...is not for the faint at heart nor the fickle.
This is how Lucy has to be now. Constantly in a diaper duct-taped to her. Seriously...duct-taped. She has no control at all over her bowels and it's wearing us thin. She can't help it but honestly...that's the last thing you're thinking about when you're cleaning up shit in your home.
SERIOUSLY.
You have to TRULY love an elderly, handicapped dog.
We have two sick doggies at 13700. They both have upset tummies and we don't know what's wrong. We have plans to call the manufacturer of their food tomorrow and their doctor just in case their upset tummies haven't subsided.
I've replaced their water with lemon-lime Gatorade and made a big batch of chicken and white rice. I baked 4 chicken breasts in the oven at 350 degrees for an hour and cooked 4 cups of white rice.
I diced the chicken up and added it to the white rice with a bit organic chicken broth mixing well.
I fed them the same amount as their regular food and will keep feeding them this until their feces is more solid. Then I'll mix half of this with half of their food until it's all gone.
These dogs need jobs.
What do you feed your dog when they are sick?
I'm sitting here after taking my second shower of the morning. I didn't plan on taking two showers mind you...but it became necessary.
*sigh*
We're so hoping our girl is a candidate for the stem cell therapy! Thursday can't come sooner!
The Robinator and the doggies were outside yesterday chilling when I got a text message from onefromphilly.
"See if World News Tonight applies to Lucy. ABC."
We went inside and turned on the television and watched the following segment:
Then we asked Mr. Google about it and I burst into tears when I saw these videos:
Doggie before treatment: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=489106004472698&set=vb.100001199082039&type=2&theater
30 days after treatment: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=489107264472572&set=vb.100001199082039&type=2&theater
NOW RUNNING! https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=500209670037132&set=vb.100001443117501&type=2&theater
We used the vet locator on this site to find a clinic which does the therapy in our area: http://www.medivet-america.com/vetlocator.html
We called the clinic in Purcellville, VA immediately and left a message because it was after hours. This morning...I was so excited, I called them again first thing and got to speak directly with Dr. Tommy L. Walker, DVM, MS.
Dr. Walker did as all doctors do and made no promises. He told me to get her most recent x-rays and blood work together and bring her in. There will be a determination of whether or not she is a candidate once he's examined her.
Her appointment is Thursday, April 18th. We will be there early.
Please God...let this work out for her. Please.
At 3:16am Lucy jumped from her bed to Jaru's bed. He yelped and jumped up so I jumped up and turned on the light.
Lucy was turning herself around and around in his bed and he was looking at her like...DUDE...WTF?
Robby jumped up and was all confused like...HUH? HUH?
Then Lucy got comfortable in Jaru's bed and laid down like she was about to go back to sleep.
I'm looking from her to him and back again and then Robby tells Jaru to get in her bed.
Jaru looks at him and then me...then back to Lucy and goes over to get in her bed.
But you can tell he's pissed.
Hell...I get it. I was pissed too.
Everybody got up mad this morning except her.
She's content.
SIP: DEBIL DOG.
Any of your dogs get up in the middle of the night doing something crazy?
Somebody got a new orthopedic bed for downstairs because she can no longer get on the sofa without help so when we're not home...she's uncomfy on the floor.
Do YOUR doggies have more than one bed?
A few months ago Jaru started this weird scratching crap. Like...he would start and couldn't stop. No matter where he was or what he was doing.
Even if he was sleeping.
On the leather sofa.
One morning we came down and noticed the first hole in the damn sofa seat cushion. Soon there were three holes and then...as many as five on two cushions.
Damn sofa looked like it was on a rickety porch down in Memphis somewhere hustling and flowing.
No biggie since I've been SLOWLY looking for a new one right?
WRONG.
Damn dog hasn't stopped scratching so I spend a crap load of money on a NEW Thomasville reclining leather sofa and let him scratch that one up too?
Um...yeah...no.
So what to do?
