My Fire Hydrant

We had our monthly check-in with Dr. B. yesterday. Still no sign of the cancer!

However, Bailey’s arthritis continues to make itself known. I’ve noticed that she sometimes is restless and seems to have trouble getting comfy when she laying down. Also, in the past month there were at least three occasions that she let out a yelp for no obvious reason. (OK, I’m sure there are some people out there laughing at me because I view three yelps over the course of a month as cause for concern. But Bailey can’t tell me in people-speak when she doesn’t feel good. All I can do is try to interpret the signals she gives, so that I can make sure I’m giving her the best quality of life that I can.) So we’ve upped Bailey’s arthritis meds to see if we can help the pain.

And I have a confession to make…..Last May we replaced some of the carpeting in our home with hardwood flooring. We put down area rugs, but there are sections of exposed wood. It didn’t occur to me until this morning when I saw Bailey get out from her bed under my desk that the slipping she sometimes does on the wood flooring is probably contributing to her back leg pain. I have a very guilty knot in my stomach right now. DUH!! I don’t know how I missed this!!! I’m going out today and buy some scatter rugs to “connect the dots” between the area rugs on the floor.

So yesterday I was enjoying my last holiday before work. Bailey was stretched out on my legs and we were both enjoying the La-zy-boy recliner. I was beginning to think that maybe some of the normal I had been wanting was coming back. Uh, nope.

She got up, didn’t move, but yelped loudly. Then she jumped off the end of the foot rest and disappeared under the bed. Later, we walked down to the fire hydrant (need to post a photo of that) and back. As we were getting ready to go back inside, Bailey noticed one of our neighbors across the street walking her dog, Oscar. Bailey gave a few soft barks as if to say “Yo Oscar! How ya doin’?” and Oscar and his mom started across to street and Bailey literally screeched. She wasn’t moving, but what a yelp she let off. And her back legs were trembling. We went into the house and she went under the bed and moped the rest of the evening.

She wouldn’t get up in the bed with me last night, wouldn’t let me lift her up. She slept mostly in her own bed, but when I got up to pee at 6 she was snoozing in her crate–something she hasn’t done in a long long time. And I had a really hard time getting her to go out for her first potty of the day.

She spent most of today sleeping under my desk–we’re starting to get back to the routine of me working at my desk all day and her managing and advising me from under the desk (so helpful to have such an intelligent little dog to guide me through my work day!). There was a moment at lunch time when she looked at me with that sleepy-doopy look on her face and her little pink tongue sticking out like a goofy stuffed toy–Dr. D. (at the office) says that when dogs are very relaxed they can seem to loose control of their tongues–the tongues sorta flop out of their mouths without them knowing it. I had never seen this on any of the other dogs I’ve shared my life with. But when Bailey is really relaxed and cozy that old tongue just pops out and she hasn’t got a clue that it’s not in its proper place. I thought maybe things were approaching my normal again. Uh, nope.

She did too much snoozing today–and hardly any pottys. After lunch, I tried to get her to go out and ended up taking her to the pee pad by her leash. She flooded the place! She did not want to leave the bedroom. But then around 5:30 she “asked” to go out, so we walked down to the corner. She pooped (finally!) and peed and when we got back she refused to step up the single step to the front porch–I had to lift her. My stomach acids started churning.

I fed her–she wanted to eat, in fact she asked for cookies on and off all day long. But she was hugging the bedroom–wouldn’t come out while I fixed her supper (she usually supervises) and wouldn’t come out when I called her for a cheesy treat (ah! the joys of pilling with the Laughing Cow!). So I brought her cheese cube (which secretly held her antibiotic) into the bedroom and gave it to her. She was standing. She ate the cheese then let out another yelp. And I decided, enough is enough. Called Bigger Road (God bless them!). They’re supposed to close at 7 but at 6:30 I was on my way with the pup.

Dr. B. manipulated her back legs–sure enough she was feeling some pain. I’m thinking, it’s gotta be a big tumor pressing against a nerve or something, once again the water works are going. Dr. B. took Bailey off into the dreaded back room to do a rectal exam and also to take some x-rays. Turns out, it’s arthritis! My poor little pooch has a pocket of arthritis in the ball joint where her right back leg joins her pelvis.

So, another shot of pain killer, another prescription (Metacam), and she’s been under the bed since we came home–except for the very few moments she came into the office and took a tremendous dump on the pee pad. When she showed me the x-rays, Dr. B. pointed out all the little poops waiting to come out–lotsa them. She figured that it probably was painful for Bailey to squat down into the poop position. Guess the shot helped.

I’m still looking for that normal time…

Had another scare this week.

Bailey’s trachea has always been a small issue–it’s partially collapsed. So, anytime she has surgery there is a danger of more damage.

On Wednesday at 12:07 in the afternoon, Bailey (who had been sleeping soundly under my desk in her bed) popped up, jumped out of bed and rushed into the bedroom to have a prolonged session of “backwards sneezes.” It lasted for 25 minutes!

