One Sick Puppy

We are worried to the point of distraction about the health of our 9-year-old golden retriever, The Best Dog Ever. Our caring veterinarian lists her condition as "guarded," and for the moment things don't seem to be getting better. I fear the worst outcome, and it's just too soon to lose her. She obviously feels terrible, but the most ominous circumstance facing us is she is now refusing to eat. She won't eat anything: her favorite treats, ice cream, eggs, nothing. It's as if she's just given up. For now, we'll fight the fight for her as best we can.

For a couple of weeks, she hasn't been herself: no energy, slow to stand, heavy panting. At first, the working theory was some kind of inflammatory issue, maybe arthritis. Medicine for that seemed to give her a little more zip, but then after a couple of days her lethargy returned and she started coughing. The vet then ordered chest X-Rays, which revealed some scary-looking lesions in her lungs. The worst fear was cancer, but on the films the spots didn't look like tumors. It was a head-scratcher for our dog's two excellent doctors, so they uploaded the images to a veterinary radiologist in Dallas, who diagnosed the problem as lung flukes. The younger of our two local vets said she had seen this in text books but had not encountered them in her practice.

This means there are parasites inside those pulmonary cysts, which animals and people can get by eating crawfish or snails.There's a treatment for it, but unless and until those cysts go away and the parasites die, she remains at risk for death. If one of those things ruptures, a pneumothorax (collapsed lung) will result and that's the end of the road. So, we're keeping her inside and keeping her as still as possible.

The other challenge is the administration of the medicine. It's a powder, which means it has to be taken orally. But she won't eat. It's a problem. The only thing we can really do is parent her and try to find ways to get the powder into her stomach without getting it into her lungs.

Everybody's worried. Even the matriarch of the menagerie, the Old formerly Fat Cat, knows something's wrong and is staying close by. We don't know what her message to her canine friend might be, but hopefully it's "You have to eat."

We're just so sad and we want her to pull through. She and the cat are vestiges of our kids' youth, and of course they're straight-up members of the family. There's been fear, frustration and a significant number of tears shed over the last few days. Plus, and I know it's indelicate to discuss it, you have to consider how much money to spend here. The vet bills are piling up.

My wife will tell you that I've been saying for years "You love that dog too much." I've been kidding, mostly; but now it's ringing true. We want to give her every chance to live a few more years. We love her that much.

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Worried About Our Puppy

RAY OF HOPE
Originally uploaded by Darrell

Our sweet puppy, the Best Dog Ever, is sick. She may be gravely ill. Today, she had surgery to remove a golf-ball sized lump from her neck. It's an inflamed lymph node and the worst-case scenario is lymphoma, which is always fatal.
She's too young to be sick, just six years old. We're on pins and needles awaiting the results of a biopsy.
She's a member of the family and we love her intensely, but we must face the reality that she is a dog. I made the mistake of doing internet research of possible treatments for canine lymphoma. It seems that chemotherapy might be able to buy us a year. The question is, do we want to go through the heartache and expense? Do we want to put her through it?
If it's a child, you know you would spend your last dime and exhaust your last ounce of energy to fight this all the way. For your beloved pet, how far should you go?
Hopefully, all of this will be moot. The biopsy could come back negative and everyone will be okay. There's nothing profound or creative to say. For now, we nurse her through her post-operative discomfort and just hope for the best.
I can't bellieve how sad and worried we are.

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A Family Affair

I keep thinking, "I have to post about something other than the raccoons." Then, I go somewhere, like to an after-work reception for out-of-town visitors and people just want to talk about the raccoons.
Then, something else preposterously cute happens and...well....by popular demand: more baby raccoon photos.Yes, the dog has decided our little varmint visitors are not to be eaten. Indeed, for her they are a source of great amusement. To our amazement, she has been bringing toys and balls to them trying to convince them to play with her. While they don't grasp that concept, they are having a high time chasing her. The funniest part is, she lets them catch her. Since she's approximately thirty times their size, that's their only hope. They are gettting nimbler by the day, however. Oh, and maybe the most interesting development in this whole menagerie management escapade we have going on involves the family cat. Her disinterest in this whole enterprise has been steadfast until today. I guess she finally had to see what all the fuss is about, so she got out into the yard to hang back and observe.
To give you a little insight into the personality of our dog, the pink wading pool you see is hers. Once the temperature reaches about 70 degrees, she basically demands it. She lies flat in the pool and uses it to wash her toys. That's raccoon-like in a way, I guess. Maybe they're meant for each other.The dog and the cat are best friends, so who can blame the little black & white furball if she's jealous of this budding interspecies love affair?It appears there's plenty of infatuation to go around. Pretty soon, the raccoon kids be able to outrun the dog. At that point, we expect the cat to sit back smugly as if to say "Don't come cryin' to me."

