Dog Dad in Charge ~ What Didn’t Happen?
Poor Tom. As soon as I headed to town to see my mom Tuesday afternoon, things went to #*!!. When I returned a couple of hours later, I saw signs of things amiss. Here is the sad, sad tale.
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A Dog Blog Post for the Mojo Challenged
Exhausted doesn’t begin to scratch the surface of our current state. All the worry, stress, and veterinary activity has caught up with us. These chemo weekends kick our @$$e$. We also stayed mostly off social media last week out of respect to our friends in the wake of the big storm. We didn’t want to clog anyone’s feed with our day-to-day hoohah.
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Sleep Deprivation and Dogs with Long Illnesses
We’re dog tired here at Chez Champion of My Heart. About 10 months into this medical saga with Lilly’s rabies vaccine-induced meningoencephalomyelitis (brain inflammation). Between being incontinent (both ways) and fussy at night, we haven’t gotten a good night’s sleep in a long time. So, this week, we’re trying yet another strategy.
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Hiking With a Cat – Photo Essay
I learned an important lesson last Friday. Hiking with a cat is quite a bit different from hiking with a dog. It’s a lot slower process, and it shocks the heck out of people you encounter on the trails. Meet our friend BUG … the adventurous kitty from Wisconsin.
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Improvement Report: Lilly’s Recovery from Adverse Vaccine Reaction
Last weekend, Lilly got her 3rd cycle of cytarabine injections (4 sub-q injections over 2 days). She handles it like a champ. Honestly, other than the fact that everything about her reeks of medications, you’d never know she was getting pretty aggressive treatment for rabies vaccine-induced meningoencephalomyelitis (brain inflammation). This week, we saw some improvements.
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5 Dog Vital Signs You Should Know BEFORE Your Dog Gets Sick
In addition to continuing to chronicle Lilly’s treatment for rabies vaccine-induced meningoencephalomyelitis (brain inflammation), I’m trying to glean some valuable lessons YOU can learn from our experience. For example, do you know your dog’s “normal” vital signs? Trust me, it’ll help you know when something is wrong and when / if to worry about your…
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Preemptive Grief and Sunrises
Yes, Lilly is doing well right now. With all the illness / death / destruction in my life in the last 4 years, however, it’s hard not to wither from anticipatory grief — not just for Lilly but others in my life (like my mom, who is terminally ill with a progressive brain disorder). Autumn fills with angst for me anyway. Not my favorite time of year. So, today, some sunrise photos.
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Another Canine Emergency – Dogs on Steroids Eat Things That Aren’t Food
Monday dawned with a full-blown anxiety attack hovering. Seeking just an hour of quiet, an hour or solace, an hour of something other than work or worry, I headed out to the greenhouse. Big mistake. An unsupervised and steroid-fueled Lilly helped herself to a non-food snack. There went my day.
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Dog Product Review: Music to Comfort Your Elderly Canine
Lilly sleeps a bit better these days — often only waking us 1-2 times a night. Tom took over most night duty because there are fewer stumbles down the hall to help Lilly and because he is MUCH better at going back to sleep than I am. I lie awake and worry … a lot. There are several reasons things might have improved overnight, including the addition of the latest CD from our friends at Through a Dog’s Ear called Music to Comfort Your Elderly Canine.
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Conversations of the Heart, Part 2
Early in this unexpected and unwelcome journey, I began having heart-to-heart conversations with Lilly. These days, those conversations are a little different.
