My Fire Hydrant

It’s been raining here for the past 7 hours and Little Miss Prissy Feet refuses to go out to potty. And for some reason she has taken her pee pad in aversion. In her Bichon-stubbornness, she forgot that I’m bigger than she is. I finally simply carried her out to the grass at the end of the driveway where she instinctively copped a squat.

Don’cha wish all your problems could be solved by picking them up and carrying them to the right place?

Four years ago today, Bailey had surgery to remove her left anal gland and 2 sub lumbar lymph nodes because of cancer.

Yesterday, we had our monthly check up with Bailey’s dogtor, Dr. B. We’ve been doing a monthly check up for four years, just waiting for the cancer to come back. I don’t want to jinx it by actually saying that Bailey is in remission–but it sure looks that way to me!!

We now are dealing with the little illnesses that come with old age.

• Bailey already had arthritis in her back legs, it’s now spread to her left front leg.
• Her diabetes is under control, but I think it’s affecting her sense of smell (Dr. B. confirms this possibility). I find that I need to nuke her food more often in order to get her to eat–her sniffer is not picking up on the aroma.
• She’s down to 18.4 pounds–which is actually good. At her heaviest, she’s hit 21 pounds. For her size, she probably should be 17. Dr. B. says the weight loss is probably related to the diabetes, but not to worry because it’s leveled off.

I have so many things to be thankful for. A wonderful dogtor and vet clinic where Bailey gets great care and I get support and empathy. My family and good friends whose eyes don’t glaze over when I mention Bailey’s health for the gazillionth time. And time with my pooch–4 years so far, instead of only 6 months.

Oh, and I’ve got all my Christmas decorations up, lights lit, and presents wrapped. (It’s been a busy weekend!)

Life is good!

I’m really pleased to be participating today in Petside.com’s second annual Pet’Net Safety Event!

In an effort to heighten awareness about critical issues related to pet safety, Petside.com has organized a consortium of some of the Web’s favorite pet-focused sites (including My Fire Hydrant!) to launch the Pet‘Net Safety Event on Wednesday, October 21. Each participating site and blog is highlighting content devoted to the important topic of pet safety. Petside is hosting a comprehensive one-page hub with links to all of the special coverage–which I recommend that you visit.

 

IS YOUR PET READY FOR EVACUATION?
A few years ago, a chemical plant not too far from my house had an explosion, and my neighborhood had to quickly evacuate the area. We went first to a friend’s house, but ended up in a motel overnight. It was inconvenient, but more important, it was a frightening eye-opener.

We live in a scary world. Between the weather (Katrina) and terrorism (9/11) it seems to be wise to prepare and plan for the day you may need to evacuate and seek shelter away from your home. In the past few years, one of the most important things we’ve learned is DON’T LEAVE YOUR PET BEHIND.

This may seem like common sense, but it may not be as easy as you think. In an evacuation situation, it will probably be too dangerous to simply camp out in your car. Will the shelter in your area allow pets? Or can you find a motel that will also let you bring in your Great Dane? What if you have very limited time to evacuate–will you remember to grab your dog’s arthritis meds so that she can be comfortable?

You need to prepare. You need a plan, a kit, and some lists.

MAKE A PLAN
Sit down with your family members and think this through. Imagine all the possible things that might happen–both man-made and natural. Be overly cautious, and think of the worse possible scenarios. Imagine that you must vacate your home for a couple of weeks. Here are some questions to get you thinking about how your pets fit into your plan:

• What kind of disasters might effect you? Tornadoes? Hurricanes? Flooding? Chemical spills or explosions?
• Where will you go if you have to leave home?
• Has your regional emergency preparedness authorities designated in their planning which shelters will accept pets?
• Does your local animal shelter/SPCA, or local animal control office have any information on how to plan for your pet’s evacuation in your area?
• What if you’re not home–is there a neighbor who can evacuate your pets? Where will you meet up with them and your other family members?
• What about boarding your pet at a pet hotel, your local shelter, or your veterinarians?
• What supplies does your pet need during an evacuation? What are the bare essentials you need?
• What steps can you take to keep your pet calm? What if your pet panics and runs away?
• Can you rehearse your evacuation so that your four-legged family members become familiar with the actions you will need to take?
• What if the type of disaster restricts you to hour home–where is the safest place in your house? Is there room for your four-legged family along side your two-legged family?
• Do you have other animals like horses, goats, or cows? What happens to them?

