My Fire Hydrant

It’s 2 weeks today since Tyler and I first met in Phoenix. and I realize that I have not told Tyler’s story. 

Tyler has started advising me on canine matters and my job at Iams.

Tyler was found one morning in late April on busy street corner in Phoenix, Arizona. He was starving and nearly comatose. Some good Samaritans took him to the local shelter, where they discovered he had parvovirus. The folks at the shelter had very good intentions, but parvo meant that he would be euthanized. One of the shelter people called Small Paws Rescue–because Tyler was a Bichon, and they knew that Small Paws helped Bichons. The nice man who was the regional representative for Small Paws went right away to pick up Tyler and take him to a local veterinary clinic, where he was placed in isolation and given lots of meds and IV fluids to fight the parvo–all paid for by Small Paws. Tyler recovered.  

Forget work! Let's play!

I had put myself on the Small Paws puppy waiting list back in March. I knew when I did it that my puppy would find me. Around the time that Tyler was recovering from his ordeal, I was preparing for a business trip that would take me to San Francisco. Ten days before I was scheduled to leave, I got an email from Small Paws–a puppy was just about ready to be adopted. Did I want him? 

DUH! OF COURSE!! 

It was karma. Instead of flying straight home from San Francisco to Dayton, I rearranged things to make a side trip to Phoenix.  

Tyler’s very wonderful foster mama brought him to me at the Crown Plaza near the airport (an excellent hotel for traveling pets!) He was so tiny, and had a very bad haircut (I think because parvo is so messy and contagious). But I could see his potential in his sweet face. 

I was almost afraid his foster mama would keep him herself cause he had wormed his way into her heart! But she left him with me, and we spent the rest of the day getting to know each other and getting Tyler used to the bag he would need to fly in. 

The next day we flew home to Dayton by way of Atlanta. 

A well deserved snooze after a hard day on the job!

That was two weeks ago. Tyler has settled into our routine with all of the energy and excitement you would expect from a puppy. His antics lift our spirits and make us laugh. I think the thing that touches me the most is that he has bonded so well with my mom (we share the house).  And I find great joy in watching him charm her with his silliness!

This turkey is in the bag!

Bailey grabs a snooze while she waits for company to arrive!

Now we wait for our company to arrive. Bailey is putting the time to good use by resting up so that she can be a sparkling hostess!

A VERY HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL MY READERS!!

(And for those of you participating in tomorrow’s madness, good shopping!)

It’s been a long time since I posted an update on my little girl. Today, we went to see our favorite veterinarian, Dr. B., for Bailey’s monthly check up.

 In case you didn’t know, Bailey was diagnosed with cancer over 3 years ago, had surgery to remove her left anal gland and 2 lymph nodes, and given only a few months to live. That was in December, 2005. Since that time, we’ve gone monthly to our vet to keep track of any resurgence of the cancer. Some people might think the money would have been better spent paying off my Visa bill, but I disagree.

To check the status of Bailey’s cancer, Dr. B must (OK, this may gross you out) stick her finger up into Bailey’s butt. It’s a really good thing that Dr. B is a petite person–her fingers are small! And today we found…….everything NORMAL, NO CANCER! [[doing my happy dance!!]]

Bailey’s heart is beating very well–no murmurs, her lungs sound good–she’s taking nice deep breaths, her reflexes are good (though her back legs are a little weak), and her weight continues at 18.9 pounds.

Now the other side of the coin: her cataracs have gotten noticibly worse–Dr. B has said that every visit for the past 3 months. I suspect my girl is going to be blind very soon. And I have been a very neglectful mom in that I have gotten out of the habit of cleaning her teeth and it’s starting to show!! BAD MOM!!! (where’s the rolled up newspaper?) I have GOT to make a better effort to brush her teeth!

We also discussed the fact that Bailey has had a few more incidents of  “backwards sneezing” lately, and some rough breathing. Dr. B. feels very certain that this is due to environmental allergies which we will take care of with some baby Benadryl.

When the exam was over, Bailey retreated to her Sherpa bag–her safe place. Poor sweetheart! Not only did we inturrupt puppy nap time for the vet visit, but she had to undergo the indignity of having her butt checked! One of the wonderful women who work at the front desk at the clinic gave Bailey a cookie, which didn’t exactly make up for her lost dignity, but which certainly helped make her feel better.

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Thanks for coming to our online celebration!!

[For today, in order to keep the Celebration at the top of the page, I will be editing the post to add any additional celebration items below. These edits will be posted in newest to oldest order.]

(2:15 PM EST) Our mailbox is so full, I nearly missed this photo from Salinger!

(10:00 AM EST) Dogster has made Bailey DOG OF THE DAY!

(7:10 AM EST) Just received a photo of one of our party-goers! Here’s Marti and Nicholas in their party hats!

