Thanks pals! (and a funny mom story)

Woof! Thanks to all my pals for my barkday presents! I have the bestest pup pals!!!

I need to get mom to fix my Dogster info cause my barkday is actually May 21. That's ok cause I got to pawty for another day! We didn't pawty too much though. We only had a short walk cause it was sprinkling. I got Wellness Chicken Stew for breakfast and Merrick Venison Stew for dinner. We ate lots of treats like chicken jerky and beef jerky (good brands like Zukes cause only the best fur us! And frozen pizza for mom, BOL!). Mom even baked biscuits and used her schnauzer and bone-shaped cookie cutters. We didn't eat but a bite of those cause we were full and napping! Yah, yah, we're a house full of seniors, BOL! (It's funny cause it's true! Me and Shakey are 10 and doggy roomate Bela is 10 or 11.)

Which all reminds me of a conversation I overheard a few weeks ago. Mom and human roommate had some friends over, and one of them had a human baby named Sophie. Mom was rocking Sophie in her carrier thingy (and even making goo-goo eyes, but mom'll deny it, BOL), and she remarked how she didn't feel any maternal instinct doing that. Moms' friends all LOLed! They said you have lots of maternal instinct, look at how you treat your dogs! BOL! Mom does call us her furkids and spoil us and she does carry me like a baby up and down the stairs. Uh oh mom, BOL!

I'm a runway model, BOL! (and another v-e-t visit)

Ok, I'm not really a runway model, altho I am photogenic and look pretty in anything! Woof! Mom says I've been "skin and bones" these past few weeks, which in human terms means I could be a runway model, right?!? BOL! Mom's been trying to fatten me up with extra treats, but it hasn't been working. So yet again she took me to the *sigh*.. v-e-t.

This vet is a new vet in our new city, but it's the same office our howlistic vet works out of. They weighed me, and I've lost .8 lbs since I was there 6 weeks ago. I'm a tiny 10 pounder (who ever heard of a 10lb mastiff?!? I think they left off a "0"!), so the vet said that much weight on a "tiny" (BOL!) dog like me isn't good.

So the vet checked me out, and he agreed with the howlistic vet that the lymph nodes on my hind legs are a little swollen. But none of my other lymph notes are swollen, so the vet said the hind leg swelling wasn't necessarily a sign of *whispers* lymphoma. He told mom dogs he's seen with that are really ill, and I haven't been *knock paw on wood*.

Anypaw! My appetite is fine and there's no change in the amount of water I drink, and I don't have any extra urka gurkas or *privacy please* problems. So that meant they did some tests. *sigh* I don't have parasites (I get heartguard the 1st of each month, duh!) or lyme disease.

They also tested my pee (mom thanked dog that she didn't have to get that sample!). I don't have glucose in my urine, so no diabetes. But the vet said there was a little blood in the sample, which is a non-specific sign of inflammation. There was also an "intermediate" level of struvite crystals, which could mean bladder or kidney stones (shout out to Fizzy, BOL!), but the vet said some in the urine is normal. The vet had mentioned to mom at the appointment that I might have a problem with malabsorption, and protein would show up in my urine, but my test results showed my microalbu..er.. protein levels were normal. So there wasn't anything "glaring" in my urinalysis at least. (Mom got scared when the vet said he'd seen similar signs in dogs who ended up having *whispers* bladder tumors. But I'm not showing any other signs of that, so *knock paw on wood*.)

So fur now, the vet said to give me as much food and treats as I want to see if I can put on weight. Canned yummy goodness all week, arooo! Vet also told mom to keep an eye on my plumbing, like I have a flushing mechanism or something, BOL. He wants me back in a week to check my weight and repeat my bloodwork.

Oh, one of mom's friends on the book of faces suggested feeding me bacon to fatten me up, wouldn't that be yummy!! But mom said no way cause it's not good for me. Geez!

I need more treats!

Seriously, I do! Mom was petting me and said she could feel my hipbones and that I needed to gain some weight. I don't think too many pups ever hear that! I was only 10.8 pounds when I was weighed a couple weeks ago, and I should be 11 or 12 pounds. What can I bark, I'm not very food motivated. I'm only motivated for certain treats, like Charlee Bears (only 3 calories per treat, so I need LOTS! BOL!) and peanut butter and ok, most other treats. Pawsome, mom just put a handful of Charlee Bears in front of me. Shakey and Bela only got two, and I got a bunch. I need to gain weight, lucky me! Woof!

No howlistic treatment for my swell self

But I'm on bed rest with good drugs, BOL! Seriously though, the nice howlistic vet pushed and pulled on my leg, and poked and prodded at my back and hind quarters. She couldn't find anything wrong by doing that, altho she felt swelling below my knee. So she did xrays and nothing stood out, which was good cause that means she didn't see tumors or breaks or anything (whew! *knocks paw on wood*!). Her well-educated guess was that I hurt or sprained my cruciate ligament cause lots of little (little?!?!) pups like me do that a lot. And cause I had some swelling. So she gave me pain meds with anti-inflammatories and told mom I should have lots of bed rest. She told mom to "baby me," which mom is pawsome at! And of course which I like, except for those times when I want to assert my independence.

The howlistic vet also did senior bloodwork on me cause apparently I'm a senior (I don't look a day over 5, geez!). All my bloodwork came back good, woof!

I also made a new friend with a Great Dane who was waiting in the lobby with her dad. It's cause we're both the same size, BOL!