Backwards sneezing is not uncommon for Bailey–she has them every now and then, and I believe they have some relationship to her partially collapsed trachea. But the sneezes have never gone on for such a long period of time. After it was done, she had 2 vomits–both were mostly white goopy stuff, one had pieces of biscuit in it. Off-and-on for the rest of the day she had short sessions of reverse sneezes. And her breathing was noticeably rougher. (It sounded like something was stuck in her nose–all I could think about was what one of the oncologists said about her sneezing when the stitches came out, “It could be a tumor…”)

Of course I panicked (DUH! I’m neurotic about this dog, remember?). First I spoke to Dr. D. at the office (so glad I work for Iams!), then I called my own vet, Dr. B. and left her a voice mail (after all, Bailey was breathing–though roughly–and did not appear to be in any immediate danger, and I’m trying not to be like the boy who cried “wolf!” I don’t want to bother Dr. B. any more then I have to in order to keep my sanity.) Dr. B. called me back within an hour (such a compassionate doctor!! I am so blessed that she’s Bailey’s vet!), and reassured me that it was probably OK. She suggested we try some Children’s Benydril to see if it would dry up any congestion.

That night, Bailey’s breathing was the roughest it’s ever been. Of course, she snores–what dog doesn’t? (for that matter, what human doesn’t?) But she could not seem to get comfortable for sleeping, she kept changing position and finally jumped down to go under the bed (not a really good sign). I got very little sleep–her “tossing and turning” kept me awake AND I was worried about her. (Again, so glad I work for Iams–what other employer would be so understanding when I called yesterday morning to say I would be late because my dog was not feeling well and kept me up most of the night?)

And right after I let S. know I would be a little late, I called Bigger Road and got a 5:30 appointment with Dr. B. Just making a plan made me feel better.

Dr. B. heard the rough breathing right away (see? I’m not as neurotic as I appear!) So Bailey got a shot of cortisone and some antibiotic pills (Sulfameth/Trimethoprim) to guard against pneumonia.

Today, the Pooch’s breathing is much more like normal–sometimes it’s a little rough, but I can hear a difference from yesterday. And I am feeling a little guilty. In the 2 weeks since her stitches were removed, she’s put on a pound. If I’m doing my math correctly, that’s almost a 6% weight gain (1/17.5=0.057) which is the same as a 150 pound person putting on 9 pounds in 2 weeks. Obesity can have an adverse effect on partially collapsed treacheas, and all the biscuits Bailey has gotten in the past 2 weeks may have contributed to the backwards sneeze session that started the whole cycle.

You think I’m placing too much weight (pardon the pun) on a 1 pound increase? Doesn’t matter. Dr. D. said something of the same thing to me last week: I want to make her last few months happy, but that’s no reason to make her so fat that the weight causes extra problems. So I’m gonna have to be more careful about how much I give her. Before we started down our current pathway, she was getting between 300 and 400 calories a day. A half a can of EVD Low Residue is 224. That leaves between 76 to 176 calories for biscuits and treats–around 6 biscuits a day.

I’m not sure who gets the most pleasure out of the biscuits–me or her! I’m just gonna have to squash the urge to overcompensate by giving her food.

I want my dog well! I’m scared to death that we’re not gonna get back to “normal” — with nothing causing her pain or sickness so she can be her sweet snotty spoiled self like it was back in October before she started drinking so much water. I WANT SOME NORMAL BEFORE I HAVE TO GIVE HER UP!

One day at a time. One day at a time. I’m starting to sound like a member of AA.

I take back everything I said in my previous post about Med Vet–they are some of the nicest, most empathetic people I’ve ever come across!

Bailey had her surgery on Tuesday–Dr. Schertel called me around 10:30 am to let me know the surgery was done and she was in recovery (I also found out later that he called my vet, Dr. B. to let her know what was going on). It was actually 2 surgeries–the first one was to “strip” the 2 sub-lumbar lymph nodes. They did that through an incision that runs from about 3 inches below her rib cage nearly to her little “private parts” down her abdomen. The 2nd surgery was to remove the left anal gland–an incision that runs a little over an inch out from her anus.

We picked her up on Wednesday afternoon. Poor little sweetheart–she looked like some demented Poodle groomer had gotten ahold of her. Her front legs had Poodle puffs around her “ankles” then she was clipped down to her skin around her “calves” with her “thighs” being furry. She has a bare skin patch on the lower part of her back, and her little heiny is totally bare all the way around her private parts and her underbelly up to her rib cage (gives new meaning to “bare-ass nekid!”)

The incisions look healthy, but scary. She has stitches and metal sutures in her belly incision. The little incision off her anus has stitches.

They told me to keep the e-collar on her at all times–but she doesn’t rest well with it on. She behaves as if she’s being punished. So I’ve spent the past 3 days in the bed room with her as much as possible to keep an eye out that she doesn’t mess with her stitches (thank the Good Lord that I can work from home!). She’s stayed mostly quiet. I’ve not had much sleep.

We’ve had 2 traumas.

