June 1, 2016…
middle of the night
Trying to
write a little something on my older laptop because I did not want to have to
disconnect the external hard drive and the thumb drives from my shiny new
laptop so I could write in my recliner instead of sit at my writing desk…. So
it only took about 45 minutes to get to this point because my old laptop runs
Vista. Yes I know that is soooo old. Just like my iPhone 4 but I just ordered a
new phone and later today, after a nap known as bedtime, I will be switching
that over. Rambling, something I do so well and oh too much! I have the tv on
and one of my favorite movies “IT” running as some background noise. It is
amazing how many things I think to write about when I am driving, doing dishes,
waiting for the new dog to potty, but I will be dang if I can think of
something worthy to write about when I actually sit down to write. My main
problem is that I over think everything.
I am wearing
a pair of shorts that have a big hole in the thigh. My husband can’t understand
why I won’t throw them out. But you see, that hole was put there by my previous
dog Bailey. She was a rescue pit mix, who came with a damaged paw which
happened sometime before she had been found on the streets. We adopted her from
a rescue shelter. She was a sweetheart and so loving. She came to me at a time
when I really needed some emotional support. She slept with me and would get in
the recliner with me and such. She had this thing about chewing up my clothes
and my stuff. No one else’s, just mine. She
would take my stuff and put it on her bed. She was such a funny little girl. So
sweet and such a stinker when I would try to make the bed. She would roll
around on the bed making it almost impossible to put the clean sheets on, then
when I got some of the bedding on she would lay down and refuse to move even if
I covered her with the other bedding. We
paid $25.00 in fees at the shelter when we got her but built a $1200.00 fence
to protect her! She was worth every penny!
When I would
come home from work she would somehow know exactly what I needed emotionally.
Play, snuggle, or lick my tears as my emotions of the day overwhelmed me. She
loved going for car rides and meeting people.
I have a photo of her sticking her face out the driver side window at a
drive thru because she was sure the girl was talking to HER! We did not know
what to expect the first time she was around small kids, but she impressed us
all with her gentleness!
She suddenly
developed seizures and medication helped for a few weeks but then she just
started seizing over and over and we took her into the animal ER and they could
not stop them. I lay nose to nose on
floor with her as the life left her. I
stared straight into her eyes and let her know she was not alone. It broke my heart. She was not even 3 years
old.
July 02,
2016 afternoon
Oddly enough
I wrote the last post about a month ago, and yet here I am wearing those shorts
again. I cannot part with them. The shirt I am wearing looks like it was
attacked by hungry moths however the holes are from my boy pup nibbling on my
shirt. That is what he does when he is
feeling needy. He snuggles up against my side and nibbles my shirt or shorts.
Needless to say that is why I don’t wear my good clothes just lounging around
the house.
When I lost
my pup Bailey, I did not know how I could ever open my heart to another new
dog. But then our Shepherd who was now without a canine companion was so sad
she didn’t want to eat or play, so we knew we needed to get another dog. We again went to the shelter, and found our
boy Bishop who was the last of his litter left behind. Poor little guy had been taken away from his
mom, watched all his siblings go away and had been fixed. He looked so sad and
scared and I understood.
We brought him
home and he began to heal our hearts. He was also a pit mix and had a similar
personality to our Bailey. He loved to
get in our laps (while he was still little) and sleep between us, and has to
have his blanket. Poor little guy had managed to get kennel cough so bad in the
couple of days he was at the shelter that it took 2 months and almost a
thousand dollars to get him, our shepherd and my daughter’s dog who is hear a
lot, to get better. He thought all car rides led to a shelter or vet and did
NOT want to get into the car for rides. Not too long after we got him, I was taken out
of the field because of my physical pain and limitations. Bishop and I became
so bonded being home together….
When we got
Bishop, we knew our shepherd was getting older and having several health
problems. We knew our time with her was growing shorter, but having a puppy
around gave her a reason to get up and around more – she knew she needed to
teach the new guy the ropes. It didn’t take long at all to realize Bishop had
so much energy, more than our Maggie could possibly match and we knew the right
thing to do was to get him a companion more his speed. We rescued Tessa, having
been told she was a lab/pit mix, but we knew from looking at her she had no pit
in her. Not that we would care if she
did, but it was obvious that she didn’t.