My turn for the howlistic vet and other troubles

Mom and I are taking a short road trip tomorrow so I can see the howlistic vet and doggy chiropractor. Shakey's seen her before and says she's nice and helpful. I've been having what mom calls "hind quarter weakness", meaning I walk ok but I can't get my lazy butt out of bed, BOL. Seriously tho, it's been kinda hard for me to stand up after I've been laying down for a while. Mom helps me up. When I stand I'm ok, and once I start walking I'm ok too. Except there's been times this week when I won't put weight on one of my legs. So mom's gonna see if I need to be chiropracted like Shakey has been.

Between you and me, pups, I don't like these hardwood floors. I slip and sometimes lose my footing and sprawl on the floor. Mom thinks that might be what's causing my back issues. She says she's gonna buy more rugs. I don't like the stairs to the second floor either, but mom carries me up and down so that's ok.

Me and Shakes have also had tummy troubles the past few days. I had urka gurkas a couple times, and Shakey sometimes won't eat and he'll be kinda lazy. Mom can tell we're having tummy troubles so she's been boiling chicken to mix with our kibble. She doesn't know what could be causing our tummy troubles. Could be weather, or our new surroundings, or fleas and flea meds. We dunno. :(

Oh yah, we also had a few fleas on us earlier this week. :( Mom put Advantage on me and Shakey. That's the only med that works on me and doesn't make me sick (or maybe it has been? I dunno), but mom saw a couple more fleas on me yesterday. I guess a dog friendly city means fleas, which none of us like at all! And we can't spray anything in the grassy areas cause it's city property and lots of people walk their dogs there and stuff.

Yah, mom's been worried about me and Shakey lately.

This new city life does have its perks. The human roommate is home sometimes during the day and lets me sit in his lap and gives me lots of pets. And we do go on lots of walks, and there's always dogs and espawcially people to bark at. Mom says she's gonna find the dog parks and we're gonna visit them on a regular basis, so hurry up with that mom!

Cone of Shame is not cool

When we were home for the howlidays, mom dropped me off at our vet's for a grooming. Mister Bob is really good with us and we've been going to him for years. I was having none of it though, so he didn't groom me. The vet checked me out though cause one of my wounds was looking icky. She cleaned it up and gave mom more meds and is making me wear the dreaded cone of shame until the biggest wound closes up. Merry Christmas to me, geez! BOL Mom did stick bows on the CoS and took pics, but the bows didn't stick well. Hee hee. We stopped at the vet's on the way home for a follow up visit and the vet said my wounds are looking much better. Thanks again for everypup's PoP and thoughts these past few weeks!

Diary Pick and Updates

Woof! Thanks Dogster for choosing me as a diary pick today! Hi to my new pals!

My pal Zoe told mom she needed to update my diary to let everypup know how I'm doing. Mom hasn't had too much time this week cause she started a new job, tried to get caught up on howliday shopping (she still had to get us pawresents!), and kinda tried to unpack and settle in to the new place. She's been walking me and Shakey separately for the most part cause I hadn't been able to go on long walks until the last few days (mom wouldn't let me). Mom's also been busy taking really good care of me. She's been hand feeding me and cleaning up my wounds and carrying me up the stairs to snuggle with her every night. Not that she needs to carry me up the stairs cause I can do it by myself now, geez! I've been pretty much back to my spunky, independent self over the last few days. I want to go on longer walks, except mom won't let me, and it's cold and mom won't put a sweater on me cause of my wounds. Mom makes me wear the cone of shame when she leaves the house so I won't bother my wounds. I can't wait to never, ever have to wear that again. Sweaters will be ok though cause it's cold. (Which means time for Santa Paws!)

I'm still getting along with Shakespeare and my doggie roommate Bela. Bela is a totally submissive pit bull mix and she knows I rule to house, so she's good, BOL. I have mom's roommate, Bela's pawrent, wrapped around my cute little paws too. Woof! Of course mom's got me literally eating out of the palm of her hand, BOL.

As fur the doggy that attacked me and mom, he's been doing a 10 day quarantine at animal control. His owner has never come by to apologize to me or mom or reimburse mom for my vet bills. Mom's talking to a lawyer now.

Thanks so much fur all the PoP and thoughts and prayers - we love you all, woof!

Sat. morning update

Lacey ate some wet food last night when I put it her mouth. Yay! She slept on the couch all night last night, and I slept on a papasan cushion next to her. She showed spunk this morning when she wanted to jump off the couch (I did not let her). She walked herself to the front door, walked down the stairs, and walked around the grassy area and peed. Then she hopped up the stairs She also ate a little wet food that I put in her mouth and even licked a few small bites off my hand. She is now resting in a big doggy bed. :)

Lacey is home!!

My baby girl is home and resting comfortably in my lap. Well as comfortable as she can be with bruises and a drain in her side, but she's on pain meds and with me. *sniffs*

Lacey needs PoP

Lacey is ok *knock on wood*, howver, could you please send her lots of PoP and prayers? She's staying overnight at the emergency vet's because she was attacked by a neighborhood german shepard who was running loose. She has wounds and bruises, and a drain, and had morphine and an antibiotic shot, and the vets say she'll be ok *knock on wood*.. OMG, to her her howling in pain was the worst feeling ever and I can't stop thinking about it.

My roommate and the neighbors did call animal control, and we've been talking to them, and we are planning to file a vicious dog report. (The dog also bit me - didn't break the skin.) The german shepard lives in a fenced in area behind us, with another shepard or two, and no one lives there, and the dogs are guard dogs, and got loose, and I can hear the owner hammering the fence as I type.

I was walking Shakespeare and Lacey when it happened, and my mind went blank and I screamed hHelp and a guy who was standing on the street corner came over and hit the shepard with a bag of something, and I hit the shepard on the nose and tried to pry its jaws off Lacey. She was also trying to fight back. I'm still shaking.. but Lacey is at the e-vets... under observation...