The New House

Dear Daddy,

I love the new house that you bought for me. I have to say that I am so excited to see that the house comes equipped with a walk-up buffet! Between all of the bunnies, deer, and birds I may never eat another piece of kibble again. In fact, I claim dibs on the two deer that I am watching walk in our yard right now. I am watching them from the dining room window but for some reason they won't walk close enough to the window for me to pounce them and when I tried to call them over, they ran! I need you need to call someone to have them fix the buffet so it can be accessible from the house.

Your loving Dog-ter,
Hoppers

Tag!!

We are playing a game of tag!

Here are the rules:

Each player starts with seven random facts about themselves. Dogs who are tagged, need to post in their Diary the rules & their 7 pawsome facts. Then choose 7 dogs to tag and list their names. Don’t forget to bark them a pmail that they have been tagged and to read your Diary, or, send them a fun Rosette announcing they've been Tagged!

Here are 7 fun facts about me!!

1. I love my daddy more than my mommy but I behave WAY better for her than for him
2. I can kiss my dad's face for HOURS
3. Before moving in with my furever family, I spent a whole year in a kennel!
4. I don't cruise the floors very much
5. I knocked the ham from Easter dinner off the counter...
6. I have a restricted diet
7. Daddy says I sleep like a bear.

Pass on the fun...

I choose:

Bugoy
Jax
Shefarra
Lola
Harry
Goldie Socks
Kimberly Cynthia

Feelin' Better

Well, I'm feeling a little better now! Mommy said something about me being up to my old shennanigans but, I really don't understand what she meant by that. All I know is that I love my new food. Dad told me it is prescription but again, I have no clue what that means! Come to think of it, mom and dad have used a whole bunch of words I don't know recently like pancreas, congestion, surgery, condition, and other words. I learned what "no more stitches" meant pretty fast though! Well, what I do know is since I have started eating my new food, I have been feeling better than ever! I surprize everyone by how much I want to play with toys now that my tummy isn't hurting so much. I also chase my sister and play with her a lot more. We had a great game where I chase her around the living room til she hides under the blue couch, then we see how long we can bark at each other before someone tells us to knock it off! Oh, the best of the great news is mommy FINALLY found treats I can have! They are roasted chicken treats and I luff them so very much!

Mommy says something is still wrong with me but noone knows what. My tummy area still hurts if you poke at it... My vet who loves me so VERY much says I'm famous and people all across the country are talking to her about me. Apperantly it will lead her to the reason I'm sick. Well, in anycase I am happy and home. Thank you all for the rosettes and good thoughts, they did SO much good for all of us!

Follow up appt./Test results

Hopscotch had her follow up visit to make sure everything is healing well from her surgery. I'm happy to say it is. She doesn't even need to wear her E-collar when we aren't in the room anymore.

Hop's regular vet was doing a surgery so we had to see the other vet... I don't care for her much. She told me that Hop looked well and seemed to be doing fine til I told her that she threw up again this morining, wouldn't eat, and the stuff coming outta her could peel the paint off a car. So, she gave me another med to give my Hop.

The vet told me that Hop's test results were back and that it was really the best thing we could hope for. Hopper is cancer-free *hurray*. Hop doesn't have pancretitis. The vet told me Hop has a congested pancrease. Well, that is a symptom but she insisted that was what Hop was diagnosed with...

I called and spoke to my regular vet after she was out of the days worth of surgery.

Hopscotch's pancreas is congested and it IS just a symptom of something else, the trick is what. Dr. M said we will keep trying to figure it out. My vet got the results back while she was in Oregon at a veteranary conferance. Apperantly my Hopper had ended up being one of the cases they were looking at up there all week. She has most vets stumped. The good news is that she has vets from around the entire country trying to figure out what is wrong with her!!!!! My vet is in touch with lots of them via email and they are all trying to figure her out .

I asked about the food amount on Hop's new prescription food and my vet told me the bag says WAY too much. Way to go for the substitue vet to mention that.... So we have that scaled back to an appropriate amount. My vet is all about home cooking and fresh foods for dogs. She is always recommending great things. I asked her about how much chik/rice to give and she gave me the place to start at and how I should adjust from there. When I asked her about a raw diet she says that would be a great thing and told me about where to even get pre-cubed raw dog food really near by. However, she advised me that since Hop is still sensitive I have to change her onto it VERY slow. She also gave me a few more homefood things I can give her to help pancrease out and help make up for it not functioning so great.

I feel MUCH better after talking to her and getting some real answers. I'm very excited that we get to help my Hopper to get better!

By my mommy

My Hopscotch went to the vet today. She hasn't wanted to eat and was throwing up. Hoppy is allergic to wheat, so this isn't the first time we have to deal with this. The vet called and said that the tests they ran seemed to show that she had a blockage in her stomach, nothing could move between it and her intestines. They needed to do surgery to remove whatever item may be in her. We gave them the ok and waited for the call that they had finished. The vet said she had found nothing in Hop's tummy. Hopscotch's stomach muscles were so tight that nothing could travel through her. The vet searched around during surgery and found that Hoppy's pancreas was hard and white. While we won't recieve the results of the biopsy for two more weeks, but the vet fears that it may be diagnosed as pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic cancer is extremly resistant to treatments and we are not exactly sure how bad things are. Both myself and her daddy are extremly heartbroken from the news. We adopted Hopscotch and have worked so hard with her to help her with the health problems she had to start and her dog aggresion. Hopscotch is an amazing dog. People that usually dislike bigger dogs love her. Hopscotch is always just trying to make sure everyone is ok. Hop is my protector, my cuddle-bear, and my sweetheart. I hope she can get better soon....