Write your plan down–either on a legal pad on on your laptop. Consult with your veterinarian and your local emergency preparedness team. Refine your plan to account for as many variables as possible. Make sure everybody in the family knows what to do.

MAKE A KIT
Think of the things your pet needs each day. This list is just the bare minimum to get you thinking.

• Pet food
• Bottled water
• Medications
• Paperwork:
  • Veterinary records, including significant medical history, rabies certificate and vaccination record.
  • Proof of ownership.
  • Current photos of your pets (include some with you in the photo too) for identification purposes
• Cat litter/pan
• Food dishes
• First aid kit
• Crate/carrier/cage labeled with your contact information
• Comfort items
  • Toys
  • Treats
  • Blankets
• Leashes, harnesses, collars, muzzles
• Up-to-date ID tags, rabies tags securely attached to pet’s collar
• Stakes and tie-outs
• Paper towel and garbage bags (to clean up after your pet)

This kit list is not complete and focuses on dogs and cats. Birds, reptiles, small rodents like guinea pigs, horses, goats, sheep and other domesticated animals will have different needs.

MAKE SOME LISTS
Again, this is just to get you thinking. It’s not complete.

• Motels/hotels within a 90-mile radius that will take pets–include directions, address, phone number.
• Emergency phone numbers, like your veterinarian, your local police department, local fire department, local animal control, your insurance agent.
• Other phone numbers: Local shelters/rescue groups; friends and family who would be unaffected by an emergency in your region.

THE UNTHINKABLE HAPPENS!
Don’t wait. If an evacuation order has been issued, get moving. If its the type of emergency that will restrict you to your home, bring your animals inside and move to your home’s safe area. Don’t delay. Even just a couple of minutes can make a difference in your pet’s survival.

RESOURCES
I’ve barely scratched the surface! In researching this article, two sites were incredible information sources.  

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) has a very complete disaster preparedness site which includes information not just for consumers, but also for veterinarians. The site is easy-to-understand and there’s an FAQ about the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards (PETS) Act, a bill signed into law by President Bush in 2006 to require the inclusion of companion animals in disaster planning at state and local levels.

The second site you will want to get familiar with is FEMA’s (Federal Emergency Management Agency)–not just for your pets, but also for your family. The FEMA site also offers some free-of-charge web-enabled training, including Animals in Disaster, for which you can receive college credit.

Do it now. Make your plan, make your kit, make your lists before you need them.

I mentioned on Saturday that Bailey had a hot spot. As of yesterday her tail is flying high again and she seems to be nearly back to her rotten-spoiled self (big sigh of relief!). 

 A hot spot happens when something irritates the skin–it’s a bacterial infection. The irritation starts a cycle where the dog licks and chews at the irritation site which further irritates the skin which makes it itch even more which makes the dog lick/chew more…you get the idea.

In Bailey’s case, she was licking her back paw making it very wet, then rubbing it against the remainder of the wart she somehow managed to slice off. The moisture from her foot and the bloody wart trapped by her fur against the skin caused bacteria to grow and the cycle of itching/scratching/further skin irritation to begin. I feel a little bit less like a bad mom who wasn’t paying attention because I read on WebMD Healthy Pets that hot spots develop really fast–sometimes within a matter of hours.

Things that can cause hot spots (other than pulling off a wart):

• Fleas (most common) and other bug bites
• Allergies
• Skin parasites
• Ear or anal gland infections
• Skin diseases
• Poor grooming
• Burrs
• Anything that starts an itch/scratch cycle

Heavy coated breeds seem to be more prone to hot spots than lighter coated breeds.

