so far, so good....

Hi friends! I wanted to let you all know that I have been feeling better.

Mommy has been keeping an eye on me and she's making sure I'm taking all my medicines. She's still worried but everyday that goes by that I don't get sick to my tummy...she believes I really will be okay. I'm still itching from my allergies a little bit so mom is going to call the vet on Monday and see if she can give me some Benadryl. She doesn't want to upset my tummy by giving me too much stuff. Some more good news is that my staph infection on my belly is even starting to look better!

Athena is home!!

Athena is home and we are all very happy!

I went by the vet this afternoon around 2pm. I had to see her and wanted to know if she'd be coming home. They said she was doing well but they weren't ready to release her yet. They said she had not got sick but they had just fed her again and wanted to make sure she could keep it down too. They said this morning they fed her Venison and Potato wet food and she kept it down great. Then this afternoon at around 1:30pm she ate some of her dry food from home. They wanted to make sure she could keep that down too before they let her go. If she had vomited, which she didn't, they were going to make her stay overnight again so they could do an x-ray in the morning. Thank goodness that didn't have to happen.

Dr. Calhoun, at RockKnoll Animal Hospital, is the best! He's always took such good care of Athena and has always been patient with me because I love to ask questions. In my opinion he's the best allergy vet around. He's helped her sooo much. He said that yesterday when she came into the office she vomited twice. Both times it was a ton of food. I was shocked. She only eats 1 c. of food in the morning and 1 c. in the evening! He said it was at least 3-4 meals of whole undigested food....and that was just at the office. She got sick twice before we got there. Her poor tummy must have really been hurting. He said that he believes she must have caught a virus that started out as diarrhea. Then her stomach quit digesting the food so it just sat there. Eventually it had to come out somehow.

She's currently taking 500mg of Sulfasalizine, an antibiotic, twice a day for her staph infection and her stomach. She's also taking 5mg of Reglan, a stimulant, twice a day to speed up digestion. She's had to have this medicine before when food was sitting in her stomach too long and making her nauseous and vomit. I'm hoping she won't have to take the Reglan permanently but it will at least be for a couple of weeks. We need to make sure everything is working right again. The antibiotics are for 10 days....unless the staph isn't gone. Then it might have to be longer. He doesn't want her to take the Prednisone right now. He wants to see how these medicines work without it first. Hopefully she won't need it too.

She is very happy to be home. She came in the door and went immediately to her food bowl. I fed her a half a cup and gave her the medicine. She'll get a full cup tomorrow....taking it slow sounds wise. Her poor tummy must be so stretched out. She probably thinks she's starving :(

Morpheus wanted to cuddle and play when she got here. He's been attached to my hip since she's been gone. I can tell he missed his companion….he knows nothing else. Come to think of it….I don't remember my life without her either. She gave him a kiss, cleaned him and went to her jolly ball. She was ready to play! She's back!!!

Now that my Beanie is home.....

**Angelique signing this page off to Athena again!

Athena is sick...an entry mom made for her

Miss Athena is very ill right now.

On Monday evening she started to have diarrhea and by last night she was vomiting. I took her into the vet this morning...the poor girl got sick again in the car. She never gets sick in the car. Unfortunately, I had to drop her off. I hate to do this because I know how much she hates being at the vet, especially alone, but I had to go to class. The vet called me around 10am to let me know what he'd found out.

He said that she got sick again at the office. She has a bad staph infection. I had no idea that's what it was or I would have started giving her antibiotics. I'd been giving her Prednisone for her itching, which started a few weeks ago, but no antibiotics. It doesn't look anything like her normal staph infections! He says he's not sure at this point what the little red bumps are from that are on her tummy. He gave her an antibiotic shot and something to help calm her tummy. He also ran a blood panel. He said that I couldn't take her home because he wants to keep her for observation. I was crushed. He said that she can't eat for 24 hours and then he wants to give her food and make sure she can keep it down. After class I came home and got her some food for tomorrow and grabbed a sweater of mine. I took them both to the vet. They let me see her and she was so happy to see me and wanted to leave desperately. I left her the sweater so she'd have something to sleep with that smells like me. I hope it helps.