Playtime!!!

Ok, so I think I'm finally figuring things out. This puppy is still kind of annoying but she is growing on me. She has taught me all about PLAY fighting. I didn't realize that I could do that lol! I learned how to do a play bow to invite her over (when she hasn't attacked me first..). Mommy says I'm kinda clumsey when I do it but hey, I just learned how to! I'm teaching Patches all of my great moves! (Just a little toned down for her.) I have a side-swipe, my duck-under-to bite-a-leg move, and my personal favorite of sitting on her lol!

Just this last week, I learned a little about tug-of-war too! Patches usually comes over and steals my toys >.< It makes me mad cause if I tried to stop her (by snapping...) I would get in trouble even though its MY toy. So then, Patch learned to take my toys and I couldn't do anything about it! Patches always plays fetch with the toys too and I love to chase toys but again I would get in trouble. Finally I went and grabbed the toy too but Patch wouldn't let go. This time instead of getting in trouble, I was told I was being good! I finally have a way to rescue my toys!

My other great discovery is being a lap dog (yeah, I know I'm almost 50 lbs :). I was in a different car this weekend, it was a minivan with the seats out. Do you know what happens when you take the seats out? I can't see out the windows!!! Hello, thats the WHOLE reason I go into the car! So finally I walked up to mom and put my front legs on her so I could see outside. It was much better but when I was just getting comfy, mom scooped me up and had me laying in her lap! Wahhhh the car moves and I don't get to hold myself up! I had to trust mom to make sure I would be ok. Mommy held me real close and I got to lay there for a half hour! Now at home when mommy is sitting around I'm learning her lap is a really great place to lay!

I almost got away..

Today was jsut like any other day. We all were hanging around the apartment and mom took Patches out for her usual walk. Well I decided, that when mom got back today, I would make my move. Mom opened the door and like a flash of lightning I was outta there!!! I ran as fast as I could and never looked back. Mom couldn't even chase me right away cause she still had Patches with her and Patch runs really slow! I was so happy, I ran all over the apartment grounds (which are quite a few blocks). I looked at a lot of things but just kept running. It's great to be outside all on my own, such a treat! I got to pick everywhere I went. Unfortunatly for me, most of the apartment grounds have a REALLY tall fence surrounding it. Mom got her friend who was over at the time to help run after me. Mom was worried because the only ways out of the complex were onto busy roads or into a big park with a ton of brush. Mom went to the park and Brian went the other way with a car. He finally found me by the front of the grounds and got me back. Unfortunatly for me, I had my harness on so it was easier to grab me then usual.. I was taken back and put in my crate. When mom finally made it all the way back home I was sitting in my crate with a very happy look on my face, boy was she mad. She said I was a very bad girl and I don't get along with other dogs and that there are big cars out there. I know she wasn't too mad though cause she pet me anyhow and said she missed me. I don't get it, they leave without me all the time. It's only fair that I can once in awhile. Mom said she doesn't think she has every ran that much at once, ever. I think she also said I'm grounded and will be spending a little more time in my crate, like when she is out walking Patch...

My attention

This puppy isn't the greatest thing ever... Shes always sick, running around, ripping up paper, jumping on my head, and biting at my ears.... I don't like her. I tell her to back off but she just doesn't listen. I get in a lot of fights with her but when they are getting to be too rough, mom puts the puppy in her crate and I finally get to sleep on the floor in peace. Will she ever learn to just go to sleep outside of her crate? geez... Mom is trying to be very good about making sure I have my special time with just her and dad is great at it too. I'm definatly putting effort into being right by mom and dad when the puppy is out. I squish right between them and stand in the way so they know I'm ready to be pet. Mom says I've become very cuddly and maybe I can even come sleep in the bed sometimes!!! I love napping there when they leave the door open! That would be pretty exciting. Well, till next time! Woof!

My little sis

Mom has this idea in her head that I'm going to be ok with this whole "bring a puppy into the house and not introduce her to me and let her walk around with me locked in my crate" thing... I don't know why she thinks that. Mom packed me and that little puppy into the car and we went to visit grandma in Cleveland. Mom let me meet that puppy finally but I really don't like her. I growl at her a lot but she doesn't get the hint to leave me alone and anytime I have a toy, she tries to take it. It annoys me. Patches is ok from a distance but I could do without her. I like being in Cleveland cause mom kept taking the puppy away so I got to spend a lot of time in the house there without her. All the attention was mine ^_^ I was good on the car trips and got small beef jerky treats too. My little sis didn't get any though! Dad and mom make sure they spend lots of time with me. Mom tries to teach the puppy to leave me alone but it will take awhile. Well, we'll see where we end up.

I was good

Mom took me to Day Camp extra early yesterday. I didn't like getting into the car first thing in the morning... When mom and dad came back to pick me up they got a report that I was REALLY good during playtime ^_^ Then dad walked me around for a bit and I got to meet this tiny puppy mom had looked at. She seemed ok, so I moved on, mom was happy that I didn't get upset. I went to the vets office and I got a lot of treats and pets and noone ever poked at me! It was great. Then, we all went home. It was a good day.