My Fire Hydrant

First, let me say thank you for those of you who have left comments of support and those of you I’ve talked with. We all love our furbabies, and your kind words are treasured.

I hospitalized Bailey this morning.

Yesterday morning she had to be coaxed to eat her biscuits. She flat-out refused the MiniChunks. In the afternoon I noticed a slight change in her behavior. She was a little more confused than normal (she’s almost 14 and I’ve noticed signs of canine dementia for quite a while).  And she totally lost interest in her biscuits. We made her some lean hamburger for supper–she reluctantly ate it. By bedtime she only took a couple of laps of water. She didn’t wake me during the night to get her off the bed for a drink and potty–I woke her at 4 AM–she very reluctantly went out to potty and had absolutely no interest in water. I knew then that it was time.

So at 7 I got up and got dressed–normally Bailey would have moved from her pillow at the head of the bed to the foot of the bed in prep to getting down, but not today. She refused water, food, and she wouldn’t go out to potty. I called the clinic–both Dr. B (our usual dogtor) and Dr. C (our stand-in from Friday) are off today, but good fortune smiled because Dr. T was in. I used to work with Dr. T, so I knew we would be in very caring hands.

The folks who work at the BR clinic are so wonderful! The 2 receptionists were so caring and empathetic as we waited to see the vet tech. They made a point of coming out from behind the counter and giving Bailey a scratch and me a pat. They are such lovely people.

We met first with the vet tech who got Bailey’s vitals. Dr. T was actually scheduled for surgery–but he was able to put it off so he could meet with us first. He did a very thorough exam, asked me lots of questions, looked over Bailey’s records, and took lots of notes. He also did x rays of her lungs and her liver.

The lung xray was to make sure that there was no cancer in her lungs. They’re clear.

The liver x ray was to see if we could get any hint of what might be happening. Her liver is enlarged, but Dr. T also had an x ray of her liver from a year ago and her liver was enlarged then, too. So no significant change in the size of her liver over the past year. He also looked at her blood-work–again, we had the same panels from last year and there’s no significant change.

He called Bailey “our little enigma.” He said that between the blood-work and the x rays he cannot find a reason for her symptoms and maybe we’re looking at a combination of things. Some of the older dogs he treats have lately had more problems with arthritis because our weather has been so cold. Also, he confirmed something that my friend from work Dr. Amy said to me yesterday: Sometimes older dogs who have symptoms like this simply need some fluid support to snap out of it. I’ll call him later this afternoon to see how she’s doing.

One thing I know for certain: we will not do any “heroic” measures to prolong Bailey’s life. I will not put her through invasive surgery or chemo. Her comfort is my paramount concern–and I will not consent to causing her pain just so I can have her companionship for a few extra months. This is a decision I made 4 years ago when we discussed putting her through chemo and radiation. And please understand, what’s right for me and Bailey is not what I consider right for every pet owner. We each make our own decisions based on our own experiences and knowledge of our pets.

I will probably have the dogtors take care of the bad tooth that Dr. C found on Friday–but I need more information about it before I make a decision.

So Bailey is now in hospital, and I miss her like crazy. The house seems empty without her here. But I still feel confident that I’ve made the right decisions. Keeping her home over the weekend allowed her to rest comfortably, and made me feel better too. But today her condition is beyond my skill and she needs the help of professionals. I’m going to do my best to keep thinking positive and hang on the idea that many dogs snap out of these symptoms after fluid support at the vet’s.

But, oh Dog! the house is so quiet.

We’re waiting.

Bailey has stopped eating. In my heart, I’m certain it’s the food. But remember where I work (Consumer Relation, Iams). My head knows it’s NOT the food.

Our usual routine has been topsy-turvey because of the holidays–I’ve taken some massive vacation time and our usual day of get up/dressed, walk the pooch, feed the pooch, sit at my desk and work with pooch in bed under desk, has been totally disrupted. And Bailey has been annoyed because of this disruption. Nearly every morning of my vacation, as we finish up the dress/walk/feed chores that never change, she stands in the hall outside my office, looks at me and says, “Time for work, aren’t you coming to your desk?” And when I go in a different direction she gets this confused and then annoyed look because I’m deviating from the routine. So when she started to skip a meal here-and-there I put it down to the upheaval in our routine.

Looks like I was probably wrong.

I’ve mentioned before that I feed Bailey 4 times a day. Tuesday night, she refused to eat at her last feeding of the day. Wednesday, she would only eat lunch and supper. Thursday, she refused to eat all 4 meals.

