So many adventures!

Since I got all better, I've been going on so many adventures! Mom and Marc take me to the Downtown Mall in Charlottesville all the time now. Sometimes, Marc takes me alone during the day when there aren't many people on the mall. Sometimes, Mom and Marc take me together at night. I get a little confused when I'm with both of them because I don't know whether to walk between them or on their side. I also get a little distracted by people and other dogs along the way. I'm really good at sitting when we come to a crosswalk, though.

One day, Marc took me to Mom's office. I kind of forgot about that place...I had only gone once, just before I got sick. Mom and Marc then took me to a grassy area at UVa called The Lawn where there were tons of kids all dressed up in costumes. People were giving out treats, but Mom said I couldn't have any. It's okay...I met two other pups there. One was a devil and another was a lobster. Mom told me I was a bee.

Mom's home! Mom's home!

I can't believe it! Mom came home last night after being gone for five whole days. I was soooo excited, but even more excited because she found me a new squeaky pig! I threw up on it back when I got sick and she threw it away. It was one of my favorite toys...it has a squeaker in the front and a chip in the back that makes it snort. It's so fun to chew on! What's more, she brought me a quacking duck and a barking puppy.

I had such a happy night, snuggling and playing with mom and Marc. Mom hung out with me most of the day, too. I'm in heaven.


Oh! And I completely gave up on my floppy e-collar and am just wearing the bite free collar. I also am completely off mixed food (I had gotten hooked on wet food in the hospital). Now, I'm just eating my Sammy Snacks again. Delicious!

So many changes!

When I was in the animal hospital, the nurses tied a floppy, blue e-collar around my neck. It's been a pain in the neck...if I'm sniffing the ground, I usually step on it and trip myself and when I'm trying to clean up after going potty, I can't quite lick the right spot. On top of that, it has some laces and I looooove laces. They're just out of reach, but I've been working on grabbing them.

Well, yesterday afternoon, there was a box at the door and Marc said it was my new collar. I was thinking it would be the funky blue one that mom's been thinking of buying me (it has daisies embroidered on it!). Well, it was a collar...but it wasn't pretty. It's supposed to replace my e-collar and it keeps me from reaching my neck down to bite and lick my belly. It feels ridiculous! Marc only left it on me for a short time...about as long as mom left the Gentle Leader on me the first time she put it on me. :) I don't know which is worse, the floppy, blue collar or this thing!

Well, luckily, I put up enough of a fuss that Marc put the e-collar back on.

Where's my mom?

I haven't seen my mom in days and I don't understand why. I think the last time I saw her, she had a big, black box on wheels and she was all dressed up. She drove away in a black car and her car is still here. Where did she go?!?

Sometimes, I'll be playing with Marc and he'll hold his phone up to my ear and I'll hear my mom's voice! I'll licked the phone or put my paw on it, but my mom never shows up and I know she can't resist my kisses!

She says she misses me and that she'll be home soon, but I'm confused. She's never been away this long.

A quick note

The entries below were written by my mom while I was sick (from the picture of me lying on the floor above, you can tell that I was in no condition to type those out myself).

Dealing with jealousy/anger after Baxter's surgery

Last week, when Baxter had just gotten sick, I felt a pang of jealousy when I drove home from the pharmacy (I was buying a medicine dropper to feed him with) and saw my neighbors playing with their dogs in the park at the center of our condo complex.

Today, despite the fact that Baxter's surgery was successful and he's on the [long] road to recovery, I am suffering from a full out attack of the "green eyed monster".

Baxter's surgeon ordered him to have complete rest for six weeks. He's not allowed to jump, run, see other dogs, or play roughly. For a pup as young as Bax, this is extremely frustrating. For a new pet owner, it's also frustrating.

I know having Baxter quiet and in his crate is best for him, but I also know that it's making him sad. It's so hard.

September 9, 2007 - Reunion!

I just got a call from Dr. Hawthorne. Baxter ate food this morning "like he had never seen food before" and he's completely perked up. She said we can come get him today!!!


Update at 1 PM:
We went to PetSmart to find the pig he loves, but we couldn't find it. We did find $90 worth of other stuff, though. The lady who checked us out thought we were nuts because we were laughing and kissing the whole time. We explained what was going on and she thought it was cute.

Update at 3 PM: My baby is home!!!

After the vet tech talked to us about follow up care (no activity for SIX weeks!), she left to get Bax. I was kneeling on the floor with my head stuck out into the hallway when he came around the corner and broke into run. It was kisses and wags for a few minutes.

September 8, 2007 - Recovery, Day 1

This specialty animal hospital was amazing, from the start. In the parking lot, a nurse who was coming from her car said "is this the golden puppy?" as we were getting out of the car. When we walked in, the nurse at the desk said "this is Baxter?" and then "Sign in. The surgeon's waiting and a nurse is coming up to get your baby right now". It's s stupid, little thing, but they called all the animals people's babies the whole time I was there...it's comforting that they know how important these little animals are. Maybe some people would find it overly dramatic, but I saw it as a great sign.

The surgeon went over the x-rays and defined words for me when I couldn't remember what they meant (amazing how dumb you get when you're upset...I couldn't process "adhesion" and she had to explain it).

