Too Good To Believe

Today was an important vet visit. The three oldest dogs, Morgan, Tsar and Samba get a check up and bloodwork every six months to stay on top of all health issues. Lately we've had some serious problems and I was anxious about today's visit.

I woke myself at 4AM to give Samba her thyroid tablet. She was having a thyroid test done this morning and needs to have taken the pill 4 to 5 hours prior to having her blood drawn. I slept badly the rest of the night and was up at first light to get urine samples from all three. They all cooperated nicely and we arrived at the clinic for our appointment in pretty good spirits.

Tsar went first. His checkup was great, he stood still for the blood draw and Dr B was very pleased with him. His weight is good and all systems seemed to be working well. We've been treating his arthritis for six months now and he's like a new dog. The first thing I noticed a few months ago was that he lifts his leg again to pee. He also does a playbow and he and Fudge run around the yard together playing almost every day. He comes when I call him, often running to me and he's even eating more regularly I guess he just feels better, period. His urinalysis was perfect and we'll have his lab results back tomorrow.

Morgan is using her leg about 80% of the time and sometimes her limp is barely noticeable. Her eyes are a little worse than last time, but don't seem to be bothering her.  Her urinalysis was the same as last time which was good and the only new problem was some pain in her wrist from arthritis. Dr B was pleased with her progress, but she's gained two pounds from inactivity during her knee recovery. She'll be dieting for  a while starting tonight.

Then it was Samba's turn. Samba had been busy getting into things in the office while waiting. At one point she stepped on the pedal that controls the table and Morgan started dropping fast. Dr B and I both grabbed Morgan while our tech, Melissa, grabbed Samba. She had been trying to reach the treats by herself.

Samba has a lot going on, but we were amazed at what's happening. She's getting new muscle in the head area where the MMM destroyed her jaw muscle. The other muscles are bigger and stronger and although she's head-shy and  won't let us open her mouth, she can open it quite wide by herself as she demonstrated. Her eyes, though a little slow, have good blink reflexes.

She has injured her foot and cried out when it was examined. We'll watch it and maybe do an x-ray if it doesn't improve by itself. Her injured tail has improved. The inflammation is gone, but she has lost some of the movement in the very end of the tail.

Then we checked the  urinalysis. We've been trying for months to get a kidney infection under control and although the antibiotics have helped, they haven't killed the infection completely. Last month Dr B and I discussed the option of injections of a strong antibiotic that could kill the infection, but could have very severe side effects. I decided not to use it. Today the test showed that there is no longer blood in her urine. Her body is fighting it off. Her poor damaged immune system is trying to kill the infection and is succeeding. Dr B and I were both jubilant. We'll repeat the test in a month to be sure it's still improving.

This was a most wonderful vet visit. We'll have the blood results on everyone back tomorrow and that will tell us if anything else is going on, but for today, I'm doing a happy dance.

Let The Shopping Begin!

Look guys, the big truck guys have been here and they left lots of boxes.

Mom must have been shopping on the computer again.

I wonder what's in these. Do you think they're all for us?

At least Mom stayed home with us on Black Friday. She did her shopping online.

Hey Mom, let's open some of these.

Thanksgiving At Our House

Mom says that today is Thanksgiving.  We have some things we're thankful for.

We're thankful that Samba's illness is under control and that Morgan is getting around pretty well with just a little limp.

We're thankful that we're all together with our Mom and Dad.

We're thankful for that 26 pound turkey in the freezer in the garage. Think how much soup that will make for us.

We're thankful for the full treat jar in the kitchen.

Noah is thankful for the big piece of lasagna he grabbed off Dad's plate the other night when Dad wasn't looking.

We're thankful for our warm beds and blankets, especially after Mom sticks them in the dryer for a few minutes.

We're all very thankful for all of you who come visit us on our blog. Have a happy holiday.

Santa's Work Shop

Today Rob and I went to Santa's work shop, aka the Disabled American Vet's Thrift Store.

For $18, the price of two toys at Petsmart, we came home with a big black trash bag full of toys for the pack for Christmas.

We found a huge bunny for Lola.