Treatment usually includes:

• Clipping away the hair around the hot spot–it’s usually bigger then it appears.
• Cleaning the skin with solutions that are antibacterial and/or have drying powers.
• Allowing the area to dry out.
• Antibiotics.
• An e-collar.
• (MOST IMPORTANT!) Stopping the itch/lick/itch cycle.

If your dog is scratching like crazy, and has crusty, scabbed, angry-red skin that might be oozing and moist, VISIT THE VET! Hot spots are extremely painful (as Bailey will testify)!

Here are some tips that got me through the past few days:

• On Saturday and Sunday I kept Bailey on her leash all the time so that I could keep close watch on her to keep her from scratching at her wound. Because of the location of the hot spot, an e-collar was not an option for us.
• The leash also helped me control her when I had to put ointment on the wound area (which she fought like crazy).
  

  Bailey's new neck ruff softly protects her neck where the hot spot is healing.

• I took an old, long sleeved tee shirt of mine and cut off a part of one of the sleeves. This became Bailey’s new neck ruff, covering the wound area and protecting it from more irritation (like rubbing against the sofa or scratching by that busy back leg).
• I let go of our schedule and went with the flow. I stopped stressing if Bailey missed a meal. She seemed to be sleeping more–if she was sleeping, I waited until she woke up on her own before offering a meal.
• Bailey is on an antibiotic, and antibiotics are indiscriminate about killing the bad and the GOOD bacteria. Along with her antibiotic med, Bailey is getting Prostora Max to help keep a balance of good bacteria in her digestive tract.

I’ve been surfing around the web site of the National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America (NAVTA) because this is National Veterinary Technician Week.

NAVTA has been around for 28 years. From their web site: “The mission of NAVTA is to represent and promote the profession of veterinary technology. NAVTA provides direction, education, support and coordination for its members, and works with other allied professional organizations for the competent care and humane treatment of animals.”

Something I never considered is the wide variety of specialties that a Vet Tech can have expertise in. Things like:

• Dentistry
• Anesthetics
• Internal Medicine
• Emergency and Critical Care
• Behavior

I work with three really fabulous Veterinary Technicians on a regular basis. I want to give a big shout of thanks to Emily, Jen, and Kim for all the help they give me each day! 

I also want to give a big shout of thanks to the Veterinary Technicians at Bigger Road Veterinary Clinic, where I take Bailey. They’re competent, empathetic, and I’m always confident that Bailey is getting the very best care when she is in their hands.

VETERINARY TECHNICIANS ROCK!!

Around 3 AM Bailey woke up. And that was basically the end of sleep for both of us. She continues to fight me when I try to apply the Tritop®, and so far no salve has made it to Bailey’s neck (I’ve gotten it on the sofa cushions, my shirt, the ends of Bailey’s ears, my bed sheets, etc).  Today, the hot spot looks much better.

But I’m wondering if some of the urge to scratch that Bailey continues to feel might be due to a little razor burn. When they examined and cleaned the hot spot yesterday, they cut/shaved away the fur around the edges of the wound. Today, I can see what is either the scratches from when she was able to itch before I stopped her OR the rash that indicates razor burn. I’m sure everyone says this about their dogs, but Bailey has very delicate skin. Nearly every time she’s shaved to treat a health issue she winds up with razor burn (there are a couple of exceptions associated with Dogtor B who truly understands how sensitive Bailey’s skin is).

Well, she’ll be able to spend today sleeping and getting well. I, unfortunately, have chores to do so I will have to put off making up for the sleep I missed last night. At least she seems to be more comfortable.

We had a vet appointment today, and it wasn’t exactly fun. The cancer remains MIA–no sign of it {HAPPY DANCE!}, but Bailey has a hot spot that’s nasty.

Warning: This post has an “ewwww!” factor of 9. Stop reading if you’re easily grossed out.

For a long while now, Bailey has had old dog warts. Califlower-shaped nodules, they’re all over her body. However, there are two that have always been a little troublesome. One is located on her head, the other on her neck.