They told us that we could either go home or go to the mall, which was an interesting thing, too. I think they knew that sitting in the waiting room during the whole surgery would have been really hard. So, we went to the mall and I bought Baxter a new, fluffy towel for his car crate (he peed on the one in there on the drive) and we ate some dinner.

Dr. Hawthorne called during dinner and talked about the surgery...he had his spleen, half his liver, and a load of intestines through the tiny hole in his cardial sac and all that stuff was pressing against his lungs and heart, which I guess are supposed to be the primary inhabitants of that sac, with the rest of the stuff staying in his abdomen.

She said I'd probably have a very hyper puppy when this was all over because he probably had this from the start. So much for getting the most chill puppy of the litter!

They let us come back to kiss him good-night (that's exactly how they said it, isn't that nice?). We went in the back and it was amazing...there was a huge exam room, which tons of stations with tables with operating rooms off to the side. In the back, was another huge room with cages all along the walls and tables in the middle for surgery prep.

Baxter was on a warming blanket, with bandages all around his middle and tubes galore. His little fore leg had another bandage to hold his IV on and his eyes still had the gummy stuff they put on during surgery to keep the eyes wet and closed.

I leaned into his cage and started kissing him and he opened his eyes and whimpered a little bit. We spent a few minutes with him and then left to let him sleep.


I might get to take him home tonight, but he probably won't be released until tomorrow. It's so strange not to have him here right now. I pretend that I don't like his 6:30 AM walk, but I actually do and I miss it.

Update at 11 AM:
Baxter hasn't started eating yet, so they don't want to release him. Dr. Hawthorne is going to take his chest tube out this afternoon, so he'll be a little more comfortable.

Dr. Lymon from here called right after talking to the surgeon just to check on us. What a great vet.

September 7, 2007 - Getting better?

Last night was a little scary. He threw up about two hours after we got him, which is after the thorazine should have taken effect. But then, I was able to get about feed him with a medicine dropper and he ate about 2 tablespoons of puppy baby food that the vet gave me and about 1 tablespoon of water.

This morning, I got about a tablespoon of water into him around 4:30, and then about 1/4 cup of food in him around 6:30. After a few squeezes of food from the dropper, he put his nose in the dish and ate by himself! Marc laughed at me when I called for a camera to take pictures of him eating his food, but I thought it was momentous. I probably got 5 tablespoons of water into him after that.

He's definitely more alert, but still very sick looking. He walked a few steps out of his crate to sit on the floor next to Marc, then later walked to under the dining room table to sit there.

I took one picture of him this morning, but I didn't transfer it yet. It's a little depressing.


Update at 11 AM:
A different vet at my animal hospital, the one who did Baxter's last exam, called and said they're going to give more fluid (subQ, like last night instead of IV, which he had during the day yesterday) and see if he'll eat again. She said he didn't look great to her, but she wasn't there yesterday and the other staff members who saw him then think he's looking better.

Update at noon:
I decided to throw away some of his soft toys because he throw up on a few of them and I'm so bummed. I don't know if I can replace them. He's going to miss them!

I put his Nylabone keys and his favorite rattle ball in his travel crate so he'd have his favorite at the animal hospital today. I hope that wasn't stupid of me. He probably won't be playing much, but I thought having some things from home would be nice.


Update at 6 PM (via Blackberry):
We are on our way to Richmond for surgery at a specialty animal clinic that only deals with critical care. The vet said we had to go right away. We were on the floor of the exam room crying with our little, limp Bax.

He has some sort of complex hernia and it is putting pressure on his heart. Please pray for my little baby.


Update at 7 PM (via Blackberry):
He's going into surgery now. The surgeon made us feel very optimistic.


Update at 8:30 PM (via Blackberry):
Little Bax is now in recovery. More when I'm not tapping on the Blackberry. Thank you all so so so much for sending your thoughts, vibes, and prayers. He will be okay!!!!

September 6, 2007 - Baxter's Sick

Baxter seems really, really sick today. He's been sneezing a little bit in the last week, but a few days ago, his poop started looking different (sorry for being gross). Last night, he had diarrhea and that has continued today. His nose isn't wet and he's lethargic.

I rushed a stool sample over to the vet about two hours ago and they're running tests on it right now. The first test is for intestinal parasites and if it comes back negative, they'll do a parvo test. I know it's routine to them, but I wish they were a little more worried to make me feel better about this.

I'm so scared. My little baby is just lying in his crate. Marc, my boyfriend, went over to check on him after dropping me at work this morning and called me to come home. When I got there, he started wagging and kissing and Marc said it was the most animated he's been all morning.

Poor little Bax. I'm so scared.

Update at 11 AM:
Marc just called and he's throwing up, heaving, and whimpering. When he picked him up, Baxter started to cry. He's taking him right over to the vet. I called them and they're waiting for him.

Update at 2:30 PM:
They're keeping him at the animal hospital. They're giving him an IV.
The tests were positive for a parasite, so they don't have any need for a parvo test, then goodness.

Update at 8 PM:
The vet called around 5:45 PM and let me come get him (ideally, he'd be able to watch him longer, but thought it'd be good to be with us). He started throwing up as soon as they gave him to me and I started crying. They took him back, gave him two "doses" of subQ fluids, and thorazine. He's been out of it almost completely since.

My poor baby. We'll bring him back tomorrow morning for more observation. The vet said he's very sick, but is not in danger tonight.