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Summer Is Here

Back Yard Swim
Originally uploaded by Darrell

For many the unofficial start of summer is Memorial Day weekend. At our house, it's when the kiddie pool comes out of the garage. Except, in our case it's not a kiddie pool, it's a doggie pool.
Our dog loves water. She will just "lay out" for long periods of time.
The doogie pool is versatile. It's helps her stay cool. It makes cleaning her off pretty easy when we want to bring her into the house. Since she's a dog, it makes no difference to her that she's been lying in the water all day, she just drinks from it.
With the actual offspring gone most of the time, parental affection and attention are showered on this dog and her mercurial feline counterpart. We have discussed getting another dog to keep this one company. Also, I'm a believer in "doggie overlap." That means you get a puppy when your existing dog reaches middle age so that you will have a good, broken-in dog when the sadly inevitable happens.
We have decided against that for now, though. Our relationship with this particular pooch is so good that we don't want to mess it up with another furry friend.
That has its downside, though. I tell my wife quite often "You love that dog too much." She knows it, but love is love and she'll give it as long as she can.

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Holiday Weekend Random Thoughts

Memorial Day Service
Originally uploaded by Darrell

I have a buddy who owns a business which employs a lot of people who don't have a high level of education. Some of the men asked him if they would have Memorial Day off. He said, "The first person who can tell me what Memorial Day is about will get the day off with pay." No one got it right.
Men and women have died in service to their country to protect the American right to be an idiot. We honor the sacrifices they made, because even those who don't appreciate them should live a life of freedom.
It's been a busy week. Our son graduated from high school and our daughter wrapped up her sophomore year. Things seemed especially hectic at work for both my wife and me.
Since we live in the same place and work in the same place, we have started riding to work together. This does not cut our gasoline consumption in half, but it makes a dent in it. We are running four automobiles at this house, and the expense is becoming oppressive.
More than 5000 people work where we do and a lot more of them are using public transportation lately. There's a bus stop right at the main entrance to our place and I'm seeing starched shirt-and-tie types getting off the bus in the morning and on it again in the evening.
I might consider it, but I don't live anywhere near the bus route. Someone should talk to City Hall about initiating Park and Ride in this part of town.

It's a three-day weekend for us and we're not going anywhere. Our daughter will hop on a bus for Colorado, though.

Finally, Ahab had his white whale. I had my bunny. A rabbit lives in our back yard, to the endless frustration and amusement of our dog. I haven't been able to get a decent photo of the elusive bunny. Friday night, I got it.
Of course, that tells you a little something about how exciting my Friday nights are.
As for the dog, she hasn't been able to get near the rabbit yet. I'm not sure what she would do with it if she caught it. I think she might have given up. You could say she saw the light.

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Leave My Cat Alone

Cat nap
Originally uploaded by Darrell

A photo of this cat using me for a bed while I was passed out on narcotics over the weekend has caused a disturbance in the Daddy D Force. You people are abusing the poor thing in comments and e-mails. I guess she has gotten fat, but I haven't noticed.
The cat lives in our home despite her mercurial nature. She's ten years old, so I guess we're stuck with her for a while yet. She serves no real purpose except to get cat hair on the sofa and to annoy me.
About 80% of the time, she's a tolerable animal. It's the other 20% that gets to you. Without warning, she will pounce on you. Sometimes, when provoked, she will bite. Most of my kids' friends just hate her, fear her or have a general disregard for her.
We got her as a kitten for our then-6 year old daughter. They were inspeparable for seven or eight years, but now the Disappearing Teenager has basically abandoned her cat and so by default she comes around to bug us all the time.
She's fat because we can't keep her out of the dog food. She earns her keep as the dog's best friend and constant companion. So, she does serve a purpose in the house.
She has no front claws, so she can't go outside unsupervised. We love her in spite of her personality flaws, maybe because of them.
If you don't mind, we'll keep feeding her.

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