Bailey likes to rub her muzzle and face against the side of the sofa as she walks by–which often causes the two warts to break open a bleed a little. There’s almost always a little scab of blood on both of these warts. I’ve talked about this with the Dogtor–to remove them would mean putting Bailey under anesthesia, which we want to avoid. The Dogtor says it’s better to just leave them alone–even though they’re icky looking–and to clean the scabs off as needed.

On Tuesday we noticed that there was blood smeared on Bailey’s neck where we expected the wart to be. Somehow, she had managed to slice off about 3/4 of the nodule.

I cleaned it up and put some Tritop® ointment on it, and that seemed to be the end of the matter. Except Bailey kept scratching it with her back foot. I did all I could to discourage her from scratching. I even tied a scarf over the wound so that if she scratched when I wasn’t able to stop her it wouldn’t do damage. I thought the wart was getting better.

When I went to put the Tritop® on her yesterday, she wouldn’t let me get near that part of her neck. She did her best imatation of a board, and stiffened up on her hind legs with her back against the sofa cushion so that I couldn’t get to her neck. I knew we had a vet appointment scheduled for the next day, so I didn’t worry too much, and didn’t press the issue.

Today, when she would not allow me to put on her collar, I knew there was a real problem. When we got to the Dogtor, the technician was able to hold her in such a way that I could finally see that Bailey’s skin around where the wart used to be was seriously red and angry looking. When the tech brought her back from the treatment room, she had a 2-inch  patch of fur cut off and a very mean looking scab where the wart used to be.

The Dogtor put Bailey on antibiotics and gave her a shot of pain medicine. Bailey’s diabetes adds some complications to how the wound is treated and what meds we can use–no styroids. It’s already looking better, though it still makes me cringe. She’s stopped trying to scratch it, and she seems to be comfortable.

I feel stupid for not taking her to the vet sooner–but up until yesterday I thought it was healing. Poor little dog! I’m a horrible mom!

For as long as I’ve worked for Iams/Eukanuba, we’ve been able to bring our dogs into the office with us when we feel like it. Bailey and I are very lucky because we are usually able to work from home—but this past Friday was TAKE YOUR DOG TO WORK DAY, so we just had to spend the day at Iams/Eukanuba headquarters to enjoy the celebration!

I took so many photos on Friday! It took me all weekend to sift through and narrow them down to a few representational shots. Also over the weekend I happened to read a post from Jaime, over at Thoughts Fur Paws that gave me some inspiration. I hope you like this photo essay of Take Your Dog to Work Day, Iams/Eukanuba-style!

This was the premier of Bailey’s new stroller! OK, go ahead and laugh at me for buying my dog a stroller. In my defense, my old girl has arthritis which causes her discomfort if she has to walk too far; her cataracts are interfering with her ability to see; her hearing is starting to fail; and she’s just not getting out of the way of people’s feet fast enough anymore. So I felt a new stroller was a good investment if I want to continue to share this kind of event with my pooch. And I think she likes it better this way too.

The first thing we did on Friday was to take a tour of the building to check out the four-footed fur buddies celebrating the day! (Normally we practice a little common sense—we don’t all bring our dogs at the same time—but on Friday, there were more dogs than usual!).

Allison and Lil’ Roo (Shih-tzu, “a bouncing 3-year-old baby boy!” Allison’s words, not mine!)

Roo says, “Hello Bailey!”

Annie and Champ (Yellow Labrador Retriever, 2-years old).

“Uh, no, I’m not doing any work today unless there’s a biscuit involved.”

Bunker, a 6.5 year old Golden Retriever.

Chelsea (Miniature Schnauzer, 5 years old) takes a meeting with mom, Chris (facing camera), Connie (left) and Valerie (right).

Meanwhile, back on Chris’ desk, Gladys the floor cat (she lives on the 4th floor of the building) is tremendously annoyed that today is about dogs. She refuses to participate and plans on spending the day in her box lid.

Tony (a Rat Terrier, who was 5 years old this month), is totally psyched that this is TAKE YOUR DOG TO WORK DAY, and cannot be persuaded to take a nap before the pawty (that’s his office bed, underneath the desk).

