Champion of My HeartA real-time memoir about life with a fearful border collie, by Roxanne Hawn

In about a month, Ginko will be 12. He recently had a thorough exam, senior blood work, and vaccinations (3-year rabies, 1-year lepto). And, this week … he went in to have his teeth “done.” While he was conked out, they went ahead and took off two bothersome lumps — one on an eyelid and one his head.

Ginko did great, but he still isn’t feeling entirely like himself … yet.

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Nancy Kay, DVM and board-certified veterinary internal medicine specialist, published a new book called Your Dog’s Best Health: A Dozen Reasonable Things to Expect From Your Veterinarian. Perhaps you already know Dr. Kay from her earlier book … Speaking for Spot.

If you’re looking to develop a better partnership with your dog’s veterinarian, we highly recommend this book for insights into how things are changing and what you can and cannot expect as an active, engaged veterinary client.

I learned something new. For example, Dr. Kay advises — in a section about what your veterinarian expects from YOU inside Your Dog’s Best Health– “Unless instructed otherwise, dog your best to bring your dog in with an empty stomach and a full bladder.”

The stomach thing I knew, but the bladder? I ALWAYS get my dogs to pee on verbal cue before we go inside. It’s less about me worrying they will make a mess, and more about me wanting them to feel comfortable (not in bladder distress).

What do you think about that? Full bladders?

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Tom practically had to sit on me over the weekend to keep me from running Lilly down to the nearest veterinary emergency room. Starting last Wednesday, April 4, 2012, Lilly began acting VERY sick again. She only got worse over the weekend — a holiday (for many), of course!

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Indeed, Lilly is recovering nicely some 2 months since her adverse rabies vaccine reaction. She is nowhere near normal, but she is coping the best she can … as are we to the “new” puppy girl resulting from the veterinary emergency with her brain / nervous system.

Things don’t always go well, however:

• Lilly fell down the stairs last week.
• Lilly fell off the bed the other day.
• Lilly crashed while jumping my knees and slid on her side across the living room Monday night.
• Lilly’s rear legs gave out while on her usual 3-mile walk Sunday. For several seconds, she stayed there — like a tadpole or mermaid — and seemed that she didn’t know how to stand up. It was very scary.

Among her other lingering symptoms? Nose / breathing troubles. Video demonstration below.

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One of the biggest questions people ask when they hear about Lilly’s unfortunate and dangerous response to her recent rabies vaccine is this: How common / rare is it?

I promise you I’m trying to get a real, documented, publishable answer to that question (among others I hope to address either individually or in an upcoming FAQ).

Take that, red tape!

Here’s the rub. In order to get information on actual, reported adverse vaccine reactions, I must file a Freedom of Information Act Request with the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA is the regulatory agency for animal vaccines … not the FDA).

I believe it all goes back to pets as an outgrowth of agriculture.

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Today is my 20th wedding anniversary. Indulge me — won’t you — as I wax a little nostalgic? This girl needs to celebrate every tiny thing. And, a big one now and then too.

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Taking a break from Lilly news to share info on this neat new cookbook from my colleague and friend Brette Sember. First, came The Parchment Paper Cookbook and now … The Muffin Tin Cookbook, which, I believe, provides recipes for many occasions. And, if you think it’s all or only about muffins, THINK AGAIN!

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I cannot tell you how much I need a break on just about every front you can imagine. So, last weekend, rather that work / write, I dealt with some family matters, played with Lilly, and got the gumption up to go ahead and plant this year’s vegetable seeds. It’s WAY early. This may be my best year yet, or my biggest flop. Only time will tell.

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Monday, we showed you some agility highlights as Lilly recovers from her neurological troubles. Today, we prove that it isn’t always pretty.

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At our last veterinary neurology appointment, Lilly got the OK to do agility and other more strenuous tasks so that her brain can start figuring out how to rewire certain movements. I convinced myself that Lilly jumped differently and weaved weirdly, but after looking at old agility videos, it seems more like Lilly exaggerates her movements following her “brain injury.” Videos, ahoy!

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Blame it on the steroids and other medications required to treat Lilly’s eningoencephalomyelitis / meningoencephalitis (inflammation of the brain and lining of the brain and spinal cord). Two weeks ago today, Lilly ate 1/2 of a canvass totebag while I was away at a work meeting.

We, of course, induced vomiting in our wayward dog, and we felt pretty confident we’d gotten all / most of the canvass totebag to come back out before it could cause major trouble for Lilly.

Well, 10 days later …

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I know I’ve been griping a lot about the struggles of dealing with Lilly’s recovery, but I have one odd-but-good behavioral change we’ve seen.

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If we get through Lilly’s recovery without me or Tom stepping on and breaking one of Lilly’s feet or without one of us taking a nasty fall ourselves (after tripping over Lilly), it’ll be a miracle. Truly. Continue Reading »

I’ve heard mixed reviews / advice / responses to whether or not the company who made the vaccine should help pay for the veterinary costs of diagnosing and treating the resulting meningoencephalomyelitis / meningoencephalitis (inflammation of the brain and lining of the brain and spinal cord) that Lilly suffered after getting her 3-year rabies vaccine nearly 2 months ago. Today, I’m asking what you think. Please take our two-question dog blog poll.

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Since Lilly doesn’t need another neurology exam for a couple of months, we thought it was a good time to recap of how much all this has cost us so far. Continue Reading »