I scoured the internet for solutions and seriously...nothing seemed like it was going to be a good enough solution so I went to ABBA Upholstery in Gaithersburg. They sold me a leather hide as close to the color of the leather on the sofa as possible seeing as though it's a 10-year old sofa. Then they took my old cushion covers and remade the covers down to the velcro on the back of them. SO.AWESOME!!!!!!!!!
Initially they said it would take 2 weeks but 2 weeks was Friday and I didn't get them until today. We've been living on the sofa using a blanket for all this time and BAAAAAAAABY! We were soooooooooooo happy today when we put them on! GO.US!
So yeah...moral of the story is...there probably isn't a refinishing product that you'll like either if you're anything like me. The new cushion covers ended up costing us $425 but that's way cheaper than how much it would cost to replace the entire damn sofa running the risk of the damn dog scratching another hole in a BRAND.NEW.SOFA.
I'm good with the slight discoloration until his azz stops scratching or until we just wear out the new pebbled cushions and make it all smooth and worn. LOL! $425 WELL spent in my opinion! GO ME! GO US! 13700 ROCKS!
What would YOU have done?
Problem: Lucy is breaking our hearts. She can't walk on the hardwood floors anymore. We bought shoes, which she hates, so we tried to figure out something else.
Solution: A bunch of runners all over the areas she uses regularly. MAJOR eyesore but hey...it's Lucy-fer. We gotta do what we gotta do.
When I put the first one down, she walk on it, got to the end of it and flopped down as if to say...Okay...now we're gettin somewhere! Put the other ones down STAT! PLEASE AND THANK YOU!
So we did as we were told.
I tried to take a picture of her walking down them but she wasn't in the mood. JARU on the other hand...
His azz is prancing like Naomi 'round here.
We put runners all the way to the front steps and in the family room from the area rug to her bowl and from the area rug to Jaru's bowl cuz she drinks Jaru's water and always has. We don't know what that's about and we smartly decided to not inquire about it either. LOL!
Long story short...the next time you visit 13700...don't be side eyeing all the rugs. Just know it's for Lucy-fer.
LOL!
Lucy is probably around 13 years old. When we adopted her 8 years ago...they speculated she was around 5 years old. As yall know...she had been very abused with significant damage to her back legs and her spine.
But Lucy is strong...like me.
Her age is showing big time and she moves slower, barks more cuz she can't hear and gets startled when she does hear something, sees less cuz her eyes are all cloudy, runs less because she seriously can't move much on the hardwood floors.
One day last week she was slowly making her way up the stairs and we heard her tumble. We rushed to check on her but she got up...shook it off and kept it moving.
Scared the shit outta us.
We got her some socks and boots by Ruffwear Grip Trex Boots for Dogs
Over the holiday weekend...she's been getting worse. Eating less, moving less...just...not really herself so I called her doctors this morning and took her on in. I put her boots only on her back paws and picked her up and put her in the truck driving slowly.
Our vets are pretty awesome and the tech took one look at Lucy and put a mat in her exam room so she wouldn't slip.
And then the exam began.
They flipped her on her right side to check her left legs and she was fine. When they flipped her on her left side to check her right legs however? My baby girl was in obvious pain once the doctor manipulated her legs to mimic motion.
Then they checked her teeth and she has a pretty bad abscess on a back tooth that you can't see unless you were looking for it. So her hard food by Canine Caviar has been hurting her to eat.
And yall...I lost it.
And I ain't no crying chick.
I'm sniffling and blinking and shit trying to keep it all in but that proved to be impossible. I couldn't get out my questions, the tech handed me tissue and they patiently waited until I collected myself while Lucy lumbered over to check on me and hug me and I lost it even more.
I was just so hurt that she's been in pain and we didn't know because she doesn't show pain. See...with all of the abuse she suffered before she came to us...she learned how to keep it reigned tight.
Like me Lord...like me.
So she's currently having a massage and a tea tree oil bath. I have a bag of meds and instructions to soften her food until the absess goes down so we can extract the tooth. And...they say once they go in...they might see other teeth which need to be removed as well and they might as well do them all at once. We're going to do it, of course, because we just want her final time with us to be as pain free as possible.