“That’s OK Tony,” mom Deanna says. “You can nap this afternoon.”

Atlas (2 years old, Doberman), who is a regular at the office, waits patiently for mom Christine to return from the copy machine.

In the next cube over Flash (Goldendoodle, 6.5 years old) is wishing mom would let him out so he could play with Atlas (more about that later).

Flash and Alison.

Julie is babysitting little Diva while Jason (Diva’s dad) attends a meeting.

Jason and Diva (10 weeks old, Afghan puppy). Jason breeds Afghans.

What a cute future champion (and I don’t mean Jason!).

Diva has her own special space in Jason’s office.

(Humans, left to right) Kim, Mario, Malisa and Pam talk about the Hope, the Poodle mix that Kim just adopted from Luv4k9s, and the shelter cats that live with Mario.

This is Jack (Affenpinscher, 9-years old), who shares his life with Malisa.

Bailey and Cricket (also an oldster, she’s a 14.5-years old Yorkiepoo adopted from SICSA) say hello.

Cricket and mom Pam (check out Pam’s interview).

Mere and Beaglegeuse (pronounced Beagle-juice), an 11-year old Beagle.

Mitch and Kuddles (10-year old Maltese)

That’s Carmella peeking round the post!

Carmella (7 month old puppy Mixed Breed) lives with Rebecca.

Bailey and I looked in on one meeting that seemed to be going to the dogs! (Flash, Atlas, and Champ figured since it was TAKE YOUR DOG TO WORK DAY, why not have a ruff-and-tumble meeting?)

Finally, cooler heads had to intervene or no work would have gotten done. Its rest time for playful pooches!

Scott and Bailey (11-year old Chocolate Labrador with a great name!) on their way to the pawty in the courtyard!

Teddi and Rachel from the Humane Society of Greater Dayton brought puppies (!) that were looking for forever homes.

Adoption discussion?

Our friends from SICSA (Travis, Sea, and Michael) had Kroger gift cards available. This is a great program—you get the Kroger gift card from SICSA, load it with money at Kroger, and then each time you use it Kroger gives 4% of your purchase back to SICSA.

Mick, Minnie, and Elizabeth were on hand from the Montgomery County Animal Resource Center–there’s a wonderful video of Mick on YouTube (see below).

Richard, Melody, and Deborah from the Miami Valley Pet Therapy Association also joined our celebration. They do incredible work in our local hospitals, libraries, schools and medical centers, with children, seniors, veterans, and others who need a furry shoulder to lean on.

We also were visited by Jessalyn and Jennifer who represented 4 Paws for Ability. This group is devoted to raising and training service dogs for children and adults who have developmental disabilities. This includes autism-assistance dogs, seizure response dogs, mobility-assistance dogs, hearing-ear dogs, in-home companions, and street companion dogs.

Bailey was having a great time at the pawty!!

At the end of our celebration, we took a group photo.

Bailey was exhausted! Good thing she could snooze the rest of the day away in her new stroller!

What a fabulous TAKE YOUR DOG TO WORK DAY!!

[7/18/09 Note: I have re-formatted this post because the formatting did not survive when it was imported from Blogspot to WordPress. Formating changes only, NO text changes.]

A friend of mine pointed out this post onPetSugarWill the Top 10 Dog and Cat Names of 2008 Surprise You?
Bailey is the number 2 most popular dog name. Hmmmmmm. Not sure that I like that. But I guess it’s OK because there really is only one, unique Bailey-the-Bichon.

Bailey was a birthday present from my mom back in 1996, and in the weeks before she came to live with me I did a lot of thinking about what to name her.

Some of you may remember that on April 19, 1995 the Alfred P. Murrah building in Oklahoma City was bombed (see this entry in Wikipedia), and a year later this was still high on the list of conversation topics. One of the photos that came out of that tragedy was this one of firefighter Chris Fields carrying Baylee Almon–there was a daycare center in the building so some of the victims of the bombing were young children. I named my Bailey for this Baylee (I didn’t know at the time the proper spelling of Baylee’s name). And since Bailey’s mom’s name was Cream, it seemed logical to name her Bailey’s Irish Cream. Or course, when I sent in her papers to the AKC, I found out she was Bailey’s Irish Cream number 26! Ah well. Bailey’s name started with this photo and she is named in remembrance of this little girl.

