I had a seizure tonight! Not a big, scary seizure with convulsions or status epilepticus or anything like that. More like a complex partial motor seizure. I was shaking and panting and staring off into space. Thing is I also lost function in my legs which scared Mom to death because she thought my back had gone out. Needless to say, it meant a late night trip to the e-vet. By the time I got there I had better use of my legs, and by the time we left I was walking fine. So, the vet said limited exercise and lots of observation to make sure I don't have another seizure anytime soon. The last one I had (that was observed) was last Christmas Eve. Same deal though. No convulsions or anything. And no history of frequent seizures to merit a diagnosis of epilepsy. Still...scary stuff! Especially since the symptoms mimick those of a ruptured disk. Shaking and panting mimick the pain of a back injury, and certainly the loss of the use of my back legs was worrisome. Yikes! Mom told me not to have any more seizures because they be scary!

ADOPT 08 CONTEST

Sometimes you get the impression from people that they think rescue pets are second-hand or hand-me-downs. Maybe so if you think about it in such basic terms. But sometimes the first owner wasn't so hot! They didn't allow their dog to shine their brightest! Such is the case with Glady. Like her fursister Lucy, she came into rescue when her previous owner died. Unlike in Lucy's case, this was a huge blessing for Glady. Lucy had been someone's pet. Glady had been someone's bitch! Plain and simple, she was a mill dog. Bred time and time again everytime she came into season. She and her siblings were breeding machines. Surprisingly, she was one of the breeder's favorites. And true! She was overweight as opposed to starved. But she also had all kinds of skin issues, stage 4 dental disease, untreated giardia, and unstable back legs from living in a wire cage for six years and giving birth repeatedly. Basically, being a favorite meant eating as far as I can tell. So, making it into rescue was fine and dandy for Miss Glady.

As it happens, my attention is always perked when dachshunds come into the rescue I volunteer for. I got Lucy from RHS, and that was a dream come true for me. So, when Glady (back then called Snapple) and her fellows came into rescue, they immediately caught my eye. Fortunately, I didn't have to wait years to adopt another dog like I did leading up to Lucy's adoption. I only had to wait for a couple of months. I tell myself that Glady was my real Christmas present this past year. I got her in January right after Christmas, and that's all I'm probably going to remember about this year's holiday. The gift that meant the most to me was the gift I gave myself. Nobody else thought I could handle another dog. I was lucky to have my online Dogsters to reassure me that three wasn't a crowd, and that I wasn't just compulsively shopping though I was accused as such by friends and family. None of them are animal people, though, so they don't understand that need to save a life, to support a rescue, to make a tiny difference.

And what a difference Glady has made in Lily, Lucy's and my little world! Where Lucy goes about gratitude by giving kisses, protecting the fort, and curling up next to me, Glady goes about gratitude by following me everywhere, wagging her tail without ceasing and hopping up and down in excitement. To say that one dog rescued is all it takes to reap the joys of adoption is naive. Every dog brings a ray of hope or a lesson to be learned. Pansy taught me all about trust; Lily (though not adopted) has taught me much about humor; Lucy has taught me a lot about gratitude; and Glady...well, Glady has taught me about undeniable joy!

Well, Mom went out and bought us some new and better kibble. It's Natural Balance Duck and Potato formula. And we lurves it, of course! We were already getting the dog treats, so this is kinda the next step to getting us all on one food. But anyways...she also steam-cleaned the carpet with bleach to kill any hint of giardia, and guess what?! Um...Nope! I'm not even going to jinx myself here, but between the disinfecting and the new food, things are going swell for me at last. I'd lost 2 lbs over the past month, and now I'm gaining it back. YAY! Glady's a happy dog at last! And then we go on vacation the end of this month. A wiener dog road trip!!!

Oh the indignity! The outrage! The absolute horror! There is a man on our porch!!! He climbed up on his ladder and got on OUR PORCH!!! I'm furious! I'm outraged. My property, my porch, my mommy I must protect!!! How dare he????!!!!! Mom says she's pretty outraged, too, because there was no notice that someone would be painting the porch. We live in an apartment complex, and she says she guesses they have the right. But still! I've been barking non-stop and he won't go away! I'm about to lose my voice, and still that man will not leave! What a jerk! Leave, foe of my casa! Leave now!!! Get thee gone, oh enemy of mine!