The tech slipped me a brochure when I was about to leave and it was information on coming up with a plan for when she leaves us. I folded it up and put in my bag choosing to let Robby be the one to read it and be the informed one cuz I can't.
This shit is hard man. They just want to love you and be with you ya know? Pets are just LOVE.
Yall know we won't be worth a plug nickel when time's up right?
Right.
Yall gonna have to come see 'bout us.
Sheesh...
We buy Jaru and Lucy's food from a doggie health food store. Hey...if I'm funny about our food you should already know I'd be funny about their food too.
I went out to pick up a bag the other day and found that their food, Canidae, was off the shelves. I panicked and rushed to the counter. When I told the young lady what was wrong she said, "Oh...you're one of the Canidae people." and proceeded to inform me that Canidae did a voluntary recall of their dry food because the plant they were manufacturing it in had salmonella in it. None was found in their food, however, they didn't want to take a chance and pulled all the food. Since they were already in the process of building their own plant...they're waiting until they can move into it before they start producing more of their food.
What does that mean to me? I.AM.ASSED.OUT.
UGH!
Boxers are well known to have extremely sensitive tummies and changing their main food source can have disastrous affects. And well...we all know our two are special so yeah...I wasn't trying to have two sick runny poop dogs on our hands for two weeks.
So we had to research other foods on the fly (me in truck on iPad on phone with The Robinator) which were similar to Canidae and decided to go with the Canine Caviar. Of course the bag was damn near half the size of the Canidae bag and more expensive too.
UGH!!!!!
So I'm at the register frown-T up when an extremely knowledgeable young employee tells me that I should get some raw goat's milk and drizzle it on half the amount of food they would get normally for at least three meals so as to ease their digestive system into accepting it well. And I'm standing there looking at her like...WHATEVS! I'M ALREADY SPENDING MORE MONEY THAN I'M USED TO ON THESE PUNK DOGS BECAUSE OF CANIDAE! I'M NOT BUYING NOT NAINH-AINH OTHER THING!
Later that night as I was drizzling the raw goats milk with probiotics over their food...I was hoping their stool was gonna be cool and yup...it was. No funny icky. They were perfectly fine.
Hell.
Oh...and Jaru has stopped scratching so much so maybe it's good for his allergies too and Lucy has been walking around here all frisky like a pup even though her legs straight give out still and you try not to laugh cuz really it's not supposed to be funny and only evil people would laugh at the look on her face as it registers on her face that she's sliding again when she thinks she's standing perfectly still.
These dogs are lucky man. Cuz I could probably buy 100 pounds of something at Sam's for $5.
Humph.
Any of you ever had to change your doggie's food? Why? Was the transition difficult? Have you ever heard of the raw goat's milk thingy?
She said this reminded her of Jaru and Lucy. She couldn't decide which one. LOL! What do YOU think? Which of my dog owners would this be? ROFL!
It's one of those deceptive days. Gorgeous out but with a chill behind the the breeze that's a bit too chilly.
But I wanted to sit outside so I grabbed a blanket.
My shadow stared at me until I "got" it.
So I had to go up to get HER blanket too.
Damn dogs.
How's the weather out by you?
We had to rush the debil dog to the hospital this evening so our V-Day plans changed drastically.
And she didn't look in the LEAST bit upset for us with her new camouflauged bandages either. HUMPH.
A couple of random pics of our Lucy girl. She brings me joy.
It's really funny how many people come to 13700 who are scared of dogs and then end up getting one of her hugs and falling in love with her. In fact...many of you have had the pleasure of a Lucy hug too huh? Aren't they loving?
Thanks to Travel Diva for capturing this pic! He is just perfect isn't he?
I was sitting in my office trying to get over this current bout of writer's block I'm suffering.
Lucy was in her chair.