So, according to a VPI (Veterinary Pet Insurance) survey, as quoted by MSNBC and PetSugar, here are the top dog and cat names:

Top dog names
1. Max
2. Bailey
3. Bella
4. Molly
5. Lucy
6. Buddy
7. Maggie
8. Daisy
9. Sophie
10. Chloe

Top cat names
1. Max
2. Chloe
3. Tigger
4. Tiger
5. Lucy
6. Smokey
7. Oliver
8. Bella
9. Shadow
10. Charlie

Most unusual dog
1. Rush Limbark
2. Sirius Lee Handsome
3. Rafikikadiki
4. Low Jack
5. Meatwad
6. Peanut Wigglebutt
7. Scuddles Unterfuss
8. Sophie Touch & Pee
9. Admiral Toot
10. Spatula

Most unusual cat
1. Edward Scissorpaws
2. Sir Lix-a-lot
3. Optimus Prrrime
4. Buddah Pest
5. Snoop Kitty Kitty
6. Miss Fuzzbutt
7. 80 Bucks
8. Sparklemonkey
9. Rosie Posie Prozac
10. Toot Uncommon

I don’t see a Luxor or a Salinger among any of these lists. I guess those particular names are incredibly unique!

Once again time has gotten away from me and I’ve neglected my little fire hydrant! Bad puppy!!

Bailey is now 13 months with the cancer remaining dormant–very good news! But I’ve noticed a few new things going on since the fall.

It used to be that she would wake me up every morning to go potty between 7 and 7:30. Now, I have to root her out of bed, and if I left it to her we would sleep until 9! This might be because it’s the middle of winter (though I don’t remember her behaving this way last winter), and it’s still dark at 7:30. It might also be because she gonna be 11 years old in March. I think my little girl is becoming an old lady.

She also seems to be drooling more then she ever did and she has not slacked off on licking her front paws. I am very certain that the paw licking is not an allergy. I feel sure it’s a habit she’s gotten into–Dr. B. says she probably does it for “comfort.” This of course makes me nuts because when I hear that my dog is licking her feet for the same reason a baby sucks its thumb, I feel like I’m not being a good mom. So my pooch is going around with apricot-colored front feet and an apricot-colored muzzle. Her face constantly looks dirty.

I sound ungrateful. My sweet girl has lasted twice as long as they predicted, and I’m complaining about her face looking dirty! I don’t mean to complain—I think I’m (once again) being neurotic and looking for problems where none exist. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t matter if she drools, licks her feet, or sleeps late–The best thing that could happen is for her to die of old age, and not cancer.

One (possibly) good thing that has happened in the past 2 months: In December, Dr. B. was a little concerned about the tartar buildup on Bailey’s teeth. The last thing we want to do is put her under for a dental. So Dr. B. Prescribed some dental raw hides from C.E.T. (we would have gone with Iams Tartar treats, but Bailey tends to break them in half and swallow large chunks instead of chew them.) Bailey gets one a night.

They’re like doggy crack! She loves them! She’s addicted!! They have a very strong smell–not unpleasant, sorta meaty. If I haven’t given her one by 8:30 in the evening, she starts to sing and dance and won’t stop until she gets her chew. And at our last visit, Dr. B. says they’ve totally taken care of the tartar on her teeth.

Of course, they give her gas–not alot, just enough so that you catch a waft of aroma and you wonder “is that a doggie fart?” It’s all very lady-like. Every now and then a tiny little ffffrrrruuupppp can be heard—Bailey will look around at her butt as if to say “you talkin’ to me??” and with a confused look on her face.

It’s really pretty funny. My sweet precious little puppy fluff has turned into a drooling, farting, chew-addicted old lady! But that’s just fine because I still have the pleasure of her company.