Okey dokey! This is Glady's hoomom here. An answer at last which is really all I wanted. A confirmed reality here that can be treated with finality. It is GIARDIASIS! After treating it three times, I thought there was no way it could be, but it turns out Glady is a giardia carrier. I'm guessing that in her days as a mill dog, she had an extended case of giardia that never got treated, and now she carries it and flares up at the slightest exposure. Because...well...old lady Lucy caught giardia (probably from Glady), and then Glady IMMEDIATELY had symptoms again. Their symptoms are identical! They're poop even smells the same. Yech! I was able to procure some cheap metronidazole to avoid yet another trip to the vet who would probably refer me to a specialist by now anyways. Don't worry; I got it legally!!! And tomorrow I'm going to do some serious disinfecting of my house. And all the dogs are getting bathes in addition to metranidazole treatment for 5 days and bathes again. I guess I should be lucky I haven't caught it yet! The bad news is that I don't think we'll go to Buda for the wiener dog races if Glady's still presenting with symptoms in a month. :(

ARGH! Clippers! I've been doing so well on my poop and Mom had to send the clippers after me?! I don't understand. I mean I guess that my feet have to be groomed to keep me from getting burrs or seeds in them or whatever. But grrrrr....I hate the clippers. Oh well...we all got treats afterwards. Which is another thing. I'm the only longhair! I'm the only one who has to be clipped! So why does EVERYONE get treats after I've been tortured. Oh the injustice!

Well. Mom doesn't know what did it, but I'm back to normal poop. Never dreamed we'd be so excited about poop around here! But this is big news! Ever since Mom got me, I've had poop issues. And now resolution! YAY! This is good...very good! Thanks to everyone who gave us suggestions and advice and thanks to everyone who prayed and sent good vibes. We would be lost without our Dogster friends. :)

Well, here's the verdict from the vet. All of Glady's blood levels were normal with the exception that her hemocrit levels were high normal. So, no sign of cancer, no sign of allergies, no sign of pancreatic/liver/kidney problems, nada. So...the vet decided to treat for IBD, and if that doesn't work, she's gonna refer us to someone who specializes in enteric problems. She also suggested coconut as a holistic remedy that worked for another dog. So, I guess we'll try that, too. Glady shouldn't complain. I wish I could have coconut for my medicine. BOL!

Well, here's the word on me for the week I guess. Mom's taking me to the vet tomorrow to get some answers. She's not leaving without them! She took me off of glucosamine thinking it might be a shellfish allergy. No go. She also gave me my second round of Panacur from the last trip to the vet. No go at all. So...here's hopin' for tomorrow. Mom says it's ironic because Lucy is constipated, and she has to go in for a laxative whereas I'm going for chronic diarrhea. Thanks to all the Dogsters for thoughts, prayers and advice. We really appreciate it. Hopefully, tomorrow we'll log on and tell everyone why my skin is scaling, my tummy is distended, I'm bony as heck, and especially why I keep having diarrhea despite different methods of treating it.

Mom is just about as depressed about me as can be. She feels so helpless, and I know it. She's angry at herself for going to the vet twice now and letting them treat me for something that is kinda obvious is not the problem now. And she's angry at the vet for not at least testing for something different the second time we went. And everytime she sees me look at her so desparately and wag my tail, she just wants to kick herself and bawl because she doesn't know what's wrong. It's maddening. The whole time she's had me I've been sick. Not like Lucy wasn't like that. Heart disease, back injury, puncture wound. But still. Those things got better with treatment. Here's to a month and a half of no change. The only good thing is that I didn't lose any weight. I gained a pound, and the vet made it sound like Mom is overfeeding me. Groans. Nope, I'm constantly hungry. And it makes me sad to see Mom sad, but I can't tell her what's wrong either because I dunno. But what breaks Mom's heart is that she can't afford to guess. She wishes she had all the money in the world to rule out every cause until it was found, but she doesn't. And she's terrified that the money will run out before the solution is found. And then she'll have to give me back to the rescue because she can't keep guessing at this. And that thought breaks her heart and makes her so angry that she's been to the vet twice, and she still doesn't know what's wrong or how to make it better. And she's angry that this vet doesn't seem to be meeting her needs when she just changed vets because the old one wasn't meeting her needs either. And she's afraid that it's something like cancer. Mostly, she's depressed because she's failing me. She adopted me, gave me a home, said 'I can take care of you,' and now she's failing me.