Before and After and Some Treats

To those of you who weren't reading us last year and to refresh my own memories of  how far we've come in a few months, I'm posting some before and after pictures of Samba.

  After she was diagnosed with MMM, she was taking very high doses of Prednisone and her thyroid was also failing. Because of this combination of assaults on her body she lost most of her hair.

 At first I documented the hair loss on her legs, but as it got worse I stopped taking pictures of it. She eventually lost all the hair on her tail and legs and enough on her body that you could easily see her skin thru her pathetically thin coat.

We started her on thyroid meds and as we continued over the following months to reduce her dosage of Prednisone, her coat started to grow back.

Here's Samba today. She has a nice thick coat again. It doesn't have the curl or the luster it used to have, but it's soft and full and we're both very happy with it.

 Look at those shaggy legs and feet! I'm so proud of her.

Now I promised some treats.  A couple of readers have asked about the Apple-Peanut Butter Cookies I made last week. All my dogs like them, but Tsar, my picky eater, says they're his very favorites.

 Ingredients: 
        1 cup whole wheat flour
        1 cup all purpose flour
        1 tablespoon baking powder
        1 cup peanut butter
        1 cup milk
        1 apple, peeled, cored and chopped fine

Mix dry ingredients in medium bowl.
Mix wet ingredients, then add to dry ingredients.
Knead till well mixed
Place dough on lightly floured surface. Roll to 1/4" thickness
Cut into shapes or cut into grid pattern with knife
Transfer shapes to cookie sheet ( I used non-stick or you can lightly grease cookie sheet)
Bake at 375  for about 25 minutes or until golden brown
Cool, then ask your official tasters if they're as good as Tsar says they are
Store in air tight containers ( I put them in a zip lock bag in the refrigerator)
I got 60 cookies using three different sized cutters

These are some of the easiest cookies I've made for my pack and they like them the best. They also smell really good. Enjoy.

A Year Later

This was an important day for us. It was one year ago last Wednesday that Samba was diagnosed with Masticatory Muscle Myositis. In that time we heard of a couple other dogs with MMM dying and Samba also developed facial paralysis, first on one side, then on both.  Samba and Morgan had appointments to see Dr B today. 

First things first. They both got baths.

 Then this afternoon we drove to the clinic. Both girls had checkups and had blood taken.

 Samba went first. The paralysis is almost gone. Her blink reflex isn't perfect, but it's good enough to keep her eyes moist without ointments or drops. She no longer drools or drops her food. Her coat has grown in completely and although it's not as curly as it used to be, it covers her body and is nice and soft.  The muscles surrounding the damaged jaw muscles have taken over and she has about 85% use of her jaw. She's not showing any major side effects from the prednisone and Dr B was so pleased with her progress that we've decided not to change her dosage. We'll reevaluate in six months. Samba also lost three pounds so she's nice and trim again.

 Then it was Morgan's turn. Morgan just turned eleven, so she's a senior citizen now. She has a little cyst behind her ear that we'll have taken off sometime in the next couple months. Morgan has lost four pounds in the last six months and her checkup was great. Dr B said that two years ago he wasn't sure she'd make it thru the year, but now she's doing so well that he thinks she could live to be in the 13 - 15 year range.

 We'll have the blood tests results back on Monday, but  we don't expect any big surprises. Needless to say, I was thrilled with today's visit. My girls are both doing great.

How To Spend A Rainy Day

We've been having some cold drizzly days lately and while the Porties don't mind the wet weather, I don't like standing in it watching them play and then, of course, there's the problem of a house full of damp dogs.

 They find ways to amuse themselves inside on these wet days.

Here's Tsar playing with a loofa toy. First he stalks it.

 Then he tosses it in the air and catches it with his front paws. Remember he's part cat. He tries to catch everything with his front feet.

 Morgan claims the loofa toy and bring it to show me.

Sky decides to find a comfy spot on the sofa and snuggle into a quilt and sleep till it stops raining. His choice seems to be a popular way to spend the day.

Central New York

Every fall I get hungry for apples, apple pie, apple dumplings, cider. You get the idea.

  Last week I made this apple pie. It tasted wonderful and went fast, so another is probably going to be made soon. I can never seem to make the edging look nice. Help, Margie, what's the secret to making a nice even neat edge on my pies?

 

 It's not surprising that I have this yen for apples because I grew up with them in the fall.

 I'm from New York State. When people who haven't spent time in New York State hear that I'm from there, they picture blocks of skyscrapers, traffic, crowds and noise. That's New York City.

 I'm from Central New York and it couldn't be more different.

Central New York is dairy farms and apple orchards.

Central New York is woods and sunsets on the lake.

I was born in Syracuse and lived and worked there when I met Rob. Syracuse is a nice size for a city. It's small enough to get around easily, but big enough to always have something interesting going on.

Syracuse is the home of the Everson Museum of Art,

 The Erie Canal Museum,

The Rosamond Gifford Zoo,

The New York State Fair,

And of course, Syracuse University.

In summer I spent many evenings watching the Chiefs play baseball.

In winter I was a season ticket holder at the hockey rink.

Until I was six years old we lived in a village about 31 miles north of Syracuse called Mexico, New York. From age six to ten we lived in Syracuse, then moved back to Mexico. I graduated from high school there.

Our high school was a former military academy and the campus is beautiful.

 

 A small creek runs thru the campus and there used to be a couple of wooden covered bridges crossing it.   We were always fishing balls out of the water during gym class.

In the summer there are fruit stands. I miss those a lot. There 's fishing and walks in the woods.

This is the church my family attended.

In the winter in Mexico, you shovel snow.

So, this time of year when I get my huge desire for apples, Central New York is on my mind. If you ever get the chance to visit, go. It's a lovely area.

Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday

Today is Morgan's 11th birthday and Tsar's 9th birthday. Friday I got busy in the kitchen in anticipation of today's big event.

I made apple-peanut butter cookies.

I had several tasters who agreed that they were good, but Tsar said they were the best he's ever tasted. He even tried to steal one off the counter.

Today we waited impatiently for the party to begin. Where Was Dad with those wonderful cookies?

The crowd was pretty well behaved.

 Tsar and Morgan got theirs first.

The basket is empty.

They're all gone? They can't be all gone. No Tsar, don't worry, there's a whole bag of them in the refrigerator.

 Also, Happy Birthday to our vet tech Becky, who seems to be having an identity crisis.