She had this big floppy ears and we did not know if she would grow into
them. She was thin and we could see her ribs. It was heartbreaking! We were
told the litter she belonged to was all just abandoned there at the shelter and
she and her tiny sister were the last of the them. They had been there over a
month. We chose her by her personality. She really wanted to see us and was so
friendly. With her appetite we knew it
wouldn’t be long before she put some weight on.
And spunky she was! She drove our poor old Maggie a bit crazy but even
at 15lbs she was ready to go and play with Bishop. She was not intimidated by
the fact she was so little. It wasn’t long before they were best buddies and
running and playing and having a great time. Maggie was happy to supervise from
the sidelines aka the couch, however just having them around lifted Maggie’s
spirits and ours. Bishop had moved from our bed to one of the recliners in our
room shortly before we got Tessa. She
instantly took to sleeping in our bed and has ever since. Her spot was between my husband and me,
spooned up against my back with her little puppy nose on my neck. It turns out
her little puppy breath on my neck is a great remedy for my anxiety.
** I fell
asleep before I could finish this entry….
July 15, 2016
As fate would have it, a week later
my darling Tessa, just over a year old came in from about 20 minutes outside
late one night and kept licking her paw. I couldn’t see anything wrong with her
paw and she went down the hall, I assumed to climb in bed with my sleeping
husband – as she usually does at night. I happened to go into the bedroom a few
minutes later and found her laying on a towel that was on the floor (from a
spill) and she had vomited her dinner and pooped. I called to my husband
because she would not get up and seemed a little out of it. He said she was wobbly when he tried to get
her to stand up. I went outside to see if there was a snake (we have had 2
previous dog v snake episodes) but I couldn’t find anything. We called our regular vet, who was in an
emergency surgery on someone else’s loving pet so we had to drive to the
emergency animal hospital a bit further away.
Although Tessa was lethargic and “out of it” during the ride, when I
finally broke and started to sob “don’t leave me” as I was trying to pet her
and steady her as she was standing next to my seat, she still had the
dedication to turn her head to me and try to lick my tears. When we told of her symptoms upon arrival,
the doc said it sounded like anaphylactic shock. Further examination and labs
confirmed it. Her liver enzymes were
almost 1100 when less than 150 is the normal.
She was given several medications and admitted for IV fluids and
observation overnight. I was devastated
to leave her. I couldn’t even go into to
see her because I knew my sobbing would upset her more. My husband, ever my strength, went in and
said she was standing and wagging her tail.
He took her one of her favorite blankets. I sobbed all the way home. It
felt like I was reliving what we went through with my Bailey. When we got home, her companion Bishop was
very confused as to where his mate was. None of us really slept. We went back
to the emergency vet at 6 am. Tessa was weak but happy to see us and ready to
go home. We had taken Bishop with us so
he wouldn’t be left home alone and he was so happy to see her.
She is
slowly acting more like herself but she does not have near the energy. That is most likely due to the fact today’s
vet recheck and labs show that her liver enzymes are still over 800. Of course that is down from the near 1100
they were during the event but again less than 150 is the desired/normal
number. She has been placed on some
medications to help her recover and hopefully bring her liver count down. We have been keeping the dog door closed and
monitoring all outside ventures. Of
course as she gains her strength back, she is going right back to chasing
anything that moves. She had caught a
bird last week. It must have been flying low because she caught by the leg,
somehow killed it then looked at me when I found her and acted like she did not
know what to do with it! She has trapped and a killed kangaroo rat, gopher, the
bird, and a lizard. I obviously can keep her inside under watchful eye forever
but I will do my best to watch her well while her liver recovers and her
numbers get back to normal. We also we
prescribed a “ready to go” syringe of epinephrine, which I have taped to the
cupboard door next to the emergency vet info. Doc wants new labs in 2 weeks.
She is bouncing back pretty well and without complaint. She would seem normal to the unknowing
observer, but to us we know she is a lot less active than her normal self.
Fatigue has
set in and I must post before I fall asleep on my laptop again!!
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