Trauma 1: Around 6pm on Thursday, Bailey vomited. This was scary because I got the e-collar off her just in time for her to urp (I had only put it on her 15-minutes prior, this was the defining moment for me and the e-collar–I now hate it as much as Bailey does). I heard her whining–she hardly ever whines–I popped off the collar and she threw up a mass of yellow bile (will need to get the stain out of the carpet soon), with a little bit of kibble thrown in (I had managed to hand-feed her 8 kibbles that morning). I called Med Vet. This is where my mediocre opinion about them changed.

I spoke with Dr. Jenny Lang–she works with Dr. Schertel and had been part of my original consult with him. She was more concerned over the vomit than I was (WHAT??). She told me to discontinue the Carprofen–she thought that might be upsetting Bailey’s tummy. She was also a little worried that Bailey had not been eating (see Trauma 2). She said she could prescribe a new pain med from a local pharmacy, if I thought it was needed, and for me to call her back in the morning.

Around midnight Bailey was restless–up to now she had seemed mostly sleepy and content to lay in her bed. I called Med Vet. The Emergency Room vet tech was incredibly empathetic to me–she took the Walgreens phone number (God bless the person who decided that Walgreens would be open 24/7!), and she contacted Dr. Jenny to find out what pain med should be prescribed (probably woke her up at home!). By 1:30am I was giving Bailey her new pain med (Tramadol) and by 2am she was fast asleep. (All of this happening during a massive snow storm–when I drove to Walgreens the only other vehicles I saw were snow plows!)

Trauma 2: Bailey has not eaten anything since Monday night–the night before her surgery. On Thursday morning I managed to hand-feed her some kibbles, but she urped them. When I spoke to Dr. Jenny on Friday morning she said to try anything to get her to eat–chicken and rice or canned food. I called my vet (wonderful Dr. B.) and got a prescription for EVD Low Residue canned food.

OMIGOSH! I gave her a couple of healthy tablespoons with a little chicken broth and you would think she was starving the way she attacked her food! (I guess she was, poor baby, with nothing in her tummy since Monday night!). We did small servings all day on Friday. She seemed to be a little perkier.

At 7pm Mom and I sat down for supper in the great room (first time that we’ve had supper together since Monday night). Guess who joins us! Little Miss Puppy Butt comes out of the bed room (she had not voluntarily left her bed since she came home), not at her usual frisky trot, but at a kinda nervous gait plopping herself down at my Mom’s feet (the best spot for fallen tid bits). She stayed there the entire time we ate supper, then minced nervously back to her bed.

Later on, she “asked” to come up onto the bed with me. She has not done that all week. Around 4:15 this morning she jumped off the bed before I could lift her down and headed for her pee pad. She did a massive pee (first time she’s used the pee pad since the surgery–I’ve been putting a coat on her and “forcing” her to go outside to pee–she hasn’t wanted to leave her bed). Then, wonder of wonders (!), she started to do the poopy dance.

[OK, if you're reading this you probably think I'm nuts, but my dog exhibits definite, definable movements when she's getting ready to have a bowel movement. She does a poopy dance. I don't know how to catalogue it, but I can recognize it when she does it. Just like I can recognize the way she moves when she is uncomfortable (like when she joined us for supper last night). Her moves are fast and jerky, her tail is at half-mast, and she moves to her destination without stopping for anything--not even an interesting smell.]

The whole BM thing has had me worried because–remember–she has this incision held together with stitches at 8 o’clock coming off of her anus. But out popped 2 little poops with no apparent problem! They came out easily, and she did not seem to experience any pain when they did. I felt like doing my own dance. Bailey re-settled herself on her bed with the opinion that I was silly to be dancing around the bedroom in the middle of the night.

Her stitches/sutures come out next Friday. We will also see the radiologist then. I am not convinced that I should put Bailey through radiation or chemo, I hate the idea of making her suffer anymore than she already has! But I’m going to hear what the radiologist has to say.

These past couple of days I find I am able to talk about Bailey’s cancer without crying, maybe I’ve begun to accept it (even as I type this I feel my eyes stinging and tearing up). And I am amazed and humbled at the number of friends and acquaintances who have come forward, asking about Bailey and offering support. I’m still not in much of a holiday mood, but I’ve begun to think I might make it to January.

Got the blood test results…Her calcium amount has gone down so the “fatty” blood must have been skewing the results. Dr. B. thinks it might be a problem with her liver.

I’m sorta relieved about this, but I’m not ready to start dancing yet. Dr. B. put Bailey on an antibiotic (Amoxi-Tab, 200 mg) 2x a day and something called Denosyl (90 mg) 1x a day. Bailey is in 7th heaven because it means 3 pieces of cheese (I may not be dancing, but Bailey is!).

Found a great way to give her the pills. I always used to wrap them in Velveta, but am trying something from Laughing Cow called Cheesebites. They’re a soft cheese wrapped individually—about 1 teaspoon each. I cut each cube in half for each pill. Because it’s soft cheese I can push the pill into the center of the cheese. Bailey snarfs it down–no time to even taste the pill. I’m able to give her a much smaller bit of cheese then I would using the Velveta–so fewer calories/less sodium.

Two weeks of antiobiotics twice a day, 30 days of Denosyl. I wonder if there’s a support group for dogs with cheese habits.