She jumped up and down and her back legs splayed out and she yelped a hurt kinda yelp. Then...she started walking around in circles fast with her back legs giving out every few seconds.
FREAKED.
ME.
OUT!
Lucy is getting old and it shows. Her hearing is not as it used to be, she can't do the hardwood floors like talking about. It takes her a bit longer to get up the stairs.
But I can only think of one other time in her life with us that she's yelped in pain.
I called the doctor and told them I was on my way and then I called Robby and told him what was going on.
Once we got there they shuffled us right on into an examination room. They flipped Lucy on her side and started messing with her legs and she wouldn't let them. I got on the floor with her and held her face in my hands while I was nose to nose with her and talking to her.
She got it. I was there and there was no way I was going to let anyone hurt her. They were just making sure she was okay. The doctor and the assistant joked that I was the person who didn't touch hands and yet...I was on the floor with my dog making sure she wasn't scared.
I love my doggies man.
So they did the exam and figured out what was wrong with her. The doc then did a full inspection of her since she was there. Doc found that Lucy has a bad tooth that doc thinks needs to come out.
Me: How much is this going to cost?
Doc: They'll do an estimate for you.
So they come back with an estimate for an extraction of her tooth. $1,172.70.
Me: I'm sorry what?
Assistant: $1,172.70.
She handed me the paper with the estimate which shows the amount:
Um...yeah...no.
Me: $1,172.70??????????? To pull a dog's tooth? Hell...she doesn't eat candy! I mean sure...she likes peppermints so during Christmas she might get a piece of a candy cane but SERIOUSLY??????
Assistant: Well...there's a lot that goes into an extraction for a dog. They have to be put to sleep.
Me: Does Ambesol work on dogs?
Assistant: Um...
Me: Is she in pain?
Assistant: The doctor says her gums are pretty red which is indicative of an absess.
Me: So yeah...about that Ambesol...
And I think they think I'm joking. How in the HELL Lucy's azz gets a bad tooth? I'm shopping this around. Of course I want to get it done cuz the thought of her in pain with a toothache just KILLS ME but the kid ain't paying $1,172.70 to get it done.
And I mean that ish.
Oh...wait...they're giving me a discount since they appreciate our business and we have two doggies.
A discount of $40.50.
SIP: GTFOOHWTBS
THAT IS ALL.
Just left the vet with Lucy AKA NAJ. Why NAJ you ask? Need A Job!
She's pulled a groin and is in pain. The treatment calls for pain meds, anti-inflammatory meds, no running or jumping for 6 weeks.
SIP: Hell...might as well amputate cuz that groin is NEVER gonna heal.
...cuz she's laying on the floor. You know...like a DOG...instead of posted up on a sofa or a chair. Somebody call somebody quick. This might be bad.
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Jaru and Lucy don't go to kennels when we travel. A dog sitter or a framily member stays at 13700 with them. Why? Lucy has SEVERE separation anxiety and it was determined that the best thing for her when we're traveling is that she doesn't leave her home so her anxiety isn't heightened because she's in HER home.
Makes sense.
I never take Jaru and Lucy out to get them groomed as I do a pretty good job at home.
Well...I decided I had too much going on to deal with it so I made an appointment for them to get groomed today.
Doorbell rings.
DING.DONG!
I leave my office and answer.
It's the mailman. With a box.
Thanks, exchange pleasantries, yada, yada.
It's from Casa de CaliGirl.
Addressed to Prince Jaru.
(I'm sure he's of Zamunda.)
I open it.
VOILA!
BEST.GIFT.EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This was seriously so, so sweet. I've been up since 3:30am this morning working and had a permanently etched frown on my face until I opened this. Thank you so very much for thinking of our baby. If you guys were here he'd lick the girls properly. LOL! This truly meant the world to me. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Jaru is our precious pup...I love it when those we love love him too. THANK YOU!
On the deck with Jaru.
A bumblebee came close to his face.
Dude Scooby Doo'd back into the house.
Good for NOTHING!
Is YOUR dog a punk?
