels are ideal, her thyroid perfect, and only a slight increase in creatine. I've been doing acupuncture with her to see if it will help, but so far no major changes. The acupuncture has helped with her skin and overall health (something relatively uncategorizable by western medicine), but in eastern medicine she has a clear deficiency in her spleen. Hopefully with some time and more treatments, it will continue to improve and maybe even show that she can gain weight?

The "elephant in the room" with Rosey is that she has a heart murmur that so far has been asymptomatic. It is always at the back of my mind and is something I know I can't "fix". Its a scary thing that is out of my control and I keep finding myself wanting to push it away like it isn't there anymore. It's tough having her grow older!

I'm very grateful for having my two girls, and want to keep them both in my life as long as they are able. I want to strive to help both of them heal.