Two big floppy dogs, both with embroidered eyes, so they don't need to have any hard parts removed.

A frog, just the right size for Morgan.

A cute little cow.

A funny looking lamb that just might wind up in my toy collection.

And two monkeys for Bailey. her favorite pal is looking pretty worn out these days and I'm hoping she chooses one of these to be her new best friend.

It was a pretty good haul and all of our dogs except Samba enjoy playing with stuffed toys, so this Christmas they'll have lots of new friends to play with.

I'm starting to feel the holiday spirit. I hope I can hang on to it for another month. Have you started your shopping yet?

Everybody Is Having One

We're celebrating lots of birthdays lately. Last week was our friend E's  birthday. E is Brody's mom.

Then there is our friend Midge who is Freya's mom. They're having a giveaway at their blog to celebrate.

In two days it'll be Jo's birthday. She is Stella's mom.

But today is a special day around here. First it's our vet tech Becky's birthday. Happy birthday, Becky.

But the very best part is that today is both Morgan and Tsar's birthdays and that means a party!!
Morgan is twelve years old today.

Tsar is ten years old today.

 Oh boy, those are donut holes covered with sprinkles. Yumm!!!

Because Morgan's leg isn't strong yet, Mom thought she and Tsar should celebrate on the deck without the rest of us around. Morgan was happy to try the new treats.

Tsar wasn't so sure. These are something he's never had before and he doesn't like new stuff. He always thinks someone's trying to trick him.

Mom told him it was OK and he should try the little cakes. So he did.

Then it was time for the party guests to have their treats. Look how nicely we're all sitting.

And where were the guests of honor during all this? Tsar had gone inside, but Morgan watched from up above on the deck.

Happy Birthday to all our November friends. We wish you could all join us for cake.

Six Weeks

It's been six weeks since Morgan tore the ligaments in her knee. We've tried to keep her very quiet during that time and we carry her up steps. She's had a reduction in her food to try to drop a few pounds. A lighter body means less stress on the joints.  She's been doing well and I've been able to cut her pain medication in half.

Yesterday I took her to the clinic to have Dr B assess her progress. He was pleased with what he saw. She's putting about 75% of her weight on her leg again when she walks. He examined her and when he stretched out her leg then bent it, I winced, but Morgan showed no overt signs of pain.

We'll be starting therapy now and she'll only take pain medication at night to ease her sleep. As I've stated many times, Morgan is a tough little girl. Here she is resting among her stuffed animal friends.

Signs Of The Season

It hasn't been a very beautiful autumn here. Due to the summer drought many of the trees just dropped their leaves without a change of color. We're had a lot of wind lately and a few rainy days, so most of our leaves are now on the ground. But inside I have a definite sign that summer is over and it's time to prepare for the holidays.

The Christmas cactus are in bloom. The younger one has a lot of buds, but only a couple have opened so far.

 The 'old girl', she's pushing 40 now, is in full bloom and adding a lot of cheeriness to the dining room where she resides.

These two will bloom from now till May if their usual pattern holds. I really look forward to seeing them flowering each fall.

It's For Us

Guess what happened here today! A big truck came to our house.

We know that those big trucks bring special things to us. Sometimes we get toys or treats or even new beds. Sometimes they bring stuff like shampoo or clipper blades and those aren't so good.

Today Mom carried in a box and said, " It's for you".

What do you think it could be?

Mom opened it up and let us look inside.

It's treats!!!

Oh boy, these came from the Lapdogs.

Open them, Mom.

Oh boy, these are great. 

They sent two flavors. These are brown rice and beef. The others are sweet potato and chicken.

What a good surprise on a cold, windy day.

Even Tsar thinks they're good and Tsar is very picky.

Do you know the Lapdogs? They're Zeus, Tut, Lola and Sophie and they live in cold, snowy New Hampshire. Their Mom does reviews on lots of stuff. Sometimes she reviews books or knitting stuff that our Mom is interested in, but she does lots of great dog stuff, too. And she has giveaways like this one. We got a new soccer ball from her last year and we got some other treats before, but these are delicious. 

Let's have another round in honor of our Lapdog friends. This is us doing a happy dance because we had a super treat delivery today.