Now the thing that has made me crazy is that she’ll eat her biscuits, or a handful of MiniChunks (which I happened to have on hand) or scraps from the table (yes, I know, bad mom) no problem. So I thought “There’s nothing wrong–she’ll eat other stuff, just not her regular meal. There must be something wrong with the food.”

My head knows it’s not the food.

Remember, Bailey is diabetic. She was due for a check on her blood sugar, so I took her to our favorite clinic on Wednesday and a wonderful vet tech pulled some blood. Her blood sugar was at 213–which is good.

Then Thursday she totally would not eat her regular meals. And each time I offered it she looked at me like I was missing some kind of crucial ceremony that would allow her to eat. Her eyes said if only I would say the magic words or do the magic hand wave she would be able to eat the food I was placing before her. But obviously I was too head-stupid to figure out what the magic charm was that would allow her to eat, so she sadly ducked her head and walked away from the bowl.

I still thought this was part of the routine-disruption. Eventually she would be hungry enough to eat.

I didn’t give her her shot on Thursday evening–I didn’t want her blood sugar to bottom out because that can be life-threatening. For the short-term it would be far less harmful if her blood sugar was slightly elevated.

During the night on Thursday she woke me 4 times so that I could lift her off the bed so she could drink water. And twice insisted that she needed to go out to the patio to pee (she seems to be on strike against the pee pad). I kinda expected this–after all when her blood sugar level is high she gets thirsty. I did not get much sleep.

One of the advantages of working where I do is I have access to a team of veterinarians who are never too busy to discuss Bailey’s health. Friday morning I talked the situation over with two of my best buds–Dr. Dicke and Jen-the-vet-tech. They both agreed it was time to call my vet.

My vet was in emergency surgery, so I left a long voice mail for her. Before noon she called me–she had a family commitment and was about to leave for the day, but she felt I should bring Bailey in today rather than wait till she was next in on Monday so she had made arrangements for us to see her colleague, Dr. C. at 2. I was very comfortable with this because we’ve seen Dr. C. in the past (though it was several years ago), and he’s very nice and very smart.

After I told him our story, he did a full exam on Bailey. And found that she has an infected tooth. (I am a bad mom).

The tooth didn’t seem to be painful (yet). He didn’t want to rule it out, but he also didn’t want to jump to the conclusion that the tooth was the problem. So blood tests were needed. It could be a bladder infection (she has a history), or her liver or her thyroid or her pancreas. Or it could be that the cancer is back. Blood tests will give us better indications.

In the meanwhile he prescribed clavamox (an antibiotic) which will help with the tooth and also the possible bladder infection. And he will phone me before noon tomorrow (today? I think it’s after midnight) to let me know the lab results on her blood.

And so, we wait.

This past Saturday and Sunday (12/12-13), Long Beach California hosted the AKC/Eukanuba National Championship. My buddy Emily was there and she tweeted (@askEukanuba and @EukanubaEmily) some great photos! Since not everybody is on Twitter, I thought I’d share them here (Em’s tweet is the photo caption).

Check out this pretty banner at the entrance to the big show ^Em #eukdogshow Can't wait for all the fun events tomorrow.

Check out the trophy!! Very cool!#eukdogshow

This is what they’re all after!

OMD!!!! just met Shawn Johnson w/my coworker Jason..Great start to show #eukdogshow

Another great photo of Shawn Johnson w/my fave breed!!! #Eukdogshow

Another great photo of Shawn #eukdogshow

Emily had a great time with Shawn Johnson–maybe you don’t remember her? Shawn won gymnastic gold in Beijing at the 2008 Olympics, and she has a dog named Tucker.

Shawn autographed some really beautiful dog collars that were given away as prizes:

Are you at #eukdogshow? Go to stage in main entrance at 2:30 for a chance to win a collar autographed by @ShawneyJ

@ShawneyJ was giving out collars on the stage earlier this afternoon!! The collars were pink & sparkly We had 5 lucky winners.

Just finished watching Justin Tackett w/Yella!!!What a dynamic duo #eukdogshow

Emily also got to meet Justin Tackett and his beautiful dog, Yella.

There were some pawsome dogs in the Meet the Breed area:

Here is a pic of Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever puppy. Enjoy! #eukdogshow

This is Ditto-the brother to Knotty, previous AKC/Euk Nation'l Champ. He is a sweethart!! Look at those sweet wrinkles!!!

