Perryville

October 6

Deb and I took the kids to the civil war reenactment at the Perryville Battlefield in Perryville. It was the 150th anniversary of the battle this year so there were lots of people there and it was pretty impressive. We didn't watch the entire battle but enjoyed what we did see of it. Of course the Confederates won this battle (we are in the south after all) but we still keep telling the boys that the soldiers in blue are the good guys :)

Eli and Grandma.

Sarah and Mommy.

Every time the guns went off the boys would fall over "dead." It was pretty funny.

Eating lunch with some Union soldiers.

Our day got very interesting on our way home. I was driving down a country road when I spotted a dog hobbling down the road towards us. He appeared injured so I of course had to pull over. He jumped right into the car and made himself comfortable. Deb and I just laughed because we had no idea what the heck we were going to do with this wet, muddy dog. Well about 1/2 mile down the road I spotted an old man and another guy fishing in a pond. I figured maybe they were his owners since the dog was wet. I got out of the car and yelled down and asked if they lost their dog. The old man replied, "Was he heading down the road that way?" Yes. "Yeah he's mine. But I don't want him. Do you want him?" What!? I'm really confused now. I try to clarify, "So this is your dog and you don't want him? He has a broken leg!" "No that's just the way he walks," claims the old man. He continues to say he doesn't want him and can't keep him in his barn and is afraid he's going to get hit by a car. I don't know what to do at this point so I say we'll take him. I ask his name and the old man says, "Ellie Mae or Sadie. You can just call him Sadie." Now I'm even more confused! This dog is very much a boy! Once the old man realized we were taking him he just grinned and hollered, "Bye, Sadie!" while enthusiastically waving goodbye.

I took him to the vet first thing Monday morning and they did an xray on his front leg. He has bad arthritis in his elbow. They are guessing he was injured and it didn't heal properly which resulted in bone spurs on either side of his elbow. He can't bend it at all. They gave him pain medication which seems to help him get around better. He is living with Pat and Deb because after several days at our house he started getting aggressive towards Ruby whenever food was around. Other than that he is the nicest dog. He is always happy to see you and super patient with the kids. I even walked in once to find Sarah sitting on top of him and he just laid there happy as can be. We appropriately named him Perry since we found him in Perryville (and because we are closet Phineas and Ferb fans!). He even has a Perry the Platypus dog tag on his collar.