Another Corner Turned for Old Sam

We've turned yet another corner with Doris's boy, known to us as Old Sam. He had a really restless night. I was up every hour or so with him because he was stumbling around and whining. I kept trying to help him find a place that he would find comfortable but I couldn't. Finally at about 4 o'clock this morning I sat on the floor with him, with his head in my lap, petting him and he finally went to sleep. I have to say, it was a sweet and tender moment with him. It was so quiet and peaceful in the house with the only light coming from small nighttime lamp on the mantel and the only sound was the tinkling coming from the wind chime on the front porch. I stayed there with him for a long time (then my behind started falling asleep) and I went to bed. The other dogs let me sleep until 6:30 and Sam was still fast asleep when I checked on him.

This morning when I let him out, I could see that there was a lot of dark red blood in his urine. He has also refused breakfast and water. I don't know what all of this means but I do know that it means that I can't let him continue to much more, especially if he's in pain.

The old wound in my heart has once again been opened and the lump in my throat has returned because I know that Sam's time is close. I know some of you may think that because I've traveled this road several times, and because I've only had Sam a couple of months that this decision may be an easy one. I can tell you that it's not. I take my responsibility as caretaker of these precious old dogs very seriously, and the choice to let them go, never, ever comes easily or quickly for me.

The End of the Happiness Makeover!

Today was the last day of my "Happiness Makeover." We woke up to cold temps in the 40's and drizzly rain. Why is it that the dogs never seem to notice?

I really didn't have any plans but did have errands to run. But at one of my stops I ran into a friend of mine and her children that are not old enough to go to school. They were going to be going to lunch and asked me if I wanted to go with them. I had several things to do, and really didn't have the time. However one of the girls said to me, "Kim you have to come, you make everything gooder and funner!" I guess to some that comment doesn't make much sense, but when a 5 year old says it, it does and so I went to lunch with them. On my way home I realized that an unplanned lunch with a friend and her 2 kids was a "gooder and funner" way to end my Happiness Makeover!

I hope your week is gooder and funner too!

Anaplasmosis & The Reality of Healthy Dogs

I know that we are lucky (and very blessed) that our dogs enjoy good general health. Vet visits are not that all that frequent, although experience has taught us so much! But I contribute most of this to the healthy diet that we feed our crew. However every once in awhile we're dealt a card or two that give me a reality check and I'm reminded that the dogs and I are not invincible. That's what has happened yesterday, I was reminded of how frail life and especially health can be.

The vet visit for CarrieAnne and Charlie was pretty uneventful. But our vet, Dr. DeSantis did mention that she'd like to be seeing less of Charlie...We'll both work on that. (The picture is Hamlet & Charlie)

For CarrieAnne (pictured on the right) there was a diagnosis of anaplasmosis which is a tick-borne disease. I've noticed the last several weeks that she hasn't really seemed like herself, but I have contributed it to her age (8 years old). While it could very well be age related, it could possibly be symptoms of anaplasmosis. The good news is, is that it's very treatable with antibiotics, and she should be fine. My vet and I again discussed the use of "Frontline" for the ticks. Carrie is one of the dogs that I apply it to, but I use it very sparingly.

Hamlet, (pictured above with Charlie) you may recall was taken to the holistic vet about a month ago. The tumor on his shoulder is inoperable because of the extensive surgery he had on it in the spring. The hope in starting the Chinese herbs was that it would reduce or slow its growth. Sadly, it hasn't worked and the lump that a month ago that was the size of one of my hands, is now about doubled. I'm continuing the herbs and continuing to have hope.

Doris's boy Sam (the 15 year old & pictured on the left) has also turned a bit of a corner. His health has deteriorated a little, and we have increased his medications in hopes of keeping him comfortable and maintaining a good quality of life for him. I hope and pray that Sam hangs on long enough to see Doris again and she's able to say the good-bye to him and have the closure that she is so desperate for.

On the flip-side, the other dogs are doing well. They are enjoying the chance to be out running in the fields and enjoying the fall.
Me, the Happiness Makeover continued yesterday when I enjoyed lunch with a former coworker in Millwood at the foot of this old grist mill. It was nice to sit outside in the breeze and catch up. I hope that whatever makes you happy, that you have the chance to do it and have a wonderful fall weekend!

Happiness Makeover--Eating Frogs

A patient come into our office this week and was telling me about a book he was reading called "Eat That Frog." I think that the title was inspired by a quote by Mark Twain that goes "Eat a live frog every morning, and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.” Okay, I cannot begin to imagine eating one of the frogs from my porch (pictured here) but I like the basic idea of the book which is that if you stop procrastinating and do the thing (or things) that you dread the most, quickly and efficiently the rest of the day is a cake walk.

Yesterday was the first day of my "Happiness Makeover." However, it had to begin with my eating more than one live frog. Since Carl is working nights this week that left me to get all the dogs walked, in the pouring rain. When I got everyone back inside, dried off, and fed I walked on the treadmill for about an hour.

The next live frogs I ate was deciding that I should tackle cleaning and vacuuming my van. I've really been putting that off, and Carl hasn't had time to do it for me. But I was going to be picking up a friend for lunch and if you could have seen my van, you would have agreed it REALLY needed to be done. You may recall that I love fast-food cheeseburgers. These are the prizes that I've collected when I've ordered a childs meal from McDonalds or wherever I happen to stop--I've got quite a collection going, don't you think?
With a clean van and an empty stomach I was off to lunch! I had steak and chicken fajitas that I very much enjoyed! After I took my friend home, I stopped off at the office where I work to get something I'd left there. Someone had dropped off a cake, and I had a piece (with ice cream) and chatted with a coworker for a few minutes. When I left the office I did some grocery shopping (at Wegmans of course). Afterwards I decided to pick up frosted-chocolate-peanut-butter-blondies at a local bakery for later. I really love their rich chocolate and peanut butter flavor. I couldn't resist, so I ate one on the way home. Later I fixed dinner for Carl and I. For some reason I wasn't that hungry... The rain continued to POUR down all day, but as Thursday ended there was a break in the clouds. This morning I'm taking Charlie and CarrieAnne to the vet for their yearly visits. Carrie, being extremely shy around people she doesn't know, doesn't like going to the vet, so it'll be her frog for the day. Charlie's will be, becoming totally traumatized by having annual blood-work and a rabies vaccine--He's such a terrier!

I'm meeting a friend later for lunch. I don't think there's going to be any "live frog eating" today but it's still early. What are your daily-frogs or the thing(s) you resist and put off doing? Laundry? Vacuuming? Going to work? Getting out of bed?