Bailey’s Birthday is on Wednesday! Will you attend?

We had a busy weekend getting ready for the big day on Wednesday.

Bailey had a “spa” appointment on Saturday, as well as an appointment with her favorite dogtor, Dr. Blakelock. Bailey’s cancer has not returned–WOO HOO!

While Bailey was at the “spa,” I made a run to Petsmart to pick up some food I plan to take to the Humane Society of Greater Dayton either today or tomorrow. While I was there, I found the March issue of DogFancy magazine with–of all things!–a BICHON on the front cover! Now how appropriate is that!? The March issue, and it’s Bailey’s birthday. It’s like the people at DogFancy knew! They were totally talking about Bailey when they said: “A Bichon will sit under your des, sit on your lap, wait for you outside the shower door, and follow you everywhere.”

Yesterday, several friends came over to my house and we made a Birthday Video which I will post on Wednesday. We had a great time–I wish Bailey would have enjoyed it more! She has gotten almost curmudgeonly (a crusty irascible cantanderous old person full of stubborn ideas) when it comes to inturrupting her daily routine. She normally goes nuts when I open a can of her food, but because she was “forced” to wear her party ruff she refused to get excited. She gave the impression that our singing of Happy Birthday was annoying (OK, so we’re NOT professional singers!). And to top it off, she went AWOL by retiring to her bed in the middle of the party. Such a fussy pooch! Well, I guess if I live to be 91 (Bailey’s age in dog years) I’ll probably be a curmudgeon too!

BTW–if anyone is interested, the adoption event over on PetSide is over with ALL 15 special needs pets adopted!!

This is what Eukanuba marketing geeks do in their free time!

OMIGOSH! My knees and back are killing me ’cause I worked backstage on Sunday night at the Cat Walk!

The Cat Walk at Meow-lin Rouge was an absolute hoot! This fabulous event benefited the kitties of the Humane Society of Greater Dayton. There were over 30 volunteers from Pet Care, and as many volunteers from the HSGD, along with 13 different Dayton hair salons. What a night! We helped put on the show, serve drinks and food, and collect money for the shelter.

The Room

Each of the salons had a group of from 2 to 5 models who were made up, coiffed, costumed, and given a cat walk routine to perform. There was a panel of judges who voted for the best one. And after the Cat Walk was over, the models walked through the audience collecting tips. The salon that earned the highest $$ amount for tips got the People’s Choice award. And the shelter kitties got all the money!

I’m still waiting to find out how much money we raised. And I’m sniffing around trying to find more photos to post here. My friend Bud has posted a video of the winning salon (Mark Philips Salon and Spa) on YouTube. I’m hoping he’ll be posting videos of the other salons. Watch these kitties strut their stuff!

We are now approaching the third year anniversary of Bailey’s cancer diagnosis, and I can’t help thinking about it and being so very thankful for these three extra years I’ve had with her (why can I NEVER write about this without getting teary??!)

I’m thankful that I chose NOT to do chemo and/or radiation. Understand, that was the right decision for my pooch. It may not be the right decision for someone else’s pooch. Anyone who shares their life with a pet will one day be forced to weigh their options and make their own decisions. At the time, I didn’t know that Bailey would live for more than a few months. But I knew enough about her personality to know that the ends would not justify the means. It comes down to this: Know your pet and do your best to make an unselfish and informed choice.

I have the best circle of friends–and especially those of the veterinarian persuasion. I’m so thankful I have a vet that I’m comfortable with and that I trust. Every time Bailey has a trauma, Dr. Blakelock talks me down off the ledge. She is incredible.

And then there’s Dr. Dicke, who I work with. She is my hero on so many levels (if you can get a hold of the August 2008 issue of Veterinary Forum, page 24, you will read about a BIG reason why she’s my hero). She lets me ramble on about Bailey (even when she has a mountain of work on her desk), helping me to figure out when I need to get Bailey to Dr. Blakelock and when I need to stop indulging my very vivid imagination.

My teammates at the office are part of the best circle of friends I mentioned two paragraphs ago. I can’t think of any other place I’ve worked where they understand the reasoning behind calling off from work because there’s something wrong with your dog. Yes, it can make office life a little more stressful for the folks left working. But everyone at the office understands the need to take care of your pooch and everyone pitches in to cover the loose ends. I’m so thankful that I work with such an empathetic, wonderful bunch of people.

So here we are at the start of the holiday season. Our world continues to be troubled, my retirement fund has taken a nose-dive, and the weather is turning cold with a likelihood of snow (which will annoy Bailey no end because she won’t be able to potty outside). Things could be worse. I’ve got a job I love. I’m relatively healthy. My mom is doing fine. And Bailey-the-Bichon has survived another year to torment and tease me.

Who could ask for anything better out of life?