An Important Day

For better or for worse, life goes on. It was tempting to curl up on the couch and ignore the computer today, but there was a very important reason for me to get up and get going.

Today is Miss Morgan Magoo's birthday.  Lucky number 13!!

She misses her birthday buddy Tsar who shared the same birthday with her, but we have eight others who are only too happy to get a special birthday cookie.

Can you find the birthday girl?

Here she is!

On a less happy note, Sky is still critically ill. He has lost a lot of weight and is quite weak. He still has severe diarrhea and we're running out of time to get him turned around. We are using the pancreatic enzyme powder on his food, but he dislikes either the smell or the taste and refuses to eat. We're now force feeding him which is a slow, messy, unpleasant procedure.

I prepare his food, a combination of kibble and moist food and add some water, stirring to make it mushy. Then I add the enzymes and stir till all the food is coated. It then has to sit and incubate for 20 to 30 minutes. We offer the bowl to him and if he refuses it, we put the whole mess in the blender and make it liquid enough to work in a syringe. Then while Rob hold his head, I shoot the food into his mouth. He absolutely hates this and we're not especially fond of it either.

We repeat this whole procedure three times a day and hope the enzymes are working to help him absorb some of the nutrients. Please keep those paws crossed for him. He's running out of time.

A Life Well Lived

On the three hour drive home from the airport in May of 2002, eight week old Samba and I bonded for life. That night she crawled under my bedside stand to sleep and never willingly left my side during the following ten years.

This was a dog who did everything I ever asked of her. We tried it all, obedience classes which she aced and dog shows which she won.

She showed us from the beginning that she was a true water dog.

 

And she loved the water in any form it took.

She could be naughty on occasion. She was an expert counter surfer, once scoring a whole roast turkey, and she taught her skill to her puppies.

 

She did everything with gusto and loved chasing a ball or chewing on a stick. But her favorite toy was her spotted frisbee and she shared it with her pups.

 

She and Morgan were best friends and she  tolerated Fudge's silliness.

She and I were partners in the parenting experience. She would spend her time with me as long as we checked in on the puppies every ten minutes and I had to sit beside her as she nursed them. She seemed to be telling me that she had produced them for me and I had to share the responsibility. That was fine with me. She was a great mom and taught them to be perfect little Porties.

Mainly she was my constant companion and partner. She was beside me during good times and bad times. She never left my side. Now there is a terrible emptiness but I have so many wonderful memories. She taught me a lot about loyalty and acceptance and I'm a better person for having had her in my life.

Samba

                                                    Boo's Legacy Samba Dancer

                                              March 16, 2002 - November 12, 2012

Piggy Powder

This little piggy went to market.

This little piggy stayed home.

This little piggy ate roast beef.

This little piggy had none.

And this little piggy sacrificed his pancreas to try and make Samba and Sky better.

Our piggy powder arrived and they've already had one meal mixed with it. I'll let you know if it works.

Voting Day

Hi Everybody, Fudge here with an important message.

Mom jumped out of bed this morning , OK she actually groaned and stumbled out of bed, and told us all that today is voting day here in the USA.

She says that not only is voting a right of all citizens, but it's a responsibility. She's big on this personal responsibility stuff.

She dressed in red, white and blue and told us that she and Dad are going to leave us here while they go to vote. She says everyone needs to take time today to vote. She's be really really happy if you all voted the same way she is, but even if you don't, you need to go vote.

My name isn't on the ballot in most places, or any places, but if you want to write me in, here's how to spell my name....Deerpark's Chocolate Legacy RN. It's probably Ok if you just write Fudge.

Remember, you don't have any right to whine about the results if you don't take part in the voting. SO JUST GO DO IT!

Your pal, Fudge

Some Updates

Last week I posted that we'd had a big change and appetites had improved along with better output. That lasted four days and just as suddenly they crashed again. They refused to eat, stools turned watery and they both seemed sicker. I worked overtime coaxing them to eat and was sure we'd see a weight gain on Friday. But I was wrong, both had lost more weight. Sky has dropped from 66 pounds to 48 and Samba has gone from 52 pounds to 28.

Dr B is very concerned. He said we may not be able to save Samba, and Sky is iffy. Standard medicine isn't working to kill the cryptosperidium bacteria and we have to start thinking outside the box. If we don't get some weight back on these dogs, we'll lose them both. Their bodies aren't absorbing nutrients from their food and what they eat just passes thru.

I won't be posting any new photos of either Samba or Sky at this point because they're both suffering severe hair loss from their malnutrition. It doesn't seem fair to them to show their thin hairless bodies to everyone.

Dr B had a new strange idea for us to try. He's not giving up. Pig pancreas! He says that feeding them pig pancreas may help give them enzymes to help them absorb their food. He made a number of calls to butchers, but no pig pancreas was to be found. Still there is a powdered form of the pancreatic enzyme available and it's been ordered. It should be here in the next couple days and they'll start getting it several times a day on their food.

In the meantime they're eating natto at mealtime and though the other eight dogs think it's yummy, Samba and Sky don't want to touch it. I have to get creative in disguising it with other tasty treats such as peanut butter. They're getting other supplements such as Boost and Fortiflora daily.

As bad as all this sounds, something good happened yesterday. Though Sky is unchanged and feeling very sick, Samba had a nearly normal stool for the first time in 4 months. I called Dr B this morning to report in and he's happy. He says now we start packing on the calories, five meals a day along with snacks and treats. This takes up most of my free time, as you can imagine, but it's the last option for them.

On another issue, we've been having no success in finding a replacement ball for Sky. Though Petco advertises the exact ball, they actually carry the smooth ones. Yesterday I emailed Sergeants, the company that makes the glow ball and explained Sky's situation.

This morning a very nice lady from Sergeant's called and asked for details about Sky and his ball. She is going to try to locate one for him. I guess there is still good customer service available afterall. I'll let you know if she succeeds.

We know your paws are probably getting tired from having them crossed so long, but if you can hold on a little longer, we're still trying hard to get Samba and Sky well again.

Blog For Peace

Today is Blog For Peace Day and we want to join in.

We can't think of anything more important to hope for. Please join us.