Look at these giant beauties!! #eukdogshow ^Em

Check out this cute Beagle!! What a face ^Em

Look at this face!!!! This is my new fave breed (of course Goldens still rule my heart) #eukdogshow ^Em

Em also got to meet Officer John Azevedo and Blitz:

What a day so far!!! I was able to meet Officer John Azevedo & Blitz. What a great team! Blitz is beautiful #eukdogshow

Another new friend!

Just met @LauraNativo & @PrestonCasanova by the dock jumping area. Preston had the cutest bag and necktie!! What a cutie

Eukanuba and Orvis presented a check for $150,000 to the Morris Animal Foundation to help their Canine Cancer Campaign. Is that Betty White up there on the stage?

This afternoon Eukanuba & Orvis presented check for 150,000 to Morris Animal Foundation to help K9 Cancer Campaign ^Em

Just sat down for evening show!!..how exciting #eukdogshow

And then it was time for the show! The AKC/Eukanuba National Championship will be broadcast on Animal Planet on February 6. If you want to know who won, visit this spoiler link. You’ll also find more show results on Dog Show Poop.

What a fabulous weekend. Maybe I’ll get to go next year!

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

Snoozing on the Sofa!

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!

Christie Keith is a part of the blogging machine over at the Pet Connection blog. She posted today that her dog, a beautiful senior Scottish Deerhound named Sindar Rebel of Caber Feidh–Rebel for short–has crossed over the Rainbow Bridge.  My heart goes out to her!

Rebel was 10.5 years old, had recently been dealing with some health issues, and wasn’t bouncing back to good health as he did when he was younger. As I have seen with Bailey (and my mom) recovery for older animals (four-legged and two-legged) sometimes doesn’t bring them back to the same point of health they were at before they got sick. Little health problems are of much greater concern as we all age. Nothing is ever simple.

Sometimes, the meds/health care don’t work. The cure seems to be worse than the disease. Last fall, Bailey hurt her back. We did x-rays, but the way the vet team had to position her body seemed to aggravate the injury and made her even more miserable.  Plus she had a bad reaction to the pain meds. We (me and my vet) wanted to do what was best for her, and ended up probably making matters worse.

Rebel’s simple (for a younger dog) problem of a bladder infection was made so much more complicated and dangerous because Rebel was an older dog. I have been in this same situation with Bailey. These things are never simple.

What can a pet parent do to give an older pet a better chance to recover their health back to where they were before they got sick?

VISIT THE VET: For a senior dog it’s advised to schedule a vet visit every 6 months. For Bailey, we actually see Dr. B. once a month to monitor her cancer–and I’ve learned to do without a few things so that I can afford good veterinary care. Being a canine hypochondriac may be embarrassing, but treating little illnesses before they become big problems keeps Bailey in better health.

KNOW YOUR DOG: Because life changes can be so gradual, it’s good to have a (written, hard copy) list of “normal” behaviors to refer to–a list of how your dog behaves when she’s happy. This can become your doggie health barometer. I made up my list when Bailey was first diagnosed with cancer. Here are some of the items I use to check Bailey’s mental and physical health:

• Bailey barks when the doorbell rings.
• Bailey “grooms” my feet (she licks them–which tickles tremendously) when I brush my teeth.
• At every opportunity, Bailey will pull the kitchen towels off the rack. Sometimes she gives particularly recalcitrant towels a shake before dropping. 
• For attention, Bailey will tear off pieces of the newspaper if we leave it on the floor–and will run with a “chase me!” attitude when noticed.

When Bailey stops doing any of these things, I go on alert looking for other health clues. And I usually consult Dr. B. because for an older dog nothing is ever simple.

MAKE A PLAN: While your dog is well and your own emotions are under control, think about what you would want to do if your dog’s health suddenly deterioated. Think of this as a living will for your pet. Talk to your family members. Get advice from your vet. Figure out how you want to deal with things like invasive surgery or heroic measures before the decision is forced upon you.

ACCEPT: OK, bottom line is that no matter how much you plan, consult, talk, examine and make lists, in the end it may still come down to a crystal ball decision. What kind of medical treatment  and how much medical treatment your senior dog receives might still be determined by your gut feeling. So make what choices you can ahead of time and hope that your crystal ball is not cluttered with clouds.

My heart goes out to Christie. I know from reading her posts that she loved Rebel and gave him a good life. And he’s waiting for her on the other side–of this I’m certain.

My old girl.