Late yesterday Lucy started walking around holding up her leg. She let me touch her leg, of course, but I could tell she was in pain. We called her vet this morning and we were told there wasn't an opening until Tuesday. I explained to them that she was in pain now and the woman who answered the phone was basically like...your Vet isn't in and the one that is is leaving at noon.
They've lost my business.
I did some quick research and found a Vet with great reviews nearby. I called and was told to bring her in at 11:30. I had my old Vet fax in the records for BOTH my doggies. She was much worse today so we were VERY worried. She stayed in the bed with me until it was time to go and then we headed out.
Jaru and Lucy have never been without the other.
Everybody's nerves wuz bad at 13700.
We get there and she showed her EN.TIRE.AZZ.
Cuz she doesn't like other dogs. *sigh*
People she loves...dogs however? If you're not Jaru...Move B GET OUT THE WAY!
So they examined her and did x-rays and came back with the verdict that she MAY have torn her ACL. They say may because you don't know for sure unless you're doing surgery and can actually see the tear. The x-rays showed a large amount of inflamation around her knee joint:
You can't see it clearly but when they pulled 'em up on the screen the dark gray inflammation was clear.
So yeah...she's in pain.
We don't know how it happened but apparently it's common for large breed dogs to have. She probably jumped off the bed or sofa or something wrong and it happened. The doc asked me if I was certain that no one had harmed her and I gave her a look that CLEARLY stated should someone have hurt our Lucy girl I would be in SERIOUS trouble with the law and not able to sit in the exam room with her now.
She got the point.
So...Lucy girl is on anti-inflamation drugs for 20 days and we're supposed to keep her from running and jumping. As my friend Jen so elloquently stated, "It would be easier to nail jello to a tree." I don't know WHAT we're going to do.
We put the medicine in the FABULOUS things call Pill Pockets by Greenies. If you need to give a pet medicine...this is the way to do it. Lucy INHALED it!
When she wants to get on the sofa, we pick her up and put her on it. No more up and down the stairs for her. We carry her. Oh...and get this. Lucy weighs 60 pounds which means she is 10 pounds overweight. Her food gets cut in half (3/4th cup twice a day) and I have a feeling she's gonna be MAD.ABOUT.IT!
The only time I've heard of a torn ACL was during "Love and Basketball." Hell...Imma need Lucy to be bringing in some Lakers' money like old boy cuz if this course of drugs don't work they say she might need surgery which is going to cost $2,500.
*BLINK*
Imma need her to get a job. A speaking part in a movie or something hell. She's gonna need an agent so if you're down for the cause...holla.
Seriously though. We're so glad it wasn't something REALLY bad. Sure this is bad but it's not a tumor or that hip dysplacia stuff or cancer or a host of other things that would take her away from us way before her time. So...for that I'm thankful.
(E was sick last week and Lucy took it upon herself to be his private nursemaid. She never, ever, EVER left his side.)
I had a dream last night that our Lucy girl had died. I didn't remember the dream until I 'd been up moving around for a minute talking to Robby and then it hit me...I dreamed we'd buried Lucy.
Now I guess this wouldn't be such a big deal since I attended a funeral last weekend and my mind is still processing it but over the course of the past few months...Lucy has been showing her age physically. Some mornings she gets up slow and has a bit of a limp. Nothing is wrong with her and she isn't in any pain apparently...but yeah...sometimes she limps.
I know a lot of you remember Lucy's story and I guess it makes sense that the older she gets her old injuries would come back to haunt her just as they do humans so on those mornings she's limping we help her out a bit. Pick her up and put her on the sofa. Stay in one room for hours at a time since she follows us from room to room and yeah...she gets extra hugs and kisses.
I'm not really ready to think about one of them being gone. Sure...it's going to happen and I know they've had a great life and, of course, we would never allow them to suffer...but them being gone will take some MAJOR getting used to.
Have you ever had a beloved pet die? Where did you bury them? Do you worry about your current pet's mortality? How old are they? Do you know their average life expectancy?
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