I hate leaving her there. She sleeps with Morpheus and I every night and I know she's going to be lonely....so will I. It feels so empty at home and even Morpheus appears to miss her. Everytime I come in the door he looks behind me to see if Athena's with me....but she's not.

Please be thinking of my sweet girl. We all want her to come home tomorrow. I can't bear being without her....I miss her. I'll keep you all updated.

Angelique (Athena's mommy)

only 5 more days!

In 5 days it will be my 7th birthday! Is that middle age for a doggie? No worries, no mid-life crisis for me. I can't wait for my birthday because I'll get a new jolly ball!

Guess what? Grandpa and mom made me cookies when mom went to visit them last week. They are soooo good!

my food!

Is still going great! I love it! You should try it!

so far so good....

Well, I've been eating the Canidae: All Life Stages since Monday at dinner time. So, it's been 5 days. I haven't got sick once! Mom has been so impressed. I am impressed with the food too....it tastes good. I get very excited when it's breakfast and dinner time. Mom is giving me less food though which I'm not real happy about. Although, I'm already starting to get use to eating a little less. The guy told her I don't have to eat as much of this food as I did my last food because it is better quality.

My allergies haven't been too bothersome lately. Overall, I've been feeling pretty good. I'm getting my allergy shots once every 3 weeks. That is really good for in the summertime because when they get bad I have to get a shot every week. I've only had to have Benadryl once all month!

and again....

Once again we are trying a new food. This is the brand that the neighbor told mom about. It's called Canidae and you can buy it from local stores. It also only receives it's ingredients from within the United States. So far I've tried the "Fish 'n' Chips" and "Lamb, Rice, & Millet" by Flint River Ranch. Both have made me sick. The first because of the eggs and the second....I'm not sure but it just didn't work. I kept vomiting everyday I ate it. So, now we are on food #3. Mom said if this doesn't work we'll go back to my vegetarian food I was eating before. She'd rather get a local ingredient company but if I can't stop getting sick from the new food we don't have much of an option.

Any suggestions for other brands that get US ingredients that have a vegetarian food?

that didn't work....lets try again

I tried that food "Fish 'n' Chips". Mom noticed I wasn't feeling good and read over the list. Unfortunately, she noticed that it had dry eggs in the ingredient list. She'd missed it before....she knows I'm allergic to eggs. She felt bad but I don't blame her. Now we are trying "Lamb, Rice, and Millet" by Flint River Ranch.

The neighbor talked to mom about another type of dog food that is all natural with american grown ingredients called Canidae. You can buy it at the stores rather than having to wait for delivery like our current company. Plus mom hasn't been too happy with the customer service at Flint River Ranch.

Mom and I don't think this new food, the "Lamb, Rice, and Millet" is going to work either. I've already vomited a few times. Mom is going to stop giving me Glucosamine Chondroitin in my food for a few days to make sure it's not that. Mom started giving me glucosasmine 5 days ago and I started this new food on June 8th. She's not sure which is making me sick. If it is....we'll try a different brand.

My joints have popping alot lately so mom started giving me the glucosamine. She's really noticed a difference. I don't pop every morning when I get up!

I get a new food....

Well, I did that 3 day food trial with the "Fish 'n' Chips" from Flint River Ranch. I never once got sick and I loved the food. Today I received my first 10 lb bag. Mom only ordered 10 lbs because sometimes I can start to show allergies after more than 3 days.....at around a week or two. She didn't want to buy alot and then I couldn't eat it in a few weeks. Mom and I have high hopes though. Mom thinks it will be really good for me. It is made out of "Trout 'n' Sweet Potatoes". I'm allergic to salmon but we'd never tried trout. Wish me luck....

A new food?

Mom decided she wanted to try this new food. Actually, grandpa really wants me to try it and mom decided she agreed with him. See, ever since all these dogs and cats have been getting sick from their food mom and grandpa have been thinking of safer ways to feed us....their babies. Grandpa found this company based out of California that is called Flint River Ranch (flintriverranchdogfood.net). They have food and treats for both dogs and cats. They get all their ingredients from local farmers so mom and grandpa don't have to worry that it could make me sick. Mom says they ship for free and they are only a tiny bit more than she's paying for my vegetarian food. The food I'm trying is "Fish 'n' Chips". I started eating it last night. I've been feeling great and it's sooooo good!